Illuminate: Issue 11 2025

Embracing

From the Principal

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”

Audre Lorde was an American writer, professor, philosopher, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist who dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. Her reflection above, while anchored in the events of the 1970s and 80s, highlights the reason why Social Intelligence is one of the four guiding pillars of teaching and learning at Pymble today, under the umbrella of our Watch Us Change the World strategy.

As the world continues to change at a rate of knots, and not always in a kind and inclusive manner, never have we had a greater need for the ability to “recognize, accept, and celebrate” our differences. Pymble’s Social Intelligence pillar is based on a collective belief that our differences represent opportunities to know and understand each other as human beings on a deeper and more profound level. We see diversity as our strength, and the path to unity, on both a local and a global scale.

Our commitment to fostering this compassionate and influential mindset among our students is defined in our Watch Us Change the World strategy: “Pymble students embrace opportunities to learn in collaborative environments where different perspectives are encouraged and valued. As a school of the Uniting Church, we welcome people of all faiths, beliefs, abilities, identities, backgrounds and cultures. We value diversity of thought and understand the power of an inclusive and united community. Our students care for, listen to, and learn from people of all backgrounds, including First Nations People. Through developing skills in cultural

connectivity, Pymble girls foster respectful, resilient and inclusive relationships, and harness the power of diversity to enrich their worldview.”

This issue of Illuminate: Research and Innovation shines a light on just a few of the many ways our educators harness the power of diversity to enrich the world view of Pymble students and our broader community.

What I especially love about the articles within is that they reflect the calibre of staff at the College, and the extension of care, respect and responsibility that transcends far beyond their role as teachers in the classroom. The commitment each person brings to their work in education and their commitment to changing the world – one student, one action or activity at a time – shows we are taking solid steps towards embracing diversity and fostering a more inclusive academic community, where the freedom to express their views through the platform of this journal is encouraged.

Congratulations to our authors for leading and navigating complex terrains with grace and insight, continually deepening our understanding and expanding the educational impact we have on our students. And of course, congratulations to our tireless advocate for continuing to drive thinking forward at Pymble, our champion of research, Dr Sarah Loch, on another shining edition of Illuminate

DR KATE HADWEN PhD, MEd, BTeach, MNTCW PRINCIPAL, PYMBLE LADIES’ COLLEGE

From the Editor

As Editor, it’s always a great pleasure to introduce another edition of Illuminate: Research and Innovation. This is especially so in the 11th Edition which is dedicated to mapping our work in Social Intelligence, one of the four Strategic Pillars influencing teaching and learning at Pymble Ladies’ College.

Prepare to join the authors on a journey into a vast range of topics and discover how researching, doing, reflecting and writing each plays a part in continually enriching the College’s learning landscape.

The eight papers in this edition embody our collective commitment to embracing diverse perspectives, ways of understanding, and lived experiences – highly relevant to our work as educators. Through the process of writing and publishing, we are also finding even deeper pathways into uncommon and under-researched fields. We celebrate the insightful contributions of our talented teachers who apply their social intelligence to their work in so many contexts.

Victoria Adamovich’s compelling research on the wellbeing of children whose parents have migrated to Australia was part of her Master of Research degree. The short excerpt published here represents a significant exploration into an area that urgently needs greater research-based attention. Victoria is already influencing knowledge and practice in the College by emphasising the importance of knowing our students, and ourselves, when it comes to migration experiences and its impact on language and learning. Anna To, who has previously written on the importance of translanguaging in Edition 8, writes again for Illuminate about a highly innovative project conducted in the Junior School. In this edition, Anna introduces us to the concept of Living Libraries, a beautiful initiative that fosters intergenerational dialogue and wisdom-sharing. Her article highlights how knowledge is passed down from families and elders,

celebrating cultural heritage and lived experiences that benefit younger generations.

Edwina O’Brien is a recipient of the Ex-Students’ Union Artist-in-Residence Grant which is generously given to College staff each year to promote arts-experiences in all their forms. Edwina partnered with singer-songwriter, Tash Holmes, for her project and the outcomes are shared and captured visually in her paper. Junior School Teacher Librarian, Martha Itzcovitz, draws on her extensive leadership experience as President of the Australian School Library Association in her paper. Martha takes us beyond the College as she advocates passionately for diversity in school literature collections. Martha’s argument for championing diverse voices in school libraries is crucial for nurturing empathy and understanding among students, an attribute deeply needed in today’s complex world. Using our work in a literature review created to support the Academic Strategic Pillar, Dr Joshua McDermott and I present a paper on culturally responsive pedagogy with insights into emerging research into the College’s First Nations scholarship program.

Exploration into ethical and philosophical dilemmas that are part of any learning community is enriched by Dr James Batten’s article on life and death education. A member of our Science Faculty, James’s sensitive approach and scholarly reflection underscore the necessity for educators to cultivate a positive outlook on life, encouraging students to seize the myriad opportunities before them. English teacher, Alex Campbell

offers insights into the art of oracy, a critical human skill. Her action research, initiated during her time in the United Kingdom, provides practical strategies for enhancing communication skills among students, reinforcing the pivotal role of effective dialogue in education. In a collaborative article, Julie Shaw and Mark Way address the challenges and successes in the College’s refugee

Meet our Contributors

Victoria Adamovich

Victoria Adamovich moved from Taipei to London at the age of eight and studied French and Politics at the University of Edinburgh. After working for a decade as a marketing executive in Asia, she retrained as a teacher at the University of Hong Kong. She taught in bilingual English-Chinese schools in Hong Kong and Shanghai before returning with her family to Sydney in 2017 to work at Pymble Ladies’ College as an EAL/D teacher. To better understand the students and families she supports, Victoria embarked on a Master of Research at the University of Technology Sydney to study the wellbeing of migrant children. Victoria is the Pymble Institute’s Research Assistant and is also a published author, having written a children’s picture book, The Story of My Names

Dr James Batten

Dr James Batten is a Science and Chemistry Teacher, Compass Teacher, and Future Problem Solving Coach at Pymble Ladies’ College. Before joining Pymble in 2024, James completed a PhD in medicinal organic chemistry at the University of Sydney under Professor Peter Rutledge, working on novel antibiotics for tuberculosis and other diseases. James has won multiple accolades for excellence in research, conference prizes, and most recently, the University of New England Vice Chancellor’s Scholar award for outstanding achievement in the Master of Teaching (Secondary) degree. James has spent the better part of ten years working in Science Education roles at the University of Sydney and in the private sector. He is passionate about pushing the frontiers of chemistry and molecular biology to tackle the medical challenges of our time. He is also heavily invested in the transmission of scientific skills and knowledge to secondary and tertiary students, and the wider community.

Alex Campbell

Alex Campbell is an experienced English educator with eighteen years of experience teaching in public, private, and international schools across the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Australia. In her previous school, Alex led a three-year, whole-school oracy project working in conjunction with Oracy Cambridge, an arm of Cambridge University, which focused on elevating pupil voice both within lessons and at a broader school level. Now at Pymble, Alex is keen to empower girls to engage in meaningful interactions, encouraging them to use speaking and active listening skills to show respect, to develop empathy and to express their ideas with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

Martha Itzcovitz

Martha Itzcovitz is the Junior School Years 3 to 6 Teacher Librarian. Over the last fifteen years she has been a Teacher Librarian in both secondary and primary school libraries, across both girls’ and boys’ schools. She is dedicated to fostering lifelong reading engagement and creating a dynamic and inclusive reading culture in the Junior School. Martha has volunteered as a Director on the Board of the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) since 2021, stepping into the role of Vice President in 2022 and President in 2023. She is a passionate advocate for authentic representation of diversity in literature, particularly for children. Martha is also a judge in the Young Adult category of the Aurealis Speculative Fiction Awards.

Dr Sarah Loch

Dr Sarah Loch is the founding Director of the Pymble Institute at Pymble Ladies’ College which is the school’s hub of researchrelated activities. She works with students, staff and alumni, along with academics and partners from external organisations, to create opportunities for research. Sarah gained her PhD in Education with a thesis examining ways young adolescent girls select school subjects and plan for their futures. She teaches History where she loves helping her students develop a passion for scholarship. She leads the College’s Social Intelligence strategic pillar and is responsible for the College Libraries, Archives, Social Impact and Careers programs.

Edwina O’Brien

Dr Joshua McDermott has been teaching History and English for more than fifteen years for a diverse range of students in Korea, Melbourne, London, and Sydney. It was as the Head of History at St Thomas More in London that he gained a keener sense of the need for holistic responses to the social, psychological, and emotional needs of students. He found that schools can support students in not only reaching their academic goals, but also in finding their passions. His postgraduate journey in research began at Macquarie University with a Master of Arts and a Master of Research before he completed his Doctorate summa cum laude in Ancient History at the University of Sydney. He currently teaches History and performs research at Pymble Ladies’ College, a place which nurtures students’ individual learning journeys. Joshua believes that academic success happens most effectively when students are positively engaged, feel supported, and find an authentic love of learning.

Edwina O’Brien is Head of Religion and Ethics and, until recently, Assistant Chaplain at Pymble Ladies’ College. With a background in Secondary English and Drama teaching beginning in 1997, Edwina has worked across the government, Catholic and independent sectors. One of her most rewarding teaching experiences was at a specialist behaviour school for at-risk students. Edwina is currently completing a Bachelor of Theology through Charles Sturt University and has commenced her Period of Formation as a candidate for ordination in the Uniting Church in Australia. Edwina is passionate about nurturing students’ spirituality and finding creative and accessible ways to help students connect with the spiritual.

Julie Shaw has worked in education for over 35 years, with more than 20 years of executive leadership experience as an educator in the independent school sector and, most recently, as Deputy Principal (K-12) at Pymble. Julie is currently the Head of Social Impact at Pymble Ladies’ College. Her role focuses on building partnerships with First Nations communities, leading strategic initiatives to support students from refugee backgrounds, identifying service partners and establishing partnerships that align with our service framework. Julie serves on the Board for Her Village Foundation, the North Foundation (formerly Kolling Foundation) Development committee, and supports voluntary work at KYDS (Ku-ring-ai Youth Development Service). Julie is a strong advocate for living a balanced and healthy lifestyle and enjoys cycling, hiking and travel in her free time.

Dr Joshua McDermott

Julie Shaw

Anna To

In primary school, Anna To realised she enjoyed teaching when she used the TV program Sale of the Century to teach her younger brothers fun facts and made a song and dance out of times tables. She’s since taught across a spectrum of government and independent schools, in Australia and abroad. Anna cares about creating engaging learning experiences for students and supporting their families. As both an EAL/D and Chinese teacher in the Junior School Learning Support and LOTE teams, she draws on her personal and professional experiences in non-English speaking communities to help students and families form connections to their new language and culture while celebrating their own heritage.

Mark Way

Mark Way is a secondary Mathematics Teacher at Pymble Ladies’ College. Equipped with a psychology degree from his time in the United States, he has developed a keen interest in how adverse childhood experiences impact student behaviour and academic performance in the classroom. Mark is dedicated to supporting the wellbeing of students who have experienced trauma and empowering them to reach their full potential. Passionate about delivering meaningful learning experiences for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, Mark prioritises an inclusive, engaging environment where students are encouraged to excel.

Wellbeing of children of skilled migrants to Australia

Victoria Adamovich, English as an Additional Language/Dialect Teacher and Pymble Institute Research Assistant, Pymble Ladies’ College

In this paper, I share an excerpt from my Master of Research Thesis, which I recently achieved through the University of Technology Sydney, under the supervision of Associate Professor Christine Ho (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Social and Political Sciences). The study, “Wellbeing of Children of Skilled Migrants to Australia”, was completed in June 2024 following a long journey of investigation and writing. I would like to thank Kate Brown, Head of Junior School, Pymble Ladies’ College, for her support. She not only permitted me to conduct the research on site but gave me many opportunities to share my findings with staff and parents to further our understanding of students affected

by the family decision migration to Australia. Sincere gratitude also goes to Dr Sarah Loch for her wisdom and guidance through the long research process and my excellent supervisor, Dr Christina Ho, who was responsive and giving of her expertise in the subject area.

UNDERSTANDING MIGRATION AND FAMILIES IN OUR COLLEGE

Migration stories to Australia may conjure up images of bedraggled First Fleeters in 1788, to the optimistic Ten-Pound Poms of the “Populate or Perish” policy after World War Two. In the last century, Australia’s once Anglo-dominant demographic was changed by waves of arrivals of Italians, Greek, Lebanese and

Vietnamese among others. The final removal of the White Australia Policy in the late 1970s paved the way for the multicultural Australia we know today. By the 2016 Census, skilled visa grants for Chinese and Indianborn arrivals outstripped migrants from the United Kingdom for the first time (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021).

Trends in Australia’s migration patterns can be viewed through the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ theory (Knox & Marston, 2004). Factors that ‘push’ people to move could be poverty, war or persecution. The Australian government along with other migrant-seeking countries of New Zealand, Canada, United

States and United Kingdom have implemented ‘selective migration policies’ (Koslowski, 2014) that ‘pull’ desirable migrants. While the number of humanitarian visas to Australia have remained stable, skilled visas now account for 72% of the yearly permanent migration programme (Department of Home Affairs, 2023). In this global competition for ‘brain gain’ (Boeri, 2012), Australia has successfully attracted migrants with skills and money, with considerable growth in skilled and business migration in the 1980s and 1990s (Inglis, 2011). Migrants from Asia have comprised a large proportion of these skilled migrants since the 1980s. Much has been discussed in the Australian press and in popular debates about superwealthy Chinese driving up Sydney house prices bought with cash (Foster, 2023). But little has been researched about this new group of uber-migrants and, especially, their children. Who are they and why have they come to Australia? How do they live their lives?

WHAT INSPIRED ME TO START MY RESEARCH?

This research was instigated from observations and questions arising from my position as an English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) teacher in the Junior School at Pymble Ladies’ College. I support students from Kindergarten to Year 6 in English language learning, often by teaching them in small groups. As such, I get to know the migrant children well, but I also felt that just supporting second language acquisition was not enough. I had begun noticing the difficulties the children had adjusting to their new life in Australia; sometimes, although a child, they were the only person in the household that spoke English.

Some girls missed their ‘complete’ families and spoke of their pets or grandparents all the time. Only upon further clarification did I realise they were not talking about their home ‘here’ but ‘back there’. Sometimes it was hard for teachers to find the appropriate adult to talk to about the student, because it was unclear who was in Australia at the time and taking care of the child. These regular interactions led me to want to find out more about the students, their families and their wellbeing.

Interrogating the lives of the children from a sociological perspective, I wanted to understand the ‘reality of everyday life’ (Berger & Luckman, 1967) as they experienced it, and how they felt about it.

MY POSITIONALITY AS A RESEARCHER, TEACHER, PARENT AND MIGRANT

I myself was an EAL/D student, having grown up in Chinesespeaking Taiwan and migrating to London at the age of seven with no English whatsoever. I had lived the challenges of acculturating to a new country and language. While researching ‘astronaut parenting’, I realised in my teenage years, my siblings and I became ‘parachute children’, when my parents returned to work in Taiwan and my older sister took care of us. Reflecting on my experience and armed with my newfound knowledge, I realised that I could not recall discussing the transnational household arrangements with my family. Rather, my parents and siblings all accepted it with minimal fuss. There was never a question of my father quitting his job and not moving back to Taiwan, and it didn’t make sense to uproot ourselves from our education in England. Practically, our level of Chinese language

proficiency would have made it difficult for us to perform well in a Taiwanese high school and it was a commonly accepted ‘fact’ that a Western education was better for our future. How had I not known about this abundant research on astronaut families until now, describing my very own childhood! I was determined to learn more and share my findings with other teachers and parents of these students.

WHAT WERE MY FINDINGS?

Through my research, I found many of the skilled migrant families to be wealthy, cosmopolitan, and hypermobile. They seemed to be what Sklair (2001) called a ‘transnational capitalist class’, who held ‘flexible citizenship’ (Ong, 1999) of two or more countries. These new affluent citizens were different to the previous waves of migrants to Australia from war-devastated countries, relieved to land on safe shores and build a life out of empty suitcases. Those earlier arrivals were seen as migrants moving from peripheral countries to a core one, from a less desirable country to a better one. ‘Flexible citizens’, however, as Ong argued in 1999, challenged these patterns. The distinction between which country was core - versus periphery - was blurred for them. Which country was better depended on what they wanted or needed from that country at a particular stage in their lives, highlighting the fluidity and opportunity behind their migration movements. My students’ families said they were here primarily for the children’s education, but they may not stay. These cosmopolitans came to Australia having shopped around a range of top choice destinations such as the US, Britain, and Canada (Fong, 2011). They made choices

Wellbeing of children of skilled migrants to Australia

based on economic opportunities, but also for opportunities for their children.

While the decision to move the family to Australia was ostensibly made for the children, we also know that migration can be a key social determinant on the health and wellbeing of a child (Smith et al., 2021). Migrant children may be separated from important social relationships from their home country, and also face difficulties adjusting socially, linguistically and culturally. Looking at the concept of wellbeing from a socio-ecological perspective, rather than a narrow biomedical lens (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), highlights the importance of understanding the child in the milieu of family, peers and school. For a migrant child, other considerations apply, such as the age of migration and the nature for migration, for example, by choice as skilled migrant or by the forced migration of refugees.

The skilled migrant families I researched at Pymble Ladies’ College are typical of many families with children studying in independent schools around Sydney, and particularly on the North Shore. They are incongruent with the common perception that migrant children come to Australia as disadvantaged; speaking little or no English and placed in an Intensive English Language Centre before transitioning to mainstream school (Due et al., 2014). Migrant children in research were often talked about in the same breath as refugee children (Charania et al., 2018; Salami et al., 2021; Wrench et al., 2018), with wellbeing concerns from trauma, economic disadvantage and discrimination. Not all of these concerns reflect

the experiences of children of skilled migrants, but there has been surprisingly little research on this large and growing cohort. Although the children in my study were privileged from high socio-economic backgrounds, how was their social and emotional adjustment from migration and what other factors impacted their wellbeing? Beneath the veneer of the ‘model minority’ with their fluent bilingualism and excellent academic records, did they feel the benefits of moving to a new country for a better life and a better education – or did they feel rootless and a loss of identity? How did the children deal with the move, and what strategies did they employ to deal with acculturation stress? How had migration affected their family relationships, especially if the mother was alone in Australia and the father still working overseas as part of the astronaut family arrangement. These are the main questions I answered in my thesis.

BEYOND MY DEGREE

The research part of my Master’s has now concluded, although I am still actively engaged in this area. Quite possibly, the most important work is still ahead – to answer the question, ‘and so what?’ and look for ways to share my findings. So far, in 2023, I presented an overview to the Junior School teachers in a staff meeting. Presenting back to the community is crucial as I needed to give back to the teachers and students who ‘fed’ the research. The teacher audience was as important as my presentation, as the discussion and interactions that followed were golden. I, in fact, learnt further about the topic from teachers’ questions and responses. The incidents and observations they brought up from their classrooms and their experiences with families

led to more reflections on the topic for me.

In 2024, I also held a workshop for parents on ‘Migration and Child Wellbeing’ and, again, the questions and discussions enriched both myself and, I hope, the parents in the audience. At the end of Term 4, I managed to squeeze in an online webinar with the EAL/D teachers’ network through the Association of Independent Schools NSW. This took my findings to a broader group of practitioners and also expanded my knowledge about other migrant demographics, including Korean and Arabic-speaking families.

Looking ahead, I am pleased to have been asked by the K-6 Head of Student Wellbeing, Kate Giles, to share my expertise in astronaut families. Together, we have planned an exploratory session for ‘lone’ astronaut mothers in the Junior School. In 2025, I will lead a focus group in Mandarin with this unique group of women to further explore their challenges and how this may impact their children’s wellbeing. Within our school and for the AISNSW, I plan to run further sessions on the other chapters of my thesis; on astronaut families and child wellbeing, and on parental expectations and child wellbeing. Look out for more exciting articles in upcoming editions of Illuminate!

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Permanent migrants in Australia. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/ permanent-migrants-australia/latest-release

Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1967). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. (Anchor books ed. Garden City). N. Y. Doubleday.

Boeri, T. (2012). Brain drain and brain gain: The global competition to attract high-skilled migrants. Oxford University Press.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1996). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.

Charania, N. A., Paynter, J., Lee, A. C., Watson, D. G., & Turner, N. M. (2018). Exploring immunisation inequities among migrant and refugee children in New Zealand. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 14(12), Article 12. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2018.1496769

Department of Home Affairs. (2023a). 2022-23 Migration Program Report. https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/ report-migration-program-2022-23.pdf

Department of Home Affairs. (2023b). Review of the Migration System

Due, C., Riggs, D. W., & Augoustinos, M. (2014). Research with children of migrant and refugee backgrounds: A review of child-centered research methods. Child Indicators Research, 7(1), Article 1. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s12187-013-9214-6

Fong, V. L. (2011). Paradise redefined: Transnational Chinese students and the quest for flexible citizenship in the developed world. Stanford University Press.

Foster, S. (2023, July 19). Australia now top destination for cashed up Chinese homebuyers. realestate.com.au. https://www.realestate. com.au/news/australia-now-top-destination-for-cashed-up-chinesehomebuyers/

Inglis, C. (2011). Chinatown Sydney: A window on the Chinese community. Journal of Chinese Overseas, 7(1), Article 1. https://doi. org/10.1163/179325411X565407

Knox, P. L., & Marston, S. A. (2004). Places and regions in global context: Human geography (3rd ed). Prentice Hall.

Koslowski, R. (2014). Selective Migration Policy Models and Changing Realities of Implementation. International Migration, 52(3), 26–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12136

Ong, A. (1999). Flexible citizenship: The cultural logics of transnationality. Duke University Press.

Salami, B., Fernandez-Sanchez, H., Fouche, C., Evans, C., Sibeko, L., Tulli, M., Bulaong, A., Kwankye, S. O., Ani-Amponsah, M., OkekeIhejirika, P., Gommaa, H., Agbemenu, K., Ndikom, C. M., & Richter, S. (2021). A Scoping Review of the Health of African Immigrant and Refugee Children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph18073514

Sklair, L. (2016). The Transnational Capitalist Class. In A. Farazmand (Ed.), Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance (pp. 1–4). Springer International Publishing. https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2761-1

Smith, M., Spencer, G., Fouché, C., & Hoare, K. (2021). Understanding child and youth migrant wellbeing: Reflections from a systematic literature review in the Western Pacific region. Wellbeing, Space and Society, 2, 100053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2021.100053

Wrench, A., Soong, H., Paige, K., & Garrett, R. (2018). Building spaces of hope with refugee and migrant-background students. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 22(11), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.108 0/13603116.2017.1420251

Community and the living library in a digital world

INTRODUCTION

Finding, forming and belonging to a community are important themes in a country as multicultural as Australia with our successive waves of immigration. The past two decades have brought a trend towards skilled migrants and international students from East, as well as South Asia (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2024) both of which have contributed significantly to the ethnic make-up and cultural capital of Pymble Ladies’

College. Given the demographic shift stemming from immigration patterns in Sydney, the idea of holding a living library event at Pymble was inspired by the question of what knits people into an existing community and acts as a balm against the friction change can bring.

Pymble has actively sought community forming activities that usher in families from within the College, as well as the wider

community, such as the annual Garden Party, Grandparents’ Day, and the Junior School’s Easter hat parade. The addition of living library events offer participating community members agency through the sharing of their knowledge and experiences in an intimate setting. The Junior School, with its many new families, including those where grandparents play an integral role in daily life, provided a rich context for hosting living library events.

Anna To, Junior School EAL/D Teacher and Languages Teacher, Pymble Ladies’ College

The idea of ‘story’ was loosely defined to encompass ‘voiced’ or ‘unvoiced’ sharing by participants, allowing people to either tell their story through an oral narrative or share their expertise through their actions. The Junior School living library was curated to embrace a range of ways of conveying a story so that language would not be a barrier to participation. In an age dominated by social media platforms which can amplify differences and deficits, prosocial, in-person occasions, such as a living library, remind us that community is formed through finding common ground rather than in what sets us apart.

COMMUNITY IN A DIGITAL WORLD

In the past decade, there has been increasing awareness and research foregrounding the importance of social connections and community to healthspan and wellbeing (Attia, 2023; Gawande, 2015; Murthy, 2020). In the wake of the isolation wrought by COVID-19, this need for community has been a ubiquitously embodied experience and online communities propagated in the absence of physical ones. The idea of community has become mercurial in a highly connected world where online realms transcend the geographical constraints that once bound communities together.

Connections are becoming increasingly virtual, annexed with caveats that make them on the one hand more complex and, on the other, potentially more fragile. This fragility comes from the echo chamber that social media algorithms propagate to maximise user engagement. The proliferation of these platforms and streaming services have hyperbolised our own interests and world views at the expense of others, creating polarity in place of nuance (Levy, 2021, p.834). Indeed, with as many niche groups as there are interests, the mirrored walls of curated information ecosystems make the discomfort of finding common ground an unnecessary requirement of group membership (Stewart & Richardson, 2011, pp. 84-85). While online communities have allowed us to stay connected despite geographical distance, in-person engagements allow us to connect in more nuanced ways that employ a fuller range of both spoken and unspoken communication, such as facial expressions, hand gestures, body posture and tone of voice. While there are definite benefits to online communities, in-person connections have still been found to be more beneficial to our sense of wellbeing (Liang et, al., 2024, pp.9 - 10). In this way, despite the ubiquity of

the internet in our lives, libraries still serve as egalitarian spaces that bring the local community together in repose and connection (Wallis, 2007, p.10). Far from being defunct in a digital world, modern libraries anchor us to a physical community and respond to our human need for contact (Nguyen et. al., 2016). Living library events are a prime example of the ingenuity and generosity that library spaces afford their communities.

WHAT IS A LIVING LIBRARY?

The term ‘Living Library’ was changed to ‘Human Library’ in 2010 when a US based educational resource company registered the name ‘Living Libraries’ under copyright (Dreher & Mowbray, 2012, p.1). As our Junior School promoted the event as a living library, I will continue to refer to it by this title throughout the article. The living library movement started as a social justice movement created by a Danish youth organisation called Stop the Violence and was launched at the Roskilde music festival in Denmark in 2000 to popular reception (Little, Nemutlu, Magic, & Molnar, 2011). The movement was conceived as a way to connect people through storytelling and to dismantle stereotypes that had lead to violence against those perceived to be different.

The premise was that by challenging

Figure 1 Victoria Adamovich sharing her favourite childhood memories as a new immigrant from Taiwan.

Figure 2 Joanna Avraam sharing her childhood memory about beekeeping with her dad.

Community and the living library in a digital world

reflexive prejudice, people would be more inclined to accept others despite their difference. As such, living library events can act as a social balm that ameliorates the friction that can come with change. In this way, such prosocial events are a highly engaging way for newer members of the Pymble community to find a place and a sense of connection to the existing community. Living library events typically provide people as ‘human books’ who can be ‘loaned’ out to share their stories or expertise (Drehar & Mowbray, 2012, p.8). The hope is to build community through empathy. In many ways, interactions at a living library event exemplify the ways in which we have become comfortable communicating within a social media driven world, while bringing an embodied human element to the interaction.

One of the longest running and most successful living library programs is in the Richmond-Tweed Regional Library. Another well-received program has been running at Auburn Library, in south-western Sydney (Dreher & Mowbray, 2012, p.2). Both of these programs are enduring because they are agile and responsive to their communities. By providing different perspectives and

bringing people into contact with others within the community, living libraries act as a reference tool for our understanding of the world. Patrons at living library events choose someone to engage with, much in the same way that we would while scrolling through a social media platform. The interaction is as long or as brief as we would like it to be, and the ‘human book’ shares curated information about themselves based on the topic or the theme of the event. However, the in-person nature of the interaction allows participants to have fluid conversations and respond to subtle body language cues that are absent online, compelling us to be more present and empathetic.

The premise behind living libraries is a prosocial one, encouraging participants to examine, and sometimes, re-examine their preconceived notions and expectations (Little, Nemutlu, Magic & Molnar, 2011, p. 16). What assumptions, for example, are we making about people based on their age, ethnicity, gender or clothing? How do these assumptions set us apart from each other rather than bind us together? While some of these realisations, particularly in primary school, might be covert

rather than explicit, opportunities to form connections through these positive, mediated experiences offer a chance to reconsider. At the heart of a living library is connection through sharing and the occasion intends to offer readers access to the knowledge, stories and lived experiences of their fellow community members.

Stories can be told in a multitude of ways, not all of them verbal. This is particularly true in a community such as ours at Pymble, where it is not uncommon for parents and extended family members involved in the care of our students to speak a language other than English. It feels important to offer other ways to share knowledge and stories without relying exclusively on a spoken form. In this way, our living library program can represent community knowledge more equably, while offering a living library experience that is age-appropriate for our students. With these considerations in mind, I organised two Junior School living library events in the hopes of bridging language barriers and involving College community members who might otherwise find participating in school events daunting.

Figure 3 How To Edition – Sharing the cultural richness of traditional costumes through origami.

Figure 4 How to Edition - sharing how to wear a sari.

COMMUNITY THROUGH A LIVING LIBRARY AT PYMBLE LADIES’ COLLEGE

In Term 3, 2023, the Junior School held its first living library and, for this inaugural event, we invited five staff members to share their personal stories with Junior School students. The idea was to build a sense of community through personal storytelling. I chose to introduce the living library concept with members of the Junior School staff in order to trial how it might be run and test whether it might be of interest to students. The theme for the event was ‘My favourite childhood memory’ and Victoria Adamovich, Sarah Shields, Genia Wright, Joanne Avraam and Cindy Anderson had the girls enthralled with their stories about burning lanterns, billy carts, love of gardens, rollerblades and special eggs (see Figures 1 & 2).

Each story was uniquely heartwarming. The human books each had talking sticks that were then passed around to the girls who had questions or an anecdote to share. The students came away with bookmarks and old-school library cards as mementos of the event, as well as stories that would hopefully inspire them to enjoy their own big and little moments that may one day

become stories they tell others. As the event was so popular, I organised another Junior School living library event, this time with the intention of involving Pymble families.

And so, in Term 1 2024, the Junior School held its second living library event during Storytelling Week. On this occasion, we welcomed the wider Pymble community into the College with the idea of giving voice and visibility to those who might otherwise find it difficult to become involved. We called this second series the “how to” edition where participants could ‘tell a story with their hands’ and share a skill with students, employing a form of connection that does not rely on words alone. The hope was to remove the friction of spoken language thus preventing engagement within a community. This format was also chosen because the participants ranged in age from seven to twelve years old and the hands-on nature of the interactions would help keep the younger students patrons (see Figures 3 & 4).

In 2024, we had sixteen participants from families sharing what they could do in topics as wide ranging as keychain making by a pair of enthusiastic mothers, to sari draping

by a vivacious grandmother, and traditional outfits in papercraft by another parent. Most of the participants had limited English, were multilingual and spoke languages other than English at home. Yet, they were willing to guide students through the mini workshops and share their expertise through workshop demonstrations. These living books were sufficiently invested in their community to participate inspite of their varying grasps of English. It took a lot of courage, generosity and significant planning on the part of the parents and grandparents to attend. Participants rearranged their week, scheduled time in their days and brought all materials related to their activities at their own expense. Great thought was also put into how they crafted the experience so that it would be relatable to their young patrons (see Figures 5 & 6).

As an example of this, to showcase his calligraphy, one of our living books, a grandfather who was visiting from China, created a makeshift walking gallery for students to view before they tried their hand at this beautiful art (see Figures 7 & 8). Another parent brought plain t-shirts for students to draw designs onto with puffy paint and yet another

Figure 5 How to Edition - Sharing how to play the pi pa and its importance to Chinese music.

Figure 6 How to Edition - Sharing how to wear a hanbok and some special Korean dishes.

Community and the living library in a digital world

brought a traditional Chinese string instrument that students could try playing.

REFLECTIONS

While living library events organised by public libraries offer patrons one-on-one time with a human book of their choice, our schoolbased events run on tighter time constraints. For twenty-five minutes over the lunch period, between ten and twelve students participated in a session with each human book. Instead of borrowing a non-fiction book on how something works, or watching a YouTube video, students had the opportunity to interact with a real person. The aim was for the human book to share their expertise, knowledge and lived experiences

with their group of students in interactive ways. The enthusiasm with which the human books were received suggests that this was achieved (see Figures 9 & 10). Both students and the human books involved expressed keen interest in being able to run and attend more sessions. Additionally, considerations around time, frequency and structure are necessary so that a wider cohort of the community can participate as patrons and human books. One way this could happen is for the event to be run throughout the College, and not just within the Junior School, allowing both staff and families to register and participate at timetabled intervals throughout the year, based on availability and interest. To encourage a broader cross-section of participants,

promotional material could be published in the range of community languages spoken at the College.

In an age where interactions are increasingly virtual, living library events offer an opportunity to connect in-person. This is particularly important in the younger years but remains important throughout our lifespan. The benefits of these connections to community are not just evident for our students but are equally valuable for the participants who volunteer to be human books. It allows this special group of people to move from the margins of a community, across language and cultural barriers, to a seat at the table as valued contributors to our College community.

Figure 9 How to Edition - Sharing how she came to decorate cakes and some piping techniques

Figure 7 How to Edition - Demonstrating how to write using a Chinese calligraphy brush and sharing some auspicious idioms.

Figure 8 How to Edition - Students trying their hand at Chinese calligraphy.

Figure 10 How to Edition - Sharing about when and how saris are worn.

References

Attia, P. (2023). Outlive: The science and art of longevity. Griffin Press. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Migration Australia. Retrieved 31 October, 2024 from https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/ population/migration-australia/latest-release

Ciabatti, N. (2023). Teaching about culture or learning with and from others. Societies, 13, 194.

Dreher, T. & Mowbray, J. (2012). The power of one on one: Human libraries and the challenges of anti-racism work. Library Student Journal, 5, 14-22.

Gawande, A. (2015). Being mortal: Illness, medicine and what matters in the end. Profile Books Ltd.

Levy, R. (2021). Social media, news consumption and polarization: Evidence from a field experiment. American Economic Review, 111 (3), 831–70.

Liang, N., Grayson, S., Kussman, M., Mildner, J. & Tamir, D. (2024). In-person and virtual social interactions improve well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tamir Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton.

Bibliography

Ashmore, A. (2010). Alive with knowledge: Engaging communities through living libraries. Library Student Journal. University of British Columbia.

Constable, L., & Harris, K. (2008). Like a light going on: The Local Living Library project. Library and Information Update, 7(9), 31–33.

Dobreski, B. & Huang, Y. (2016). The joy of being a book: Benefits of participation in the human library. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 53: 1-3.

Gruzd, A. & Haythornthwaite, C. (2013). Enabling community through social media. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(10): e248.

Human Library UK. (2016b). History. Retrieved February 14, 2016, from http://humanlibraryuk.org/human-library/history/

Little, N., Nemutlu, G., Magic, J., & Molnar, B. (2011). Don’t judge a book by its cover! The living library organiser’s guide. Council of Europe.

Murthy, V. (2021). Together: Loneliness, health and what happens when we find connection. Profile Books Ltd.

Nguyen, T., Harth, L., Hughes, J., Nitschke, J., Johnston, C., Bruce, S. & Richards, J. (2024). The intrinsic value of libraries as public spaces: Technology and digital services reflect the changing role of libraries Civica Group, Australian Public Libraries Alliance.

Stewart, K. & Richardson, B. (2011). Libraries by the people, for the people: Living libraries and their potential to enhance social justice. Information, Society and Justice, Vol 4 No. 2, December 2011: pp 83-92.

Wallis, J. (2007). The social, political and cultural context of libraries in the twenty-first century: An overview in Libraries in the twenty-first century (pp. 257-266). Libraries in the twenty-first century: Charting new directions in information services. Ed. S. Ferguson, Centre for Information Studies: Wagga Wagga, NSW.

Kane, G., Fichman, R., Gallaugher, J. & Glaser, J. (2009). Community relations 2.0. Harvard Business Review. 87(11): 45-50, 132.

Kudo, K., Motohashi, Y., Enomoto, Y., Kataoka, Y., & Yajima, Y. (2011). Bridging differences through dialogue: Preliminary findings of the outcomes of the Human Library in a university setting. Proceedings of the 2011 Shanghai International Conference on Social Science (SICSS).

The Human Library Organization. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2016, from http://humanlibrary.org/

Watkins, C. (2014). Human libraries: Collections with a voice of their own. ILA Reporter, 32(8), 8–8.

The ASLA DANZ Awards

– Diversity is more than just a label

Martha Itzcovitz , Junior School Years 3 to 6 Teacher Librarian, Pymble Ladies’ College, and President of the Australian School Library Association

IT BEGAN WITH A TWEET….

Children’s author Kate Foster had been noticing and worrying for some time that Australia was falling behind in terms of diverse representation in children’s publishing. While vibrant awards like The Jhalak Prize, The Diverse Book Awards, The Adrien Prize, and The Little Rebel Children’s Book Awards had emerged in the UK, and The Walter Awards in the US, Australia seemed to be lacking something similar. This was especially

evident when considering the country’s multicultural and diverse societal landscape.

Listening to the advocates and frustrated voices of marginalised people, not to mention her own experiences, Kate was becoming increasingly aware of the number of children being handed certain books, often approved by established and respected organisations, that did not have fair, nor balanced

representation of the diversity portrayed. So many of the books with diverse characters centred only on trauma, struggles and history. As both an immigrant and an autistic person, Kate brought a unique perspective to the table. However, she questioned whether she was the right person to lead such an initiative. Creating an award requires time, expertise, and community support, and Kate was uncertain if she had enough of any of these to execute

the idea properly. So, she decided to gauge the response, test the waters, and hopefully spark a conversation… and tweeted.

The then President of the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) saw that tweet and responded almost instantly – ASLA are no more knowledgeable about creating awards than Kate but as an organisation that supports and advocates for school library staff and their students, we are certainly as passionate! Very shortly after this, I stepped in as President and immediately became caught up in the enthusiasm for the project. It was important to both Kate and me that we held certain core values at the heart of this award. As people working regularly with children, we were both acutely aware of the incredible influence we have over young people and their developing brains, and so the responsibility to do this correctly and fairly was pivotal.

It was also important to us that we not only celebrate diversity, but we support the importance of giving our students authentically inclusive literature. We know there are books labelled ‘diverse’ on recommended reading lists that haven’t necessarily been written sensitively nor even accurately. There are wonderful books by authors who’ve researched in detail and written sensitively about characters and settings outside of their own personal ‘lived experience’. Yet there are many more which haven’t. This can result in books with outdated depictions of marginalised people, inaccurate and offensive stereotypes, harmful tropes, and tokenised minorities, resulting in stories told – and lives observed –from the outside looking in.

Yes, there are guidelines and resources available such as the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature who have a cultural diversity database and the State Library of NSW who publish their assessment criterion for diverse picture books alongside their list.

We know; however, school librarians and teachers are time poor, and these guidelines are not easy to find. So, librarians, parents and teachers often turn to reviews, recommendations, and awards lists, which led to us asking the question: What if we created an easily accessible list of authentically diverse books as part of the award? Thus, the idea of curating and publishing our longlist for teachers, librarians and parents was born. This means the ASLA DANZ Awards are not just an award; they are also a widely available and quality resource. Thanks to a collaboration with BookPeople, the longlist has been published and distributed to schools, libraries, and bookstores to inform collection development and put the right book in the hands of the children who need it.

The key to the ASLA DANZ Awards is that it doesn’t just celebrate diversity in children’s literature, it celebrates authentic diversity in children’s literature. Dr Rudine Sims Bishop published the essay Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors in 1990, noting that ‘Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror’ (Bishop, 1990).

Reading diverse books, seeing yourself reflected in a mirror, looking through that window into another life, stepping through that sliding glass door into the story, achieves so much for a child. Young readers are positively affected by finding diversity and representations of themselves in children’s literature.

“Diversity and representation in stories, characters and illustrations in children’s literature affect how young readers see themselves, different lives and cultures, and the world around them.”

(Booktrust, 2022).

It is vital for children to recognise themselves in the books they read.

As Melanie Le’Brooy (Middle Grade category winner of The Wintrish Girl) proclaimed in her acceptance speech at the 2024 ASLA DANZ Awards: Representation Matters! As an Australian woman of colour, Melanie told her young audience the story of the negative impact of never seeing herself in the books she read as a child and why this award was meaningful for her. Melanie was so passionate and emotional in her acceptance speech, and happy that diverse authors and illustrators are being recognised in this way, she was close to tears. As were we on seeing the culmination of a year of hard work, of hits and misses, and ultimately the validation of what we were trying to do. We are helping

The ASLA DANZ Awards – Diversity is more than just a label

children have the chance that she never had - the chance to see themselves in the books they read.

Author and 2024-25 Australian Children’s Laureate Sally Rippin (Picture Book category winner of Come over to my Place, co-written by Eliza Hull and illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett) on accepting her award told of co-author Eliza Hull’s story living with a disability and not seeing herself represented in books as a child. Eliza believes there is still a stigma attached to disability and this stems from a lack of authentic representation. Research supports her belief: ‘The way disability is represented in children’s literature has the potential to affect non-disabled young readers’ views of disabled people in real life and also to reflect disabled readers’ lived experiences back to them from the page... stereotypical representations that portray disabled characters as objects of pity who have a deficit, for example, have the potential to do real harm to disabled people’ (Purkiss, 2019).

And there are so many other benefits to children and young people in reading authentically diverse books.

Confidence and resilience

We all know that diverse children’s literature promotes empathy; however, studies have also established many other benefits of authentic representation: seeing themselves in literature can improve children’s confidence which builds decision making skills and resilience; diverse literature reduces prejudice; and reading diverse books can build critical thinking skills (Blinnt, 2022).

Self Esteem

Children may not feel so isolated and alone when they see themselves

in a story. As Booktrust (2022) notes, young readers are positively affected by finding diversity and representations of themselves in children’s literature.

‘Diversity and representation in stories, characters and illustrations in children’s literature affect how young readers see themselves, different lives and cultures, and the world around them (Booktrust, 2022).’

Empathy and cultural inclusivity

Diverse literature can build a bridge between cultures and reduce prejudice.

Critical thinking skills

Reading about somebody different from themselves can spark curiosity and raise questions, which, with guidance from teachers, librarians, and carers, can help children think critically about their world and views.

Motivation and engagement in reading

Studies have shown that authentic representation can be a powerful motivator in engaging children to read, particularly in minority and lower socio-economic communities (Booktrust, 2022). Furthermore, I was fascinated to discover an Edith Cowan University study (Adam, 2022), which concludes that the three major barriers to children developing a love of reading are access, opportunity, and under-representation in books.

AND

SO,

TO THE AWARDS! WHAT DID WE DO AND HOW DID IT GO?

First, how did it go? Our inaugural year was a rousing success and and we will announce the next winners in May 2025. Shortlisted creators were invited to an Awards Presentation before an audience of school

children at Somerset Storyfest in Queensland where the winners were announced and handed their award. Booklists have now been printed and distributed to bookshops and bookmarks are currently in the works for schools.

And from here? We originally conceived the structure as a biennial award focusing on picture books, early chapter books and middle grade novels; however, since the first year was such a success and we received many calls for other categories, we have moved to an annual award with this year focusing on young adult, non-fiction, poetry and graphic novels.

I’d like to hand over to Kate Foster to elaborate on what we did. Kate was the organisational force of nature who coordinated these awards with such passion and energy. Her drive and hard work made the awards possible.

‘There was magic in the air the day we opened to judge applications, and with some established organisations and book clubs helping to spread the word, sign ups came thick and fast. It was important our young judges were clear on expectations from the start, but also feel comfortable and confident in reaching out to ask questions or to discuss any concerns. We also ensured each judge had not only the permission, but also the support of an adult, who would be on hand when needed to work through any challenges encountered. Though we want more than anything for our judges to enjoy this experience first and foremost, we understand that taking on such an important role and responsibility could create

some stress and worry, so keeping channels of communication open and sending regular updates was essential.’

These words first appeared in ACCESS volume 37: (Foster, 2023, pp.13-15)

(Yes, our judges are children! This is one of the most important criteria we wanted to achieve – books judged for authenticity by the children who read them. However, we do have a committee made up of authors, librarians, advocates, and publishers who assess the nominations before sending them to the judges.)

Back to Kate:

‘There was no hesitation to employ highly skilled sensitivity readers and editors to assess our communication and correspondence, from the website to the entry criteria to the application forms. There is always room for improvement in this space, so doing everything possible to listen, learn, and to action suggested changes to make

more people welcome and feel safe when it comes to the DANZ brand was key from the outset. That doesn’t mean we’ll ever rest on our laurels, particularly when language and society are constantly evolving. We’ll always invite feedback and be open to discussion to do better, and most importantly not shy away from any mistakes we may make.

‘Many decisions were straightforward, but we did have several meetings and discussions about those nominations which divided opinion. We said upfront that we’d be thorough and critical in our assessment, but also fair, and that’s exactly what we’ve been. The process did take a little more time than we originally scheduled, but this was not something we were ever going to rush. Members of the panel each came from different walks of life, so inviting each other to safely express our thoughts was vital and at the heart of what DANZ stands for. ‘Despite all the positivity, excitement, and not to mention the stunning

ASLA DANZ 2024 WINNERS

Picture Book: Come Over to my House, written by Sally Rippin and Eliza Hull and iluustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett

Chapter Book: Maku by Meyne Wyatt

Middle Grade: The Wintrish Girl by Melanie La’Brooy

ASLA DANZ 2025 WINNERS

Young Adult: Catch a Falling Star by Eileen Merriman

Graphic Novel: Ghost Book by Remi Lai

Non-Fiction: Trees by Victor Steffensen and Sandra Steffensen

Poetry: Pasifika Navigators by 52 Pasifika Student

Authors

For the full longlist and more information visit the ASLA DANZ website: thedanzchildrensbookaward.com

range of books we did receive, we’ve uncovered one concern in particular: The glaring lack of chapter books or early readers, aimed at readers aged 5 to 8, that feature diverse characters. Though of course aware that not every diverse book published in Australia and New Zealand was nominated for the award, we received few. It’s highlighted what we consider a rather large and worrying percentage of children who are still not seeing themselves represented in the books they’re currently reading.

‘As a result of our findings, we hope publishers will sit up and pay attention and start filling this gap with a strong selection of rich and exciting early readers featuring diverse characters and storylines, and that are preferably written and created by diverse artists.’ (Foster, 2023, pp.13-15)

These words first appeared in ACCESS volume 37: (Foster, 2023, pp.13-15)

The ASLA DANZ Awards – Diversity is more than just a label

References

Adam, H. (2022). To enhance expertise in children’s books as vehicles for disrupting prejudice and discrimination. Winston Churchill Trust. https://www.churchilltrust.com. au/project/to-enhance-expertisein-childrens-books-as- vehicles-for-disrupting-prejudice-anddiscrimination/

Bishop, R. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives: Choosing and using books for the classroom. 6(3). https://scenicregional.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/MirrorsWindows-and-Sliding-Glass-Doors.pdf

Blinnt, J. (2022). Why diversity needs to be at the heart of children’s literature. https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacynow/2022/05/05/why-diversity-needs-to-be-at-the-heart- of-childrens-literature

Book Trust. (2022). Representation in children’s literature: Booktrust’s response to two new studies on representation. https://www. booktrust.org.uk/globalassets/resources/ booktrust-represents/2022/ research-reports/booktrust- represents-representation-in-childrensliterature-summary- response.pdf

Foster, K. (2023). The diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Children’s DANZ Book Awards. ACCESS, 37(4), 13-15.

Purkiss, A. (2019). The ethical responsibility of representing disability in children’s literature. The Sociological Review Magazine. https:// thesociologicalreview.org/collections/ politics-of-representation/theethical-responsibility-of- representing-disability-in-childrens-literature/

Relationships first, then academics: Teaching refugee students

Julie

Shaw, Head of Social Impact, Pymble Ladies’ College and Mark Way, Mathematics

Teacher, Pymble Ladies’ College

Providing education and educational opportunities for girls from less privileged backgrounds has been prioritised at Pymble since 1927 when the College Council recognised that a high-quality education can change the trajectory of the life of a student and her family. Amongst the first scholarships, an opportunity was offered to educate girls with good

academic potential from families who could not otherwise afford to send their daughters to a secondary school, particularly after WWII and the Depression.

The Christina Campbell Scholarship was an early example. It awarded ‘approximately 25 pounds per annum at certain intervals’ and gave

preference ‘to daughters of Returned Sailors and Soldiers or to those whose parents could not otherwise afford to send their daughters to a secondary school’ (from the College Archives). Since those early years of the College, there has been a sustained commitment to less privileged students, notably through the First Nations Scholarships Program, the

Relationships first, then academics: Teaching refugee students

Barbara Mary Nippress Memorial Foundation Scholarship, and the Pymble Foundation Refugee Bursary Program.

In 2024, three new Pymble Foundation Scholars from Afghanistan joined the College. They had been living in Sydney for more than a year and attended local public schools, which was where their relationship with Pymble began. In 2023, the College was enthusiastically involved in running after-school activity programs for these students, including Saturday swimming lessons and other initiatives to support the girls’ English language development through socialising, sport, and play. All the students in this after-school program had arrived in Australia without parents, and were being supported by older siblings or the international charity, Mahboba’s Promise. An episode of the ABC TV program, Australian Story (2023) explains how the founder of the charity, Mahboba Rawi, and her son have helped hundreds of orphans escape from Kabul since the Taliban claimed power in 2021.

Staff and students of Pymble Ladies’ College have wrapped their arms around these students over the past academic year and we have witnessed a transformation from shy newcomers to engaged community members as the three girls have embraced the myriad of opportunities that Pymble provides. The goodwill and humanity of Pymble’s secondary school teachers and broader staff has made a significant impact on the lives of our three Afghan girls. Malalai’s compelling story is told by the Community Cohesion team at the Association of Independent Schools (NSW), illustrating the transformational power of dedicated

PYMBLE FOUNDATION AFGHAN BURSARY PROGRAM 2025

Afghan Students Co-curricular Participation

Staff Participation in Professional Learning

Staff working directly with students

Professional Learning Courses

Working with students from a refugee background (Afghan context)

Vicarious Trauma and Self Care

Recognising Trauma: Classroom Implications

Refugee Rediness Audit

Support and Resources

• Pymble Secondary teachers

• Learning Enrichment department

• Pymble library staff

• Co-curricular staff team

• Volunteers

• Strategic partners*

Student Attendance

Partners

teachers and a supportive community. The personal and academic progress made by Malalai and the other Afghan students reveals that through their commitment to adapting the curriculum, tailoring lessons, and building strong relationships, teachers make all the difference. Teachers play a vital role in enabling students to engage in learning, especially those who have been impacted by trauma.

A TEACHER REFLECTION

Pymble teacher, Mark Way, embraced the opportunity to support one of the Afghan students through additional tutoring in Mathematics. A candidate in the 2024 Pymble Plus program, which recognises our experienced teachers, Mark completed his project for the program on the skills needed to effectively teach students who have experienced trauma in their backgrounds. Mark used his own practice to reflectively explore the journey a teacher takes when learning about these specialised needs and created a microsite to capture resources future teachers can use.

The microsite will be shared with Pymble teachers who teach students from refugee backgrounds and teachers interested in professional learning in this area. It includes workbooks emphasising identity, connection and personal story telling, as well as prompts for sharing culture, language and experiences. It supports teachers from any Key Learning Area with strategies to build trust with students whose school lives have been significantly disrupted and their learning impacted as a result.

MARK REFLECTS ON HIS JOURNEY TO TEACH REFUGEE STUDENTS

My student and I started our lessons with her Year 9 class and we quickly discovered that, whilst she tried very

hard, that she was not going to be able to do the same work as her mainstream class. We gave her a Year 7 NAPLAN test to see what she would be able to answer and she sat with a staff member who could speak Farsi (a language they could both understand) because she was unable to read and interpret the questions to answer them. She also sat for a PAT Maths test and struggled due to her inability to interpret the questions. Even though both test results were relatively unreliable, they still revealed that there were many gaps in her learning that needed to be filled and it was decided that we would go to the library for individual support. During this time in the library, my student made the decision to start high school again in Year 7 to give herself the best opportunity to fill in these gaps.

Our first few lessons in the library started somewhat awkwardly – there was an obvious language barrier and Google Translate wasn’t very helpful because it only had a translator for Persian, which is similar to my student’s first language (Dari). Added to this, there is only so much that can be accomplished with limited understanding of each other and we found it difficult to fill in the entire hour with meaningful learning. Our lessons would usually start with practice of addition, subtraction and multiplication (division was a foreign concept at this point) but she would usually last for about 20-30 minutes before she tired. After this point there was little benefit in trying to make her learn or practice anything new because she would be so exhausted she would start to throw out random guesses until she eventually got the correct answer. To spread out the lessons more, I incorporated regular short breaks which included Kahoot

quizzes, casual conversations and games. I also asked her to teach me new words in her language (which, unsurprisingly, was extremely difficult and exhausting).

As the weeks passed, we slowly progressed through learning the four operations. My student became fairly proficient in addition, subtraction and multiplication of numbers with two or more digits. She was gradually memorising her times tables which made the process quicker. However, division was proving to be a challenge as she had difficulty understanding the concept of dividing a number into equal parts. We tried using number lines but she had trouble when the line didn’t increase in intervals of one. There was some success using counters and fraction rods but she then couldn’t see the relationship between using the rods and doing the division. Eventually, we used multiplication tables to work backwards to divide numbers and this method had the most positive effect. During these weeks in Term 1 and the start of Term 2, I felt as though we weren’t really moving forward as well as I would have hoped. One lesson she would seem to demonstrate excellent understanding but then the next would be as if we hadn’t learnt anything. Whilst, on average, there was gradual improvement, progression was definitely not linear. Added to this, my student could be a completely different person from one day to the next. One day she would be focused and ready to learn and other days she would want to play games from the very beginning and completely guess random answers to questions. I was trying different methods to help her understand but I felt as though I was not succeeding in this regard.

Relationships first, then academics: Teaching refugee students

It was suggested to me that I should research trauma informed teaching to see if I could attain some knowledge to help my student learn more effectively. I enrolled into an online TTA course and researched teaching students with a refugee background. This provided valuable insight into how students who have experienced trauma learn and how their brain is wired. I discovered that, whilst I was trying all these different methods to help my student academically, she was simply trying to survive in a world that may not have been particularly kind to her in the past. Her brain was not wired to take on new information – it was wired to be fixed in its world of familiarity, stability, routine and safety. It is not comfortable with ambiguity, vulnerability or making mistakes. Attempting to learn new content is stressful for a student who has experienced trauma whereas a student who hasn’t may find it exciting. I started to understand that it was normal to have many ups and downs in my student’s learning and that the most success will happen when my student trusted me. It was about the relationship, not about the academics.

As it turned out, taking breaks in our lessons to play games, learn her language or chat were some of the best strategies that could have been used to improve our relationship and build trust with my student. It was a slow process, but she started taking

more risks by genuinely attempting to answer more questions and she became more comfortable getting some of them incorrect. It was also very clear that she was receiving the same care from her other teachers. Her speaking and writing were improving dramatically and she even started writing stories and poems, one of which she published on a website. My student’s biggest breakthrough in Mathematics was when we started algebra. She enjoyed the processes used to operate with pronumerals and she was very adept at solving equations. In her (slightly modified) assessment she received full marks in the algebra section and received a genuine B Grade for that outcome. Achieving this result gave my student an enormous morale boost and she has continued to show commitment to learning new skills.

I have observed my student grow in all aspects of her schooling and continue to be amazed at how she has settled into the fast pace of Pymble. It isn’t always smooth sailing – we still have occasions where she is throwing out random answers and she still has a rather unhealthy desire to play games too often – but she diligently works towards improving her results and always does it with a smile. It has been an absolute pleasure working with her and, as her Compass teacher, I look forward to continuing to assist her in her future years.

THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

At the end of her first year at Pymble Ladies’ College, Mark’s student reflected on her transformative learning experiences which are establishing new habits. The role of her teacher has been key which is something educators know about, but a story worth sharing:

“A staff member who has been significant to my life this year is Mr Way. He helped me to improve my Maths. He has practice with me every time I started to learn more Maths.

He made the Maths easy for me but I’m so grateful for him. I’m so happy to have that kind of teacher in my life. I just want to say thank you for all your hard work that you did for me this year at Pymble. I enjoy doing Maths with you every time.”

References

Community Cohesion team. (2024). School of thought. https://www. aisnsw.edu.au/teachers-and-staff/funded-programs-and-projects/ community-cohesion/school-of-thought. [Video] Association of Independent Schools (New South Wales).

Rousset, O., & Hassall, G. (Producers). (2023, 3 April). After the fall: Mahboba Rawi and Nawid ‘Sourosh’ Cina [Television Series, Australian Story]. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and that on which it is impossible to be silent.”

VICTOR HUGO

“Music produces a pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” CONFUCIOUS

“To sing is an expression of your being, a being which is becoming.” MARIA CALLAS

Together in song

Edwina O’Brien, Head of Religion and Ethics, Pymble Ladies’ College

SINGING, COMMUNITY AND CHAPEL

Singing unites us with other people; it builds community. It literally allows us to hear other people’s voices. In this, it reminds us that Others are Like Us and that we are not alone. Singing powerful songs together about the experience of being human, but made in the image of God and fully loved by God, teaches us on a subconscious level that we are not alone on this journey we call life.

It joins us with the Other.

The words we sing matter. They can shape and inspire us spiritually.

If multiple people talk at once, the meaning of each individual voice is lost. But if multiple people sing at once, each individual voice gains

in power and significance by being united with others.

Some 2015 Oxford University research shows that communal singing not only helps us forge social bonds, it also does so particularly quickly. Singing bonds large groups of people. This is valuable in today’s often alienating world, where many of our social interactions are conducted remotely and online. My least favourite sentence from the director of this research, Jacques Launay, postdoctoral Researcher in Experimental Psychology at Oxford University is, “singing provides an inclusive and cost-effective means of combating the disintegration of communities that is becoming endemic in many societies today.”1 What a soulless, pragmatic and economics-driven statement about

a process that is so mysterious and richly spiritual!

Launay is right though. Singing together is a relatively easy and incredibly powerful way to build community, to heal, to energise, to nurture the spirit and to teach. Singing unites body and soulliterally. As Wilson notes, it aligns the body - the tongue, throat, chest, diaphragm, breath in the lungs and vibrations in the thorax - with the rejoicing in the spirit, and by doing so reinforces it.2

Humanity’s relationship with singing is ancient. The oldest discovered musical instruments, flutes made of bone and mammoth ivory, are over 40,000 years old, and surely humans began singing long before they created an instrument.3 The

fact that music often occurs in social settings, such as religious rituals and football games, suggests that singing might be an evolved behaviour for creating community cohesion.4

Secular Jewish social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, in his book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, uses the metaphor of the ‘hive switch’ to explain human moral and social behaviour. According to Haidt, we are 90% chimpanzee and 10% bee.5 Religious experiences, such as singing, activate the hive switch, helping us to transform from selfabsorbed individuals into an othersfocused community.

In Western cultures, music is thought to be the domain of a talented few – and so usually is done in a performance context - but in the context of a faith community, this changes. One blessing of being a student in a faith-based school is that you are used to the phenomenon of singing. When students and staff join our Pymble community, they quickly realise that singing is a thing that we do together in Chapel and on special occasions like Speech Day. Our daily dedicated Wellbeing timeslot in the timetable is called ‘Mind Body Spirit’ (MBS) time. The ‘MBS’ tag acknowledges that our students are not merely intellectual and physical beings. They, and we, all, are also spiritual beings. What happens in Chapel services allows students to nurture their spirit.

One of the most powerful ways to nurture and nourish our spirits is through music. Music allows us to connect with our deepest hopes, dreams, desires, fears and joys. It transcends language and conscious thought. No matter what our beliefs, music connects us with our spiritual

self and with the Divine. And singing and making music together is a powerful expression of, and a way to nurture, our spiritual selves as a community. Chapel is the one regular time in their week when Pymble students get to sing as a community.

STRETCHING TOWARDS BEING FULLY ALIVE

In her very readable and insightful book Fully Alive, Elizabeth Oldfield explores what it means to live a rich and meaningful life as a human being. How we can live our lives to the fullest and what are the practices or habits that can help us do so?

At a particularly low point in her life, while in her twenties, and after having attended a series of funerals for relatives and listened to their eulogies, Oldfield had a realisation – she wanted to be fully alive. She wrote in her journal, “I don’t want to get distracted by ambition and being impressive. I want the focus of my life to be relationships.”6

Her argument is that we need practices and habits to help us because of the human tendency towards acedia. Acedia is the opposite of attention – and for Oldfield, it is one of the biggest enemies to those who strive to live fully and meaningfully. Etymologically, the Latin word comes via Greek; joining the negative a “without” to kedos meaning “care”. It’s a hard word to translate: sloth, listlessness, distraction, apathy, restlessness. Acedia is endemic – the unnamed and insidious temptation of our time.7

In a competitive, individualist world which swamps and drowns us with ever-updating technical toys, the fog of distraction is always threatening to steal our attention.

We are living in what has been

termed the attention economy, but it feels more like an acediac economy. Our attention is constantly being pulled from YouTube channels, to Insta posts, to Snaps, Tik Toks and Tweets. We watch Netflix whilst doom scrolling on our phones. Our attention spans are being trained not to extend, but to shrink. As Oldfield says, “How rapidly our lives are passing with our minds resting primarily on matters only pixel deep”.8 And for our young people, especially, their attention is being pulled in hundreds of directions at once, every single day.

The spiritual practice of singing together, as a community, is one way to be intentional about resisting acedia. The etymological root of ‘attention’ is stretching toward something, moving intentionally closer. Oldfield again:

Ideally, I would decide carefully what warrants my attention, which people, ideas, objects or projects have sufficient meaning and value for me to spend a part of my fleeting life attending to them. I would stretch towards these things that will help me be kinder, freer, more just. Things that bring me genuine joy. Primarily, for me, people and relationships, but also meaningful work, meaningful play, beauty, real rest.9

The experiences of centredness, belonging, reflection, rest, affirmation, inspiration, aspiration and pure joy that come when we sing words that matter together, as a community, are meaningful experiences that stretch and move us intentionally closer to understanding our own humanity and our place in the world. All worship is about connection and relationship – relationship with God, with others, with the world and

with ourselves. Giving our students the regular, weekly experience of singing familiar and carefully curated songs is to give them a gift that they can take with them long after their school days are over. It is the gift of intentionality, the gift of attention, the gift of spiritual reflection, of selfawareness and of others-awareness. The simple acts of standing, singing, sitting, praying, confessing, thanking, reflecting, listening, responding – all part of the weekly liturgy – over time form a habit and a practice of attention-giving. These practices actively resist and push against acedia.

Learning to attend to what is important has always been a part of wisdom paths, and distraction always a hurdle to overcome. As Oldfield says, monetizing and mining our attention has accelerated, but it isn’t new. The early fifth century monks who first coined acedia called it the “noonday demon”, the postlunch slump when all the focus and energy of the morning has worn off. 10 Chaucer wrote that it “for-sloweth and forsluggeth” anyone attempting to act.11

More recently, Dorothy L. Sayers summarised the messaging of advertising in 1933 as:

Whatever you’re doing, stop it and do something else! Whatever you’re buying, pause and buy something different. Be hectored into health and prosperity! Never let up! Never go to sleep! Never be satisfied. If once you are satisfied, all our wheels will run down.12

Our students (and we adults) are being told, in a million different ways, to never be satisfied. My prayer is for our students to be spiritually satisfied. That is being fully alive. This, I think, is what is meant by, “the peace that

transcends all understanding”.13 Giving our students the opportunity to sing songs of praise, thanksgiving and hope together in an intentional and sacred (‘set aside’) space each week is a powerful gift to give them.

