Leading and Managing Indigenous Education in the Postcolonial World

227 Pages·2014·2.276 MB·English

by  Zane Ma Rhea

Leading and Managing
Indigenous Education in the
Postcolonial World
This book brings together the academic fields of educational leadership, edu-
cational administration, strategic change management and Indigenous educa-
tion in order to provide a critical, multiperspective, systems-level analysis of
the provision of education services to Indigenous people. It draws on a range
of theorists across these fields internationally, mobilising social exchange and
intelligent complex adaptive systems theories to address the key problematic of
intergenerational, educational failure.
Ma Rhea establishes the basis for an Indigenous rights approach to the state
provision of education to Indigenous peoples that includes recognition of their
distinctive economic, linguistic and cultural rights within complex, globalised,
postcolonial education systems. The book problematises the central concept
of a partnership between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous school lead-
ers, staff and government policy makers, even as it holds this key concept at
its centre. The infantilising of Indigenous communities and Indigenous people
can take priority over the education of their children in the modern state; this
book offers an argument for a profound rethinking of the leadership and man-
agement of Indigenous education.
Leading and Managing Indigenous Education in the Postcolonial World will be of
value to researchers and postgraduate students focusing on Indigenous educa-
tion, as well as teachers, education administrators and bureaucrats, sociologists
of education, Indigenous education specialists and those in international and
comparative education.
Zane Ma Rhea is Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of Indigenous Education
and Leadership in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia.
Routledge Research in International and
Comparative Education
This is a series that offers a global platform to engage scholars in continuous academic debate
on key challenges and the latest thinking on issues in the fast-growing field of International
and Comparative Education.
Books in the series include:
Teaching in Primary Schools in China and India
Contexts of learning
Nirmala Rao, Emma Pearson and Kai-ming Cheng with Margaret Taplin
A History of Higher Education Exchange: China and America
Teresa Brawner Bevis
National Identity and Educational Reform
Contested classrooms
Elizabeth Anderson Worden
Citizenship Education around the World
Local contexts and global possibilities
Edited by John E. Petrovic and Aaron M. Kuntz
Children’s Voices
Studies of interethnic conflict and violence in European schools
Edited by Mateja Sedmak, Zorana Medaric′ and Sarah Walker
Culture, Transnational Education and Thinking
Case studies in global schooling
Niranjan Casinader
The Changing Landscape of International Schooling
Implications for theory and practice
Tristan Bunnell
Leading and Managing Indigenous Education in the Postcolonial World
Zane Ma Rhea
Multi-campus University Systems
Africa and the Kenyan experience
Ishmael I. Munene
Leading and Managing
Indigenous Education in the
Postcolonial World
Zane Ma Rhea
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Z. Ma Rhea
The right of Z. Ma Rhea to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-415-87048-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-79634-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
This book is dedicated to my parents, Margaret and
Reginald Schuman, for their gift of a good education.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of illustrations ix
Preface x
Acknowledgements xii
List of abbreviations xiii
PART 1
International context of Indigenous education 1
1 Indigenous education in complex, globalised, postcolonial states 3
PART 2
History, partnerships and knowledge
exchange between mainstream education and
Indigenous peoples 19
2 Understanding history: the colliding world of Indigenous
intellect and colonial administration 21
3 Theorising the logic of partnership 36
4 Preservation and maintenance of Indigenous
perspectives in education 49
PART 3
Managing intelligent complexity: engaging
communities, schools and governments 63
5 Leading and managing the complexity of Indigenous education 65
6 Engaging communities: ownership and high expectations 81
viii Contents
7 Engaging schools: partnership and collaboration 99
8 Teacher professional skills development: change, intercultural
competency and cultural safety 116
PART 4
Developing the official mind: aligning educational
administration 133
9 Engaging education administration: transparency
and accountability 135
10 Evolving the colonial mindset: towards an Indigenist
approach 153
PART 5
Towards an Indigenist perspective 171
11 Leading and managing Indigenous education:
a global challenge 173
References 184
Index 205
Illustrations
Figures
1.1 Systemic quality assurance thinking 5
1.2 Quality management of the multiplex pyramid 7
5.1 Quality management of the multiplex pyramid 66
5.2 Community level of the multiplex pyramid 72
5.3 Education system level of the multiplex pyramid 74
5.4 Education administration level of the multiplex pyramid 79
6.1 Community focus on the leadership and management
of Indigenous education 84
6.2 Major goal 1 - Involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people in educational decision making 87
6.3 Excerpt from MCEECDYA school–community
partnership template 90
6.4 Excerpt from MCEECDYA school–community
partnership template 91
7.1 School focus on the leadership and management
of Indigenous education 104
8.1 Teacher focus on pre-service and in-service development
in Indigenous education 126
9.1 Education administrator focus on the leadership and
management of Indigenous education 145
10.1 Systemic quality assurance thinking 161
Table
6.1 Consequences of differences in school readiness
on education preparedness 93