Aboriginal Education Research Articles

My Philosophy of Aboriginal Education

This definition of Reeonstructionism has been written from a Western point of view. However, with modification, the philosophy of Reeonstructionism can easily be adopted as my philosophy of Aboriginal Education.Firstly, Brameld states that ‘Reeonstructionism commits itself to a building of a new culture’. In analysing the statement it can be said that Aboriginal culture and Western culture must form a new culture through the bonding of each culture. However, it must be noted that each culture will retain its values, customs and traditions, but must readily accept and try to understand the values, customs and traditions of the alternate culture. The result will be a new cultural group.

Turkondi: Aboriginal Education Funding and Resources Guide

Turkondi: Aboriginal Education Funding and Resources Guide

Townsville’s Aboriginal and Islander Teacher Education Program

Historically, universities and colleges have been preoccupied with studying Aborigines, and to a much lesser extent Islanders, doing research on them, and teaching about them. In the mid 1970s, however, the then Mt Lawley, Townsville, and Torrens Colleges of Advanced Education independently launched special entry, indigenous teacher education programs. By providing personal, social and academic support for an enclave of Aborigines and Islanders within white institutions, it was hoped that students would be able to learn to cope with the demands of tertiary education and graduate with the same qualifications as other students in the colleges. With varying degrees of success, this has happened, such that this enclave support model has been adopted in a number of other colleges and in universities, and is now the most important single reason for the increased number of Aboriginal and Islander students in tertiary education.

Desirable Characteristics of Computer Courseware in Tribal Aboriginal Schools

Just as computer delivered instruction in urban Australian schools remains an unknown quantity, its role in tribal Aboriginal schools and in urban schools which increasingly cater to tribal children is even more unclear. There are some exciting possibilities for Aboriginal education. Computer courseware can provide the highly visual, graphics oriented type of instruction which appeals to Aboriginal children and may tap their learning style. Also, the new technology should be able to overcome limitations of bilingual programs set by the cost of producing language materials for many different language groups. For example, with the Prologic Authoring Language (PAL), it is a simple matter to work through a developed program and change the text from one language to another.

Aboriginal Education in the ‘Eighties

Aboriginal Education in the ‘Eighties

Aboriginal Education

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Education -- Initiation!

Education as a form of initiation has severely affected Aboriginal children as they endeavour to live in ‘two worlds’.Education involves the initiation of a child into society. At an early age a child attends school where he or she learns attitudes, values and beliefs that are seen as desirable.Australia’s early white settlers saw that the Aborigines had no buildings and no formal institutions, this led them to draw a distorted view of Aboriginal education. Coming from the European situation where classrooms, boarding schools, and university buildings represented learning, they concluded that Aborigines were completely without any system of education.

Thomas Greenfield and Administration for Aboriginal Schools

Aboriginal education, long considered the poor relation in education, is currently in a stage of development akin to a Renaissance. The success of the one-best-method of education is seriously being questioned, as are the twin constraints of the hidden curriculum - tradition and conformity.The first major breakthrough in Aboriginal education came with the development of the concept of Aboriginal learning styles (Kearins, 1983; Harris, 1980). Teachers became aware that different strategies and materials had to be employed to cater more successfully for Aboriginal students. It is most likely the case also that school principals need to adopt an administrative style which is significantly different from that employed in urban, middle-class schools. Thomas Greenfield, a Canadian, has revolutionized thought in educational administration, and his thoughts may have relevance to administering Aboriginal schools.

The Aboriginal Post-Primary Education Project (1984-1985)

The Aboriginal Post-Primary Education Project (1984-1985)

Linguistic research and Aboriginal bilingual education

Linguistic research and Aboriginal bilingual education

Source Book: Teaching Aborigines and Islanders in Urban/Rural Areas, Queensland. Queensland Department of Education, 1984. - The Education of Aborigines and Islanders : Queensland Programs and Provisions, 1984. Queensland Department of Education.

Source Book: Teaching Aborigines and Islanders in Urban/Rural Areas, Queensland. Queensland Department of Education, 1984. - The Education of Aborigines and Islanders : Queensland Programs and Provisions, 1984. Queensland Department of Education.

