bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teacher-Parent Communication
Authors: Binnion J.E.
Published: November 2015

An Action Research Project into Secondary Education for Aboriginals in South Australia was initiated in 1972, and the appointment of five research teachers (project teachers) was approved by the Minister of Education at the end of 1972. In February 1973 the five project teachers took up their positions at Ceduna, Maitland and Meningie Area Schools and Glossop and Port Augusta High Schools. (In South Australia, “Area” schools cater for both primary and secondary students and “High” schools cater for secondary students only.) Those five schools were chosen because they had the highest percentage of Aboriginal students enrolled when the project began. Project teachers were appointed for a period of two years and their main task was to develop suitable strategies for increasing the achievement and motivation of Aboriginal students in secondary school.
Aboriginal Education in Victoria: An Evaluation of an Innovatory Emphasis
Authors: Bourke C.J.
Published: November 2015

The Victorian Education Department is philosophically opposed to the unnecessary segregation of children. Consequently, and with the approval of the Victorian Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, the two special schools for Aboriginal children at Lake Tyers and Framlingham were closed some years ago.

During the existence of the Victorian Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs it had been traditional practice for that Ministry to undertake special projects, after consultation with the Education Department, to alleviate educational disadvantages of Aboriginal children. Generally this support took the form of funding specific school projects or school equipment. However, in relation to other states the Victorian funding for education was at a low level.

The transfer of responsibility for Aboriginal Affairs from the Victorian State Government to the Australian Government on 1st January, 1975, made it imperative for the Victorian Education Department to assume full responsibility for the administration of all funding pertaining to the education of Aboriginal children. This step was necessary because the Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs does not seek to provide educational services for Aboriginal people. They believe that the provision of such services is the responsibility of existing State Government educational authorities. The Department of Aboriginal Affairs seeks to stimulate, co-ordinate and if necessary, support the extension, and where appropriate the accommodation of existing services to Aboriginals, and to ensure that special measures are taken to overcome any particular handicaps which Aboriginal people may suffer.
From Manual Training to Community Development: Seeking Relevance in Manual Training for Aboriginal Teenagers
Authors: McClelland Gary , Harris Stephen
Published: November 2015

Teenagers in the Western world are increasingly vocal in their demands for “relevance” in their school experience. Young Aboriginal men in their teens (although perhaps not fully conscious of what they are doing, or able to verbalize their feelings) are also “demanding” relevance in their school experience by several kinds of passive resistance. Two examples of this resistance are, that attendance at some Northern Territory schools is extremely low, and that young men trained in various trade courses are generally working in other trades. The educational system, of course, is not solely responsible for this situation, but we should respond to this new “post colonial” mood in Aboriginal communities. Examples of the “post colonial” era are: that Aboriginals know they are free to resist white pressures to work or attend school, or in fact to do anything “white”; that local Aboriginal councils are assuming much more responsibility for local management; that local Aboriginals cherish their new found power to say which white people can or cannot live in their community, and so on. Our prediction is that if schools don’t move with the times we will find that schools in Aboriginal communities will soon begin to appear to Aboriginals as the last “white strongholds” in these communities; that is “white” in terms of initiatives, in terms of ultimate authority, in terms of environmental setting, materials used, times at which things are done and content of what is taught.

For the white teacher to say, “But I’m open to Aboriginals taking more initiative”, is hardly practical because the Aboriginal teenager has not learned to be sufficiently aggressive or expressive to take initiatives in the face of the technologically dominant white teacher; therefore the first initiative-to-allow-initiative must be taken by the white teacher.
“The Living Walls” A Focus on Social Studies
Authors: Maguire T.M.
Published: November 2015

The project I am about to describe was born out of a necessity to encourage children to realize that there are PEOPLE, PLACES and THINGS outside Camooweal. To most of us, this statement is obvious, but to some of the children of this insular community such an awareness appears to be neither important nor even necessary.

At the very outset let me assure you that this project was not our only method of teaching Social Studies, but rather an approach which we thought might stimulate the children of this area firstly to accept and then to enjoy learning about the ways of life of other people. Social Studies in a remote area can be uninspiring if initially the only method of gathering knowledge is through books and an occasional out-dated film. Since the children I teach respond to the visual approach, I decided to “paint-out” our Social Studies discussions. The place we chose for such an experiment was under the school where there were available large panels of wall space as well as several cement columns.
A New Era in Tertiary Education
Authors: Battersby D.
Published: November 2015

Aboriginal Studies at the Canberra College of Advanced Education has achieved a reputation as being one of the most favoured series of units available. Although it has immense popularity within Teacher Education, Aboriginal Studies also attracts a large number of students from other schools at the college. Its level of appeal is reflected in the content of the two units available. Unit I of the course aims at introducing students to a pre-contemporary understanding of the Aboriginal, his kinship, religion, habitat, livelihood, art, music and pre-history. Coincidentally, Unit 2 examines problems of Aboriginal-White contact in our society, its associated prejudices and cultural conflicts.

