An aboriginal perspective on education - Policy and practice

Abstract

Australian Aboriginal people have had to engage in the dominant education system since colonisation. In this paper we have focused on the many debates and policies issues in regards to the failure of the education system for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians from the 1840s until the present day. The discourses in contemporary times have centred on, the void of Aboriginal Australian experiences in the history of this country, school attendance, educational theory and pedagogies, social justice, cultural deficit and socio-cultural factors. It is our position that quality education in the form of policy and practice that embraces a two-way education will enhance educational out comes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Recently, national and state governments have written educational policies that provide for the embedding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content within curriculum areas however, it is still debatable whose perspective is being taught due to western pedagogical practices. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander epistemology and ontology is rarely considered to be a viable tool in the dominant education system. Our research engages in the historical and contemporary mainstream perspectives and provides an Aboriginal perspective for the debates on education in Australia.