Torres Strait Islander Education Research Articles

Editorial

We are very pleased to bring you Volume 52 Issue 1 of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. This year the journal celebrates its 50th anniversary! The journal has a long history beginning in 1973 as The Aboriginal Child at School. From its infancy, The Aboriginal Child at School played an important role in responding to the challenging and urgent tasks facing teachers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children through the publication of practical information and support and fostering research and publication of findings in relevant areas. In 1996 The Aboriginal Child at School was transformed into The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education and reduced to two issues per year. The decision was made to change the title as a result of feedback from educators involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education and also to reflect a broadening of the content of the journal to include international perspectives. In 2003, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the journal, the decision was taken to relaunch AJIE as a peer reviewed research journal. From 2012 to 2021 AJIE was published by Cambridge University Press and in 2022 AJIE began an exciting new future as a fully open access scholarly publication. This year we also welcome a new Editorial Board and we thank them for their service to the journal.

Australian Aboriginal education: The impacts of Riawunna’s Murina program pedagogy during Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted our world on a major scale in 2020 and will continue to be part of our lives for some time to come. This paper examines how students in the Murina Program were supported by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Unit, the ‘Riawunna Centre’ at the University of Tasmania (UTAS), to help overcome the challenges of Covid-19 in 2020. It explores enrolment data, feedback and work samples provided by students about the ways in which Riawunna supported them to successfully transition to online learning and continue to meet unit level learning outcomes 2020. Data were collected in early 2021 and all ethical requirements for publication were met. The analysis of formal institutional level student feedback surveys suggest that Murina students highly valued the support provided by all Riawunna staff during the pandemic as highly critical to their engagement with Aboriginal pedagogy, through the sharing of Aboriginal knowledges and yarns within a curriculum that strengthened connections during this very challenging period. Ongoing research in this space will continue to investigate the impact of the Murina Program pedagogy to give students voice and agency to redefine their definition of success.

You Are Not Alone: Pre-Service Teachers’ Exploration of Ethics and Responsibility in a Compulsory Indigenous Education Subject

Aunty Mary Graham, Kombu-merri elder and philosopher, says: "You are not alone in the world." We have a responsibility to each other, as well as to the land; and violence is the refusal of this relationship that binds us (Rose). In this paper, I use Emannuel Levinas’s ethics as first philosophy and epistemological violence to consider how non-Indigenous educators come to know Indigenous people. In his philosophy, Levinas presents a paradox: that to act as if one is a free being, as first philosophy, is to ignore that one is not alone in the world and that the presence of others evokes responsibility. However, to claim to know another is to bring them into one’s totality, one’s knowledge framework; an act of reducing another to who you think they are. We must find a new relationship to knowledge, one that is not based on possession. For non-Indigenous educators learning about teaching Indigenous students and perspectives in schools, much of the curricular material draws on the corpus of knowledge constructed by non-Indigenous researchers, politicians, and professionals about Indigenous people (Nakata, Cultural Interface). This material is already bound by others' interests and motivations. How can non-Indigenous educators engage with Indigenous peoples, histories and knowledges in a way that foregrounds the responsibility that our entanglement prompts? In this paper, I present data from my research into pre-service teachers undertaking a compulsory university subject in Indigenous education, where the pre-service teachers wrote weekly reflective learning journals. This data is drawn primarily from the end of the semester, where students reflected on what their learning would mean as they moved into future practice. I explore the role of responsibility in regards to the ethical violence that Levinas discusses.

Curriculum and learning in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: A systematic review

One of the aims of a systematic literature review (SLR) is to test the weight of historical perception against the reality of research and practice. A second aim is to identify approaches to knowing in schools (defined as curriculum) that might help us to identify possibilities for improvement in Indigenous student engagement and achievement in Australian schools. Given that education is representational practice, this SLR explores various representations of the world and how these might be taught in schools in ways that support “successful learning” for Indigenous students. We focus on how the curriculum might allow for multiple stories to be told, and how it can support the multiplicity of social and cultural identities. The question for this segment of the SLR is, how does curriculum govern learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Australia? A comprehensive search of the research literature produced over the period 2006–2017 highlights how the Australian government’s focus on numbers contrasts radically with the ways in which many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their parents conceptualise the goals of education.