Why is it that such a large number of students are seeking enrolment in Aboriginal Studies? I think interest predominates all other motives. In my case, as an undergraduate, this course filled a chasm in my education: it introduced me to an in-depth cultural and social analysis of a race different from my own. The urge to learn more about the Aboriginal, his culture and contact with white society, overshadowed the usual ambition of ‘study to pass’.

It was this interest that generated an inner feeling of awareness for Aboriginal culture and a self-realization of my attitudes toward Aborigines. People I talked with had similar experiences, and it was agreed that this was a latent function of the course.
Teacher Aides
Authors: Parish D.
Published: November 2015

Rarely has an educational decade seen such dramatic reactions as in the proposal, acceptance and subsequent expansion of the involvement of aides in education. Many different terms are used – usually interchangeably – such as paraprofessionals, auxiliary staff, teacher assistants, etc.

The basic rationale was that the aide could free the teacher from the trivial, mundane administrative matters and thus release him for the more ‘professional’ areas of curriculum, programming and implementation. In many schools it is considered essential to distinguish between the professional and the non-professional; and this generally means between the instructional, and the non-instructional. Some leading educators are forcing a reappraisal of this thinking for they feel that the aide can provide significant assistance in the instructional field. And, as time progresses the extent of involvement in the instructional programme will probably increase.

Analysis of the argument for and against the employment of aides generally indicates that the employment is validated on educational grounds, whereas it is criticised on personal or administrative grounds. Whilst appreciating that education is concerned at present with the interaction of people with people, it is essential to establish the correct priorities: are teachers more important than the pupils they teach? Is the teacher who has an unfounded reservation because of possible side effects more important than the pupil who can learn more effectively because of the presence of an aide? Obviously the pupil is the prime consideration, because the task is the important thing! However most critics appear to show that the child is not the important factor.
Spoken English Language of Native Children – A Canadian Perspective
Authors: Moss Peter D.
Published: November 2015

Reading S.6. Harris’s timely article summarizing recent work in bilingual education (1) prompted me to write for readers ofThe Aboriginal Child at School, this brief report of part of a project I carried out in Canada in 1972/73. In particular, Harris’s reference to Susan Philips’s work (2) reminds us all of the complex and vexed matter of social contexts governing the use of language. It may be of interest to teachers of Aboriginal children to read examples of language interactions between white and native, and native and native people in several contexts, from another country which has similar ‘pluralistic’cultural problems – Canada.
A Plea for Alternatives in Aboriginal Education
Authors: Bucknall J.R.
Published: November 2015

This paper examines a proposal that there is a need for a reappraisal of community education as the term is understood and applied in schools on relatively remote, tribally oriented Aboriginal communities.

A fairly detailed examination is made of the current realities involved in teaching in such localities in order to develop an alternative approach to this concept. Implicit in this alternative is a rejection of the stratagem whereby an Aboriginal council or board acts as a rubber stamp in an a priori decision making process. The principles involved in compensatory education are also rejected as being singularly inappropriate to the needs of Aboriginal communities.

A number of ‘radical’ overseas educationalists, whose comments and ideals seem appropriate to developing cross cultural perspectives, provide much of the material used in support of this plea for a new alternative in Aboriginal education.
The Language Experience Approach – An Outline of Its Use at Koonibba
Authors: Rogers Geoff
Published: November 2015

From a child’s point of view, some of the main concepts of the language-experience approach to the teaching of reading are:

What I think about, I can talk about.

What I talk about can be expressed in other ways.

Anything I write can be read.

I can read what I write and what other people write.

What I say and write is as important to me as what other people have written for me to read.

This approach was adopted at Koonibba school at the beginning of last year in an endeavour to try to make reading more meaningful and interesting for the children. Excursions became a vital part of the language program. Each week the “classroom” was found somewhere within a hundred mile radius of the reserve. Places were visited along the coast as well as areas beyond the dingo-proof fence. Transport varied from trucks, land rovers, boats, canoes, buses, station wagons, on foot, utilities and a tugboat. The premises that reading should come from the child’s experiences and that all children want to read and write were adopted here. The child’s wish to communicate with others about the excursion was also capitalized upon.
Classification Strategies Among Cape York Schoolchildren
Authors: Drinkwater B.A.
Published: November 2015

It is a widely-held view that the thought processes of “non-industrial” peoples are radically different from those of Western educated man. Major differences are purported to lie in the capacity for abstract thought and logical analysis, and in the separation of cognition from affect, or “reason” from emotion.

