As undergraduate curriculum is increasingly required to meet a range of intellectual, professional practice and personal learning outcomes, what purpose does Australian Aboriginal Studies have in curriculum? Most Australian universities are currently in the process of developing institution-wide approaches to Indigenous Australian content in undergraduate curricula. One Australian university began this task by mapping how, where and why Indigenous perspectives, issues and content are included in undergraduate curriculum. This article reports on the findings of the mapping of Indigenous content and approaches to teaching at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and thereby contributes to a strengths-based approach to understanding the purpose of Indigenous perspectives and issues in undergraduate curricula.

Within contemporary society, customary land is at the nexus of culture and commercialisation. Tasked with facilitating market-based returns on customary land whilst promoting equitable inter and intra-generational sharing of returns, this paper reports a solutions-based research project that investigated and tested a range of hybrid models in the Pacific context. The challenges are diverse, in many cases confronted by the Western approach, which identifies property and ownership as something to address in a businesslike way. Accepting the notion of ongoing Indigenous guardianship of land as sacrosanct and that de Soto's privatisation model is an unacceptable simplification, this paper offers innovative regional examples of customary land administration/management arrangements in encouraging equitable use of customary land by both members and non-members of land “owning” groups.

Land is the foundation for the lives and cultures of Indigenous peoples the world over. Without access to and rights over their land and natural resources, Indigenous peoples' distinct cultures, and the possibility of determining their own development and future, become eroded (Jensen, 2004, p. 4).

This paper reports on implications of a research study with a group of 44 Indigenous middle school students learning the science concepts of energy and force. We found the concepts of energy and force need to be taught in English as we failed to find common comparable abstract concepts in the students' diverse Indigenous languages. Three categories of describing the concepts were identified: nine students who used scientific genre to explain and demonstrate the concepts (20%); 15 students who used limited scientific genre to explain and demonstrate the concepts in terms of direct action (35%); and 20 students who did not use scientific genre to either describe or display by direct action their knowledge of the concepts (45%).

Indigenous students learning school science navigate language negotiations before negotiating the language challenges in science learning. School science achievement is measured using Standard Australian English concept descriptors. These assessment instruments are designed to measure the student's negotiations from Standard Australian English into science. It is possible that these instruments do not adequately measure the Indigenous student's negotiations from their vernacular language into science. Developing a Creole science could empower Indigenous students learning school science to develop the capacity to successfully negotiate the language systems.

In some people’s minds, the Aboriginalisation of education means placing Aboriginal teachers in community schools and training these Aboriginal teachers to teach and to conduct the school in the ways Westeners once did. That objective is as wrong-headed as it is racist.

The Aboriginalisation of education in each community can only mean the development of an Aboriginal pedagogy if it is to address the perennially documented failings (for example, McConnochie and Harker, 1985; Folds, 1987; Lanhupuy, 1987) of Western schools in the education of Aboriginal people. In this view, Aboriginal people will determine appropriate subject matters for curriculum, ways of teaching, ways of organising the social context of learning, and ways of structuring the relationship between school, community, and the State. That is, the institutionalisation of education will be contested primarily among Aboriginal views of the ways in which education can be coopted for Aboriginal purposes. Anything short of Aboriginalisation of pedagogy in this manifold sense runs the risk of enshrining forever the roles Western education has consistently and persistently used for the practices of cultural imperialism, political domination, and territorial colonisation.

This paper explores the professional experience of an Anishnabe educator working in various organisations teaching Indigenous knowledge issues in both Aboriginal and primarily non-Aboriginal settings. The reflections span a number of years of teaching Aboriginal worldview and knowledge issues courses and include formal evaluations from both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students who have participated in the courses over that time. This paper draws upon two examples of educational institutions where Indigenous knowledge is being explored: the University of Toronto’s Aboriginal Studies Program and the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources’ (CIER) National First Nations Youth Environmental Education and Training Program. Both settings represent special places for thinking about decolonising Indigenous education. Integral to Aboriginal philosophy and decolonising education is the role elders play in informing and implementing meaningful education for Aboriginal learners. Both programs involve elders in central roles where they are recognised as authorities, facilitators and teachers. Discussion is offered on the subject of Aboriginal philosophies pertaining to education and some models for acting upon them, particularly as they relate to environmental education. Further analysis summarises the challenges faced by both programs and initiatives taken to advance Aboriginal educational goals. Finally, recommendations are made as to the types of changes which may be undertaken to realise creative spaces for resistance and creativity.

Miss Ungunmerr has graciously consented to our publication of the following extracts from “Nature of Aboriginal Children”, the manuscript of which she is preparing for publication by the Northern Territory Education Department.

