bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Different Approach
Authors: Kerr B.
Published: August 2016

Teaching Aboriginal children often conjures up thoughts of being stoned or speared alive and many people contemplating a career in teaching, Or actually teaching, shy away from the thought of teaching Aboriginal children. But do they really know what they are missing out on:
Aboriginal Educators’ Training Program 1981-82
Authors: Tournier D.
Published: August 2016

Every Wednesday we have a training program for Aboriginal educators in Swan Hill, which is situated on the New South Wales and Victorian border near the Murray River. The Aboriginal educators involved in this program are: Jon Kirby, Caroline Steel, Lynette Bugeja and myself. This program is co-ordinated by our resource teacher – Jill Pattenden.

In 1981 we covered such subjects as reading and writing skills, communication, teaching techniques, lesson planning, Aboriginal history, child psychology, counselling, lessons in organising, oral history, community and alcohol, public speaking, submission drafting, study of Aboriginal spirituality.

All these subjects were studied with the help of people in the community, both Aboriginal and European. These resource people included local elders, field officers, counsellors, psychologists, an alcohol counsellor, teachers, and people with tribal experience.

As part of the program we did activity days at local primary schools. These days are called Jemauraji days (which means “today’s dreaming”). They consisted of different activities such as ground drawing, damper making, corroborée, totems and fire making. Everybody in each school was involved in these activities.
Hawks and Doves in the Education of Aboriginal Children
Authors: Degens P.
Published: August 2016

When I first moved to Coffs Harbour in 1972, I quickly became aware of the problems facing Aboriginal children in the school and community. Now, ten years later, seems a good time to review the position.

Statistically there have been changes. The Aboriginal population in Coffs Harbour Shire is 1.6% of the total population, namely: males 200, females 194, total 394.

The new Tyalla Primary which opened next to Orara High in 1978 has 29 Aboriginal pupils, while the Aboriginal population of Orara High itself has increased from 10 to 31 students (2 being in Year 11) in keeping with this school’s growth from only Years 7 – 9 in 1973, to a full secondary school by 1976.

It appears that attitudes among teachers and white children have polarised. There are the ‘hawks’ and the ‘doves’. When these terms were invented during the Eisenhower years in the U.S.A., it was easy to tell a ‘hawk’ from a ‘dove’. The ‘hawks’ were those who favoured warlike measures and confrontation, while the ‘doves’ were those who wanted peace talks and mutual disarmament. These days it has become difficult to differentiate in the military aviary but in this educational issue there seems to be a marked line of division. On the one hand there are those who condemn as ‘racist’ any special programs of financial aid to assist Aboriginal children, ‘the hawks’, and on the other those who blame a white-dominated society for the problems Aboriginal children face, ‘the doves’.
Adapting Reading Methodology to Aboriginal Children
Authors: Buschenhofen P.
Published: August 2016

It is quite likely that at the start of a teaching career at an Aboriginal school, a teacher would know how to teach reading. He would have received the theoretical background at college or university, and applied this knowledge with varying degrees of success at practice-teaching sessions and possibly with increasing success at an urban school. Therefore, when an obviously talented teacher finds that previously used strategies simply do not work, and even his knowledge of how to cope with disadvantaged and remedial children seems to be of no use, it is time to look a little deeper into what motivates his pupils.
Outstation Schools at Yirrkala
Authors: Yunupingu B.
Published: August 2016

During 1973 the outstation movement at Yirrkala was going in full force. Aboriginal people were moving from Yirrkala to start up their own communities consisting of numbers of their own clan. During that time Aboriginal people asked many questions about school. So in 1975 the outstation schools were established and were serviced by two visiting teachers from the central school.

The names of the communities and the clans that established their outstations in terms of houses and school are these:
Phonics for the Aboriginal Classroom
Authors: Gale M.A.
Published: August 2016

Much has been said and written by the reading specialists about the way children learn to read and how teachers should be facilitators in this natural process. Frank Smith says that phonics need not be taught in the classroom; in fact he says it makes the learning to read process more difficult for children (Smith 1973, p.185).

Phonics or grapho-phonics tells a reader and writer how spelling patterns relate to sound sequences (Reed 1977, p.393). Whether phonics is taught incidentally on a one-to-one basis or whether it is taught more formally, I believe phonics does have a place in the classroom today, particularly in the bilingual Aboriginal classroom. Teachers of Aboriginal children should feel free to teach phonics, despite what the specialists say.

