Practices and programmes that enhance successful transition and participation in high school for Indigenous young people: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

This systematic review reports evidence on practices and programmes that enhance successful primary-secondary school transition and participation for Indigenous students in Australia. A thematic analysis found three sets of practices: the school context; bridging practices; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students cultural recognition. Two narratives thread through the practices: centrality of relationships; and the entangled nature of Indigenous culture, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student’s identity and successful transition and participation in high school. Attending to relationships with students, their families, communities and local Elders supports cultural identity, belonging and improves participation in high school. Future research, program development and implementation should acknowledge students’ unique needs and collaborate with students, their families and community. School staff ought to acknowledge the colonised context of education in Australia and increase the use of decolonising practices to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to transition to and participate in high school.

KEYWORDS:

• Primary-secondary school transitions
• systematic review
• Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander students
• Indigenous
• decolonising pedagogies
• education
• strengths based
• community-school partnerships

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. For the purposes of this paper Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander will be used when discussing Australian First Nations peoples and Indigenous will be used when discussing First Nations people from an international perspective.

2. The term culture in this paper refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ cultures.

3. Participation in the context of this review refers to engagement, attendance, and retention of students.

4. Country in this context is a term used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People of Australia to describe a spiritual interconnection to all that is part of Country including landforms, waters, air, rocks, trees, plants, animals, sky, stories and special places. Country is linked to the Dreaming and provides a source of cultural lore (Dudgeon and Bray 2018; McKnight 2016).

Additional information

Funding

Southern Youth and Family Services