Australian Aboriginal Perspectives in the Classroom - Assignment Example

Australian aboriginal perspectives in the room Affiliation Australian Aboriginal Perspectives in the room Historical perspectives The origin of the Aboriginals has not been known although there have been many speculations about their origins. Aboriginal Australians is a named that was given to the inhabitants who had already inhibited the continent by the British before they began colonizing Australia in 1788. In that, until the 1980s the administrative and legal criteria that were used to identify the Aboriginals was race where people were classified according to their visible physical characteristics or ancestors. Racism affected the Aboriginal people so much that if a child was born to an aboriginal mother the child would be considered to be an Aborigine despite the child’s paternity. Aboriginal people were hunters and gatherers where they hunted and foraged for food in their lands. Australian Aborigines had a shared responsibility where women would go to the field to gather bellies, nuts and other wild foods. Additionally, they were nomadic as they moved from one area to another in search of food due to the changing seasons (Kanu, 2011). British colonization of Australia caused various problems to the Aboriginal people as the first epidemic that faced them was diseases such as Measles, smallpox and tuberculosis that killed people. Additionally, the British settlement appropriated their land and water resources. In that, today a major issue that the aboriginals face is proving land ownership. The Aboriginal people lack of trust of white society as they think of them as oppressors and bad people. This is because they introduced alcohol and poisoned aboriginal people with diseases that they were not immune to as well as, raping their women and killing their children (Broome, 2010). To the Aboriginal people colonization meant genocide and oppression because they were denied the right to live their lives under their rule, customs and policies. For that reason, the Aboriginal people lost trust on the white, however, today they have become accepting as the laws have changed, and their children have been given the right to education, work and freedom of expression among other things. Cultural and contemporary issues There is cultural diversity in the Aboriginal people, for example, before the arrival of Europeans there were more than 250 languages that were spoken by indigenous. Today there are only 15 languages that are spoken by all age groups. The belief system of the Aboriginal people is not definite although most people are said to be affiliated with the Christian denomination while a few of the Aborigines are affiliated with Islam. Aboriginals believed in dreamtime stories, and they had major ancestral spirits namely Baiame, Rainbow serpent, Bunji and Dirawong. Music and art form an integral part in the aboriginals culture as they use it to celebrate traditional ceremonies. There are various contemporary issues that affect the aboriginals Australians in that; they have health and economic difficulties. Additionally, aboriginals in urban and remote population face various social issues such as education, unemployment, health and poverty and crime. Other contemporary issues include stolen generation who were Australian aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families by the church missions and Australian federal and State governments (Saracho, 2002). Secondly, political representation where under Section 41 of the Australian Constitution, illustrates that Aboriginal Australian have a right to vote in the Australian Commonwealth in case their state allowed them that right. Therefore, in case the state denied them the right to vote them they would not chose or elect the leaders they wanted. In recent statistics provided, it has been identified that most Australian Aboriginals are not given political posts. In relation to health, the indigenous people have poor health status with very high mortality or death rates. In that since 1788, after the introduction of disease by the European in Australia the indigenous people were greatly affected in terms of their health. Additionally, due to lack of education and high poverty levels there is little access of health case increase the rates of poor health among the indigenous people. Moreover, their lack of trust on the white people and modern medicine has also increased poor health among the Aborigines. Education is another contemporary issue that affects the Australian aboriginals in the sense that, most people from the indigenous community leave school early than their counterpart’s parts who seek higher education (Rolls & Johnson, 2011). By so doing, they have low chances of employment as they do not have quality education to get good jobs; hence, increasing poverty among the Aboriginal people. It has been acknowledged that the older Aboriginals influence the children against European education because of the past experiences that they had with them. The government has played a major role in improving the Indigenous student’s education by incorporating the Victorian policy in the Victorian government and non-government schools. The Victorian Registration and Qualification Authority provides a curriculum that addresses the arts, English, Health and Physical education, mathematics, studies of society and environment and technology, as well as, languages other than English. There has been government school funding through Student Resource packages to help in providing programs in all curriculum areas. The government and other stakeholders have shown concern in the