There are obvious differences in cognitive contents across cultures. Different values and beliefs are held by different peoples. And there are obvious differences in cognitive styles. One of the best examples I know was presented by Michael Cole and his associates, working among unschooled African tribesmen. The researchers were investigating methods of classification, and had asked the men to group together similar items from a miscellaneous collection of objects. The tendency among “European”-educated adolescents and adults is to form superordinate groups – for example, groups of weapons or of fruits might be made. The Africans tended to group things on a functional basis, for example, a knife and orange might be placed together because you use the knife to cut the orange. The researchers found, however, that such concrete reasons for the groupings were rarely given. When asked why they had made certain selections, the men usually answered : “Because a wise man would do it so.” Becoming a little impatient with this reply, one of the researchers asked how a fool would do it – and was quickly answered with groups of weapons, of fruits and so on!

One anthropologist who opposes the view of differences in cognitive structures between cultures is Levi Strauss. He holds that there is no difference in the way the mind works from culture to culture – there are simply differences in the strategies by which man makes nature accessible. Both traditional and scientific thought systems seek to order or systematise information. The difference is in the attributes used in imposing order – in forming general classes out of various objects and experiences encountered.
Teacher Training for Teachers of Aborigines
Authors: Binnion J.
Published: November 2015

In Vol. 4 No. 1, Ms Binnion discussed teacher-parent communication with particular reference to the Action Research Project into Secondary Education for Aborigines which was initiated in S.A. in 1972. During the course of the Action Research Project teachers in many other schools with Aboriginal secondary students were asked, via a questionnaire, for their opinions about a large number of factors relating to Aboriginal education. Consequently, this article reports the opinions of teachers in both the project schools and other schools with numbers of Aboriginal secondary students.
Aboriginal Categorisation of Natural Features
Authors: Douglas W.
Published: November 2015

Teachers might like to consider the implications this article has for their teaching strategies and for the mannpr in which they interact with their Aboriginal students.
Report to Parents on the Study of the Aboriginal Secondary Grants Scheme
Authors: Watts B.H.
Published: November 2015

In Volume 4 No. 4, we published extracts from “Access to Education: An Evaluation of the Aboriginal Secondary Grants Scheme”. In this issue I have included the report on the evaluation which I wrote for the Aboriginal and Islander parents who participated in the evaluation program; all participating parents were posted a copy. I believe it is important for them to know the results of the research to which they contributed and which, indeed, would not have been possible without their willing co-operation. In this report to parents I have indicated the extent to which the recommendations have been implemented by the Australian Government …B.H.W.

In 1974, the Government asked me if I would find out how well the Aboriginal Secondary Grants Scheme was working, how the children were getting on, and how the parents felt about it. They also asked me to make any recommendations about the Scheme that I thought would make it better.

I worked with a group of people on this because we needed to talk to Aboriginal and Islander secondary students and their parents all round Australia. The map on the back page shows the towns that we visited. In our group, there were Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people who talked to the students and their parents. The Aboriginal people were Mrs Mary King, Mrs Alice Stephan, Mrs Rita Huggins, Mrs Belle McLeod, Miss Marie Callope, Miss Edwina Merrypor and Miss Sue Chilly. The non-Aboriginal people were Mrs Pat Garcia, Mr Bob Lingard, Mr Richard Guy, Mrs Alice Fry, Mrs Marilyn Redlich, Mrs Jan Lord and myself.
Aboriginal Studies – an Integrated Approach
Authors: Amery D.
Published: November 2015

The use of Aboriginal Studies “courses” with non-Aboriginal children has long taken a simplistic form to say the least, which has done little to overcome any of the typical white oriented prejudices which have existed for so long.
Stimulus Pictures for Language Development
Authors: Metcalfe C.D.
Published: November 2015

Stimulus pictures can be either one of the most valuable or one of the most misused of teaching aids. If they are simply displayed for an indefinite period, around the classroom walls as decoration, they will quickly become valueless. However, an imaginative teacher should find relevant study prints of value over a wide range of teaching methods and subject areas.

In compiling notes on the use of the set of pictures produced by this Branch, a number of guiding principles were followed. The notes are simply an introduction, not a comprehensive course. Each teacher, each class and each situation will cause the use of the pictures to vary, making it impossible to produce detailed courses with general applicability. Even if such a prescriptive course were possible, we would consider it highly undesirable. The value of the prints will be enhanced to the degree to which they are used creatively, according to the needs of the particular situation.