Much that has been written relates to native English-speaking children, brought up in a literate society where newspapers and bedtime stories are the norm. In this paper I am concerned with non-English speaking tribal Aboriginal children, in a pre-literate society. They attend bilingual schools where they learn to read and write first in the vernacular and then in English. I will point out that what the reading specialists advocate in learning to read naturally, is not always sound advice for tribal Aboriginal children learning to read and write in the vernacular.
Thoughts on Aboriginal Literature
Authors: Kable J.
Published: August 2016

Back in early 1982, a mate in New Zealand wrote to me describing, in a very excited manner, his research into cultural aspects of Maori people, especially with respect to the poetry relating to funeral rites. Concurrently, I was completing the Multicultural Education Diploma, and fostering an infant interest in aspects of Australian literature dealing with the immigrant experience and cultural difference (viz. Judah Waten’s Alien Son, and Nancy Keesing’s Shalom). Whilst I had not at that stage successfully made the link between such literature and its effective use in the educational process of students of non-English speaking background, I remember thinking that perhaps I should soon pursue a course which would lead me to an understanding of Aboriginal Australians, in some way similar to Terry’s pursuit in New Zealand.
Reflections on Education in Torres Strait: Zuni Insights
Authors: Osborne B.
Published: August 2016

Education in Torres Strait is at a crossroad. On the one hand changes are about to occur to its organisation. On the other hand crucial inroads are being made into community life by that process of education.

I have lived in Torres Strait. I know some of the fears, hopes and disillusionment of many Torres Strait Islanders. I want to share some of my insights into your situation. When I left Thursday Island in 1972, it was with sadness and with a determination to find out how to better teach the young people of the Torres Strait. I would like to share one set of my findings with you. In particular, I would like to share the experiences of a small American Indian community with you. In many ways their story is like yours. Some of their lessons may help you in these days of rapid changes.
Improving the Educational Opportunities of Aboriginal Children: The Koonibba Experience
Authors: Schluter J.
Published: August 2016

Koonibba is a non-traditional Aboriginal settlement 40 kilometres west of Ceduna. It began as a Lutheran mission in 1901, when Aboriginal people from several areas were gathered together at the foot of Koonibba Hill to live as a community. The mission operated until 1964, when the Lutheran Church officially ceased administrative control and various government departments took over. An Education Department school began then. Now approximately 100 adults and 35 children live at Koonibba. None of them are traditionally from this area, but all identify as being part of the Koonibba Community.

Kangaroo, sleepy lizard and other local native animals form a significant part of the Koonibba people’s diet but they have retained few other traditional skills.
Parent Participation in Education: Ways of Fostering School-Home Co-operation
Authors: Cotterell J.L.
Published: August 2016

Those involved in educational programs with Aboriginal children have noted that the parents have little contact with the schools, and feel that they are unable to help their children with their school work, even where they express interest in their children’s school progress.

In her comprehensive study of the Aboriginal Secondary Grants Scheme, Watts (1976) reported that fewer than 40% of parents said that they helped their children with their schoolwork, and the main reason they gave for not helping was that they did not feel able to. Furthermore, the majority of Aboriginal parents had little contact with the school: 70% stated that they had not met their children’s teachers. These figures refer to parents of high school children, but it seems unlikely that the pattern would be greatly different if home-school contacts at the primary level were investigated. Watts (1975:48) commented that schools have done little to involve parents in a meaningful way in the education of their children, and so parents remain unaware of the practical ways in which they could help their children and support them in their schooling. A great gulf is fixed between the home and the school, to the disadvantage of many children in Australian society.
Attitudes to Language in a Bilingual Program
Authors: Allen M.
Published: August 2016

Language is an important part of a child’s total development as a person. Through language the child learns the behaviour patterns that are expected within his society, the society’s religious beliefs, and how the society sees the organisation of the world around it.

“Language is a powerful force of socialisation or the preparation of a young person for later life in a social group.” It has a vital function in “accumulating and transmitting culture” (Bostock, 1977, p.6).
Prevention of Delinquent Behaviour
Authors: Hoopgood V.S.
Published: August 2016

I was somewhat surprised and disappointed to learn last month that a Year 9 Aboriginal student, whom I have taught since he arrived at high school last year, had broken into the Home Economics section of his local primary school and embarked on a spree of damage and destruction. What could have possessed this lad who can be friendly, helpful and positively trouble free for much of the time at school, to follow such a course of seemingly unprovoked and senseless action. My school, Murgon State High School, frequently plays host to delinquent behaviour by both Aboriginal and European descent students. In the past 16 months I have been physically threatened, sworn at and deliberately disobeyed. Fortunately for my self-respect’s sake, I have not been alone in receiving this tirade of abuse and disrespect. We have 120 Aborigines in a school of 480, and delinquent behaviour is not peculiar to either group.
Contexts and Strategies for Writing with Urban Aboriginal and Islander Students
Authors: McDonald Helen
Published: August 2016