education of the Aboriginals, but there has been a great of resistance. The government has funded the schools in the areas, but there has been a low turn up of students and for that reason, many youths end up missing on job opportunities. This is because in school students are taught skills and their social attitudes are altered to help them cope with the increasing global world. To change the perceptive that the Aboriginals have on education, there has been the inclusion of AUSVELS and Victorian classroom in schools to respond to the need for education in the schools. Additionally, the policies have been implemented to help in creating awareness on the importance of education. Besides, it will help in decreasing racism in schools and to increase indigenous student engagement, as well as, success in education. There has been the development of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, which acts as an independent authority to help in improving education outcomes for all young youths in Australia (Castellano, Davis & Lahache, 2000). The ACARA has created a National Curriculum that is now active across all Australian Territories and states to help in incorporating learning for all students from all regions. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority will implement the national curriculum in Victorian schools as the schools are expected to adhere with the regulations referred to as the AusVELS. AusVELS incorporates the Australian Curriculum F-10 for Mathematics, English, Science and History. The curriculum was first implemented for the Victorian Essential Learning Standards, and uses an eleven level format that reflects the design of the new Australian Curriculum while at the same time maintaining the Victorian approaches and priorities to learning and teaching (Flood, 2006). The inclusion provides a cross- curriculum priority, which has been created with the Melbourne Declaration on Education Goals for young Australians in mind. In that, the Aboriginals histories and cultures are a major priority in the curriculum, and it will be embedded in all learning areas. However, the presence of cultures and histories will differ depending on the relevance to the learning areas taught in class. Many questions have been raised as to whether teachers are adhering to the set rules to incorporate the indigenous culture and history in their classroom. The answer to the question is difficult because it is not easy for teachers or educators to transition easily and for that reason, the process should be taken strategically and slowly to ensure that teachers incorporate the learning styles for the full benefits of the students. This is because if the strategies are incorporated for the sake of fulfilling formalities then the students will not benefit and will miss the bigger picture that the Australian Education system is trying to achieve. The Commonwealth of Australia indicates that there is a serious gap between indigenous and non-indigenous outcomes in relations to English literacy, student attendance, numeracy and retention into senior secondary among others issues. The creation of the new curriculum in the Australian education system shows that the government bodies, educators, schools and communities are working together to improve the Australian education system with a focus of including the indigenous perspectives in educating students (Australian Indigenous Education Conference, McGinty & James Cook University of North Queensland, 2003). The curriculum has recognized the importance of inclusion of the indigenous people culture and histories as it is beneficial to both indigenous and non- indigenous students. This is because the indigenous students will feel that their culture is recognized, and people are willing to understand more about them. Additionally, it will decrease the amount of racism that students face in non-indigenous schools as they feel like an outcast. The attitudes that the indigenous people have on European education will change as they will see that the education is for their benefit and the Europeans, or the white people are there to help and not to oppress them. By so doing, the level of poverty will decrease within the indigenous people as they will acquire skills, and their social attitudes will change. The non-indigenous students, on the other hand, will benefit in the sense that they will learn about a different culture other than what they know (Waldram, Herring & Young, 2006). Additionally, they will understand the history of their country and create a new relationship with indigenous students. Learning about the rich and diverse history of the Aboriginal people culture and history will benefit the non-indigenous students to create awareness outside class. Furthermore, it will make other people in the society understand about the rich culture the indigenous people have in their community. Apart from the lack of trust in European education and social attitudes there are other issues that need to be considered when teaching indigenous students. These issues include willingness to learn, specific learning difficulties like dyslexia and gender and age of the students. When teachers use differentiated learning to teaching to teach indigenous students, they can achieve various goals in helping the children achieve the best level of education. This is because the teacher will take each student as an individual and not a group and for that reason, the educator or instructor will manage to understand all the issues of his or her student. Using differentiated learning will help the teacher manage to overcome issues that are considered to hinder the students from