An evaluation of the principles and aims of bi-lingual education, with special reference to Yuendumu School, Northern Territory.

Having sat himself down excitedly, Johnny, a little European pre-schooler, waits expectantly yet somewhat apprehensively for his teacher to appear. It is the first day of school, and Johnny has not met his teacher yet, but he knows she is a Warlpiri.

Thus little Johnny is confronted and bombarded with an unknown, incomprehensible language which only receives a vestige of meaning through the teacher’s reassuring gestures and prompting voice inflections.

How is it that Johnny finds himself in this position? Some years ago, when the view was still widely accepted that Johnny, being English (European), belonged to a race of such low intelligence that he was impossible to educate, he would not have been here at all.

The main objectives of the parent counselling program are:

1. 1. To come to know parents of learning problem children at our school on an informal basis.

2. 2. To show parents what is happening at the school, so that they become familiar and conversant with what is happening.

3. 3. To develop in the parents feelings that they are involved, in fact, by involving them.

4. 4. To get the parents involved in areas concerning the schooling of their children.

5. 5. To get students motivated and co-operating at school.

6. 6. To show parents how they can help their children both in direct and indirect terms, for example, by helping them complete a maths problem and by giving them encouragement.

Comparatively few Aboriginal words remain in the speech of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community. The words that have survived are remnants of two Aboriginal languages of the South Coast of New South Wales – the Dharawal language and the Dhurga language. Linguists consider that these were the main languages on this section of the coast. Since the turn of the century, however, it is thought the vocabularies were mixed up, so that now it is sometimes impossible to know for certain from which language particular words have come. It is on the basis of the words that have survived, a grammar of the languages compiled by Diana Eades, and her advice, that a language unit has been developed for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children who attend Jervis Bay Primary School.

The language materials have been designed for children aged eight to nine years. In the materials emphasis is placed on the human qualities of language – its day-to-dayness, enjoyment and human interaction. By means of colourful, self-corrective manipulative materials, games, songs and vocabulary built around themes, the children are encouraged to work and play with the languages. These enjoyable experiences are expected to motivate the children to undertake language learning in the future. By teaching the Aboriginal languages of the area, the school demonstrates that it values the original Australian languages and that it desires to achieve in its curriculum some cultural transmission by the Aboriginal community.

The New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group feels that more emphasis needs to be placed on the training of teachers in regards to Aboriginal education.

Many first year teachers are sent to country areas with a relatively high percentage of Aboriginal students. In the main, these teachers have had little or no contact with Aboriginal children or parents.

This paper provides an overview for teachers who wish to develop a more appropriate mathematics program for their Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students. It covers cultural, linguistic and environmental issues, as well as purely mathematical and methodological procedures. Current literature and reports from teachers indicate that many indigenous students are not performing well in mathematics. It is hoped that the suggestions contained in this article will lead to a more rewarding experience for both teacher and student.

It is generally agreed by teachers of Aboriginal and Islander students that most students are not performing at a satisfactory level. This conclusion has been documented by Bourke and Parkin, by the Curriculum and Research Branches of the Departments of Education in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and by others, including Bishop, who wrote –

The causes of this relatively unsatisfactory performance are complex, but may usually be traced to a combination of environmental, cultural and linguistic differences, as well as to unsuitable teaching programs and methods.

There is a noticeable lack of literature on the subject available to teachers, and it is hoped that the following comments will be useful in drawing up a mathematics program whose content and methodology will be more relevant and meaningful to the students.

Over 80 people attended the graduation of the first students to complete the Advanced Education Entry Certificate course at the Derby Civic Centre on Sunday, August 12.

The Director of Mount Lawley College, in presenting the awards to the successful students, expressed the college’s delight in being able to conduct the ceremony in the Kimberleys and that the college was hopeful that it could continue to provide a service to people in remote areas of the state.

The first five graduates – Agnes Albert, Verna Lockyer, Rosita Lovell, Christopher Bin Kali and Selina King, had completed the course in minimum time, which was a very commendable feat, considering the course only commenced in 1978 and the program was entirely by correspondence.

All the first five graduates had completed the course and been granted their award with credit. This entitled them to unconditional entrance into teacher training at Mount Lawley College.

Speakers at the ceremony included Mr Steven Albert, Chairman of the National Aboriginal Education Committee, Mr Jim Biendurry of the National Aboriginal Committee and Mrs Ester Bevan of the National Aboriginal Education Committee.

Mr Albert, while congratulating the graduates, stated that this was only the first step and he hoped it would not be very long before these students would graduate as qualified teachers and return to work in their own communities.

The first graduates had done a magnificent job, according to Mr Biendurry, and shown all other people what they could do by studying and hard work. He wished all other students in the course every success with their studies and hoped to see many more graduates from the course in the near future.

Some interest has been shown by schools in the guidance camps currently conducted jointly by members of the Queensland and Commonwealth Departments of Education for Year 11 Aboriginal students. This article outlines the philosophy and content of these programs, and emphasizes that their effectiveness is, in part, determined by follow-up activities and support from the participants* schools.