Aboiiginal Euucation EBCX4uu Assignment 1A Teiiy NcLeou

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What is the connection between some key events in Aboriginal
Australian history and official education policies? How have Aboriginal
people responded to these policies?

As discussed by Lippmann (1994), the colinisation of Australia by Europeans
was a precursor of things to come The attempts of trying to treat the conquered
nation with every mark of friendship and giving lack of offence or
molestation were soon thrown away. With little concept of the Aboriginal
languages, their spiritual believes, way of life or even land usage, the
expectations of the Europeans was that the natives would become part of their
new society. This was not to be and local tribes were pushed away from the
most fertile land and treated as vermin.
The concept or race inferiority, which is still an issue in modern schools (Keefe
1992) was further reinforced with the radical assimilation policy put forward
by Governor Macquarie in 1816, wherein Aboriginals needed to either settle
down as land-holders or become servants. This was also the introduction of
removing children from their families and sending them to schools in order to
attempt teaching them to become civilised. (Lippman 1994).
By the late 19
th
Century, the government policy was about protection, generally
it was to protect the Aboriginal population from white Australians and most
importantly, themselves. This policy gave State governments direct control
over peoples lives; where they could live, how they should work, and how
they should be educated. (Nichol 2005).
As part of the movement to help them learn to conform to our cultural
expectations, the Aborigines Protection Board (APB) adopted a policy that if
Aboiiginal Euucation EBCX4uu Assignment 1A Teiiy NcLeou
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there were enough Aboriginal students, they would establish a segregated
school. If numbers were low, and the local white parents did not object, the
children could attend the nearest state school. This effectively allowed the
government to appease the public, who had started pushing for welfare for the
Aboriginal population, while rolling the issue under the carpet. The wide,
sparse distribution of Aboriginal families combined with objections from white
parents kept enrolment numbers very low. (Nichol 2005)
The segregation of schooling for Aboriginal students had been happening since
the start of the 1800s, predominantly in missions, whose agenda was to
destroy Aboriginal culture and replace it with an Anglo-European work and
faith ethic (Parbury 1999:67). It was the APB that made this mode of
education via indoctrination official and throughout the next 80 or so years,
further established the divide between cultures with an emphasis on
unworthiness and the need to act and live like us if you want to succeed
(Hollinsworth 2006).
It was only in the 198us that the tiansition of Aboiiginal histoiical figuies fiom
the 'cultuie heioes' being "the antithesis of iesistance, being coopeiative with
explorers and settlers and generally accommodating to invaders. (Keefe
1992:52), to being the heroes of resistance and standing up for the Aboriginal
culture and people.


Aboiiginal Euucation EBCX4uu Assignment 1A Teiiy NcLeou
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In some detail, explain how the NSW DET Aboriginal Education and
Training Policy & Guide (2008) proposes to redress Aboriginal
disadvantage through schooling.

There are many aspects of this wide, all-encompassing policy that designed to redress
disadvantage. Two aspects that stand out are empowerment and community
involvement. Empowerment can be raid through raising expectations of all members
of the school community, with 1.1.2 stating the goal that students will match or
better the outcomes of the broader student population (DET 2008:14). This idea of
moving away from pre-conceived ideas of what an Aboriginal student is capable of is
further embraced in 1.6.1 through 1.6.6.
One of the practical ways to help foster the idea of achievement and success is the
provision of funding and support for personal learning plans (PLPs). PLPs are to be
provisioned so learning can be catered to suit the individual students needs,
developed by the school in partnership with parents/caregivers and include targets
for learning against syllabus outcomes and agreed family support strategies (DET
2010).
The school wide embracement of Aboriginal culture and history, through engagement
with the community and ongoing professional development for staff and more
developed education for other students, will provide empowerment for the students
and hopefully start to erode the decades-long reinforcement of inadequacy.
The AETP pushes for community engagement with collaborative decision making
with Aboriginal Peoples, parents, caregivers, families and their communities (DET
2008:14). This can be realized in NSW by the Schools in Partnership (SiP) initiative,
designed to develop genuine partnerships with Aboriginal parents, communities and
Aboiiginal Euucation EBCX4uu Assignment 1A Teiiy NcLeou
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interagency groups in order to best improve engagement (and relevance) with
Aboriginal students (DET 2010).
In order to help schools and teachers develop a syllabus that caters and embraces the
Aboriginal perspective, the Working with Aboriginal Communities handbook was
developed (BOS 2008). This document is designed to help empower schools and
teachers in approaching and interacting with the wider Aboriginal community in the
most respectful and effective way. The rationale being that the interaction will go
both ways, with both parties learning from the other, further enhancing their
perspectives while creating a more flowing environment for students, between school
and the community (BOS 2008).
What are some factors that may work for and some factors that may
work against the realisation of the NSW DET Aboriginal Education and
Training Policy's initiatives?