There is no more promising way of increasing the closeness of subcultural groups to their own roots and culture “than by cherishing and nourishing the speech of the home and the neighbourhood and by helping it to find the kind of expression in story, poem, play, which can communicate the spirit of the subculture to a multicultural audience.”
Formal Education and Aboriginal Children
Authors: Christie M.J.
Published: August 2016

All children, black or white, learn a lot more outside the classroom than inside it. All normal children, by the time they go to school for the first time, have already learnt to speak their mother tongue, have learnt who they are and where they fit into their family or community, and have learnt a vast range of behaviours which are appropriate (and inappropriate) for members of their culture. They have learnt all these through the informal process of socialization which affects all members of every culture throughout their lives. In traditional Aboriginal society, for example, hunting and food preparation skills, the traditional law, patterns of land ownership and important stories from the past, were all learnt informally in the daily life of the family. Only some sacred knowledge would be transmitted formally in a ceremonial context.
Learning Difficulties of Aborigines in Education
Authors: Honeyman K.
Published: August 2016

Many of today’s Aborigines, when placed in the Western educational environment, are faced with a range of psychological problems. This is partly because the education system is based on Western traditions and culture which, knowingly or unknowingly, tends to ignore almost completely Aboriginal culture and traditions.

For teachers to develop strategies that will help themselves and their students in the class room, attention must be focused on situations that have contributed to the Aborigines’ low psychological appreciations of Western education.
Aboriginal Material Culture - Let’s Get It Right - Redressing the Folklore
Authors: Scott A.W.
Published: August 2016

Since the mid 1970s (cf. Mulvaney 1976, p.74) there has been a rapid expansion in the study of Aboriginal material culture which has led to modification of ideas relating to the interpretation of this culture. It is therefore most important that current data sources and interpretations are used by teachers. In response to the comments and opinion of persons not particularly conversant with the field, one is forced to conclude that there are many misconceptions held by our society in general concerning traditional
Aboriginal culture.

The purpose of this paper is to dispel some of these subjectively based impressions so that any materials, examples or ideas which are drawn from the area of Aboriginal studies are presented in an accurate context.
Aboriginal Home School Liaison Officers in Tasmania
Authors: Anderson C.
Published: August 2016

Home School Liaison Officers provide a vital link in the communication bridge between the home, the school and the education system for Aboriginal families.

In order to do this, officers regularly visit Aboriginal families and the schools attended by their children.
Transferring to English: Grades 3-4-5 at Lajamanu School
Authors: Roche Sandra , Watt Ron , Cataldi Lee
Published: August 2016

In this paper we wish to examine some of the issues raised by the situation in a Bilingual program when the children transfer from literacy in the vernacular to literacy in English, and to outline what we consider to be some of the reasons for the success of the Lajamanu program in this area.

Theoretically, the virtue of education for children in their first language first is that they develop a surer grasp of new concepts and skills taught and greater confidence in using them. It follows that, if children can read and write confidently in their first language and they have a sufficient knowledge of a second language, they will learn to read and write in the second language quickly and without undue effort on their part.
Teaching Writing in the Aboriginal and Islander Teacher Education Program Applying a Process-Conference Approach
Authors: McDonald Helen
Published: August 2016

The Aboriginal and Islander Teacher Education Program (AITEP) is an affirmative action program offering entry to teacher education courses at James Cook University to Aboriginal and Islander students who do not meet direct entry requirements. The program operates with a ‘stretched’ first year. First year subjects in the regular teacher education courses are spread over three semesters instead of two, and students are required to undertake additional subjects - Study Skills and Oral Communications, Written Communications, and Introductory Mathematics during that 18 months. This paper began as a personal exploration into the way in which the teaching of writing within these additional subjects had developed and to provide a greater understanding of the process of teaching writing.
Report of a ‘Bookflood’ in an Outstation School
Authors: Beattie P.
Published: August 2016

In the Northern Territory there are an estimated 400 Outstation or Homeland Centre communities, 63 of which have requested some form of schooling. These are family groups ranging from approximately 12 to 35 in size who, since the 1970’s, have been returning to live on land with which they have a traditional affiliation. Typically, the families are small groups consisting of the clan leader or traditional landowner and members of his immediate and extended family.
An Outsider's View of Aboriginal Education in Arnhem Land
Authors: Darvall K.
Published: August 2016

In 1986 I was successful in my application for an award under the Schools Exchange and Travel Scheme (a Commonwealth Schools Commission project). As I had expressed interest in visiting small schools with predominantly Aboriginal enrolments, arrangements were made to visit four schools in the East Arnhem Region. During the
two weeks of my visit to Arnhem Land I was able to visit Numbulwar, Umbakumba, Yirrkala, Ramingining and Gapuwiyak schools, as well as two outstation schools, Raymangirr and Dhamiyaka.
Aboriginal Primary Education
Authors: Walsh Grant
Published: August 2016

