Community Engagement
The Stronger Smarter Approach focuses on genuine collaboration with communities and turns thinking towards a different and dynamic vision of community empowerment.
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Traditionally, schools have thought of ‘community engagement’ as being directed and controlled by the school, inviting parents and community members into the school to support existing structures and programs and decisions that have already been made. The Stronger Smarter Approach™ focuses on genuine collaboration with communities and turns thinking towards a different and dynamic vision of community empowerment.
Indigenous parents, community members and Indigenous Education Workers have articulate and powerful voices, and are seeking to engage in substantive, informed dialogue about educational issues, school practices and operations, and teaching and learning. In a community empowerment model, the voices of parents and community are privileged in all aspects of education, starting with the decisions about what they see as a quality education and quality outcomes for their children. These are authentic partnerships where families are engaged in the whole process of conceptualisation, planning, enactment and evaluation – a shared two-way engagement.
Community engagement has to be grounded in strong local connections, as a school-wide intervention where schools and teachers learn more about the local people and culture, involving deep listening, to understand different perspectives, experiences, beliefs and aspirations.
The Stronger Smarter Institute has proudly partnered with a wide range of community groups and organisations to sustainably enact the Stronger Smarter Approach and transform the educational outcomes for Indigenous students.
Get in touch with us and find out how your community can begin their Stronger Smarter Journey
We are proud to continually work with the following community partners to transform educational outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students.
Community empowerment model
Traditionally, schools have thought of ‘community engagement’ as being directed and controlled by the school, inviting parents and community members into the school to support existing structures and programs and decisions that have already been made. The Stronger Smarter Approach™ moves beyond this idea to focus on genuine collaboration with communities and turns thinking towards a different and dynamic vision of community empowerment.
Indigenous parents, community members and Indigenous Education Workers have articulate and powerful voices, and are seeking to engage in substantive, informed dialogue about school practices and operations and teaching and learning. In a community empowerment model, the voices of parents and community are privileged in all aspects of education, starting with the decisions about what they see as a quality education and quality outcomes for their children. These are authentic partnerships where families are engaged in the whole process of conceptualisation, planning, enactment and evaluation – a shared two-way engagement.
SSA in Communities Initiative
The Institute is undertaking a pilot project, funded by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) to build an evidence base of how schools can provide the space where community voices are valued and listened to, and schools and community can work together to lead and sustain strategies for students’ attendance, engagement and success. The Institute is currently working with four remote communities in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia.
Taribelang Aboriginal Corporation
In 2019, the Institute launched a partnership with the Taribelang Aboriginal Corporation (TAC), Gladstone Ports Corporation, the Port Curtis Coral Coast Trust (PCCC) and the Queensland Department of Education. This partnership supported TAC to work together with local schools to share Taribelang Bunda culture with students. The project involved Stronger Smarter Leadership Programs where community members and teachers from the Bundaberg areas of Queensland came together. This provided the catalyst to develop relationships and connections.
Members of TAC told us that having the backing of an Indigenous-led organisation such as the Stronger Smarter Institute was important, and the project is seeing greater incentive from schools to engage with their local community.
Warril Yari-Go, Logan
The Institute has had a long-standing involvement with community groups in the Logan area of Brisbane, including working with Warril Yari-Go and Logan Together. These community movements aim to grow Logan’s kids up well, through ensuring community voices to advise and guide the work of organisations and the development of programs to support local youth. Our involvement included running Stronger Smarter Leadership Programs organised by Warril Yari-Go, a leadership group consisting of First Nations Elders and community leaders from across Logan.
Get In Touch With Us
Find out how your community can begin their Stronger Smarter journey