Applying ‘Red Dirt Thinking’ to adult learning in the Northern Territory
Applying ‘Red Dirt Thinking’ to adult learning in the Northern Territory Conference Paper
40th National Conference Australian Council for Adult Literacy: Traders, Neighbours and Intruders: Points of Contact
- Author(s): John Guenther
- Secondary Author(s): Shore, S
- Published: 2017
- Publisher: Australian Council for Adult Literacy
Abstract: The term ‘red dirt thinking’ was coined by researchers who were part of the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation’s (CRC-REP) Remote Education Systems (RES) project. The researchers, who were particularly interested in remote schools asked: “What would education look like if it was grounded in the red dirt context of remote parts of Australia?”. Red dirt is a powerful metaphor that reflects the landscapes of most parts of remote Australia and captures something about the wide open possibilities of thinking from within the places where many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live. Red dirt thinking: challenges the assumptions that underpin system thinking as it is often applied to remote Australia; encourages those who live in remote Australia to have a voice and be heard; and it demands respectful engagement between non-Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, such that local ways of being, knowing, believing and valuing are intrinsically valued. Red dirt thinking challenges generalised notions of deficit and disadvantage while supporting strengths and aspirations of those who live in red dirt communities. How might red dirt thinking be applied to adult learning in the Northern Territory? In the first instance, it is important to understand where current strategic policy comes from. What philosophical and theoretical bases do policies designed to facilitate adult learning (including training) have? How well do they work (or not work)? What does aspiration and success look like from and adult learning or vocational training perspective in remote communities? How would systems measure these and what outcomes would we expect if we applied red dirt thinking to adult learning? What structures would be required to facilitate these contextually responsive outcomes? There are lots of questions in this, but the clues to answers to these questions are already available as we look back at the successes and failures of policies and interventions from the past. Further, as we take time hear the voices of remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult learning stakeholders, the answers will no doubt become very clear, as they were for the RES project