Aboriginal children attending school have special needs that should be recognised and catered for by the school system. This paper will deal with the practical aspects of Aboriginal education. In particular the focus will be on Aboriginal Primary education within Western Australia. The paper also limits itself by addressing issues related to more traditionally oriented Aboriginal groups living in remote communities. However, while the main emphasis is given to more traditionally oriented Aboriginal groups, many aspects can be usefully employed and extended to Aboriginal education in general. Therefore the aim of this paper is to give teachers and educators basic information about Aboriginal education so that they can develop appropriate education programs to meet the needs of the Aboriginal children within their schools.
Language and Mathematics in Some Aboriginal Classrooms
Authors: Graham Beth
Published: August 2016

Classroom talk often consists of teachers’ questions and commands and children’s responses or answers. While this may not be the best approach to learning it is nevertheless very common. In this paper, some of the talk that occurred in some Aboriginal classrooms (Graham, 1987) has been examined to see just what children were saying (and therefore thinking) and if teacher talk was focusing on the things children need to know if they are to learn mathematics more effectively in school. To begin with let us look at what some children are saying and therefore meaning as they respond to teachers’ questions.
Community Involvement: The Saibai State School Experience
Authors: Castley Steve
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this report is to investigate the need for and purposes of parental and community involvement in an Outer Torres Strait Island school, namely Saibai State School, and to explore and report on some of the approaches to community involvement that we have trialled in our school.

If a school is aiming to educate its students for an active role in the society, then it is vital that the school be a living, active part of that society. It is unrealistic for teachers to assume that the school can stay separated from the community but still educate its students in a real and meaningful way.
A Metaplan Approach to Needs Assessment
Authors: Kerr B.
Published: August 2016

This paper outlines an approach used by the Aboriginal Education Unit - Kalgoorlie Education Centre, W.A., to determine the educational needs of Aboriginal Communities. The team that carried out this program were: Mr Billy Kerr, Aboriginal Education Officer, Kalgoorlie D.E.C.; Mr Billy Vincent, Aboriginal Liaison Officer, Kalgoorlie D.E.C.; Mr Neil Darby, Priority Country Areas Program Field Officer, Kalgoorlie D.E.C.; Mr Ted Penny, Community/Schools Liaison Unit, Ministry of Education; Mr Lex Leslie, Principal, Yintarri School, Coonana.
Ear Disease and Hearing Problems - FM Radios Help School Children Hear
Authors: Quinn Sue
Published: August 2016

Ear disease and hearing problems are alarmingly widespread in Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory. School hearing screening results indicate that between 25% and 50% of Aboriginal children may suffer from middle ear disease and associated hearing loss. This means that up to half the children in any classroom cannot hear their teacher properly.
A Professional Development Course in Australian Indigenous ESL Teaching
Authors: Tan Kim
Published: August 2016

The impetus for developing this course came from a
consultancy agreement with the Northern Territory
Department of Education in 1998 to develop a program to
address the special needs of teachers in Aboriginal
community schools.
The Importance of Identity in the Retention and Attainment of Aboriginal Students at Secondary School: some research findings
Authors: Russell Diane
Published: August 2016

Although the retention rate of Aboriginal students has improved over the past fifteen years, it is still significantly less than that for all other students. In fact, very few Aboriginal students are completing twelve full years of schooling. The situation is worse in country schools than in large metropolitan areas. Despite the fact that some Aboriginal students do stay at school and succeed, very little work has been done to identify what factors have helped those Aboriginal students who have done so. In addition, there is relatively little knowledge about how the various school, home, ability and personal factors are interrelated.
Bundaberg North State High School ASSPA Committee: Experiencing Success at School and National Level
Authors: Selby Judith
Published: August 2016

All of us are well aware of the problems faced by Indigenous students at the secondary school level. The intention of this article is to share a success story being experienced at Bundaberg North State High School in Queensland. How many of us can relate to the following anecdote?
Aborginal English in the Legal System
Authors: Suarez Megan
Published: August 2016

The Australian legal system is based on the principle of equality before the law for all its citizens. The government of Australia also passed the international Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act in 1986, although these rights are not accessible to all Australians in the legal system (Bird 1995:3). The Australian legal system has failed to grant equality for all its people. The Aboriginal community is severely disadvantaged within the legal system because the Australian criminal justice system has “institutionalised discrimination” against Aboriginal people through communication barriers (Goldflam 1995: 29).
What Can We Say about 112,000 Taps on a Ndjebbana Touch Screen?
Authors: Auld Glenn
Published: August 2016

