bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preliminary Assessment of Achievement Levels in an Ethnic Community School
Authors: Reynolds M.
Published: November 2015

Townsville, North Queensland is the setting for a unique innovation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island education. A number of parents have opted out of the State education system in favour of developing a school which reflects their culture and which aims to provide a program better suited to black children.

The Black Community School was established in October 1974. Initially it aimed to provide for children late in their primary schooling because parents recognised this as the most critical stage. However, by January 1975, it was realized that it was difficult to finance the extensive resources required at secondary level. Therefore the school amended its original aim and now operates to provide the best possible early education up to secondary level, by which time it is hoped successful transfer can take place.
My First Year as a Teacher Aide
Authors: Jones D.
Published: November 2015

(This paper was presented by Mrs Doreen Jones, Aboriginal teacher aide, at the Wilcannia Nyngan Conference, February 1977.)

I think I was lucky to have been chosen for the teacher aide job in Wilcannia. Before I found out I had the job, I was told the other lady had got it. I was down hearted in a way but thought to myself, “Oh well, it doesn’t matter, I wouldn’t have been able to do the job anyway.” (I found out differently.) Before I knew where I was, I was on the bus for Sydney for training for the job.

The training in Sydney has helped me a great deal. (I am willing to help the teachers with the Aboriginal children in every way I can.) I will never forget my first morning at school. Believe me, I was really very very nervous and I just didn’t know what to do or what I was in for.

On my arrival, I was standing on the opposite side of the office when I noticed one of the lady teachers getting out of her car; she came towards me and gave me a nice big smile (I won’t forget it) and said, “Good morning, how are you this morning?” I answered, and thought to myself, “It’s not as bad as I’m thinking it’s going to be.” Believe me, this teacher made me feel really welcome on my first day.
Letter to Teacher Aides
Authors: Coolwell B.
Published: November 2015

(In this contribution by Mrs Barbara Coolwell to a recent issue of Bora, the sharing of news and ideas about educative procedures, and the sharing too of a sense of the worthwhileness of the job, may suggest new avenues of communication to readers in other schools elsewhere in Australia)
Oodnadatta School/Community Library
Authors: Jaunay G.
Published: November 2015

Oodnadatta Aboriginal School has for a considerable time involved the community in its activities. From this liaison has grown several services to the community by the school which have become an indispensable part of the way of life in this most northern town in South Australia. Apart from comprehensive self-improvement and recreational courses offered through the Department of Further Education, the school offers a library service to the town and district.

Early in 1976, I, an avid reader myself, set about to overcome the void created by a total lack of community library facilities other than the Country Lending service. The school already had a comprehensive library available and the obvious move was to establish a community library. A committee was formed, representing the school staff, the school council and the local Progress Association. However, it was felt that to establish a library along the guidelines set out, would not suit this community, mainly because of its very small size (about 300) and the short length of residence of most citizens. An alternative scheme was adopted, whereby the school takes out bulk loans from the Schools Library Board, the State Library and the Port Augusta Public Library. These stocks are periodically rotated so that there is always a new range of material available. (An important factor that could not be achieved if we purchased our own book stock, or even followed the guidelines of a 10% turnover per annum, as indicated in the School Community Library plan.)
Career Camps
Authors: Skehan M. , Smyth J. , Rendall R. , Morris R.
Published: November 2015

Students receiving benefits under the Aboriginal Secondary Grants Scheme are visited by Education Officers of the Commonwealth Department of Education two or three times each year. It has become clear to the Education Officers that many Aboriginal secondary students in our region:

i)

had not sought or been provided with sufficient information or experiences with which they could form sound vocational judgments;

ii)

had not made a clear vocational choice during their school career.
Dance Workshop: Lismore
Authors: Stone C.
Published: November 2015

The Workshop took place from the 15th to 22nd September, as part of Lismore’s September Festival. Our main activity in the Festival was teaching young Aboriginal children on missions and in schools.

There were three dancers, Michael Leslie, Malcolm Cole and myself, along with our teacher, Lucy Jumawan, who attended the Festival. Our director, Carole Johnson joined us towards the end.

It was also handled as a student teaching project of the Aboriginal/Islander Dance Training Course, since advanced dance students taught the children the dances under teacher supervision. Lucy Jumawan assisted us, the student teachers. She would watch us and sometimes started the class off with a few simple steps/movements, just to warm up and encourage a feeling of security and relaxation. Each of us had been taught certain dances to teach. While one person was teaching his or her dance, it would mean the other two would help and correct the children.
Current Initiatives with Year 8 Students at Yarrabah School
Authors: Schuurmans R.
Published: November 2015

In January 1976, a course was started in Manual Training and Technical Drawing for Grade 8 students at Yarrabah. Our aim was to introduce all the basic tools and instruct students in the skills of carpentry to a degree where products would be strong, functional, and have some quality in their finish.

