Innovative approach to indigenous education

Dr Phyllis Callaghan

After helping create the online video game Katuku, Mahia-raised Dr Phyllis Callaghan's innovative approach to indigenous education is now in demand from heads of state and organisations around the globe. She talked to Andrew Ashton.

After years teaching at Gisborne Boys' High School and the-then Waikohu College, Gisborne-based Phyllis Callaghan took the leap to further her knowledge around indigenous education.

It was a move that paid off.

Dr Callaghan said having been brought up on a marae it was a logical step to study indigenous affairs when she undertook studies for her Masters and then a PhD.

She gained her doctroate in education with a focus on the indigenous.

Her PhD study won the Emeritus Professor Roger Green top thesis award in 2017, and was commended for an international excellence award by Professor Norm Sheehan, Director Gnibi Southern Cross University, Australia. It was also a nominee for the Brian Sutton Top NZ thesis award.

The thesis was a collaboration with students from Murdoch University in Western Australia.

‘What I found was the disparities in Maori education were the same for indigenous people in Western Australia and then I did a whole lot of work around African-American populations and that expanded into native Canadians.

‘It just really grew my knowledge base.”

It was that cooperation with native Canadian researchers that also led to the creation of the Katuku Island video game as she adapted her own story script to a player survival game format with an indigenous overlay.

Katuku involves players taking on the role of survivors of the apocalypse. Players must find a waka and sail across the Pacific Ocean to find Katuku Island, the only uncontaminated place left on the planet.

During their journey, players create Maori warrior-inspired avatars, design weapons, build tribes, and escape crumbling cities, while undertaking literacy and decision-making challenges.

Dr Callaghan said the game's real value lay with how it combines educational benefits with an indigenous world view.

“We've been really busy. I think also what's growing is the research side of it,” Dr Callaghan said.

“The world is looking at indigenous ways of knowing and doing, especially around climate change mitigation.”

Since launching the game last year, the former Wairoa College head girl is now receiving accolades from international bodies.

“It seems to be opening up a lot of other avenues across the world. People, probably for the first time ever, want to engage authentically. Rather than just ticking boxes people want meaningful engagement.

“It's not only the gaming industry, we've been approached by heads of state, and different organisations that are actually wanting different form of help with projects and they all want to do it through an indigenous lens. So, that's been pretty awesome too.”

Recently she was invited to write a study for a Scottish university around the need for indigenous gaming.

She was then appointed co-chair of the newly formed Indigenous Advocacy and Awareness special interest group for the IGDA (International Games Developers Association), which aims to provide a sovereign and authentic forum for open discussions and research output focused on indigenous game design and development.

“That's about indigenous awareness in the gaming industry but also part of it is to do research for non-profit organisations and private companies or people who want to know more about engaging with indigenous communities,” she said.

Indigenous input around climate change and equity was particularly becoming more sought after.

“People are looking at indigenous way of doing— it's more inclusive. In terms of the environment, it's more preserving. I also think there is a drive for women's equality. There's a huge movement in terms of women in gaming. I think all those groups that have predominantly been excluded within society want better representation.

“We all want to close those gaps, I'm just so blessed to see that move in my lifetime where the world is saying ‘hey, we need to look at a lot of these issues that are going on through an indigenous lens'.

“We are at a point now where everyone can't get enough of indigenous. In previous years that gate has been closed because of what's gone on in the past because people haven't done it authentically.”

Dr Callaghan said combining education and gaming in Katuku had been regarded as a way to boost literacy.

So much so, that children playing the game were learning literacy skills such as how to identify a proper noun and what onomatopoeia and metaphors are.

“We have had some really neat feedback.

“Because Maori or indigenous people don't do well with literacy we think we've actually found a way that works — and it's what the doctoral research told us. If it looks like me, sounds like me, acts like me, then they are going to have more resilience in taking it on, even when things don't go right the first time.”

Dr Callaghan received more international acclaim with an award for Indigenous community support from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC) forum.

“That happened in the night and I accidentally fell asleep when the winners were announced at 3am in the morning. I awoke to the head of Trade New Zealand saying ‘you'd better get online quick'.

“So, it's been pretty busy and then there's all my company stuff that I'm involved with.”

Covid-19 has seen her experience “a hundred-fold” increase in work.

“I also run contracts for the Ministry of Education procurement process and I'm also working with adult organisations and private organisations on different stuff, all around publication and research. The rise of indigenous research has been massive, it's exponentially gone through the roof.

“2022 started with a great big bang and it hasn't stopped.”