Re-Imagining Indigenous Education for Health, Wellbeing and Sustainable Development in Remote Australia

In Australia both Indigenous communities and governments are concerned at the educational outcomes of Indigenous children, especially children in remote regions. However, there are divergent visions of Indigenous education. For Indigenous communities, education embraces culture and contributes to wellbeing, the focus of our research, while for governments, educational goals comprise school attendance, English literacy and completion of year 12. Our team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers explored wellbeing for Indigenous people in remote Australia through focus groups and interviews. Grounded analysis showed how research participants would like more Indigenous education for their children. Their vision for education includes transmission of Indigenous knowledge and skills in art, culture, history, land and sea management, and literacy in both English and Indigenous languages. Remote Indigenous communities hold under-utilised resources and strengths for education, and Indigenous people’s knowledge is needed, particularly in conservation and land and sea management. Research participants feel thwarted by education policies which require competition for funding and segregation of services. Re-imagining education from the perspectives of Indigenous communities offers opportunities to enhance education, together with employment, health and wellbeing, and strengthen Indigenous languages, knowledge and skills. These are important for both overcoming Indigenous disadvantage and for Australia to reach its commitments to conservation and sustainable development goals.


Introduction
Education directly enhances people's agency, capacity, capabilities and wellbeing. Indirectly, education enhances health and wellbeing, through both economic and intangible benefits, such as creativity, tolerance and community cohesion (Vila, 2000). Both the people who are educated, especially children, and their communities benefit from education (Robeyns, 2006). Benefits of education cross generations, highlighting the importance and urgency of improving the effectiveness of Australia's education systems to meet the needs of Indigenous peoples (Partington & Beresford, 2012).

Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians comprise two distinct and diverse populations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who together number approximately 700 000 people or 3% of Australians. For brevity we refer to "Indigenous" Australians to include both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Indigenous Australians have occupied Australia for 50000 years, and continue to identify themselves as distinct from other Australians, whose arrival since the late 1700s led to the deaths of 75% of Indigenous Australians (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2015). Forced removal of Indigenous children from their homelands and families continued until the 1970s through Australia's assimilation and protection policies (Partington & Beresford, 2012).
Australians voted in a referendum in 1967 for the national government to take responsibility in Indigenous affairs (Partington & Beresford, 2012). Since then Indigenous Australians have been included in Australia's population census, providing data on education, employment and other indicators. Availability of data has prompted governments and communities to develop policies intended to improve Indigenous indicators (Altman, Biddle, & Hunter, 2008).
Indigenous Australians established that they had legal right to their lands in the 1992 Mabo court case if they could demonstrate that their pre-colonial system of land tenure, dubbed "native title", still functions (Altman & Markham, 2015). However native title rights are limited and Indigenous people's economic opportunities and access to appropriate education, health, and infrastructure remain inadequate, especially in remote regions where Indigenous people comprise 30% of the population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018;O'Faircheallaigh, 2015). Indigenous Australians remain disadvantaged in almost all socioeconomic indicators, and many indicators are lower for people in remote regions.

Indigenous Australian Education
Educational disadvantage for Indigenous children in remote Australia is of widespread concern. Less than 2/3 of Indigenous children in remote regions attend school; less than half reach minimum reading standards at Year 3; and only 42% complete 12 years of schooling compared with 89% of all Australian stu-R. Schultz Minister and Cabinet, 2018). However aspects of Australia's approach to Indigenous education are based on assumptions that are not supported by evidence, and may undermine the strengths and diversity of Indigenous people (Guenther, 2013). Education is much more than schooling, especially for Indigenous people, for whom school has arisen in the context of historic and on-going colonization. Attending school has costs, particularly where children face racism in its many forms (Bodkin-Andrews & Carlson, 2016). Racism at school contributes to the disengagement of Indigenous children and families from school and the education system (Gollan & Malin, 2012).

