Aboriginal education
Selected statistics
- 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].
- 9,700
- Number of Aboriginal students enrolled in public schools in 2014; same figure for 2005: 7,000 [21].
- 1,642
- Number of Aboriginal students enrolled in preschool in 2014; same figure for 1999: 869 [21].
- 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].
- 66.7%
- Percentage of Year 10 Aboriginal students in Queensland who go on to complete Year 12, compared to 83% among non-Aboriginal 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-Aboriginal people in 2008: 54% [11].
- 10%
- Percentage of Aboriginal children who graduate from Year 12 [8].
- 94%
- Percentage of Aboriginal children who earned a Year 12 certification in Queensland in 2015; figure for non-Aboriginal students: 95% [4].
- 85.5%
- Retention rate of Aboriginal students in government schools for 2014 [21]. Figure for 2008: 46.5% [12], 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-Aboriginal 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].
List of linked articles
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Aboriginal knowledge for the science curriculum
The Western view alone limits students. Aboriginal knowledge enhances science education with examples of Aboriginal science.
Aboriginal knowledge for the science curriculum
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Two days in November
Read Ruth’s story: How thieves disturb a community and houses overcrowd. Discover the shy youth’s secret and why role models don’t get jobs.
All in just two days in November.
Two days in November
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Can an Aboriginal school break the vicious circle?
Aboriginal people in small towns in NSW are overwhelmed by hopelessness, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, child crime. “You name it, we’ve got it.”
Is education a way out?
Can an Aboriginal school break the vicious circle?
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Barriers to Aboriginal education
Barriers include inappropriate teaching materials and a lack of Aboriginal role models.
Aboriginal education requires connection to communities and informed parents.
Barriers to Aboriginal education
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Starving for English, starving for Maths
Before the residents of Mapuru were able to access any educational services for their children, they first had to construct a school building and find a resident who was willing to teach without pay.
This is a story about broken promises and a determined and strong community.
Starving for English, starving for Maths
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Can remote Aboriginal schools compete?
Schools in remote Aboriginal communities struggle as they receive less resources than similar schools in towns with mainly non-Aboriginal students. But they have one surprising advantage.
Can remote Aboriginal schools compete?
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Common mistakes when teaching Aboriginal studies
Teachers of Aboriginal studies need to drop negative stereotypes and expect Aboriginal students to perform.
Common mistakes when teaching Aboriginal studies
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How to improve Aboriginal literacy & school attendance
School attendance rates and literacy of Aboriginal students can be improved if schools involve parents and role models.
Programs stimulating the senses and offering incentives make students perform.
How to improve Aboriginal literacy & school attendance
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Deep listening (dadirri)
Aboriginal people practice deep listening, an almost spiritual skill, based on respect.
Sometimes called ‘dadirri’, deep listening is inner, quiet, still awareness, and waiting.
Deep listening (dadirri)
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Aboriginal students in higher studies at university
Aboriginal students choosing higher studies only make up 1.3% of all students, and are likely to be older than their peers.
Experts want to see universities tap into the potential of Aboriginal organisations to increase student numbers.
Aboriginal students in higher studies at university
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Teaching Aboriginal students
Teaching Aboriginal students requires sensitivity for their special needs and knowledge about Aboriginal cultural protocols.
Successful programs relate content to real life and work around Aboriginal parents’ limitations.
Teaching Aboriginal students
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Education for non-Aboriginal students
Most Australians say they know little or nothing about Aboriginal culture, yet there is a hunger to learn more.
Educating non-Aboriginal Australians could help combat racism and discrimination.
Education for non-Aboriginal students
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Aboriginal literacy rates
Literacy rates among Aboriginal students are lowest in remote communities. Reasons include low literacy of the parents and poor school attendance.
Initiatives like the Accelerated Literacy Program try to bring literacy to a similar level to that of their non-Aboriginal peers.
Aboriginal literacy rates
List of short articles
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 Aboriginal teacher [6].
Aboriginal teachers bring a wider range of cultural perspectives into schools and develop networks with the Aboriginal communities around the school, a valuable asset when addressing school children’s needs or problems.
But non-Aboriginal 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
Books
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.
Crackerjack Education
Crackerjack Education offers digital and static resources for primary schools around Australia that match each Aboriginal code of the Australian Curriculum.
You can search resources by year level (Year 1 to Year 6), subject (Maths, English, Science and History) or topic (Language, Dreaming stories, cultural maths, cultural knowledge, poetry, songs and many more).
The site also sells resources in their online shop. Visit Crackerjack Education for more details.
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.