Aboriginal Education: Assignment 2( Student Id- 21254284)

Discuss how your understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic
background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
will inform your practices as a teacher or school psychologist.

Abstract
The Aboriginal people do not enjoy the same educational experiences and outcomes as nonAboriginal people owing to various social, historical, cultural and linguistic differences.
Culturally responsive and bi- lingual teaching along with positive attitude of teachers towards the
issues can help closing this gap.

Brief Background and History:

Indigenous Australians are the original human inhabitants of Australia and its nearby
islands. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders include two separate groups of people, the
Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, who, together make up of 2.4% of Australian
population. Research indicates that Aboriginal people have lived on this land for over 60,000
years and Torres Strait Islander peoples for more than 10,000 years, while maintaining their
connection to country and family. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, each has
distinctly different cultures (Hampton and Toombs, 2013). As a minority of the population,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people retain links to some of the oldest spiritual belief
systems in the world. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples cherish pride in their
legacy while performing in all areas of contemporary life, for example education, employment,
industry and community.
Since the beginning of the occupation, Aboriginal cultural groups lived across Australia in
independent communities with different cultural beliefs, practices, traditions and languages. When
the British proclaimed the possession of the Australian continent, they deemed Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders as a single race. At this time, there existed around 200 to 250 Aboriginal language
groups and 600 to 700 dialects and Aboriginal population vary from around 300,000 to over a million
(Bourke, Bourke, & Edwards, 1998, p. 38). "Aborigines" was not the name these people used to

describe themselves. It was the name given to the first Australians by the Europeans means the
original habitants, keeping their biological characteristics in mind (Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders Fact sheet). According to a more formal definition put forward in the constitutional

section of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs report on the review of the administration of the
working definition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Canberra (1981), based on the
three elements that are descent, self-identification and Aboriginal community recognition:

An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

descent who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted as such by the
community in which he [or she] lives.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are complex and diverse. Their culture is not
confined only to food, dance, dress, music, language and art, but is more profound and deep that
it teaches an individual how to see the world and engage with it (St. Onge, Cole and Petty, 2003).
This deep culture comprises ideas of simplicity, child rearing practices, archetype of
relationships, ordering of time, directions to problem solving, kinship and roles in relationships,
paradigm of group decision making, and so on. Aboriginal identity appertains to lineage and
country of origin and about recognising oneself to be Aboriginal. It is not about genetics or skin
colou but relationships and obligations with people and place (country), or kinship (Dudgeon et
al., 2010). Burney (1994) states Being Aboriginal has nothing to do with the colour of your skin
or the shape of your nose. It is a spiritual feeling, an identity you know in your heart. It is a
unique feeling that may be difficult for non-Aboriginal people to understand. Today, the majority
of Aboriginal people live in an urban setting often far from the country, but they maintain their

cultural identity irrespective of the location- urban, rural or remote (Dillon and Westbury, 2007).
Perhaps, this strong culture only protected the identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples through more than two hundred years of colonisation in addition to the dominant culture
imposed on all aspects of their lives.

Indigenous students and the impact of culture and linguistics on their

education:
It is well documented that Aboriginal people do not enjoy the same educational experiences
and outcomes as their contemporary non- Aboriginal people do. As a result, it becomes very hard
for Aboriginal students to negotiate transition points at each stage of school and then beyond
that. The failure of the educational system in achieving better educational outcomes has been
evident for many decades. No systematic initiative and funding aimed at addressing poor
educational outcomes for Aboriginal students have proved successful so far (Department of

Education, Science and Training [DEST], 2002; New South Wales Aboriginal Education
Consultative Group, 2004). Although the government report in 2005 (Steering Committee for
the review of Government Service Provision, 2005) showed some improvement in the last
decade, yet the disparity between Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal youth is most evident in
regards to school completion and amelioration to higher education (Gray and Beresford, 2008).
There are various reasons influencing the educational outcomes of Aboriginal students.
Repudiation of educational opportunity to successive generations of aboriginal youth during
British colonisation affected them and their children mostly. The past policies and actions such
as dispossession, segregation and assimilation gave birth to intergenerational disadvantage and
trauma that barricaded the educational growth among most Aboriginal students (Gray and
Berresford, 2008). The informal evidence from schools indicates a correlation between the
parents own painful experiences and their negligible involvement in their childrens education
(Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1997). The education system established
following the invasion and further occupations by British reflected a system with western
knowledge, values, and beliefs (Attwood, 2009, p. 80) which ignored Aboriginal peoples
knowledge, values and beliefs. Hence, the colonisers used education as a tool to annihilate the
knowledge, cultural beliefs and lifestyles of Aboriginal people (Herbert, 2003).
There are a number of social, cultural, historical, health, environmental and linguistic
factors behind the abominable educational outcomes of Indigenous students, but cultural and
linguistic have the cutting- edge. All of these factors are interrelated and, therefore, make
Aboriginal education a perplexing policy affair. At its most basic level, this complexity appears
to be an interrelationship between poor attendance and low achievement, but it is imperative to
find the real cause for absenteeism (Gray and Baresford, 2008).
Cultural obligations:
Aboriginal people are culturally oriented people and place great importance to cultural
norms and kinship ties. The children are subject to enculturation with these (Forrest, 1981). For
example- all the members of the community must attend cultural obligations such as funerals,
which are not performed until all the relatives have arrived. This means students are away from
school for a significant time to attend the rituals or ceremonies owing to geographical

