Rebecca Cassar S00127239 1

EDFD 472 Assignment 1 Critical Visual Essay

IMAGE 1
Nicholson, P. (2013). NSW Education Minister Piccoli seeks fix aboriginal schools
kid says NOT EDUCATED ENOUGH cartoon 2013-09-26. Retrieved from,
http://nicholsoncartoons.com.au/nsw-education-minister-piccoli-seeks-fixaboriginal-schools-kid-says-not-educated-enough-cartoon-2013-09-26.html.
IMAGE 2
Nicholson, P. (2012). Remote and indigenous children do less well in education
says NAPLAN cartoon 2012-12-19. Retrieved from,
http://nicholsoncartoons.com.au/remote-and-indigenous-children-do-less-well-ineducation-says-naplan-cartoon-2012-12-19.html.
A western approach to educational standards in Australia is thrust upon
all students, including Indigenous students. Should curriculum
achievement standards be adapted to meet educational requirements
for Indigenous children?
Teachers in remote Australian schools, as well as those teaching urban
settings, can often feel restricted by the curriculum of States and Territories. This
is mainly due to the pressures of teachers ensuring that they teach to
educational standards and that students reach these goals. Although the State
and Territory curricula can be restricting, there is an aspect of flexibility which
can be adopted by the teacher. This can be seen mostly in the content that is
delivered, yet restriction lies in the standards that should be achieved by the

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EDFD 472 Assignment 1 Critical Visual Essay
students by the end of most units. Despite this space in curriculum to provide
quality lessons and relevant experience to students by teachers, there is much to
suggest that Indigenous culture and traditional knowledge is something which
can be considered vague in the curriculum. For instance, Year 7 History in
Victoria dedicates a limited aspect of the Ancient History unit to Indigenous
Australians (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2015). Despite this,
the VCE History Unit does include Indigenous History as one of the units that
may be studied, however this is subject will not be available in its current format
in 2016 (VCAA, 2013). It is important to note that in the Northern Territory
Curriculum Framework, Indigenous language and culture is a key aspect of the
education of students (Northern Territory Department of Education, 2014). This is
not to say that standards in other aspects of education in the Northern Territory
are being achieved, such as literacy and numeracy, by Indigenous students,
which will be explored further. There are issues surrounding teacher retention in
Indigenous school communities, mainly due to lack of teaching experience and
limited experience in Indigenous communities (Hall, 2013). This greatly impacts
the Western education of Indigenous children in remote communities. It is also
evident that educational policy makers strive for the highest achievement
standards and goals for students. Not only do these ideologies affect students of
Indigenous heritage generally where educational contexts are not considered at
the time standards are set or where Indigenous knowledge is not valued or
recognised in the test.
The images by Nicholson suggest that traditional Indigenous knowledge is
not valued by conventional educational standards in Australia. Although these
images are directly related to remote Indigenous communities, as is suggested
by the surroundings of the second image, they are both politically charged. This
is a call by the artist to the governments of the time of these cartoons being

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EDFD 472 Assignment 1 Critical Visual Essay
published, to recognise the role of Indigenous knowledge and the ways which
this knowledge enriches Indigenous children and their communities. The second
image calls for a quality and easily accessible education for Indigenous children
in remote Australia, which should be provided by the Australian government. This
seems to be lacking in remote areas as implied by the standard of the students
literacy as well as the distance from this accessible Western education. Both
images call for change in remote and urban areas of Australia. This is mainly to
recognise the richness of traditional knowledge as a form of education, whilst
resetting the standards of Australian education to benefit a diverse range of
learners, teachers and communities (Hall, 2013). In turn, both images aim at
bringing forth a curriculum that ensures cultural diversity and that Indigenous
tradition be respected and valued so that it can be passed on. These images
affect teachers as they directly relate to the development of children as well as
the impact of early learning in the childs life.
A childs development and early learning is one that stems from the childs
microsystem as well as the emotional attachments that the child makes (Bowes
& Grace, 2009). It can be seen that that emotional attachment with other
people [is] a powerful element in the influence of a childs microsystem (Bowes
& Grace, 2009, p.8). These emotional attachments, for instance in Indigenous
communities where traditional knowledge is passed on, explain a childs
understanding of knowledge, as is being explored in the first image. This image
highlights the close relationship between mother and child in terms of traditional
knowledge being passed on. This relationship can be seen as being beneficial to
Indigenous students, more so than the relationship between teacher and
student. This is further explained by Lisa Hall as there is a high turnover of nonIndigenous teachers in remote Indigenous community schools (2013). We can
come to see through this that by these teachers staying to teach in remote

