Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-r6qrq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T01:08:44.880Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Understanding the Complex Work of Aboriginal Education Workers in Schools

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2017

Anne Price ,
Elizabeth Jackson-Barrett ,
Graeme Gower  and
Jan Herrington
Anne Price*
Affiliation:
School of Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
Elizabeth Jackson-Barrett
Affiliation:
School of Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
Graeme Gower
Affiliation:
School of Education, Edith Cowan Institute for Education Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
Jan Herrington
Affiliation:
School of Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Anne Price, School of Education, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia. Email: A.Price@murdoch.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

The work of Aboriginal Education Workers (AEWs) in Australian schools is complex and multifaceted, and yet it is often misunderstood, or worse, devalued. Added to this, the conditions of employment for many AEWs is often insecure, with minimal pay, few opportunities for career progression or meaningful professional development. Despite this there continues to be, as there have been for decades, research findings, policies and reports attesting to the invaluable role of AEWs in schools and communities. The theoretical standpoint of Nakata's (2007) ‘cultural interface’ is used in this paper to critically (re) examine the role of AEWs in Australian schools. Drawing from relevant past and contemporary literature, this paper draws attention to past and contemporary theorising and policy concerning the roles of AEWs. It asserts that if the work of AEWs is to be better understood and valued then it must be reconsidered in a more transformative way that benefits both the students and schools which they support.

Keywords

Aboriginal education workersAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educationteacher educationcultural interface
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , August 2019 , pp. 93 - 105
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2017 

