‘I have to jump like a kangaroo … I have to slither like a snake’. A qualitative evaluation of elder-led art workshops in the child protection sector

Indigenous peoples globally have incurred significant harm resulting from colonisation and the forced removal of children from their families, culture, communities and Country. Over the last two decades in Australia, there have been calls for significant reform and there has been a raft of policy changes in child protection services. However the problems are intractable, and the numbers of Indigenous children being removed from their families continues to rise.

Citation:
Hamilton S, Maslen S, Jones L, Penny M, Pell C, Michie C, Mutch R, O’Donnell M, Shepherd C, Farrant B. ‘I have to jump like a kangaroo … I have to slither like a snake’. A qualitative evaluation of elder-led art workshops in the child protection sector. Studies in the Education of Adults.2025;1-20.

Keywords:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; out-of-home care; arts-based research; cultural connection; indigenous education

Abstract:
Indigenous peoples globally have incurred significant harm resulting from colonisation and the forced removal of children from their families, culture, communities and Country. Over the last two decades in Australia, there have been calls for significant reform and there has been a raft of policy changes in child protection services. However the problems are intractable, and the numbers of Indigenous children being removed from their families continues to rise.