Table 1.

Principles of Discovery Education (Modified from Trudgen [14] (pp. 202–210).

Principle	Explanation
The educator/s are credible in the eyes of the people	Traditional Yolŋu knowledge is owned by particular clans and clan elders and only they have the authority to share it. Knowledge of modern diseases is considered by Yolŋu to be ‘owned’ by non-Aboriginal health professionals because Yolŋu people consider that these diseases are of European origin.
The educator/s follow ‘culturally correct’ steps for providing the information	The new information is presented first to the clan elders for their approval, and then shared with the whole cultural group, particularly the adults.
The information is provided in the local language	The majority of remote-living people have only a superficial knowledge of English. They can draw on sophisticated concepts in their own language to help them understand relevant health information.
The information is built on culturally accepted knowledge and truths	This involves searching for key terms and stories in the local language, and using ways, such as analogy, of connecting the new knowledge with cultural general knowledge.
The educators use a dialogue style [ 9]	The educator and learner are learning from each other. This enables the educator to clarify information that is not clear and to provide answers to what the learners want to know.
The information is rigorous and in-depth	Comprehensible information that can survive intellectual debate is accepted. If it is ‘simplified’ or superficial, it is rejected.