Aboriginal education
- 60%
- Percentage of Aboriginal children significantly behind non-Aboriginal children by the time they start Year One [1].
- 40%
- Percentage by which an Aboriginal student's chance of employment rises if they complete year 10 or 11. Completing Year 12 increases employment prospects by a further 13% [7].
- 36%
- Percentage of people in remote communities have access to a library [9].
- 40%
- Percentage of the Northern Territory's school-aged population who is Indigenous. Same rate for all of Australia: 4% [14].
- 10.4%
- Unemployment rate for Aboriginal adults reaching Year 12 education level. Same rate for non-Aboriginal adults: 3.6% [17]. There is no difference for adults with a university degree.
- 24%
- Percentage of people in remote communities have a school that goes up only to year 12. 29% have a school up to year 10 [9].
- 10%
- Percentage of Aboriginal children who graduate from year 12 [8].
- 40%
- Percentage of Aboriginal children who stay at school until year 12, compared to 76% among non-Indigenous children [4].
- 21%
- Percentage of Indigenous people aged 15-64 who had completed year 12 in 2008. Same figure in 2002: 18%; figure for non-Indigenous people in 2008: 54% [11].
- 46.5%
- Retention rate of Indigenous students in 2008. Same figure in 1995: 30.7% [12].
- 40%
- Percentage of Aboriginal people with a vocational or higher education qualification in 2008. Same figure for 2002: 32%; for the non-Indigenous population in 2008: 65%, in 2002: 49% [15].
- 64%
- Preschool enrolment rate for Aboriginal children in 2009 [16].
- 0.7%
- Proportion of all teachers in Australia in 2004 who were Aboriginal [19].
- 20
- Number of Aboriginal medical graduates in 1998. Aboriginal doctors practising today: 150 [20].
Education is the greatest single weapon to overcome disadvantage and the impact of this denial of education affects me and other Indigenous people to this day.—Yvonne Butler, Aboriginal woman [5]
How the government cheats at educational targets
Education is a key issue raised by many Aboriginal community leaders and parents. Australian state and territory governments are watched closely what they do and achieve in Aboriginal education.
When the Northern Territory government set educational targets in a budget paper in May 2011 it grossly reduced minimum reading and writing standards for Aboriginal students compared to standards for non-Aboriginal students [18].
| Aboriginal students | Non-Aboriginal students | |
|---|---|---|
| Student attendance | 34% | 98% |
| Year 5 minimum reading standards | 36% | 88% |
| Year 5 minimum writing standards | 33% | 89% |
Federal Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion described the targets as “disgraceful” and asked how it could be acceptable “that the NT Government can consider reaching their educational targets when it is expected that two-thirds of Indigenous students will not attend school in the first place and a further two-thirds of the kids in primary school will leave with poor or unsatisfactory reading and writing skills.” [18]
Aboriginal teachers
Education has always been central to Indigenous economic, social and cultural development. A good education determines Indigenous children’s health, literacy, employment, social status and productivity.
Aboriginal children learn best and most efficiently when taught by a culturally-aware teacher, preferably an Indigenous teacher [6]. Aboriginal teachers bring a wider range of cultural perspectives into schools and develop networks with the Indigenous communities around the school, a valuable asset when addressing school children’s needs or problems.
But non-Indigenous students could equally benefit from Aboriginal teachers. “If Aboriginal teachers could work in every school, a student would be able to relate to Indigenous people as part of the current community, not a ‘problem’ in the media,” observes arts student Alannah Kirby [13].
In 2004, only 0.7 per cent of all teachers in Australia were Indigenous.—Dr Lester-Irabinna Rigney, Associate Professor of Education, Flinders University, Victoria [6]
Teacher and student resources
Seven Seasons in Aurukun details the experiences a young non-Aboriginal teacher makes teaching at an Aboriginal community school and making a life for herself in a challenging new world.
It is a taste of the intensity of relationships in a small community where community leaders try to improve their circumstances and maintain culture.
Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in Schools (EATSIPS) is a resource to give educators knowledge, understanding and skills to better support Aboriginal students and further integrate Indigenous perspectives into the Queensland curriculum.
Sharing Culture
Aboriginal teacher and student at Sharing Culture. The business develops digital resources and supports the delivery of language programs.
Photo courtesy Sharing Culture
Sharing Culture offers web-based resources for parents, schools, communities and government departments to teach and learn more about Aboriginal culture.
Talking books, games, maps and music entice students while teacher’s handbooks provide activity ideas and background. Its Teaching & Learning Program aims to help communities and schools develop and deliver local language.
The for-fee Aboriginal-owned and operated service caters for Aboriginal, non-Aboriginal and adult audiences. A free trial is available.
Honey Ant Readers
Margaret James has such a passion for teaching reading and for early childhood education that she created an experiential, research-based reading program for Aboriginal learners.
She developed the program in collaboration with, and at the request of, Aboriginal elders and educators.
The Honey Ant Readers were motivated by a desire to improve print literacy levels of Aboriginal Australian students particularly in remote areas. Books have been translated into 6 traditional Aboriginal languages.
National Centre for Indigenous Excellence
On 26 February 2010 then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd opened the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Sydney’s suburb Redfern. The NCIE is a centre for education, sports, arts and culture and aims to foster and develop talent in young Aboriginal students. Its four development pathways are Sport, Learning and Innovation, Culture and Arts, and Health and Wellbeing.
Up to 5,000 Indigenous students from around Australia are expected to pass through the centre each year. Most of the NCIE’s staff are Aboriginal.
The NCIE is located at 180 George Street, Redfern, New South Wales. Website: www.ncie.org.au.
Traditional knowledge
As you probably know before invasion Aboriginal people passed on knowledge only orally through stories, dances and images drawn into the sand.
“It would be a mistake, though, to say there is no written component to Indigenous transmission of knowledge, because Indigenous people use the land as their book,” observes Ernie Grant, a Jirrbal Elder from far north Queensland [10].
“How we got fire, animals, water, all these things are written in the land. If teachers coming from a literate culture can’t understand how people from the oral tradition transmit information, we have hit an immediate snag [obstacle].”
Aboriginal people ‘read’ the land. Creation stories are written in the land, says Jirrbal Elder Ernie Grant.
Last updated: 25 April 2013 | Out of respect for Aboriginal culture I use Indigenous sources as much as possible.
Article sources
[2] Antar newsletter 8/2006
[3] 'Curricumlum is under attack', Koori Mail 511 p.4
[4] National Indigenous Times 135 p.13
[5] Stolen Wages committee submissions, www.aph.gov.au/Senate/Committee/legcon_ctte/stolen_wages/submissions/sublist.htm, submission #21
[6] 'Our teacher crisis', Koori Mail 417, p.24
[7] The Report of the Review of Aboriginal Education, NSW Department of Education and Training, August 2004, p.13
[8] 'Boarding scholarships are needed, says expert', Koori Mail 425, p.29
[9] 'Aborigines waiting up to three months to see doctor', Koori Mail 431 p.51
[10] 'Big questions on program at conference', Koori Mail 458 p.48
[11] 'Gains, but the gap is still wide, study finds', Koori Mail 463 p.9
[12] 'Analysis of Closing the Gap Report', Reconciliation News 5/2010 p.15
[13] 'Language lessons', reader's letter, Koori Mail 481 p.27
[14] 'Teacher drive hits the road', Koori Mail 483 p.22
[15] 'New figures paint grim gap picture', Koori Mail 485 p.7
[16] 'Free pre-school education urged', Koori Mail 494 p.21
[17] 'Gains, but Indigenous people still worse off', Koori Mail 499 p.45
[18] 'Education targets attacked', Koori Mail 507 p.34
[19] 'Our teacher crisis', Koori Mail 417 p.24
[20] 'Hub helps indigenous students', SMH MyCareer 26/1/2013
