Defining the Cultural Context of Aboriginal Childrens Development, Health

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• Defining the Cultural Context of Aboriginal
  Childrens Development, Health Wellbeing
• ISCI Conference
• 28th June 2007
• Chicago
• Rani Param
• Centre for Developmental Health
• Curtin University of Technology
• Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
• Perth, Australia

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Today...

• Australias Indigenous population
• This research
• Challenges of population-level indicators for
  Indigenous children

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Australias Indigenous Peoples

• Aboriginal Australians
• Mainland Australia and Tasmania
• 60,000 year oral history
• Oldest living culture in the world
• Torres Strait Islander Australians
• Island clusters between tip of Qld (Cape York)
  PNG
• Distinct from Aboriginal Australians
• Indigenous status is largely self and
  community-identified

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About Indigenous Australians

• 456,000 Indigenous Australians, 2.3 of
  Australian population
• Majority Indigenous Australians live on east
  coast NSW Qld (29 28 respectively)
• Median age Indigenous 20.5yrs
• Median age Australians 37yrs
• Indigenous birth rate 2.15
• Australian birth rate 1.75

(Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007)
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Australias Indigenous Peoples

• Dispossessed of land and country
• Children forcibly removed under the guise of
  protection
• Church-run missionaries forbade cultural
  practices, traditional language, traditional
  beliefs, teachings
• Effects of colonisation continue to manifest
  today in social and emotional wellbeing
  difficulties

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Why Indigenous Focus?
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Indigenous Health Wellbeing

• 17 year life expectancy gap nationally
• Infant mortality rate 3 times higher
• High rates of otitis media in children
• Higher reported rates of risk-taking behaviour
• Social and emotional wellbeing issues
• Entrenched socio-economic disadvantage in many
  Indigenous families

(Thomson et al 2007)
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This Research...
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Aboriginal Perspectives of Child Development

• Qualitative research
• Focus groups with Aboriginal parents / carers
• Individual interviews with Aboriginal child
  health / education professionals
• Two locations in WA rural and urban
• Small study 34 participants
• Thematic analysis
• Review of the literature
• Indigenous context for ECD
• readiness for school
• Parent / carer perspectives of childrens early
  learning

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Results Indigenous Identity

• Sense of Aboriginal identity is critical
• Knowing who he is and where he comes from is
  what keeps him strong. (Aboriginal carer,
  urban)
• Strong sense of Aboriginal identity perceived by
  parents as a key determinant of readiness for
  school
• Important learning outcome of early childhood
• Knowing your mob
• Learning about kin arrangements
• Learning who youre related to and how

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Results Connection to Country

• Knowing your traditional lands
• its significance to family/community
• traditional tie to country
• spending time with family on traditional lands
• Important spiritual implications
• Many of our old people say the reason were
  getting sick is cause weve lost our land. I
  think its important for our children to have a
  future they must connect to their traditional
  roots, know their country, connect with their
  country. (Aboriginal carer, urban)

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Results Family Life

• Indigenous children grow up in larger, younger
  families
• Caregiving role is shared among extended family
  aunties, uncles etc
• mum early years childhood dad
  transition to adolescence

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Results - Stress Grief

• Our kids deal with a lot when theyre young,
  they have to grow up faster than other kids.
  (Child Health Worker, rural)By the time our
  kids get to school theyve probably seen many of
  their family die, get sick or be put in jail.
  All this is bound to affect them. (Aboriginal
  Health Worker, urban)
• We dont identify her as Aboriginal at school
  its safer that way, she wont get picked on by
  other kids. (Carer, rural)

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Stress Indigenous ECD

• 26 Indigenous children aged 4 11yrs at high
  risk of developing clinically significant SEWB
  problems
• 42 children at high risk of SEWB problems living
  in households experienced 7 stressful life
  events
• Boys twice at risk as girls
• Children of stolen generation parents/carers
  2.3 times more likely to be at high risk of
  clinically significant SEWB problems
• Children living in remote areas at lower risk

(Zubrick et al 2005)
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Conclusions

• Indicators of child development not necessarily
  universal within countries
• Culture is more significant, more tangible,
  more meaningful influence on Indigenous child
  development
• Self-determination, Indigenous ownership/ control
  and the rights agenda are still relevant
• Important role for Indigenous parents/ families
  in developing ECD programs

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Limitations

• Reasonably small sample
• Male carers not represented
• Other jurisdictional issues, states (provinces)
  etc?
• Need more urban perspective

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The Challenges...
The Challenges
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Developing Indicators...

• Measurement challenges with these issues
• Issues with reporting culture
• Locally-based measures more appropriate, but at
  expense of national focus...?

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Acknowledgements

• Prof Sven Silburn
• Assoc Prof David Lawrence
• Sally Brinkman
• Dr Cheryl Kickett-Tucker
• National Health Medical Research Council
• Contact me
• rparam_at_meddent.uwa.edu.au