Disability Awareness – A Service Learning Experience

Industry and Community Partners

Cherbourg Council

Micro-Placement

University

QUT

Innovative Features

Engaging multiple disciplines
Broad or deep partnerships with host organisations
Community engaged
Scalable and sustainable

Enablers

The Cherbourg Project emerged from the work of a passionate student who had connections with the local indigenous community. However, the longevity of the project, and the translation from a single student project to a sustained and broad engagement with the whole of community, was enabled through a combination of staff commitment, financial support and meaningful community buy-in to the project.

Given the intent to engage with an indigenous community, a key enabler of the project was the involvement of indigenous QUT staff and the QUT Oodgeroo Unit which supports the universities activities with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Another key enabler of the project was the involvement of the social work faculty and students. Given the more sustained engagement of a social work student during field placement, they identified the opportunity to rent premises within the community as a place for students to stay during their placement. This demonstrated a commitment to the community and also provided a location for other students to stay, meet and connect with the community.

For more information

Dr Deb Duthie (d.duthie@qut.edu.au), QUT Faculty of Health

Catherine Campbell (c.campbell@qut.edu.au), QUT Faculty of Law

Links

A comprehensive report of the project is available here:

Crane, P. and Brough, M. (2016). The Cherbourg Aboriginal Community Experience and Requirements of Tertiary Education Students. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology.

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The QUT Cherbourg Project is credit-bearing WIL experience available to students across multiple disciplines, including law, social work, health and business. QUT work in partnership with the local Cherbourg community to provide professional learning experiences for students and further assistance for community identified needs. The Cherbourg Project evolved from the engagement of a law student who established a relationship with the Barambah Local Justice Group in the Cherbourg community to develop a program to support local people to understand their rights and responsibilities across various legal issues. Emerging from this project, the Barambah Local Justice Group identified a need for broader support to develop a range of resources.

Working in partnership with the Barambah Local Justice Group, and later the Cherbourg Council and local elders, QUT developed a broad-based, multi-disciplinary community engagement shaped around the principles of participatory action research. Underpinning this model of WIL were key principles of the university working under the direction of the local community and committed to long-term community generated objectives; that the community retained ownership of all aspects of the engagements including approving the students who would participate, and that the activities of the students should work to enable the community.

Impact / outcomes

The success of The Cherbourg Project was highly dependent upon both student and staff understanding their role of service to a community, rather than as expert or leader. The participatory action research approach demands critically reflective practice which enables, empowers and works in service to a collective for sustained change.

Teaching staff: the success of The Cherbourg Project was highly dependent on the good will and interest of academic colleagues. University structures, such as the CELL and Oodgeroo Unit provided connection and support for the start-up of the project, but evident across the life of the project, particularly with structural changes to the Oodgeroo Unit and conclusion of CELL, was the need to maintain a group of staff to drive the project and engagement.

Community Partners: engagement of the Cherbourg Council, Barambah Local Justice Group and other key community groups was significant for the success of the experience. However, more importantly was meaningful engagement with the local Cherbourg residents and community leaders.