Abstract
This paper reports on the use of touch screens to
display simple talking books in a minority Indigenous
Australian language. Three touch screens are located in an
informal context in a remote Indigenous Australian
community. The popularity of the computers can be explained
by the form of the touch screen and by the intertextual and
hybrid nature of the talking books. The results suggest the
Kunibídji choose to transform their own culture by
including new digital technologies which represent their
social practice.
Where to Now? Cultural Liberation or Continued Subjugation
Authors: Budby John , Foley Dennis
Published: August 2016

Since the 1970s considerable human effort and fiscal resources have been expended on improving the provision of education for Australian Indigenous peoples. The success or failure of such efforts and resources allocations is not clear and requires research. What is clear is that there has been an impact on the educational outcomes of Australian Indigenous peoples duringthis time. Indeed, there have been enormous advances in some areas and minor in other.
Attendance: Cause or Effect?
Authors: Mander-Ross Robyn
Published: August 2016

Koorie High School is a Government school. It is not the school's real name but it is the name I will be using for this article.

Koorie High School is an innercity comprehensive high school from Years 7-12 in Sydney. It has a total population of 344 students, 186 at the Intensive English Unit on a different site and 158 in the mainstream high school campus. Fifty-five percent of the 158 students are Aboriginal. There are also 32 students in the Back-To-School Program, an annex of the main high school. All of these students are Aboriginal. I will mainly be referring to the main high school and no reference will be made to the Intensive English Unit as they are not part of this study.
Language in Learning at Thursday Island High Schoo
Authors: Shnukal Anna
Published: August 2016

Last year I was approached by the Thursday Island High School in Torres Strait to analyse the major linguistic differences between Standard English and Torres Strait Creole – the language of the majority of the students – insofar as these affect the students' comprehension and production of written English texts. In this, the High School was responding to a request by its Management Committee and general concern about the students' acquisition of English literacy.
The Strelley Community School Nyangumarta Language and Cultural Maintenance Program
Authors: Routh Richard O.
Published: August 2016

The Strelley Community School is an Aboriginal Independent Community School — the first one established in Western Australia in 1976 and remains the oldest continually operational school of its kind in Australia. The Nomads Charitable and Educational Foundation is the school authority responsible for articulating school policy and administration.

There are now 13 Aboriginal Independent Community Schools in Western Australia and twenty three nationally (Mack,1995). They share a common philosophy of being non-government school systems created and administered by the community. Parents and students have a proactive role in determining school policies.
Community Archaeology and Oral Tradition: Commemorating and teaching cultural awareness on Mua Island, Torres Strait
Authors: Brady Liam M. , David Bruno , Manas Louise , The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Education is about learning. But it is not always about
teaching. Nor is it always held in formal educational
settings. Here we present an example from Mua Island in
Torres Strait, where cultural knowledge was recently
communicated and passed down to the younger generation
through community participation rather than through formal
educational institutions. The role that community research
and ceremonies play in customary learning is here brought
out through recent commemoration of the legendary hero Goba
on Mua Island.
On Pedagogy, Trauma and Difficult Memory: Remembering Namatjira, our Beloved
Authors: McConaghy Cathryn
Published: August 2016

Abstract One of the projects engaged in within the text Rethinking Indigenous Education(RIE) (McConaghy, 2000) was an analysis of the colonial regimes that are reproduced within Indigenous education, often despite our emancipatory intentions. Through a detailed critique of the various competitions for epistemic authority in the field, the book explores the structural processes by which certain knowledges are legitimated as “truths” and the material and symbolic effects of these.The focus of the book was on the imagined worlds of various traditions of knowing Indigenous education and their claims to authority. It was a “how” rather than a “who” story that dealt with theoretical assumptions, broad-brush policy and curriculum inquiry and that attempted to avoid the identity politics that had gripped Indigenous education for more than a decade. Importantly the book also suggested that rather than being cumulative, critique is a process that needs to be ongoing, done again and again. This paper, Remembering Namatjira, has sought to move beyond the main projects of RIE, many of them structural in nature, to an analysis of more intimate aspects of Indigenous education. It addresses some of the “who” issues, not in terms of representation politics, who can know and speak what, but in terms of the psychic difficulties that we attach to knowledge in Indigenous education. Whereas RIE drew upon postcolonial and feminist insights, this paper considers the contribution of psychoanalysis to thinking through some of the more intractable issues that remain unexamined or underexamined in the field. Among the issues addressed are the fundamental dilemmas around our ambivalences in education; the notion of pedagogical force (and transferences, resistances and obstacles to learning); the work of ethical witnessing; and issues of difficult knowledge, or knowledge and memories that we cannot bear to know. Central to the work of rethinking Indigenous education again, in moving beyond deconstruction, is the process of making meaning out of the ruins of our lovely knowledges (Britzman, 2003), our comfort knowledges, about what should be done in Indigenous education.
Grounded Theory or Grounded Data?: the Production of Power and Knowledge in Ethnographic Research
Authors: Harrison Neil
Published: August 2016

