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Beyond School: Digital Cultural Practice as a Catalyst for Language and Literacy

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Language Practices of Indigenous Children and Youth

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities ((PSMLC))

Abstract

While enormous research effort has gone into the study of indigenous children in school, in part because research in institutional settings is easier, research in ‘out-of-school’ settings or among youth who have left school is relatively rare. Set against a social literacies backdrop, this chapter fills an existing gap in the language and literacy debate by providing a much needed theoretically grounded contribution to questions associated with indigenous education and language in Australia and Malaysia. We show how through participation in a meaningful community-based digital media project, indigenous youth are transformed into confident individuals who are in control of their own learning and literacy practices. Highlighted here is the manner in which indigenous youth are using digital resources to mediate language and culture maintenance.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Projects funded by the Malaysian Ministry of Education and the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS: ‘I am not going to school’! Identifying and examining critical underlying issues to address Orang Asli children’s high dropout rates and lack of academic achievements in schools. UTP URIF (University Research Internal Fund) (2014–2016); Investigating Community Level Influences for Successful Entrepreneurial Process: Towards developing an indigenous Entrepreneurship Education and Training Model for the Orang Asli Community—FRGS Grant from the Malaysian Ministry of Education (2014–2016); Exploring the Viability of Introducing a Community-based Educational Partnership to Improve Orang Asli Children’s Educational Outcomes—FRGS Grant from the Malaysian Ministry of Education (2010–2012).

  2. 2.

    Australian Research Council Linkage Project (LP0774918) Lifespan learning and literacy for young adults in remote Indigenous communities 2007–2010 with Dr R.G. Schwab and The Fred Hollows Foundation.

  3. 3.

    Sites include Ngaanyatjarra Media Aboriginal Corporation, Western Australia; Northern Territory Library (Lajamanu and Ti Tree, NT); Ngapartji Ngapartji intergenerational language and arts project (Alice Springs, NT); Djilpin Arts (Beswick, NT) and Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation (Yuendumu, Willowra, Nyirripi and Lajamanu, NT).

  4. 4.

    Malay and Semai languages are both written using the Roman alphabet.

  5. 5.

    Pseudonyms are used.

  6. 6.

    A professional quality Sony HXR-NX70P DV camera, wireless lapel microphone and two Kodak Playsport cameras were used for filming. Editing took place on a MacBook Pro laptop using Final Cut Pro 7 editing software.

  7. 7.

    A chance meeting with a man attached to a Christian group led him to invite her to join the Sabah Lexicography Workshop organised by the Iranun Language and Cultural Association (Persatuan Bahasa dan Kebudayaan Iranun—BKI) and SIL International, Sabah Branch, at the Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Hj. Mulia Training Centre in Kampung Rampaian Laut in 2005.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Inge Kral

  2. Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Malaysia

    Sumathi Renganathan

Authors
  1. Inge Kral
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  2. Sumathi Renganathan
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Gillian Wigglesworth

  2. Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Jane Simpson

  3. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Jill Vaughan

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Kral, I., Renganathan, S. (2018). Beyond School: Digital Cultural Practice as a Catalyst for Language and Literacy. In: Wigglesworth, G., Simpson, J., Vaughan, J. (eds) Language Practices of Indigenous Children and Youth. Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60120-9_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60120-9_14

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-60119-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-60120-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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