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

Aboriginal Consultative Group. (1975). Education for Aborigines. Report to the schools commission by the Aboriginal consultative group. Retrieved from http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9463390?selectedversion=NBD10993225Google Scholar
Armour, D., Warren, E., & Miller, J. (2014). Confidence and professional learning: A case study of Indigenous teacher assistants attending professional learning. In Joint AARE-NZARE Conference Proceedings. Retrieved from http://www.aare.edu.au/publications-database.php/8953/confidence-and-professional-learning-a-case-study-of-indigenous-teacher-assistants-attending-professGoogle Scholar
Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority. (2015). Australian curriculum and reporting authority: Home page. Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/default.aspGoogle Scholar
Australian Education Union. (2009). Koories turn the key. Retrieved from www.aeuvic.asn.auGoogle Scholar
Australian Government. (1985). House of representatives select committee on Aboriginal education. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=/reports/1985/1985_PP357report.htmGoogle Scholar
Australian Government. (2009). The productivity commission. Retrieved from http://www.pc.gov.au/about/governance/annual-reports/annualreport0910Google Scholar
Australian Government. (2012) House of representatives. Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs inquiry into Indigenous Languages in Education report ‘Our Land, Our Languages. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_representatives_Committees?url=/atsia/languages2/report.htmGoogle Scholar
Australian Government. (2015). Closing the gap Prime Minister's report 2015. Retrieved from http://www.dpmc.gov.au/pmc-indigenous-affairs/publication/closing-gap-prime-ministers-report-2015Google Scholar
Australian Government. (2017). Closing the gap Prime Minister's report 2015. Retrieved from http://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2017.pdfGoogle Scholar
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2015). Australian professional standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachersGoogle Scholar
Beazley, K. (1977). The labor party in opposition and government. In Birch, I. K. F. & Smart, D. (Eds.), The commonwealth government and education 1964–1976: Political initiatives and developments (pp. 94–119). Melbourne, Victoria: Drummond.Google Scholar
Bennett, B., & Zubrzycki, J. (2003). Hearing the stories of Australian Aboriginal and torres strait Islander social workers: Challenging and educating the system. Australian Social Work, 56 (1), 61–70. doi: 10.1046/j.0312-407x.2003.00054.x.Google Scholar
Buckskin, P, Hignett, B., & Davis, C. (Ed). (1994). Ara Kuwaritjakutu project: towards a new way, stages 1 & 2: A research project into the working conditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education workers: report. Australia. Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET). Aboriginal Education Strategic Initiatives Programme & Australian Education Union (AEU) et al.Google Scholar
Clarke, M. (2000). Direction and support for new non-Aboriginal teachers in remote Aboriginal community schools in the Northern Territory. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 28 (2), 1–8.Google Scholar
Council of Australian Governments. (2008). Closing the gap in Indigenous disadvantage. Retrieved from https://www.coag.gov.au/closing_the_gap_in_indigenous_disadvantageGoogle Scholar
Craven, R. (Ed.) (2011). Teaching Aboriginal studies: A practical resource for primary and secondary teaching (2nd ed.). Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Creative Spirits. (ND). Retrieved from http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/language/too-little-aboriginal-bilingual-education#ixzz3qbRocxBvGoogle Scholar
Davis, C., Buckskin, P., & Woodberry, J. (1995). Ara kuwaritjakutu project: Towards a new way stage 3: A research project into the working conditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education workers, report. Australia. Dept. of Employment, Education and Training.Google Scholar
Department of Education. (2015). Aboriginal cultural standards framework. Perth, WA: Government of Western Australia. Retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/policy-planning-and-accountability/policies-framework/strategic-documents/aboriginal-cultural-standards-framework-.en?cat-id=3457058Google Scholar
Ewing, B. (2013). Funds of knowledge of sorting and patterning: Networks of exchange in a Torres Strait Island community. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 41 (2), 131–138.Google Scholar
Fogarty, B. (2014). Learning for the western world? The Indigenous education dilemma. Dusseldorp Forum. Retrieved from http://dusseldorp.org.au/learning-for-the-western-world-theindigenous-education-dilemmaGoogle Scholar
Foley, D. (2003). Indigenous epistemology and Indigenous standpoint theory [online]. Social Alternatives, 22 (1), 44–52. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=200305132;res=IELAPA. ISSN: 0155–0306.Google Scholar
Friere, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed (30th Anniversary ed.).Google Scholar
Gervasoni, A., Hodges, L., Croswell, M., & Parish, L. (2011). Insights from Aboriginal Teaching Assistants about the impact of bridging the numeracy gap project in a Kimberley Catholic school. Retrieved from http://www.merga.net.au/node/38?year=2011Google Scholar
Giroux, H. (2010). Lessons from Paulo Freire. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Lessons-From-Paulo-Freire/124910/Google Scholar
Gower, G., Partington, G., Byrne, M., Galloway, A., Weissofner, N., Ferguson, N., & Kirov, E. (2011). Review of the Aboriginal and Islander education officer programme. Perth, WA: Department of Education Western Australia.Google Scholar
Grande, S. (2015). Red pedagogy: Native American social and political thought — 10th anniversary edition. Langham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.Google Scholar
Green, N.J. (2004). Access, equality and opportunity: The education of Aboriginal children in W.A. 1870–1978. Australia: Murdoch University.Google Scholar
Harrison, N. (2011). Teaching and learning in Aboriginal education (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Howard, D. (2004). Why we need more Aboriginal Adults working with Aboriginal students. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 29 (1), 1–8.Google Scholar
Institute of Koorie Education. (n.d.). Why Indigenous education programmes cannot succeed without a critically reflective teaching practice. Professional Voice, 4 (3), 19–22.Google Scholar
Lowell, A., & Devlin, B. (1998). Miscommunication between Aboriginal students and their non-Aboriginal teachers in a bilingual school. Language, Culture and the Curriculum, 11 (3), 367–389.Google Scholar
MacGill, B. (2008). Aboriginal education workers in South Australia: Towards equality of recognition of Indigenous ethics of care practices: A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. School of Australian studies, Faculty of Education, Humanities, Law and Theology, Flinders University.Google Scholar
Marcuse, H. (1964). One dimensional man: Studies in the Ideology of advanced industrial society. Retrieved from http://www.marcuse.org/herbert/pubs/64onedim/odmcontents.html 6th July 2016.Google Scholar
McGowan-Jones (personal communication), November 2015Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2004). Some thoughts on the literacy issues in Indigenous contexts. Curriculum Leadership, 2 (20). Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/some_thoughts_on_the_literacy_issues_in_indigenous,4635.html?issueID=9691Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2007). The cultural interface. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36 (Suppl. S1). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1326011100004646.Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2010). The cultural interface of Islander and scientific knowledge. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39 (Suppl.), 53–57.Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2014). Disciplining the savages: Savaging the disciplines. Canberra, ACT: Aboriginal Studies Press.Google Scholar
National Indigenous Reform Agreement. (2017). Identifying and definitional attributes. Australian Government, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from http://meteor.aihw.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/645344Google Scholar
Penny, H. (1976). The training of Pitjantatjara Aborigines for greater teaching responsibilities in tribal Aboriginal schools. Report and recommendations to the Education Department of South Australia, Education Department of south Australia, Adelaide.Google Scholar
Productivity Commission. (2012). Schools workforce, research report, Canberra. JEL code: I21, I28, J24. Retrieved from http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/education-workforce-schools/report/schools-workforce.pdfGoogle Scholar
Rose, M. (2015). The ‘silent apartheid’ as the practioner's blind spot. In Price, K. (Ed.), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An introduction for the teaching profession (2nd ed., pp. 66–82). Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sarra, C. (2011). Strong and smart: Towards a pedagogy for emancipation. Oxon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Smith, L.T. (1999). Decolonising methodologies: Research and Indigenous peoples. Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago Press.Google Scholar
Treacy, K., Frid, S., & Jacob, L. (2014). Starting points and pathways in Aboriginal students’ learning of number: Recognising different worldviews. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 27, 263–281. doi: 10.1007/s13394-014-0123-x.Google Scholar
Warren, E., Cooper, T.J., & Baturo, A. (2004). Indigenous students and mathematics: Teacher perceptions of the role of teacher aides. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 33, 37–46.Google Scholar
Watts, B. (1971). The national workshop on Aboriginal education. Priorities for action and research, Department of Education, University of Queensland.Google Scholar
Winkler, M. (2006). Hidden treasures: Recognising the value of Indigenous educators. Education Horizons, 9 (2), 18–19.Google Scholar