During the first six months we worked from simple to more involved projects, items being made alternately for the school and the student. These included squares, bench clamps, T-squares, tool carry-alls, student ports and drawing tables. Girls were also involved but to a lesser degree.
The Aboriginal Child and Literacy in English
Authors: Boyd R.M.
Published: November 2015

While it is important that Australian teachers are made aware of their failures in teaching many Aboriginals to master literacy (Salmond, 1977; Duncan, 1974) there is a danger of developing a general expectancy that children of Aboriginal descent will be poor performers at school. Resnick and Robinson (1974) emphasize the influence of parent and teacher expectations on the expectations of the children themselves. Teachers’ expectations are particularly important for Aboriginals learning academic skills at school. It is the teacher who can grade learning tasks to ensure the child gains success through his own personal effort, a fundamental experience if low expectations are to be raised (Gurin and Gurin, 1972).

The purpose of this paper is to examine data from the ACER Literacy and Numeracy study of Australian 10 and 14 year olds in 1975, as it relates to the Aboriginals in the sample. On the basis of this evidence it should be possible to draw some conclusions about the successes and failures of Aboriginal pupils in reading and numeracy.
Value Orientations: Australian Studies
Authors: Massey D.R.
Published: November 2015

As early as 1938 Elkin, discussing traditional Aboriginal society, maintained that Aborigines are orientated collectively, or place high value on the extended kin group (Barwick, 1964; Becket, 1964; Fink, 1964), see themselves as existing in harmony with nature and have no conception of time in the European sense, but live only for the present and remember the past as an integral part of the present. Most anthropologists tend to agree with such propositions. (p.288)

But, are these same values held by non-tribal Aboriginals in contemporary Australia? Certainly conventional wisdom suggests that they are (Eckermann, 1973, p.470). Similarly, there is widespread acceptance of non-Aboriginal Australians as individualistic, future oriented, preferring ‘doing’ to ‘being’, and placing emphasis on mastery over nature (Binnion, 1976, p.34). Is this so?
Good Vision and the Teacher
Authors: Jaunay G.R.
Published: November 2015

Most teachers of Aboriginal children are aware that to teach reading to their students they have to jump significant hurdles, some of which are so high they appear as barriers to progress along the learning trail. We are often faced with substantial hearing losses, and/or poor health. Often Aboriginal children’s motivation to improve is poor, because of their poor health. More often than not, response is poor, due to the home environment and attitude towards learning. Employment prospects must dampen much enthusiasm for learning. All these social and health factors are reasonably well documented and teachers are aware of their implications and program their teaching accordingly. However, taking into account all these factors, we still have non-achievement, in the field of reading in particular. Several children appear healthy – and this status has been confirmed by medical personnel – appear to be positively motivated with all the teacher and parental encouragement needed to succeed, and yet, despite significant remedial efforts, reading development is extremely slow and tedious. Why?

Almost without exception we have found that the non-attaining Aboriginal children who for all intents and purposes should have been progressing, especially in reading, exhibited visual problems, most of which appear to stem from poor eye muscular control. These children have good sight, which is the ability to see, but lack good vision, which is the ability to use one’s sight correctly.

If these problems are not overcome, then the sight will deteriorate, or most likely, in the case of Aboriginal children who have little inducement to excell in reading, the child will ‘give up’.
Report: The Armidale Aboriginal Education, Health and Welfare Conference, 1978
Authors: Cook T.E.
Published: November 2015

The Armidale Aboriginal Education, Health and Welfare Conference, 1978, was held at Mary White College, University of New England, from Thursday, 30th November to Saturday, 2nd December, 1978. The conference was convened by Margaret Wells and Jane Purkiss, with the assistance of Ross Bell from Duval High School, Armidale. The conference was granted in-service status by the New South Wales Department of Education, and teachers attended from schools within North West Region. Academics and teachers, health and welfare workers attended and a large representation came from the Aboriginal community of Armidale.

The conference, which was funded jointly by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Armidale College of Advanced Education, dealt with : Aboriginal Teaching Assistants’ courses; Aboriginal housing; participation in decision making by Aboriginal communities; use of Aboriginal personnel; support for Aboriginal Health Centres; and District Aboriginal Education Committees. Workshops were also held on various aspects of Aboriginal education, health and welfare.