The notes will seek to present more of a generalised framework to assist teachers in developing their own methods of utilizing the pictures. Various ways of using study prints will be listed and types of questioning and interaction strategies discussed.
Teacher Training for Teachers of Aborigines
Authors: Cook T.E.
Published: November 2015

Some determinants of educability for Aborigines are discussed and such problems as integration aid involvement in decision-making by Aborigines reviewed. The role of the teacher in effective communication with Aboriginal children and Aboriginal communities and related aspects such as teacher expectation are considered. Research findings in behavioural science which relate to belief systems and attitudes are considered for inclusion in teacher education programs for the teachers of Aboriginal children. In conclusion, some proposals are made concerning teacher education programs.
Aboriginal Children and School
Authors: Crawford L.
Published: November 2015

Aboriginal children are confronted with numerous problems coping with the school system. An Aboriginal child is torn between the extremes of two cultures; the dominant white culture and Aboriginal culture.

The dominant white culture perceives the Aboriginal culture to be different and at worst, very inferior. The Aboriginal culture is resigned to the white culture’s perception of it, because this perception is reinforced in the reality of the dominant white situation.

The Aboriginal race is seen by many whites as lazy, irresponsible, uneducated, and a burden to society. The white Australian perception of Aboriginals as an ethnic group is still, in many ways, one of inferiors. Aboriginals have encountered white superiority since white settlement. Aboriginals were hunted and destroyed as vermin, and at a later stage, those that survived were placed on missions or reserves. At the time this seemed an effective solution, but it did in fact take Aboriginals away from their tribal lands, which were an important part of their culture. The Aboriginals were degraded and culturally ruined. Although there has been a small effort by white authorities to help Aboriginals, Aboriginals still have a strong feeling for white hostility and dominance.

The Aboriginal child is a product of these two widely different cultures, but he is forced into a white school system, which still, in many ways, merely tolerates his Aboriginal heritage.
Ungraded Team Teaching in a Small School
Authors: Moeckel D.A. , Moeckel M.J.
Published: November 2015

In country areas of Australia it is not a rare concept for multi-grade classrooms to exist under the instruction of one or two teachers. However, even within the structure of single teacher schools, there is usually a grade structure within the classroom, where the teacher divides the children into grades and the blackboard into grade areas. This works efficiently if the children in each grade section are of the same academic level and of similar chronological age. In many cases the teacher can call on the senior students, when they have completed their work, to help the juniors, and in this way the teacher surreptitiously sets recapitulatory and revisionary work for all the students. The big ones helping the little ones is an efficient concept in small school teaching, especially if the children are of European extraction and have had a fairly continuous educational exposure.

In an Aboriginal school or a school with an enrolment of predominantly Aboriginal children, the assumption that the children have had a continual exposure to education cannot be made, and if made, can be very detrimental to the educational development of the child. A teacher arriving in an Aboriginal community peruses reports and other information regarding the children and after several weeks of teaching and testing, sets up “grade areas”. Here the dangers creep in.

Most Aboriginal children are lacking in the basic European competitive instinct and do not wish to be singled out as superior students. They seem to believe in the words of Eldridge Cleaver that, “Competition is the law of the jungle and co-operation is the law of civilization”. Perhaps the Aboriginal people are more civilized than those of the European west.
The ‘Dogs’ of Inala
Authors: Cass W.
Published: November 2015

In this article I attempt to point out the types of children I worked with, the problems they had, and some of the ways I attempted to overcome these problems.

The basic idea was for me to work from 2.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. helping under-achievers master some fundamental language skills. This appears very clear-cut. However, I think, as the article progresses, the Inala nightmare suddenly grows upon you. I write informally throughout this article – the work was much the same. Within a broad framework plan, the spontaneity and understanding needed in unexpected situations flourished best. Some incidents and sayings are dispersed throughout the work.

“Tonight Wayne, why don’t you be an ordinary teacher like the ones at school? Come in and roar at us.”

“It’s going to be hard, we’d know it’s just a game.”

“Come on Wayne, it’d be good. We’ll act like we’re at school and you be the teacher.”
Prevalent Attitudes and School Policy toward Non-standard Dialects
Authors: Fisher E.M.
Published: November 2015

We, as teachers, usually find it difficult to accept the oral language patterns that some of our pupils bring to school. “We are prone to inject an element of morality into our pseudo-standard of English.” (Cheney 1976, p.58).

As Hall (1959) so ably comments, “Our native speech is inextricably bound to our perception of friends, community, religion, nation and other peoples.”

Basically, non-standard dialects are viewed either as a deficit form of standard English or a different but equal language system. These are basically the two main models. Wolfram (1973, p.68) says that, in the deficit model, speech differences are viewed and described with reference to a norm and deviation from that norm. The control group norm is, of course, middle-class speech or standard English. Nonconformity to this norm is seen as an indication of retarded language acquisition or under-developed language. Nonstandard dialects are considered as the pathology of non-organic speech deficiencies, and the patterns of these dialects are labelled with such terms as ‘misarticuiations’; ‘deviations’; ‘replacements’; ‘faulty pronunciations’ and the like.