Abstract
This paper concerns my own reflections on ethnographic
research with Indigenous students studying at university. I
began the research by using the methodology of interpretive
ethnography to discover what constitutes success for
Indigenous students studying at university. But after some
unflattering critiques of my initial interpretation of the
data, I returned to the drawing board to reflect on the
methods that I had used to organise and structure the data
in my interpretation. This led me to the critical
ethnographers who helped me to look back on my initial
positioning to see things that I could not see before. The
paper consists of critical reflections on how power and
knowledge are produced through the ethnographer’s
methodology to suggest that knowledge is not just found in
the field or in the data but is also negotiated and
produced through the relation between the participant and
ethnographer. It is this relation that governs how the data
are collected and what the ethnographer can find.
Using the ‘Arts’ to Teach Indigenous Australian Studies in Higher Education
Authors: Vaughan Karen
Published: August 2016

Abstract
This paper will discuss some personal philosophies and
rationales in approaching and delivering Indigenous
Australian studies – approaches that have been influenced
and informed by experienced and knowledgeable educators
both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. It doesn’t aim or
pretend to be unique or innovative in its arguments or
approach; instead, it is a reflection on the pathway taken
by one Indigenous educator and the thinking behind this –
at least at this point in time. As such, it adopts a
philosophy that “it’s important to know where we’ve come
from in order to make sense of where we are and where we
might be heading”. It is hoped that through this reflection
and by offering an example of how art (as
performance/role-play) has been used in one of my teaching
sessions that I might make more sense of my personal
practice and contribute in some small way to the important
and ongoing debates surrounding teaching Indigenous
Australian studies.
Education as Healing: How Urban Aboriginal Men Described Post-Secondary Schooling as Decolonising
Authors: Restoule Jean-Paul
Published: August 2016

Abstract This paper relates findings from learning circles held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with urban Aboriginal men. The purpose of the circles was to determine how an Aboriginal cultural identity is formed in urban spaces. Education settings were mentioned by the research participants as a significant contribution to their cultural identity development. Participants described elementary and secondary school experiences as lacking in Aboriginal inclusion at best or as racist. In contrast to these earlier experiences, participants described their post-secondary education as enabling them to work on healing or decolonising themselves. Specific strategies for universities to contribute to individual decolonising journeys are mentioned. A university that contributes to decolonising and healing must provide space for Aboriginal students where they feel culturally safe. The students must have access to cultural knowledge and its keepers, such as elders. Their teachers must offer Indigenous course content and demonstrate respect and love for their students. Courses must be seen to be relevant to Indigenous people in their decolonising process and use teaching styles that include humour and engender a spirit of community in the classroom. In particular, Indigenous language courses are important to Aboriginal students.
Bringing Knowledge to Truth: The Joke and Australian (In)Humanities
Authors: McConaghy Cathryn
Published: August 2016

Abstract
In the formulation of new humanities – knowledge, truth
and social action brought together in the defence of what
makes us human in this place and time – there is also the
need to identify the obstacles to honouring our humanity.
This paper continues the task of critically examining
contemporary forms of inhumanity, in this instance as
perpetuated by a liberal Australian government against its
citizens and others. Liberalism, by nature, enables the
co-existence of contradictory practices that both protect
and deny human rights and dignities. In psychoanalytic
terms, the defence of liberties and its repressed other,
the denial of them, are both present in such states.
Because of their links with both the conscious and the
unconscious, an analysis of jokes provides insights into
these contradictory processes. The paper explores how both
the humanities and the inhumanities are manifest variously
in the joking behaviours of social groups.
Special Schooling for Indigenous Students: a New Form of Racial Discrimination?
Authors: De Plevitz Loretta
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Recent reports on Indigenous education have revealed
that high proportions of students have been placed in
special classes for intellectual disability or behaviour
disorders. This is not an isolated phenomenon. Indigenous
students in Canada and Romani children in Europe are also
disproportionately represented in special schooling. This
paper asks whether systemic racism, which fails to perceive
cultural differences between the ethos of Australian
educational systems and the experiences and abilities of
Indigenous students, is the catalyst for placing many
Indigenous students in special schooling, away from the
mainstream. The paper applies an analysis based on
anti-discrimination law to argue that while allocation on
the basis of intellectual disability or behaviour disorders
may not be deliberate racism, the criteria developed for
the allocation may be measuring conformity to the dominant
culture. If the policies underlying this segregation are
unreasonable in the circumstances, they could constitute
indirect racial discrimination against Indigenous students.
Educational authorities could be liable in law, even though
the effect on Indigenous students is unintentional and said
to be for the students’ “own good”.
Meanings of Reconciliation in the School Context
Authors: Burridge Nina
Published: August 2016

