“I Wanted to Go to School but My Parents Told Me, 'No
“I wanted to go to school but my parents told me, 'No they might take you away for good.' And they ran away in the bush.
Bonny Tucker, Punjima woman, Western Australia”.
(She refers to the Native Welfare taking away Aboriginal children of mixed descent. www.creativespirits.info)
These mini essays will discuss Aboriginal Australian history and it’s connections to official education policies both past and present.
What is the connection between official education policies and key events in Aboriginal Australian history? How have Aboriginal people responded to these policies?
Key events in Aboriginal Australian history stem from the time Australia was first discovered in 1788. For instance, when Federation came into existence in 1901, there was a prevailing belief held by non Aboriginal Australians that the Aborigines were a dying race (Nichol, 2005:259) which resulted in the Indigenous people being excluded from the constitution except for two mentions – Section 127 excluded Aborigines from the census and Section 51, part 26, which allowed States to govern Aborigines rather than to the Federal Government (http://reconciliaction.org.au). Aboriginal people were officially excluded from the vote, public service, the Armed Forces and pensions. The White Australia policy was a group of historical policies that were initiated in response to regulate non-white immigrants but was also used to wield power over Indigenous Australians. By 1973 this policy was abolished (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Australia_policy ) .
Parbury (1999:64) states that Aboriginal education “cannot be separated” from the non-Aboriginal attitudes (racially based ethnocentricity that was especially British ie. white and Christian) towards Aborigines, their culture and their very existence. The Mission Schools are an early example of the connection between official education policies and key events in Aboriginal history. Aboriginal children were separated from their parents
Bonny Tucker, Punjima woman, Western Australia”.
(She refers to the Native Welfare taking away Aboriginal children of mixed descent. www.creativespirits.info)
These mini essays will discuss Aboriginal Australian history and it’s connections to official education policies both past and present.
What is the connection between official education policies and key events in Aboriginal Australian history? How have Aboriginal people responded to these policies?
Key events in Aboriginal Australian history stem from the time Australia was first discovered in 1788. For instance, when Federation came into existence in 1901, there was a prevailing belief held by non Aboriginal Australians that the Aborigines were a dying race (Nichol, 2005:259) which resulted in the Indigenous people being excluded from the constitution except for two mentions – Section 127 excluded Aborigines from the census and Section 51, part 26, which allowed States to govern Aborigines rather than to the Federal Government (http://reconciliaction.org.au). Aboriginal people were officially excluded from the vote, public service, the Armed Forces and pensions. The White Australia policy was a group of historical policies that were initiated in response to regulate non-white immigrants but was also used to wield power over Indigenous Australians. By 1973 this policy was abolished (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Australia_policy ) .
Parbury (1999:64) states that Aboriginal education “cannot be separated” from the non-Aboriginal attitudes (racially based ethnocentricity that was especially British ie. white and Christian) towards Aborigines, their culture and their very existence. The Mission Schools are an early example of the connection between official education policies and key events in Aboriginal history. Aboriginal children were separated from their parents
References: Committee, 2004). Health The association between education levels and health is well observed in the literature and was recently summarised by Professor Tony Vinson in his report (2002) on public education in New South Wales 2. halving the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade (2018), 3. ensuring all Indigenous four years olds in remote communities have access to early childhood education within five years (2013), 4. halving the gap for Indigenous students in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade (2018), 5. halving the gap for Indigenous students in Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates by 2020, and 6. halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians within a decade (2018).