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EDFD 472 Assignment 1 Critical Visual Essay
communities for mere months [rather] than years, can lead to attachment
deficits and therefore educational disruptions for students (Hall, 2013, p.187).
This therefore affects learning goals of Indigenous children in terms of their
Western education based on their relationships and development with their
educators. We can see that in this way, constant educators, such as Indigenous
Elders and parents, are clearly beneficial to the over-all education of Indigenous
students in remote areas. In these remote communities, it seems that the
teachers which are most positive are those that are indigenous themselves as
they have experiences which are similar to their students, as well as having an
ongoing role in remote schools (Hall, 2013). In this way, the first image highlights
not only the importance of the microsystem of the student in their education, but
also the acknowledgement of Indigenous knowledge as a learning standard.
Australian education standards are measured in various ways. The
National Assessment Program or NAPLAN tests students in skills such as
numeracy and literacy in order to ensure a productive and rewarding life for
citizens in an educated, just and open society throughout Australia (National
Assessment Program, 2013). Although this statement is closely linked to human
capital theory, standards in these tests are prescribed from samplings, which
may not take into consideration students in remote and predominantly
Indigenous schools. In these cases the results of Indigenous students are very
different from the results of non-Indigenous students. The NAPLAN tests are
designed to ensure quality teaching through the existing curriculum of states and
Territories, yet do not assess notions that are highly regarded in Indigenous and
diverse communities respectively, which also includes various aspects of
traditional knowledge (NAP, 2013). These tests directly affect teachers of
Indigenous children in urban and remote communities as they often reflect the
quality of teaching rather than the quality of curriculum. As the time for closing

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EDFD 472 Assignment 1 Critical Visual Essay
the gap draws nearer there are still vast differences in the Western educational
attainment of Indigenous children against their non-Indigenous counterparts in
global tests. The PISA 2012 report highlights the differences between the
samplings of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in Australia. Over all,
Indigenous students performed much lower than the non-Indigenous student
sample in various literacies. In the area of scientific literacy, Indigenous students
are up to two and a half years behind non-Indigenous students generally
(Thomson, De Bortoli & Buckley, 2013, p. xv). This links to the first image in that
international learning and educational standards to not take into account the
contexts of Australian Indigenous students. The second image further affirms the
low literacy scores of Indigenous children in international education standards.
Although these low results may conventionally reflect poorly on the teacher
rather than the context of the school community together with curriculum
choices, Indigenous students can achieve the same goals and reach the same
standards as their urban and no indigenous counterparts. Teachers in Indigenous
communities must plan lessons that incorporate contexts of the students by
building relationships with their students as well as the Indigenous community
(Monash University, Edith Cowan University & Charles Sturt University, 2013). It
will also be of benefit for the teacher in the remote school setting to address
each students learning needs through Personalised Learning Plans (Monash
University, Edith Cowan University & Charles Sturt University, 2013, p. 17). This
is in line with Herberts suggestion of empowering students to reach attainable
goals, in order to achieve standards set by curriculum (Herbert, 2006).
Social justice and human rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples highlight that Indigenous children should be offered an education that
helps them develop their potential and respect their culture (Australian Human
Rights Commission, 2015). In this way we can see the importance of Indigenous

