‘I Could Still Be Myself as a Warlpiri Person’: How Bilingual Education Achieves Community Development Aims

Three Warlpiri educators provide insightful reflections on their experiences in a bilingual education programme in a remote community in Australia, illustrating how the language and culture programme meets community development aims. These include capacity building and increasing participation and empowerment within the community. The chapter includes accessible description of the richness of the multi-dimensional programme, and contextualisation of the community struggle for programme support. The educators discuss Warlpiri community perspectives on the programme and their journeys in becoming educators and literacy workers. They reflect on how their learning through higher education, and practice and leadership in the programme, have been extended to leadership in other related areas. They show how the teaching and learning of Warlpiri has been central to their personal and professional development.