Emma Beaton

2151579
EDUC2420
Assignment 1: Reading Engagement Task
20%. 750-1000 words.
Main idea: Conditions impacting on Indigenous students’ education, outlining key understandings of
the intersections of race, racism, and whiteness in producing unequal outcomes.

Student declaration: In accordance with the Flinders University information on

academic integrity and plagiarism, referred to in the Student related policies and
procedures manual (http://www.flinders.edu.au/ppmanual/student.html), by
submitting this cover sheet as part of my assignment I hereby certify that the work
submitted in this assignment is entirely my own unless
otherwise acknowledged.

Student ID 2151579

FAN Beat0075

First name Emma

Family name Beaton

Topic code EDUC2420

Topic name Teaching Indigenous Australian Students

Tutorial lecturer Steve Corrie

Assignment number and Assignment 1: Reading Engagement Task

title

Word count 1167

Due date 28th August 2018

Date of submission 28th August 2018

Is this a resubmission?
Yes No
Emma Beaton
2151579
EDUC2420
Assignment 1: Reading Engagement Task
20%. 750-1000 words.
Main idea: Conditions impacting on Indigenous students’ education, outlining key understandings of
the intersections of race, racism, and whiteness in producing unequal outcomes.

Across Australia, there is a broad and deep-rooted inequality and inequity that impacts and effects
all Indigenous peoples. Since the arrival of European colonists in the 1700’s, the traditional
custodians of Australia have faced unjust marginalisation and racism, which has resulted in unequal
outcomes not only in their everyday lives, but also in their education. While there are numerous
reasons for this inequality and inequity, some of which will be explored in this essay, our role as
future educators is to identify the disparity and help to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-
Indigenous educational access and outcomes in our classrooms.

On January 26, 1788, the first arrival of English colonists on board the First Fleet arrived in Australia
and with them, they brought not only weapons, animals and diseases foreign to the Aboriginal
peoples, but also a social hierarchy that placed the Indigenous population at the lower end of
society. This idea, solidified as a social construct based on theories that ranked the races from God
to Europeans then the coloured races, has shaped the current views of race and racism in Australia
(Schulz, 2018, slide 14). From the 1780’s until the 1900’s, the ‘coloured’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander (ATSI) peoples have been “essentially denied…[their] humanity” purely because of their skin
colour and race, and as a result have been considered and treated like the ‘flora and fauna’ of
Australia (Bunda, 2007, p.2-3; Schulz, 2018, slide 13). Tannoch-Bland (1998) suggests this is a form of
racial hatred and oppression that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have continuously
faced, and that white Australians directly benefit from. It is therefore this white privilege, which
stems from the theories of whiteness that represents the unequal dispersal of power and privilege
to certain groups in society based on beliefs about their race, that directly impacts Indigenous
people’s lives, including their academic success (McIntosh, 1990). Since the arrival on European
colonists to Australia, Indigenous people have been disadvantaged through the actions taken by
white Australians who have limited knowledge and understanding about the problems that impact
and affect the lives of Indigenous peoples (Bunda, 2007, p.1). White Australians, as the dominant
group in society, have consistently been able to make decisions for the Indigenous population
without their explicit involvement or consideration and as a result, the policies developed regarding
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including educational policies, have perpetuated the
racial disadvantage, and perceived inferiority, that they face (O’Donoghue, 2016, p.64).

Although there are numerous conditions that impact ATSI students’ education, one of the major
explanations is the educational policies put in place regarding their access to schooling. Since the
1800’s, major policies have been developed that significantly affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students’ access to and outcomes in education, including what, how and where they learn
and to what degree their Indigenous culture is represented by the system. From as early as 1814,
Indigenous educational policies have focused on “attempts to ‘civilise’ the Aboriginal population” in
hopes of weakening their connection to “their tribal customs (and land)” in order to assimilate the
Indigenous people into the western, and European, society (Beresford, 2012, p. 85). During this time,
Indigenous students were discouraged from connecting to their own culture, were limited to
learning histories and subjects other than their own and forced to speak English (Heiss, 2015). This
has had a lasting impact not only on the Indigenous people involved, but also on their views of
education and schooling. Currently, Indigenous students’ attendance rates are 10% less than non-
Indigenous students and their retention rates to Year 12 are approximately 45% in comparison to
the 77% for non-Indigenous students (Purdie & Buckley, 2010, p.1,4). Reid (2008) suggests that this
Emma Beaton
2151579
EDUC2420
Assignment 1: Reading Engagement Task
20%. 750-1000 words.
Main idea: Conditions impacting on Indigenous students’ education, outlining key understandings of
the intersections of race, racism, and whiteness in producing unequal outcomes.

is due to Indigenous parents’ poor attitudes towards school and education, an inadequate
curriculum and inconsistent policies to support Indigenous students (Reid, 2008, as cited in Purdie &
Buckley, 2010, p.3). Nevertheless, since the 1960’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
have had more opportunity to explore their Indigenous background through the creation of policies
that “recognised the value of Aboriginal culture and the right of Aboriginals to retain their languages
and customs and maintain their own distinctive communities” (Patrick & Moodie, 2016, p.168).
However, the current Australian Curriculum, while it claims to include Indigenous content through
the cross-curriculum priority, still does not provide enough Indigenous representation, knowledge of
culture and of language. As a result, Indigenous students may experience immense disparities
between their home and school life, such as using their local language, learning through stories and
even discipline, but this can be minimised through effective culturally inclusive and competent
teaching practices.