THE EX-STUDENTS UNION ARTIST IN RESIDENCE – MEET TASH HOLMES

My idea with the Ex-Students’ Union Artist in Residence project was to strengthen and rejuvenate the singing that we do each week in Chapel services, knowing and realising afresh that this is a powerful way to unite our student community, by building an experience of Belonging into every week and offering students (and staff) the gift of spiritual joy and refreshment that comes from worshipping together.

The grant from the Ex-Students’ Union helped to engage Tash Holmes, Director of Uniting Creative, to collaborate with the Pymble Chaplains to teach the students some new songs, bring fresh energy, enthusiasm and expertise, and open the way for collaborative opportunities with other creatives, such as David Gungor, who visited us on 8 November 2024. More of him below.

Uniting Creative is a network that seeks to inspire and equip emerging creative leaders and artists to enhance the ministry and mission of local congregations within the Uniting Church Synod of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. This is what Tash says about the power of singing together, and the ability for music to move us, heal us and allow us to connect with God:

“When we pause and welcome the Spirit to move …. we let music transcend language and touch

the heart. It can be so healing and uplifting, and I see this over and over as we gather, the deepening of our connection with the Divine.”14

Tash says, “Singing is a way to unite voices, drawing individuals into a collective experience of worship where the individual and the community encounter God together. For a creative worship Pastor, this is foundational to their ministry. They often speak about the deep power of shared music and how it cultivates a sense of belonging and unity among community. When people sing together, they aren’t just vocalising words—they are expressing their hopes, fears, and joys in a way that connects them to each other and to God. In moments of grief, celebration, or spiritual longing, the act of singing together can offer healing and restoration. It creates a space for individuals to express what might otherwise be difficult to put into words, enabling them to find comfort and solace in the collective voice. This communal act of singing has a therapeutic quality—whether

Tash Holmes, Director of Uniting Creative

through familiar hymns that offer comfort, or new songs that speak directly to the struggles and joys of contemporary life.”

COLLABORATING WITH DAVID GUNGOR

David lives in New York City and tours the world leading workshops in songwriting and creativity. He is particularly gifted at building community, empathy, compassion and healing through communal singing. On the day of his visit, David performed a lunchtime concert on Gloucester Lawn. His beautiful voice and guitar strumming wafted across the campus, drawing staff and students to come and sit in the shade and listen. The music was poignant, reflective and calming.

After the concert, Tash and Dave joined us for our weekly Middle School Chapel service. The service opened with everyone singing, ‘All of This is Us’, at the tops of their lungs, accompanied and led by Tash. The students were proud to show Tash how well they could now sing the song that she had taught them a term ago. The singing nearly lifted the roof off the chapel and for me, this was a moment of pure joy. David then answered some questions from the Chapel Captains, sharing his insights about the deep spiritual connection between music, singing and faith. He talked about how he

has used singing as a way to bind people together and to overcome differences in places of conflict and tension, such as in the Holy Land, where he has facilitated workshops and collaboration between Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Dave sang for us, explained the meaning of each song and taught us the chorus. Then, we were all able to sing each song together. One chorus went like this:

When I look into the eyes of my enemy

I see my brother, I see my brother When I look into the eyes of my enemy

I see my sister, I see my sister

The tenderness and powerful feeling of unity in the room was palpable as the students sang these lines.

This is why I am so passionate about revitalising the singing in Chapel services, and about bringing students’ voices, choices and ideas into this space – because worship songs work on a spiritual level and they can powerfully shape, challenge and transform us. God speaks through community. Singing together can create harmony where there was division; understanding where there was argument. Worshipping together builds character and community. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that worship and singing, as a regular practice, can (gradually) bring enlightenment.

The songs we gather around as a community express who we understand ourselves to be and embed those identities within us. That’s why most countries have a national anthem – a rousing anthem sung at special occasions

reorientates us around shared history and values, reforging the bonds between us. It’s not just the singing itself that bonds us together, what we sing matters - the words matter.

Singing unites body and soul - literally. As Wilson notes, it aligns the body with the rejoicing in the spirit, and by doing so, reinforces it.15 The experience of body and soul being brought together as we praise is celebrated by the psalmist: “My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God”.16 By making a decision to sing with our bodies, we can lift our spirits and increase our joy - in part because when we sing, endorphins and oxytocin are released. It’s a spiritual workout!17

Collaborating with David Gungor

Middle School students singing ‘All of This is Us’ with gusto

Q & A with Dave Gungor

Tash Holmes, Dave Gungor, Rev Cass Blake, Edwina O’Brien

CONCLUSION

Standing and singing in chapel, each student can hear their own voice, but they can also hear the voices of those next to them, behind and in front of them. Each student needs the Other in order for the music to be made, for the song to be sung. Very few students would be willing to sing by themselves, but together, they are empowered to. And they love it! Singing allows us to express, in a safe and structured framework, the wide range of emotions, doubts, thoughts and wonderings that make us human.

Footnotes

The words are there in the book or on the screen – we don’t have to make them up. We have thousands of years’ worth of song, poetry, metaphor, symbolism and rich tradition to draw upon. And, in collaboration with creatives like Tash and Dave, we can also create our own songs and express our contemporary longings, hopes and praise. The words offer to us an articulation of all those thoughts and feelings, those prayers and cries of the soul, that students (or anybody) may not be able to articulate themselves, or by themselves.

1 J. Launay, “The ice-breaker effect: Singing mediates fast bonding”, Royal Society Open Science, 2015.

2 A. Wilson, ‘The Unifying Power of Singing” https://thinktheology. co.uk/blog/article/the_unifying_power_of_singing

3 A. Prasad, BBC Science Focus. Palaeontologists have established that once our ancestors had the horseshoe-shaped hyoid bone in the throat in a similar position to modern humans, they would have had the physical ability to sing as we can. That date is over 530,000 years ago. https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/when-didhumans-first-make-music

4 J. Launay, “Choir singing improves health, happiness, and is the perfect icebreaker” https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/choir-singingimproves-health-happiness-%E2%80%93-and-perfect-icebreaker

5 Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion (United Kingdom: Penguin Books Limited, 2012).

6 Elizabeth Oldfield, Fully Alive, (Grand Rapids: BrazosPress, 2024), 94.

7 For further reading, see Jean-Charles Nault, O.S.B. Abbot of Saint Wandrille, The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Times (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015).

8 Elizabeth Oldfield, Fully Alive, 98.

References and further reading

Grape, C., Sandgren, M., Hansson, L-O., Ericson, M., & Theorell, T.

“Does singing promote well-being? An empirical study of professional and amateur singers during a singing lesson”, Integrative Psychological and Behavioural Science (2002): 38, 65–74.

Grindley, H., Astbury, J., Sharples, J., & Aguirre, C. “Benefits of group singing for community mental health and wellbeing”, Survey & Literature review. Melbourne, Australia: Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, (2011).

To finish, I return to the words of Confucius, “Music produces a pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” For Confucius, not only was music a metaphor for a harmonious society, but musicmaking could actually help bring about a better society.

This is what I am hoping and praying for here, in our community. Together, in song.

9 ibid.

10 Jean-Charles Nault, The Noonday Devil (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015).

11 Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Parson’s Tale”, accessed at https://chaucer. fas.harvard.edu/pages/parsons-prologue-and-tale.

12 Dorothy L. Sayers, Murder Must Advertise (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1983), 99.

13 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7 The Holy Bible New International Version, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, revised ed. 1999.

14 Natasha Holmes, https://uniting.church/this-is-my-uc-unitingcreative/

15 A. Wilson, ‘The Unifying Power of Singing” https://thinktheology. co.uk/blog/article/the_unifying_power_of_singing

16 The Holy Bible, Psalm 84:2.

17 Why go to the gym when you can sing together!

Haidt, J. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. United Kingdom: Penguin Books Limited, (2012).

Kirschner, S., & Tomasello, M. “Joint music making promotes prosocial behavior in 4-year-old children”, Evolution and Human Behaviour (2010): 31, 354–364.

Kreutz, G. “Does singing facilitate social bonding?”, Music and Medicine (2014): 6, 51–60.

Together in song

Launay, J., & Pearce, E. “Choir singing improves health, happiness –and is the perfect icebreaker”, The Conversation. 28 October (2015).

Morley, I. The prehistory of music: Human evolution, archaeology, and the origins of musicality, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, (2013).

Oldfield, E. Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, (2024).

Pearce, E., Launay J., & Dunbar, R.I.M. “The ice-breaker effect: Singing mediates fast bonding”, Royal Society Open Science (2015), 2, 10. http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150221

Prasad, A. BBC Science Focus, https://www.sciencefocus.com/thehuman-body/when-did-humans-first-make-music (not dated).

Reddish, P., Fischer, R., & Bulbulia, J. “Let’s dance together: Synchrony, shared intentionality and cooperation”, PLoS ONE (2013): 8, e71182.

Stanborough, R.J. “10 ways that singing benefits your health”, Healthline, https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-singing (2020).

Tarr, B., Launay, J., & Dunbar, R.I.M. “Music and social bonding:

‘Self-other’ merging and neurohormonal mechanisms”, Frontiers in Psychology (2014): 5, 1–10.

The Holy Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, Revised Ed. (1999).

Unwin, M.M., Kenny, D.T, & Davis, P.J. “The effects of group singing on mood”. Psychology of Music (2002): 30, 175–185.

Wald-Fuhrmann, M., Boenneke, S., Vroegh, T., & Dannecker, K.P. “‘He who sings, prays twice’? Singing in Roman Catholic Mass leads to spiritual and social experiences that are predicted by religious and musical attitudes.” Frontiers in Psychology 11 (2020): 570189–570189.

Wilson, A. “The most important book I’ve read this year”, Think, https:// thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/the_most_important_book_ive_ read_this_year (2016).

Wilson, A. “The unifying power of singing”, Think, https:// thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/the_unifying_power_of_singing, (2021).

Uniting Creative, Uniting Church. This is my Uniting Church. https:// uniting.church/this-is-my-uc-uniting-creative/ (2020).

Life and death education

Dr James Batten, Science and Chemistry Teacher, Pymble Ladies’ College

INTRODUCTION

The education of young people is a multifaceted enterprise in the 21st Century. It is not merely an exercise in vocational training or apprenticeship, where students are taught only the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in their elected profession. Rather, the goal of education is to foster the development of the whole person, seeking to provide learning experiences that shape a child’s development across a variety of domains. In prevailing contemporary literature, these are most often

considered to include a child’s physical, cognitive, communicative, social, and emotional development (Garvis et al., 2019). At Pymble, the commitment to developing the whole person is recognised in the schools’ Strategic Direction and Vision: 2021 to 2030 (Pymble Ladies’ College, n.d.), which focuses on promoting students’ development across four key intelligences: academic, social, emotional, and digital. These four learning pillars are supported by the College values of care, courage, integrity, respect, and responsibility, and the Mind, Body, and Spirit (MBS)

framework, which aims to promote students’ holistic wellness.

Of specific interest in this paper are the ways in which various cultures presently and have historically educated new generations about the more esoteric facets of life and death. As mortal beings, experiences of life, death, birth, and grief are inescapable components of our existence, and it is consequently vital that we receive thoughtful and balanced instruction and opportunities for discussion in these areas during our formative years. Multiple questions thus arise:

Life and death education

How do we educate students about philosophical, existential, and theological ideas like the purpose of life, our relationship to the spiritual or divine, the inevitability of death, the ways humans grieve and die, and concepts of life after death? Whom should be responsible for this education? How do we ensure that this education is thorough, wellrounded, and unbiased, especially given that any kind of education in this area will undoubtedly be shaped strongly by the prevailing culture?

At Pymble, there exists already some meaningful efforts in this direction. The Social Intelligence intercultural fluency strategy encourages students and staff at the College to embrace diversity of thought and foster resilience and inclusivity in relationships, which are fundamental precursors to developing healthy, nuanced perspectives of life and death. Students also have opportunities to explore notions of spiritual wellbeing and resilience during regular MBS periods and associated activities, compulsory Religion and Ethics (RE) classes for Years 7 to 10, and in elective courses such as Philosophy.

MBS offers students diverse exposure to philosophical and theological thought through activities like Compass Circles, in which students actively discuss such matters together, and regular Uniting Church chapel services. RE opens students’ minds to the different ways in which humans understand and express their spirituality, develop rituals around birth, milestones, death, and the afterlife. The Ethics component of the RE course provokes students to consider the ethics of issues such as cryogenics, abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty, which in turn

prompts questions and wonderings about the purpose of life, the value of human life, whether all human life is equal, whether humans should have the ability or choice to prolong or take a human life, and many others. The Philosophy course, too, prompts questioning about matters like the existence of God and whether that can be proved or disproved, and introduces students to ancient and modern philosophers and their writings. Though these are certainly valuable additions to the curriculum, it is perhaps prudent to explore what other perspectives and practices could be included to ensure that Pymble students are receiving the very best and most diverse educational experience possible in this area. This article will briefly trace the evolution of how human thought on life and death is conveyed to new generations through history and across different cultures as a means to introduce the recently proposed model of Life and Death Education (Phan et al., 2023). This model will be outlined and critiqued, with the intention of assessing its suitability to influence or potentially be included more concretely in Pymble’s Social Intelligence learning pillar and approach to helping students navigate concepts of life and death.

BACKGROUND

Human fascination with the nature and purpose of life and the mysterious inevitability of death is as old as humanity itself. Early Western philosophers like Socrates and Seneca invested substantial thought into such esoteric notions as the immortality of the soul and ubiquity of death (Postiglione, 2008). The methods used by communities to preserve their efforts towards understanding matters of life and death evolved commensurately

with sociocultural sophistication. As societies developed, oral traditions and simple rites of passage gave way to organised religion as the primary vehicle for teaching ideas about death and the afterlife. More recently, the school system has been increasingly entrusted with educating individuals about the dichotomies of life and death, living and dying, love and grief. Through the 20th century, Western civilisation’s growing preoccupation with physical perfection and the scientific impulse to measure, analyse, and explain everything gave rise to a social construct in which the concept of death, being both an ignominious end to physical perfection and gallingly impervious to scientific inquisition, became taboo (Ariès, 1974; Gorer, 1955; Sozzi, 2009). The advent of modern medicine and nutrition has increased our quality and longevity of life, yet our inability to cope with death has increased proportionally to our capacity to delay it (Fonseca & Testoni, 2011).

Into this fascinating context stepped Thanatology, an interdisciplinary study that aimed to construct a scientific comprehension of death, its rites, and its meanings (Fonseca & Testoni, 2011). Whilst this new foray offered exciting possibilities in life and death education, it was hamstrung by a disconnect between theory and practice (Currier et al., 2008; Kastenbaum, 1988) and failed to accommodate certain social groups like school children and the elderly (Noppe, 2007; Wass, 2004).

The mystery of death and fear of annihilation have served as powerful control mechanisms in the hands of despots, politicians, and clergymen throughout history. In this age of pervasive technology and posttruth rhetoric, there is thus a great

need for a completely new area of study encompassing all of life and death (Fonseca & Testoni, 2011) substantiated by a mix of quantitative and qualitative evidence (Thorson, 1996). One current possible alternative receiving significant attention in literature is Life and Death Education.

LIFE AND DEATH EDUCATION

Life and Death Education is a theoretical framework that draws on Eastern and Buddhist philosophical influences, and is concerned with the promotion, fulfilment, and cherishing of quality life experiences, particularly the cultivation of wisdom (Phan, Ngu, Chen, Wu, Lin, et al., 2020). It has grown to prominence over the last decade in Taiwan, where it is heavily integrated in educational and cultural systems.

In its first incarnation, the theory aimed to teach its students to seek meaningful understanding of and appreciation for three major interrelated components: the wisdom, practice, and care of life Life wisdom was considered to arise from continuous introspection on one’s knowledge and experiences to refine perceptions of the purpose of life. When properly cultivated, this should translate seamlessly into a practice of life characterised strongly by contemplation, refinement, and improvement, and a care for life shown towards oneself and others. Proponents of this early iteration of Life and Death Education suggested that it contributes towards facilitating a civil, vibrant society whose citizens are dignified, show respect for elders, and revere spiritual and religious faiths (Phan, Ngu, Chen, Wu, Lin, et al., 2020). They also emphasised the alignment of Life and Death Education with positive psychology

paradigms (Seligman, 1999, 2010; Seligman & Csíkszentmihályi, 2000), and that together these approaches may help individuals cope effectively with negative life experiences like disease, despair, and grief (Phan et al., 2021).

