Marigurim Yan: Strong Walk to Strong Futures

ITRC members, Dr Sharon Louth, Dr Tracey Sanderson and Uncle Barry Bird have been awarded $292,000 from the John Villiers Trust for a 3-year research project that seeks to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in regional and remote Queensland.

Marigurim Yan: Strong Futures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people was co-designed and developed with Butchulla Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (BNTAC). The project employs a participatory approach to empower community members through contribution and engagement in the project and a capacity building model to enhance the skills and knowledge of school teachers. It incorporates the Marigurim Yan program, which further aims to increase educational aspirations and boost educational outcomes and career pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students after they finish high school. The project is designed to embed sustainability and increase the reach and scalability of the program through train-the-trainer support for Indigenous education workers to deliver the program.

Marigurim Yan consists of scaffolded workshops throughout the year that focus on developing positive identity and belonging, deep listening and reflection, self-respect, future focus, learning to succeed, goal setting, and accountability. In partnership with BNTAC, the Marigurim Yan program will be rolled out to six high schools in the Maryborough and Hervey Bay regions over the next three years, beginning with 60 junior high students.

The project stems from the community’s strong desire and need to address the pressing societal issues of youth crime, unemployment, and low academic achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities. It builds on a the Marigurim Yan pilot program co designed and co-led by the UniSC team and community from BNTAC and Fraser Coast, who delivered the program in three schools in 2023, involving 63 young people in a series of 12 workshops that was successful in improving the attendance, engagement and academic achievements of participating students.

The team will investigate the effectiveness of the program through ongoing research, which aims to build evidence-based practice and generate new knowledge about creating sustainable programs that make a difference to the long-term educational outcomes for young Indigenous and Torres Strait Island people.

The project will be a huge collaborative undertaking with UniSC, BNTAC and participating schools together contributing more than $105,000 in kind to build regional capacity and work towards closing gaps in youth education and employment. The team's successful acquisition of this philanthropic grant through a rigorous, competitive process underscores its commitment to making a tangible difference in young lives. As Dr. Louth aptly states, "It's about the kids, making a difference to their lives."

Situated understanding of resilience in island societies and environments 

The Situated Understanding of Resilience in Island Societies and Environments (SUNRISE) project consists of an international team of researchers looking at the impact of climate change as well as coping and adaptation strategies in diverse island communities.

The overarching aim of the SUNRISE project is to identify individual priorities as well as common challenges, and explore opportunities to share solutions across different island communities.

A scoping study of Indigenous food cultures in the Asia Pacific

The project objective is to collate the current body of knowledge around Indigenous food cultures in the Asia Pacific. The project will also align the work of the ITRC and UniSC with the direction of the United Nations 2021 international year of Fruits and Vegetables and Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.

The expected deliverables of the project is the Creation of a digital map/repository of Indigenous food cultures in the Asia Pacific; Organisation of a virtual workshop to illuminate current projects in related areas to coincide with the UN’s Sustainable Gastronomy Day; Solicitation of ideas and co-develop grant applications domestically or internationally and the Curation of papers towards a journal Special Issue.

Promoting culturally safe learning in higher education pilot project

The purpose of this project is to review existing frameworks for embedding First Nations’ perspectives across a variety of education providers from both national and international contexts. This study sets out to identify issues and recognise successful strategies which can be applied and extended to existing practices within University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) to provide culturally relevant and respectful teaching and learning practices that enhance student learning outcomes.

The findings of this review will enable UniSC to advance teaching and learning to effectively embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices across UniSC and with the potential to expand to other societal institutions.

Students affected by complex trauma: The role of teachers’ professional agency in implementing curriculum

The term ‘complex trauma’ describes long-term exposure to multiple traumatic events affecting aspects of a child’s development, personal relationships and identity. This research project is being undertaken as a pilot study which explores teachers’ professional agency related to curriculum and inclusion when teaching students affected by complex trauma. The purpose of this project is to investigate primary and middle school teachers’ knowledge and professional agency in history, English and HPE units in relation to students affected by complex trauma.

Where are the Ghundus?

Where are the Ghundus? Is a retrospective exploration of the long-term and deep-reaching impact of an educational aspirations program, Burunga M Gambay (BMG), which was conducted in 2012 over a one year period. The longitudinal study seeks out the original participants of the project to discuss and reflect on BMG to review its long-term effectiveness on building aspirations, career pathways, sharing Indigenous knowledges and life-long learning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

The aim of the project is to identify and understand how to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples meaningfully through culturally appropriate education programs.