The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students: A systematic review

We present results of a systematic review of empirical research on racism and the schooling experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, focussing on research published from 1989 to 2016. Our review is part of a series of systematic literature reviews on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in Australia. It attends to diverse manifestations of racism, from institutional and systemic discrimination to everyday microaggressions, and varying levels of analysis, from individual experiences to cohort approaches. This work adopts a critical perspective on disciplinary boundaries and the outcomes discourse within the broad field of education research. Additionally, we discuss the challenges inherent in systematic review inclusion/exclusion criteria related to racism in a field such as education in which racism and discrimination are frequently misrepresented or misreported, for example, as disciplinary and behaviour management issues, disadvantage or as regional and remote education challenges. The review discusses study types and locations, explores how racism is defined and understood and details the effects of racism on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

The re-creation and resolution of the ‘problem’ of Indigenous education in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cross-curriculum priority

This paper focuses on the ‘problem’ of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education represented in the Australian Curriculum’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-curriculum priority. Looking beyond particular curriculum content, we uncover the policy discourses that construct (and reconstruct) the cross-curriculum priority. In the years after the Australian Curriculum’s creation, curriculum authors have moulded the priority from an initiative without a clear purpose into a purported solution to the ‘Indigenous problem’ of educational underachievement, student resistance and disengagement. As the cross-curriculum priority was created and subsequently reframed, the ‘problem’ of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education has thereby been manifested in policy, strategised as curriculum content and precipitated in the cross-curriculum priority. These policy problematisations perpetuate contemporary racialisation and actively construct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, histories and knowledges as deficient.

Speaking back to the deficit discourses: a theoretical and methodological approach

The educational attainment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is often presented within a deficit view. The need for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers to challenge the societal norms is necessary to contribute to the struggle for self-determination. This paper presents a theoretical and methodological approach that has enabled one researcher to speak back to the deficit discourses. Exemplification of how Indigenous Critical Discourse Analysis (in: Hogarth, Addressing the rights of Indigenous peoples’ in education: A critical analysis of Indigenous education policy, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, 2016) identifies the power of language to maintain the inequitable positioning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within Australian society is provided. Particular focus is placed on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010–2014 (in: MCEECDYA, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan (2010–2014), 2011) and how policy discourses ignore the historical, political, cultural and social factors that influence the engagement and participation of Indigenous peoples in education today. The paper argues for the need to personalise methodological approaches to present the standpoint of the researcher and, in turn, deepens their advocacy for addressing the phenomenon. In turn, the paper presents the need to build on existing Indigenous research frameworks to continue advocating for the position of Indigenous research methodologies within the Western institution.

The Power of Words: Bias and Assumptions in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan

This paper argues that genuine engagement and consultation is required where Indigenous voice is prevalent within the policy development process for true progress to be achieved in the educational attainments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. It is important to note that there has been little critical analysis of policy discourses. More specifically, analysis of how language is used to maintain societal constructs. By providing an Indigenous standpoint, it is anticipated that this paper makes explicit to policymakers the bias and taken for granted assumptions held by those who produced it. This paper is derived from a larger project, namely my Masters of Education (Research) thesis (Hogarth, 2015). The major findings that emerged from the data included (a) the homogenous grouping of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, (b) the maintenance of the prevalent dominant ideology of a deficit view within policy and finally (c) the expectation of government of increased engagement and connections with and by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in education without consideration of the detrimental effects of past policies and reforms. The potential implications of making explicit how language positions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ educational attainment can inform future policymaking and contribute to the struggle for self-determination.