Abstract
This paper draws on findings from a major research
project conducted between 1998 and 2000 on meanings of
reconciliation in the school education sector. Using data
collected from surveys and drawing from the community
context in which schools exist, it explores and analyses
meanings of reconciliation within school communities when
the discourse of what constitutes reconciliation was at its
peak. Survey responses were used to map the level of
support for reconciliation and to identify what barriers
existed to the teaching of reconciliation in schools.
Responses were categorised into various themes which
defined the type of meaning respondents had accrued to
reconciliation. The overwhelming impression from this
research is that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people
aspire to a level of harmonious co-existence; what is less
clear is the direction on how this can be achieved. There
is a great level of support for reconciliation within the
education community with almost no responses being overtly
negative. Many of the comments can be seen as reflecting
“soft” reconciliation perspectives. A prevailing theme of
this research is that the harder issues of reconciliation
are being ignored in favour of symbolic representations.
What perhaps best distinguished the survey comments from
the responses from the general community was the greater
desire amongst the education sector for equitybased
solutions and the need to redress past injustices through
social justice action. There was a greater understanding of
the link between past dispossession and current
disadvantage and this required action through specific
programmes, and education was seen as a major part of this.
Given the current sociopolitical context, anecdotal
indications suggest that reconciliation may reflect wider
community attitudes and may be “off the agenda” in schools,
except within the narrow parameters of Department of
Education requirements for activities or celebrations
during NAIDOC or Reconciliation weeks.
Inclusive and Empowering Discourse in an Early Childhood Literacy Classroom with Indigenous Students
Authors: Thwaite Anne
Published: August 2016

Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of the classroom
discourse and strategies of Marcia, an early childhood
teacher of a class with a high percentage of Indigenous
Australian students. These students have been demonstrably
successful on standardised literacy tests, which is not the
case for Indigenous students in general in Australia (e.g.,
MCEETYA, 200). It will be suggested here that Marcia’s
approach and relationships with the students, as
constructed in her discourse, have been a large
contributing factor in this success. Marcia’s discourse can
be described as both inclusive and empowering and, as such,
it will be proposed that awareness of her techniques may be
of benefit to teachers who are working with groups whom
education systems tend to marginalise and disempower.
Marcia’s lessons were observed as part of the project,
“Teaching Indigenous Students with Conductive Hearing Loss
in Remote and Urban Schools of Western Australia”. This
project was based in Kurongkurl Katitjin, School of
Indigenous Studies, at Edith Cowan University, Perth,
Western Australia, and was funded by an Australian Research
Council Strategic Partnerships with Industry [SPIRT] Grant
and the industry partners: Department of Education of
Western Australia, Catholic Education Commission of Western
Australia and Aboriginal Independent Community Schools,
Western Australia.
Taking Ownership: The Implementation of a Non-Aboriginal Early Education Programme for On-Reserve Children
Authors: Beatch Michelle , Mare Lucy Le
Published: August 2016

Abstract
In this qualitative study, over the period of one year,
we assessed the appropriateness of a mainstream early
childhood education intervention, the Home Instruction for
Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) programme, in five
on-reserve First Nations communities, by focusing on the
experiences of the Aboriginal women who delivered the
programme. Findings revealed a process of “taking
ownership” of HIPPY. “Taking ownership” included three
subprocesses: changes in the women’s views regarding (1)
the strengths of the programme; (2) self-identity; and (3)
the identification of the programme as Aboriginal. Through
taking ownership, the women were no longer content to
deliver HIPPY strictly as it was described in the programme
manuals. Although the women continued to maintain that
HIPPY was valuable for their communities, their actions and
words clearly demonstrated that sharing cultural knowledge
in the context of the programme was important to them and,
they believed, important for the children and families they
worked with. The process documented here points to the
importance of Aboriginal culture reflected in educational
provisions for Aboriginal children - whether this can be
appropriately achieved through supplementing and/or
adapting mainstream programmes remains a point of
debate.
Influences Preceding “Nunatsiavut” Self-Determination: Historical, Political and Educational Influences on the People of Northern Labrador (Canada)
Authors: Anderson Kirk David
Published: August 2016