The practice of Life and Death Education under this original model was envisioned to occur across three major components that converge to produce an individual’s “spiritual and enlightened self” (Phan, Ngu, Chen, Wu, Lin, et al., 2020): philosophical reflection, spiritual cultivation, and enrichment of personal wellbeing Philosophical reflection activities encourage us to internalise and reflect on daily events to attain meaningful understanding, and may be effectively facilitated by meditation (Loden, 1996; Phan, Ngu, Chen, Wu, Shi, et al., 2020).

Spiritual cultivation activities seek to enlighten a person in a religious and/ or spiritual sense to enable greater comprehension of esoteric matters like the possibility of transcendence, unexplained physical phenomena, and the true meaning of satori, a term derived from Japanese Buddhism that translates loosely as the achievement of perfection and/ or tranquillity (Phan & Ngu, 2019).

Activities for the enrichment of personal wellbeing are designed to teach life care through learning to show love and compassion for oneself and others. The coalescence of these three practices was suggested to instil in students a variety of positive virtues, including optimistic outlook, compassion, forgiveness, enlightenment, open-mindedness, benevolence, resoluteness, a perceived sense of spirituality, and social connectedness (Phan, Ngu, Chen, Wu, Lin, et al., 2020).

Life and Death Education has a particular interest in the notion of transcendence, espousing two possible interpretations (Phan et al., 2021). The first is that a person’s life may continue after death in the form of rebirth to another dimension in space-time. The second is a belief in the existence of higher order, divine experiences in which death is merely a temporary state, and that the ceasing of physical life does not preclude the possibility that a person’s soul and ‘esoteric being’ may remain. These interests are held as natural extensions of a philosophy that seeks to help individuals elucidate the true nature of their ‘life trajectories’ and emphasises non-materialistic thinking, instead favouring a personal mindset geared towards appreciation for the physical and esoteric aesthetic of life (Phan et al., 2021).

LIMITATIONS OF LIFE AND DEATH EDUCATION

Whilst the first edition of the Life and Death Education theory should be commended for its refreshing perspectives and wholesome aspirations, its developers correctly recognised that there was little empirical evidence presented to substantiate either the proposed methodologies or outcomes of Life and Death Education, that the theory needed to be more concretely validated, and that its somewhat disconnected ideas needed to be amalgamated into a cohesive theoretical framework (Phan, Ngu, Chen, Wu, Lin, et al., 2020). The authors suggested that designing appropriate methodologies to elucidate, authenticate, and quantify esoteric experiences like tranquillity or enlightenment would be challenging, but that techniques similar to Likert-scale inventories

Life and death education

(Diener et al., 2009; Wiese et al., 2018) may perhaps bring some success. Incorporating the influences and perspectives of Western cultures was also posited as a potential avenue of further development.

Earlier this year, the same research group introduced a new theoreticalconceptual model depicting the unification of three major viewpoints to provide grounding for effective teaching and holistic understanding of life and death (Phan et al., 2023). These three viewpoints, social, philosophical, and psychological, bear some resemblance to the original triumvirate of life wisdom, practice, and care, but represent an evolution of these ideas that incorporates broader perspectives from sociology and psychology in addition to the largely philosophical basis of the original theory. The social viewpoint focuses on the importance of the social context an individual experiences or engages in that may present discourses pertaining to life and death. Relationships with family, friends, and the wider community and social networking are considered key mechanisms here. The philosophical viewpoint considers knowledge of life and death based on philosophical reasoning and personal understanding, which are not necessarily substantiated by scientific evidence. Relevant factors include reflection and contemplation, higher order consideration of the life and death cycle, and curiosity about or seeking of esoteric knowledge and experiences. The psychological viewpoint is concerned with different psychological processes that may govern or explain a person’s understanding of life and death. Particularly, it upholds the significance of the ‘situated mindset’ in accounting for different thought and behaviour

patterns, including self-regulation, cognitive processing, perception and judgment, and internal motivators to seek satisfaction.

The merging of these three viewpoints into a single overarching framework was a decision made in recognition of the diversity in theoretical viewpoints, the existing limitations in the original theory being predicated upon a single viewpoint, and the likely efficacy of incorporating a wider range of ideas and practices. The authors have expressed their hope that this unified approach may provide opportunities for creativity in teaching and curriculum development, guidance to assist individuals with daily undertakings that foster different conceptualisations of the true meaning of life and death, opportunities to structure rich, varied, and analytical learning outcomes pertaining to life and death education, and/or opportunities for further research into theoretical, empirical, or methodological contributions.

It is this last that may prove most significant, as although the new framework has potentially addressed the identified need to neatly assimilate the nascent ideas of Life and Death Education, the other limitations yet remain. Most critically, the core emphases of the theory still lack rigorous scientific validation, though not for lack of attempt. Rather, it is the inherent difficulty of measuring and quantifying the tangible outcomes of Life and Death Educational practices and the value of esoteric experiences and notions like transcendence that stands as the greatest ongoing challenge to proving the success of this theory outside the confines of Taiwanese culture, which one may argue

is innately predisposed towards a theory so heavily grounded in Eastern and Buddhist tenets. Perhaps the wisest line of inquiry then is to further investigate the nature of transcendence itself.

RECOMMENDATION OF INQUIRY FOR RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

An area of inquiry that this paper recommends for research development is further exploration into the underlying nature of spiritual transcendence. Transcendence, which may be defined as the capacity of individuals to be removed from their immediate context and view life from a broader, more objective perspective (Piedmont, 1997), is an idea of great interest in Life and Death Education and the wider scientific community. Demand for improved measures and conceptualisations of spirituality spurred the development of the Spiritual Transcendence Index (STI), an eight-item scale which demonstrated reasonable validity in initial exploratory studies (Seidlitz et al., 2002), and more recently transcendence has found increasing application in palliative (Soriano & Calong Calong, 2021) and COVID-19 care (Mahmoudirad & Sadeghi Akbari, 2023).

Life and Death Education is especially interested in Buddhist meditation techniques as a means of assessing the nature of transcendence (Phan et al., 2023). Such meditation techniques have been known to induce ‘out of body experiences’, where the person’s soul intimately connects with other esoteric entities, traverses to another space-time realm, or is able to perceive future events or current events that the individual has no explicable knowledge of. The

potential insights into the nature of life, death, and what may exist beyond our detectable reality that greater comprehension of these esoteric experiences may impart are limitless, and therein lies the value of this line of inquiry. The difficulty of course is that such experiences are inherently problematic from the perspective of scientific analysis, which typically favours reproducible, falsifiable evidence of phenomena. Such evidence is presently very difficult to define and impossible to obtain in this context. It may well be impossible to develop scientifically appropriate methodological approaches and tools of measure to study these phenomena, but this may be an illogical pursuit regardless. In seeking to understand that which likely extends beyond the laws and bounds of the natural universe as we perceive them, it is perhaps necessary to let go of that scientific obsession to quantify and analyse, and surrender to a more experiential and philosophical model of exploration.

CONCLUSION

As intelligent beings with knowledge of our mortal finitude, humans are

justifiably concerned with our raison d’être and what awaits beyond the veil. The enormity, instantaneous accessibility, and dangerous potential of ideas surrounding life and death in this modern age necessitates that societies carefully educate individuals through all stages of their lifespan to think deeply and often upon what life means for them and how they will find significance in the face of death. The theory of Life and Death Education seeks to promote such thinking and further aims to instil in people a wisdom, practice, and care of life through philosophical reflection, spiritual cultivation, and personal enrichment. Though nascent, this philosophy has been shown to engender many positive virtues in its students and offers great promise in its ongoing development. A key challenge that remains to be overcome is the relative paucity of empirical evidence substantiating the mechanisms of Life and Death Education, and the inherent difficulty of designing appropriate methodologies to attain this. Closer focus on transcendental experiences may yield avenues forward here, but further research is necessary to ascertain what insights, if any, may be

realistically attainable. For students and staff at Pymble Life and Death Education may be a useful framework for enhancing students’ learning and broader social development. Thinking deliberately about what may, and perhaps should, be significant to us in the context of the finite nature of our lives is an important reflective practice across our lifespan, and one that needs to be cultivated as part of an educational system that aims to develop the whole person. The values and practices of Life and Death Education may be of great assistance in developing rigorous, inclusive, and meaningful learning experiences for students and to the staff planning and facilitating these activities. The opportunities to consider belief systems from a largely unfamiliar Eastern context and to carry these attitudes over into compassionate acts of kindness to others align well with existing Pymble philosophies of embracing diversity and community service. As we move closer to life and death awareness, we more deeply understand what it means to serve others.

Life and death education

References

Ariès, P. (1974). Western attitudes toward death from the Middle Ages to the present (P. M. Ranum, Trans.). Johns Hopkins University Press.

Currier, J. M., Holland, J. M., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2008). Making sense of loss: A content analysis of end-of-life practitioners’ therapeutic approaches. Omega, 57(2), 121-141.

Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Biswas-Diener, R., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D.w., & Oishi, S. (2009). New measures of well-being. In E. Diener (Ed.), Assessing well-being (pp. 247-266). Springer Science+Business Media.

Fonseca, L. M., & Testoni, I. (2011). The emergence of thanatology and current practice in death education. Omega, 64(2), 157-169.

Garvis, S., Phillipson, S., Clarke, S., Harrison, L., McCormack, J., & Pendergast, D. (2019). Child Development and Learning. Oxford University Press.

Gorer, G. (1955). The pornography of death. Encounter, 5(4), 49-52.

Kastenbaum, R. (1988). Theory, research and application: Some critical issues for thanatology. Omega, 18(4), 397-410.

Loden, G. A. T. (1996). Meditations on the path to enlightenment Tushita Publications.

Mahmoudirad, G., & Sadeghi Akbari, A. (2023). Caring for COVID19’s patients, an opportunity for spiritual transcendence in volunteer nurses: A content analysis study. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 25(3), 243-260.

Noppe, I. C. (2007). Life span issues and death education. In C. M. Parkes, P. Laungani, & B. Young (Eds.), Death and bereavement across cultures (pp. 206-217). Routledge.

Phan, H. P., Chen, S. C., Ngu, B. H., & Hsu, C.-S. (2023). Advancing the study of life and death education: Theoretical framework and research inquiries for further development. Frontiers in Psychology 14, 1212223.

Phan, H. P., & Ngu, B. H. (2019). Teaching, learning, and psychology Oxford University Press.

Phan, H. P., Ngu, B. H., Chen, S. C., Wu, L., Lin, W.-W., & Hsu, C.-S. (2020). Introducing the study of life and death education to support the importance of positive psychology: An integrated model of philosophical beliefs, religious faith, and spirituality. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 580186.

Phan, H. P., Ngu, B. H., Chen, S. C., Wu, L., Shi, S.-Y., Lin, R.-Y., Shih, J.H., & Wang, H.-W. (2020). Advancing the study of positive psychology: The use of a multifaceted structure of mindfulness for development. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1602.

Phan, H. P., Ngu, B. H., Chen, S. C., Wu, L., Shih, J.-H., & Shi, S.Y. (2021). Life, death, and spirituality: A conceptual analysis for educational research development. Heliyon, 7, e06971.

Piedmont, R. L. (1997). Spiritual transcendence scale [Database record]. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Ft01164-000

Postiglione, A. (2008). Della bella morte [The good death]. Bur. Pymble Ladies’ College. (n.d.). Strategic Direction and Vision: 2021 to 2030. Retrieved 13/12/2024 from https://www.pymblelc.nsw.edu.au/ about-pymble/strategic-direction-and-vision/

Seidlitz, L., Abernethy, A. D., Duberstein, P. R., Evinger, J. S., Chang, T. H., & Lewis, B. b. L. (2002). Development of the Spiritual Transcendence Index. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41(3), 439-453.

Seligman, M. (1999). The president’s address. American Psychologist, 53, 559-562.

Seligman, M. (2010). Flourish: Positive psychology and positive interventions. Paper presented at The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, Ann Arbor.

Seligman, M., & Csíkszentmihályi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5-14.

Soriano, G. P., & Calong Calong, K. A. (2021). Spiritual well-being, selftranscendence, and spiritual practices among Filipino women with breast cancer. Palliative & Supportive Care, 19(6), 723-726.

Sozzi, M. (2009). Reinventare la morte. Introduzione alla tanatologia [Reinventing death. Thanatology’s introduction]. Laterza.

Thorson, J. A. (1996). Qualitative thanatology. Mortality, 1(2), 177-190.

Wass, H. (2004). A perspective on the current state of death education. Death Studies, 28, 289-308.

Wiese, C. W., Tay, L., Su, R., & Diener, E. (2018). Measuring thriving across nations: Examining the measurement equivalence of the comprehensive inventory of thriving (CIT) and the brief inventory of thriving (BIT). Applied Psychology: Health and Well Being, 10, 127-148.

Talk for good How can an Oracy education help our girls change the world?

Alex Campbell, English Teacher, Pymble Ladies’ College

How many of you reading this have taught a lesson where you hoped your students would engage in a lively discussion about a topic, but instead, you were met with silence or singleword answers? Perhaps you asked open-ended questions, expecting eager hands in the air, only to see averted eyes and hesitant glances.

In today’s fast-evolving world, Oracy (speaking and active listening skills) are vital—not only for academic success but also for the personal and professional growth of our young people. Yet, despite their importance, in traditional education, these skills often take a backseat to reading, writing, and mathematics. With this in mind, this article draws on research

from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, as well as my own action research project undertaken with colleagues in 2023, to build a case for why Oracy should be explicitly taught within and across the curriculum. It also explores a range of practical strategies that we can use to help students, including our girls at Pymble, to engage in meaningful interaction.

WHAT IS ORACY?

Oracy refers to two things: supporting students in learning to talk effectively, and also helping them to learn through talk.

Learning to talk is essentially the explicit teaching of spoken language

skills. Think of it as the finished article in terms of spoken language whereby students learn how to enunciate, to project, and adapt their language for different purposes to impact others. Examples of this might be a formal debate, a presentation or a speech, skills that are important not just in the classroom but for life beyond school too.

By contrast, learning through talk refers to the use of talk in classrooms (either between teacher and students, or student to student) which makes the classroom a space in which knowledge and understanding is constructed and strengthened through dialogue. It is when students share their knowledge, explain their

Talk

for good: How can an Oracy education help our girls change the world?

ideas, and justify their arguments with evidence. It is when they actively listen to one another so that they can then summarise, build upon, or challenge the ideas of their peers in a reasoned and equitable way. It is the type of talk which requires pupils to be active and not passive. That requires them to think deeply and to make this thinking visible. I’m sure you’ll agree that this is the type of talk that is needed in all classrooms across all subjects, and that is also needed in many workplaces too.

ORACY: AN ESSENTIAL TOOL TO SUPPORT GIRLS TO NAVIGATE THE CHALLENGES OF BEING AN ADOLESCENT

So, why is this something that we should prioritise? Well, firstly, it is an essential tool in helping to support our girls in navigating the challenges of being an adolescent in 2025. Over the last year, we have seen increasing numbers of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt (2024) kicking around: parents, teachers, youth workers and policy makers have clearly been caught by the ideas put forwards in this book. Amongst a host of wide-ranging ideas, Haidt looks at the role that technology has played in the rising levels of reported anxiety amongst young people.

In an essay entitled What Happened to FOMO?, written in response to this book by young journalist Freya India (2024), it is argued that adults have their interpretations of children all wrong. Young people, she states, aren’t sitting at home, glued to their devices, beset by sadness that their lives are not the same as the influencers they follow, or as exciting as their friend’s feed. Instead, they are paralysed by Fear of Taking Part. Perhaps because of

“When have we ever had a generation so comfortable with online attention yet so deeply uncomfortable with real-life interaction? When have young people been so crippled by social anxiety yet comfortable telling millions of strangers online about it? Young people who can post selfies for the world to see but can’t bear making eye contact?”

the impact of COVID 19; perhaps because of living more of life online; perhaps because of the ease with which actions can be undertaken using apps, young people, according to India, are genuinely terrified by the real world.

