bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Aboriginal Parental Involvement in Education
Authors: Budby J.
Published: November 2015

The Aboriginal consultative group to the Schools Commission in their report, Education for Aborigines, made the following statement about the involvement of parents in the education of their children:

We are aware of recent research that emphasises the importance of adult and parent involvement in the educational process. This is particularly relevant in an Aboriginal context, where traditionally the education of children was the responsibility of the family. We are keen to see Aboriginal parents become more active in their children’s education and in turn develop more skills and greater confidence in themselves.

These thoughts resound the sentiments of the Queensland Department of Education. We appreciate the need for parents to become more involved in education, in providing guidelines of what they feel should be taught to cater for the needs of the Aboriginal/Islander child.
Developing a Set of Readers for Aboriginal Children
Authors: Jaunay G.R.
Published: November 2015

Most teachers of Aboriginal children are well aware of the difficulties they have in identifying with the characters of most classroom readers. Obviously, publishing companies have to consider their market when preparing series of readers on a viable commercial basis, and hence the characters and their situations reflect the life-styles of the bulk of Australian citizens who live in large urban sprawls, and enjoy a reasonable standard of living which is reflected in their material possessions.

A different language background also makes the task of using the conventional classroom reader difficult. Children with an Aboriginal language, or even Aboriginal English as their first language, need greater emphasis placed on certain patterns found in standard English. I feel this is especially important, as the bulk of material any person can read will inevitably be in standard English form.

At Oodnadatta School we are overcoming these problems by the development of our own sets of readers. Some are purely experiential and have a limited life equal to the need to relate to that experience, while others are based on certain language patterns we feel need specific development in our program. To work out these patterns, we have used ideas formulated by the Van Leer Foundation Experimental Reading Project in Queensland.
Aboriginal Education & Innovation
Authors: Road D.
Published: November 2015

All of us in the broad field of Aboriginal education – teachers, aides, administrators – are innovators. For the first time there is an effort being made to modify the school system to cater for the needs and interests of Aboriginal students and parents – individualized treatment, bilingual teaching, meaningful consultation with the Aboriginal community, new studies in Aboriginal culture and Australian history. Seminars and teacher training, consultation on books and curriculum in preparation, provision of special resource teachers and Aboriginal teacher aides and a number of initiatives begun at individual schools by resource teachers and teacher aides themselves, are the means of change.

Innovation brings difficulties for the innovators, whatever field it is in. It is rare for new ideas to go into practice smoothly, because new ideas generally replace old ideas and old, established ideas have their followers. Quite often there will be a vested interest involved. Vested interests in education do not often involve money or profits but they do involve time and effort, and sometimes reputations. People don’t like hearing that some practices or beliefs they have spent great effort in developing, or learning, are now regarded as obsolete. So they resist. They resist change. To be able to handle such people is just one of the extra demands made on innovators. It calls for patience, the ability to remain firm in your own beliefs while trying to win people over. It calls for flexibility in your own plans where discussion reveals shortcomings.

Innovation also means an increased workload. Explaining to teachers, principals, students, parents and curriculum developers takes time. Preparing submissions takes time. Drawing up detailed action plans for any education program takes time. As education is funded by government and as innovations create interest among colleagues, report writing becomes part of the job – far more than when well-known practices are being followed. Finding solutions to problems which arise along the way takes more time than usual because there are no precedents to follow.
Aboriginal Home/School Visitor
Authors: O’Brien, L.
Published: November 2015

In the time I have been employed as a home/school visitor, I have visited 55 schools and have seen about 91 Aboriginal students. I have talked to principals and have spoken about Aboriginals to groups of children in some of the High Schools. I have attended a number of committees that one finds that one gets involved in once one gets into Aboriginal affairs. In addition, I have spoken to different groups of people at colleges, at teachers’ councils, and also at the Aboriginal Educational Seminar for Aboriginal children which was held in April.*

I think about 188 students attended that seminar during the three day period, and even the bus strike did not affect the children’s attendance, which I thought was great. The seminar was organized by John Lunnay, a consultant in Aboriginal education, with whom I work rather closely. It was a great success, with people on the program like Wandjuk Marika and David Gulpilil, Colin Thiele and Dora Hunter, Sonny Morey, Sid Jackson, Kay Hampton, Michael Ahmad, Brian Dickson, Eva Johnson, Leila Rankin and Des Price. During the seminar, I accompanied some of the students on visits to different places, like the Aboriginal Community College, the Task Force at the South Australian Institute of Technology, Torrens College of Advanced Education where some Aboriginal students are enrolled in the Teacher Education program, the Community Centre, the Aboriginal Health Unit and D.A.A. Over all, I feel it was very successful.
Graduation Address: Aboriginal Teacher Assistants – University of Sydney, 1978
Authors: Allen H.
Published: November 2015

Sir Herman Black, Lady Black, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

When I was first asked would I come along this afternoon to say a few words, my reply was, “I will think about it”. The response was, “How long do you need to think?”

