A Positive Sense of Identity and Culture Defining and measuring progress for children and young people in Australia - a literature and scoping review on developing better indicators Prepared for the Australian Government Department of Social Services Lauren Renshaw August 2019 Table of Contents Executive summary ....................................................................................... v What is culture? ...................................................................................................................................... v What is identity? .................................................................................................................................... vi How are these two concepts related? ...................................................................................................vii What do children and young people say about identity and culture? .................................................. viii What impacts its formation? ................................................................................................................. viii Gender. ............................................................................................................................................ viii Age……. ............................................................................................................................................ viii Spaces for identity formation and connection to culture ................................................................ viii Potential risk and protective factors ................................................................................................. ix How is it measured? ................................................................................................................................ x Conclusion: Developing indicators for having a positive sense of identity and culture ......................... x Key principles ..................................................................................................................................... xi Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................................... xiii Having a positive sense of identity and culture – issues and considerations by age range ............. xv 1. Background ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 The Nest – outcomes framework for the wellbeing of children and young people in Australia .. 1 1.2 Purpose and aims .......................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Wellbeing Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people ...... 4 2. Research questions ................................................................................. 5 3. Methodology ............................................................................................ 5 3.1 Research limitations ...................................................................................................................... 6 4. Culture and identity – concepts and definitions ..................................... 7 4.1 Culture ........................................................................................................................................... 7 4.2 Identity .......................................................................................................................................... 8 4.2.1. Personal identity .................................................................................................................... 9 4.2.2. Social identity ...................................................................................................................... 10 4.2.3. Identity as processes ........................................................................................................... 12 4.2.4. Place identity – national identity ......................................................................................... 13 Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth Page | i 4.3 Conceptual cross-overs ............................................................................................................... 14 4.3.1. Identity, cultural negotiation and the sociocultural approach to identity formation ......... 14 4.3.2. Cultural identity ................................................................................................................... 15 4.3.3. Conceptual cross-overs as articulated by children and young people ................................ 18 5. Situational factors and context ............................................................. 21 5.1 Age and gender ........................................................................................................................... 22 5.2 Interpersonal relationships and spaces ...................................................................................... 24 5.2.1. Family – home and community ........................................................................................... 24 5.2.1 Peers .................................................................................................................................... 25 5.2.2 Teachers and educators – formal education institutions .................................................... 26 5.2.3 Environmental and social factors ........................................................................................ 27 5.2.4 Media (mainstream and online) .......................................................................................... 28 5.3 Dislocation ................................................................................................................................... 29 5.3.1 Out-of-home care placements ............................................................................................. 30 5.3.2 Trans-cultural adoption ....................................................................................................... 32 5.3.3 Children of migrants ............................................................................................................ 33 5.3.4 Poverty, trauma, conflict and loss ....................................................................................... 34 5.4 Oppression, marginalisation and discrimination ........................................................................ 36 5.4.1 Racial identification and discrimination .............................................................................. 37 5.4.2 Gender identification, sexual orientation and discrimination ............................................. 38 5.4.3 Children and young people with disabilities ........................................................................ 39 6. Existing indicators, measures and data sources ................................... 41 6.1 Best practice in indicator development ...................................................................................... 41 6.2 Scales ........................................................................................................................................... 42 6.3 Datasets....................................................................................................................................... 43 6.3.1 Australian datasets – longitudinal studies, administrative data and surveys ..................... 44 6.4 International examples ............................................................................................................... 45 6.5 Frameworks and Standards ........................................................................................................ 45 6.5.1 Convention of the Rights of the Child .................................................................................. 46 6.5.2 National Standards for Out-of-home Care .......................................................................... 48 6.5.3 The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia ............................................................. 48 6.5.4 Tasmanian child and youth wellbeing framework .............................................................. 49 6.5.5. Western Australia’s Commissioner for Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Monitoring Framework .......................................................................................................................... 50 6.5.5 Conceptual Framework for Aboriginal child health and wellbeing in an urban setting ...... 51 6.5.6 UNESCO’s Framework for Cultural Statistics and Culture for Development Indicators ...... 52 A Positive Sense of Identity and Culture Page | ii 7. Summary of the literature – Key points ................................................ 55 8. Conclusion – Developing indicators for having a positive sense of identity and culture .............................................................................. 57 8.1 Key principles .............................................................................................................................. 57 8.2 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................... 59 8.3 Having a positive sense of identity and culture – issues and considerations by age range ....... 62 9. References ............................................................................................. 64 10 Appendix A ...........................................................................................