Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T03:43:24.829Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Childhood abuse or trauma: A racial perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2019

Janine Oldfield Open the ORCID record for Janine Oldfield [Opens in a new window]  and
Theresa Jackson
Janine Oldfield*
Affiliation:
Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Batchelor, Northern Territory 0845, Australia
Theresa Jackson
Affiliation:
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Janine Oldfield, Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Racial trauma describes the emotional trauma and associated psychiatric reactions, such as distress and compromised well-being, which arise from perceived incidences of racism. It is an emerging psychological paradigm that is intimately linked to state-based policy measures such as child removal. Racial trauma is also deeply institutionalised in Australia’s education system as a consequence of the focus on dominant (white Standard Australian English speaking) culture, language, literacy and numeracy standards. Despite receiving little recognition in mental health work or the education sector, the effects of such trauma are profound and can account for the high rates of suicide and social dysfunction that we see in remote Indigenous communities as well as the low academic achievement and English language acquisition rates in Aboriginal students. This paper presents a literature review related to publications that scrutinise the relationship between racism in policy and schools and racial trauma, drawing on some research findings by one of the authors. It suggests alternative Indigenous pedagogies that can both mitigate and remove racial trauma from the school environment and lead to successful academic outcomes and well-being for Aboriginal students.

Keywords

Racial traumaracial discriminationindigenous education
Type
Review Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 42 - 48
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alvarez, A., Milner, R., & Delale-O’Connor, L. (2016). Race, trauma, and education. In Husband, T. (Ed.), But I don’t see color (pp. 27–40). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anders-Baer, L., Henrik-Magga, O., Dunbar, R., & Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2008). Forms of education of Indigenous children as crimes against humanity? New York, NY: United Nations Economic and Social Council. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/E_C19_2008_7.pdfGoogle Scholar
Anderson, P. (2013, July 27–28). Racism a driver of ill health, opinion. The Weekend Australian. Retrieved from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011). Culture, heritage and leisure: Speaking Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander languages. Cat no. 4725.0. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/Lookup/4725.0Chapter220Apr%202011Google Scholar
Barker, A. (2012). Locating settler colonialism. Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, 13(3). Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/491173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bondy, E., Ross, D., Gallingane, C., & Hambacher, E. (2007). Creating environments of success and resilience: Culturally responsive classroom management and more. Urban Education, 42(4), 326–348. doi: 10.1177/0042085907303406CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bow, C., Christie, M., & Devlin, B. (2014). Developing a living archive of Aboriginal languages. Language Documentation & Conservation, 8, 345–360. Retrieved from http://espace.cdu.edu.au/eserv/cdu:42475/Bow_42475.pdf.Google Scholar
Bryant-Davis, T., & Ocampo, C. (2006). A therapeutic approach to the treatment of racist-incident-based trauma. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 6(4), 1–22. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J135v06n04_01CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butts, H. (2002). The black mask of humanity: Racial/ethnic discrimination and post-traumatic stress disorder – Editorial. Journal of American Psychiatry and the Law, 30(3), 336–339. Retrieved from http://jaapl.org/content/30/3/336Google Scholar
Carnes, R. (2014). Unsettling white noise: Yarning about Aboriginal education in Western Australian prisons. (PhD thesis)., Murdoch University, Perth. Retrieved from http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/22255/2/02whole.pdfGoogle Scholar
Carter, R. (2007). Racism and psychological and emotional injury: Recognizing and assessing race-based traumatic stress. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(1), 13–105. doi: 10.1177/0011000006292033CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, R., & Forsyth, J. (2009). A guide to the forensic assessment of race-based traumatic stress reactions. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 37(1), 28–40. Retrieved from http://jaapl.org/content/jaapl/37/1/28.full.pdfGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clarke, M. (2012). Talkin’ ‘bout a revolution: The social, political, and fantasmatic logics of education policy. Journal of Education Policy, 27(2), 173–191. doi: 10.1080/02680939.2011.623244CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummins, J. (1996). Negotiating identities: Education for empowerment in a diverse society. Ontario, CA: California Association for Bilingual Education.Google Scholar
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Clevedon, Buffalo, Toronto, Sydney: Multilingual Matters Ltd.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunneen, C., & Libesman, T. (2016). Postcolonial trauma: The contemporary removal of Indigenous children and young people from their families in Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 35(2), 99–115. doi: 10.1002/j.1839-4655.2000.tb01088.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daniels-Mayes, S. (2016). Culturally responsive pedagogies of success: Improving educational outcomes for Australian Aboriginal students (PhD thesis). University of South Australia, Adelaide. Retrieved from http://search.ror.unisa.edu.au/record/UNISA_ALMA11145960000001831/media/digital/open/9916134712001831/12145959990001831/13145959980001831/pdfGoogle Scholar