Key speakers at the conference included Professor Colin Tatz, Professor of Politics, University of New England, who discussed various aspects of race relations and their relevance to the classroom, and Stephen Albert, Chairman of the National Aboriginal Education Committee, who outlined guidelines which have been formulated by the Committee on Aboriginal education, and have been distributed for comment. They recommend that Aboriginal community members be included in decision making in areas concerning Aboriginal education. The Committee also recommends that local Aboriginal Education Committees, all Aboriginal in membership, be established for advisory and consultative purposes. Local District Aboriginal Education Committees would also have an advisory function for the National Aboriginal Education Committee.
The Effects of Conductive Hearing Loss on Linguistic Performance among Aboriginal Children
Authors: Armstrong J.
Published: November 2015

For many years researchers have documented the high incidence of otitis media (middle ear disease) and hearing impairment among Aboriginal children. While basically suggesting medical intervention and socio-economic development as the main remedies of this situation, there has been some indication of a need for compensatory measures aimed at the education of these children (Stuart et at, 1972)
Children’s Attitudes Towards Aborigines: An Interim Report
Authors: Chambers B.
Published: November 2015

The proliferation of Aboriginal Studies, as a formal component of teacher education programs, has been variously met with praise and criticism by educators. The financial, educative and ethical aspects of this proliferation have caused such bodies as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) to look closely at the outcomes of such courses. The variability of stated objectives, coupled with a reluctance by individual institutions to evaluate their own courses, has prevented any overall evaluation from a cognitive stance. Implicit in each course, however, are affective aims (sometimes wishes) that students will become more tolerant, sympathetic or positive in their attitudes towards Aborigines and, that those attitudes will be maintained and conveyed to the pupils they teach. Whether or not these are actual outcomes of Aboriginal Studies courses is a question that was chosen for exploration by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, in a three-year project located at Armidale College of Advanced Education.

As the study is essentially a longitudinal one, the focus of this paper is on the attitudes towards Aborigines of 100 primary children aged from six to nine years. Where it is relevant, the relationship between the teachers’ and pupils’ attitudes is discussed but in general, only the methodology of testing teacher attitudes is reported, as it is too early to say whether or not there is a causal relationship and whether or not it can be demonstrated. However, it is already apparent that the use, misuse or neglect of affective strategies in an Aboriginal Studies course affects both teachers’ and pupils’ attitudes towards Aborigines. This factor similarly affects the teacher’s predisposition, and competency, to teach about Aborigines in the classroom.
Aboriginal Sunday
Authors: Albert S.
Published: November 2015

This is the twenty-third year in which a special day for Aboriginal Australians has been organised. Pastor Doug Nichols (now Sir Douglas Nichols) held the first Aboriginal Sunday at his small chapel in Fitzroy, Melbourne in 1957. His original intention was to publicise and aim for recognition of the prior-ownership by Aborigines of Australia.

Aboriginal Sunday has now become National Aborigines Week (July 9–15), with Friday, July 13, designated National Aborigines Day this year.

A National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (NADOC) from Melbourne co-ordinates events, ranging from a Ball at the Lakeside International Hotel, Canberra, to displays by local schools around this year’s theme, What About Our Kids?

This article looks at changes in the educational area, and asks the question, “Where to now?”
Darwin Trip: 22nd April – 8th May, 1979
Authors: Davison D.
Published: November 2015

We departed from Sydney on Sunday, 22nd April, at 9.05 a.m. The trip was via Adelaide, where we arrived at 10.55 a.m. It was a fine day but very cold. We had to wait more than two hours for our connecting flight to Darwin, stopping over at Alice Springs.

The children were all so excited; for some, it was their first trip by plane and it was one, I’m sure, they will all remember. We arrived, finally, in Darwin at 5.15 p.m. E.S. Time. We almost passed out from the heat; it was 36°C.

Mr Silvey and John Killen met us at the airport. They brought some of the students from Kormilda College with them. We arrived at Kormilda College with enough time to be shown our quarters then we had to rush to dinner.

The college occupies a large section of ground. They have two huge complexes which house the students, an administration block, school buildings, a theatrette, a large library, donated by Rolf Harris, a canteen, and a very large modern dining room which is situated in the centre. There is a modern clinic with a full-time nursing sister. The matron of the college has residence there also. There is a large stock-room, a laundry, and for recreation the college has a huge sporting complex. This consists of two football ovals, a swimming pool, two tennis courts, basketball courts and a couple of volley-ball courts. At the northern end of the grounds there is a large portion set aside for gardening implements. Kormilda College has a driving-school also, and the students can actually get their drivers’ licences from the college.
Aboriginal Home Visitor Program in Swan Hill
Authors: Pattenden J.
Published: November 2015

Some Aboriginal children come to school with skills that are different from those obtained by most middle-class children. This means that they are disadvantaged for several years in the present education system. Many of these children have little experience of reading, writing, standard English, both written and spoken, and the use of books. Since the school is based on this form of learning, their ability to achieve is severely handicapped.

