Creating an Effective School for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students

In Australia, the Collegial Snapshot (CSS) process has been a culturally safe, engaging and empowering way for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their parents and carers to share their insights and ideas about what makes an effective school. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and carers through the Collegial Snapshot Process identified six key variables that make an effective school for their child including the Cultural Environment, Quality of Teachers, Community Engagement, Student Health and Wellbeing, Curriculum and School Leadership. The wealth of data collected from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and parents and carers complemented by the school data has provided an evidence-base to build the evidence, inform future analysis, policy and practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. This paper illustrates the factors that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their parents and carers have identified as important in education. The paper highlights the strategies that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their parents and carers believe can support school communities to be effective 'places of learning'.