Education, Health and Wellbeing for Indigenous Australians
In most populations, education is directly correlated with health. Education improves health throughout people's lives, through psychological and social effects such as self-esteem and confidence, and increasing health literacy (Cohen & Syme, 2013). Education also improves health through increasing employment opportunities, facilitating access to healthier, safer, more secure and higher status work (Vila & Garcia-Mora, 2005). The greater economic benefits from skilled and professional employment further increase the health benefits of education (Ross & Wu, 1995).
However, relationships between education and health are in both directions: better health enhances people's motivation and capacity to learn, while many medical conditions can interfere with learning (Basch, 2011). Hearing impairment is a particular concern for Indigenous Australian children in remote regions where 90% suffer ear disease (Morris et al., 2005). Hearing impairment causes problems at school for both affected children and their peers. Entire classrooms are disadvantaged when children are disruptive because they cannot hear and communicate effectively (Partington & Galloway, 2005).
Chronic or recurrent illnesses that lead to frequent absences also affect school performance, an important issue for Indigenous Australian children, in whom many conditions are more common than in non-Indigenous children (Dockett, Perry, & Kearney, 2010). These include anemia, diarrhea, dental caries, and respiratory, skin and urinary infections (Gracey & King, 2009). Overall, relationships between children's health and education are complex, with factors such as parental employment affecting both health and education (Lynch & von Hippel, 2016). However, assumptions from other populations may be confounded in their application to Indigenous Australians (Biddle, 2006).
For Indigenous Australians a U-shaped relationship between education and health has been described, with better health among the people with the lowest and the highest levels of education (Shepherd, Li, & Zubrick, 2012). This relationship suggests that the interactions between education and health for Indi-  (Lynch & von Hippel, 2016). Damaging effects of racism that Indigenous people face at school and work may outweigh possible future benefits of education (Shepherd et al., 2012). Because of incomplete knowledge of relationships between health and education for Indigenous people, current strategies to improve education may not lead to anticipated benefits (Boughton, 2000).

Improving Educational Outcomes for Indigenous Australians
The Australian Government's 2009 (Walter, 2016). This approach can overlook the strengths, diversity and different lifeways and aspirations of Indigenous people (Altman, 2009). Effective approaches to policy development to reduce Indigenous disadvantage require attention to needs defined by Indigenous people and communities themselves.
Wellbeing provides a basis for defining need, and an opportunity for development that is not biased towards any particular culture or section of society (OECD, 2017). Enhancing wellbeing as a development goal enables fair comparison between people of different cultures, within societies and over time (Cairney et al., 2017;OECD, 2017). Indigenous Australians in remote communities report high levels of wellbeing with mean life satisfaction 7.6, equal to the average life satisfaction of all Australians (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015Statistics, , 2016, an overlooked statistic when much policy focus is on changing poor indicators in education, employment and health, violence, crime and imprisonment (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2015). Our research was designed to explore wellbeing for Indigenous people in remote Australia to provide a basis for education and other policy development based on Indigenous people's diverse aspirations and goals.

Education as a Wellbeing Priority
Our research aimed to explore and explain the conundrum of high levels of wellbeing despite low indicators in education, employment and health among Indigenous people in remote Australia, through a framework developed collaboratively with Indigenous researchers and participants. Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous methodologies and knowledge were used, with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people teaching and learning from one another in a two way process (LaFlamme, 2011). We aimed to share knowledge between communities, scientists and government, and ensure community development, rigorous science, and policy impact (Cairney et al., 2017).
Six priorities were identified to form a wellbeing framework: education, employment and health being those of government; and Indigenous people's priorities of community, culture and empowerment.
Indigenous communities throughout remote Australia with connections to the research team were invited to participate. Four communities were selected, with a range of levels of remoteness, and diverse geography, culture and language use, population size and proportion who are Indigenous.
In each community, Indigenous Community Researchers were employed in the research, including facilitating focus groups through Indigenous organizations. Focus groups enable exploration of participants' knowledge and experience, building on other group members' contributions. They are particularly valuable in cross-cultural research, and in enabling criticism of services that individuals may withhold from researchers (Kitzinger, 1995). No-one was excluded from participation, and people who could not participate in focus groups were interviewed individually. Demographics of participants are described in Table 1 and Table 2, with 68 Indigenous and seven non-Indigenous participants in 14 focus groups, and four Indigenous and one non-Indigenous service providers interviewed between June 2014 and June 2015.
Focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded, then transcribed and thematically coded, based on the wellbeing priorities, and on sub-themes which emerged in the discussions.
This article describes findings that relate to education and its relationships with wellbeing for Indigenous people in remote Australia.