Aboriginal children and their parents are highly sensitive to teachers talking about
Aboriginal students as lacking knowledge and skills (Ha?rrison 2011)
Getting past the deficit mindset, the idea of framing Aboriginal people as victims
whether conscious or sub-conscious is one of the main hurdles in realising the
AETPs initiatives. (Harrison 2011).
Much of the initiatives of the policy rely on the school and community working
together. As uiscusseu by Saiia (2uuS), the piincipal plays a ciucial iole in
influences the school wiue cultuie. The AETP policy cannot hope to be effective
anu successful without stiong, engageu suppoit fiom the piincipals uown
thiough the teacheis anu suppoit staff anu acioss the gieatei community of
paients, family, fiienus anu elueis.
Aboiiginal Euucation EBCX4uu Assignment 1A Teiiy NcLeou
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As suggesteu by Baiiison (2u11), as is not always the case, schools neeu to have
an element of theii own accountability, foi cuiiiculum, buuget anu community
initiatives. Saiia was in a goou situation wheie he coulu tell the staff the
uiiection he wanteu to take anu staff who uiun't want to follow this uiiection left
anu weie ieplaceu by teacheis who coulu "shift the minuset that seemingly
accepteu Aboiiginal unuei-achievement as noimal to one in which we all hau to
believe we coulu get bettei outcomes fiom oui chiluien." (Saiia 2uuS:4).
0ne of the factois that will cieate baiiieis is the teaching foimat, how teacheis
aie to move between explicit anu implicit instiuction anu how it can be iealiseu
within a classioom of uiffeient leaineis. As uiscusseu by Baiiison (2u11), many
Aboiiginal stuuents iequiie moie explicit, uiiect instiuction, giowing up in an
enviionment wheie questioning is not pait of the leaining piocess. Bow will
teachei be able to appioach a class of mixeu stuuents, teaching constiuctively yet
still being explicit when necessaiy.
The same question is iaiseu with basic classioom behaviouial appioaches. The
issues of changing teachei's ingiaineu techniques, how they contiol the
classioom; aie they authoiitive, set the iules. Bo they expect compliance. 0i aie
they flexible to peiceiveu misbehavioui. "Coulu you have two sets of iules in
youi classioom (foi example, to catei foi both 'hanus up' anu calling out the
answei)." (Baiiison 2u11:1S7)
0ne of the positive outcomes of the new policy is the uevelopment of an open,
honest uialogue with stuuents, wheie they aie not just seeking appioval, but
unueistanuing anu encouiageu to question. Encouiaging stuuents to take a iisk,
make a mistake without shame.
Aboiiginal Euucation EBCX4uu Assignment 1A Teiiy NcLeou
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The same can be saiu about encouiaging paients anu the community, who can be
uisenchanteu fiom the issues of institutionaliseu failuie, mistieatment anu lack
of iespect. This cieates a hesitancy foi paients anu community membeis to get
involveu with school life, whethei helping with homewoik, visiting the school
anu helping shape the uiiection of theii chiluien's euucation. (Baiiison 2u11)


At the enu of the uay, the hidden curriculum of race stereotypes, reduced
expectations and fewer future endeavors to strive for, has improved and will be
improved further with the AETP. It is important to note, however, that even
with the best expectations, the ongoing power differences between Aboriginals
and non-Aboriginals can be subconsciously taught and implied by teachers in
the modern context (Keefe 1992).

References
Baiiison, N. 2u11, Teaching anu leaining in Aboiiginal euucation (2nu eu.),
0xfoiu 0niveisity Piess, South Nelbouine
Bollinswoith, B. 2uu6 'Aboiigines , iacism anu assimilation : 192u-1972' In" #$%&
$'( )$%*+, *' -.+/)$0*$ Baviu Bollinswoith, Siu eu. South Nelbouine:
ThomsonSocial Science Piess, 2uu6, Chaptei S, pp. 121-1S8
Keeffe, K 1992 'Talking anu Leaining about Aboiiginality-as-Peisistence' In :
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New South Wales Bepaitment of Euucation anu Tiaining 2u1u, -52)*6*'$0
&(.%$/*2' $'( /)$*'*'6 *'*/*$/&+ *' HIA 62<&)',&'/ +%3220+, NSW BET, Aboiiginal
Euucation anu Tiaining Biiectoiate, Syuney.
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Austialian College of Euucatois, 2uuS. pp. 1-14