Education for Assimilation: A Brief History of Aboriginal Education in Western Australia

Abstract

In this chapter we provide an analysis of the tensions in Aboriginal education in Australia, with a particular focus on Western Australia, where the authors live and work. These tensions have arisen from the government policies enacted on Aboriginal Peoples since colonisation. These policies have left a legacy of marginalisation within the current education system nationally. We provide this discussion in order to answer the question: How have past government policies impacted contemporary Australian schooling for Aboriginal students? Commencing with pre colonisation we acknowledge Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing that have existed in Australia for over 60,000 years. We provide a timeline of significant government policies and practices that have shaped the current status of Aboriginal education in Australia. We argue that there is a deeply entrenched racist undertone in curriculum policy and pedagogies that non Aboriginal Australia is yet to address.