Learning and Teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education

(1)

Learning

and

Teaching

in

Aboriginal

and

Torres Strait Islander

Education

NEIL HARRISON

JUANITA SELLWOOD

(2)

Learning and Teaching

in Aboriginal and

Education

(3)

(4)

Learning and Teaching

in Aboriginal and

Education

THIRD EDITION

• •

•

• • • • • • • •

•

OXFO

RD

(5)

OXFORD

UNIVERSITY PRESS

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It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries.

Published in Australia by Oxford University Press

253 Normanby Road, South Melbourne, Victoria 3205, Australia ©Neil Harrison and Juanita Sellwood 2016

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted.

First published as Teaching and Learning in Indigenous Education, 2008

Second edition published as Teaching and Learning in Aboriginal Education, 2011 Third edition published 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence, or under terms agreed with the

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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Creator: Harrison, Neil (Neil Evans), author.

Title: Learning and teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education/ Neil Harrison,

Juanita Sellwood.

Edition: 3rd edition.

ISBN: 9780190303204 (paperback)

Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.

Subjects: Aboriginal Australians-Education. Learning-Australia.

Teaching-Australia.

Other Creators/Contributors: Sellwood, Juanita, author.

Dewey Number: 371.8299915

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(6)

FOREWORD

•

• •

• • •

•

• •

• • • •

•

The Hon. Linda Burney MP

It i

s

a great

ple

asure

to

pro

vide

th

e

foreword

for

the

third

e

dition of

Learnin

g and

Teaching

in Aboriginal

and Torres Strait

Islander

Education.

I

commend

the

authors for

th

e

ir on

g

oin

g

commitment

to

ed

u

cat

ing

eme

r

g

in

g

teachers

a

nd

ed

u

ca

tor

s,

brin

g

ing out

n

ew

editions and

hi

gh

lightin

g

new trends.

With Australia's first referendum on

co

n

sti

tuti

onal

r

ecogn

ition of

our

Fir

s

t P

eop

l

es

on

th

e

n

ation's po

liti

ca

l

age

nd

a,

nothing

co

uld b

e

more

v

it

al

than

furth

eri

n

g

Ab

orig

in

a

l

a

nd

Torres Strait

I

s

l

an

d

er education

for both

First N

a

tions

and

non-Indi

ge

nous

c

hildr

e

n.

Broad

s

tructural

c

h

a

n

ge ca

n

only

t

a

k

e

pl

ace w

h

e

n

it is coupl

ed

w

ith

ongo

in

g c

h

ange

in

c

i

v

il

society

-

such a genesis

must

s

ur

e

l

y

be

in our

cl

assroo

m

s

.

In m

y

for

ew

ord

s

to

th

e

pr

evio

u

s e

dition

s

I

wro

t

e abo

ut ho

w

this book

h

elps fi

ll

the

gap

between th

e

need

s

of

Aboriginal

and

Torres

Strait Islande

r c

hildr

e

n

and

non

-

Indi

ge

nou

s

c

hildren

aro

und l

e

arnin

g

Indi

ge

n

o

u

s

perspectives.

For

many

n

ew

t

eac

h

ers,

and

tho

se w

ho

se

contact

w

ith

Aboriginal

and

Torres Strait

I

s

l

a

nd

e

r p

eo

pl

e

i

s

limit

ed,

thi

s

book pro

v

id

es

a

v

it

al

r

eso

ur

ce; i

t pro

v

id

es a

fram

ework

for

tea

c

hin

g

th

e

id

eas

inv

o

l

ve

d in Fir

s

t Pe

op

le

s ed

u

cat

i

on

but

,

just

as

importantly,

it enco

ur

ages

t

eac

her

engagement

w

ith th

e

notion

it

se

lf.

This

third

e

dition

co

ntinu

es

to

em

ph

asise

th

e co

nt

ex

t

s

behind

each of

the

s

tr

ategies

pro

v

i

ded. Every

c

h

apter

r

ecogn

ise

s

th

e

relation

s

hip b

e

t

wee

n

First Nations

and o

th

er

Au

st

r

a

li

a

n

s

but does

not shy

away

from

acknow

l

e

d

g

in

g

it

s

often fraught nature.