The ‘difference’ model sees non-standard dialects as self-contained systems in their own rights. They have their own phonological and grammatical rules and are equally legitimate both socially and psychologically, as well as being syntactically functionally equivalent to standard English.
“The Implicit Contract”
Authors: Spotswood John
Published: November 2015

Havighurst (1970) talks of an implicit contract between the home and the school. By this he means that –

The parents contract to prepare their children for school entrance, both cognitively and affectively. They further contract to keep him in school and to make home conditions appropriate for his success in school. The school contracts to receive the child, teach him as well as it can, taking account of his strengths and weaknesses and the ways he can learn most effectively…the education of the child is successful only when both parties carry out their obligations fully.

…Sometimes, one or both parties fail to understand the nature of these obligations, (p.313)

Watts (1972) notes that this could be particularly true of “the socially disadvantaged parents of this country, nearly all of whom fail to meet the terms of the contract”, but points out that the schools also fail “by failing to understand how the children of these families can learn most successfully”.
“Extending the Teaching Competence of Urban Aboriginal Mothers”
Authors: Henry M.B.
Published: November 2015

The 1972–73 program entitled Extending the Teaching Competence of Urban Aboriginal Mothers, described by Watts and Henry,(1977), drew both on cultural deprivation and cultural difference theory, in a way that invites consideration of the possibility of reconciliation of these two apparently opposing positions.

First, to elucidate the program and its research bases, it aimed to enhance the prospects for school success of Grade 1 and later 4-year old Aboriginal children in Brisbane, not by focusing directly on the child in a school or pre-school setting, but by working with parent and child at home.

This focus was suggested by a number of studies in the sixties (e.g. Bernstein, 1961; Hunt, 1961; Dave, 1963; Douglas, 1964; Hess and Shipman, 1965; Coleman, 1966; Wiseman, 1967), indicating that the home is a more important determinant of school success than the school itself.

In particular, Hess,(1969) saw ten family characteristics as significant for the child’s optimal development: demand for high achievement, maximization of verbal interaction, engagement with attentiveness to the child, maternal teaching behaviour, diffuse intellectual stimulation, warm affective relationship with the child, feelings of high regard for child and self, pressure for independence and self-reliance, quality and severity of disciplinary rules, and use of conceptual rather than arbitrary regulatory strategies.

Watts, (1971) found maternal characteristics such as active interest in, and high aspirations for the child, to be more significant for the school achievement of Aboriginal than white adolescent girls.
Accepting Johnny & His Language (Language for Living and Language for Learning)
Authors: Pearce L.A.
Published: November 2015

“Pupils are individual human beings who have learnt language in the process of learning how to live the life of their communities: the whole process has taken place in the context of patterns of relationships, habits and values that make up that specifically human environment. If we are to make sense of the pupil’s problems and needs when he comes to use the language he has learnt in the context of the school, then we must be very clear about the processes by which he has learnt it, and the human environment in which the learning has taken place.” (Peter Doughty, from the introduction to Language and Community.)

Once upon a time a little boy called Johnny started school. He was very excited. His Mummy and Daddy had been telling him for what seemed a long time that he would soon go to school. At school he would learn to read and write and do sums. Johnny's Mummy bought him some new clothes - school clothes - and a little suitcase for his school lunch. At last the day arrived, and Mummy took Johnny to the school. Mummy talked to some big people and signed some papers. A nice lady came and talked to Johnny and Mummy. Then Mummy said it was time to go and she would see Johnny after school. The nice teacher lady took Johnny into a room with a lot of other children.
Physical Education with an Aboriginal Perspective
Authors: Robertson Ian
Published: November 2015

Aboriginal children, like all others, have a love and enthusiasm for physical activity in the form of play, games and sport. For a variety of reasons, this enthusiasm does not always carry over into the other areas of the school program. Mitchell’s (1973) comments are quite commonplace – and they apply not only in Aboriginal schools:

He was an alert lad with well above average intelligence, but apart from sport and a partiality for listening to good stories, he seemed disinterested in schooling.