Editorial

We are honoured to present this issue of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. It is a sentiment we express each time an issue is released but rarely do we unpack what this is exactly. Formerly, the Aboriginal Child at School, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education has resisted and persisted the tide of state, Federal and global politics which ebb and flow through our work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, and Indigenous education more broadly. Appearing sometimes as friend, sometimes as foe, and perhaps many more times as both, such practices, policies and politics present ongoing challenges for us but nevertheless, we are still here searching for and speaking particular kinds of justice into the space for the Indigenous children, their families and communities that matter to us. The current educational climate of neoliberalism — replete as it is with individualism, competition, measurement and accountability — is certainly no different but we are still here — persisting and resisting. We are still on our way to the kind of education we seek for Indigenous peoples at all levels locally, nationally and globally and the papers in this issue represent that search. To quote bell hooks in Teaching to Transgress, a much loved scholar in critical pedagogy, ‘the academy is not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created. The classroom, with all its limitation, remains a location of possibility’ (1994, p. 207). The ongoing search to move beyond boundaries characterises much of the work that appears in The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education and it is this sentiment which we are honoured to present.

Towards fairer assessment

Drawing on the largest Australian collection and analysis of empirical data on multiple facets of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in state schools to date, this article critically analyses the systemic push for standardized testing and improved scores, and argues for a greater balance of assessment types by providing alternative, inclusive, participatory approaches to student assessment. The evidence for this article derives from a major evaluation of the Stronger Smarter Learning Communities. The first large-scale picture of what is occurring in classroom assessment and pedagogy for Indigenous students is reported in this evaluation yet the focus in this article remains on the issue of fairness in student assessment. The argument presented calls for “a good balance between formative and summative assessment” (OECD, Synergies for Better Learning An International Perspective on Evaluation and Assessment, Pointers for Policy Development, 2013) at a time of unrelenting high-stakes, standardized testing in Australia with a dominance of secondary as opposed to primary uses of NAPLAN data by systems, schools and principals. A case for more “intelligent accountability in education” (O’Neill, Oxford Review of Education 39(1):4–16, 2013) together with a framework for analyzing efforts toward social justice in education (Cazden, International Journal of Educational Psychology 1(3):178–198, 2012) and fairer assessment make the case for more alternative assessment practices in recognition of the need for teachers’ pedagogic practice to cater for increased diversity.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education

Australian education systems have long been challenged by the gap between Indigenous and nonIndigenous student outcomes. All levels of Australian government, as well as Indigenous leaders and educators, however, continue to meet the challenge through exhortation, strategies and targets. The most prominent of such strategies is ‘Closing the Gap’, which gives practical expression to the Australian Government’s commitment to measurably improving the lives of Indigenous Australians, especially Indigenous children.

Indigenous Education 1991–2000: Documents, Outcomes and Governments

There is often a disparity in Indigenous Affairs between many documents, such as policies, reports and legislation, and outcomes. This article explores this difference through analysing the policy area of Indigenous education during the period of 1991 to 2000. I examine three key documents relating to Indigenous education. These are the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act (Cth) and the report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. I then analyse the abysmal outcomes of Indigenous education over this period, including educational access, educational attainment, school attendance and reading benchmarks. I argue that the substantial educational disadvantage experienced by Indigenous people is in stark contrast to the goals, policies and objectives contained in the numerous documents on Indigenous education. I then explore the role of governments in contributing to this disparity between documents and outcomes in Indigenous education, including their failure to acknowledge the history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations, their lack of commitment to address Indigenous educational disadvantage, their failure to recognise self-determination and the lack of cooperation between governments to address Indigenous educational disadvantage.