Ne

w

to thi

s e

dition is th

e a

uthor

s'

de

cision

to include

an

increased focus

on

Torres Strait

Islander

p

e

rsp

ec

ti

ves-

acknowled

g

ing

th

e

di

ve

rsi

ty

th

a

t

exists

w

ithin

t

h

e

First Peopl

e's

c

ommunity.

There are

al

so

ne

w c

h

a

pt

e

r

s on s

tud

e

nt

s ta

lking

abou

t r

acism

in

schools;

d

eve

l

o

g

school-community

p

ar

tn

ers

hip

s;

the Stol

en

Generations

a

nd

t

h

e

impacts

of

int

erge

n

e

r

a

tion

a

l tr

a

um

a

;

t

eac

hing

th

e crea

ti

ve arts an

d

science;

an

d

extensive sect

i

ons

devoted

to

Abori

g

in

a

l

a

nd

'Torres Strait I

sla

nd

er ed

u

cat

ion

in

urb

a

n

areas

.

With

its

foc~s

1

on pr

eserv

i

ce a

nd n

ew ed

u

cato

r

s,

the

r

eadab

ili

ty of

the book is

i

t

s rea

l

strength.

I h

ave

no

.

t re

a

d

any

other resource that is

b

e

tt

er ta

il

o

r

ed

to

address

th

e challenges

facing

y

oun

g

·

e

du

ca

t

ors

re

ga

rdin

g

pro

g

r

am

min

g a

nd

buildin

g

rel

at

i

o

n

s

hip

s w

ithin

the

sc

hool

e

n

v

ironment

.

Embedded

v

id

eo

links

also ensure

the relevance

a

nd

co

nt

emporary

n

atur

e

of

th

e

b

oo

k

's co

nt

e

nt

s

.

(7)

vi FOREWORD

What I enjoyed in the previous issues-and is continued here-is the interesting mix

of personal experiences and narratives from Neil, Juanita and the other contributors. These

narratives bring the world of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education

alive

and place

it in a real world context.

This edition of

Learning and Teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education

continues to draw together so many strands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education

from the last thirty years. It also maintains its tradition of building the

groundwork

for a far

more enjoyable and equitable school experience for children

and

their

educators

and I highly

commend it.

The Hon

.

Linda Burney

1

VJP

Deputy Leader of th

e

Opposition

Shadow

I

Viinister for Education

(8)

CONTENTS

• •

• • • • • • •

• •

• • • • •

•

• • •

•

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

AIATSIS fvfap of Indigenous Australia

1

Students talking about school

2

A shared Australian history

3

Teaching about the Stolen Generations

4

Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

students

5

Teaching talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Peter fvf

errotsy

6

Classroom management

7

Teaching reading and writing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander children

David Rose

8

The role of a student's first language in the classroom

9

Building empowering partnerships between schools and

communities

Gina fvf ilgate

10

Learning from Country

11 Beginning

teachers in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

(9)

viii

PREFACE

• • • •

•

• • • • •

•

• • • • • •

• •

•

L

earn

i

ng and

Teaching

i

n Abor

i

gina

l

and Torres

Strait

I

s

land

er

Education

ac

kn

ow

ledge

s

th

e

diversity

of

Indi

genous

id

e

ntiti

es,

li

v

ing

and working on

th

e

many

differ

e

nt

Coun

tri

es ac

ro

ss

Au

st

ralia,

from urb

a

n

to

rural

and

r

e

mote

areas.

W

e

feel

tha

t th

e

role of

the

s

tudent

's

cultural

id

e

ntity

in

learning

has been downplayed

in r

ecen

t

years w

ith

much

of

th

e a

tt

en

ti

on

plac

e

d

on teacher

qu

ality and var

iou

s forms of

t

eacher

instru

c

ti

o

n.

While

good

t

eac

hin

g

i

s

obviously important,

t

h

e

best teacher

w

ill

not

s

u

cceed

in Indi

ge

n

o

u

s ed

u

ca

ti

o

n

without

d

eve

loping clo

se

link

s w

ith

th

e child

'

s fami

l

y and com

munity.

