A phenomenological study of a small school serving an isolated Aboriginal Community: 1999-2007

Abstract

This EdD dissertation takes the form of a case study of Warrego Primary School as it operated to serve the Mungalawurru Outstation Community between 1999 and the school's closure in 2007. Mungalawurru is some 80 Km NW of Tennant Creek, NT. The central question examined is: 'what can be learned from a detailed study of the culture, curriculum and pedagogy of the education provided between 1999 and 2007 to the children from an outback Northern Territory community'? The research examines the development of a small school serving an isolated outstation community. It chronicles the evolution of processes for creating a school culture, negotiating curriculum and planning pedagogy within the context of a small Aboriginal school. ***Please Note: The accompanying DVD titled 'Bush School' is held in the Dixson Library Collection***