Abstract
What were the influences on the Inuit of Northern
Labrador preceding the creation of the self-governing
territory of Nunatsiavut? What are the preterritorial
influences of the Inuit on the territory’s five schools? To
answer these questions and to share the success of one
Indigenous people, the Nunatsiavut Inuit (the Inuit of
Northern Labrador, Canada), this paper traces their
survival, recovery, and development as they reclaim their
right to self-determination (Smith, 1999). As part of this
process, the paper reports such influences as: the
bicultural and assimilationist forces (Moravian
missionaries and the governments of Newfoundland), the rise
and successful influence of the Labrador Inuit Association
as a precursor to the Nunatsiavut Assembly, and the Inuit
influence on schools in the region. This paper concludes
with a discussion of the nature of northern isolation as a
source of economic and cultural strength, which may have
enabled the Nunatsiavut Inuit to resist complete
assimilation, a factor in Nunatsiavut Inuit survival and
increased potential for successful self-determination.
Maybe we can find Some Common Ground: Indigenous Perspectives, a Music Teacher’s Story
Authors: Dillon Steve
Published: August 2016

Abstract
This paper examines the idea of embedding Indigenous
perspectives drawing upon a metaphor for designing an
environment that nurtures Indigenous cultural identity and
relationships. This paper constitutes a teacher’s personal
story of emerging understandings of Indigenous Standpoint
Theory and pedagogy, which began with embedding Indigenous
perspectives within a tertiary music and sound curriculum.
These understandings were developed into “rules of thumb”
that have had transferable implications for research that
examines community music-making projects in urban
Indigenous and cross-cultural communities. These ideas are
explored through case studies that examine them in context.
Furthermore, the idea of embedding Indigenous perspectives
in my own value systems is explored and a growing awareness
of the embodied understanding that stems from an open,
continuous and critical discourse with Indigenous people.
This reveals a relationship of belonging and welcoming
interfaced with obligation and a growing knowledge of
people, community and country and its effect on my “white
understanding” of relationships. This proposal stems from
several successful projects where participants have
experienced both nurturing of Indigenous knowledge and a
productive tension. This does not advocate an argument for
positive discrimination but rather seeks to build the idea
that interfaces which simultaneously develop embodied
understanding alongside Indigenous pride can lead to
compelling and unique learning experiences for students,
teachers and communities.
Education for Hmong Women in Thailand
Authors: Peng Xuefang
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The Hmong are the second largest tribal group in
Thailand. Hmong society is stratified by both age and
gender. Women were considered inferior to men in Hmong
traditional society. There was a strong bias against
education for Hmong women in the past. Hmong women’s access
to education has improved with recent developments in the
socio-economy and modern educational system. Today there
does not appear to be discrimination against girls in
continuing their education beyond the compulsory level.
However, the conventional ideas that “marrying early,
bearing early, and having many children are blessings” are
popular in the Hmong community. Many girls of school age
leave school for marriage. These traditional conventions
are an obstacle for females in continuing their formal
education. Today, the Hmong’s traditional subsistence
economy is undergoing change, and many Hmong women are
actively involved in business. Adult and vocational
education is also an important way for Hmong women to
improve their educational level and gain new skills for
making a living. This paper is based on anthropological
field research carried out in northern Thailand from
December 2003 to September 2004, supported by the Asian
Scholarship Foundation.
Establishing a Community-Controlled Multi-Institutional Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
Authors: Pearce Leilani , Fredericks Bronwyn
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council
(QAIHC) lead and govern the Centre for Clinical Research
Excellence (CCRE), which has a focus on circulatory and
associated conditions in urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander communities. The CCRE is a partnership between
QAIHC and Monash University, the Queensland University of
Technology, the University of Queensland, James Cook
University, the National Heart Foundation, and the
University of Wollongong. The establishment of the CCRE
under the community-controlled model of governance is
unique and presents both opportunities and challenges for
innovative partnerships between universities and Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander community organisations. This
paper outlines the processes and strategies used to
establish a multi-institutional research centre that is
governed by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
community-controlled health sector.
The Politics of Community Capacity-Building: Contestations, Contradictions, Tensions andAmbivalencesin the Discourse in Indigenous Communities in Australia
Authors: Makuwira Jonathan
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The recent hype and ascendancy in the discourse of
community capacity-building has generated a lot of heated
debate among development and policy experts on its
applicability in various contexts. In particular, questions
have been raised on the presuppositions inherent in the
discourse and, more so, the tension that exists between
theory and practice. This paper aims to contribute to the
ongoing debate about the politics of capacity-building.
While the paper begins by deconstructing the theoretical
principles that underpin capacity-building, it seeks to
show how the concept is covertly used to subjugate and
create power imbalance between the “builders” (supposedly
those with the power) and the “beneficiaries” (those
assumed to be powerless), in the name of development and
empowerment. Specifically, the paper seeks to respond to
the following questions: What is “capacity”? Who needs
capacity? Capacity to do what? Whose interest(s) is/are
served when peoples’ capacities are built? The paper
concludes by critically examining the tensions,
contradictions, and ambivalences from the canvassed
responses to the questions above and suggests alternatives
ways of looking at capacity-building in Indigenous
communities.