Ethics
All Indigenous people and organizations involved actively engaged with the re-

Education for Meaningful Livelihoods for People in Remote Regions
Research participants described the need for distinctive Indigenous schooling and education to support Indigenous people to remain on their traditional land with knowledge and skills to engage in contemporary society.
"We grew up here and are the traditional owners. Our elders fought hard for this country to continue on for other generations." (Participant in focus group 9) "The best learning for our people is on the land." (Interview 4: Indigenous service provider) "The school's mantra is Indigenous people: strong in both worlds." (Interview 2: non-Indigenous service provider)

Improving School Attendance and Educational Participation
Increased school attendance was a target of the Closing the Gap strategy, but there has been no progress nationally in increasing Indigenous school attendance overall, and attendance in the Northern Territory declined (Commonwealth of Australia: Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2018). In our research, participants identified reasons for children and young people to not attend school. These included children feeling a lack of freedom and connection to the culture of the school, and that they have out-grown school. Non-attendance was then linked to risk-taking behaviors.
"I think it is the freedom, like our people weren't locked up… enclosed in a school getting all of this stuff pumped into us … We were out on the land and education was cultural, and education was survival and learning to live off the land in our culture and our country… not in the classroom." (Interview 4: Indigenous service provider) "They obviously don't want to go to school coz they feel like they're too big to go to a school. They don't feel like they little kids going to a school setting. Is there another place they could go to... to learn to continue their learning in [this community]?" (Participant in focus group 4) "Some kids reach 13 and 14 years old and think they are adults-they start drinking and gunja [marijuana] and take off." (Participant in focus group 4) In our research, participants identified how communities could respond to children not attending school by listening to community elders and seeking cultural advice.
"The elders say… send kids to school." (Participant in focus group 9) "Cultural advisors help with any trouble like kids going to school." (Participant in focus group 9)

Pathways from Education to Employment
Although the importance of attending school was recognized, some participants Many employment opportunities in remote communities, such as in art and land and sea management programs arise from Indigenous culture and knowledge. Education to support such employment will enhance Indigenous culture and knowledge, and may be better delivered outside the school environment.
Research participants noted: "[Young people] recognize the employment pathway between education and programs such as the ranger program, so we support school camps for this program." (Participant in focus group 3) "Workplace accredited training, largely not classroom based. TAFE send out teachers to work on site-culturally appropriate, not as invasive." (Interview 2: non-Indigenous service provider) Indigenous history and culture are of special interest to Indigenous people and may assist in retaining Indigenous students' interest. Research participants noted the importance of these areas: "People including our own mob don't know Indigenous history. It's not taught in schools, in training there is nothing on it." (Participant in focus group 10) "Learning on country program… working with schools. Culture program has always been here, to help them understand the Dhuwa, Yirritja way that's been here since the start." (Participant in focus group 14)

Indigenous Knowledge and Expertise
Indigenous histories and cultures are described in Australia's education curriculum as a cross-curriculum priority, rather than an area of learning, with the intention of improving outcomes for Indigenous students. Learning from, with and about Indigenous Australians is not required in Australian schools (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA); Williamson-Kefu, 2016).
Research participants identified how Indigenous knowledge may be valuable for all children in the teaching of art, culture, history, ecology, land and sea management and language. Indigenous education occurs both in the school and when working on the land: "She walks around the school; shows kids different types of plants and cultural education about the plants." (Participant in focus group 4) "It gives you an opportunity to learn the stories of the country as well …when we're out there working, we're learning, we're passing something on to young people." (Participant in focus group 1) Indigenous people in our research welcomed opportunities to share their knowledge, and contribute to schooling and education through other services.