Working closely

with the local

com

mu

n

ity i

s

absolutely crucial

in Abor

i

gina

l

an

d

Torres

Stra

it I

s

l

ander ed

u

ca

tion

, and

th

e

critical

import

a

n

ce

of keeping

thi

ngs

local

is

one

of t

h

e

most

imp

ortant

messages

of

this

book.

Keeping

t

hin

gs

lo

cal can

h

el

p

both

t

h

e

teacher

and

the

stu

d

ent

to

avoid

the

p

erpetua

ti

on

of

s

t

ereotypes of

Aboriginal

an

d

Torres

St

r

ait

I

s

l

an

d

e

r

people.

We have become increasingly

concerned

over

th

e

claim that

'goo

d t

eac

h

ing

i

s good

teaching for

all

st

ud

ents'

.

These ki

n

ds of statements seem

to r

epresent ye

t

more

attemp

t

s

to

downgrade

the

i

mportance of

cultural background

and

identity in

t

h

e

pr

ov

i

sion of

quality

A

u

stralian educat

i

o

n.

So w

h

a

t

is the

d

iff

erence

b

etween

Aboriginal

an

d

Torres Strait

Isl

a

nder

educa

t

ion, and

th

e ed

u

ca

tion

of

a

n

y o

th

e

r

s

tud

ent

in

Australian

sc

hool

s?

Fir

s

t

,

Aboriginal

a

nd

Torres St

r

a

it I

s

l

ander studen

t

s are not

ju

s

t

anot

h

e

r

eq

ui

ty

or

eth

ni

c

minority

gro

up;

they

are

the

First and original owners of Australia.

That m

ust b

e

r

ecogn

i

se

d

and acce

pt

ed

by

all Australia

n

s

in

the

n

at

i

o

n

a

l d

esire

for

r

eco

n

c

ili

a

tion

a

nd

e

qu

a

l

partnerships. The future

of

Indi

genous e

du

cation

must th

e

r

efore

b

e

on mending

th

e

brok

en

re

la

tion betw

een

Indigenous

a

n

d

n

o

n-In

d

i

genous

Australians. Second,

learning is a social practice

fo

r

so

many Aboriginal and

Torres

S

tr

a

i

t

I

slander st

ud

en

t

s, while fo

r

most non-Indigenous

s

tud

en

t

s,

le

arning

is

cons

tru

cted as a cog

niti

ve

process

w

h

ere

individuals

are expec

t

e

d to

make meaning

for

th

emselves

. A third

s

i

g

nific

an

t

difference

i

s

r

e

fl

ecte

d in ho

w

future aspirations

a

re not

a strong mot

i

vat

in

g force for

many Aboriginal

a

nd

Torres Strait

I

slan

d

er s

tud

en

t

s.

The

t

e

rm

futur

e

aspirations

is

cu

lt

urally

bound

i

n the t

h

eories of ed

u

ca

tion

and enl

i

gh

t

e

nment in

Western

co

untri

es, and we need

to be

carefu

l

in ass

umin

g

that Aboriginal

and

Torres Strait

I

sla

nd

e

r

students attend sc

ho

o

l

because they

wa

nt

a

b

e

tt

e

r lif

e.

Such

a

n

ass

umption mer

e

l

y

functions

t

o

pathologise

the

li

ves of

Indigenous people.

This

third

edit

ion

of

L

e

arning and Teach

i

ng in Aborig

i

na

l

and Torres

Strait

I

s

la

nder Education

has

b

een s

ub

s

t

ant

iall

y

revised

to includ

e

peop

le an

d

voices

fron1 Torres Strait

ed

u

cat

ion.

