This project draws on the recognition of the effects of intergenerational and community involvement in increasing Indigenous people's engagement with learning. The project involves a collaborative process between an Indigenous community, and the community and literacy/numeracy adult educators/researchers of Centre for Popular Education (CPE) of the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). It will lead to the development of a community learning centre to facilitate an intergenerational and community based approach to encouraging greater involvement in learning among the Indigenous members of the community.

UTS has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Alexandria Park Community School (APCS) which is located in an inner city area of Sydney with a large Indigenous population. The APCS will provide the site for this project. The project is an action research project that seeks to promote and support a culture of learning in a community. The research component involves: a literature review of best practice in the design and implementation of community - school partnerships in literacy and numeracy, and community development through learning circles; desk-based research on the demographics of the Alexandria Park community; and needs analysis through focus group meetings with people who are directly interested in effecting this cultural change in the community. The action research approach involves the reflection and action cycle of the ways in which the community participants are engaging in the consultative process, and also the ways in which the project team members are conducting the process. The research will also inform elements of design of the learning centre, and design and development of program curricula.

We submitted a successful funding application to the Telstra Foundation (attached).