Koorie Open Door EducationMark Rose, Principal, KODE Campus, Glenroy, VIC. AbstractKoorie Open Door Education (KODE) is a project in partnership between the Koorie Community of Victoria and the Victorian Department of Education aiming to provide the best od indigenous Knowledge with the best of Western knowledge. At present there are two KODE schools operating in Victoria, one in the Melbourne suburb of Glenroy and the other in the eastern Victorian town of Morwell. In line with the birth to death concept of Indigenous education, KODE will from 1998 operate within a K-12 context in a full service delivery mode as well as adult, TAFE and community education being available on the one site. While only two and a half years old, the KODE project reflects the dreams and visions that Koorie people have had for their children for generations. Already the project has had some very exciting results not the least being the more than significant reversal of access, success and retention rates. With a firm basis in key Koorie values and supported by a blend of contemporary and traditional pedagogy and methodology, the KODE project received great attention and interest last year at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference - Education, in New Mexico, USA. Success has been so great that the Victorian Government has doubled its original committment of two KODE schools to four by 1999. We see the KODE project as having much to offer both contemporary Western education and Indigenous education. Theme two of the conference, 'Cross Cultural, Anti Racism and International Education' has strong links to the pursuit and ethos of KODE, particularly 'Education for Self Determination'. |
|
|