Why Indigenous Issues are an Essential Component of Teacher Education Programs

The extensive failure of Indigenous students in school, particularly during adolescence, is a shameful characteristic of Australian education. Students who have most to gain from a successful school experience are the most likely to leave school with minimal skills and qualifications. The situation has shown little improvement over 30 years, as evidenced by the repetitious nature of articles in, for example, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. Government inquiries into Indigenous education, especially those addressing issues such as attendance (Bourke, Rigby & Burden, 2000), identity (Purdy, Tripcony, Boulton-Lewis, Fanshawe & Gunstone, 2000) and achievement (Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, 2000a, 2000b; Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2000b) have resulted in little improvement. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (Department of Employment, Education and Training, 1989) identified goals for Indigenous students but, despite considerable effort to achieve these goals, educational inequality for Indigenous students ‘remains vast’ (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2000b). While a growing number of Indigenous students are successful at school, a significant proportion leave school before completing Year 10, and far fewer complete Year 12 than is the case with non-Indigenous students (Department of Education Western Australia, 2002; Ministerial Council on Education Employment Training and Youth Affairs, 2000a). A cycle develops, by which the poor educational standards of Indigenous students exiting from school results in the inability to supply, from their ranks, the teachers and other professionals needed to provide culturally-appropriate role models in the classroom.

Torres Strait Islander Music and Dance in Informal and Formal Educational Contexts in Australia

Torres Strait Islanders constitute a minority within an Indigenous minority in Australia. Less research has been conducted on Torres Strait Islander education compared to Aboriginal education. Cultural practices such as music and dance are a means to express Islander identity and to articulate Islander concerns within wider society. However, culture and its place in the curriculum is problematic. While culture and cultural identity are important to many Islanders, other issues that impact on educational outcomes must also be addressed if there are to be real and effective changes. Nevertheless, music and dance can be important to Islanders living on the mainland as well as in the Torres Strait. Music and dance are means for Islanders to retain a connectedness to their homeland and to celebrate their cultural identity.

Editorial

The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education in the next two editions will feature specialised subjects in matters of teaching and learning in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education. This edition is featuring music - a rich and vital component of Indigenous cultures around the world.

Indigenous Australian Perspectives in Teaching at The University of Queensland

The goals of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP), the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the broader implications of the High Court's Native Title decision place considerable pressure on the higher education system to move rapidly to achieve equity in access, participation and outcomes for Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians.

Issue in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education

Aboriginal Studies and how to teach Aboriginal and Tones Strait Islander students were the focus of the Queensland Yatha Conference.

Getting Going with Genres a National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education Policy Curriculum Initiative

The Northern Territory Department of Education was given a unique opportunity to implement an Aboriginal Schools Curriculum Materials Project (ASCMP) with funding from the Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) and the implementation of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (NAEP). One package of resources that has resulted from this initiative is known as Getting Going with Genres. A feature of the development of these resources was the involvement of large numbers of Aboriginal people in writing workshops in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities.

Aboriginal Students Perceptions of the ‘World of Work’ and Implications for the Teaching of Work/Career Education

As part of my work this year I was required to undertake an evaluation project. I decided to combine some of my concerns about the appropriateness for Aboriginal students of some of the ways in which state education curriculum priorities are implemented with one of my focus curriculum areas, namely Work Education.In South Australia the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy ( AEP ) is seen as the overarching Aboriginal Education Policy. However, most Aboriginal students in South Australia and all state schools are required to address mandatory curriculum are as set out in the “Educating for the 21st Century” (1990), the curriculum policy document.

Equality or Equity? : Education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Futures

The Hon. John Dawkins (then) Minister for Employment, Education and Training, launched the Aboriginal Education Policy at a grand event in the Committee Room at Parliament House on 26th October 1989. The Prime Minister blessed the occasion with his presence and a short speech. Three of the former Chairs of the the National Aboriginal Education Committee were there, as were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educationists from most Australian states. Only New South Wales, which decided to boycott the launch, wasn’t officially represented.There are two reasons for calling the policy that the Minister launched the Aboriginal Education Policy. Firstly, because it is the first policy formally endorsed by any National government; and secondly, because it responds to the call made in the 1988 Report of the Aboriginal Education Policy Task Force, for a concerted national effort – to achieve broad equity between Aboriginal people and other Australians in access, participation and outcomes at all stages of education. (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy, 1989: 1.2.6 – Draft).