Handbook : Unit informationEdith Cowan University

Faculty of Education and Arts

School: Kurongkurl Katitjin

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

• Unit Title

  Aboriginal Perspectives on Schooling

• Unit Code

  ACS2125

• Year

  2015

• Enrolment Period

  1

• Version

  1

• Credit Points

  15

• Full Year Unit

  N

• Mode of Delivery

  Online

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Description

The aim of this unit is the understanding of how the Indigenous peoples of Australia are both taught and represented in schools, and how in turn, the various Indigenous groups respond to these policies. Attention will be given to matters of curriculum, teaching and learning policies and to the involvement of Indigenous parents, communities and agencies in the classroom, schools and bureaucratic and administrative organisations in Australia.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Describe and analyse school cultures in a variety of settings.
2. Describe the diversity of Indigenous cultures in Australia.
3. Develop awareness of successful alternative approaches to the schooling of Indigenous students.
4. Discuss the notion of "the good student" and implications for the schooling of Indigenous students.
5. Distinguish between education and schooling.
6. Explain the school experiences of Indigenous students.
7. Explain the social functions of schooling and its centrality to the dominant culture.
8. Identify representations of Indigenous people in the curriculum.
9. Outline current and historical experiences of Aboriginal people in relation to schooling.
10. Outline perceptions of schooling among Indigenous and non- Indigenous people.

Unit Content

1. Alternative approaches to schooling for Indigenous people.
2. Curriculum content in relation to Indigenous people.
3. Definitions: Culture, education, schooling, socialisation, assimilation, cultural capital.
4. Diversity of Indigenous cultures.
5. Perceptions of schooling by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
6. Power and politics of schooling; structure of power relations in particular school.
7. School cultures in urban, rural, remote and diverse socioeconomic settings, including values, structures and curricula.
8. Students in schools; historical and contemporary examination of the experiences of Indigenous students.
9. The school as an integral component of the dominant culture.

Additional Learning Experience Information

Unit material is presented in lectures, field excursions, workshops, seminars, tutorials and educational videos.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

Text References

• ^ Keeffe, K. (1992). From the centre to the city: Aboriginal education, culture and power. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
• ^ Partington, G. (Ed.). (1998). Perspectives on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. Katoomba, NSW: Social Science Press.
• Connell, R. W., et al. (1983). Making the difference: Schools, families and social division. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
• Green, N. (1983). Desert school. Fremantle, WA: Fremantle Arts Press.
• Groome, H., & Hamilton, A. (1995). Meeting the educational needs of Aboriginal adolescents. National Board of Employment, Education and Training Commissioned Report No. 35. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Services.
• Haebich, A. (1992). For their own good: Aborigines and government in the south west of Western Australia 1900-1940. Perth: University of Western Australia Press.
• Jacobs, P. (1990). Mister Neville. Fremantle, WA: Fremantle Arts Press.
• Bamblett, P. (1993). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in urban classrooms. Brisbane: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit.
• Ainley, J., Batten, M., Collins, S., & Withers, G. (1998). Schools and the social development of young Australians. Canberra: ACER Press.
• Harris, S. (1990). Two way Aboriginal schooling: Education and cultural survival. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
• Niall, B., & Britain, I. (1998). The Oxford book of Australian school days. Oxford: United Kingdom. Oxford University Press.
• Marginson, S. (1997). Educating Australia: Government, economy and citizen since 1960. Cambridge: United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press.
• Lipka, J., Mohatt, G., & the Ciulistet Group. (1998). Transforming the culture of schools: Yup'ik Eskimo examples. Mahwah: USA. Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Levinson, B A., Foley, D E., & Holland, D C. (Eds.). (1996). The cultural production of the educated person: Critical ethnographies of schooling and local practice. New York: USA. State University of New York Press.
• Hartman, D., & Henderson, J. (Eds.). (1994). Aboriginal languages in education. Alice Springs: Australia. IAD Press.

Journal References

• Curriculum Perspectives and Australian Curriculum Journal.
• British Journal of Sociology of Education.
• Anthropology and Education Quarterly.
• International Review of Education.
• The Aboriginal Child at School (Now titled The Australian Journal for Indigenous Education).

^ Mandatory reference

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