What is it about?
The Early Years Transitions Framework describes how the following elements can create a seamless Early Years transition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Jarjums: • High-Expectations Relationships – where the educator repositions from the role of ‘knowledge holder’ and moves into a space of deep listening to value different world views and understand the needs and aspirations of families. This establishes a space of co-creating power with families and Jarjums that is about connecting, listening, valuing, and respecting other world views. • Understanding cultural artefacts - when High-expectations relationships are in place, educators can understand what might be happening for a Jarjum to understand what makes them react in a certain way. This is described as understanding the cultural artefacts from the Jarjum’s home life, which then allow educators to build a third cultural space in the classroom. • Incremental learning - An Indigenous worldview is about building on existing knowledge. The Framework describes how these ideas can ensure the Early Years can become a place of interwoven spaces and incremental learning.
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Why is it important?
Everyone who works in the Early Years spaces knows about the importance of supporting Jarjums (children) through the series of adjustments from one Early Years educational space to the next. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Jarjums, there is an additional layer of adjustments: the cultural and world views they bring from their home life can be very different to those in an educational system built on western paradigms. The solution is often to seek ways to move Jarjums as quickly as possible into the western system. This paper presents a very different way of thinking about Early Years Transition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The authors present an Early Years Transitions Framework where the thinking changes from ‘how do we ensure Jarjums ‘fit in’ to the system, to ‘how can the system change to better support our Jarjums.’
Perspectives
I felt very honoured to write this article with Fiona. As a non-Indigenous Australian, I feel that the ideas she has presented about thinking differently about our Early Years transition programs are incredibly important. Australia has an amazing opportunity to draw on Indigenous Knowledges to improve our education system for all students, and the ideas that Fiona has presented here help to build that understanding.
Cathy Jackson
Stronger Smarter Institute
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Understanding cultural artefacts to ensure seamless transitions in the Early Years, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, December 2021, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/18369391211055864.
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