The

video

links

embedded

through

o

ut

•

an ongoing

focus on

Learningfi'om

Country as

a key

concept

for

Indigenous peopl

e

•

a

new

chapter

that discusses the

creative

arts and science

education for secondary schools

a new Chapter 1

on racism in

schools,

a

n

ew

Chapter

3

on

the

Stolen Generations

a

th

oro

ughl

y

revised and

upd

a

ted

Chapter 4 on strategies for

t

each

in

g

both Aboriginal

and Torres

Strait Islander

st

ud

e

nt

s

•

a r

ev

i

se

d

c

hapter on cl

ass

roo

m

manag

e

m

e

nt

•

a

n

ew c

h

a

pter

on the role of a

student's

fir

s

t l

a

nguage

in

le

arning

•

a

revised

chapter on

te

aching

reading and writing with

Aboriginal

and

Torre

s

Strait

I

s

l

an

d

e

r

children

a

new chapter on

schools d

eve

loping partnerships

with the community, by Gina

Mil

gate.

Chapter l begins with

a

l

e

tt

er

from Anna

to her Y

ear 8

class. You may remember Anna

from

her

photos in

the fir

st

two

editions

of

this boo

k.

She is

now 14 years o

f

age,

and already

has

exper

iences of

school

to

pass on

to

the

r

ea

der.

Several Aboriginal

st

ud

en

t

s

studying for

their

t

eac

hin

g

degrees then

r

espond

to Anna's letter

abo

ut

racism

in

her

cl

ass.

Chapter 2 focuses

on

Australian

hi

sto

r

y as

a way of

set

tin

g

the

sce

n

e

in

Aboriginal

and

Torres

Strait I

sl

ander

education. So much of

what happ

e

n

s

in th

e classroo

m

today

is

g

ov

e

rn

e

d

by

our

history

of colonisation

and

the

im.pact of Australi

a

n

gove

rnm

ent

poli

c

i

es

,

and impacts

become

app

ar

en

t

as

you read the later

cha

pter on

strategies

for

teaching

Ab

original

and

Torres

Strait

Isl

ander ch

ildre

n. This chapter

includes

a schoo

l

case study set

within the urban

con

t

ex

t.

Ivan

C

lark

e

talks

ab

ou

t hi

s experiences as a

m

e

mb

er

of

the

Stolen

Generat

i

ons

in

Chapter 3

to provide insights

int

o

the

ongoing

impact

of

colonisation

and

Australian

governmen

t

p

o

li

cies

on Aboriginal

and

Torres Strait

I

slander e

du

cation

.

Chapter 4 presents a

rang

e

of strategies for

t

ea

chin

g

Aborigin

a

l

and Torres Strait

I

slander

st

ud

en

ts

, a

nd b

eg

ins

wi

th

a

case

study of

th

e

Blacktown Girls High

Yarn Ci

rcle.

Chap

t

er

5 explores

var

iou

s

is

s

u

es

around

identifyin

g talented

Aboriginal and

T

o

rre

s

Str

ai

t

I

s

l

ande

r

students, while Chapter

6

id

entifies

key issues

relating

to

class

room m

anagement.

These issues

a

r

e

set within

a schoo

l

case st

ud

y,

based

in

Ca

irn

s

.

C

h

apte

r

7

articulates an

explicit approac

h

to

teaching

r

eading

to Aboriginal

and Torres

Strait

I

s

land

e

r

s

tudent

s

.

It

includ

es a case st

ud

y o

f

a

schoo

l

in nort

h

-east A

rhnem land.

C

h

apter 8 ex

plo

res

the role

of the st

ud

en

t'

s

first

l

anguage

in

the

classroom,

w

hil

e C

h

apter 9

foc

u

ses on t

h

e

import

ance

of

wo

rk

ing with your

lo

cal commun

i

ty.

This

c

h

a

pt

e

r includ

es a

case

study of a sc

h

ool

in

rural

N

ew

South Wales.

Chapter 10 is

a

bout

Learn

in

g

from Country

and

what

that

means

for C

reati

ve Arts and

Science

teachers

in urb

an,

as

we

ll

as

r

eg

i

o

n

a

l

a

nd r

emote areas

.

The final

c

h

ap

t

e

r

documents the

exper

i

ences of

b

eginning

teachers in

schools with

Aboriginal

a

nd

Torres Strait

I

s

l

ander st

ud

ents

.

(11)

x PREFACE

We welcome

your

feedback on any aspect

of

the book. We

would

particularly

like

to hear

from those who are applying what they have read and learnt here to their classroom pract

i

ce.