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EDFD 472 Assignment 1 Critical Visual Essay
knowledge being passed on as well as enabling students to be empowered and
motivated through their education. As the second image calls for attainable
education, the right of self-determination can and to distinct culture alludes to
the importance of indigenous knowledge as a true indicator of education in the
communities that Indigenous people live in (Australian Human Rights
Commission, 2015). However, action must also be taken at Federal level to
ensure that public education is available to children in remote communities. It is
imperative for teachers of Indigenous students to indeed help them to reach
their potential. Not only can this be achieved by teachers who ensure that their
students can attain small successes in order to become self-motivated and to
achieve greater educational goals (Herbert, 2006). Teachers in remote and
Indigenous communities can also use the flexibility afforded to them through the
curriculum when planning lessons. In indigenous communities and when
teaching indigenous students in urban areas, teachers should develop teaching
programs which value Indigenous knowledge and culture. Teachers should
therefore explore different ways to teach the curriculum in a way that best
utilises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges (Monash University,
Edith Cowan University & Charles Sturt University, 2013, p. 30). In order to do
this, the teacher must know their students and, as previously outlined, be a part
of their community to do this successfully.
Curriculum achievement standards therefore do not need to be altered for
indigenous students to achieve educational outcomes. These goals can be
reached by teachers building relationships with their students as well as ensuring
that student achievement is attainable. This is so that students can reach long
term goals which the teacher would have set through Personalised Learning
Plans coupled with an awareness of indigenous culture and community
relationships. The teacher in Indigenous settings has the power to give students

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EDFD 472 Assignment 1 Critical Visual Essay
the opportunity to reach goals by designing an appropriate and culturally aware
unit program adapted from curriculum. Ultimately, to close the gap education
must be provided by the government with respect and acknowledgement of
Indigenous context in the classroom. With this in mind, standards will be
reached.

References
Australian Human Rights Commission. (2015). Information sheet- Social justice
and human rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Retrieved from, http://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-andtorres-strait-islander-social-justice/guides/information-sheet-social
Bowes, J., & Grace, R. (2009). Children, families and communities: contexts and
consequences. South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.

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EDFD 472 Assignment 1 Critical Visual Essay
Hall, L. (2013). The come and go syndrome of teachers in remote indigenous
schools: listening to the perspectives of indigenous teachers about what
helps teachers to stay and what makes them go. The Australian Journal of
Indigenous Education, 41, 187-195. doi 10.1017/jie.2012.13
Herbert, J. (2007) Partnerships, pathways and policies: improving indigenous
education outcomes. Ngoonjook: a Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues,
31, 45-57. Retrieved from:
http://leo.acu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/1091438/mod_resource/content/1/Herb
ert_J_2006_improving%20indegenous%20education%20outcomes.pdf
Monash University, Edith Cowan University & Charles Sturt University. (2013). A
unit outline and content for professional learning units to support teachers
in meeting Focus Areas 1.4 and 2.4. Retrieved from,
http://leo.acu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/1091442/mod_resource/content/2/AITS
L_IndiEd_Report_-_20_February_2013_Final.pdf
National Assessment Program. (2013). Why NAP. Retrieved from
http://www.nap.edu.au/about/why-nap.html
Nicholson, P. (2013). NSW education minister Piccoli seeks fix aboriginal schools
kid says NOT EDUCATED ENOUGH cartoon 2013-09-26. Retrieved from,
http://nicholsoncartoons.com.au/nsw-education-minister-piccoli-seeks-fixaboriginal-schools-kid-says-not-educated-enough-cartoon-2013-09-26.html
Nicholson, P. (2012). Remote and indigenous children do less well in education
says NAPLAN cartoon 2012-12-19. Retrieved from,
http://nicholsoncartoons.com.au/remote-and-indigenous-children-do-lesswell-in-education-says-naplan-cartoon-2012-12-19.html

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EDFD 472 Assignment 1 Critical Visual Essay
Northern Territory Department of Education. (2014). NT curriculum framework.
Retrieved from, http://www.education.nt.gov.au/teacherseducators/curriculum-ntbos/ntcf.
Thomson, S., De Bortoli, L., & Buckley, S. (2013). PISA 2012: How Australia
measures up. Retrieved from, http://www.acer.edu.au/documents/PISA2012-Report.pdf
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2015). Level 7: History.
Retrieved from, http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Level7?layout=1&d=H
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2013). History. Retrieved from,
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/history/history-sd.pdf