Speak Out June 2021

Association NEWS

New Researcher Grant recipient Exploring and facilitating intercultural communication in early childhood assessment contexts

service providers, Yol ŋ u researchers and non-Indigenous researchers. Each participant contributed their different perspectives on the same assessment recordings, through discussions in their own languages (Djambarrpuy ŋ u, English and Warramiri). Research data has been interpreted and analysed collaboratively. Our research team maintained our partnerships and found new ways to keep working together during the coronavirus pandemic including learning to use technology differently. The knowledges and worldviews we each bring to the research are key to the process. The cultural and linguistic expertise of senior Yol ŋ u research advisors have been foregrounded in a metaphor we developed to share our findings. This metaphor is about “a flow that comes when we’re talking”. It connects key research findings about intercultural communication to Yol ŋ u ways of understanding how water flows - from fresh water springs to meet the salt water of the ocean. In the second phase of our research, we shared our findings and metaphor and co-created multi-media resources designed to be accessible to, and useful for, service providers and First Nations families. The resources were developed through participatory action research with fifty-six participants who live and/or work in the research community. Participants trialled resources and provided feedback and suggestions during group and individual discussions. The resulting resources include words and stories in Yol ŋ u languages and English, images and videos connected to the place where the research was conducted, communication strategy ideas from case studies, videos and quotes from participants and researchers. Our metaphor and resources have been co-created to share our research findings in ways that make sense to First Nations and non-Indigenous partners. They encourage us to consider deeper ways of thinking about how we connect and communicate interculturally. In recognition of Yol ŋ u Intellectual Property and cultural protocols, Yol ŋ u researchers have decided which stories to share, in how much depth, and in which ways for different audiences. When we listen carefully, reflect and discuss these stories we can learn more about how to work well in collaborative intercultural relationships. We shared some of our research findings and resources at the 2021 Speech Pathology Australia conference. The

Emily Armstrong was the recipient of a New Researcher grant in 2018 for her study Exploring and facilitating intercultural communication in early childhood assessment contexts: Working together for understanding of Yol ŋ u children’s strengths and needs. As the short summary provided below demonstrates, the study used culturally responsive, strengths based approaches consistent with the NHMRC recommendations on research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The study built on existing relationships within the community, was undertaken in partnership with Yol ŋ u researchers and overseen by a community committee – the Backbone Committee ( Ŋ araka-dälkunhamirr mala). Outcomes of the study were presented by Emily and her co-researchers at the 2021 SPA National Conference, providing conference participants with an invaluable insight into approaches to working in partnership with First Nations communities. We look forward to hearing much more about the research in the future. Wa ŋ anhamirr ga ḻ arrumma ḻŋ ’maram rramba ŋ i nhaltjan ga yothu ŋ uthan. Exploring and facilitating intercultural communication in early childhood assessment contexts. Emily Armstrong with Dorothy Gapany, Ḻ äwurrpa Maypilama and Yu ŋ girr ŋ a Bukulatjpi. Intercultural teamwork is rich, complex, fascinating, challenging and full of learning opportunities for all partners. For three years we have been exploring intercultural communication through our collaborative research project in a remote First Nations Yol ŋ u community in North-East Arnhem Land. Yol ŋ u and non-Indigenous researchers are working together on this project. Our research has used culturally-responsive research methods to explore intercultural communication processes in contexts of early childhood assessment (0 – 6 years). In the first phase of the research, we conducted case studies of early childhood assessment interactions across health, allied health, education and family support services. Five assessment interactions were recorded. Thirty-nine people participated in in-depth discussions (wa ŋ anhamirr) and video-reflexive ethnographic methods to analyse intercultural communication within their own recordings. Participants included Yol ŋ u children and their family members, Yol ŋ u service providers, non-Indigenous

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Speak Out | June 2021