Well, here I am.

It gives me great pleasure to be here this afternoon, to take part in this occasion. An occasion that has been taking place about this time every year, since 1975.

1975 will always be a year to remember, for it was the year that the first group of Aboriginal teacher assistants graduated from the training program and were presented with their certificates by Sir Herman Black.

Since then I have watched many Aboriginal people go through the same well-earned procedure. I guess it was the same with most of the groups, not knowing anybody, but by the end of the year it was like one big family.

First, I would like to congratulate the people who have successfully completed another year of the Aboriginal Teacher Assistants Training Program. I am sure this will be another year, 1978, that will go down in history, where yet another group of Aboriginal people have progressed within themselves from doing such a program, and I wish them the best of luck for what they may do in the future. I hope there will be many more continuous ATA programs to follow.
Rationale and Development of Community Based Curriculum Unit – Wreck Bay, A.C.T.
Authors: Nugent A.
Published: November 2015

This is an account of a project undertaken with the assistance of a grant from the Schools Commission ‘s Innovation Scheme to develop a social studies unit in a cross-cultural situation. The minority community involved is the Aboriginal community at Wreck Bay; the school is the Jervis Bay Primary School which the children of Wreck Bay attend.
Aboriginal Community College Pre-Vocational Training Unit – 1978
Authors: Reade R.
Published: November 2015

This course design is such that it will enable twelve Aboriginal school leavers to compete, within nine months, on an equitable basis with other generally more qualified students who seek apprenticeships in the automotive and building trades.
Homeland Centres Education in the Maningrida (N.T.) District
Authors: Deslandes B.S.
Published: November 2015

The decentralizing movement away from large, multi-tribal settlements and missions over the last half decade is one of the most significant Aborignal initiated movements since the beginning of the European invasion.

Initially the movement required and requested nothing from Europeans. Gradually requests have been made for assistance in the areas of specific foods, health and education services.

In establishing an educational program for the homeland centre schools, it is essential that a situation is not created whereby Europeans saturate/dampen the initiative of the Aboriginal people; and so a program aimed at basic numeracy and literacy (as requested by the groups) has been devised aimed at supporting Aboriginal teachers.
Teaching	Assistants in Aboriginal Communities
Authors: Brennan F.
Published: November 2015

The following article is based on a “paper given in 1976 in Alice Springs at an induction course for teachers newly appointed to work in Aboriginal Schools in the Northern Territory. Mr Brennan is Principal Education Adviser to the Northern Territory Division of Education. In his talk he was concerned to give practical advice to this group of teachers and we believe that his comments will be helpful to teachers who work with Aboriginal children in a variety of settings around Australia.
Indigenous Education in Queensland: One Teacher’s View
Authors: McCollow J.
Published: November 2015

Many writings on indigenous education focus on the role of the individual teacher. This is as it should be since the individual teacher is indeed the most significant factor in the success or failure of an educational program. There are other factors, however, which are significant, and in this article I would like to deal with one, namely: the system within which a teacher works.

A good educational system develops, supports and encourages good teaching practice. A poor system inevitably, if unintentionally, frustrates the efforts of its teachers. I believe many of the ablest and most dedicated teachers in Queensland are frustrated. I present here my own view. Quite possibly some of the facts are wrong. The important point is that this is the impression that at least one teacher on the job has of the way things work.

I would also like to propose a few ways in which the Queensland Education Department and the Queensland Teachers Union could better promote indigenous education through more effective staffing and curriculum development procedures. I do not mean to suggest that either of these two organizations is unconcerned with the plight of indigenous students; I do mean to suggest that both bodies are committed to maintaining an administrative system which is inappropriate and harmful to the interests of these students. In order to establish a truly effective program for indigenous students, substantive changes need to be made in the bureaucracy.
‘E Says it as if ‘E’s God – (How do teachers transmit their attitudes and expectations?)
Authors: Dwyer L.J.
Published: November 2015

As teachers, most of us would agree that our attitudes and expectations do somehow influence the academic goals of our pupils and of ourselves. Research findings indicate that the self-fulfilling prophecy operates in all realms of education and that it results in the kind of behaviour that is expected. The significance of this, especially for teachers in cross-cultural classes, is now well established and generally accepted. However, the ways in which we actually transmit our attitudes and expectations to our pupils are still not clear.
Environmentally Based Curriculum: Another Approach
Authors: Moeckel D. & M.
Published: November 2015

