Papers by Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews
Regional and Global Cooperation in Educational Research Proceedings of the 42nd Joint Australian Association For Research in Education and Asia Pacific Educational Research Association Conference 2 6 December 2012 University of Sydney N S W, 2015
This paper offers a brief review of research on the impact of bullying and racism on Aboriginal a... more This paper offers a brief review of research on the impact of bullying and racism on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within Australia. The overarching emphasis was on the variety of physical, social, mental, and educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth, whilst also critiquing the prevailing literature with regard to its inclusion and sensitivity towards the importance of culture and connected values. Within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research setting, although a strong base of research on the impact of racism has emerged, research on the impact of bullying is more recent. In addition, while there may be considerable overlap as to the individual impact of bullying and racism, racism research has identified a wider cultural/identity-threat that bullying research (with a few exceptions) has largely ignored. As a result, there is a need to be sensitive to cultural differences with regard to both the types and effects of racism and bullying, and that efforts to understand and to lessen the prevalence of racism and bullying should be framed within the development of a culturally sensitive and secure framework (Coffin, 2008).
The Aboriginal Girls' Circle (AGC) is an intervention targeted to increase social connection, par... more The Aboriginal Girls' Circle (AGC) is an intervention targeted to increase social connection, participation and selfconfidence amongst Aboriginal girls attending secondary schools. Researchers from the University of Western Sydney (UWS)'s School of Education sought to evaluate the AGC pilot undertaken at Dubbo College and to provide recommendations for the program's further development.
A significant body of literature attests to the influence of social contexts on students' engagem... more A significant body of literature attests to the influence of social contexts on students' engagement with school. A review of this literature led to the construction of a self-report instrument designed to measure Social-Relational Support for Education (SRSE). The conceptual framework underlying the SRSE instrument focuses on the factors that can potentially boost student engagement: these include young people's relationships with peers, teachers, and parents. Specifically, the SRSE seeks to measure young people's perceptions of the education-related values espoused by those to whom they relate most closely, as well as their sense of belonging at school. The psychometric properties of the SRSE measure are assessed in this paper through examining the congeneric properties of each hypothesised latent factor, confirmatory factor analysis of responses to the full SRSE instrument, and invariance testing. Results indicate strong factor loadings of all items on their respective scales and excellent overall model fit. The SRSE scale presented in this paper provides an essential foundation that will allow a comprehensive examination of the relationships between students' social-relational contexts and their engagement with school.
This paper reports on the pilot of the Aboriginal Girls Circle (AGC), an intervention based on th... more This paper reports on the pilot of the Aboriginal Girls Circle (AGC), an intervention based on the Circle Solutions framework (Roffey, 2014) and specifically targeted to increase social connection, participation and self-confidence among Aboriginal girls attending secondary schools. A mixed-method approach was employed to i) determine the effects of the AGC for participants’ resilience, connectedness, self-concept and cultural identity, ii) investigate and track the development of culturally appropriate tools and methods for measuring these constructs, and iii) evaluate the relative effectiveness of various components of the program and implementation processes. Here we present the main findings for the first two aims. Based on interviews and focus groups with participants, parents, Elders and school staff, the qualitative findings of this mixed-method research showed very encouraging impacts for the girls’ sense of confidence, resilience and connectedness. School staff also respond...
In the past ten or so years, a portion of social psychological research examining the topic of pr... more In the past ten or so years, a portion of social psychological research examining the topic of prejudice and discrimination has moved away from the traditional focus of individuals who express such prejudicial values, and drifted more towards those who are the victim of discriminative behaviour and practices. The direction of this research, largely hampered by ethical and methodological concerns,
International Journal of Testing, 2010
This investigation reports on the cross-cultural equivalence testing of the Self-Description Ques... more This investigation reports on the cross-cultural equivalence testing of the Self-Description Questionnaire II (short version; SDQII-S) for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian secondary student samples. A variety of statistical analysis techniques were employed to assess the psychometric properties of the SDQII-S for both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In addition, an analysis was conducted to determine whether the latent means of the self-concepts differed significantly between Indigenous and non-Indigenous male and female students. The results demonstrated that the SDQII-S held strong psychometric properties across the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students. Furthermore, the analyses indicated that there were significant differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students for 7 of the 13 self-concept facets. Although some question could be raised as to the practical nature of these differences, the measurement equivalence of the SDQII-S for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students may allow researchers to more 48 BODKIN-ANDREWS ET AL.