Contemporary scholarly critique in Indigenous research spaces has tended to focus on binary dualities, including the purpose of Indigenous-focused research, and the legitimacy of researcher identity, research knowledge and truth. Yet, perhaps unintentionally, such interrogation has led to the continued (re)construction and maintenance of false race-based dichotomies. In this paper, one way in which we seek to step beyond binary race-based discourses is by advocating for the advancement of cross-cultural research practices that interweave traditional and contemporary communication practices. We put forward the case that by knitting together Eurocentric and Indigenous research methodologies, Lawrence-Lightfoot's (2005, Qualitative Inquiry 11, 3–15) portraiture method, and Aboriginal practices of storytelling/yarning, the cross-cultural oral narrative portraiture method enables co-construction of more holistic, culturally nuanced and responsive stories, where meaning, context and reason resonate. In the 21st century research space, we open dialogue for thinking about data as stories, and advocate for contemporary intercultural research processes that are inclusive, engaging and promote co-construction of narratives for storying.

This article draws on data from a research study (Torepe, 2011) that investigated the lived experiences of six Māori teachers who recently graduated from the Hōaka Pounamu (Graduate Diploma in Immersion and Bilingual Teaching) course at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. The primary objective was to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences and various challenges confronting this group of experienced Māori language teachers working in English-medium, state-funded schools. This article describes the qualitative research methodology that was underpinned by a Kaupapa Māori narrative research philosophy. It then explains why the study's findings support and strengthen those of previous studies conducted in Australia. Most notably, they draw attention to the concept of cultural taxation and the Crown's principles for action on the Treaty of Waitangi. Given the large number of Māori children attending Australian schools and similar challenges confronting Indigenous Australian teachers, this research will be of interest to an Australian audience.

In 2016, data was collected from eighty-one Indigenous young people in Australia through surveys and focus groups, which provide insight into the experiences of citizenship and democracy by young Indigenous Australians. This paper examines the attitudes of these young Indigenous Australians in relation to conventional political, economic and cultural domains of citizenship. Discussion highlights young Indigenous Australians’ perceptions of their spheres of influence, as well as their perceptions of the barriers and enablers to influence their worlds. The findings are used to critically interrogate the concept of democratic citizenship through recent scholarly lenses including the following: affective and spatial dimensions of citizenship; resilience and identity; and daily acts of citizenship. Connection to the local community is important to many of the young Indigenous participants in this study. This sends a powerful message to educational practitioners and policy makers: The local is a key site in positively shaping the democratic citizenship of young people, with an opportunity for schools and educational activities in local settings to play a central role.

For more than 3 decades governments and education systems have struggled to address the gaps in educational outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Over the past 10 years it has become increasingly apparent that central to redressing these gaps is the development of teachers who are able to effectively engage with Indigenous students, their families and communities. The introduction of National Professional Standards has increased the focus on the development of pre-service teachers’ capacity to effectively teach Indigenous students. In 2008, the New South Wales Department of Education (DET) and four universities implemented an enhanced teacher training program (ETTP) that was delivered to final-year primary pre-service teachers. The success and continuing expansion of this program, coupled with the current national focus on building pre-service teachers’ capacity to teach Indigenous students, suggests it is timely to detail the critical design features of, and rationale for, this program to inform and support development of similar programs within pre-service teacher education. The article reports on four critical elements of the program: knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal history and culture; effective cross-cultural communication skills; holistic understanding of Aboriginal education and strategies required for improving Aboriginal student outcomes; and appropriate pedagogy and classroom management strategies.

I would like to begin by providing a context that can be used to place my discussion about experiences at a remote school in the Northern Territory (NT) into perspective.

In the NT 53% of schools are located in remote areas and these cater for up to 23% of NT students (Combe, 2000). The NT has the highest proportion of Indigenous students enrolled in schools with 35.2% of the overall student population identifying as Indigenous Australian (Collins, 1999). The next closest state is Western Australia with an Indigenous student enrollment average of 5.1 %, this is compared with a national average of 3.2%.

This paper reports on the use of touch screens to display simple talking books in a minority Indigenous Australian language. Three touch screens are located in an informal context in a remote Indigenous Australian community. The popularity of the computers can be explained by the form of the touch screen and by the intertextual and hybrid nature of the talking books. The results suggest the Kunibídji choose to transform their own culture by including new digital technologies which represent their social practice.

Among the many controversies associated with learning styles, perhaps the most explosive is the relationship being explored by researchers between learning style and cultural background.

A child picks up all words by listening to somebody at home (relatives) or a teacher in school. Children first learn from their parents. Mother teaches children by saying words bit by bit until the children really can understand their own tongue and the meanings of these words. In the same way teachers write words on the blackboard, say them and then explain to the children while the children listen.

This listening/hearing is the most important thing for the children. When teachers give a lesson they must first explain which part of the habitat they will talk about. Let the children listen to you carefully and give them a good explanation about these habitats around them. Prepare all the materials that you are going to use such as charts, pictures, slides, library books, if you are staying in the classroom. Prepare for an excursion if that is your lesson plan. Show these things, explain what you are talking about to give the children a better understanding, so they will remember this information.

The other important thing for the children to do, apart from listening, is for them to talk. There is only one way for the teacher to know if the children understand the lesson. The teacher must ask questions to see if the children know the answers. The teacher must ask the children to talk about the topic to see if they can memorize the information and use the science skills (see Skills section).

This article is the second of a two-part series on Torres Strait Islander children whose families have settled on the Queensland mainland. Here I discuss some of the language difficulties of these children. The first part, dealing with their language backgrounds, appeared in Vol.12 No.3, June/July 1984.

Storytelling is an integral part of life for Indigenous Australians. Before the arrival of Europeans and continuing after; gathered around the campfire in the evening stories were and are still shared; passed from one generation to the next. In modern times, in addition to a continuing oral traditions, another method of storytelling has risen from the ashes of the fire: filmmaking and multi-media production. In the past stories were verbally passed from one family member to the next. Sometimes these “yarns” were presented on a “message stick” and the modern form of the traditional message stick is the DVD or the internet. This paper will examine the importance and crucial element of re-representation of images, archives or productions that have in the past, and in the majority, portrayed Indigenous cultures and communities in a derogatory or less than flattering manner. Further, it will explain the main factors for appropriate manifestation of Indigenous perspectives within any film production that is portraying or capturing Indigenous individuals, narratives and/or communities. The paper relates the key elements that must be in place to ensure appropriate and robust Indigenous agency in any film production. Finally, the paper concludes with an affirmation of the need to creatively engage in the third space; between Indigenous values and priorities and Western formats and narrative structures, to arrive at a uniquely modern Indigenous telling that is accessible, firstly to Indigenous Australians, and secondly, to those with whom we wish to share our stories.

The current study considers grade repetition rates in the early years of school, Preparatory (Prep) to Year 3, in Queensland state schools, of which there is a significant gap in the Australian research literature. Data accessed from the Queensland Government's Department of Education and Training (DET), shows that particular groups of students are more at risk of being repeated in the preschool/Prep year. These groups include boys and until recently, non-Indigenous students. However, the most recent data collected in 2009 shows that Indigenous students are more at risk of being repeated in all early years of schooling. As grade repetition has been shown to have limited value, it remains a concern that this intervention practice continues to be offered to students, and in particular Indigenous students, who may already be educationally disadvantaged. While grade repetition rates are low in Queensland state schools, the possible negative academic, social and emotional consequences for students who are repeated warrants serious re-evaluation of this long-term, early intervention practice in Australian schools.

This case study details the impacts of an Aboriginal-led adult literacy campaign in Brewarrina between 2015 and 2017. Forming part of a wider investigation into literacy as a social determinant of health, the study explores the relationship between involvement in the literacy campaign and the capacity of graduates to take greater control of the conditions affecting their lives. Empowerment is used here as the central explanatory construct despite robust criticism of theoretical slippage. We argue that empowerment remains relevant particularly in the context of ongoing and entrenched disenfranchisement of the low-literate in Australian Aboriginal communities. Drawing on in-depth ‘yarning’ interviews, we find strong evidence of individual empowerment among graduates of the adult literacy campaign, particularly in terms of increased self-control and confidence. However, collective change such as increased participation and organisation at the community level is less apparent. This finding underscores two important aspects of empowerment. Firstly, like learning to read and write, the task of regaining personal and collective power can be a slow and difficult undertaking. Secondly, achieving empowerment is intimately linked to addressing the causes of disempowerment. This ultimately means tackling those power relations which impact choices, opportunities and well-being beyond the borders of individual's lives and communities.

The following article by Mr Harris discusses in detail the history of Aboriginal education in New South Wales. Readers from New South Wales will certainly find this extremely interesting and, indeed, the perspective that Mr Harris offers will deepen their insights into the educational status of Aboriginals today. Readers from other states will, I am sure, also find it very illuminating; in many ways the New South Wales scene was similar to that in other parts of Australia. (Ed.)