EDUC5429 – Aboriginal Education

Assignment 2 – Major Essay Aithne Dell 20539099

Incorporating supporting evidence from a range of relevant literature, discuss how your

understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the

education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds will inform

your practices as a teacher.

Education within Australia is not equal for all children. Student engagement in formal

educational settings and school retention rates for Aboriginal children remain significantly lower

than those for non-Indigenous students. There are a number of factors which may contribute to

this disparity. Language difficulties can arise within the classroom, with differences in dialect

not being well understood by those within the education system. Aboriginal English is spoken by

many Indigenous children, and while it bears a strong similarity to Standard Australian English,

there are differences which are often considered in a negative manner when they used in the

classroom. Stigmatising these differences without an acknowledgement of the validity of the

dialect shows a lack of understanding and respect for Aboriginal culture, which can be highly

detrimental to a student’s sense of identity (Eades, as cited in Sharifian, 2005). This underlying,

covert racism is also often present throughout Australia’s political policies, historically relating

to education policy as well. This has caused ongoing issues, with previous generations now

unable to help those who are currently receiving education. Cultural issues caused by

intergenerational trauma and mistreatment are often reflected in children’s thinking and

ideologies, which can affect classroom learning. Additionally, there are a number of cultural

factors which can contribute to family mobility, causing students to be absent from, or itinerant

in, their schooling. As an ongoing factor, this can cause students to miss considerable periods of

their education, causing gaps in their understanding and making it difficult for them to continue

into the higher levels. Through factors of culture and cultural identity not being accepted or

understood by the Australian schooling system, many Aboriginal students are being denied an

appropriate and adequate education.

One key factor which can inhibit a child’s ability to succeed in the classroom is language

barriers. In many cases, Aboriginal children in the classroom speak a different dialect of English,

Aboriginal English. This dialect has been “documented in widely separated parts of Australia

and, despite some stylistic and regional variation, is remarkably consistent across the continent”

(Malcom, 2013, p.267) While the use of Aboriginal English may not inhibit communication,

there are instances where understanding can be affected. In particular, children who are not yet

competent in the art of ‘code-switching’ (Taylor, 2010) between Aboriginal English and a more

formal variation of Australian English may struggle to produce work which is considered

acceptable in school. A survey of Aboriginal children within Western Australia found that those

who spoke Aboriginal English were three times more likely to perform at a low academic level

(Zubrick et al., 2006). While children need to develop an understanding of Standard Australian

English, it remains important for the teachers to acknowledge the validity of Aboriginal English

as a dialect spoken widely throughout Australia. Malcom (2013) states that it, as a language,

“provides a vehicle for the common expression of Aboriginal identity” (p.267), and Oliver,

Rochecouste, Vanderford and Grote (2011) comment that the ability to speak the dialect may be

necessary for “ongoing acceptance within their own communities” (p.62). Direct and repeated

condemnation of the dialect, or constant correction without acknowledgement of the need to

code-switch may be detrimental to Aboriginal students’ identity (Malcom, 2003). It is also noted

that “the maintenance of a student’s first language is fundamental to their success in learning a

second language” (Oliver et al., 2011, p.61). Effort must be taken, therefore, to avoid the

dismissal of different dialects such as Aboriginal English. An alternative approach is provided

through the ABC of Two-Way Literacy and Learning Capacity Building Project (as cited in

McHugh & Konigsberg, 2004). The initial step here is to accept Aboriginal English in the

classroom, before “bridging to Standard Australian English” (McHugh & Kinigsberg, 2004, p.9).

Rather than promoting the teaching of Aboriginal English, this project aims to engage students

and seeks to “improve self-esteem, attention, desire to learn, sense of place in learning

environment, and retention among non-standard dialect speakers” by utilising the home dialect

(McHugh & Konigsberg, 2004, p.10). Additionally, making the differences between the different

dialects explicit and encouraging the children in the class to know when and how to use each can

help students to learn to ‘code-switch’ between Aboriginal English and Standard Australian

English. Furthermore, it is important to contact and consult with those who have local knowledge

about the area and the languages and dialects used, so as to help students build their ‘bi-

dialectalism’ (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). Through approaches such as these, teachers can

support each Aboriginal child’s cultural identity, both within the classroom and the community,

while also allowing them opportunities to develop their understanding of Standard Australian

English.

