Indigenous Education

1. Indigenous Education Jess Earle, Kimberley Hyland and Paris Zacharyga

2. History of Indigenous Education It is difficult to determine how far back indigenous education stems, but there are records of the indigenous people of Australia that shows over 60,000 years ago there was knowledge of the land far greater than the education we have now.

3. History • Underlying issues that need to be addressed: • Understanding the country • Improving relationships • Valuing cultures • Sharing histories • Addressing disadvantages • Responding to custody levels • Agreeing on a document • Controlling destinies

4. Considerations • Understanding the country: the importance of the land and the sea in Aboriginal and TSI societies • Improving relationships: better relationships between indigenous Australians and the wider community • Valuing cultures: Recognizing indigenous culture as a valued part of Australian heritage • Sharing Histories: a sense for all Australians of a shared ownership of their history • Addressing disadvantage: a greater awareness pf the cause of Indigenous Australians’ disadvantage • Responding to custody levels: a greater community response to addressing underlying causes. • Agreeing on a document: will the process of reconciliation be advanced by a document or documents of reconciliation • Controlling destinies: greater opportunities for Indigenous Australians to control their destinies

5. We need to ensure that all Australian children experience their right to learn the true history of this country. • Equipping all Australians with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to understand and address contemporary Indigenous issues. • Enhancing the participation in outcomes and self esteem of the indigenous issues • Challenging ideas of White Australia • Validity of indigenous cultures • Stopping the cycle of misinformation about indigenous Australians • Counteracting terrorism • Proactive approaches to social justice.

6. QSA • The QSA is committed to reconciliation in Australia. As part of its commitment, the QSA affirms that: • Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people are the Indigenous peoples of Australia. • Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people speak diverse languages and dialects, other than English. • All students within Queensland schools should have access to the valued Indigenous knowledge that exist throughout Australia. • Professional learning is a critical element of developing an understanding and appreciation of Indigenous perspectives and their application within education contexts. • QSA's products and services aim to provide a balanced representation of cultural, social, spiritual and political beliefs, respectful of the diversity of Indigenous histories and peoples. • Success of Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students is supported by successful embedding of Indigenous perspectives into the curriculum and assessment of student achievement.

7. A little bit of Youtube Action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hINvhguqxQ

8. Activity Time Quick activity that is a good game to play for any age in the primary and early childhood education setting is a game of Memory with indigenous picture cards. Obviously if you were conducting this activity in your classroom you would give a group of children all of the cards from the set, however as we would like everyone to have a quick go at this game today we have divided the pack of cards up for each of your groups. This small activity can be used to introduce the history of the dreamtime to the class or another idea also is that it could be used as an introduction into understanding Indigenous artwork.

9. Parburry in Craven (1999) introduce the idea of Aboriginal education no longer being “appropriate education for aboriginal people but also the education of all Australians about Aborignal Australia.” Essentially it was about the changing of ideas of the aboriginal people and how they learn. “Aboriginal students can no longer be expected to want to learn in a curriculum that fails to include their background” (Craven, 1999)

10. Timeline of Major Events 1770: Arrival of Captain Cook. 1788: Governor Phillip (British) around this time life began to change. for the Indigenous peoples. The Indigenous got pushed back. Mid 1800’s to 1930’s: Protection Era. 1937-1960’s: Assilimation Policy, make them blend into the British lifestyle. There was no acknowledgement of past/differences. 1960’s onwards: They were allowed to go to school and given money. 1967: There was a referendum and Indigenous peoples were given the right to vote and be citizens. 1972: Indigenous were now starting to be educated there was a belief about self-determination. Early 1990’s: Marbo 1992: Redfern Statement established. Struggle area and poor living conditions. 2008: Road to Reconciliation. The APOLOGY. Improved education followed.

11. Governing Policies • Through the department of Education, Employment and Work Relations (DEEWR) there has been a set list created of three priorities that are aimed to be achieved by 2020. These are: • “Raising the quality of teaching in our schools”. • “Ensuring all students are benefitting from all schooling they receive, especially in disadvantaged communities”. • “Improving the transparency and accountability of schools and school systems at all levels”.

12. Major Goals Major Goal 1: “Involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Educational Decision-Making” Major Goal 2: “Equality of Access to Education Services” Major Goal 3: “Equity of Educational Participation” Major Goal 4: “Equitable and Appropriate Educational Outcomes”

13. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan • Governments all across Australia have recently agreed to take action with regard to Indigenous Education. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan for 2010-2014 has been set up with six targets: • Close the life expectancy gap within a generation; • Halve the gap in mortality rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under five within a decade; • Ensure all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island four years olds in remote communities have access to early childhood education within five years (by 2013); • Halve the gap of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade (by 2018); • At least halve the gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Year 12 attainment or equivalent attainment rates by 2020; and • Halve the gap in employment outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and other Australians within a decade (by 2018).

14. Model of ATSIE Action Plan

15. Principle Engagement This will be achieved by using the priority principle engagement • Priority principle: Programs and services contribute to closing the gap by meeting targets endorsed by COAG while being appropriate to local community needs. • Engagement principle: Engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents, students and communities is central to the design and delivery of programs and services. • Sustainability principle: Programs and services are directed and resourced over an adequate period of time to meet COAG targets. • Access principle: Programs and services are physically and culturally accessible to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people recognising the diversity of urban, regional and remote needs. • Integration principle: There will be better collaboration between and within governments at all levels and their agencies to effectively coordinate programs and services. • Accountability principle: Programs and services will have regular and transparent performance monitoring, review and evaluation.

16. Accountability Statement The accountabilities state wise are: • improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander attendance and retention; • building the skills of teachers and school leadership teams to enhance Aboriginal and Torres • Strait Islander achievement in literacy and numeracy; • improved in-school support for teachers and leaders, particularly in disadvantaged Aboriginal • and Torres Strait Islander, rural/remote and hard-to-staff schools; • improved reward structures for teachers and leaders who work in disadvantaged Aboriginal • and Torres Strait Islander, rural/ remote and hard-to-staff schools; and • Improved outcomes through enhanced access to digital teaching and learning opportunities.

17. Table One

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21. Table 5

22. Question Time

23. A little youtube to finish :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bb0hWtLAgY

24. Thank you for listening :D