Indigenous Land Management
Indigenous land management involves Indigenous people using customary knowledge and skills together with modern techniques in managing fire, weeds and feral animals; monitoring and protecting threatened species; inland waterway and coastal surveillance; revegetation; pastoralism; harvesting of bush foods; and art and craft work (Hill et al., 2013). Indigenous land management pro-

Intersectoral Partnerships
Some organizations involved in the focus groups were providing services beyond These examples highlight service perspectives driven by Indigenous communities rather than government departments.
Research participants highlighted commonalities across services and opportunities to work together for common aims: "We've had to look at other ways to fund from other avenues and partnerships to pull money in, and taking this on like an enterprise rather than a centrally Outcomes that Indigenous communities seek from services may not be those that the services are established to provide; these include care of the community and the land. One research participant stated: "Government think school and employment are the only priorities. We don't.
There's other things." (Participant in focus group 9)

Service Models for Indigenous Communities
Research participants explained how partnerships and relationships can be important outcomes in themselves: "I was apprehensive because I am not Martu [Indigenous] but Martu are working here helping mentor me in my role, it is a good partnership." (Participant in focus group 5) In remote communities, separation between departments and bureaucracies leads to lack of coordination and inefficiencies in services, and this especially affects Indigenous people. Focusing on the needs of people and communities, and bringing resources together to meet those needs is likely to achieve better outcomes.
Some rules and formalities appeared counter-productive and absurd for research participants. In remote Indigenous communities, greater flexibility around employment and registration conditions may enhance service delivery and outcomes, and reduce the disparities in service provision.

School Attendance
The goal of increasing Indigenous children's school attendance assumes that their lower attendance contributes directly to their lower educational outcomes  Gray & Partington, 2012). However, the relationship is complex, and social, cultural and economic factors that contribute to Indigenous children's lower rates of school attendance also impact on their educational outcomes. For communities for whom the overall outcomes of school are less important, attendance is less important (Gray & Partington, 2012). The importance of school attendance depends on the desired outcomes. Focusing on educational outcomes that meet the needs of Indigenous communities may lead to effective teaching and learning outside the formal school environment (Fogarty & Schwab, 2012). As research participants highlighted, attending school may not be necessary, and education about Indigenous culture, language and land management may be better provided outside school.
Even where attending school is considered essential, policies that manipulate families through coercion and punishment may have negative effects. Strategies that limit people's autonomy can increase the resistance of both parents and children to attending school (Guenther, 2013). For example, quarantining portions of welfare payments was introduced to Indigenous communities in 2007, with the aim of improving school attendance. Evaluation showed that welfare quarantining led to an initial reduction in school attendance, through increased family stress (Cobb-Clark, Kettlewell, Schurer, & Silburn, 2017).
Effective approaches to increasing school attendance take account of the reasons why children do not attend school. In our research, reasons for children not attending school were loss of freedom, removal from culture, and the disconnection from future livelihoods on the land. Addressing these issues through curriculum development may assist in improving educational outcomes, regardless of school attendance.
Research participants recognized the importance of school and education. They described how involving elders and cultural education could assist in retaining adolescents at school.