It has been the accepted view that children learn best when the learning experiences progress from the known to the unknown, from the concrete to the abstract, from the familiar to the unfamiliar.
The Effects of Teacher Style on Year One Aboriginal Children’s Reading Achievement
Authors: Jones D.
Published: November 2015

Since the mid-1950’s, educational literature has reflected a deep concern for the relatively poor academic performance of children from particular ethnic minority groups. In the United States, for example, attention has focused on the low achievements of many Negro, Spanish and Indian children, and in Australia there is an increasing concern with the educational achievements of numbers of Aborigines. The data collected to date suggest that a child’s ethnic group membership makes an important contribution to his success in school. More specifically, the data raise the very broad issue of educability of children from some socio-economic and sub-cultural groups.

In most instances educability has been closely linked with teacher performance, suggesting that teachers play an important role in determining their pupil’s behaviours and achievements. It is this possible link between teacher behaviour and student achievement which has provided the impetus for much of the educational research focusing on the influence of the teacher. This area of research, however, is not characterized by a large number of conclusive studies. Nevertheless, some encouraging trends can be noted to indicate a possible relationship between the teacher variable and student achievements and behaviours.
Evaluation of Australian Bilingual Education: Some initial ideas directed at obtaining a just and thorough approach
Authors: Christie M.
Published: November 2015

In the 1973 parliamentary session, the Australian Federal Government introduced a

campaign to have Aboriginal children living in distinctive Aboriginal communities given their primary education in Aboriginal languages…and to supplement education for Aboriginal children with the teaching of traditional Aboriginal arts, crafts and skills mostly by Aboriginals themselves.

Following that announcement, a committee was formed to investigate the possibilities of bilingual education and to direct the setting up of some initial programs. Five schools originally changed to a bilingual education program, and the number has grown to almost twenty. The original schools have now been in operation for five years, and there is a call for their evaluation. The government has expended large sums of money on the development of the programs, but there is still discussion concerning their possible future. Some of the key issues concerning bilingual education in the Northern Territory have not been resolved, and much of the development of programs was taken over by people of initiative in individual schools. This may or may not have been a good thing, but for the purposes of evaluation, we are presented with a very complex and freely structured situation. A just and constructive evaluation of all that has happened thus far will be difficult but invaluable for the government, the administrators, and the teachers.
Mathematics Programs for Indigenous Students: Some Guidelines
Authors: Wilson Ross
Published: November 2015

This paper provides an overview for teachers who wish to develop a more appropriate mathematics program for their Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students. It covers cultural, linguistic and environmental issues, as well as purely mathematical and methodological procedures. Current literature and reports from teachers indicate that many indigenous students are not performing well in mathematics. It is hoped that the suggestions contained in this article will lead to a more rewarding experience for both teacher and student.

It is generally agreed by teachers of Aboriginal and Islander students that most students are not performing at a satisfactory level. This conclusion has been documented by Bourke and Parkin, by the Curriculum and Research Branches of the Departments of Education in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and by others, including Bishop, who wrote –

Experience has shown that many Aboriginal children do not manifest many [mathematical] outcomes at a level comparable with that obtained by European children.

The causes of this relatively unsatisfactory performance are complex, but may usually be traced to a combination of environmental, cultural and linguistic differences, as well as to unsuitable teaching programs and methods.

There is a noticeable lack of literature on the subject available to teachers, and it is hoped that the following comments will be useful in drawing up a mathematics program whose content and methodology will be more relevant and meaningful to the students.
Derby Hosts First Graduation
Authors: Lawley Mount
Published: November 2015

Over 80 people attended the graduation of the first students to complete the Advanced Education Entry Certificate course at the Derby Civic Centre on Sunday, August 12.

The Director of Mount Lawley College, in presenting the awards to the successful students, expressed the college’s delight in being able to conduct the ceremony in the Kimberleys and that the college was hopeful that it could continue to provide a service to people in remote areas of the state.

The first five graduates – Agnes Albert, Verna Lockyer, Rosita Lovell, Christopher Bin Kali and Selina King, had completed the course in minimum time, which was a very commendable feat, considering the course only commenced in 1978 and the program was entirely by correspondence.

All the first five graduates had completed the course and been granted their award with credit. This entitled them to unconditional entrance into teacher training at Mount Lawley College.

Speakers at the ceremony included Mr Steven Albert, Chairman of the National Aboriginal Education Committee, Mr Jim Biendurry of the National Aboriginal Committee and Mrs Ester Bevan of the National Aboriginal Education Committee.