Please email us

at

<neil.harrison@mq.edu.au> or

<juanita

.

sellwood@jcu

.e

du

.

au>

.

Neil Harrison and Juanita Sellwood

(12)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

•

• •

•

• • •

•

We

want

t

o

b

egin

b

y

ac

kno

w

l

edg

in

g

th

a

t thi

s

book

was co

ll

ec

tiv

e

l

y

written

on

th

e a

n

ces

tral

l

a

nd

s

of

many traditional owner

s

in Australi

a.

In

many

ways,

thi

s

book ha

s

grown o

ut

of

th

e

recognition th

a

t

good

t

eaching

in

Abori

g

inal

and

Torres

Str

a

it I

s

l

ander ed

u

cation

i

s a

b

out

building

s

t

rong

co

nt

ac

t

s w

ith

yo

ur

local

Aboriginal

an

d

Torre

s

Strait

I

s

l

a

nder

co

nm1unity

.

We

are

therefore mos

t

gratefu

l

to th

e

Hon

.

Linda Burne

y,

th

e

Member

for Can

t

e

rbur

y

, for

w

rit

ing the

For

ewor

d to thi

s

third

e

dition of

L

ea

rning

and Teac

h

i

n

g

i

n Aboriginal and

Torr

es

Strait

I

slander Education..

I

wo

uld lik

e

to th

a

nk th

ose w

h

o con

t

ri

but

e

d

learning

ex

p

er

i

ences

to this book

:

