Case study: Indigenous Australian's and Education (IKC101)
Educational achievement and frameworks that support and engage Indigenous Australians is a contemporary issue that is widely discussed in political and Indigenous forums (Dockett et al. 2006). Underachievement can lead to other social and economic disadvantages including over-representation in criminal justice, poor health outcomes and employment limitations (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013 ) . Educational frameworks have the potential to promote social equality and justice for Indigenous Australians. Mitrou et al. (2014) found that Indigenous Australians were more disadvantaged by education frameworks in 2006 compared to 1981 . This highlights the importance of continual reflection and review of Indigenous and non-Indigenous practice within educational departments.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were less likely to complete year 12 or higher studies. Although there has been a significant increase in higher education attainment since 1959, Indigenous Australians are still under-represented (Wilson & Wilks, 2015). The National Education Agreement between all States and Territories aims to engage all students to meet basic literacy and numeracy objectives and the promotion of a socially cohesive environment .
Bodkin-Andrews & and Carlson (2014) examined a correlation between race and academic achievement. Findings reflected that Indigenous Australians were marked 5-9% lower than their non-Indigenous peers . Such disparity is at odds with government aspirations for more equitable frameworks. The study also found inclusive practice that promoted Indigenous cultures was reciprocated with lower absenteeism and increased value placed on education by Indigenous Australians .
The New South Wales Government Department of Education and Training (2008), hoped that by 2012 Aboriginal educational outcomes would be greater than or equal to non-Indigenous students, however ACARA(2015) reported NAPLAN results, which saw Indigenous students achieve lower educational outcomes in 2015. Whilst these results are important and should be addressed, the use of prescriptive scoring based on mainstream educational values, may disadvantage Indigenous Australians. Results such as NAPLAN are often a reflection of teaching practice rather than student ability .
Encouraging Indigenous participation in education has not always been a national priority. Post-colonisation practices were based on social theories that deemed Indigenous Australians to be inferior to Eurocentric people. These theories led to policies such as The Aborigines Protection Act 1909, which isolated Indigenous Australians from educational environments. In Cootamundra, NSW, ‘The Aboriginal Girls Training Home,’ under ‘The Aborigines Protection Board,’ separated girls from families, kinships and culturally based education (Department of the Environment, 2015 ).
When policy shifted towards assimilation, Indigenous children could attend school, however segregation was a common occurrence. Bob Glanville, Local Wiradjuri Elder recalls experiences of segregation in the 1960s. “One bell would go for the white kids to use the toilet and one bell for us.” (B. Glanville, personal communication, 01 February, 2016). Historical contexts have had immeasurable consequences such as dispossession, which need to be understood to break down barriers regarding educational attainment.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, states that parents have the right to determine the type of education a child receives. The Australian Government should engage local Indigenous Elders in teaching Indigenous cultures, language and practice to students, and whole school initiatives that acknowledge Indigenous Australian History whilst engaging wider communities.
Article 14 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems, and have access to an education in their own culture and language . The promotion and use of diverse Indigenous cultures and languages, relevant to student needs could improve educational outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Furthermore, an extensive case study determined that greater professional development relating to Indigenous Australians educational needs and increased interactions between Indigenous students and communities across the school environment, promoted a culturally responsive environment with higher engagement (Owens, 2014).
References
Aborigines Protection Act 1909. (Austl). Retrieved from www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/apa1909n25262.pdf
Anderson, M., Bilney, J., Bycroft, N., Cockatoo-Collins, D., Creighton, G., Else, J., Moller, J. (2012). Closing the Gap: Support for Indigenous loss. Australian Nursing Journal, 19(10), 24-27.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011). Census of Population and Housing: First Results, Australia, 2012-13 (Report No. 4727.0.55.001). Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/EB419CEC2488E1F8CA257C2F001456C8?opendocument
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Year Book Australia, 2012: Education and Training, (Report No. 1301.0). Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1301.0Main+Features232012
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2011 (Report No. 2076.0). Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2076.0main+features302011
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2015,.National
Assessment Program: Achievement In Reading, Persuasive Writing, Language
Australian Human Rights Commission, (n.d.). Right to self-determination: Article 1 of both Covenants. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/right-self-determination
Australian Institute of Health Ammendment Act 1992 (Austl). Retrieved from https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2004A04307
Bodkin-Andrews, G., & Carlson, B. (2014). The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian identity within education. Race Ethnicity and Education, 1-24.
Conventions And Numeracy. Australian curriculum and assessment reporting authority, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu.au/results-and-reports/national-reports.html
Dafler, J. R. (2005). Social Darwinism and the language of racial oppression: Australia's Stolen Generations. ETC: A Review Of General Semantics, 62(2), 137-149.
Department of the Environment. (2015). Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls' Training Home. Retrieved from http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5061346
Department of Health,. A Better Start To Life For Indigenous Children. 2014. Web. 6 Feb. 2016.
Dockett, S., Mason, T., & Perry, B. (2006). Successful transition to school for Australian Aboriginal children. Childhood education, 82(3), 139-144.
Johnston, E. (1991). Vol. 2 Chapter 10.4 Frontier Period: Disease and Violence. Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Retrieved from http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/rciadic/national/vol2/8.html
Mitrou, F., Cooke, M., Lawrence, D., Povah, D., Mobilia, E., Guimond, E., & Zubrick, S. R. (2014). Gaps in Indigenous disadvantage not closing: a census cohort study of social determinants of health in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand from 1981–2006. BMC Public Health, 14, 201-201.
New South Wales Government Department of Education and Training. Aboriginal Education and Training Policy. Canberra: Australian Government, 2008. Print.
Owens, K. (2014). Changing the teaching of mathematics for improved Indigenous education in a rural Australian city. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 18(1), 53-78.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Adopted and proclaimed by UN General Assembly Resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948 Text: UN Document A/810, (1948)
UN General Assembly, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: resolution / adopted by the General Assembly, 2 October 2007, A/RES/61/295, available at https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/un-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples-1 [accessed 6 February 2016]
Wilson, K., & Wilks, J. (2015). Australian Indigenous higher education: politics, policy and representation. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 37(6), 659-672.