Many Aboriginal families use different linguistic styles and approaches and this means the children must learn a new area of language before they can begin school learning. The Aboriginal Consultative Group to the Schools Commission, 1975, has said:

The child should nevertheless be educated in such a way that he is able to function successfully in both his own culture and the wider Australian Society if he so desires.

To this end, there needs to be some work done in the area of school preparation even if it is mainly communication with the parents and an opportunity for the parents to gain a wider knowledge of the school system. Hopefully, this may lead to greater confidence in the parents’ own ability to cope with the system and an attempt by the parents to prepare their own children without destroying their Aboriginality.
Parent Counselling
Authors: Krista J.H.
Published: November 2015

The main objectives of the parent counselling program are:

1.

To come to know parents of learning problem children at our school on an informal basis.

2.

To show parents what is happening at the school, so that they become familiar and conversant with what is happening.

3.

To develop in the parents feelings that they are involved, in fact, by involving them.

4.

To get the parents involved in areas concerning the schooling of their children.

5.

To get students motivated and co-operating at school.

6.

To show parents how they can help their children both in direct and indirect terms, for example, by helping them complete a maths problem and by giving them encouragement.
Educational Guidance Camps for Aboriginal Students
Authors: Clark R.
Published: November 2015

Some interest has been shown by schools in the guidance camps currently conducted jointly by members of the Queensland and Commonwealth Departments of Education for Year 11 Aboriginal students. This article outlines the philosophy and content of these programs, and emphasizes that their effectiveness is, in part, determined by follow-up activities and support from the participants* schools.
Aboriginal Studies at an Aboriginal College?
Authors: Phillips A. , Lister R.
Published: November 2015

One of the criticisms voiced against Aboriginal Residential Colleges such as Yirara is that we “take the students away from their culture”. I don’t necessarily agree with this comment for a number of reasons.

Aspects of life at Yirara suggest to me that male and female students who attend could in fact be exposed to more traditional Aboriginal culture than they would normally experience at home. This, of course, applies to some communities more than to others.

Yirara College is in its second year of conducting an Aboriginal Studies course for its students. During this course students have the opportunity of

a) Learning to read and write their own language.

b) Learning traditional and contemporary Aboriginal skills.

c) Learning about other non-Centralian Aboriginal groups and native peoples from other cultures.
Schools Do Make a Difference, But…!
Authors: Lingard R.
Published: November 2015

Professor Watts’ (1980) review article ofFifteen Thousand Hours: Secondary Schools and Their Effects on Childrenwas a welcome, optimistic view of the positive effect schools can have on pupils. It was particularly welcome for the optimistic view that teachers and schools can achieve something in the area of Aboriginal education. Watts reviewed this book against the background reality that many teachers of Aborigines

come to feel that there is little the schools can do to help Aboriginal children learn; that the problems are so great that until there is a considerable improvement in the socio-cultural and socio-economic conditions of Aboriginal people, particularly in the urban and rural areas where the people do not follow a tradition-oriented life, there is little the schools can do.

(Watts, 1980:3)

While accepting Watts’ view, I will argue that an overly optimistic view of the possibilities of schooling for Aboriginal children can be just as debilitating as the pessimistic view that broader structural inequalities such as poverty, poor housing, poor health have to be redressed before teachers and schools can achieve anything. To this extent it will be argued that teachers need to be positive about what they and schools can achieve. Teachers need to be aware of the specific ways in which schools can make a difference.15,000 Hours…outlines some of these.
Working as Teacher Aides at Murgon State High
Authors: Mathieson M. , Landers A. , Costello B.
Published: November 2015

Cherbourg is situated on the Barambah Creek, about 300 km north west of Brisbane. The area of the reserve is approximately 4,000 hectares, adjoining 11,000 hectares of state forest. Cherbourg is 5 km from the township of Murgon and is the third largest Aboriginal settlement in Queensland.

Since 1973 Aboriginal teacher aides have been employed at Murgon High School in a variety of roles. Our jobs have included supervision in various classes and playground, helping small groups of students, resource work (cutting, stapling, cataloguing various materials for teachers), but our most important job is working on behalf of the Aboriginal students, with parents, council, principal and staff. This is part of our liaison work. This year there are about 100 Aboriginal students attending the high school in Murgon.

During 1979, with the help of some staff teachers, we worked on producing two booklets for teachers new to Murgon High. The first booklet, Cherbourg, looks at early history, facilities, industries and employment, as well as entertainment, places to visit and some of the local foods. We gathered information from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, as well as from interviewing people at home and at work. We also discussed a lot of ideas at our meetings, held three times a week. Bevan learned to use the S.LR camera, as well as to develop the photos, so he could look after the photographic aspect of the booklets. Students contributed written ideas and sketches.
Petrol Sniffing II: What Some Communities Have Done About It
Authors: Brady M.
Published: November 2015

One way of trying to understand why children sniff petrol is to look at the ‘good’ things (from their point of view) they experience. Ask the question, “What problems are solved by this sniffing?”