In her essay, India asserts: ‘When have we ever had a generation so comfortable with online attention yet so deeply uncomfortable with real-life interaction? When have young people been so crippled by social anxiety yet comfortable telling millions of strangers online about it? Young people who can post selfies for the world to see but can’t bear making eye contact?’

What India is articulating is that young people are enticed by interactions with bots and AI, where the consequences of saying something stupid or of making a mistake are minimised. They are drawn into a world where they can share their thoughts via reels, which can be practiced and perfected over and over so, whilst they seem ‘live,’ they are deeply rehearsed. Let’s face it, if your interactions with the outside world were all deeply scripted, your appearance tested, checked and re-tested, and, crucially, you never had to listen to any responses to your speaking, it would be scary to then have to speak in real time, in the real world.

Now, all of this is important because, until now, a lot of anxiety amongst young people has been treated as though it was FOMO: many intervention techniques have centered on teaching young people things like gratitude, of the dangers of comparison and other effective mindfulness techniques. These approaches are great and have real value: however, there is a risk that they are actually treating the wrong ailment.

Which brings us to talk. Whilst the curriculum does not necessarily place high value on the development of Oracy, schools and classrooms are essential spaces for young people to practice interacting with one another, to learn the art of live dialogue, to learn how to think and speak in real time, to listen to follow-up points and to assimilate those to develop and deepen understanding.

ORACY: A TOOL TO HELP DEVELOP MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT

A second argument for explicitly teaching Oracy skills across the curriculum is to support our girls with navigating complex social situations. With increasing globalisation and global migration, schools can be rich, international spaces, but can also be fraught with ideological division and tensions that are complicated further by the complexities of

adolescence. Each student is like an iceberg bringing with them a visible tip that represents what we see at first glance, and a vast, hidden mass below the surface that encompasses the different components of their identity including race and ethnicity, immigration status, social class, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, along with other facets of their personal history including their beliefs, opinions and biases.

These lived experiences can shape our students’ ability to communicate with others and can also mean that politically changed topics can arise spontaneously in the classroom. Likewise, as teachers, the curriculum sometimes requires that we teach controversial topics that can potentially be polarising because of our students’ existing views. A

classroom rooted in the principles of Oracy can provide a framework to navigate these choppy, unpredictable waters and to enable challenging conversations to take place.

Indeed, Lewis Iwu, Director of the Fair Education Alliance, argues that, ‘Oracy is also essential for equitability and fairness: high levels of oracy allow us to empathize, to listen, to properly hear one another, and to exist in an inter-related societywhich is essential in a school, of course, but in the wider world too’ (Voice 21, 2020). Elsewhere, in the higher education field, a study conducted at a regional Australian university in the state of Queensland (Einfalt & Theobald, 2022) found that a dialogic approach to facilitating cross-cultural discussions - whereby a group of culturally diverse

students were required to listen to each other, ask questions, and respond thoughtfully - helped to foster intercultural competence including greater self-awareness, understanding of others’ perspectives, and an awareness of communication skills needed for global interactions. This idea is conceptualized in the graphic below taken from Einfalt et al,’s (2022) afore.mentioned research paper (see Figure 1).

This graphic exemplifies how dialogic interactions — where participants actively listen, build on one another’s contributions, and remain open to changing perspectives — help individuals to foster a deeper self-awareness and a richer understanding of others’ attitudes. Much like tending a garden, these interactions require care and patience, ultimately cultivating growth that benefits all involved.

WHAT STEPS CAN WE TAKE IN THE CLASSROOM?

Now that we have explored some justifications for Oracy, let’s dive into five strategies that we can use within the classroom to support our girls in developing these skills. These are outlined in Figure 2.

1. Ground Rules

SELF

The first recommendation is to talk openly with your students about how talk and active listening will be an integral part of your classroom culture and why this is something that will benefit their learning. You might even democratically form a set of ground rules for different types of talk that you use consistently across lessons.

Think of these rules as the instruction manual for a piece of complex machinery - your classroom

Figure 1: A conceptual framework for developing Intercultural Communication through dialogic interaction. Adapted from: Bakhtin, 1981, 1986; Deardorff, 2006

Talk for good: How can an Oracy education help our girls change the world?

Ground rules: the first recommendation is to talk openly with your students about how talk and active listening will be an integral part of your classroom culture and why this is something that will benefit their learning. You might even democratically form a set of ground rules for different types of talk that you use consistently across lessons.

Classroom layout: classroom layout is like an invisible script, subtly directing students in how they should behave and interact during lessons. Just as actors follow cues in a play, students follow the unspoken signals that they observe in the classroom layout, with the tables indicating where they should focus their attention and how they should learn during the lesson. Significantly, different configurations can support teachers in developing different oracy skills

Cold and warm calling: by balancing cold and warm calling, teachers can create a classroom culture that values equitable participation, helping all students build verbal confidence. These techniques not only promote inclusivity but also keep students engaged and attentive. Over time, this fosters a dynamic learning environment where dialogue is a shared responsibility, and students gain the skills to think critically and articulate their ideas—a vital component of oracy that extends far beyond the classroom

Dialogic talk moves: in typical student-teacher exchanges, there are often three distinct ‘turns’ that shape the structure of dialogue. In the first turn, the teacher initiates, frequently by asking a question. In the second turn, a student (or students) responds. In the third turn, the teacher evaluates or provides feedback.

Visible talk activities: the ‘visible talk’ activity was designed and trialed as a potential solution to challenges of students avoiding participation in oracy activities. It can be adapted and used in different learning areas. It is worth noting that in terms of the arc of learning, this would take place following teacher exposition, once the students have acquired some appropriate knowledge, and when they are ready to start developing and deepening their understanding.

Whole Class and Small Group Discussion: Exploratory Talk Talk in Presentations

Listen actively to the contributions of others

• Look at the person who is speaking.

• Don’t talk when others are speaking.

• Use positive body language and facial expressions.

• Think carefully about the views of others and how you might respond.

Contribute to discussion and debate

• Use the names of other people in the discussion.

• Ask questions to probe and clarify your understanding of your classmates’ ideas.

• If you agree with someone, affirm their ideas and try to build upon them.

• If you disagree with someone, respectfully challenge their ideas

• Always try to explain your ideas fully, using evidence of examples to justify your ideas.

• Speak like a specialist, using academic or technical vocabulary.

• Structure your talk in a way that makes it clear and understandable to your audience.

• Be ambitious in the way your express yourself: use formal language (not slang) and use academic or technical vocabulary.

• Don’t assume knowledge - break down your ideas and explain them in detail.

• Use gestures and body language to emphasise key points.

• Speak with your heads up, shoulders back and make eye contact with your audience.

• If presenting in small groups, contribute equally.

• Avoid using your PowerPoint slides as a script - keep text to a minimum and don’t read directly from them.

• Anticipate your questions from the audience and consider possible responses.

Figure 2: Five strategies that we can use within the classroom to support students in developing oracy skills

Figure 3: These ground rules lay the foundation for a respectful learning environment, where every voice is valued, and students feel safe to express their ideas.

discussions. Just as an instruction booklet outlines how to operate the machinery efficiently and avoid breakdowns, these ground rules provide clear guidance on how to ensure discussions are productive, inclusive, and purposeful. Here are some examples that students and I have co-constructed in the past. A caveat at this point: whilst the suggestions came from my students, words like ‘affirm, probe, clarify’ are mine, and this is vocabulary that I unpacked with them.

As displayed in Figure 3, These ground rules lay the foundation for a respectful learning environment, where every voice is valued, and students feel safe to express their ideas. They create the conditions of equitability, empathy and mutual understanding which the Fair Education Alliance deem to be essential for any school. You will also note that these rules guide students towards engaging in Active Listening, an essential component of Oracy that underpins meaningful dialogue and collaboration. It is likely that you will have observed in your own classroom how the prevalence of interruptions, the complexities of social dynamics, and a preoccupation with technology can sometimes diminish the ability of our girls to truly listen; Jonathan Haidt (2024) has also suggested that the fast-paced nature of modern interactions often stifles deep, reflective thinking. Teaching Active Listening offers an antidote, empowering students to engage in dialogue with nuance and empathy. It is not enough to instruct our students to “pay attention”; instead, we as educators need to encourage them to ask for clarity, to affirm the contributions of others and to

challenge them constructively.

2. Classroom Layout

If the ground rules are the instruction manual for the classroom, we might also consider how classroom organisation can help to reinforce expectations. Indeed, classroom layout is like an invisible script, subtly directing students in how they should behave and interact during lessons. Just as actors follow cues in a play, students follow the unspoken signals that they observe in the classroom layout, with the tables indicating where they should focus their attention and how they should learn during the lesson. Significantly, different configurations can support teachers in developing different oracy skills.

In a traditional classroom layout, the tables are arranged in ordered rows facing the front of the room, a useful tool for independent learning and for facilitating teacher-centered instruction. By comparison, other configurations de-emphasise the front of the room, signaling to pupils that they need to focus their attention on their peers. These include arranging desks in a large horseshoe, in smaller pods or even in a circle configuration more akin to a university seminar (possible if you are fortunate enough to have a small class-size). These arrangements signpost to pupils that they need to use other Oracy skills such as those involved in ‘exploratory talk’ - to co-construct their knowledge and understanding.

A study at Iowa State University explored the impact of redesigning a higher education classroom with a fixed seating plan of individual desks in rows, into one with the flexibility to be adapted to support

any of the aforementioned formats. The qualitative data from this study highlighted that the new classroom design encouraged more interaction between students allowing them to, ‘hear each other more … ask more questions and clear up misunderstandings. An additional benefit was that the flexible space promoted more dialogue between the educators and students; indeed, the teachers felt like they moved round the classroom more frequently than in traditional classrooms’ (Rands and Gansemer-Topf, 2017, p. 8).

Admittedly, as I’m sure that we will all testify, teachers can sometimes face barriers in terms of being able to change the configuration of classrooms to match the specific attributes and characteristics of their chosen pedagogical approaches, for example, not having ownership of a single space, time constraints, or the furniture being too cumbersome to move. Accordingly, when updating or developing new classrooms, perhaps school leaders should consider how they can make these spaces more flexible.

3. Cold and Warm Calling

This teaching strategy, championed by Doug Lemov (2015) and Oliver Cavigioli and Tom Sherrington (2020), is an excellent way to promote voice equity in the classroom. Lemov (2015) encourages us to consider two scenarios. In Scenario A, the teacher primarily engages with students who volunteer by raising their hands or calling out. While the classroom appears lively, closer inspection reveals a few students dominate, while others remain silent. Some students might be actively listening and thinking, they might not—the teacher can’t be sure. Some students could have a valuable

Talk for good: How can an Oracy education help our girls change the world?

idea to enrich the discussion or a misconception about the topic— again, the teacher can’t be sure. In this classroom, questions like, Does everyone understand...? Can anyone tell me...? Who knows...? Who can tell me...? dominate and reinforce a lack of voice equity. The implicit message here is that some students can rely on others to answer and that their active thinking and their contribution is optional.

In Scenario B, the teacher uses cold calling, selecting who responds by name. Questions are addressed to the whole class, followed by a pause and follow-up questions like: Bella, what were you thinking? Emily, what

Moves to encourage students to make a contribution that can be heard and understood.

answer did you get? This approach requires all students to prepare an answer mentally, knowing that they may be called upon. As Lemov explains, the underlying message here is that every voice matters, and thoughtful contributions are expected from all, not just the confident few.

At this point, some of you reading might be thinking about those students who Freya India (2024) referenced, those who are paralysed by Fear of Taking Part. Surely, this approach might only serve to exacerbate their anxiety. Well, I would argue that we will be doing young people a disservice if we

tacitly condone ‘opting out’, and that there are further steps we can take to support the participation of these pupils.

Warm calling, detailed by Cavigioli and Sherrington (2020), builds on the principle of cold calling by offering a gentler alternative. For instance, during small group discussions, a teacher might say, Sophie, that’s a great idea—please share it with the class in a moment, giving the student time to prepare. This strategy is particularly helpful for those who need extra processing time or confidence.

By balancing cold and warm calling, teachers can create a classroom

Moves that encourage students to listen carefully to one another

Moves that encourage students to dig deeper into their own reasoning

Say more

Revoice

Can you say more about that? What do you mean by..?

So, are you saying...? Let me see if I’ve understood what you’re saying...’

Think, Pair, Share OK, let’s turn and talk to the person

Rephrase or repeat

Moves that encourage students to work with one another’s ideas

Ask for evidence or reasoning

Challenge

Add on

Agree/Disagree

Explain what someone else means

Who can repeat or put that in their own words? What did your partner say? We didn’t hear that. Can you say that again?

Why do you think that? Can you explain your thinking about that? How did you arrive at that conclusion?

Does it always work that way? How does that fit in with what A said? What if...?

Who can add on to that? Who can build on what B just said and take it further?

Do you agree or disagree, and why? Does anyone see it a different way? Are you saying the same as D or something different?

Why do you think she said that? Who can explain how Emma came up with that answer/idea?

culture that values equitable participation, helping all students build verbal confidence. These techniques not only promote inclusivity but also keep students engaged and attentive. Over time, this fosters a dynamic learning environment where dialogue is a shared responsibility, and students gain the skills to think critically and articulate their ideas—a vital component of Oracy that extends far beyond the classroom.

4. Dialogic Talk Moves

A further step that we can take to build an Oracy culture is using ‘Dialogic Talk Moves’. In typical student-teacher exchanges, there are often three distinct ‘turns’ that shape the structure of dialogue:

• FIRST TURN: The teacher initiates, frequently by asking a question.

• SECOND TURN: A student (or students) responds.

• THIRD TURN: The teacher evaluates or provides feedback. I find it helpful to think of these turns like a game of tennis. The teacher serves the question, the student returns with an answer, and the teacher evaluates, like a referee, determining whether the response is ‘in’ or ‘out.’ It’s a simple structure, but one that doesn’t always allow for deeper reflection or interaction. This is where the concept of Dialogic Talk Moves becomes essential. Indeed, classroom dialogue becomes richer when teachers use them to actively ‘open up’ the third turn, transforming what could be a sterile evaluation into a dynamic exchange in which students think more deeply with their own and each other’s ideas. Some examples of these Talk Moves are outlined in Figure 4.

It is interesting to note that once teachers start to model this

repertoire of questions, slowly but surely, some students will start to assume them as well, whether in the context of small or even whole group discussion. They start to become more confident engaging in what is called Exploratory Talk - actively sharing their ideas and opinions, and giving reasons for their viewpoints, constructively evaluating each other’s ideas and offering well-justified challenge (Mercer and Wegerif, 2004). Circling back to India’s (2024) article, these Dialogic Talk Moves disrupt the notion that classroom interactions can be practiced, perfected and deeply rehearsed. Instead, students are gently encouraged to think and, importantly, speak in real time, in the real world.

Encouragingly, there is research that also suggests that this strategy can also positively impact student outcomes. Academics, Christine O’Connor at Boston University, Massachusetts, USA, and Sarah Michaels, Clark University, USA, undertook a five-year intervention program with grades 4 to 7 in Massachusetts using this dialogic approach and found that it led to students significantly outperforming their peers in regular classrooms in every year of the project in both Mathematics and English language arts, consistently displaying large effect sizes (2019).

5. Visible Talk Activities

The final strategy that we will explore is how we can make pupils more accountable for the quality of their talk in small group discussion. As previously mentioned, in 2023, I was fortunate to participate in an Action Research Project (Campbell, Koon & Tomsett, 2023) in which my colleagues and I explored the

impact of visibility protocols on the quality of talk when students engage in small group discussion. We shared a common observation (and frustration!). This is that the quality of student talk can often deteriorate when they are not being directly monitored by a teacher. For example, their talk can veer offtask, and if it remains on-task, it can lack productive features (Galton, Hargreaves, Comber, Wall & Pell, 1999; Galton, Simon & Croll, 1980; Kutnick & Blatchford, 2014). It may involve features of Cumulative Talk, which is when participants add uncritically to what has gone before, and initiations are typically accepted either without discussion or with only superficial amendments (Littleton et al., 2005). Alternatively, a scenario can emerge in which certain voices dominate, whilst others remain passive. Sound familiar? We conjectured that, for some students, the fact that they are essentially shielded from the gaze of the teacher and the wider class in group discussion and therefore might feel relatively ‘safe’, can lead them to feel that they needn’t perform to the best of their ability.

