You and Your Community

Understanding Culture Based on Trust, Respect and Integrity

Katy’s Dilemma

In her role, as the newly appointed Principal to her first remote community school, Katy was concerned with the problem of school absenteeism. It was not chronic but certainly was an issue as it was very hard to achieve any sort of continuity in school-based programs. Staff were very frustrated in the effect student absenteeism was having on the continuity of their teaching.

Apart from the high incidence of illness, children seemed to stay away for hardly any reason at all, or at least no reason Katy was aware of. She would often go and chase these truants up herself and pay frequent visits to their parents encouraging them to ensure their children went to school, emphasising the importance of a good education for the children. However, she would be told, “They don’t want to go to school and we can’t make them, they won’t listen to us, you make them.” Thus there were always some children absent on a regular basis.

Suddenly, however, there seemed to be an increase in the number of children absent from school. Katy could not find their parents either. In answer to her questions to those children who did attend, she was told that the others had gone away. The most specific answer she could get was that they had gone bush or gone to visit family.

What was the reason for this sudden increase in absenteeism?

1.  Katy’s approach was very authoritarian. Since she would not leave some families alone they had decided to move elsewhere.

2.  An illness affecting the local community had broken out and people were leaving the area to get away from bad spirits.

3.  They had gone away on important cultural business.

4.  Every now and again the Aboriginal instinct to go becomes too strong and they all move to another place.

One or two of the above points are more relevant than the others.

What degree of responsibility does Katy, as Principal, have in relation to trying to get the community’s children to school (especially as there seems little support from parents)?

What strategies could a new Principal to a remote school employ to develop their awareness of the local community’s traits and customs in order to develop an understanding in relation to the above issue? What would you do to develop cultural awareness in your school?

Share your thoughts with co-participants in this module and then develop a summary which you might keep with your Agreement Document.

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