Reading through the reports from different communities in Australia, and also in other countries, and talking to people in Aboriginal communities in South Australia, I noted some problems. There might be hunger. Some people think that sniffing petrol makes children forget about being hungry, and they notice that children who sniff a lot are very thin. There might be loneliness and feeling left out of things. When children sniff, they usually do it together in a group, and have fun together. They get ‘strong’ enough to take no notice of what their relatives and white people say. They get ‘strong’ enough to do things they would not normally do – like breaking into houses or the store, or ‘testing’ themselves against teachers or other people in authority. There might be boredom. When children sniff, they have exciting or frightening pictures in their minds, and they feel as if they can ‘travel around’in their head and visit other places. There might be worry. Children worry about family things (such as whether they have someone to care for them and make sure they have enough food and blankets), or about growing up and the future (what will happen to them if their relatives die; what will they do when they finish school?)

By sniffing petrol and feeling ‘high’ some of these problems are alleviated; there is excitement and stimulation; hunger is forgotten; the fun of being ‘different’ and having a group of friends who do the same thing makes up for being left out and being hit by older people. They can travel around in their heads and see lots of new things.
Petrol Sniffing What the Teacher Ought to Do
Authors: McClay D. , Christie M.
Published: November 2015

People under pressure often turn to drugs to help them cope with their difficulties. This seems to happen in nearly every culture in the world. Alcohol is the major drug used in Australia – by all the racial groups. Aboriginal children under pressure often turn to petrol sniffing. The habit seems to have been introduced to Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory during World War II. What to do about it is a worrying problem because it often seems that the harder we try, the worse it gets.
Teaching Reading and Writing to Older Aboriginal Children
Authors: Lipscombe R.
Published: November 2015

Teaching reading and writing to older Aboriginal children can be one of the most satisfying teaching tasks in the Northern Territory. Most of these students have a culturally different background from the teacher’s. Their perception of a topic therefore may be quite different from the teacher’s. A good teacher will value this difference and use it:
Working as Teacher Aides at Mount Isa
Authors: Turner M. , Munns L.
Published: November 2015

We would like to share with others our role as Aboriginal teacher aides at Healy State School, Mount Isa.

The administrative staff of the school has encouraged us to keep our roles and timetables very flexible. Our timetable changes as the needs of the Aboriginal children change within the school.

The Aboriginal population at school is 16%. Half of these children come under the heading of ‘assimilated Aboriginals’.

The suburb of Healy was built by the Mount Isa mining company for sale to mine employees. The Aboriginal children from these homes have equal housing and their parents have no trouble ‘fitting in’. They are accepted on their own worth along with children from first and second generation migrant families. These children could be called success stories but we see them as the result of equal opportunities.

Close to our school we have the ‘camping area’. These are the children we mainly work with in Reading and Maths. Within this area we have found two distinct groups. Families who say ‘I never had much schooling, so I always send the kids’, and families who see no benefit in schooling. From the first group children come on a regular basis and we are able to help individual members of the family to catch up and return to ordinary classroom activities, or keep them learning at a different level. The other group from this area do not see the benefits of school and have heavy social problems. Consequently we have a truancy problem with their children.
Evaluation Guidelines for Aboriginal Studies Courses
Authors: Catchpole M.
Published: November 2015

A number of issues critical to Aboriginal Studies Courses are extrapolated from the literature. These issues are expressed as questions important for evaluators of Aboriginal Studies Courses to ask. They may also be seen as guidelines for the construction of Aboriginal Studies Courses. In conclusion, a summary of the developed guidelines is presented.

The Commission of Inquiry into Poverty (1975:183) reported of Aborigines and Islanders:

…they stand in stark contrast to the general Australian society, and also to other ethnic groups whether defined on the basis of race, nationality, birthplace, language or religion. They probably have the highest death rate, the worst legal status of any identifiable section of the Australian population.

The National Aboriginal Education Committee (1980:4) notes that the Australian Schools Commission Report (1975) adds that they also have the least schooling. With this in mind the NAEC, in its policy statement on Aboriginal Education (1980:3), says:

Since 1788 the Aborigines of Australia have been subjected in varying degrees to an authoritarian system which has rationalised their dispossession from the land, and deprecated their cultures. This dispossession forced indigenous people from their land and from the source of their own rich cultural background and uniqueness.
Hsc Australian History: An Aboriginal Perspective
Authors: Blair N.
Published: November 2015

Since 1980 the Victorian Institute of Secondary Education has implemented a new style of program for the Higher School Certificate course. Australian history is a Group 1 subject within this restructured program.

