‘New education approach needed to close the gap’: Indigenous researcher Abbey-Rose Cox
Fed up with watching Indigenous students fall behind, a Broome teacher has abandoned the classroom to revolutionise Aboriginal education from the ground up.
Fed up with watching Indigenous students fall behind, Broome teacher Abbey-Rose Cox abandoned the classroom to develop a new way to close the gap by placing children’s wellbeing at the centre of learning.
Dr Cox had always been passionate about educating and empowering Indigenous children, but she felt she had to leave teaching to properly fight for her students’ cultural, social and emotional wellbeing.
A Kija and Nimanburru woman, Dr Cox grew up in Broome in Western Australia, where she quickly learnt the importance of education.
“I’ve always been super passionate … because education is a real pathway for my mob to be able to succeed,” she said.
“I just felt like I could really connect with my young people and provide the tools for them to be able to listen, communicate and articulate their needs.”
As a teacher, Dr Cox said she became “sad and frustrated” with how the education system failed Indigenous students: “Being an Aboriginal woman, seeing the massive gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students not getting any better was frustrating.”
Fed up with the system, Dr Cox left teaching to research how to deliver a more well-rounded system that gave students more than just book-smarts. “The way the world is going, mental health and social and emotional wellbeing need to be implemented into the curriculum,” Dr Cox said.
“Our school systems have been running the same system with the same approaches and pedagogy since they started, but serious mental health needs and community needs haven’t been recognised. Our children spend most of their lives at school and it’s a perfect platform for them to be able to learn, but before they can learn about the industrial revolution or World War I, we need to ensure they’re regulated and their basic social and emotional wellbeing needs are met.”
As a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, Dr Cox is developing “a tool book for young people to be able to deal with racism, and change the narrative. Another project I’m really excited about is … continuing on the work of my PhD, which is … a youth empowerment program,” she said. “I hope to provide a platform for people to listen and see the importance of strong cultural, social and emotional wellbeing programs … so Aboriginal students could succeed and want to go to school again.”
Dr Cox said she felt a responsibility to become a leader in her community from a young age.
“I was on a lot of national advisory committees for Aboriginal students throughout high school and that lead on to university, and when you’re in those roles, you have an obligation and accountability to your community. People look up to you … and I do my very best to live up to that expectation.
“Sometimes it’s exhausting but I feel like I’ve been lucky enough and privileged enough to have all these opportunities so it’s important to give that back.”
Dr Cox said she was “super passionate” about “flipping” the way research has historically been done. “This is about ensuring that my people are at the table for research discussions and they’re part of developing and implementing research projects,” she said.
For her contributions to education and community, Dr Cox has been nominated for a Shine Award. The awards, run by our rural masthead The Weekly Times and supported by Harvey Norman, recognise achievements and contributions of women in rural and regional Australia.
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