Actually, it is not so surprising that Aboriginal people show an interest in physical activity as evidence suggests that recreational activities formed an integral part of the traditional way of life. The amount of time available for, and the extent and quality of the leisure pursuits, is suggested by Tonkinson (1974):

Contrary to earlier assertions about hunting and gathering peoples, we now know that the task of obtaining daily food rarely occupied more than a few hours of the Aborigines’ time. In summer at least, the intense heat discouraged Aborigines from moving about during most of the day. Their leisure hours were many, whatever the season, and the opportunities to be sociable were endless. Horde members were constantly on the lookout for telltale smoke, which indicated the presence of other small groups. The resultant meeting generated excitement as people exchanged gossip, recounted their recent exploits, and perhaps held informal singing and dancing sessions. (p.18)
The Teacher Won’t Teach Me!
Authors: Eckermann A-K.
Published: November 2015

Throughout 1974 and 1975 I worked among Aboriginal people in Rural Town, S.W. Queensland. With one exception, all Aboriginal people in this country town have attained at least a primary education. Further, almost 30 per cent of men and women in the 16–30 age group have attended some secondary school; although only two completed grade 10 in 1974, a further three attended tenth arade in 1975.

These figures reflect the pattern of Queensland Aboriginal education as presented in Roper (1970:55). On the basis of these trends it should be possible to hypothesize that younger Aboriginals are attaining higher educational standards than their parents. But the figures lie – simply because more children are staying at school for longer periods this does not mean that they either learn more at school or are experiencing more satisfaction in the school situation.

Obviously the proportion of individuals who attend at least some secondary school is increasing; Aboriginal parents generally support the principle that education is essential if the child is to acquire reasonable employment. Such schemes as the Aboriginal Secondary Grant Scheme are recognised by the Aboriginal community as worthwhile endeavours, not only because they enable parents to support their children for longer periods at school, but because they make the whole educational issue topical. Discussions about the grant lead to discussions about children’s problems at school. Ambitions for “good jobs” are intrinsically linked with educational achievement. Education officers associated with the Aboriginal Secondary Grant are sought out, asked for help to “have the kids sent to boarding school”, as the Rural Town high school does not teach classes beyond Grade 10, and their expertise enlisted to find employment. This concern is not restricted to high school students either. Mothers generally recognise that:

“Kids need the first year at school or they get buggered up for the rest. If they miss too much in that first year, they never catch up….”
Graduation Address: Aboriginal Teacher Aides, Sydney University, 1977
Authors: Bolton Y.
Published: November 2015

(Mrs Yvonne Bolton was appointed in 1977 to the position of Aboriginal liaison teacher, State Department of Education, New South Wales. Among Mrs Bolton’s responsibilities are – planning and helping teachers to implement programs that will be of benefit to Aboriginal pupils; liaising with Aboriginal communities.

Mrs Bolton did her own teacher training in Sydney, 1957-59, and during her period as a classroom teacher taught infants’ classes and moderately mentally retarded children.

She is a member of the Adult Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee.)
The Practices of a Practising Teacher
Authors: Bryan T.
Published: November 2015

I came to Australia in 1972 after teaching Nigerian boys in West Africa for thirteen years. My first experiences suggested to me that many slow learners and children with different cultural backgrounds from the majority were inadequately catered for at the standard Queensland high school.

When a scheme was proposed to aid such children (mainly Aboriginal) in our school, I volunteered to be one of the teachers. The scheme involved creating two small classes for the beginning Grade 8 students, with each class having a home room, and spending core time each week on English, Maths and Social Studies with one teacher. The core subjects took up about 25 periods each week. I was initially thrilled by the thought that at last I could begin tackling problems which had previously aroused in me feelings of defeat.
Speaking English – Understanding the Aboriginal Learner’s Problems
Authors: Harris J.W.
Published: November 2015

In areas where children’s first language is an Aboriginal language, the very nature of the Aboriginal language itself poses complex problems, not only for the child learning English but also for the teacher whose basic first step in solving these problems is to understand what the problems are. Except for a few fortunate teachers who were given some linguistics in college, (a rather recent innovation) and a few conscientious people who have taken courses later, most of us who teach in Aboriginal schools know far too little about linguistics. We therefore don’t know how to approach some language problems in the classroom or, even worse, we don’t recognize that the problems exist. Some teachers who have tried to do something about their lack of knowledge have been put off by technical linguistic terminology, phonetic script and so on.

This small article is an attempt by a teacher who is NOT a linguist, to show his fellow teachers who are NOT linguists, that we can still understand the linguistic problems in our classrooms, and have therefore a reasonable chance of coming to grips with them.
Stereotypes – Their Formation and Future
Authors: Knox A.S.
Published: November 2015

Stereotypes “can be defined as the attribution of general psychological characteristics to large human groups.” (1. Tajfel, p. 150). Often stereotypes have their origin in historical and cultural traditions though the prevailing social climate may also be an influence. Bettelheim and Janowitz (1. p. 48) distinguished between two types of stereotyping:

1)

the superego variety with traits such as over-ambition, craftiness, shrewdness and slyness;

2)

the id variety with derogatory traits such as lack of ambition, stupidity, laziness, lack of inhibition, dirtiness, smelliness and over-sexiness.
School Based Curriculum Development in Aboriginal Studies
Authors: Cook T.E.
Published: November 2015

In this paper I will draw attention to some basic considerations which my research* would suggest are needed in curriculum development in Aboriginal studies. The research is aimed at identifying basic research findings from which propositions can be formed and constructs for curriculum development formulated. This will enable practical classroom procedures and methods, as well as curricula, to be developed. There is no body of educational knowledge in Aboriginal studies particularly, or ethnic studies generally, which allows a theoretical framework for the curriculum developer to work from. The following considerations may be useful in this regard.