Australian history, according to most literature, is only two hundred years old. In teaching Australian history some teachers have ‘done’ the Aborigines by studying a traditional precontact history. Teachers may have even allocated a whole week to such a program, relying mainly on resource material available on northern or desert peoples. There has been virtually no work done on Victorian Aborigines and very little done on both contemporary and contact history in relation to the traditional history. There is now an option open to teachers to teach Aboriginal history as the HSC core subject, “Aborigional society before European settlement” and “European settlement and the effects on Aboriginal society”, or as the option subject, “Aborigines in the twentieth century”. This has placed an increased demand on the services offered by Aboriginal Education Services. A number of teachers are electing to teach either all three units or a combination of the units. The problem then arises that teachers themselves often have information which is limited, inaccurate and irrelevant.

The archetypal image of an Aborigine standing on one leg on the edge of a precipice, peering out across the horizon, holding a spear and wearing a red ‘nappy’, is often the only picture that the schooling system has presented of an Aboriginal. It is no wonder then that electing to teach even one of the units offered suggests a dramatic redirection of thought. Not only does traditional resource material require revision, but an Aboriginal perspective is essential. This perspective will then validate Australian history.
The Aboriginal World View : A White Person’s Ideas
Authors: Christie M.
Published: November 2015

What does world view mean? What is the Aboriginal world view like and how does it affect people’s behaviour? Is it possible for a white Australian to understand the Aboriginal world view? In this article I hope to present a white person’s point of view on these questions. I have three sources of information: eight years living with Milingimbi Yolngu, ten years learning and working with the Yolngu language, and as many years reading the works of anthropologists, linguists and Aboriginal writers. I feel that I have only the remotest understanding of this question but it is one which needs to be thought about and talked about. Hopefully this article will provoke debate.
Aborigines in Multilingual Australia
Authors: Budby J.
Published: November 2015

(Address given to the World Education Fellowship – Queensland Section, 28 July 1983).

The topic chosen for discussion at this gathering is entitled, ‘Towards a Multilingual Australia’. Because of my particular upbringing, experience and knowledge, my presentation will specifically focus on the place of Aborigines within such a society. My fellow speaker will broaden the issue by outlining aspects of the wider Australian society and their relationship to the new ideal. Since we constitute between one and two per cent of the Australian population, perhaps I should limit myself to this proportion of time in presenting my paper. However, I shall adopt an important principle of multilingualism, namely, that of equal recognition, and spend considerably more time in presenting an Aboriginal viewpoint on the contribution my peoples can make to a multilingual Australia. I hope that my fellow speaker does not permit me to ‘hog the microphone’ for too long as I am sure that he will have some important perspectives to add to tonight’s discussion.

To present my people’s place within a multilingual Australia I believe it is necessary to present the current attitudes. The current attitudes can be attributed largely to what has occurred in the past. The settlement of Australia has significance. Therefore I will begin my presentation by outlining the structure of the Australian population and how it came to be. Then to present the Aboriginal view of this and the attitude to the suggested new Australia. To do this I will diverge from the major topic initially to express a view of multiculturalism. Language is an important component of culture and therefore one cannot easily divorce one from the other. A multilingual Australia must also be multicultural, in my opinion. Most Aborigines have a particular attitude to this new Government policy. My people’s attitude will be defined and made explicit through the historical perspective and through a critical analysis of statements made by three groups on multiculturalism. The three groups who have made a statement include, the Working Party on Multiculturalism, established by the Queensland Department of Education, the Commonwealth Education Portfolio, and the Committee on Multicultural Education who reported to the Commonwealth Schools Commission. Having established the current Aboriginal attitude, I will provide some strategic ideas as to how I consider the ideal of multilingual Australia can be achieved. In providing strategies I hope to leave food for thought for later discussion and review.
Student Behaviour and Teaching Strategies in Aboriginal Schools
Authors: Folds R.
Published: November 2015

There are at least three competing interpretations of Aboriginal classroom behaviour in tradition-oriented communities. These interpretations and the theories they support may well be familiar to experienced teachers. However, the aim here is not to expound theory but to draw out implications for classroom practice.

The first interpretation is that much of the behaviour of Aboriginal children in the classroom is explicable in terms of cultural deficits relative to the demands of school. It is a time-worn but by no means old-fashioned notion that tradition-oriented socialisation renders Aboriginal children ill-fitted to school. Certainly, Aboriginal students are often characterised as passive and given to non-participation, punctuated occasionally by one word responses at best.