Mr Albert, while congratulating the graduates, stated that this was only the first step and he hoped it would not be very long before these students would graduate as qualified teachers and return to work in their own communities.

The first graduates had done a magnificent job, according to Mr Biendurry, and shown all other people what they could do by studying and hard work. He wished all other students in the course every success with their studies and hoped to see many more graduates from the course in the near future.
Yirrkala : Aboriginal Studies
Authors: Nurruwutthun Daynawa
Published: November 2015

Daynawa Nurruwutthun is 20 years old and a teacher at Yirrkala Community School. She belongs to the Munyuku clan and is of the Yirritja Moiety and Narritjan sub-section.

She attended school at Yirrkala and started teaching in 1975. During 1976 and 1977 she completed the 1st Year of the On-site Teacher Training Program at Yirrkala.

After attending the Bilingual Conference in Darwin in 1976 and talking with other Aboriginal teachers she returned to Yirrkala determined to begin an Aboriginal Studies Program for the Infant School.

After discussions with other Aboriginal teachers, four areas of study were developed. These have now been extended to the six following areas: bush food and sea food; natural science; Homeland Centres; old ways; bush medicine; culture, i.e. social organisation and behaviour.
All Responsibility Will Be with Parents: Outstation Education in the Northern Territory
Authors: Haslett R. , Whiteford R.
Published: November 2015

Q. Why do you want a school?

A. It is very important for our children to learn.

Q. What sort of teacher do you want?

A. First of all, Aboriginal teachers to start.

Q. How many teachers do you want?

A. One for a start.

Q. What do you want them to teach?

A. Counting, mathematics, reading, writing in English, Aboriginal culture.

Q. Do you want a school building?

A. We are thinking about an open-air one, a hut with bark and bush materials. Later on we may build a better school.

Another question concerned the degree of assistance required from Europeans.

A. Everything concerning schools will be run only by the local people, but we will appreciate the ideas and help of Europeans when we ask them. All responsibility will be with parents.

This conversation is extracted from a report by Maria Brandl, written in 1974. She was talking to a group of people who had started an Outstation in the Yirrkala area.
‘Make the Most of Yourself … for that is all there is of you.’
Authors: Chapman V.
Published: November 2015

This profile of Mr Via Chapman is adapted from the December 1979 edition of “Aboriginal Quarterly” with permission of the Editor and of Mr Chapman.

In submitting his story to “Aboriginal Quarterly” in response to that journal’s request to hear from some of the 15 fully qualified Aboriginal teachers in NSW, Mr Chapman observed:

“I didn’t set out to be the first Aboriginal teacher or the first Aboriginal principal or the first Aboriginal anything – these issues are not really important to me personally…I reckon I could write a book and fill in the sadder and more negative bits – but to what avail? I subscribe to Yunupingu’s comment on Australia Day – ‘we must leave history behind and look forward’.”
Administration in Aboriginal Education
Authors: Budby J.R.
Published: November 2015

Administration of Aboriginal education can perhaps be defined as the “management of affairs” associated with education for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Such management is placed in the hands of individuals who form part of a system, an entity that seeks to meet the needs and aspirations in education of the indigenous people of this country. The task therefore for the administrator is a massive one and involves a tremendous amount of responsibility. Administrators in education for indigenous Australians are the catalyst in an environment embracing all school-age Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander children – children of all ages, mentalities, skills, talents and aspirations.
The Establishment of Regional Aboriginal Committees on Education
Authors: O’Brien M.L.
Published: November 2015

It is a significant fact that in 150 years of European settlement there is still only a handful of Aborigines working in the field of education in this state. This means that Aboriginal parents have very little say in the educational policies and programs affecting their children and they are concerned about this. Because of the fact that many Aboriginal people have had little contact with the school situation, (in fact up till comparatively recently, many, as children, were actually excluded from attendance at school) they regard it as an alien institution, representing an academic world to which they do not belong. Consequently many Aboriginal people are hesitant to approach the school under any pretext, even for the purpose of enrolling their children. They need a corporate voice, an avenue of approach by which they can make contact with educational authorities, to make known their needs and aspirations, at whatever level necessary, and to feel assured that action will be taken in response to these needs.