Anna Wonmutakinmu

-C

h

a

pm

a

n

,

D

arw

in

]B

W

o

mm

a

takinmli-Ch

apma

n

,

D

arw

in

Juli

e

C

h

apman,

Darwin

Tanuk

a

Worr

e

ll

,

Macquari

e

University

Dorothy John

s,

M

ac

qu

a

rie Uni

ve

r

s

ity

Anni

e

Wint

e

r

s,

Sydn

ey

I

van C

l

ar

k

e,

NSW He

a

lth

Emi

l

y

M

enz,

Lightnin

g

Rid

ge

Ce

ntral

S

c

hoo

l

C

hri

s Sarra,

Founder

and

c

hairman

of

the

Stron

ger

Smarter

I

nst

i

tute

Bri

a

n

G

ile

s

-Bro

wne, Coonamble

Public School

Danuen

Ho

wa

rd

Nat

a

li

e Tay

l

or,

Murra

y

F

ar

m Publi

c

Schoo

l

Genie

nn

e

Ellis

,

Oxle

y

Val

e

Publi

c

School

Kathryn

Prior,

W

il

ca

nni

a Ce

ntr

a

l S

c

hool

Sar

a van

Fle

et,

Cairn

s

J

e

nnif

e

r

B

loomfi

e

ld

and

N

e

rida

C

r

ackne

ll

,

Bl

acktow

n

Girls

H

ig

h

School

Rhonda

Coopes,

Queen

s

l

a

nd Uni

ve

r

s

ity

of

T

ec

hnolo

gy

M

e

li

ssa

Ca

irn

a

nd Mit

c

h

e

ll

Squir

es,

Epping

H

e

i

ghts P

ubli

c

Schoo

l

Liesa

C

l

ag

u

e,

M

ac

qu

ar

i

e

Uni

vers

i

ty

John

Grea

tor

ex,

Mapuru

Christian Schoo

l

,

N

orthern Territory

Linco

l

n

Da

ws

on

and Aileen

In

grey,

Doonside

Publi

c

School

Belinda

Murr

ay,

Hur

s

t

v

ill

e

South Publi

c

Sc

h

oo

l

Bob Fu

ll

e

r,

Unive

r

s

ity

of

N

ew

Sou

th

Wal

es

Ghi

ll

a

r

,

Mich

ae

l

And

erso

n,

C

r

ea

ti

ve

Sp

irit

s

T

h

ere

are also

m

a

n

y s

p

ec

ial pe

o

pl

e

I h

ave

m

et

alon

g

th

e way w

h

o

h

ave

quit

e

unconsc

i

ous

l

y

in

s

pir

e

d m

e

to

r

e

fl

ect

on m

y v

i

s

ion

for

Abori

g

inal

a

nd Torr

es

Strait

I

s

l

a

nd

er e

du

ca

ti

on,

including

one of

m

y g

r

ea

t

teac

h

e

r

s,

Kath

y

Got

h

ad

j

a

k

a, as

well

as

Steph

en

H

arris,

T

e

rr

y

N

ga

rri

tja

n

-

Kessaris,

Mi

c

ha

e

l

C

hri

s

ti

e,

M

e

rridy Malin

,

Gra

h

am

Gower,

M

art

in

N

aka

t

a,

Susan

P

age

.

I

va

n

C

l

arke

has

demonstrated

to

myself

a

nd m

a

n

y ot

h

ers

ho

w reco

n

c

ili

ation

i

s

done, rather than ta

u

g

ht

.

Juli

e

Chapman

a

nd

h

e

r two

c

hildr

e

nJB

a

ndAnn

a

h

ave aga

in b

een inst

rum

en

tal in

bringing

Learning

a

nd

Teac

hin

g

in Aboriginal and Torres Strait

I

slander Education a

li

ve wit

h

their p

h

otos in

(13)

xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

this

new edition.

As

you can see,

they have

grown considerably since the

rele

ase

of

the

first

edition

in

2008.

They have important

experiences to

pr

ese

nt,

in

the first

chapter of

thi

s

book.

The

expert editorial assistance and guidance of

Laura

Rentsch

a

t

Oxford University Press,

and Carolyn

Leslie,

our copyeditor,

has

ensured

that

yo

u r

ece

ive

a substantially

revi

sed and

highl

y

accessible

third

edition.

Finally, I

would

like

to

make

special mention of my partner

J

ac

ki

e

for

her

extraordinary

s

upport

and patience

throughout

the

wr

iting

a

nd

rewriting of

this

te

xt.

The author and the publisher wish to thank

the

following copyright

holders

for

reproduction

of their material.

Cover:

Alamy

Stock Photo/ David

H

a

ncock

(Smiling Girls)

/

Suzanne Long (Seagrass

bed); 123RF

/Dan

iel

Kaesler (red

desert);

Getty/Trevor Creighton

(performance)

.

Images:

Getty/Quinn Rooney fig

1.2

/

Willi

am

West fig

2.7; i

stock/

Hani

s

(desert)

c

hapt

e

r

pages.

Text:

ACARA for

definitions

of creole and

traditional languages

from (2015),

Australian

Curriculum:

Lan

guages,

retrieved

15

December, 2015 from www.acara.edu.au

/

curriculum

/

learning_

areas/languages.html;

Australian Institute

of Aboriginal Studies for AIATSIS m

a

p of

Indigenous

Press,

AIATSIS. No reproduction allowed without

permission; CartoGIS, College of Asia

and

the

Pacific, The Australian

National

University

for

m

ap

accessed from:

http:

//asia

pacific

.a

nu.edu.

au/

mapsonline

/

bas

e-maps/to

rr

es-st

r

ait;

Cengage Learning and D

Howard

for extract from

Culturally Responsive Classrooms: A

way

to

assist Aboriginal Students with hearing loss

in urban

schools

in

S

Harris

&

M Malin

(eds)

Aboriginal

kids in Urban Classrooms, Social Science Press, 1994; Charles Darwin

Univ

ersity and

Sandra

Hud

s

pith

for extract from

Visible

P

e

dagogy and Urban Aboriginal Students

in

S Harris

&

M

Malin

(eds)

Indig

enous

Education:

Historical,

Moral and Practical Tales,

1997;

Daily

Te

l

egraph

for

extract

from

Violence Explodes

in Racist

Town, Stone,

p.

