Abstract
Commonwealth and state governments have promoted Indigenous education since the 1967 Referendum. Further, since 1990, although they have promoted education policies that are more positive than the earlier ones, a gulf still remains between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. This paper analyzes the present situation of Indigenous education in primary and secondary schools. In particular, the study focuses on recent trends in the educational setting concerning Indigenous people.
In order to clarify the analysis of the recent trends in Indigenous education, this research attempts to examine not only statistical results but also the findings of the interviews conducted as part of research in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2005. These interviews were conducted with teachers, students, parents, Aboriginal Education Assistants (AEAs), and other educational staff related to Indigenous education.
The research outcome demonstrates how the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students has been gradually decreasing based on the retention rate. Although it is obvious that Indigenous students still face difficulties in education, the gulf remains not only between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students but also between the Indigenous students from urban and remote areas. In response to this disparity, recent changes in governmental education policy have shifted budget funding toward programs that concentrate on remote areas. The outcome of this alteration in policy can only be estimated. In contrast to this, other changes that are only related to improving basic literacy and numeracy skills pay less attention to cultural awareness and instead move farther from involving Indigenous communities and parents into school-based programs. The research also shows that even though the number of Indigenous students has been increasing in recent years, the number of AEAs and the strength of Indigenous teaching staff has not been increasing proportionately. This implies that governments are not focusing on involving Indigenous people in education as much as they did earlier. These trends also affect multicultural education and will affect the future of Indigenous education.
