Building Yolŋu Skills, Knowledge, and Priorities into Early Childhood Assessment and Support: Protocol for a Qualitative Study

Abstract

BackgroundYolngu or Yolŋu are a group of indigenous Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Recent government policy addressing disparities in outcomes between Indigenous and other children in Australia has resulted in the rapid introduction of early childhood interventions in remote Aboriginal communities. This is despite minimal research into their appropriateness or effectiveness for these contexts.ObjectiveThis research aims to privilege Aboriginal early childhood knowledge, priorities and practices and to strengthen the evidence base for culturally responsive and relevant assessment processes and support that distinguishes “difference” from “deficit” to facilitate optimal child development.MethodsThis collaborative qualitative research employs video ethnography, participant observation and in-depth interviews, involving Aboriginal families and researchers in design, implementation, interpretation and dissemination using a locally developed, culturally responsive research approach. Longitudinal case studies are being conducted with 6 families over 5 years and emerging findings are being explored with a further 50 families and key community informants. Data from all sources are analyzed inductively using a collaborative and iterative process. The study findings, grounded in an in-depth understanding of the cultural context of the study but with relevance to policy and practice more widely, are informing the development of a Web-based educational resource and targeted knowledge exchange activities.ResultsThis paper focuses only on the research approach used in this project. The findings will be reported in detail in future publications. In response to community concerns about lack of recognition of Aboriginal early childhood strengths, priorities and knowledge, this collaborative community-driven project strengthens the evidence base for developing culturally responsive and relevant early childhood services and assessment processes to support optimal child development. The study findings are guiding the development of a Web-based educational resource for staff working with Aboriginal communities and families in the field of early child development. This website will also function as a community-developed tool for strengthening and maintaining Aboriginal knowledge and practice related to child development and child rearing. It will be widely accessible to community members through a range of platforms (eg, mobile phones and tablets) and will provide a model for other cultural contexts.ConclusionsThis project will facilitate wider recognition and reflection of cultural knowledge and practice in early childhood programs and policies and will support strengthening and maintenance of cultural knowledge. The culturally responsive and highly collaborative approach to community-based research on which this project is based will also inform future research through sharing knowledge about the research process as well as research findings.

The ‘invisible homeless’ – challenges faced by families bringing up their children in a remote Australian Aboriginal community

“…In response to community concerns that Yolŋu knowledge and priorities related to early childhood were not recognised in policy and practice, a qualitative study was initiated to privilege Yolŋu voices in identifying and communicating strengths, as well as the challenges they experience, in ‘growing up’ their children [27]. The “Growing up children in two worlds” study design was informed by extensive previous research in this cultural context [31–33] and incorporated multiple qualitative methods in a collaborative community-based approach.…”

“…The study was then extended in 2016 at the request of participants. Phase 2 (2016–18) continued the research activities commenced in Phase 1 but included a particular focus on strengthening the evidence base for culturally responsive and relevant early childhood assessment processes and support in this cultural context [27]. Longitudinal case studies were conducted with six families over 5 years, combining in-depth interviews with video-reflexive ethnography.…”

“…In our study exploring strengths and challenges in early childhood in a remote Yolŋu community of the NT [27], crowding and housing insecurity emerged as the greatest challenges experienced by participating families in ‘growing up’ their children. Yolŋu (Yolngu) are a group of Aboriginal Australians who have inhabited north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia for more than forty thousand years.…”

Aboriginal children’s health, playgroup participation and early learning outcomes in two remote Northern Territory communities

“…The Brigance Screen is a standardised instrument used to identify children's developmental needs and progress, providing standardised scores in language development, early academic skills and motor skills. Since research indicates that most developmental screening tools are not appropriate for assessing the skills and behaviours of young Aboriginal children (Lowell et al, 2018), several adaptations were made to the Brigance Screen in order to improve the cultural appropriateness and relevance of items for the children in this study. The process of adaptation was iterative and occurred in several stages based on feedback from local Aboriginal staff administering the assessment and the responses of children.…”

An Abecedarian Approach with Aboriginal Families and Their Young Children in Australia: Playgroup Participation and Developmental Outcomes

“…An Abecedarian Approach with Aboriginal Families and Their… consultation with families attending FaFT playgroups with their children. The importance of adapting early childhood educational programme materials to improve cultural responsivity is highlighted by a recent Aboriginal communitydriven project which privileges Aboriginal early childhood knowledge, priorities and practices to develop culturally relevant assessment processes that are appropriate for the contexts (Lowell et al 2018).…”