By Molly Magennis
Victoria University (VU) have reinvented a program that, prior to COVID, once had their teachers-in-training doing placements in remote Indigenous communities.
Story Writing in Remote Locations (SWIRL) has been running for 26 years, and typically sees student teachers head to the Northern Territory.
Instead, due to the pandemic, teaching students have been working with Footscray Secondary College.
In partnership with the College and VU’s Moondani Balluk Academic Unit, which focuses on providing support for Aboriginal students
and Aboriginal research, SWIRL was moved to an urban setting in 2021.
VU College of Arts and Education teacher Dr Sarah Tartakover said: “This was a unique opportunity to place our Master of Teaching pre-service teachers at Footscray High School, where there is a strong focus on implementing the Victorian Government’s Marrung Aboriginal Education Plan.”
Moondani Balluk Co-director of Teaching and Learning Tracey Cooper said doing SWIRL in a remote setting compared to one like Footscray was completely different.
“We had to go from capturing Indigenous standpoints and knowledges within remote classrooms with mainly Indigenous students, to teaching and embedding these standpoints in urban classrooms filled with a diverse group of students.”
VU expects to continue the program at Footscray High School next year, and also hopes to take Urban SWIRL to other schools.
