Indigenous Cultures In The Australian Culture: Case Study

For children, a bilingual education links up with enhanced numeracy and literacy skills. For Indigenous children, the teaching of their culture along with Australia’s modern cultures, throughout learning and development, children are better able to engage with the general culture, while still maintaining their own cultural identity (Gugu Badhun Limited, 2012). Thanks to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Indigenous people are being given back their rights in regard to their language and in turn cultural identity. The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act (2003) is a new promise that the cultural heritage of the Indigenous people will be recognised, protected and managed in Queensland. These are just a few of the reconciliatory ways Australia is giving the Indigenous back the respect and rights they

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

In this essay we will try to provide a brief overview of educational issues of Aboriginal communities in Australia and Victoria and the elements that influence the educational outcomes of young Aboriginal people, such as culture and contemporary challenges. In addition to this, the inclusion of Aboriginal content in the Victorian curriculum and classroom practices will be explored as well as contemporary government policies.

Throughout the early 20th century, the Australian public was led to believe that Aboriginal children were disadvantaged in their communities, and that there was a high risk of physical and sexual abuse. Aboriginal children were being removed in order to be exposed to ‘Anglo values’ and ‘work habits’ with a view to them being employed by colonial settlers, and to stop their parents, families and communities from passing on their culture, language and identity

I believe that our culture helps to shape our identity and therefore I believe that early childhood education should reflect the culture of the children attending the program, while teaching other cultures to promote diversity and inclusion. Aboriginal Head Start programs are contributing back to the communities through culturally responsive education, which reinforces Aboriginal identity. Nguyen (2011) argues that Aboriginal early childhood education needs to provide children with a “sense of who they are and where the come from, which will impact community self-government and self-determination” (p.231). Similarly, Greenwood et al. (2007) points out that early childhood education should socialize children into their heritage and ancestry through programs that reflect their community and nation. The Aboriginal Head Start programs foster the education of both Aboriginal culture and language into the program in hopes that this inspires children to learn their respective language and participate in their communities (Nguyen,

Teachers in Australia have the responsibility of catering to the learning needs and abilities of the students in their classroom. Additionally they are also responsible for catering to the unique cultural backgrounds of each student, in particular the cultures of Indigenous Australians. The teacher can cater to the diverse and complex Indigenous cultures by creating a learning environment that is based on effective student engagement for Aboriginal students. Studies have shown that Aboriginal students are currently not academically achieving as well as non-Aboriginal students (What Works: Core Issue 5). Closing the academic performance gap is considered a national priority. As a result, the Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework has been developed to ensure that schools are delivering the best possible education to all students, specifically those who identify as Aboriginal. During term 3, 2017, I completed my final practicum at Baler Primary School in a year 4 classroom. The students in my class came from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, many of which identified as Aboriginal. Throughout this essay I will use examples from my final practicum at Baler Primary School in South Hedland to discuss how to make learning engaging, accessible and culturally responsive for Aboriginal students.

The teaching resource selected to support diverse literacy and language learning in a grade one classroom is a children’s book ‘I’m Australian Too’ written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh (Fox, M. (2017) ‘I’m Australian Too’ Australia; Scholastic Australia). The book is available for purchase both online and at ‘Readings’ stores in Hawthorn, Carlton, Malvern and St Kilda for $19.99. It can also be accessed as an audio copy from http://memfox.com/books/im-australian-too/. The book details all the multiple cultural identities that can be found across Australia. It poetically details that no matter where our families come from, or the hardships that may have faced, we can all find a home in Australia. The resource is useful in

What are some of the key issues teachers need to consider for working successfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students?

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.

It is agreed that educator’s philosophy, pedagogical practices and believe about topics such as gender and sexuality, socio-cultural factors and cultural diversity will influence how the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is reflected in the classroom. For example, cultural competence which is one of the eight main practices that EYLF focuses on to support children’s learning.

Australia is one of the country that has grown to be the most diverse in the world. Many people come from different country, different ethnic background and different beliefs/religions. We want to enrich children’s experiences of diversity. At the same time we want our children to also experience, learn and explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander because they are the Australia original inhabitants.

Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the curriculum has now become a high priority amoungst schools across the nation. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2013), recognises “that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority is designed for all students to engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world’s oldest continuous living cultures”. By including this, the curriculum will continue to see Indigenous culture throughout school become part of the norm. Furthermore Indigenous Australian perspectives can and should be included in the classroom and any barriers that arise can be overcome.

It is important to respect, understand and include a child’s culture as it helps each child feel a sense of being, becoming and belonging. Knowing about each child’s cultural identity will also help you to promote an equitable environment by building trusting and responsive relationships with children and their families and to demonstrate acceptance of diverse family structures and perspectives (OpenSpace, 3.2.1). For education and care services, understanding and valuing cultural diversity is key to countering racism in our services and community. Including a child’s culture into the centres environment gives the individual child a chance to grow with their culture and to include the other children in it. Showing children an individual child’s

Aboriginals or indigenous Australians are the native people of Australia. Aboriginals were nomadic people who came to Australia about 40,000 – 60,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. Religion is a great part of Aboriginal culture. The essay answers these questions: What do Aboriginals belief? What is a Kinship system? What is Dreaming and Dreamtime? What rituals does Aboriginals have?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders families is a large portion of service users in Child Protection. Due to a mass influx of Indigenous clients, unfortunately by human nature, Caseworkers can use past experiences with working with similar families as a predetermined bias onto cases that follow. When addressing every case, a good practitioner should be using there not to judge or go off stereotypes but assess every circumstance as its very own. There should also be a sense of cultural humility where workers should acknowledge they may not have a full understanding of a situation (e.g living situation) but are willing to