Indigenous Culture, Health, Knowledge and Land Management
Research participants identified cultural, knowledge and infrastructure resources in their communities which could improve Indigenous education, and these are summarized in Table 3.
Indigenous child-rearing skills and practices can contribute to Indigenous education. Indigenous parents emphasize promoting children's freedom to explore and experience the world, which increases their independence and creativity (Lohoar, Butera, & Kennedy, 2014). These are strengths of Indigenous communities and can assist in education, and promote learning both within and outside school.
Indigenous people's knowledge could improve the response to ear disease, which harms schooling of all children. Australia's national guideline for ear disease focusses on clinical definitions, treatments and outcomes, and recommends R. Schultz et al. that parents be advised to recognize the problem of ear disease and act quickly if the child has symptoms (Morris et al., 2015). Indigenous community responses to children's ear disease, based on Indigenous sign languages and non-hearing communication appear under-recognized (Lowell, 2013), as is the experience of learning Indigenous cultural knowledge, where communication difficulties related to hearing impairment do not seem to be a barrier (Fogarty & Schwab, 2012).
Australia's 1989 National Aboriginal Health Strategy and each of its iterations have pointed to the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians, their community and land as being central to Indigenous health (Australian Government, 2013;National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Group, 1989). However the wellbeing of Australia's lands and seas are deteriorating and current conservation strategies are inadequate (Cresswell & Murphy, 2016). Environmental degradation directly contributes to the health status of Indigenous people. For example, in the state of New South Wales Indigenous people affected by drought associated with human induced climate change are suffering mental health problems and social and economic losses (Rigby, Rosen, Berry, & Hart, 2011), while Indigenous people in urban Victoria reported that degradation of ecosystems contributes to their sicknesses (Kingsley, Townsend, Phillips, & Aldous, 2009). Over millennia, Indigenous people's management of lands and seas has contributed to the development of Australia's ecosystems. The removal of Indigenous people from their lands and cessation of Indigenous land management practices are contributing to the deterioration of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity (Cresswell & Murphy, 2016). The importance of Indigenous ecological knowledge is increasingly being recognized in Australia's conservation strategies. Indigenous knowledge and skills contribute to research and management of feral animals and weeds, protection of coasts, waterways and other ecosystems, fire management leading to increased carbon storage with potential for large scale carbon farming, and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems (Cresswell & Murphy, 2016;Hill et al., 2013).
Recognition of the role of Indigenous people in conservation and land management has led to the establishment of Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) where Indigenous people are given responsibility for managing their traditional lands and seas, in accordance with Australia's commitments to international organizations such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). IPAs now comprise almost half of Australia's nature reserves (Cresswell & Murphy, 2016) so Indigenous people with land management knowledge and skills are needed for Australia to meet international conservation commitments (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011;Fogarty, 2012). Including Indigenous knowledge in education curricula as highlighted in our research will be essential for this to continue. Since Indigenous knowledge has not been consistently transmitted to younger people, Indigenous people are concerned at the loss of their knowledge which is not yet included in the curriculum (Douglas, 2011).
Indigenous people's health depends on the health of the land, so health and land management services could be managed cooperatively (Kingsley et al., 2009). Working in land management improves the health of Indigenous people, including increased levels of physical activity, improved diet, less obesity and diabetes and renal disease, lower blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease risk (Burgess et al., 2009). These indicators support Indigenous people's holistic understanding of their own and their country's health, where caring for the country is caring for oneself and one's family. Indigenous individuals' health is associated with wellbeing of community and country, and with using Indigenous languages (Biddle & Swee, 2012).
Indigenous culture, knowledge and languages are important areas of Indigenous expertise, which provide opportunities for two-way learning between Indigenous communities and service providers (McRae et al., 2000). Indigenous languages are embedded in the land, and enable Indigenous people to articulate their unique knowledge. Current Australian schooling in English is likely to be contributing to loss of Indigenous languages and irretrievable loss of Indigenous knowledge (Nettle & Romaine, 2000). Australian education authorities are ambivalent about Indigenous languages, with for example Northern Territory bilingual programs cut in 1998, then terminated in 2008 in response to media representation of the crises in Indigenous education (Nicholls, 2005;Waller, 2012). Meanwhile there is global concern at the loss of indigenous languages and the impact of this on cultural survival (United Nations Economic and Social Council, 2016). The concerns of Indigenous research participants with using, maintaining and strengthening their languages at school reflect a global recognition of the irreplaceable value of indigenous languages as part of human heritage (Nettle & Romaine, 2000).

