The Culturally Nourishing Schooling project is a collective of researchers at four Australian universities working in partnership with eight schools and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to improve teachers’ understandings and professional practices so they can better meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, their families and communities.
The CNS project emphasises the establishment of meaningful relationships and connections with Country and localised Indigenous knowledges, histories, and experiences.
Our Blak Caucus has been established to prioritise Aboriginal community collaboration and guidance on the project. It consists of Aboriginal cultural leads from our eight participating schools.
Working in conjunction with the Blak Caucus team, a Cultural mentoring program is designed to localise and provide explicit truths and examples in re-shaping content resources and teacher perspectives.
Through simultaneous practice and research, we support schools and communities to co-design curricula, teaching practices and school environments that improve the educational achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners and foster strong and healthy identities for students.
CNS is investigating the efficacy of five strategies that work together to support schools in building collaborative relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, learn about Country and culture, and incorporate Indigenous knowledges, histories and languages into teaching and learning.