Promoting positive self-identity in Aboriginal students : Case studies of Clontarf Academy youth living a rural community

Aboriginal school students, especially those living in rural and remote areas, achieve below the national standard in oral language, literacy and numeracy. On leaving school their unemployment rate is three times that of non-Aboriginal people. At the same time academic and career success is closely tied to one's self-identity. The aim of the research reported here, is twofold: firstly, within the context of living in a Western Australian rural community, to explore which factors contribute to a positive self-identity amongst Aboriginal youth; and secondly, to examine how this relates to their educational experience and particularly their transition into the workplace. The participants were five Aboriginal males aged between 16 and 18 years at the commencement of the study who attended the local high school and were supported by Clontarf Academy staff located at this school. Data were collected over an 18 month period using observation, informal and formal interviews. This was done from an 'inside' perspective as all the participants were well-known to the researchers, with one having a long term mentoring relationship with them. This rich and thick data was used to formulate in-depth, ethnographic case studies which were further interrogated to identify themes to address the research aims. The findings show that 'family' plays a key role in the maintenance of both language and culture, that style of communication continues to be a strong marker of Aboriginality, and being located in the rural area and particularly as part of the Academy served to support and sustain strong Aboriginal self identities. [Author abstract]