The community strength model: A proposal to invest in existing Aboriginal intellectual capital

Indigenous communities have strengths and wisdom beyond Westernized culture’s recognition

and understanding. However, there continues to be significant difference in literacy and life

skills between Indigenous and non-Indigenous adults. In this article, I reflect on a project that

investigated how technology could best support adult literacy learners in an Australian

Indigenous community. The project provided insights into how local people perceive the

concept of literacy and the significant role it plays in critical thinking and quality decision

making. The aim of my research was to create a set of principles to support adult literacy

learners, which could be interpreted and applied on a global level. From this project, a new

theoretical framework—the Community Strength Model—emerged. The cyclical model serves

as a tool to assist researchers with conceptualizing the collective process of learning within an

Indigenous culture, where being true to Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous ways of learning

is imperative to successful outcomes. It also provides a structure to facilitate respectful research,

which can be adapted for Indigenous communities globally.

Keywords: Indigenous culture; theory; synchronous technology; literacy; Indigenous

ways of knowing