Bridging the gap

A study of Indigenous education within Australia

 

Indigenous education within Australia has been at the forefront of political reforms and policy decisions as we constantly grapple with issues of inequality and low academic performance.

 “Since the late 1960s, official concern at the continuing poor outcomes for indigenous students has seen a wave of government-appointed inquiries into the failures of the education system to generate improved outcomes” (Gray & Beresford, 2008). We can identify that there are a number of disadvantages, particularly socio-economically, that are obstructing indigenous students from achieving within the classroom. This is especially evident in our most isolated and disadvantaged Aboriginal communities. “We know there is a significant gap between Aboriginal students and non-Aboriginal students in literacy and numeracy performance, school retention rates, school attendance, disciplinary action, and enrolment in tertiary and higher education” (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012, p.2) and therefore, the Department of Education and Communities has developed the Connected Communities initiative in an attempt to resolve these issues.

While this is not to say that the government has failed with other reforms, studies show that there are still a high number of indigenous students who are not meeting satisfactory educational requirements (Crawshaw, 2008). To understand this issue, we must navigate not only the teaching practices within the classroom, but work in partnership with the communities to pinpoint just why these students are not meeting benchmark requirements.

On average, Indigenous students spend at least two fewer years at school than non-Indigenous students (Gray and Beresford, 2008) yet Australian Education Union (AEU) president Angelo Gavrielatos, says that “reduced class sizes, higher teacher salaries, better classroom facilities and improved early childhood education could help improve the situation” (Crawshaw, 2008). So based on these judgements, how do we work to develop a more successful educational arena for indigenous students? While we should identify that there has been some recent improvements, there a still a number of areas that are showing a gradual decline in indigenous achievement. We must identify the issues and understand the differences between non-indigenous and indigenous learning styles and look to develop a more inclusive arrangement for indigenous education. We must however, understand these differences without creating a barrier between non-indigenous and indigenous communities and look to developing a more unified educative environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Crawshaw, D. (2008). Tests show indigenous education lacking. Retrieved from: http://news.smh.com.au/national/tests-show-indigenous-education-lacking-20080201-1pj3.html

Gray, J., & Beresford, Q. (2008). A 'formidable challenge' : Australia's quest for equity in Indigenous education. Australian Journal of Education. 52(2), pp.197-223

NSW Department of Education and Communities. (2012). Connected Communities. Retrieved from: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/news/announcements/yr2012/connected-communities-dp.pdf

YouTube. (2012). Indigenous education to be boosted. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqNaIesoy7k