distribution. Thus, cultural obligations, which are highly important in Aboriginal context,
become the major cause of absenteeism among Aboriginal students (dePlevitz, 1995).
Cultural differences:
Mainstream education system reflects the western society model and has unique ways of
disseminating knowledge, generally based in the framework of dominant culture (Vang, 2006,
p.24). According to research studies, the reason for Indigenous students alienation from school is
that they find school difficult and discouraging (Gray and Partington, 2003; McInerney and
Dawson, 2003). Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal students with different set of beliefs, norms and
values, live in two parallel worlds and most schools dwell on the non- Aboriginal side. It
becomes very challenging for Indigenous students to negotiate both the worlds each morning and
each afternoon (Cahill and Collard, 2003). It is a well known fact that different group of
individuals develop their functional learning styles in accordance with their social and economic
context. Culture differences challenge the learning style of Indigenous students largely as
Aboriginal children learnt skills and knowledge by modelling adults in the context of everyday
life largely through non- verbal methods (Down, 1994). On the contrary, the formal education
of the white population is decontextualised, heavily verbal and consciously mediated between
teacher and pupil (Christie, 1985). As a result, Aboriginal children face a lot of difficulty in
coping with classroom activities.
Hanlen (2010) cites Aboriginal childrens dilemma by using an analogy that western ways of
knowing are square and Indigenous ways of knowing are circular. This certainly produces
difficulties as these children come to school waiting to learn in circular concepts and the
teacher uses square concepts (p.3). Thus, their strong beliefs, values and customs received at
home are strongly challenged when they enter school. Racism is another problem faced by
Aboriginal children, which is a product of cultural difference.
Language differences:
Indigenous children are more likely to encounter linguistic challenges as most of them speak
Aboriginal English, a dialect different from the Standard Australian English (SAE) used in
schools. The sound, syntax, and semantic content of Aboriginal English are quite different from
SAE (Malcolm, 1994; Eades, 1992). According to Zeegers, Muir and Lin (2003), these dialects

contain grammatical constructions adapted from the mother languages and include limited use of
verbs, articles, plurals. Everything from the learning material, text, tests to teachers instructions
challenge Aboriginal students in classrooms as being in SAE (Malcolm et al., 2002). Research
studies have proved the importance of home language in the learning of students. Sharifians study
(2005) shows that Aboriginal and Anglo Australian members function on two different but overlapping
conceptual systems and it is largely misinterpreted in case of Aboriginal students. He puts his argument
by giving an example of a word deadly, which creates a conceptual discrepancy between Aboriginal
students and their non- Aboriginal peers. This mismatch produces feelings of alienation, which are
manifested in students dropouts, poor attendance, and low self esteem and under achieving
(dePlevitz, 2007, p.60).

Role of an educator:
The difficulties surrounding the enormously complex gaps of understanding have had a
profound effect on the ways in which Australian Aboriginal learners deal with the demands of
conventional western education (Simpson and Clancy, 2005). The limited knowledge or
understanding about the Aboriginal history, culture and language among educators and policy
makers often create conflicts and misunderstandings within educational settings. Having a
culturally inclusive schooling environment may redress the educational disadvantage of
Aboriginal people (MCEETYA, 2000). In this regard, it is important to note that UNESCO has
also restated its stand on the use of culturally appropriate educational materials in 2003 position
paper. As it is stated under its principle three, Education should raise awareness of the positive
value of cultural [and linguistic] diversity and to this end: curriculum [should be reformed] to
promote a realistic and positive inclusion of the minority [or indigenous] history, culture,
language and identity (UNESCO, 2003, p. 33).
Although various programmes have been initiated to cover the achievement gaps between
Aboriginal students and non- Aboriginal children, yet there is a mismatch between the home
cultures of Indigenous students and the practices of the classroom (Cummins, 1986; Delpit,
1995). Culturally responsive teaching can help in closing this gap. A Double- Check Framework
for Cultural Responsive Practice developed by Rosenburg (2007) may be used as an
intervention to address Aboriginal issues in classroom setting. The five components of the
Double-Check model are:

1. Reflective- Thinking about Children and Group- membership

2. An Authentic Relationship
3. Effective Communication
4. Connection to Curriculum
5. Sensitivity to Students Cultural and Situational Messages
Additionally, it is essential for teachers to recognise the existence and worth of Aboriginal
English in the learning process of Aboriginal students. Instead of changing their spoken
language, it is advisable to demonstrate them the importance of becoming proficient in SAE in
terms of further avenues such as education, employment and so forth (Tripcony, 1995). Using
Home language as a) Medium b) Subject c) Channel d) Background e) Interference can help
facilitate their learning experiences (Malcolm, 2003).
The implementation of any programme or intervention is not the solution of this issue, the
success of depends upon how well it has been accepted by educators. What requires more than
the awareness of Indigenous culture is the willingness to engage with heart as well as mind
(Sims, 2011), a positive attitude, willingness to understand students and their needs, and to
recognise and validate the strengths that Indigenous students bring in the class. This is a way to
demonstrate respect and establishing a relationship on trust.

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