While there have been attempts to improve Indigenous educational access and outcomes,
highlighted through recent government policies that aim to increase attendance, retention rates and
English and Numeracy results, one of the key places to facilitate change and ultimately bridge the
gap is in the classroom ("Indigenous Education", 2018). As future teachers, it is our responsibility to
not only recognise and understand the conditions that effect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
education, but also to seek change and be a voice for Indigenous peoples within our class. One way
that teachers can demonstrate their understanding of the cultural impact and identity of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples is to acknowledge Indigenous history (Australian Institute for
Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), 2018). Rather than presenting a whitewashed history that
circumvents the shameful and cruel actions that have been inflicted upon Indigenous people,
teachers should highlight these aspects of our Australian past and discuss the lasting impact they
have on today’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (O'Donoghue, 2016, p.66). As an English
and Humanities teacher, there are numerous opportunities to incorporate Indigenous literature,
language and voices into the curriculum which can not only increase student’s understanding about
Aboriginal culture, but also promote a deeper respect for the Indigenous peoples still incredibly
present in Australia. Through incorporating storytelling and art pedagogy into their units, teachers
can build relationships with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples which could allow
students, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to gain a deeper sense of the Aboriginal identity in
their local community. In the end, teachers using these strategies are aiming to increase
reconciliation between the histories and cultures of non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians and
through their students, help the future generations to move forward respectfully and knowledgeably
(AITSL, 2018).

Ultimately, there is a clear disparity between the educational access and outcomes for Indigenous
and non-Indigenous students and this is a direct result of Australia’s understanding of race and
racism as well as the white privilege prevalent in our society. Nevertheless, teachers can begin to
improve educational outcomes for Indigenous students in their classroom by representing
Indigenous voices, utilising Indigenous literature, language and stories as well as creating
relationships with local Indigenous peoples. While there is a long way to go before the educational
access and outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students are equal, teachers within their
own classroom can be a vehicle for social change, understanding and reconciliation. (1167 words)
Emma Beaton
2151579
EDUC2420
Assignment 1: Reading Engagement Task
20%. 750-1000 words.
Main idea: Conditions impacting on Indigenous students’ education, outlining key understandings of
the intersections of race, racism, and whiteness in producing unequal outcomes.

References:

Beresford, Q. (2012). Separate and unequal: an outline of Aboriginal education 1900-1996. In Q.

Beresford, G. Partington & G. Gower, Reform and resistance in Aboriginal education (pp. 85-119).
Crawley, Western Australia: UWA Publishing.

Bunda, T. (2008). Indigenous Australians and the legacy of European conquest: the ten years since
1997. In M. Hinton, D. Rigney & E. Johnston, Indigenous Australians and the law (2nd ed., pp. 1-8).
New York: Routledge-Cavendish.

Heiss, A. (2015). Our truths - Aboriginal writers and the Stolen Generations. Blackwords: Aboriginal
and Torres Islander Writers and Story Tellers, 1-18.

Indigenous Education. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.education.gov.au/indigenous-schooling

McIntosh, P. (1990). White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Independent School, Winter,
31-36.

O'Donoghue, L. (2016). Reconciling the nation in the 21st century: hopes, fears, and dilemmas. In G.
Worby, T. Kennedy & S. Tur, The long campaign: The Duguid Lectures, 1994-2014(pp. 62-74). Mile
End, Adelaide: South Australia Wakefield Press.

Parkinson, C., & Jones, T. (2018). Aboriginal people’s aspirations and the Australian Curriculum: a
critical analysis. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 1-23.

Purdie, N., & Buckley, S. (2010). School attendance and retention of Indigenous Australian
students (pp. 1-25). Canberra, ACT: Australian Government.

Schulz, S. (2018). Critical race theory (CRT) and critical whiteness studies (CWS) [Lecture PowerPoint
slides]. Retrieved from https://flo.flinders.edu.au/course/view.php?id=44010.

Tannoch-Bland, J. (1998). Identifying white race privilege [extract from chapter 1: The experience of
racism in Australia]. In J. Tannoch-Bland, Bringing Australia together: the structure and experience of
racism in Australia (pp. 33-38). Woollongabba, Queensland: Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander
Research Action.

Teacher Standards. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards