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1.
Introduction to the Field and Scope of Investigation [Next Chapter] [Previous Chapter] [Contents] |
Funded under the Evaluations and Investigations Program (EIP), this project adopted an action research methodology in order to order to facilitate processes in the Illawarra that would:
In accord with these objectives, the project focussed on the development of processes that would connect community need for Aboriginal professionals in fields such as Nursing, Mental Health, Education, Law and Engineering, with education and employment. In so doing, the metaphor of a ‘pipeline’ was adopted to describe the alignment of educational sectors and employment in professional fields with needs identified by the Aboriginal community. The benefit of the action research method was that it enabled the spiral of investigation, evaluation and establishment to be undertaken.
The project grew out of the ongoing work of the University of Wollongong Aboriginal Education Centre (AEC) in the establishment of cooperative processes involving education providers, employers and community groups in NSW. The University of Wollongong was in a key position to facilitate the development of these processes and infrastructures because of its established network with other stakeholders.
The pipeline metaphor was conceived in the course of an AEC strategic planning workshop that sought to identify and explore future directions to address the tertiary education needs of Aborigines in the Illawarra. The community of special interest (COSI) concept, which provided a means of defining the community of people and organisations holding a shared interest, was also generated during this workshop.
The AEC strategic planning workshop included a pre-reading scenario based on a mythical company. ‘The Fledgling Advanced Flying Company’ (see Appendix 1) (Gluck 1992) scenario provided a description of the tertiary education environment in which Aboriginal students, learning developers and social and cultural support staff within the AEC perceived themselves as being positioned prior to the development of the initiatives in this project. The scenario parodied the situation and provided a base line from which to consider and to develop future directions.
The project initially sought to investigate processes necessary for the development of local infrastructures to train and supply Aboriginal professionals for community, professional and industrial organisations. However, the project went well beyond its initial investigation brief and, through its action research method, was able to establish an exemplar pipeline in Nursing. This pilot pipeline demonstrated the centrality of a particular process and infrastructure to the conduct of programs involving the Aboriginal community, formal education and employment.
Establishment and operation of the tertiary education component of the Nursing pipeline involved the AEC and the University of Wollongong Department of Nursing in development of successful recruitment strategies and learning environments to meet the needs of Aboriginal students. This work provided a direct window to a range of mainstream student, teaching and learning issues. In practice the co-operative activity of these stakeholders facilitated action which enhanced the quality of learning environments and presented a useful example of the value of equity groups in bringing about structural and systems change.
The Nursing pipeline investigation also highlighted the importance of relationship networks in transcending barriers to career advancement that are set by community experience and self limiting expectations. During the course of this project, stories and experiences of Aboriginal people were shared with the Project Director. For example, when discussion frequently focussed on what kind of positions people wanted established if a pipeline were to be set up in a particular profession, invariably Aboriginal people opted for a Liaison Officer’s position or similar low level position that was within immediate experience and was highly visible.
Aboriginal people also frequently rejected the idea of undertaking extra education or training, an idea that was succinctly and forcefully put by one individual:
Why should we upgrade our qualifications? I already have a job. The course is not compulsory. I won’t do it! I am not going to add to my collection of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck qualifications that I have from other institutions; courses I was forced to take if I wanted my job and which led nowhere. F@#* you and extra training!
The process of engaging with and developing relationships with people in these discussion situations led to the introduction of previously unconsidered possibilities and led to the self-limiting ceilings being addressed.
1.3 Legitimacy of Project Activity: Brokering Relationships
The grant provided an auspice for the Project Director to utilise his existing access to community, professional, employer and education networks to initiate and focus processes that would connect shared needs. Whilst access to networks and information is one aspect of this initiative; purposeful use of networks and information in order to broker structural arrangements to provide equity of outcome for Aborigines, proved to be a challenging task. The establishment of agreement between the community, employers, professions and education providers was only one element of brokerage. More important, however, was the development and conduct of relationships between and within networks that would enable these cultures to adjust their positions in order to operate in concert. This aspect proved to be essential. For this reason the processes of relationship development and adjustment of stakeholder positions to produce equity of outcomes are addressed throughout this report.
It is unrealistic to assume that the project could have been undertaken, or that it could have achieved anything, without prior relationships and access to each of the cultures outlined above. Acceptance into and an understanding of the political terrain of each culture was necessary, as was trust. Existing connections to a range of Aboriginal community networks were used to ascertain what professionally based services were wanted in their communities and who they wanted to perform them. As well as this, employers in a variety of professions provided information on what services they wished to deliver to their Aboriginal clients. The outcome of this listening process was the identification that all sectors could intersect and the needs of all groups could be aligned.
The process of gaining the EIP grant provided a degree of legitimacy, within a number of the University’s sub-cultures, for the AEC to pursue the linking of community, professional, employment and education needs. For example, the application for funding required nomination of the project by the University. This, in itself, created a consciousness within the University that the direction of the grant submission was legitimate. Receipt of the funding helped to further establish legitimacy of the role of the AEC in addressing matters that were previously considered the province of faculties or academic developers. In successfully drawing together academic staff from faculties and student support areas, further legitimacy was created for the AEC to take a central role in the creation of quality learning environments, not just for Aboriginal students, but for all students.
