Talking knowledge, doing learning: the early years (2015–2019)
Abstract:
An enduring problem in Indigenous schooling is the discrepancy in outcomes compared to mainstream
children, but little is known about one crucial factor: the role of Indigenous ways of speaking and their ways
of engaging with knowledge and learning. In this groundbreaking project, Prep students are compared in two
urban settings: a mainstream school and a school with high Indigenous enrolments. The project also
examines learning in children¿s homes to establish how the flow of knowledge is managed in Indigenous and
mainstream families. By investigating these four settings, the project will provide important evidence for
understanding the role that language and cultural ways of knowing contribute to the discrepancy in schooling
outcomes.