Firstly, what does one mean by curriculum, and why refer to curriculum development? Generally, curriculum researchers refer to the curriculum in a much broader way than has been the custom traditionally. (Musgrave, 1974; Hurst, 1974; Walton, 1971; Stenhouse, 1975). For the purpose of this research, the curriculum is considered as the experiences the child will meet with at school as the result of the planned efforts of the school to meet its aims and objectives. This is wider than the old concept of the curriculum which had to do with courses of study in the classroom and planned syllabuses. In the new sense of curriculum, all aspects of school life must be considered. Therefore, a particular model for curriculum development will be suggested, but more essentially what will be stressed is that a model for curriculum development be followed. Intuitive leaps in the dark have seemed to be the pattern, albeit well intentioned.
Aboriginal Secondary Activity Group
Authors: Glennon J.
Published: November 2015

(Mr Glennon provides a description of a project, funded by the Schools Commission, which will commence in 1978…Ed.)

I have now completed three years as Aboriginal Remedial and Supportive Teacher at Cleveland St. Boys High School. I have come to the decision that while my present role is worthwhile, the numbers of students at the school whom I do not reach are an alarming and significant proportion. These children are the ‘chronic truants’ some of whom have spent as little as two days in an entire year at school. These children invariably (I shall cite specific cases later) end up before the Childrens Court at Yasmar and thence are sent to institutions. The charges levelled at these boys range from truancy, through petty crimes to breaking and entry, and assault and robbery. In ninety per cent of the cases that I have been associated with the offences were committed during school hours.

As the cases over a period of time have been so consistent and cover boys of all academic calibre, there can be no doubt that an alternative curriculum must be developed for these children.
Work Experience Program: Mackellar Girls High School
Authors: Bolton Y.
Published: November 2015

Six Aboriginal girls participated in this program in 1977. The girls board at Kirinari Girls Hostel, Allambie Heights.

Mr Landy, the Headmaster of the Far West Hospital School, agreed to have the girls work in the school. I also sought permission for two of the girls to work in the hospital; this was granted by the sister-in-charge of the hospital.

The girls spent each Monday working with the teachers in the school and in the hospital.

For the first three weeks I collected the girls each day from the hostel, took them to the school and then home again. They then travelled independently to and from the hostel and school. This they did with no mishaps. As the girls were from isolated country areas, I was concerned about the travelling, even though it involved catching one bus for a relatively short distance.
Kewdale Community-based Program
Authors: Chesson E. , Hayward E.
Published: November 2015

During 1977, Ms Kathleen Miller and Mr Adrian Haydock operated an innovation program for disadvantaged children at the Kewdale Development Centre. A high proportion of the children attending the centre were Aboriginal, and so the Aboriginal Education Branch was approached for assistance in designing a suitable course. Mr Eric Hayward, an Aboriginal liaison officer, visited the Centre and suggested a community-based program similar to that outlined in a branch report entitled Minority Groups and the “Foxfire” Experience. Since then, the enthusiasm of the two teachers and the interest of the Aboriginal Education Branch have developed the project to the stage where the following report has been prepared.

For many children, belonging to a minority group with its varying degrees of alienation from mainstream society, presents an obstacle to success in the normal curriculum. With Aboriginal children in particular, it is known that excessive numbers of high school students are operating at basic levels and below. There are many factors that contribute to this situation. Yet there is one factor, possessing two facets, that probably overrides all others. This factor is aptly expressed in the following statement from the Ontario Ministry of Education in 1975:

The development and nurture of a positive self image is the single most important ingredient for significant learning to take place. When a child has a positive self concept, when he thinks well of himself, when he believes that he can succeed and achieve, when he perceives other people feeling that way about him, he will respond in a positive way with growth and increasing maturity.
Report : A Solid Link in the Chain – The Aboriginal Teaching Assistants’ Training Programme: an Evaluation
Authors: More A.J.
Published: November 2015

In the following pages we present extracts from the report prepared for the Department of Adult Education, University of Sydney, by Dr A.J. More, Ph.D. The author is Associate Professor, and the Supervisor of the Native Indian Teacher Education Program in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He is in Australia during 1977–78 on Sabbatical Leave.

