- The gap in education outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students has narrowed over the years, but still remains./
- Some experts believe that embracing First Nations-led and cultural education initiatives will improve education outcomes for all children./
- A Year 12 graduate credits teacher support and connection with culture through school for her academic milestone.//
It's highlighted policies like the exclusion on demand policies introduced in the early 20th century& where non-Indigenous families could demand the removal of Aboriginal kids from classrooms./
Sharon Davis, CEO of NATSIEC Source: Supplied / Sharon Davis
In 2008, the Australian government issued a formal apology to Indigenous Australians for the mistreatment they endured, particularly the forced removal of children from their families, communities, and Country. As part of this apology, a pledge was made to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in various areas of life, including education. A key goal of what is now the National Agreement on Closing the Gap is reforming the way governments work with First Nations people and communities to overcome inequality, such as committing to building the community-controlled sector./ We know that Aboriginal community-controlled organisations are the most sustainable way to address the needs of communities, Davis says./ And where our people lead education, we see better engagement, better outcomes, and stronger pathways for our young people./
Could cultural education be the way forward?/
Dr Anthony McKnight is an Awabakal, Gameroi and Yuin man, working at the University of Wollongongs Woolyungah Indigenous Centre.// He has spent many years teaching and researching how to embed Aboriginal pedagogy in curriculum, policy, and practice. Dr McKnight believes we need to reframe what closing the gap means in Indigenous education./ For me, if you got a spectrum there, you've got Aboriginal education and Western education and then the Aboriginal student in between./ He says closing the gap initiatives typically aim to bring the student closer to the Western education end of the spectrum./ But it leaves a massive gap back to their own education system./ For me it should be about the Aboriginal child in the middle and then the two knowledges come together to that middle ground. Our students have got to be skilled to be able to live in both knowledge systems./
Dr McKnight has spent years teaching and researching how to embed Aboriginal pedagogy in curriculum, policy, and practice. Source: Supplied / MichaelDavidGray
Dr McKnight believes its important to popularise education practices that bring the Western education and Indigenous knowledge systems together for children to learn about the land they live on and how to care for it./ Trying to look after not just Aboriginal children, but non-Aboriginal children in taking care of this place& Its the entity that provides us with everything we need and we all walk the same land, drink the same water, breathe the same air./
Equality of education outcomesa roadmap in progress//
For example, the retention rates of Indigenous students in secondary school currently sits at 59 per cent compared to non-Indigenous students which is around 85 per cent, Davis says./ And when we see gaps in outcomes, that's more a reflection of how education has failed to serve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and young people, learners, not the other way around./
Retori Lane (L) with her mother, Jenadel Lane. Source: Supplied / Retori Lane
Last year, Gamilaroi young woman Retori Lane celebrated her HSC completion at Dubbo Senior College.// She is part of the largest-ever cohort of Indigenous students to complete Year 12 in New South Wales. Ms Lane says a supportive learning environment made all the difference. Her support network included school staff, Indigenous teachers and workers from the National Aboriginal Sports Corporation Australia (NASCA) , an organisation running programs across NSW and the Northern Territory helping Indigenous students connect to culture and succeed in school. I definitely had a lot of support from especially all the staff, she says. And also the NASCA workers. They'd come, they'd take you to lessons, they'd help you all the way through. And then the teachers were just there to help with anything. Retoris mother, Jenadel, is Deputy Principal at Dubbo Senior College where her daughter graduated, and the first in her family to go to university.// She believes tailored support and a culturally sensitive environment empowers all students to get the best out of their education./ I'm passionate about getting Aboriginal kids that complete Year 12, because that's my little bit that I can contribute to my mob, that's why I became a teacher.// And then hopefully that'll open up the floodgates for them for life after school./ Retori will study a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Indigenous studies. Trying to get myself in a position to educate other Indigenous kids that have lost it through generations./So, hopefully help be part of the process to revive the culture, bring it back to life. /
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Page 2
- A Year 12 graduate credits teacher support and connection with culture through school for her academic milestone.