Devlin, B., Disbray, S., & Devlin, N. (Eds.). (2017). History of bilingual education in the Northern Territory: People, programs and policies. Singapore: Springer Singapore.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dockery, A. M. (2010). Culture and wellbeing: The case of Indigenous Australians. Social Indicators Research, 99(2), 315–332. doi: 10.1007/s11205-010-9582-yCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunbar, R., & Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2008). Forms of education of Indigenous children as crimes against humanity? Salem, OR: The Akha Heritage Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.akha.org/content/education/formsofeducationasacrimelong.htmlGoogle Scholar
Everyingham, S. (2017, February 13). Aboriginal child protection laws being ‘broken’ by NT Government: Member for Nhulunbuy. ABC News. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-13/member-for-nhulunbuy-speaks-out-on-child-removals/8267100Google Scholar
Fogarty, W. (2013). Indigenous education – Policy, pedagogy and place. In Craven, R., Dillon, A., & Parbury, N. (Eds.), In Black & White, Australians all at the crossroads (pp. 247–266). Ballan Victoria: Connor Court Publishing.Google Scholar
Fogarty, W., & Kraal, I. (2011). Indigenous language education in remote communities. CAEPR Topical Issue, 102(11), 1–12. Retrieved from http://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/TI2011_11_Fogarty_Kral_language_0.pdfGoogle Scholar
Fogarty, W., & Schwab, R. G. (2012). Indigenous education: Experiential learning and learning though country (CARPR Working Paper, 2012(80/2012)), 1–24. Retrieved from http://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/WP_80_Fogarty_Schwab_0.pdfGoogle Scholar
Franklin, A. J., Boyd-Franklin, N., & Kelly, S. (2006). Racism and invisibility. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 6(2–3), 9–30. doi: 10.1300/J135v06n02_02CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanssens, L. (2016). The impact of suicide contagion and intergenerational segregation on youth and young adults in remote Indigenous communities in Northern Territory, Australia. Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal, 40, 38–47. Retrieved from https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=787819101527890;res=IELAPAGoogle Scholar
Heath, S. B. (2008). Foreword. In Simpson, J. & Wigglesworth, G. (Eds.), Children’s Language and Multilingualism: Indigenous Language Use at Home and School (pp. ix–xiii). London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Hoogenraad, R. (2001). Critical reflections on the history of bilingual education in Central Australia. In Simpson, J. N., Lauphren, D. M., Austin, P., & Alpher, B. (Eds.), Forty years on: Ken Hale and Australian languages (pp. 123–150). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics Research School or Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian University.Google Scholar
Hunter, S. V. (2008). Child maltreatment in remote Aboriginal communities and the Northern Territory Emergency Response: A complex issue. Australian Social Work, 61(4), 372–388. doi: 10.1080/03124070802430700CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jernigan, M., & Daniel, J. H (2011). Racial trauma in the lives of black children and adolescents: Challenges and clinical implications. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 4(2), 123–141. doi: 10.1080/19361521.2011.574678CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kilman, C. (2009). Lonely language learners. Education Digest, 75(2), 16–20. Retrieved from https://ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbl&AN=RN258475341&site=eds-liveGoogle Scholar
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. doi: 10.3102/00028312032003465CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: a.k.a. the Remix. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 74–135. doi: 10.17763/haer.84.1.p2rj131485484751CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levine, P., Porges, S., & Phillips, M. (2015). Healing trauma and pain through polyvagal science: An e-book. Oakland, CA: Maggie Phillips. Retrieved from http://maggiephillipsphd.com/Polyvagal/EBookHealingTraumaPainThroughPolyvagalScience.pdfGoogle Scholar
Lewthwaite, B. E., Osborne, B., Lloyd, N., Boon, H., Llewellyn, L., Webber, T., . . . Wills, J. (2015). Seeking a pedagogy of difference: What Aboriginal students and their parents in North Queensland say about teaching and their learning. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(5), 132–159. doi: 10.14221/ajte.2015v40n5.8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lingard, B. (2007). Pedagogies of indifference. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11(3), 245–266. doi: 10.1080/13603110701237498CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lo Bianco, J. (2001). From policy to anti-policy: How fear of language rights took policy-making out of community hands. In Lo Bianco, J. & Wickert, R. (Eds.), Australian Policy Activism in Language and Literacy (pp. 13–44). Melbourne: Language Australia Ltd.Google Scholar
Luning, R., & Yamauchi, L. (2010). The influences of Indigenous heritage language education on students and families in a Hawaiian language immersion program. Heritage Language Journal, 7(2), 207–236. Retrieved from http://international.ucla.edu/media/files/luning-yamauchi-hlj.pdfGoogle Scholar
Magga, O. H., Nicolaisen, M., Trask, N., Skutnabb-Kangas, T., & Dunbar, R. (2005). Indigenous children’s education and Indigenous languages. Retrieved from http://www.tove-skutnabb-kangas.org/pdf/PFII_Expert_paper_1_Education_final.pdfGoogle Scholar
Malcolm, I. G. (2003). English language and literacy development and home language support: Connections and directions in working with Indigenous students. TESOL in Context, 13(1), 5–18. Retrieved from https://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=629862681435224;res=IELHSSGoogle Scholar
Marmion, D., Obata, K., & Troy, J. (2014). Community, identity, wellbeing: The report of the Second National Indigenous Languages Survey. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Studies.Google Scholar