My own research into classroom interaction between teachers and Aboriginal students confirms that there is little verbal interaction between them relative to that in white classrooms (Folds, 1984a). However, the ethnocentric assumptions of deficit theory that school is a given and that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children learn in exactly the same way are ill-founded and have alienated Aborigines from school rather than improved educational outcomes.

Many teachers see classroom behaviour in terms of differences rather than deficits. In particular, relative lack of verbal interaction is viewed as a cultural phenomenon modelled on Aboriginal learning style where the student makes little personal input. The Aboriginal teaching and learning style has been thoroughly documented elsewhere (Harris, 1980).
Tuition Before Rights : Aboriginal Adult Education in Australia 1800-1983
Authors: Lane J.
Published: November 2015

Perhaps, with the benefit of hindsight, one could detect an inexorable logic in the development of Aboriginal affairs from the time of the initial conquest of the country until at least the Second World War. The assumption of what Mr Justice Blackburn termed the “legal fiction” of peaceful settlement ofterra nullius(an empty land) nothwithstanding, the entire country was, in the view of its long-term inhabitants, definitely not empty, nor without law and government. (Even the South Australian Colonisation Committee seems to have concurred in this view by assuring intending settlers that they would be protected from hostile savages, in 1834, two yearsbeforeformal settlement.

The non-fictional fact of conquest, however, placed at the doors of colonial administrations the responsibility for those conquered remnants who survived the process of settlement. But since theraison d’êtreof settlement required the fiction of empty and available land, the proprietary rights of its owners had to be denied from the first. To this was rapidly added the impropriety of heathen representing themselves or giving evidence in court, since they could not take the oath. Thus, although Walmadjeri and Tanganekald alike were henceforth British subjects and liable in British law, certain of their legal rights had to be postponed until they could understand their full importance – which could take an indefinably long time during which they might die out anyway. Understandably, with British civilisation at the pinnacle of human evolution, ahead of even the French, the German and of course the Hindu civilisations, and Aboriginal barbarism at or even below its base – George Grey surmised that Aboriginal life must represent some animal regression from that of the Garden of Eden – this period of apprenticeship for civilisation was a necessary burden for those with Christian charity to bear (Rowley, 1972:126)
Torres Strait Islander Students in Queensland Mainland Schools
Authors: Shnukal A.
Published: November 2015

This article is the second of a two-part series on Torres Strait Islander children whose families have settled on the Queensland mainland. Here I discuss some of the language difficulties of these children. The first part, dealing with their language backgrounds, appeared in Vol.12 No.3, June/July 1984.
Teaching a Word List to Adult Beginning Readers
Authors: Holmes Mary Ellen
Published: November 2015

To get an adult to learn one of the One-Two Hundred Most Commonly Written Words lists is like shovelling coal into a smouldering fire. You know it’s going in, but not when it will ignite.

Yet is a necessary segment of their learning, and approaching it in a Ouija Board fashion to make sentences out of the words after a first, few introductory steps helps.

First, adults appreciate an explanation of the list’s origin and worth. It takes only a moment to explain the words were compiled by sampling several thousand articles and books to see which words occurred most frequently. Taking five minutes and having the learner circle some words from the list in any newspaper article proves this to the reader.

Also, give the learner a copy of the list to keep. The learner can track how many have been learned and also have the option to proceed on his or her own.

At this initial stage, some people benefit from having each word from the list on flash cards in order to learn the words. They can also form the cards into simple sentences. When comfortable for the learner and using only the list itself, point to the words on a small portion of the list for the learner to recognise. Try as much as possible to make a coherent thought from the words: was he for it (?) can spark for what (?) for example.
Individual, family, and culture level contributions to child physical abuse and neglect: A longitudinal study in nine countries
Authors: Lansford Jennifer E. , Godwin Jennifer , Uribe Tirado Liliana Maria , Zelli Arnaldo , Al-Hassan Suha M. , Bacchini Dario , Bombi Anna Silvia , Bornstein Marc H. , Chang Lei , Deater-Deckard Kirby , Di Giunta Laura , Dodge Kenneth A. , Malone Patrick S. , Oburu Paul , Pastorelli Concetta , Skinner Ann T. , Sorbring Emma , Tapanya Sombat , Alampay Liane Peña
Published: November 2015

