Indigenous perspectives on sustainable development: Children’s views from the “top end”

Abstract

Indigenous perspectives of children more often reflect the customs of ancestors than the views of mainstream children. Located in the far north of Australia there are significant numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who remain largely untouched by the curriculum expectations that stem from political decisions in distant capital cities. Performance measures of learning in schools are well below the rest of the population. This fact is not lost on decision makers who continue to seek better ways to engage young indigenous learners and better prepare them for their futures. From the teacher perspective the issues are viewed in terms of relevance and cooperation; negotiation and flexibility. This chapter describes the context and an approach based on the children's lived experience that seems to bringing success for young learners.