With the object of providing a corporate voice for Aborigines in the educational scene in 1977 State Consultative Groups were set up in all states except Western Australia. Here in Western Australia, the need was seen by the Education Department to provide for organization at the grass roots level, and to plan for regional committees throughout the State. In September 1978, I was transferred from a classroom to the Aboriginal Education Branch as a community liaison officer, to instigate and facilitate the setting up of these committees, and to this date initial meetings have been held for this purpose in the following towns each serving a particular region: Bunbury, Kalgoorlie, Kellerberrin, Narrogin and Moora. At each meeting the keen response from the local Aboriginal community has indicated that this move to establish regional committees has their full approval and support. It is expected that by the end of 1980 a committee will have been established in each of the Education Department’s regions.
Schooling at Small Settlement
Authors: Roberts P.
Published: November 2015

I was a teacher at the Small settlement school in 1977. It was not a good year for the school by any reckoning and I thought I would leave it at that when I left in December of that year – the day after school finished. Put it down to experience, let all the sordid little details dissolve in time. But they didn’t and I never got Small settlement out of my mind. In 1978, I visited the school anew and this paper is a result of my observations and interviews.

It was written with teachers in mind, particularly young teachers going into Aboriginal schools for the first time. However, it may have more general interest: many features of the school’s history are characteristic of the history of Northern Territory administration. A cursory acquaintance with some of the things that have gone on before may help to provide a basis for the courage and awareness needed for working effectively in an oppressive environment. A historical perspective may assist teachers and others in approaching their clients with the humility appropriate for making their work interesting and their influences positive.
Aboriginal and Islander Advisory Group Catholic Diocese of Townsville
Authors: King C.
Published: November 2015

In January this year, the Bishop convened a meeting in Townsville of people who are involved in the education of Aboriginal and Islander children. The purpose of the meeting was to form a Committee to review and co-ordinate Diocesan policy in regards to the education of Aboriginal students.

At its second meeting, the Review and Co-ordinating Committee considered a proposal by the Aboriginal Advisor, Catholic Education Office. The essence of that proposal was that there ought to be an Aboriginal and Islander Group to advise on matters relating to Aboriginal and Islander education. Subsequently the Committee approved of the proposal and a submission was made to the Diocesan Education Council requesting that an Advisory Group be established.
Objectives in the Education of Aborigines : Some Aboriginal Views
Authors: Watts B.H.
Published: November 2015

A variety of statements made by Aboriginal people and groups about what they see as the aims of education is presented. There are diverse emphases but a common thread relates to the education of children in both cultures and a wish to see the children grow in competence in Western skills and knowledge but also retain their own culture and its associated knowledge, skills and values.

The following sets of statements, made by people from various locations throughout Australia, exhibit concern for the achievement of the basic skills, for education that will permit job access (including emphasis by some on education to tertiary level), for the development of skills to live in the modern industrialized world and/or to contribute to their own communities, and concerns expressed by many that children learn about their own culture, some seeing this as part of the school program and others believing it should be taught by the Aboriginal people themselves.
Materials for Reluctant Underachieving Adolescent Students
Authors: Gallin M. , Goves-Jacka R. , Jackson M.
Published: November 2015

In an endeavour to provide a handy guide to available materials for secondary-aged students, a two-part review has been collated. It is anticipated that the following specific needs will be met.
Starting Where They Are: Rethinking Aboriginal Early Childhood Education
Authors: Graham B.
Published: November 2015

Bilingual education programs are being developed in some remote Aboriginal communities that have retained their own languages and a high degree of traditional orientation. As bilingual education in the Northern Territory is today beginning really to mean bilingual/bicultural education, this means that Aboriginal teachers are expected to act in different ways from when they worked as Teacher “Aides” and assisted in programs that were solely based on the non-Aboriginal culture. It is also a new situation for many non-Aboriginal teachers who, particularly in the Early Childhood area, have been trained to work with small children and now find that their most significant activity is the interaction they have with adult Aboriginal teachers as they help these teachers work with children. This paper outlines an approach that assists teachers develop more meaningful early childhood programs for Aboriginal children, and in addition helps teachers function more effectively in their new roles.
Helpful Hints for Beginning Teachers of Aborigines
Authors: Huggonson D.
Published: November 2015

The first problem that beginning teachers will face on ‘day one’ in the classroom is a communication barrier. Teachers fresh from universities and colleges of advanced education will find that the language they are using is too sophisticated for their students. Therefore they must be conscious of the need to simplify their own language while simultaneously improving the vocabulary of their students. The beginning teacher will also find that the majority of students use non-standard English. It should be noted, however, that the use of non-standard English is not a sign of backwardness. Peer pressure not to appear ‘flash’ is a strong factor in Aborigines maintaining their speech patterns.

