This thesis examines adult literacy in English as a factor in the relationship between First Nations communities and schools with a focus on three towns in Far Western and North Western New South Wales (NSW). Settler-colonial education practices have resulted in a disproportionately low rate of English print literacy amongst First Nations adults. Low rates of adult literacy are enmeshed with various challenges including generational cycles of school failure. Despite the Aboriginal Education Policy (NSW) committing the Department of Education to ‘partnering with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities’ many communities continue to experience fraught relationships with schools.
The research occurred alongside the Yes, I Can! Aboriginal Adult Literacy Campaign and was supported by the Literacy for Life Foundation, the First Nations organisation which supports communities to take part in this campaign. This campaign has now been implemented in 16 sites across NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory and seen over 450 adults graduate with basic literacy.
This study originated with the communities which implemented the Yes, I Can! campaign and their observations of the campaign’s impact in equipping First Nations adults to engage with schools and with their children’s education. Community Based Participatory Research across three study sites aimed to examine changes in the relationship between communities and schools during and following the Yes, I Can! Campaign, with a secondary research question addressing the historic context of community–school relationships in the study sites.
The researcher conducted a series of interviews/research yarns with community members across the three study sites and observed and participated in literacy campaign activities, including a sequence of ‘post-literacy’ activities during which adult literacy campaign participants met with and questioned a panel of staff from the local schools.
The research reveals that adults with low literacy had extremely limited contact with schools prior to their engagement in the adult literacy campaign. Participation in the literacy campaign results in important changes including an improved sense of personal agency and ability to ‘speak out’. These factors can be understood as foundational to authentic and sustainable community–school relationships. The enhancement of community–school relationships during and following the adult literacy campaign was also observed by school personnel. This research suggests that increased attention to adult literacy learning has important implications for community–school relationships.