Understanding the occupational implications of a Koori development scholarship: a case study of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Indigenous Training Scholarship at the Shoalhaven Marine and Freshwater Centre

This report is the outcome of a case study which explored the occupational implications of an indigenous development program funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and hosted by the Shoalhaven Marine and Freshwater Centre. Approval for the study, undertaken by the Australasian Occupational Science Centre, was granted by the University of Wollongong‟s Human Research Ethics Committee. The scholarship holder was a Koori man living in the Shoalhaven on the south coast of NSW. The development program ran from June 2009 to January 2010. The study adopted an occupational perspective to understand the effects of the program on the scholarship holder‟s personal experiences, self esteem, and future vocational plans. Entries in the scholarship holder‟s journal and informal interviews between the scholarship holder and the study investigator were the narrative data used in the study. In addition, the investigator‟s observations of the scholarship holder and discussions with his supervisor contributed to understanding the occupational implications of the program.