Once the young teacher ‘gets his ear in’ he or she will find communication becomes easier. To speed this process I suggest that for the first few weeks the teacher spends a considerable amount of time listening to his or her students. Drama games such as ‘biographies’ and class debates on various topics are useful. It is also important that during this period the beginning teacher be honest and forthright about his or her own background. I found my Year 8 class extremely interested in my family and their background. A family photograph album is a good resource to stimulate class discussion. The students should be encouraged to bring in their family’s photographs. (Children from particularly impoverished backgrounds can be offered the use of a camera if they don’t have any family photographs.) These photographs can lead to the development of environmental readers for remedial readers.
A Good Way to Teach Spelling
Authors: Christie M.
Published: November 2015

Like most teachers, I started my career using the old method of teaching spelling. Each week I would make up or find in a book a list of spelling words to be learnt by the class or group. Each day a different learning activity would be employed and on Friday the children would be tested. There are lots of difficulties with teaching by this method – so many, in fact, that like most teachers I gave it up after a while and for a long time didn’t really work on spelling at all. Probably the main problem was the wasted effort. Despite the teacher’s efforts selecting appropriate words for the class, it was usually uncomfortably clear that the words which each individual needed to learn to spell were seldom included at the right time. It seems that for every ten words a child had in his list, four of them he already knew, four he didn’t know and didn’t need to know, one he learnt and forgot during the weekend, and only one survived. This is a perfect example of something being almost impossible to teach when it is divorced from the meaningful situation.

So it became clear to me that, although it was important to teach spelling, the traditional formal methods seemed not to work very well. Another more serious problem that I noticed, especially with Aboriginal children, was their inability or unwillingness to make a reasonable attempt at spelling words they didn’t know. If they wanted to spell a word, most of them had efficient ways of finding it – looking at yesterday’s stories, asking friends or the teacher – but few of them would actually sit down and think about the problem themselves. It never seemed to occur to them that spelling could be worked out with a bit of thought; to them the answer was always out there somewhere and had to be located. Even traditional methods of teaching spelling do little to help children use their own imagination and thinking power in spelling because the words to be learnt are still provided fron an external source, the teacher.

What I was looking for was a method that
Building a Bridge to English Literacy in Aboriginal Bilingual Education Programs
Authors: Graham B.
Published: November 2015

The aim of bilingual education is to develop a person who can think, speak, read, write and act appropriately in the language and culture of both his home and the wider society. Therefore, although for sound educational reasons the first formal reading experiences of children in a bilingual program are provided in their mother-tongue and these activities are maintained and extended throughout the child’s school life, at an appropriate time a bridge to English literacy needs to be built. Once this is done the world of English literature should be explored as far as is possible for each individual child. Sarah Gudschinsky stresses the importance of the addition of English literacy skills for pre-literate groups within a wider society when she reminds us that

people who are deprived of this opportunity will find it difficult to take their rightful place in modern society. (1973, p.138)

She has defined a literate person as one who

in language that he speaks, can read and understand anything he could have understood if it had been spoken to him and can write, so that it can be read, anything that he can say. (1973, p.5)
Aboriginal Schooling
Authors: Coker J.G.
Published: November 2015

It is disturbing that some commentators on Aboriginal education in Australia draw the superficial conclusion that, “the school system has failed Aboriginal children very badly”.

There is abundant, undisputed evidence that Aborigines, as a group, consistently score much lower in English reading, writing and arithmetic tests than any other identifiable group in Australia. They leave school at an earlier age and at a lower achievement level than the national average.

As an educator it is not something that I am proud of – and I should say that most other educators would feel much the same way. It is the task of all of us who are involved in the education of Aborigines to do all in our power to rectify the situation. But it is too glib, too shallow by far, to heap all the blame for Aborigines’ low achievement on the schools, the school teacher or the school system.

Do those who make their sweeping condemnations suggest that all teachers, all schools, all the school systems across Australia – both government and non-government, have singly, and collectively failed the Aborigines? Is it claimed that in the 166 years since Governor Macquarie’s first school for Aborigines, successive generations of teachers have failed to ‘crack the code’, so to speak?

If so, isn’t this an incredible state of affairs? Can we really believe it to be true?
Bellbrook : My Father’s Country
Authors: Quinlan M.
Published: November 2015

Mrs Quinlan’s story has been transcribed verbatim from tapes recorded between October 1982 and February 1983.

I first met Mrs Quinlan in 1981 when her daughter, Mrs P.Dixon became one of four Aboriginal people training at Armidale and New England Hospital. As I was involved peripherally in this training program, I was introduced by the trainees to their families and friends.

Mrs Quinlan decided some time during the following months that she would like me to record her story. She had some doubts about how we might go about it, but she was definite that she wanted to make a statement to leave for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Further, she wanted to establish her right to Bellbrook which she considers to belong to her and her surviving siblings because her father established the settlement.

