Tjinatjunanyi: A Community Based Approach To Re-Engaging Aboriginal Youth In Education

Loosely translated, the Pitjantjatjara word Tjinatjunanyi means "Footsteps to Freedom". In 2004, a few Aboriginal families approached the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress in Port Augusta for help because they could not get their young people to attend school. After extensive consultation, Congress found that this was a significant problem across the town. A large number of Aboriginal students were dropping out of school in spite of school based programs designed to address this issue. The longer these young people stayed away from school the less inclined they were to return, many of them becoming involved in the criminal justice system. The author was asked for advice and support. The Tjinatjunanyi program began in term 4, 2006 and has been running ever since. So far 20 students have attended the program and re-engaged in education while part of the program, although few have yet got to the stage of returning to formal schooling. This paper details the multiple reasons why many Aboriginal students in Port Augusta drop out of school, describes the evolution, philosophy and operation of Tjinatjunanyi, and then discusses the most likely reasons why this program is succeeding while school based programs have failed to do so.