3.; 21

February 19

65,

the

Sunday

Mirror; State of

Queensland

for definitions for creole and

traditional l

ang

u

ages

from State

of

Queensland

(Department of

Education,

Training

and

Employment)

(2013)

,

Capability

framework for t

eaching

Aboriginal and Torres Strait I

slanders

EAL/D learn

er

s, retrieved 15 December

2015 from: <http:/

I

indigenous

.ed

uc

a

tion

.q

ld.gov.

a

u

/S

iteCollectionDocum

ents/

schools-educators/ eald-capability

-

framework. pdf

>;

University

of Western

Australia

Press for extract

from

Language and the Classroom Setting

by Malcolm,

Kessaris and Hunter, in

Q

Beresford

&

G

Partington (eds

.),

Reform and Resistanc

e

in Aboriginal Education: The Australian Experience.

Every effort

has been

made

to trace

the original source of copyright material

con

t

a

ined in

(14)

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

• • •

•

• • •

•

• • • • •

• •

Neil Harrison

I

ha

v

e

tau

g

ht

in

Aboriginal

a

nd T

o

rr

es

Str

a

it

I

s

l

a

nd

e

r

e

ducation for

m

a

n

y

year

s

, and

I

c

ontinu

e

to find

it

in

s

pirin

g a

nd

exc

itin

g

. N

ew c

hall

e

ng

es co

n

s

t

a

ntl

y a

ri

se a

nd

li

fe

i

s

r

a

rel

y

borin

g, ev

en

a

ft

e

r

so

m

a

n

y yea

r

s

in th

e

job.

I

lik

e

workin

g

with Indigenou

s

childr

e

n and

th

e

ir

parent

s

b

eca

us

e

I

ca

n r

e

l

ax, a

nd

I lo

ve w

orkin

g ac

ro

ss c

ultur

es

b

eca

u

se

I l

ea

rn

a

l

o

t

a

b

o

ut

m

yse

l

f

th

ro

u

g

h

o

th

e

r

peo

pl

e.

I

a

m

s

ur

e

th

a

t

yo

u

will h

ave

th

e sa

m

e e

nj

oya

ble

a

nd fulfillin

g

ex

peri

e

n

ces

that I

co

ntinue t

o

h

av

e

w

ith Abori

g

in

al a

nd

Torre

s

St

ra

it

I

s

land

e

r p

eo

pl

e

o

f

all

ages

.

(See

m

y ex

p

e

r

ie

n

ces

as a

b

eg

innin

g

t

eac

h

e

r

in

Ch

a

pter 11.

)

I

grew

up

o

n

a fa

rm

.

in

wes

t

e

rn Vict

o

ri

a a

nd

we

nt to uni

ve

r

s

ity in Melbourn

e

. Aft

e

r

c

ompl

e

tin

g

m

y

t

eac

hin

g

d

eg

r

ee

in 1

9

78

,

I

a

ppli

e

d for a

job

in th

e No

rth

e

rn

T

er

rit

o

r

y, a

nd

soo

n

fo

und

mys

el

f

t

eac

hing at

a s

m

a

ll

sc

ho

o

l

in Arnh

e

m L

a

nd

.

I

ass

u

me

d th

a

t

I

wo

uld

s

t

ay

th

e

r

e for s

i

x

m

o

nth

s an

d th

e

n r

e

turn to M

e

lb

o

urn

e,

but

I

r

ema

in

e

d

fo

r

2

4

yea

r

s

.

I l

ea

rnt

so

ni.u

c

h

in th

e

fir

s

t four

yea

rs of

t

eac

hin

g

in bilin

g

u

a

l

sc

hool

s

b

eca

u

se

I

w

a

s

t

ea

m

t

eac

hin

g

with

Ab

o

ri

g

in

a

l

t

eac

h

e

r

s.

Th

ese

t

eac

h

e

r

s

t

a

u

g

ht m

e

mu

c

h

o

f

w

h

a

t

I

kn

ow; t

h

ey a

l

so

in

spi

r

e

d

me

t

o

r

e

m

a

in in th

e

fi

e

ld

of

Ab

o

ri

g

in

a

l

a

nd T

orres S

tr

a

it

I

s

l

a

nder

e

du

cat

i

o

n

.

