Access to Education and Equqlity of Opportunity Essay

Offering equality of opportunity to all your learners means making sure that you are up to date with your knowledge on the Equality act 2010:

The Australian Curriculum currently is struggling with incorporating indigenous perspectives as a key focus in the curriculum properly. It is lacking the ability to normalise indigenous knowledge and instead represents

It is very important to support participation and equality of access so that every pupil has the same opportunities offered to them regardless of their background. For us to achieve this we must involve the students in finding out what works well and what doesn’t. I feel that if we involve the students in this process it would not only make them feel more valued but also more confident. The equality act 2000 states that there are seven different types of discrimination which are:

For the last 200 years Indigenous people have been victims of discrimination, prejudice and disadvantage. Poor education, poor living conditions and general poverty are still overwhelming issues for a large percentage of our people and we remain ‘as a group, the most poverty stricken sector of the working class’ in Australia (Cuthoys 1983).

Individuals with higher levels of education tend to have better health, greater social engagement, longer life expectancy and they generally feel happier (OECD 2013). Throughout the Australian history, Aboriginal communities were deprived of basic human rights which resulted in poor quality of life and poor education outcomes

A lot of aboriginal students are now graduating high school in the past few years. But, now they seem to rank lower in education, higher rates of unemployment, along with higher rates of smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, which can lead to needing a lot more health care than the average person. (Dr. Chandrakant P. Shah. 2005, page.3)

Further, low income, unemployment, racism, lack of education further deteriorate their quality-of-life and well-being (Carson, Dunbar, Chenhall, & Bailie, 2007). Therefore “closing the gap” on indigenous disadvantage is crucial for archive equality in life expectancy, health status, education and employment between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (Black & Richards, 2009).

Indigenous education is utmost challenging to incorporate throughout the holistic approach in schools. This is why educators need to incorporate Indigenous perspectives in all units of work to build a safe, positive, yet constructive learning environment for students, families and the community. By undertaking this all students can learn in different ways to build an understanding of the history, beliefs, and Australian heritage.

Perhaps it is no surprise that, not providing libraries etc. within the Attawapiskat temporary schools due to poor funding, leads Indigenous student to have a low academic achievement. Therefore, poor funding and under resources of schools on reserves like Attawapiskat is another direct reason why Indigenous students are more likely not to finish high school in comparison to non-indigenous (Pidgeon, 2015). Hence, their inability to finish high school will affect their ability to obtain greater life chances of employment.

There is a height of significance when it comes to embedding Indigenous perspectives in the curriculum and in schools. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, their students thrive in educational environments where staff respect and promote strong Indigenous culture and identity, build collaborative relationships and set high expectations (Kerley, 2015). Abiding by this principle would see students thriving for higher education, recognizing this has made it quite common for schools to introduce indigenous programs or units. These are put in place for the purpose of being extra support to not only Indigenous students but for everyone at school serving as a source of information and guidance. By incorporating these Units, cross-curriculum

Education is fundamental to growth, the growth of the individual, and the growth of a nation. Anthropologically this can be seen from the earliest of developments of human societies where practices emerge to ensure the passing of accumulated knowledge from one generation to the next. In the centuries since the invasion and colonisation of Australia in 1788, colonist authorities and governments have dominated the making of policies regarding most major aspects of Australian life, including the lives of Indigenous Australians. The enactment of these policies and legislation, whether targeted at society as a whole or directly at education, has had significant and most often negative causal impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, resulting in not only poor educational outcomes, but the loss of cultural identity, the development of serious issues in health and wellbeing, and the restriction of growth of Aboriginal communities. Moreover, there has been an ongoing pattern of the adoption of ill-informed policies in Australia, resulting in these poor outcomes and cultural decimation. Aboriginal people have developed a wariness, a mistrust, and even an attitude of avoidance to engage with non-Indigenous officials and those who they associate as their representatives, i.e. personnel working within

Equality of Opportunity is the idea that all persons in a society are given equal opportunities to achieve educational and financial equality by having the chance to enter any occupation or social class. Schools play a paramount role in providing equality of opportunity as they are responsible for its implementation. Many issues exist for schools to provide equality of education due mostly to a family’s economic condition. Contributory factors such as a student’s cultural background, which test model is implemented at a given school, discrimination in the labor market that disrupts the achievement of equality of opportunity, all affect the school’s ability to implement equality of opportunity. Another important factor is the inequality between schools that contribute to the inequality of opportunity.

The education system has demonstrably undermined the educational needs of Indigenous students in the past (Fletcher, 1989 and Eades, 1995 as stated In Hanlen; 2002). Though there has been much support invested through the use of money, programs and time, all working towards a decent objective in Indigenous education, there has still been minor developments in the results of indigenous education (Hanlen, 2002).

Though this policy attempts to achieve a support of diversity and an increase of equity among the Victorian community, its affects are hindered by an education system that favours the middle class and above. As stated by Reid (2013, p. 13), the equity espoused within policy ‘is produced by policy processes which are counterproductive to the achievement of equity.’ This means that, in order to really achieve equity for all students, the education system needs to

Introduction This report aims to discuss certain impacts which affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student’s education outcomes. Included is some examples from Aboriginal innovation case studies, East Kalgoorlie Primary and Djidi Djidi schools and how they have used strategies which include working in partnerships with families and local community to better understand and help students achieve positive learning outcomes for all their students. I have described how socio economics have a profound impact on Indigenous student’s educational and future outcomes. Included is Literacy teaching strategies to help teachers in their planning and implementing of Literacy programs.