The following ‘Visible Talk’ activity was designed and trialed as a potential solution to these challenges that can be adapted and used in different Learning Areas. It is worth noting that in terms of the arc of learning, this would take place following teacher exposition, once the students have acquired some appropriate knowledge, and when they are ready to start developing and deepening their understanding. The sequence of tasks is as follows:

1. Share the success criteria for successful Exploratory Talk in small groups and ask students to

Talk for good: How can an Oracy education help our girls change the world?

evaluate themselves against it.

2. Present a Talking Point about the course content as a stimulus for discussion (this is a provocative statement, rather than a question). For example, in History: “The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was merely the spark in a powder keg of existing tensions— World War I was bound to happen regardless” or in Geography: “Humans are doing more harm than good to the environment, and there’s no going back from the damage we’ve already caused.”

3. Within their groups, ask the students to use Exploratory Talk to interrogate the Talking Point, drawing on their existing knowledge.

4. Invite one member of each group to form an inner circle in the classroom in which they will discuss the Talking Point. The remaining students form an outer circle. Their role is to observe the discussion, monitoring the ideas shared, and evaluating the quality of exploratory talk. (An observation sheet is provided).

5. During or at the end of the discussion, these students are invited to summarise the ideas that have been shared about the topic, and to give constructive feedback about the quality of exploratory talk they have observed.

Through this project, we found that these visibility protocols can:

• Make abstract talk skills more tangible to the students, developing their metacognitive awareness.

• Increase the confidence of high ability students who, in the past, have remained relatively quiet and marginalised in small group and whole class discussion.

• Improve the engagement of relatively low ability students who are sometimes disengaged and who tend to distract their peers (potentially as a mechanism to conceal their own low confidence).

• Help some students become more flexible and sophisticated in their thinking as they become able to consider different perspectives.

It is also worth pointing out at this point that the Action Research Project was a very rewarding professional learning experience as it too was an example of dialogic learning. The other teachers and I engaged in three observation cycles, each of which was followed by a reflective conversation that gave us the space to question and discuss what we had observed during the observation lessons, and to explore how to refine the visible talk activities moving forward to enhance pupil performance. Having multiple observers in a lesson was really useful because each observing teacher was able to bring a new perspective to the post-observation discussion. Classroom observation can sometimes tend to focus heavily on the actions of the teacher, and it was refreshing to be able to focus our attention entirely on the learning of students so that any subsequent change to teaching was more closely aligned with their needs.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

So, this brings us to the end of our discussion, and I hope that I have demonstrated that Oracy is much more than a key to academic success. It is a vital life skill that will serve our students in navigating the complexities of the world beyond the classroom. As discussed in the opening of the article, effective communication and active listening

are indispensable for building resilience, fostering respect and empathy, critical thinking, and problem-solving – all skills that are essential for our girls to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and fastpaced global society.

While we might assume that our students naturally know how to engage in meaningful conversations, the truth is, many will benefit from guidance and modelling. This is where we, as educators, come in. It’s our responsibility to model what effective communication looks like, creating a safe space where students can practice and refine these skills. Holding them accountable for their participation is not just about improving their grades — it’s about preparing them to thrive, lead, and collaborate with others in a global society.

References

Bakhtin, M.M. (1986). Speech genres and other late essays. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays. (C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans.; M. Holquist, Ed.). University of Texas Press.

Campbell, A, Koon, S. & Tomsett, C. (2023). What is the impact of visible talk strategies on the quality of exploratory talk? Haileybury Journal of Educational Research.

Cavigioli, O., & Sherrington, T. (2020). Teaching walk thrus: Five-step guides to instructional coaching. John Catt Educational.

Einfalt, J., Alford, J., & Theobald, M. (2022). Making talk work: Using a dialogic approach to develop intercultural competence with students at an Australian university. 10.1080/14675986.2022.2031903

English Speaking Union. (2021). Why oracy matters: Evidence base for positioning oracy at the heart of the school curriculum. A Report Commissioned by the English Speaking Union.

Galton, M., Hargreaves, L., Comber, C., Wall, D., & Pell, A. (1999). Inside the primary classroom: 20 years on. London: Routledge.

Galton, M., Simon, B., & Croll, P. (1980). Inside the primary classroom (the ORACLE project). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Haidt, J. (2024). The anxious generation: How the great rewiring of childhood Is causing an epidemic of mental illness. New York: Penguin Random House.

Howe, C., Hennessy, S., Mercer, N., Vrikki, M., & Wheatley, L. (2019). Teacher-student dialogue during classroom teaching: Does it really impact upon student outcomes? Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. Retrieved from https://educ.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/ classroomdialogue

India, F. (2023). What happened to FOMO? After Babel, 8 August. Available at: https://www.afterbabel.com (Accessed: 11 November 2024)

Kutnick, P., & Blatchford, P. (2014). Effective group work in primary school classrooms: The SPRinG approach. Dordrecht: Springer. Lemov, D. (2015). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college. Jossey-Bass.

Littleton, K., Mercer, N., Dawes, L., Wegerif, R., Rowe, D., & Sams, C. (2005). Talking and thinking together at Key Stage 1. Early Years. International Journal of Research and Development, 25(2) 167 -182. Mercer, N., & Wegerif, R. (2004). Is ‘exploratory talk’ productive talk? In Daniels, H., & Edwards, A. (Eds.). (2004). The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in psychology of education. London. RoutledgeFalmer. pp 67-86.

O’Connor, C., & Michaels, S. (2019). Supporting teachers in taking up productive talk moves. International Journal of Educational Research 97, 166–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2017.11.004

Park, J., Michaels, S., Affolter, R., & O’Conner, S. (2017). Traditions, research and practice supporting academically productive classroom discourse. Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of Education

Park, S., Wei, X., & Song, H. (2019). Supporting teachers in taking up productive talk moves: The long road to professional learning at scale. International Journal of Educational Research, 95, 123-137. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.03.002

Rands, M.L., & Gansemer-Topf, A. (2017). The room itself is active: How classroom design impacts student engagement. Journal of Learning Spaces. 6(1). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1152568.pdf

Voice 21. (2020). Oracy: The state of speaking in our schools Retrieved from https://voice21.org.uk

Investigating culturally responsive approaches in today’s classrooms

Dr Sarah Loch, Director – Pymble Institute , Pymble Ladies’ College and Dr Joshua McDermott, History Teacher, Pymble Ladies’ College

INTRODUCTION

This article considers selected literature to highlight the importance of culturally aware and responsive approaches to classroom learning environments. There are many aspects of culturally responsive pedagogy to be considered, including its impact on student learning, well-being and cultural awareness, and the value of student engagement with diverse communities. We begin this paper by reflecting on a pilot project undertaken by the Pymble Institute in 2023 with Dr Debra Dank, the Inaugural Pymble Institute Research Fellow.

Debra, Sarah Loch and some other Pymble Institute staff were privileged to speak with a small group of women who are First Nations graduates of Pymble Ladies’ College. The individual conversations, held online and face-to-face, invited the ex-students to reflect on their schooling to help us understand what has been working well in the Pymble First Nations scholarship program. Pymble’s First Nations program in the secondary school has been in place since 2007. The six graduates with whom we spoke ranged in age from 19 to 30, representing the earliest years of the First Nations Scholarship Program through to current times.

Conversations took us on a journey through the women’s school days, with memories of teachers, lessons, boarding, friends, family and sport. We heard about teachers who had built highly effective relationships with their Indigenous students and about how teachers’ commitments to excellence in the education they provided made (and still makes) a significant contribution to these women’s lives.

It became clear that these teachers had used pedagogies, or teaching approaches, which were rich examples of what is termed culturally inclusive and responsive

pedagogy. These teachers were genuinely eager to learn more about their students’ backgrounds, achievements, goals and aspirations, and the students noticed this interest. These teachers recognised that their students brought relevant and important cultural, social and linguistic experiences to school, even if these were not always visible in conventional classroom activities and assessment practice. These teachers used strengths-based approaches to find solutions to emergent issues, always with the student as a participant in the solution. Through hearing the ex-students’ stories, it was clear that culturally responsive teachers use their mindsets to make a positive difference for all students, as all students have culture and finding ways to bring into the classroom has benefits for everyone.

FOREGROUND CULTURE IN THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

A key to culturally inclusive and responsive pedagogy is the recognition that students bring an expansive range of life and intergenerational experiences to their classrooms. Over recent decades, considerable change has occurred in ways that diversity, multiculturalism, multilingualism and different strengths in ability are welcomed, represented and made visible in school communities. Educators should be conscious that students from migrant and Indigenous backgrounds can be disadvantaged in some contexts. Australia’s history of colonisation and dispossession is reflected in fractured education, health and welling outcomes for First Nations people and disadvantages experienced by ethnic minorities in education have been attributed to an uneasy juxtaposition of school and home cultures (Dillon et al., 2022;

Lowe et al., 2021; Llopart & EstebanGuitart, 2018; Guenther et al., 2020; Rutherford et al., 2020).

Traditional ‘deficit theorising’ attributes underachievement to inadequate home study practices, motivation, home literacy and many other perceived inadequacies of minority communities and the students themselves (Ryan, 1972; Moll et al., 1992; Gonzalez, 1995). However, scholarship has challenged this narrative, arguing that expectations of a deficit can limit student academic development and wellbeing (Spindler & Spindler, 1983; Aguilar & Pohan, 1996). An alternative approach argues that deficiencies in learning stem, in part, from a lack of knowledge held by teachers about their students (Heath, 1983; Aguilar & Pohan, 1996; Gay, 2002, 2010).

Since the 1970s, scholarship has increasingly looked towards teaching approaches which accommodate students from diverse backgrounds (Jordan, 1985; Ladson-Billings, 1995). Alternative approaches aim to reduce systemic disadvantage through teacher education, community engagement and pedagogical adaptation (Aronson & Laughter, 2016) and culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Brown-Jeffy & Cooper, 2011). In the 1980s, Vélez-Ibáñez and Greenberg proposed a ‘Funds of Knowledge’ approach to teaching which placed teachers in the position of learner as they got to know their students (Vélez-Ibáñez, 1983; Vélez-Ibáñez & Greenberg, 1992). This approach emphasises teachers becoming learners of culture as they engage deeply with the communities of their students (Moll et al., 1992; Moll & Greenberg, 1990; Moll et al., 1990a; Moll et al., 1990b; González, 1995,

p.3; Nelson 2001; Coles-Ritchie et al., 2015).

Teachers make use of ‘the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students’ to make learning more meaningful and relevant to the students (Gay, 2010, p.31). Teachers ‘become guides for students as they create their own ways of learning’ (Woodley et al., 2017, p.470). The approach argues that such engagement is integral to moving beyond cultural stereotypes and engaging authentically with students from diverse cultural backgrounds (Gonzalez et al., 2005; Llopart & Esteban-Guitart, 2018).

Proponents argue that culturally responsive teaching not only supports students from diverse backgrounds, but all students in a world in which multiple cultural systems are increasingly intertwined and interdependent (Gonzalez, 2005).

ACADEMIC IMPACT FOR STUDENTS

Culturally responsive teaching is associated with increased student achievement and engagement. A significant benefit is student interest in content (Nykiel-Herbert 2010; Choi, 2013; Dimick, 2012; Ensign, 2003). A range of qualitative case studies identify how integrating students’ knowledge from their community’s culture results in greater academic success (Nykiel-Herbert, 2010; Thomas et al., 2018).

For Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics disciplines, case studies have shown greater engagement when students draw on their own cultural knowledge. Ensign (2003) observes maths students report a higher interest in mathematics when culturally relatable real-world problems are

Investigating culturally responsive approaches in today’s classrooms

used, higher grades are achieved and students are more on-task when working on problems related to their own experiences. Hubert’s (2013, p.329) qualitative case study found that culturally relevant instruction in Mathematics classrooms, designed to be similar to students’ home environments (‘grandma fashion’), resulted in interest and engagement from students. Interviewees reported this approach ‘made the class feel so alive’. Dimick (2012) observes that students are more engaged in the Science classroom when content enables social and political empowerment.

For subjects in the humanities, storytelling has long played a vital role in learning. Harari (2024) and others (Dyson & Genishi, 1994) observe it is integral to the way we remember and organise information. Coles-Ritchie and colleagues (2015, p. 273-277, 279) found that students took greater ownership for work in which their own cultural experiences were expressed and had greater engagement with the curriculum as a result. In Geography classes, Hinde (2012) found that drawing on students’ own knowledge helps facilitate engagement with the wider world. McNeill’s (2023) case study research reveals the effectiveness of culturally response teaching through literacy projects, suggesting a culture-centric approach provides a point of access to literature and arts through storytelling for students otherwise excluded from the literary and artistic canon. Woodley et al. (2017, p.470) explain how this, ‘acknowledges, celebrates, and builds upon the cultural capital that learners and teachers bring to the … classroom’.

In the Australian First Nations

context, the importance of culturally responsive teaching has been increasingly acknowledged, especially in more remote communities. Jorgensen’s (2015; 2020, p.155-173) research indicates how teachers’ understanding of ‘shame’ and ‘pride’, in relation to student engagement, has a profound effect on attendance and task completion, which contribute to success in Indigenous students’ education. Burridge and colleagues (2012, p. 30-31, 33-136) examined the implementation of the Action Learning Project and Quality Teaching Indigenous Project through a range of case studies and identified a need for embedding Aboriginal cultures and histories into teaching and learning and a need for teachers to receive substantial professional learning to gain the skills and confidence to integrate Indigenous knowledge into the curriculum. Emotional impacts for students

Academic success is not the only focus of literature in this area with many studies considering the impacts on student wellbeing. Benefits encompass increased self-esteem and confidence over the short and long-term; the development of social skills and empathetic awareness; and, an increased sense of connection with community. The impact on student self-esteem and confidence is notable with improved selfperception as capable students. Students were approaching assessment tasks with greater confidence (Hubert 2013; Souryasak & Lee, 2007) and feeling more assured about their ‘ability to be a contributing member of this society’ (Bonner et al., 2018). However, some studies found limited benefits. Gonsalves’ (2014, p.204). case study highlights limitations of the culturally

responsive teaching approach, with resistance from students who internalise their own cultural knowledge as illegitimate.

Several studies consider the development of important social skills stemming from culturally responsive teaching approaches. Empathetic awareness was found in several studies to be developed among students as a result of this approach. Epstein et al. (2011) found more ethnically diverse examples used by students and a decrease in stereotyping of roles. Gutstein’s (2003) qualitative study uses observation and surveys to identify awareness of inequalities beyond the content and an ability to critique these inequalities. Fulton’s (2009) observational studies found that students involved in culturally responsive classrooms gained, not only a deeper understanding of content, but also higher levels of empathy. Culturally responsive approaches can bridge gaps between students’ school and community experiences, and create more bridges between students and their teachers in learning environments.

PILOT RESEARCH INTO PYMBLE’S FIRST NATIONS EDUCATION PROGRAM

Broad learnings from the six conversations with First Nations graduates indicated that memories of, and reflections on, schooling by these women offer valuable insights into what worked and what didn’t for students from individual perspectives. The ex-students spoke warmly about influential teachers and recalled in detail strategies teachers used to help with literacy, most frequently. They recalled meaningful interactions with specific teachers and reflected on the role of relationships, mentors,

elders and family in this context. Another key emergence was the depth and strength of homesickness and separation from family and Country (as the students were all boarders which was a new experience for them), and schooling in Sydney and distance from home and family altered the responsibilities and protections enmeshed in these (Macdonald et al, 2018; Mander et al., 2015; Whettingsteel et al., 2020).

It became clear that speaking with ex-students about their schooling can provide rich, layered and complex insights into the phenomenon of education through the lens of culture. Ex-students can speak more freely than a school student might be able to. They can be critical and complimentary, and

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The pilot interviews confirmed our understanding that considerable planning will be required to conduct research in this area, including researching under the supervision of an Australian First Nations woman as the lead researcher.

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