Towards a History of Aboriginal Education in New South Wales

A common misapprehension still prevalent in Australia is that traditional Aboriginal society had no organized educational system. This misapprehension seems based on the ethnocentric concept of British nationalism reinforced by the belief that Christianity was sacrosanct and provided an unassailable moral code. When coupled with the profit motive of capitalism, this belief justified the wholesale destruction of Aboriginal society (Rowley 1970, Reynolds 1981). Prior to European contact most of the instruction of children was carried out by women, and both sexes gained a detailed knowledge of their physical environment. Women were also responsible for the complete spiritual instruction of girls and of boys up to the age of puberty. A boy’s uncle assumed a mentor role during his adolescence (Cowlishaw, 1981). These educational methods were successful in that children were prepared for the particular way of life of their tribe, and there were very few ‘drop outs’, or failures in this system (Hart, 1969).The tragic deaths of the British explorers, Burke and Wills, demonstrated the worthlessness which the Europeans attached to Aboriginal knowledge. Burke habitually chased Aboriginal people away from his camp with his revolver (Woolf, 1974). The earlier explorer, Charles Sturt had been saved from death by scurvy because the surgeon, John Browne, fed him salt bush berries after observing the Yandruwandra people collecting and eating this source of Vitamin C.The British believed English to be the language of enlightenment and viewed the 633, (Reed 1969) different Aboriginal languages and dialects as immoral and primitive. The British made little attempt to learn any Aboriginal languages and the fact that the languages did not exist in a written form further enforced the view of their worthlessness. Contemporary linguistic studies show Aboriginal languages are grammatically complex and that most species of plants and animals to be found in a tribe’s country were represented in their language’s detailed vocabulary (Robertson, 1983). Obviously, if Burke and Wills had been less impatient and arrogant they would not have perished even in the arid lands of Central Australia. They could have survived by developing a rapport with local Aborigines. However, if one’s object is to take possession of a people’s land by exterminating them, it is better to view them psychologically as sub-human or a relic from a different evolutionary era, as many social Darwinists did, than to develop an empathy with them (Fromm, 1942).

Trail Blazing for Aboriginal Education

Moves by Aborigines to control their own education are receiving support from governments with proposals such as a National Aboriginal Teaching Service. Three Aborigines – a lawyer, a champion rugby player and an educator – told associate editor Tim Isles [of Education News] about their education and successful careers.Paul Hughes, Mark Ella and Pat 0’Shane came from different backgrounds and have chosen different careers, but each has succeeded outstandingly despite an education system which exposed him or her to racism.The magnitude of their achievement is reflected in a survey by the Aboriginal Research Centre at Monash University, which found that by 1982 there had been only about 30 Aboriginal graduates from Australian universities.Significantly, analysis of the survey data showed that three-quarters of those graduates were motivated by the desire to prove themselves and their race. An overwhelming majority had earlier encountered, in the words of the Director of the Centre, Ms Eve Fesl, ’the negative tastes of racism.There were other important findings too. Most of the respondents had graduated in recent years and had completed their studies at an older age than Australian students generally. The proportion of females was also atypically high, and 88 per cent of the Aboriginal graduates held another university qualification in addition to their basic degree.But there are important moves under way to improve the Aboriginal education system and free it from often well-meant but damaging white control which has never fully come to terms with the structure of Aboriginal society.

Determinants of School Success: Part 2

In the first issue of The Aboriginal Child at School last year, we described the theoretical framework for considering factors contributing to the school success of Aboriginal children as presented in Aboriginal Futures : Review of Research and developments and Related Policies in the Education of Aborigines (Watts, 1981).The philosophical basis for this consideration is well worth stating again:Throughout this exploration of the education of Aborigines the view is taken that school success means success in achieving the full range of goals envisaged in the establishment of schools and the determination of their programs:

Hsc Australian History: An Aboriginal Perspective

Since 1980 the Victorian Institute of Secondary Education has implemented a new style of program for the Higher School Certificate course. Australian history is a Group 1 subject within this restructured program.Australian history, according to most literature, is only two hundred years old. In teaching Australian history some teachers have ‘done’ the Aborigines by studying a traditional precontact history. Teachers may have even allocated a whole week to such a program, relying mainly on resource material available on northern or desert peoples. There has been virtually no work done on Victorian Aborigines and very little done on both contemporary and contact history in relation to the traditional history. There is now an option open to teachers to teach Aboriginal history as the HSC core subject, “Aborigional society before European settlement” and “European settlement and the effects on Aboriginal society”, or as the option subject, “Aborigines in the twentieth century”. This has placed an increased demand on the services offered by Aboriginal Education Services. A number of teachers are electing to teach either all three units or a combination of the units. The problem then arises that teachers themselves often have information which is limited, inaccurate and irrelevant.The archetypal image of an Aborigine standing on one leg on the edge of a precipice, peering out across the horizon, holding a spear and wearing a red ‘nappy’, is often the only picture that the schooling system has presented of an Aboriginal. It is no wonder then that electing to teach even one of the units offered suggests a dramatic redirection of thought. Not only does traditional resource material require revision, but an Aboriginal perspective is essential. This perspective will then validate Australian history.