Service Partnerships, Coordination and Collaboration
Research participants described how cooperation among services enables com- and stress, which may contribute to the poorer health outcomes among the Indigenous people who reach higher levels of education (Shepherd et al., 2012). Opportunities for employment in Indigenous land management provide levers for enhancing overall educational outcomes, including Indigenous and English language literacy (Fogarty, 2012). Rather than removing people from mainstream economic opportunities, providing culturally driven education and employment increases Indigenous people's employment participation rates. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey showed that strong traditional culture is associated with improved socio-economic outcomes, as measured and valued by mainstream society (Cairney et al., 2017;Dockery, 2012).
While the terminology of the Closing the Gap Strategy suggests reducing inequity, current efforts to reduce disparities between Indigenous and other Australians involve employing increasing numbers of non-Indigenous people to provide services for Indigenous people (Moran, 2009). Participants in our research reported non-Indigenous service providers in their communities receiving disproportionately high remuneration packages 'as high as the Prime Minister.' (Participant in focus group 10). Salaries of AUD $380 000 [USD 280 000] in addition to accommodation and other entitlements are offered for remote general practitioners (Rural Health West, 2017). This remuneration is are offered despite lack of evidence of improved recruitment or retention (Buykx, Humphreys, Wakerman, & Pashen, 2010). Meanwhile overcrowding and associated health and social problems contribute to the disadvantage of Indigenous people, especially in remote regions (SCRGSP, 2016).
The stated commitment to reducing disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is inconsistent with high levels of remuneration for non-Indigenous service providers in remote regions where more than half of Indigenous households live in income poverty (Markham & Biddle, 2018). Difficulties in recruiting service providers in remote regions, despite high entitlements, draw into question whether there is commitment to reduce the disadvantage of Indigenous people. Commitment to improved wellbeing for Indigenous people could be demonstrated by more equitable social payments in remote communities. For example, subsidizing food supply or improving housing would provide community-wide benefit and enhance equity with service providers (Colles, Maypilama, & Brimblecombe, 2014;Moran et al., 2016

Education and Indigenous Knowledge outside Remote Australia
Our research explored wellbeing with Indigenous people in remote communities and identified education as a priority. Opportunities and strategies to re-imagine education to promote wellbeing require appreciating the aspirations of Indigenous people in remote communities, and recognizing the importance of Indigenous expertise in languages, and land and sea management. Indigenous people's contribution to education can support economic development in remote regions, and improve equity between service providers and Indigenous community members. These strategies for re-imagining Indigenous education in remote communities are summarized in Table 4.
Beyond remote communities, themes of Indigenous identity, culture, empowerment, and employment aspirations are important for Indigenous people throughout Australia (Grieves, 2007;Hunt, 2012  Around the world, there is increasing recognition of indigenous peoples' expertise in sustainability (Parsons, Nalau, & Fisher, 2017). Indigenous people have knowledge and skills in sustainable practices and management of natural resources, shared custodianship of land, and adaptability to and knowledge of climate change (Ens et al., 2015). Many indigenous cultures including many Indigenous people in Australia aspire to buen vivir, "living well" as a goal for human development (Gudynas, 2011). Living well as a policy goal, rather than economic growth, provides a radically different approach to development. Many issues highlighted in our research allude to such an approach: interdependent relationships rather competition; equality and complementarity rather than personal gain; autonomy and identity as outcomes of education. Internationally, many indigenous communities emphasize the importance of family and community in ensuring transmission of indigenous knowledge, to complement formal schooling (Magni, 2017).

Thus greater awareness of Indigenous people and their aspirations in Austral-
ia's overall economy may provide a sound basis for development and assist in reaching commitments to global sustainable development agenda (Magni, 2017).

Conclusions
Positive voices for Indigenous education and wellbeing in Australia's remote communities show diverse benefits and opportunities from engaging with Indigenous people's knowledge and skills in education. Indigenous knowledge of art, culture, history, languages and land management has a key role in the future wellbeing of Indigenous children and in Australia's conservation and land management strategies.
Application of these findings requires action across sectors and levels of Australia's education and land management systems. Greater recognition and use of Indigenous knowledge in the education curriculum would increase understanding of Indigenous culture and languages, and promote capacity for land and sea management. This would assist in ensuring that education in Australia offers meaningful options for Indigenous children to improve attendance and literacy outcomes that are of widespread concern. Developing educational indicators based on Indigenous aspirations will drive policy with benefits for Indigenous people and communities, and Australia as a whole.