2.2 … In early 1975, 23 Aborigines were appointed to teacher aide positions throughout the state and an 11 week training programme was an integral part of the employment of the new recruits.

In 1977, 60 Aborigines filled such positions in the state. Of these 34 were enrolled in the basic training programme and 36 in an inservice programme at the University.
Providing Opportunities for Cross-cultural Involvement
Authors: Fitzpatrick J.
Published: November 2015

Mrs Fitzpatrick reports on a project funded under the Schools Commission Innovations Program. She is with the South Australian State Association of School Welfare Clubs, and was assisted in the co-ordination and supervision of the project by Mrs B. Tothill of the Northern Suburbs Association of School Welfare Clubs.

As this project involved providing experiences for a small number of people, over only a short period of time, it would seem to be presumptuous to draw conclusions on the subject of “Cross-Cultural Involvement”. The following report, therefore, is descriptive rather than assumptive. I have included comments on the scheme by people who were involved either deeply or peripherally and have tried to record facts only. This has been difficult in a scheme where emotions and affections played a big part, especially as in re-reading letters and reports written soon after the project took place, I find that most people saw it at that time as an enormous success.
Murgon State High School Administrative Efforts Towards the Integration of Students
Authors: Matthews M.J.
Published: November 2015

Beyond the usual educational goals, the main objective of Murgon High continues to be a constant working towards the harmonious integration of students from various communities in a way that is beneficial to all students.
What to Do Until the Reading Specialist Comes
Authors: Christie M.
Published: November 2015

In an earlier issue (Vol.4 No.2) Michael Christie told us about the reading program he was using at Mi lingimbi. In this issue he outlines “a number of teaching techniques which are both simple to implement and congruent with what (little) we know about learning styles in Aboriginal children.”

Nothing is more depressing for a teacher than to hear about other teachers’ fabulous successes while feeling incapable of replicating them. Enthusiasm for other people’s programs begins to wear thin in the cold light of your own circumstances. What exactly can be done to achieve reading without tears at your school? There are so many ideas and theories in the teaching of reading, we are at a loss as to which of them to choose. And teaching Aboriginal children to read is an even more difficult task for two main reasons. Firstly, they come from a culture where reading is not a part of everyday life, so there is a lot of reading which we take for granted and which they don’t understand. Secondly, we know only a very little about the ways in which Aboriginal children learn. If we think carefully, we can see that our past failures have only taught us that white teaching methods are by and large simply unsuitable for Aboriginal children. This paper is essentially an attempt to rectify this in the field of reading.
Technical Studies at Yalata Aboriginal School
Authors: Williams K.
Published: November 2015

In technical studies at Yalata we are trying to cater for two worlds, that of the traditional Aboriginal and that of the present-day Aboriginal.

Incorporated into the technical studies course is a section taught by the Aboriginal teaching assistants, in which the students learn to perfect their own artifact making skills and learn new skills. These new skills are taught by men from the Community. The most frequently made artifacts are wombats, kangaroos, snakes, emus, lizards and the more traditional woomeras, spears and boomerangs. Lessons are held in the shade of a tree, using local myall wood. Artifacts find a ready sale through the Kalinguratja Co-operative and the boys make pocket money as well as raising money for excursions and other class projects.

Another side of the technical studies class includes training for employment. This includes such skills as submitting tenders for local work, keeping timesheets and calculating payments, welding, flame cutting, thread-cutting, mechanics, carpentry, joinery and painting. Numerous minor repairs are carried out for both the school and the community. Some of these include broken window and door replacement, making reinforced septic tank lids, shed construction, demolition of old buildings, fencing and construction of an Adventure Playground.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Authors: Lunnay J.
Published: November 2015

A three day seminar for Aboriginal secondary students was held in early April. This was the first time that such a program has been attempted by the Education Department. Valuable assistance was given by a number of other government departments.

All Aboriginal students in years 9 to 12 who attend Adelaide metropolitan high schools were invited to attend. A few representatives from selected country schools were also invited. Between 180 and 200 students attended each day. They were supervised in groups of eight to ten by Aboriginal teacher aides and other volunteers from the Aboriginal community.
The Education of Aboriginal Children in New South Wales Public Schools Since 1788: Part 1
Authors: Harris J.W.
Published: November 2015

The following article by Mr Harris discusses in detail the history of Aboriginal education in New South Wales. Readers from New South Wales will certainly find this extremely interesting and, indeed, the perspective that Mr Harris offers will deepen their insights into the educational status of Aboriginals today. Readers from other states will, I am sure, also find it very illuminating; in many ways the New South Wales scene was similar to that in other parts of Australia. (Ed.)