Mrs Quinlan also decided that I would need to see Bellbrook, that she wanted to “show me the place” so that I might understand better what she was talking about once we started recording. Consequently a group of us visited Bellbrook on October 8th, 9th and 10th 1982. Mrs Quinlan began telling her story at our camp site on Nulla Nulla Creek. She continued over several Sunday afternoon sessions at my home, a venue she chose.

One of Mrs Quinlan’s greatest worries was “how are we going to put it all together”, the other “but is it going to be really important?”
Language and the Aboriginal Child
Authors: Schmider J.
Published: November 2015

The language used by Aboriginal and Islander children has become in recent years a major focus of attention, with concern being felt on two broad fronts. There has been an increasing awareness that many use a mother tongue which is not English; at the same time there has been a growing realisation that many of those Aboriginal and Islander children who do use English as a first language use a form of language which differs from that normally used in the school. Whereas originally the tendency was to see these deviations from mainstream language use in terms of language deficit, they are now increasingly accepted as examples of language difference. A major philosophical shift has therefore occurred in the area of language teaching: an early emphasis on remediation and compensation has given way to a stress on language development; and language programs are now based on a philosophy of acceptance of the child’s language, and on the belief that it is necessary to start from where the child is. Thus programs no longer aim to ‘stamp out’ the child’s language or to ‘overcome’ the influence of the home, but instead have as their goal the extension and broadening of the child’s already existing language abilities. The emphasis has shifted from ‘correctness’ in terms of standard English, to ‘appropriateness’ in terms of language use in different social situations.
Outstation Schools at Yirrkala
Authors: Yunupingu Bakamana
Published: November 2015

During 1973 the outstation movement at Yirrkala was going in full force. Aboriginal people were moving from Yirrkala to start up their own communities consisting of numbers of their own clan.

During that time Aboriginal people asked many questions about school. So in 1975 the outstation schools were established and were serviced by two visiting teachers from the central school.

The names of the communities and the clans that established their outstations in terms of houses and school are these:

Garrthalala (Djapu); Gurrumuru (Dhalwayu); Gangan (Dhalwayu); Baniyala (Madampa).

Since the above places got established and had a school going the communities listed below got started and are presently operating.

Dhalinybuy (Wangurri); Wandawuy (Djapu); and Bawaka (Gumatj) talking about starting a school; Biranybirany (Gumatj) talking about starting a school.
School Profile – Aurukun State School
Authors: Beasley J.S.
Published: November 2015

Aurukun State School, on the Gulf coast of Cape York, is one of the most complex for its size in Queensland. Situated in a community that is arguably the most traditional in orientation in this state, the well equipped and staffed school is a symbol of cultural change. Children,who at home lead largely unregulated lives centred on their families, encounter in the school another language, anotfyer culture, another set of values and attitudes - often very different from those they have learned from birth. The school’s achievements are defined and its goals shaped by its adaptation to this clash of expectations in forging an education that draws on the best of both cultures.
Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Teaching Styles at Milingimbi School
Authors: Deslandes C.S.
Published: November 2015

Dr Ian Malcolm (WA) has shown in several papers the difficulties teachers have communicating with Aboriginal children in the classrooms. Dr Stephen Harris (NT), in his PhD thesis, defined some of the differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal sociolinguistic rules of communication.

This study hypothesises that the rules of communication and organisation in the classroom used by Aboriginal teachers at Milingimbi will be different from those used by white Australian teachers.

It concludes that the two groups are significantly different in teaching styles, each tending towards its own traditional sociolinguistic rules, with some integration of rules from the other culture.

No conclusions are drawn as to the effectiveness of each group.

It is stressed that this is very much only a pilot study to open the way for further research and discussion.
A New Course : Australian Race Relations
Authors: Stone S.
Published: November 2015

Australian Race Relations is a new Group Two Year 12 subject recently accredited by the Victorian Institute of Secondary Education for teaching in 1984.

Such a course is long overdue. It is necessary that all Australians understand the attitudes of the conquerors and the consequences of the manner in which this country was taken. Only then can Aboriginal land rights and other claims for compensation be properly appreciated.
The Creole Language Debate and the Use of Creoles in Australian Schools
Authors: Harris J. , Sandefur J.
Published: November 2015

The English-based Creoles, which are spoken by a very large number of Aboriginal Australians, are so named because it is obvious that a large proportion of their lexicon is derived from English. This fact alone, however, does not indicate that they are merely regional varieties of English. They are distinct languages. Together with other world Creoles, they are at the frontier of linguistic research and the subject of considerable controversy. One critical forum of debate centres on the validity of Creoles as languages of education. It is the intention of the authors that this paper should achieve two things. Firstly, it is intended to contribute constructively to that debate. Secondly, it is intended to provide an overview of the present use of some creole languages in Australian schools.
The Inclusion of Studies about Aborigines in the Curriculum
Authors: Schmider J.
Published: November 2015

In its first report to the Director-General of Education, QATSICC stated that -

It is important the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be encouraged to develop and retain a pride in their own cultural heritage…

There is also a need for the wider Australian society to be encouraged to appreciate and become aware of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage in this state.
The Aboriginal Child not at School
Authors: Kerr W.
Published: November 2015

A recent educational report acknowledged that in Australia, or at least, Western Australia, Aboriginal people were the most single disadvantaged group in Australia at both an educational and socioeconomic level.