This study advances understanding of predictors of child abuse and neglect at multiple levels of influence. Mothers, fathers, and children (N= 1,418 families,Mage of children = 8.29 years) were interviewed annually in three waves in 13 cultural groups in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). Multilevel models were estimated to examine predictors of (a) within-family differences across the three time points, (b) between-family within-culture differences, and (c) between-cultural group differences in mothers' and fathers' reports of corporal punishment and children's reports of their parents' neglect. These analyses addressed to what extent mothers' and fathers' use of corporal punishment and children's perceptions of their parents' neglect were predicted by parents' belief in the necessity of using corporal punishment, parents' perception of the normativeness of corporal punishment in their community, parents' progressive parenting attitudes, parents' endorsement of aggression, parents' education, children's externalizing problems, and children's internalizing problems at each of the three levels. Individual-level predictors (especially child externalizing behaviors) as well as cultural-level predictors (especially normativeness of corporal punishment in the community) predicted corporal punishment and neglect. Findings are framed in an international context that considers how abuse and neglect are defined by the global community and how countries have attempted to prevent abuse and neglect.
Multigenerational links between mothers' experiences of autonomy in childhood and preschoolers' respiratory sinus arrhythmia: Variations by maltreatment status
Authors: Noll Laura K. , Clark Caron A. C. , Skowron Elizabeth A.
Published: November 2015

Despite burgeoning evidence linking early exposure to child maltreatment (CM) to deficits in self-regulation, the pathways to strong regulatory development in these children are not well understood, and significant heterogeneity is observed in their outcomes. Experiences of autonomy may play a key role in transmitting self-regulatory capacity across generations and help explain individual differences in maltreatment outcomes. In this study, we investigated multigenerational associations between Generation 1 (G1)–Generation 2 (G2) mothers' early experience of warmth and autonomy in relation to their own mothers and their Generation 3 (G3) children's autonomic physiological regulation in CM (n= 85) and non-CM (n= 128) families. We found that G2 mothers who recalled greater autonomy in their childhood relationship with their G1 mothers had preschool-age G3 children with higher respiratory sinus arrhythmia at baseline when alone while engaged in individual challenge tasks, during social exchanges with their mother in joint challenge tasks, and during the portions of the strange situation procedure when the mother was present. Although no clear mediators of this association emerged, multigenerational links among G1–G2 relations, maternal representations of her child, child behavior, and child respiratory sinus arrhythmia differed by maltreatment status, thus possibly representing important targets for future research and intervention.
Mechanisms of change: Testing how preventative interventions impact psychological and physiological stress functioning in mothers in neglectful families
Authors: Toth Sheree L. , Sturge-Apple Melissa L. , Rogosch Fred A. , Cicchetti Dante
Published: November 2015

The present study applies a multilevel approach to an examination of the effect of two randomized preventive interventions with mothers in neglectful families who are also contending with elevated levels of impoverishment and ecological risk. Specifically, we examined how participation in either child–parent psychotherapy (CPP) or psychoeducational parenting intervention (PPI) was associated with reductions in maternal psychological parenting stress and in turn physiological stress system functioning when compared to mothers involved in standard community services as well as a demographic comparison group of nonmaltreating mothers. The resulting group sizes in the current investigation were 44 for CPP, 34 for PPI, 27 for community services, and 52 for nonmaltreating mothers. Mothers and their 13-month-old infants were randomly assigned to intervention group at baseline. Mothers completed assessments on stress within the parenting role at baseline and postintervention. Basal cortisol was sampled at postintervention and 1-year follow-up. Latent difference score analyses examined change in these constructs over time. Results suggested that mothers within the CPP intervention experienced significant declines in child-related parenting stress, while mothers in the PPI intervention reported declines in parent-related parenting stress. In turn, significant decreases in stress within the CPP mothers were further associated with adaptive basal cortisol functioning at 1-year postintervention. The results highlight the value of delineating how participation in preventive interventions aimed at ameliorating child maltreatment in neglectful families within the context of poverty may operate through improvements in psychological and physiological stress functioning. Findings are discussed with respect to the importance of multilevel assessments of intervention process and outcome.
Development of a scale to measure learners’ perceived preferences and benefits of data-driven learning
Authors: Mizumoto Atsushi , Chujo Kiyomi , Yokota Kenji
Published: November 2015

In spite of researchers’ and practitioners’ increasing attention to data-driven learning (DDL) and increasing numbers of DDL studies, a multi-item scale to measure learners’ attitude toward DDL has not been developed thus far. In the present study, we developed and validated a psychometric scale to measure learners’ perceived preferences and benefits of DDL for research and pedagogical purposes. First, we created an item pool by referring to open-ended responses from learners; second, the items were pilot tested with target-level learners of English as a foreign language; and third, with item analyses and exploratory factor analysis, the revised version of the questionnaire was prepared. Finally, the questionnaire was administered, and its psychometric properties were examined with confirmatory factor analysis and fit indices. The final phase also included a measure of task values to explore the convergent evidence of the construct validity of the proposed scale. The results suggest that the scale is a valid measure of learners’ attitudes toward DDL, with the hypothesized model providing a good fit with the data. We propose that the scale can be used in future studies that utilize the same type of questionnaire research to facilitate further investigation of DDL. Suggestions for further research are also provided.