Australia’s history of racism towards Aboriginal people continues to impact education policy and

procedures today. Intergenerational trauma and disadvantage, resulting from racist policies of

discrimination, neglect or forced assimilation, throughout Aboriginal populations causes ongoing

issues which can be difficult to overcome. Historically, Australia’s record of denying civil rights,

including all but basic education, to Aboriginal people has a continuing impact today, with older

generations unable to help or support those currently receiving an education. 70 years ago, it was

estimated that “fewer than 10 per cent of Indigenous children throughout Australia were

attending state schools, a further 25 per cent were in church-based missions and the remainder –

that is nearly two-thirds of Indigenous children – received no education whatsoever” (Neville, as

cited in Gray & Beresford, 2008, p.205). Gray and Beresford (2008) claim that many of the

attempts to rectify the ‘educational disadvantage’ experienced by Aboriginal people have been

“embedded in racism, deficit theory and assimilation” (p.207). Programmes of assimilation and

integration which were embedded into the curriculum following the Second World War,

however, served to reject Aboriginal culture, and continuing the issues with children’s

disengagement from formal schooling (Gray & Beresford, 2008). Furthermore, despite recent

and ongoing attempts at reconciliation, the “Australian political system has been reluctant to

empower Indigenous people to be self-determining” (Gray & Beresford, 2008, p.214). The

education system for all is therefore still developed predominately from a white, Euro-centric

background, which can leave some Aboriginal children at a disadvantage. Winch (1998)

describes how “[f]rom the children’s perspective all the rules have changed so that they become

confused by the different cultural approaches and fall behind in their school work…White

Australian school children have almost always been reared in a similar system to the teacher”

(p.23). This initial imbalance shapes children’s enduring experiences of the schooling system.

Approaches, such as actively supporting Indigenous culture within the classroom and working

with local Aboriginal communities and knowledge can help to bridge this gap between students.

By incorporating Aboriginal perspectives through local knowledge and works created by

Aboriginal authors, artists and experts, the schooling of all children in the classroom can be

benefitted.

Student mobility has vast impacts on education. Learning is considered to be in many ways

sequential, and “[m]uch of the school syllabus is built on fundamental concepts where each is a

link in a chain of learning. The underlying premise is that the student attends school on a regular

basis” (de Plevitz, 2007, p. 57). However, for students who do not attend school regularly, this

can cause difficulties when attempting to catch up on missing days and especially when moving

on to higher level topics before the basics are covered. Studies conducted in Yamatji country in

Western Australia show that vast numbers of students are regularly moving. Examples from Cue

and Mt Magnet suggest that “between 60 and 100 per cent of the school population was

itinerant”, and in nearby Meekatharra “administrators suggested that at least 40 per cent of the

school population were not in regular attendance” (Prout, 2009, p.44). These imply that vast

numbers of Indigenous students within this area, and within Western Australia in general, are

affected by familial mobility or ‘spatiality’ – both long-term and temporary movement (Prout,

2009). A number of factors can be considered when accounting for this movement, with Prout

(2009) citing factors of sociocultural obligations to be the cause of such mobility, such as

attendance at ceremonies or visiting families, familial or legal conflicts. De Plevitz (2007) raises

the issues of students needing to attend funerals of family members, leading to absence from

school. A failure to account for student mobility and to develop means to combat the issues

arising from children not receiving a consistent education likely contributes to the low rate of

completion of secondary schooling amongst Aboriginal populations. While statistics for student

retention from Year 8 through to 12 are slowly increasing, the numbers are still far below those

of non-Indigenous students within Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012; Milroy,

2011; Schwab, 1999). By being aware of Aboriginal cultural factors while lead to mobility,

schools, both at the administrative and teacher levels, can begin to develop ways to work around

this movement, so that it is not to the detriment of the students’ education.

One of the key factors listed by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, is the

importance of “knowing your students and how they learn” (Australian Institute for Teaching

and School Leadership, 2014). Incorporated in this, is the need to develop strategies specific to

addressing the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in order to assist in them

to develop their own abilities and talents throughout school. By acknowledging issues of

language diversity within Australia, and the presence of different dialects, as well as cultural

factors which can lead to school absence due to mobility or stress in the classroom as a result of

a Western education system, teachers can begin to adapt to the needs of their learners. Through a

range of approaches, and especially through incorporating local Aboriginal perspectives into

their teaching and learning, the needs of Aboriginal students in the classroom can be supported.

Reference List

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Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2014). Australian

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http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/OrganisationStandards/Organisation.

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