The group this article concerns itself with is the children of the Central Desert area of Western Australia and in particular those children who are eligible to attend high school. Because few facilities exist for high school children in the Central Desert, the children are relocated away from their homelands in order to attend high school. Norseman supplies the facilities to cater for the needs of some of these children and for the purpose of this article, enrolment figures of the Norseman Project Centre will be used to exemplify the issue of the Aboriginal child not at school.
Finding Meaning in Maths: an Introductory Program for Aboriginal Children
Authors: Graham Beth
Published: November 2015

Many teachers involved in school education of Aboriginal children have, for a variety of complex reasons, found it difficult to design programs that begin with the things children know and move to those things that children have to learn. All too frequently school education offered to Aboriginal children has been conceived in Western terms and delivered in our language. Programs designed for children from mainstream Australia have simply been transposed with minimal adaptation into Aboriginal schools. In many curriculum areas the results have not been exciting. In the area of mathematics they have been dismal if not disastrous (see Williams, 1979). The introduction of bilingual education into many of the remote traditionally oriented communities of the Northern Territory has made it possible for educators to re-examine the assumptions on which many of our mathematics offerings have been based. This paper outlines some of the initiatives that have been taken in the Northern Territory to enable children to formally organise and classify local Aboriginal mathematical knowledge as well as begin to acquire some ideas related to the Western view of the world and so provide more meaningful introductory mathematics programs for Aboriginal children.
Interpreting the Maths Syllabus for Aboriginal Schools
Authors: Gale K.
Published: November 2015

The Western Australian Maths Syllabus with Notes is the recommended Maths curriculum for all Northern Territory schools. However, for teachers in tribal Aboriginal communities it is obvious that the gulf between this syllabus and the education setting is enormous. It is therefore essential that teachers try to bridge this gulf. The answer does not lie in the syllabus itself, but in the insights a teacher has about the culture and systems of knowledge of his/her Aboriginal students. I would like to talk about these insights in the form of a letter to a first-year non-Aboriginal teacher in an Early Childhood class in an Aboriginal bilingual school in the Northern Territory. I hope it makes her/him a little more insightful, because it has made me so.

Dear H.……

By now you will have had time to look at the Western Australian Maths Syllabus with Notes which is the recommended Maths curriculum for N.T. schools. If you are like me, you will initially have been overwhelmed at the thought of having to interpret it for planning a Maths program in your Aboriginal classroom. But take heart, because I would like to try to help you think about how to do this, and I’ll refer you to support materials and readings that have some answers. Then, hopefully, you can feel confident about planning a Maths program to guide your students towards meaningful experiences.

I believe that, as teachers in Aboriginal schools, it is essential that we try to make education (and Maths in particular) meaningful for our students. Without meaning and purpose in education, we are perpetuating the unequal opportunity that has been offered to Aboriginal students in the past.
Profile: Betty Wright, Aboriginal Teachers’ Aide
Authors: Courtney Fay
Published: November 2015

Eight years ago the Commonwealth Government appointed the first Aboriginal teachers’ aides to schools in New South Wales. Their primary task was to bridge the gap between the Aboriginal community and the school. The aides also had the responsibility of encouraging Aboriginal children to gain further education.

Mrs Betty Wright of Kempsey was one of the first Aboriginal women to train as a teachers’ aide. In 1975 she was appointed to West Kempsey Primary School as its first A.T.A. While working there Betty attended the first Basic Training Program in Aboriginal Adult Education at Sydney University.

People attending this course faced many problems. Most had left families behind, financial support was inadequate and, for some, it was their first visit to Sydney. Of the original twenty-eight students enrolled, only sixteen stayed until the end.

Betty found the most valuable aspect of the course was the chance to learn to develop communication skills. “Talking to white people can be difficult if you are black and have a deep, inbred inferiority complex,” she says. She remembers the anxiety she felt during her first months in schools, wondering how the white staff would accept her. She also felt fear at being the only Aboriginal among so many whites.