Race Ethnicity and Education, 2014
It may be argued that the emerging discourses focusing on the social, emotional, educational, and... more It may be argued that the emerging discourses focusing on the social, emotional, educational, and economic disadvantages identified for Australia’s First Peoples (when compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts) are becoming increasingly dissociated with an understanding of the interplay between historical and current trends in racism. Additionally, and if not somewhat related to this critique, it can be suggested that the very construction of research from a Western perspective of Indigenous identity (as opposed to identities) and ways of being are deeply entwined within the undertones of epistemological racism still prevalent today. It is the purpose of this article to move beyond the overreliance of outside-based understanding Western epistemologies, and to explore not only the complex nature of both racism and identity from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, but to also explore the role of education and research in perpetuating varying levels of racism and resistance to Indigenous identity(ies) from a contemporary insider-based standpoint. It is hoped this article will shed some light on the pervasive nature of racism directed at Indigenous Australians, and highlight the need for the continual acceptance, respect, and promotion of Indigenous voices and identities within the educational environment and beyond.
Diversity in Higher Education, 2013
ABSTRACT Generally, theory and research investigating the effectiveness of mentoring has offered ... more ABSTRACT Generally, theory and research investigating the effectiveness of mentoring has offered little resounding evidence to attest to mentoring programmes being a strategic initiative that make a real difference in reducing the educational inequities many minority students endure. In contrast to this existing research base, the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) has often been cited as one of the most successful mentoring initiatives within Australia. It is the purpose of this chapter to examine how AIME may impact on the educational aspirations and school self-concept of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Diversity in Higher Education, 2013
Purpose: Emerging discourses focusing on the social, emotional, educational, and economic disadva... more Purpose: Emerging discourses focusing on the social, emotional, educational, and economic disadvantages identified for Australia's First Peoples (when compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts) are becoming increasingly dissociated with an understanding of the interplay between historical and current trends in racism. In addition, it may be argued that the very construction of Western perspectives of Indigenous identity (as opposed to identities) may be deeply entwined within the undertones of the interplay between epistemological racism, and the emergence of new racism today. Methodology: This chapter shall review a substantial portion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educational research, with a particular emphasis on the acknowledgment of the impact of racism on the educational outcomes (and other life outcomes) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with a focus on higher education. Findings: This review has found that while there is evidence emerging toward the engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in all forms of education, there is also considerable resistance to targeted efforts to reduce the inequities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and all Australians (especially within the university sector). It is argued this resistance, both at the student and curriculum level, is clear evidence of preexisting epistemological mentalities and racism. Implications: The implications of this review suggest that greater effort needs to be placed in recognizing unique Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences and perspectives, not only at the student level, but such perspectives need to be imbedded throughout the whole university environment.
Recent research into the nature and impact of racial discrimination directed at Aboriginal Austra... more Recent research into the nature and impact of racial discrimination directed at Aboriginal Australian children and youth has revealed how such a stressor can negatively impact upon varying physical health, emotional well-being, and education outcomes. Despite the strength of these findings for identifying need for action, such research has been largely limited by either a lack of consideration as to the potentially complex nature of racism targeting Aboriginal Australians, or alternatively offering little in identifying sources of resiliency for Aboriginal Australian students. It is the purpose of this investigation to identify the voices of high achieving Aboriginal Australian post-graduate students with regard to their experiences of racism, how they may have coped with racism, and their advice to future generations of Aboriginal youth.
Learning and Individual Differences, 2014
ABSTRACT Previous research on differences and similarities in self-concept of Indigenous and non-... more ABSTRACT Previous research on differences and similarities in self-concept of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students did not consider the possible differentiation between competence and affect components. As a result, it is unknown whether previously found differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students' self-concepts are the result of their beliefs about their abilities or their feelings about specific domains. Thus, the present study aims to examine and compare the structure, the mean levels, and the relations to achievement measures of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students' self-concepts in academic and non-academic domains when taking the competence–affect separation into account. Self-concepts in math, English, school, physical ability, and art were measured with 1809 secondary school students including 343 Indigenous students. For Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that all self-concept facets measured could be separated into competence and affect components although the correlations between competence and affect components were high, particularly for art and physical ability self-concepts. Non-Indigenous students demonstrated higher levels of school competence, English competence, English affect, and math competence self-concepts. Indigenous students displayed higher levels of physical ability competence self-concepts while no group differences could be found for school affect, math affect, physical ability affect, and art competence and affect self-concepts. Invariance tests revealed an invariant factor structure and invariant relations between the multiple self-concept facets and achievement factors across Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Hence, the present study adds to our understanding of the similarities and differences regarding Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students' self-concepts.
Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 2012
ABSTRACT Academic disengagement among disadvantaged minority groups has received considerable att... more ABSTRACT Academic disengagement among disadvantaged minority groups has received considerable attention within the psychological literature, and such research has attempted to identify variables that may reduce the risk of disengagement. With regard to this investigation, longitudinal structural equation modeling techniques were used across a sample of secondary school students to test whether Aboriginality (being Indigenous or non-Indigenous Australian), academic self-concept, and a cademic disengagement were causally related (once the effects of prior measures had been accounted for). The results suggest that although Aboriginality held a significant correlation with disengagement (suggesting that Indigenous students are more likely to disengage from school), the causal impact of this variable seems to be negated when the causal impact of academic self-concept is also considered. These results suggest that enhancing academic self-concept may be a useful strategy for addressing patterns of school disengagement that have been repeatedly noted for Indigenous Australian students.
Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 2010
ABSTRACT Psychological research and the popular media culture have repeatedly noted that self-est... more ABSTRACT Psychological research and the popular media culture have repeatedly noted that self-esteem positively contributes to life satisfaction and performance indicators across a large variety of domains. However, while varying measures of self-esteem may be argued to have a positive influence on outcome measures, increasing evidence suggests that perceptions of racial discrimination may also have a negative impact across a wide variety of outcomes. The current investigation used structural equation modelling techniques to examine the potential impact of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students' General Self-Esteem and their perceptions of racial discrimination on spelling and maths achievement. Results indicated that General Self-Esteem displayed little or no significant relations with the performance measures, yet perceived racial discrimination significantly and negatively predicted both spelling and maths achievement for the Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In addition, no significant latent interaction between General Self-Esteem and perceived discrimination was identified, raising questions for the self-protective properties of General Self-Esteem, at least for achievement outcomes.
… Journal of Testing, 2010
This investigation reports on the cross-cultural equivalence testing of the Self-Description Ques... more This investigation reports on the cross-cultural equivalence testing of the Self-Description Questionnaire II (short version; SDQII-S) for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian secondary student samples. A variety of statistical analysis techniques were employed to assess the psychometric properties of the SDQII-S for both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In addition, an analysis was conducted to determine whether the latent means of the self-concepts differed significantly between Indigenous and non-Indigenous male and female students. The results demonstrated that the SDQII-S held strong psychometric properties across the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students. Furthermore, the analyses indicated that there were significant differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students for 7 of the 13 self-concept facets. Although some question could be raised as to the practical nature of these differences, the measurement equivalence of the SDQII-S for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students may allow researchers to more 48 BODKIN-ANDREWS ET AL.
… , Social and Personal Identity for the …, 2006
... Professor Rhonda Craven is the Deputy Director of the Self-concept Enhancement and Learning F... more ... Professor Rhonda Craven is the Deputy Director of the Self-concept Enhancement and Learning Facilitation (SELF) Research Centre, and has a publication record including: 7 books, 19 book chapters, 49 refereed journal articles, 56 refereed conference papers and 5 ...
Fifth Global SELF …, 2009
The notion of academic disengagement, regardless of its specific conceptualisation (e.g., cogniti... more The notion of academic disengagement, regardless of its specific conceptualisation (e.g., cognitive, affective or behavioural) is one that has received considerable attention within the educational and social psychological literature, especially with regard to disadvantaged minority groups. Implicit within a portion of the disengagement research is the assumption that notions of disengagement are largely a result of one's racial/ethnic identity, thus potentially raising misattributions of the now rightfully maligned deficit models. With regard to this investigation, the validity of such 'deficit' models of disengagement shall be critically and quantitatively tested by utilising SEM causal modelling techniques. Specifically, the causal impact of secondary students' Aboriginality (Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian) and academic self-concept will be tested over self-reports of academic disengagement (once a prior measure of disengagement has been accounted for). The results suggest that although Aboriginality held a significant correlation with disengagement (suggesting that Indigenous students are more likely to disengage from school), the causal impact of this variable is negated when the causal impact of academic self-concept was also considered. The implication of this research suggests that academic self-concept may be a key variable to unlocking trends of school disengagement that have been noted for Indigenous Australian students.
4th International Biennial …, 2006
... Professor Rhonda Craven is the Acting Director of the Self-Concept Enhancement and Learning F... more ... Professor Rhonda Craven is the Acting Director of the Self-Concept Enhancement and Learning Facilitation (SELF) Research Centreranked as the 7th most productive educational psychology research centre in the world, and a Professor in the School of Education in the ...
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Papers by Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews
Methodology - A series of multi-group analyses were centred around Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling techniques that sought not only to explore the psychometric validity of the measures utilized within this study, but also to identify how the mea- sures may be related after accounting for background variables (e.g. gen- der, parental education).
Findings - The results found that the measures utilized held strong psychometric properties allowing an increased level of confidence in the measures used and the conclusion that may be drawn from their use in analyses. Overall, the results suggested that AIME is an effective tool for increasing not only the educational aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students but also their levels (and utility) of School Self-concept and School Enjoyment.
Implications - The implications suggest that not only is AIME an essential tool for closing the educational gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal students, but also our under- standing of mentoring must be extended well beyond simplistic notions of role-modelling.