Interschool partnerships: remote Indigenous boarding students experiencing Western education whilst keeping culturally safe

ABSTRACT

Secondary education access for remote Northern Territory Indigenous Australian students is limited. Although many students attend boarding schools, few complete Year 12. Whole communities rarely engage in their children’s boarding school education and boarding schools seldom engage with Elders to support a child’s cultural journey. This article presents research findings from interviews conducted with two adults from a very remote Indigenous community and six staff from a partner Western interstate boarding school community. Using a qualitative methodology with phenomenological design, findings show how students achieve Western educational success whilst maintaining their culture and offer implications, including possible model replication, for other communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous education
• secondary school
• remote communities
• educational partnerships
• culture
• cultural safety