The project enabled community, professional, employer and education sectors to define fields of investigation that could result in mutual benefit. Figure 1.1 shows the conceptual intersection of fields at point I when sectors are viewed in plan.
Figure 1.1: Defining Fields of Investigation
However, by rotating Figure 1.1, an alternative view of the sectors shows that they may not intersect. At the start of the project little, if any, practical connection existed between sectors (see Figure 1.2).
Figure 1.2: Lack of Intersection Between Community, Professional, Employment and Education Sectors
This figure demonstrates that there is no definition of field of investigation
Figure 1.2 highlights the need for aligning the sectors if the proposed framework for investigation were to be possible. Effectively these sectors can be viewed as pipe openings that are not connected. The project work identified the need to develop and align relationship networks in order to connect the sectors so that pipelines could be developed and activated.
The process of matching community desire for professional personnel, such as the need for Aboriginal nurses, teachers, lawyers and engineers, the desire of Aboriginal people for employment within professional service areas, and the need of employers and professional groups to incorporate Aboriginal people in their service portfolios, led to actions for mutual benefit.
The project direction went well beyond the traditional concepts and practice of educational and professional articulation in which agreements are made to enable people to go from vocational to tertiary study or from tertiary study to membership of a profession. Instead, investigation of continua (‘pipelines’) involving pre-vocational, vocational and tertiary education in the context of professional employment and community need were pursued and, in the case of Nursing, established.
Development of multiple entry and exit points to the continuum was integral to the project if a continuum of learning and employment environments, involving Enrolled and Registered Nurse education and employment at Enrolled or Registered Nurse levels, were to be established in the Illawarra. The result of the pipeline initiative was that Aboriginal Enrolled Nurses and Registered Nurses emerged from the pipeline and more are currently in the pipeline.
1.6 Organisation of the Report
The following chapter provides insight into a range of educational considerations that are at the root of many Aboriginal and non Aboriginal students’ difficulties with tertiary learning environments. The chapter addresses a range of issues that stem from a ‘deficit model’ approach to facilitating Aboriginal students’ learning. It also provides an alternative model that draws on Vygotsky’s developmental approach to learning, a model which was successfully used to establish the Nursing pipeline. The chapter also highlights the potential of equity students to contribute to the development of quality learning environments that benefit all students.
Chapter Three introduces the metaphor of a ‘pipeline’ to describe the structural arrangements developed under the EIP project to support the connection of Aboriginal communities, education providers and professional employment. While the immediate focus of activity began in the higher education sector, it facilitated changes in overlapping sectors. Discussed here is the application of the community development process, including networking, to the establishment of the pipeline. The community of special interest (COSI) concept, which provided a means for defining the community of people and organisations holding shared interest in a field, is addressed. The chapter also re-emphasises the importance of people and relationships to the structural adjustment that underpinned the pipeline project.
Chapter Four provides an in depth case study of the Nursing pipeline. It details the agreements underpinning the connection of community, educational and employer organisations that support the operation of the pipeline. It also addresses teaching and learning issues that are at the core of successfully implementing the tertiary component of the pipeline. In doing so, Chapter 4 presents in depth reflection on teaching and learning issues. An exemplar of how student, teacher and research roles were brought into relationship to develop quality learning environments for all students in Acute Care Nursing studies demonstrates what the pipeline concept looks like in practice. Details of investigations of pipelines for the discipline areas of Education, Law and Engineering are discussed.
Chapters 5 addresses processes that were employed to extend the educational initiatives developed in the Nursing pipeline to other areas of the University. The central role of collegiate groups and the importance of developing cooperative, collaborative, structural and organisational spaces are also detailed.
The potential intersection of learning development and staff development is identified as a key area of interest for the transformation of tertiary level pedagogy. The nexus between personal development and learning development is identified as providing a means of addressing the reorientation of tertiary education to a learning focus. The chapter further identifies research as a context for aligning the needs of teachers, students and researchers in a manner that enables the parties to engage in action for mutual benefit.
Finally, an analysis of action taken by the Project Director to address student learning issues in a field dominated by teaching-centred teaching strategies is presented. It reports on an intervention in a ‘problem subject’, and concludes with an observation of the state of the change process in the learning environment and the power relationships in the collegiate group, two years after the initial intervention. The chapter concludes by drawing on processes used in the Nursing pipeline and a particular area of concern to address the central role of collegiate groups in facilitating learning and generating a culture of learning.
Chapter Six concludes the report and highlights the central importance of having a clear understanding of the role of politics in the development of pipelines that enable Aborigines to obtain equity of access to professional education and employment. It provides a summary of the conceptual framework and the theoretical tools used to frame the project and implement the understandings that derived from collaborative enquiry and action.