Th

e s

tud

e

nt

s i

n turn

we

r

e

b

e

mu

se

d b

y

m

y

illit

e

r

a

c

y;

th

ey w

ould

as

k for

th

e

Engli

s

h

n

a

m

es

of pl

a

nt

s a

nd

a

nim

a

l

s

but I

c

ould onl

y

rarel

y p

ro

v

id

e

th

e

m

w

ith

a

n

a

n

swe

r. Th

e

c

r

iti

ca

l

imp

o

r

ta

n

ce

of

se

ttin

g

th

e

l

ea

rnin

g

o

f

I

n

di

ge

n

o

u

s

kn

ow

l

e

d

ge a

nd

hi

s

t

o

ri

es w

ithin th

e sc

h

oo

l'

s

l

oca

l

co

nununi

ty is

p

er

h

a

p

s

th

e

m

os

t

imp

o

rt

a

nt m

essage

o

f

thi

s

b

oo

k.

K

eep

in

g

th

e

l

ea

rnin

g

lo

ca

l h

e

lp

s

t

eac

h

e

r

s

a

nd

s

tud

e

nt

s

t

o av

oid

some

of

s

t

e

r

eoty

pe

s a

nd

ge

n

era

li

sa

tion

s of

Abori

g

i

na

l

a

nd T

o

rr

es

Str

a

it

I

s

l

a

nd

e

r p

eo

pl

e

.

(15)

xiv ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Juanita Sellwood

I b

egan

work as a pnmary

sc

hool teacher

a

t

a

local

school in Cairns in 2001.

I

studied

at

my local university

even though

I

had been offered

a

place

at

Queensland

University of Technology

in

Brisbane. At

th

e

time

I

felt

Brisbane would be too far away from family. As a

Torres

Strait Islander, being close to family is the

centre

point of

life

so

I

decided to

accep

t

a

place closer to home at

J

ames

Cook University in Townsville.

(See

the story of my family,

from page 34.)

I

entered

university in the early nineties through

an

eq

ui

ty education

program

called

the Aboriginal

and

I

slander

Teacher Education Program

(AITEP).

This program

was

one of the pioneering,

affirmative

ac

tion

programs

design

ed

to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Isl

anders access

to

teacher

educa

tion

with

the purpose of bringing

th

eir c

ultural

experience

into classrooms for

the benefit of all

children

but

especially

for Aboriginal

and

children.

My university

studies were an eye-opener.

This

was

the first time I began to

l

earn about

the

colonisation

of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait

I

s

l

ander

people. I

was shocked

and

at

th

e same

time

I

was

nourished by

l

earning

about this perspective of history

and abo

ut

the history of

our people. Throughout my university

studies

I began to realise just how important it

was

for

me

and

m.y AITEP peers to

succeed and

become teachers.

I

successfully

graduated with my teaching degree

and

was happily teaching in a

schoo

l

in

Cairns

th

at

h

ad

one the highest numbers of Aboriginal

a

nd

Torres Strait

I

slander children.

From my

experience of

teaching in this school, I

could see

ho

w

the Aboriginal

and

Torres

Strait Islander children

and

their parents

came

to me and

another

Indigenous teacher

for

support. A few

years

l

ater

I

was asked

to do

some work

at Jam.

es Cook

University in

pre-serv

i

ce

t

eacher

education,

and saw

thi

s

as

a

great

oppor

tunity to build pre-

service

teachers'

(16)

AIATSIS MAP OF INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA

• • • • • • • •

•

• • • • •

•

• • • • • • •

•

..;:

-

---

THE AIATSIS MAP OF INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIA

--~-_-·-~·-...

-...

,

...

~

-~

--

-

... -

-

=

-

--- -

-

1

:..

-=

-

--

-

--

-=

---

-

_,

-This map is just one representation of many other map sources that are available for Aboriginal Australia. Using published resources available between 1988 and 1994, this map attempts to represent all the language or tribal or nation groups of the Indigenous people of Australia. It indicates only the

general location of larger groupings of people, which may include smaller groups such as clans, dialects

or individual languages in a group. Boundaries are not intended to be exact. This map is NOT SUITABLE

Press, AIATSIS and Auslig/Sinclair, Knight, Merz, 1996. No reproduction allowed without permission.

Source: AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia, AIATSIS [1994). A fully interactive version of this map can

be found at http://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/a rticles/a borig ina l-austra lia-ma p.