May, S. (2012). Language and minority rights: Ethnicity, nationalism and the politics of language (2nd edn). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
May, S., Hill, R., & Tiakiwai, S. (2006). Bilingual education in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Key findings from bilingual/immersion education: Indicators of good practice. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education Wahangua Mahi Ranahau Research Division. Retrieved from https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/6957/bilingual-education.pdfGoogle Scholar
McCarty, T., & Lee, T. (2014). Critical culturally sustaining/revitalizing pedagogy and Indigenous education sovereignty. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 101–124. doi: 10.17763/haer.84.1.q83746nl5pj34216CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mufwene, S. (2002). Colonisation, globalisation, and the future of language in the twenty-first century. International Journal on Multicultural Societies, 4(2), 162–193. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001387/138795E.pdf#page=17Google Scholar
Murphy, D. (2017, June 20). Child abuse reports double since Northern Territory intervention. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/child-abuse-reports-double-since-northern-territory-intervention-20170619-gwu3vl.htmlGoogle Scholar
Nicholls, C. (2005). Death by a thousand cuts: Indigenous language bilingual education programmes in the Northern Territory of Australia, 1972–1998. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 8(2–3), 160–177. doi: 10.1080/13670050508668604CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Northern Territory Department of Education (1986). Team teaching in Aboriginal schools in the Northern Territory. Darwin: Department of Education.Google Scholar
Northern Territory Department of Education (2018). Enrolment and attendance. Retrieved from https://education.nt.gov.au/education/statistics-research-and-strategies/enrolment-and-attendanceGoogle Scholar
Ober, R. (2009). Both-ways: Learning from yesterday, celebrating today, strengthening tomorrow. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 38(Suppl.), 34–39. doi: 10.1375/S1326011100000806CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldfield, J. (2016). Anangu Muru Wunka – Talking Black Fella: A critical policy analysis of the Northern Territory compulsory teaching in English for the first four hours of each school day (PhD thesis).University of Melbourne, Melbourne. Retrieved from https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/168287Google Scholar
Oldfield, J., & Willsher, M. (2017). Aboriginal worlds in the Western Academy. In Shore, S. (Ed.), Traders, neighbours and intruders: Points of contact (pp. 91–100). Canberra, ACT & Darwin, NT: Australian Council for Adult Literacy Inc. and Charles Darwin University. Retrieved from http://www.acal.edu.au/conference/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2017-ACAL-e-proceedings-double_sided-web-min.pdfGoogle Scholar
Preston, L. (2015). The place of place-based education in the Australian primary geography curriculum. Geographical Education, 28, 41–49. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1085985.pdfGoogle Scholar
Reilly, A. (2013). Confusion of tongues: Constitutional recognition of languages and language rights in Australia. Federal Law Review, 41(2), 333–362. Retrieved from http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/fedlr41&collection=journals&index=journals/fedlr333&id=333CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reisigl, M., & Wodak, R. (2009). The discourse-historical approach. In Wodak, R. & Meyers, M. (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp. 88–121). London: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Sanders-Phillips, K. (2009). Racial discrimination: A continuum of violence exposure for children of colour. Clinical Child and Family Psychological Review, 12(2), 174–95. doi: 10.1007/s10567-009-0053-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sellwood, J., & Angelo, D. (2013). Everywhere and nowhere: Invisibility of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contact languages in education and Indigenous language contexts. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 36(3), 250–266. doi: 10.1075/aral.36.3.02selCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tollefson, J. (2006). Critical theory in language policy. In Ricento, T. (Ed.), An introduction to language policy theory and method (pp. 42–56). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
USA National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2017). Addressing race and trauma in the classroom: A resource for educators. Los Angeles, CA: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Retrieved from https://www.nctsn.org/resources/addressing-race-and-trauma-classroom-resource-educatorsGoogle Scholar
Veracini, L. (2007). Settler colonialism and de-colonisation. Borderlands E-Journal, 6(2). Retrieved from http://www.borderlands.net.au/vol6no2_2007/veracini_settler.htm.Google Scholar
Wilkins, D. (2008, October). W(h)ither language, culture and education in remote Indigenous communities of the Northern Territory? Australian Review of Public Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.australianreview.net/digest/2008/10/wilkins.htmlGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, M., & Bradbury, J. (2013). Number and two languages in the early years: Report on a project with paraprofessional Indigenous teachers in two NT Northeast Arnhem Yolnu schools. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 36(3), 335–354. doi: 10.1075/aral.36.3.07wilCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, W., & Kamana, K. (2011). Insights from Indigenous language immersion in Hawai’i. In Tedick, D., Christian, D., & Williams Fortune, T. (Eds.), Immersion education: Practices, policies, possibilities (pp. 36–57). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfe, P. (2006). Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native. Journal of Genocide Research, 8(4), 387–409. doi: 10.1080/14623520601056240CrossRefGoogle Scholar