Too many ‘two-ways’? ‘Gäwa is a two-way school’: clarifying approaches to remote Northern Territory Indigenous education

Abstract

The expression ‘two-way’ teaching and learning has a long history in the Northern Territory in relation to remote Indigenous education. However, it is not applied with any degree of consistency; the term ‘twoway’ functions as a summary expression for a diverse array of pedagogical approaches. This article presents qualitative research from the remote, Yolŋu ‘homeland’ community at Gäwa in north-east Arnhem Land as Indigenous first-language, case-study data. It also aims to disambiguate ‘two way’ models as current community aspirations are compared with historical policies and applications of ‘twoway’ approaches from across the Northern Territory. These include Indigenous perspectives, Indigenous learning-style, team-teaching, bilingual education, ‘bothways’ education and domain separation.