achieving their education goals. For example, due to the social settings or environment the students come from they may find difficulties in learning (Sammel, 2012). Additionally, some students have dyslexia where most teachers if not keen do not realize; therefore, when the teacher accepts the students as he or she is then they will manage to achieve and benefit the children at the end of the learning process. The teachers are asked to use or employ specific strategies and pedagogical practices to make their class diverse, welcoming, inclusive and supportive for the indigenous students (Abu-Saad & Champagne, 2006). The strategies and padegology that should be employed by teachers include critical pedagogy and culture where apart from teaching students teachers should create an environment that offers students a sense of hope and belonging or identity. Therefore, when teachers incorporate the culture and history of the indigenous students they became engaged and excited hence successful in the learning process. Secondly, there is the two-way education, which is a strategy that helps students make the matter of choice real in both worlds. In that, it provides opportunities for the primary aboriginal identity to stay strong even though they are changing, and to continue to source security necessary to cope with the western world. The reason for this strategy according to Stephen Harris is to help Aboriginal people who are moving to the western world. Therefore, the indigenous people have a ground to grow in their culture and retain their culture when they go to the western world. Thirdly, use of research as a learning strategy where it has been held that there is a link between the way people think and learn about their culture. Therefore, when indigenous students learn about or research about different culture they become more productive as they reflect about other cultures in the classroom (Fennesy, 2014). The teacher should also create a strong relationship with the students and community by showing a deep understanding of their culture. Additionally, the teacher should encourage indigenous students to be open about their culture and appreciate it as it promotes inclusion and allows recognition from other students as well as implementation of indigenous perceptive in the classroom setting. Lastly, teachers should use appropriate terminology in class because the concept if education is active in the development of a person as a whole. Therefore, when a teacher uses an insensitive terminology in class, the students may fell offended and disrespected (Normore, 2010). For that reason, teachers should be sensitive on the terminologies they use towards the indigenous students to show that they respect the culture and traditions of the indigenous people. Additionally, by so doing, it will help in shaping the non-indigenous students into citizens who are culturally aware and informed. In conclusion, by understanding the diverse culture of the Aboriginal Australian and their historical background it is easy to understand why they have a negative attitude towards education. However, the government has made huge efforts to ensure that young Australians whether indigenous or not get quality education. By so doing, there is equality in the level of education that is provided for the students. Therefore, by increasing the level of education in indigenous people and incorporating the history and culture of the Aboriginal people. It will also help in reducing racism and increase the level of employment, which will in turn reduce poverty. Additionally, with high literacy level the mortality rate of the Aboriginals will decrease as most people will start seeking western medicine. References Abu-Saad, I., & Champagne, D. (2006). Indigenous education and empowerment: International perspectives. Lanham, MD: Altamira Press Australian Indigenous Education Conference, McGinty, S., & James Cook University of North Queensland. (2003). Sharing success, an indigenous perspective: Papers from the second national Australian Indigenous Education Conference, Townsville, Queensland, July 2002. Altona, Vic: Common Ground Pub. Broome, R. (2010). Aboriginal Australians: A History Since 1788. St Leonards NSW: Allen & Unwin. Castellano, M. B., Davis, L., & Lahache, L. (2000). Aboriginal education: Fulfilling the promise. Vancouver: UBC Press. Fennesy, M. (2014). Strategies & Reccomendations - Australian Aborinal Perspectives in the Classroom. Retrieved on September 20, 2014, from< http://ausaboriginalperspectives.weebly.com/strategies--reccomendations.html> Flood, J. (2006). Original Australians: Story of the Aboriginal people. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Kanu, Y. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal perspectives into the school curriculum: Purposes, possibilities, and challenges. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Normore, A. H. (2010). Education reform, leadership development and preparation of leaders of learning and learners of leadership: A global perspective. Bingley: Emerald Rolls, M., & Johnson, M. (2011). Historical dictionary of Australian Aborigines. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. Sammel, A. (2012). Aboriginal Perspectives in the Teaching and Learning of Science. Saarbrücken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. Saracho, O. N. (2002). Contemporary perspectives in literacy in early childhood education. Greenwich, Conn: Information Age Publ. Waldram, J. B., Herring, D. A., & Young, T. K. (2006). Aboriginal health in Canada: Historical, cultural, and epidemiological perspectives. Toronto [u.a.: Univ. of Toronto Press. Read More