Lecturer, Faye Rosas Blanch

Position:

Teaching Co-ordinator and Lecturer

Qualifications:

Masters of Arts by Research (Education), 2008
Graduate Diploma, Education (Secondary), 1997
Bachelor of Arts, (Aboriginal Studies), 1995

Faye Blanch originates from the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland.  Her cultural groups are the Tableland Yidinji people and the Mbabaram people of the Herberton area.

Faye’s background is in Indigenous Education, working with both Indigenous students and community members for the last 20 years in the secondary sector.  She has a particular interest in the rights of young Indigenous Australians to achieve schooling outcomes.

Faye is interested in the global popular culture of Rap and Hip Hop and the influence and impact on the lives of young Indigenous Australians (males) and their participation in secondary schooling and contemporary society.  Her main concern is how to engage and re-engage young Indigenous males in schooling to go beyond into the wider community.  Faye finds working with Indigenous students both challenging and very rewarding.

Faye’s position at Yunggorendi is Academic Advisor / Lecturer / Teaching Co-Ordinator situated in the Tjilbruke Student Support Centre and her duties include support for students, liaison with schools and faculties and co-ordinating the teaching topics AUST 1004, AUST 1004A and AUST 1301.

Masters information

Faye’s Masters Thesis looks at the way the genre of Rap and Hip Hop can be used as a tool for teaching and engaging young Indigenous males in the classroom.  It identifies through exploring the ‘lived experiences’ of a small group of young Nunga males, ways to empower and transform the decision making process to incorporate their own involvement in schooling to gain successful learning.

Previous positions

2008                    Academic Advisor & Associate Lecturer
2007                    Case Manager Secondary Senior Girls, Lefevre High School, Largs Bay
2003                    Relief Teaching, Atherton Tablelands
2001-2002            Teaching Kaurna Plains, R-12 Community School, Elizabeth South
1997-2000            Teaching Woodville High School, Woodville
1994-1996            Aboriginal Education Worker, Wiltja Program, Woodville High School

Creative work - 1994

• 20 minute short film for Installation titled “And Then You Sort of Connect Up”
• 20 minute radio program at 5UV on the Suffrage “Votes for Women”
• 3 x 30 minute radio programs for Aboriginal Radio, 5UV

Conferences

• WIPCE, Melbourne, Australia (2008)
• Social Justice Conference, Flinders University (November 2008)
• Postgraduate Seminar, Melbourne University (February 2006)
• World Indigenous Peoples Education Conference, New Zealand (2005)

Teaching interests & current topics

Interests

• Indigenous Education
• Indigenous Knowledges
• Rap and Hip Hop Culture

Topics

• AUST 1301:            Issues for Indigenous Students in Higher Education
• AUST 1004 :           Teaching Aboriginal Studies
• AUST 1004A :         Teaching Aboriginal Studies
• EDUC 4802:            Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students

Select recent professional and community activity

• Flinders University Leadership Program (Adelaide, 2008-09) 
• Indigenous Women's Leadership Workshop (Victoria, December 2008)
• Indigenous Women's Leadership Workshop (Queensland, June 2008) 
• Cultural Awareness Workshops within Flinders University and the Community
• Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia (SSABSA)
• Cultural Diversity
• Language and Inclusive Practices
• Aboriginal Education Reference Group
• Member Equal Opportunity & Diversity Committee (Flinders University)

Scholarship

• Awarded the Professor Lowitja O’Donoghue Scholarship (2005)