Rationale, Aims and Objectives for Aboriginal Education in South Australia

This document represents the views of many people and groups who have been involved in Aboriginal education. It represents particularly the combined work of all the Aboriginal people who have been members of the South Australian Aboriginal Education Consultative Committee. For over twelve months we have been developing the content of this document to the extent where we believe that we have accurately reflected the views of our community.We further acknowledge our connections to the the South Australian Education Department and the South Australian Institute of Teachers along with various non-Aboriginal Ministers and educationalists with whom we have spent many hours in earnest debate and discussion. The above has led us to believe that the statements we have made are both urgent and necessary as reflections of an Aboriginal viewpoint.While this document has a particularly South Australian relevance we have had an involvement with statements made by the National Aboriginal Education Committee and our statements reflect the national view also. We also acknowledge the work done by the N.S.W. Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and the N.S.W. Education Department for we have drawn upon these documents in our statements.

Learning to Read the Aboriginal Way

This article briefly describes recent approaches to Aboriginal reading education, and assesses their possible usefulness on the basis of the extent to which they are consistent with present-day cognitive and cross-cultural psychological views on reading. Competence approaches are seen as having least likelihood of success, while other approaches based on indigenous learning styles, explicit metacomprehension skills, and functional literacy provide a suitable base for Aboriginal learning.

Australian Economic History : An Alternative View

The 1980 National Aboriginal Education Conference went on record as saying it saw that as an ‘area of concern’ history textbooks on Aborigines are racist.Australians’ economic history is racist in that standard economic texts do not discuss Aborigines at all, or mention them only peripherally.The economic history of Australia is usually written from one or two perspectives, both European. The first involves the flow of external capital, labour and entrepreneurship into what was essentially an empty land awaiting exploitation. This has led to emotive pictures of Australia’s economic development in terms of hardy pioneers driving sheep and cattle into remote parts, and hard-working men clearing land for crops, both groups subject to the usual environmental hazards of droughts, floods and natives.The second view has led to the picture of the country riding on the sheep’s back. In economic terms this meant that the profits earned by wool exports (and later gold) generated capital within the country for economic expansion. This is the Staple theory of economic growth. Neither viewpoint takes into account the Aboriginal people. Nor could they, because they are theories of Capitalism, and nineteenth century Capitalism did not have a human face. The profit motive was supreme. Aborigines were not seen as being at all useful to the process of economic growth once it had got under way.Up to a point, however, the Aborigine was useful. He could guide settlers and explorers across inhospitable landscapes and lead them to water. Having done this, he had outlived his usefulness and was hounded to the edges of the new economic landscape – to extinction in many places.

Aboriginal Educator – Swan Hill Technical School

I am an Aboriginal educator based at the Swan Hill Technical School. I started work as an Aboriginal educator in the first term of school in 1982.My duties involve liaising with Aboriginal students, parents, teachers and the community. I liaise with the students to find out if they have any problems at home or school. If they have problems we discuss them and think of ways to overcome them. I like to walk into classes such as Home Economics, and Woodwork – it is easy for them to talk and I don’t interrupt them too much. I also like to speak to the students out of class, usually in my office or in the school grounds.

The Burn-out Complacency Syndrome

The following article has been based on personal experiences and dealings with over 40 teachers and three different principals during the period 1976–1981, while at the Mornington Island State School. It is also based on discussions with teachers from other communities, advisory teachers, principals and inspectors during this period.The article intends to look at the meaning of burn-out oomplaoenoy and how this syndrome so easily affects teachers and other workers, especially in remote Aboriginal communities. Although the article strongly supports all the recent innovations and planning in the area of curriculum development, conferences, and support systems in Aboriginal Education, still, that most fundamental criterion is missing – selection of teachers to work in these isolated areas with these innovated programs.More importantly, the article also hopes to show what happens to the majority of teachers in these particular areas and how the burn-out oomplaoenoy syndrome operates. Perhaps the reader may then realise why such schools have enormous staff turn overs. Perhaps, also, education authorities should view these proven burn-out teachers in Aboriginal Education with greater understanding, support and value.It remains my strong belief that each and every one of us is capable of working in •burn-out’. It is, however, much easier to adopt ‘complacency’. ‘Burn-out’ is that period of time during which one strives to work at maximum level and efficiency. Set-backs and failures are brushed aside and the person keeps attacking, keeps forcing himself to reach goals pre-set by himself or by others. By forcing ‘burn-out’, working to the limit, however, one can soon become burnt-out. Burnt-out is a dangerous time for the individual. Either he recognises the situation and opts for complacency, or he ‘cracks’ and is in that situation of being of no use to anyone, or he leaves the situation.