Chapter 10

Indigenous education

State and Territory highlights for 2002

Rather than attempt a complete coverage of educational outcomes for Indigenous students in this report, States and Territories have provided examples of improvements in outcomes against agreed MCEETYA performance measures, which have been summarised below. These examples demonstrate particularly successful aspects of delivery and progress made with the implementation of:

• the National Statement of Principles and Standards for More Culturally Inclusive Schooling in the 21st Century
• the Model of Culturally Inclusive and Educationally Effective Schools
• the development of cross-portfolio frameworks
• the Commonwealth National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy.

Outcomes

Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory all highlighted improvements in literacy and numeracy outcomes for Indigenous students at one or more of the year 3, 5 and 7 levels. In many cases, the improvement in outcomes exceeded the targeted expectations.

Strategic approaches

States and Territories used a variety of strategic approaches when implementing the National Statement of Principles and Standards for More Culturally Inclusive Schooling in the 21^st Century and the Model of Culturally Inclusive and Educationally Effective Schools. This diversity in approach, within the common national framework, meant that programs were often specifically designed to accommodate the circumstances of individual peoples and communities. Recognition of the living circumstances of Indigenous peoples, including urban, rural and remote communities was taken into consideration. Many approaches also included recognition of the diversity of vernacular language circumstances of Indigenous peoples, including Indigenous students who had English as a second language or a foreign language, or students who spoke various creoles or students who spoke Aboriginal English.

There were, however, some common themes to the approaches undertaken throughout 2002. The three major themes were:

• curriculum-based initiatives
• community partnership-based initiatives
• educator capacity building based initiatives.

Major curriculum-based initiatives were undertaken by four States and Territories. New South Wales has a requirement that all schools implement mandatory Aboriginal perspectives within the curriculum. Schools develop scope and sequence documents to assist teachers in ensuring that an Aboriginal perspective is offered to all students across all key learning areas. The New South Wales Board of Studies also endorsed a K–10 Curriculum Framework that provides a clear set of guidelines for the development of inclusive curriculum across the mandatory years of schooling.

In South Australia, the South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability (SACSA) Framework represented a major curriculum renewal, constructed with particular attention being given to the educational entitlements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Implemented in 2001, the SACSA Framework included Indigenous perspectives across all learning areas in the curriculum.

The Northern Territory Curriculum Framework gave recognition to the essential place of Indigenous perspectives in the school curriculum. Curriculum and teaching must reflect Indigenous interests, perspectives and expectations. The ‘language and culture’ structural component of the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework includes outcomes for Indigenous language maintenance and language revitalisation programs.

Tasmania developed its Essential Learnings Framework with Aboriginal perspectives embedded at all stages of the process.

All States and Territories developed Indigenous community partnership or engagement processes to engage Indigenous communities, students and schools in improving the education and training outcomes for Indigenous students. Some examples of these were:

• the South Australian Yurrekaityarindi
• the Victorian Yalca: A Partnership in Education and Training for the New Millennium
• Queensland’s Partners For Success and the Cape York Meeting Challenges, Making Choices process
• the Australian Capital Territory’s Services to Indigenous People Action Plan, Within Reach of Us All
• the Tasmanian Supportive School Communities, Learning From Experience process
• the Western Australian tertiary aspirations strategy, Follow the Dream and the Aboriginal Education Directorate’s strategy, Creating the Vision 2001–2004
• the New South Wales Aboriginal Affairs Plan, Two Ways Together.

All States and Territories implemented strategies aimed at improving the capacity of the education workforce to deliver quality outcomes for Indigenous students. These strategies were often professional development exercises but included human resource management strategies or delivery mechanism strategies. They all had the objective of increasing the capacity of the educational workforce, including principals, teachers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Education Workers (AIEWs), to deliver improved educational and training outcomes for Indigenous students.

The Australian Capital Territory incorporated school and principal accountability for Indigenous students’ educational outcomes within its Principal Professional Appraisal process and developed the Teachers of Indigenous Students Network. Queensland enhanced its human resource management strategies to address the retention of educational staff in regional service areas and established the Indigenous Education Training Alliance professional development initiative. Victoria enhanced its educational service capacity through partnerships with the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated, Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups, Koorie Open Door Education campuses, and Regional Koorie Education Councils. Victoria also employed Koorie Education Workers in several categories to provide enhanced school education services; had ongoing Koorie Literacy and Numeracy projects, and established a Koorie Education Taskforce to encourage a cross-sector focus. The Northern Territory operated a major Two Way Learning program across 15 remote community schools, alongside a significant English as Second Language professional development program and the Accelerated Literacy Program. It also made a major commitment through the employment of Indigenous Assistant Teachers. Western Australia provided the cross-cultural awareness training package, Our Story. New South Wales delivered a bi-dialectal approach professional development package to teachers, AIEWs and Aboriginal community members; otitis media hearing health support packages for schools; literacy and numeracy programs and other professional development packages targeting Aboriginal Education Workers, to improve the education workforce capacity to deliver quality outcomes for Indigenous students. Tasmania developed a Graduate Certificate in Inclusive Practice to enhance educator capacity.

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