ኰይኑ ግና ፡ ኣብ ውጽኢት ትምህርቲ ዘይማዕርነት ይርአ ኣሎ ። እቶም ደቀባት ተመሃሮ ፡ ኣብ ትምህርቲ ዝተሓተ ተሳትፎ ፡ መጠን ምንባብን ኣሃዝ ምውሳኽን ፡ ከምኡ እውን ትሑት ተሳትፎ ኣብ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ኣለዎም ። እዚ ብሰንኪ ታሪኻውን ቀጻልን ረቛሒታት ከም ኣድልዎ ፡ ኣብ ባህሊ ንኹሉ ዘካትት ትምህርቲ ዘይምሃብ ፡ ከምኡ "ውን ኣብ ማሕበረ-ኢኮኖምያዊ ጸገም ምውዳቕ እዩ ።
Sharon Davis, CEO of NATSIEC Source: Supplied / Sharon Davis
ብ2008 ፡ መንግስቲ ኣውስትራሊያ ነቶም ኣብ ልዕሊ ደቀባት ተወለድቲ ኣውስትራሊያውያን ዝበጽሖም ግፍዒ ፡ ብፍላይ ድማ ንህጻናት ካብ ስድራኦምን ሕብረተሰቦምን ሃገሮምን ንኽውገዱ ዝገበረ ፖሊሲ ዝምልከት ወግዓዊ ይቕረታ ሓቲቱ ። ከም ኣካል ናይዚ ይቕረታ እዚ ኣብ መንጎ ደቀባትን ደቀባት ዘይኮኑ ኣውስትራሊያዊያን ዘሎ ጋግ ንምዕጻው ኣብ ዝተፈላለየ ከባቢታት ናይ ሂወት እንክላይ ኣብ ትምህርቲን ዘሎ ጋግ ንምጽባብ ተሰሪሑ እዩ ።
ሻሮን ደቪስ ካብ ባርዲን ኪጃን ሰብ ኮይን: ናይ ኮርፖረሽን ሃገራዊ ናይ ኣቦርጂንን ቶረስ ስትረንቲን ትምህርቲ NATSIEC) ቀንዲ ኣካያዲት እያ ።
ንሳቶም ከምዝብልዎ ፡ ብዛዕባ እቲ ኣብ ህጻናት ፡ ኣብ ትምህርቲ ዘሎ ጋግ ብኸመይ ክዓጽዎ ከምዘለዎ ክመያየጡ ከለው ፡ ብዛዕባ እቲ ኣብ ልዕሊ ደቀባት ተወለድቲ ኣደታት ዝወርድ ኣድልዎ ምፍላጥ ኣገዳሲ እዩ ።
ይኹን እምበር ፡ እቲ ቀንዲ ክፋል ሃገራዊ ስምምዕ ብዛዕባ ምዕጻው ጋግ ፡ መንግስታት ነቲ ኣብ ልዕሊ ተቐማጦ ደሴት ኣቦርጂንን ቶረስ ስትረዝን ዘሎ ዘይማዕርነት ንምስዓር ምስ ቀዳሞት ህዝብታትን ማሕበረሰባትን ዝስርሓሉ ዘሎ መገዲ ዘዐሪ እዩ ።
ሳሮን ዴቪስ ከም ሓባራዊ ውሳነ ምግባርን ንማሕበረሰብ ዝቈጻጸር ጽላት ኢንዱስቱሪ ምህናጽን ዝኣመሰለ ለውጥታት ኣገዳሲ ምዃኑ ትገልጽ ።
“ኣቦርጂናውያን ማሕበረሰብ ዝቈጻጸዎ ትካላት ፡ ንድሌታት ሕብረተሰባት ብዝያዳ ዘላቒ መፍትሒ ከም ዝዀኑ ንፈልጥ ኢና ። ህዝብና ትምህርቲ ኣብ ዝመርሓሉ እዋን ከኣ ፡ ዝሓሸ ጽምዶን ዝሓሸ ውጽኢትን ንመንእሰያትና ድማ ዝሓየለ መንገድታትን ኢና እንርኢ ። ልክእ ከምቲ ናይ ሓቂ ሽርክነት ኣገዳሲ ዝዀነ ፡ ምናልባት እውን ኢድ ንኢድ ተተሓሒዝካ ክትነብር ትኽእል ኢኻ ። ስለዚ ፡ ትካላትና ነዚ ናይ ውሳነ ስልጣን ምስ ዝህልወን ፡ ንስራሕና ኣብ ናይ ሂወት ተሞክሮን ግምታትን መሰረት ስለ እንገብሮ ፡ ናይ ሓቂ ለውጢ ምስ እትርኢ እዩ ።”))
ብህላዊ ትምህርቲ ናይ መጻኢ ፍታሕ ክኸውን ይኽእል ዶ?
ዶ/ር ኣንቶኒ ማክናቲ ኣብ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ወሎንግ ማእከል ደቀባት ካብ Awabakal, Gameroi ን Yuin man እዩ ።
ናይ ኣቦርጅናዊ ስርዓተ-ትምህርትን ፖሊሲን ልምድን ብኸመይ ከም ዝቕመጥ ንሓያሎ ዓመታት ምሂሩን ምርምር ገይሩን እዩ ።
ብእምነት ዶ/ር ማክክኬን ትርጕም ምዕጻው ኣብ ትምህርቲ ለውጢ ምግባር እዩ ።
“ነዚ ጋግ እዚ ምዕጻው ማለት ፡ እቲ ኣቦርጅናዊ ሰብ ነቲ ጋግ ብምዕራባውያን ንዚግበር ትምህርቲ ይዓጽዎ ኣኣሎ ማለት እዩ ። እንተኾነ ግን ዓቢ ጋግ ገዲፉ ናብ ናይ ገዛእ ርእሶም ስርዓተ ትምህርቲ ይምለስ ። ንዓይ ብዛዕባ እቲ ኣብ ማእከል ዘሎ ኣቦርጂናዊ ህጻን ክኸውን ኣለዎ ፡ ድሕሪኡ እቶም ክልተ ፍልጠታት ናብቲ ማእከላይ ቦታ ምርኻብ ዩ ። ተመሃሮና ብኽልቲኡ ስርዓተ-ፍልጠት ክስልጥኑ ኣለዎም።.”
Dr McKnight has spent years teaching and researching how to embed Aboriginal pedagogy in curriculum, policy, and practice. Source: Supplied / MichaelDavidGray
ዉጽ ኢት ማዕርነት ኣብ ትምህርቲ— ምርሃ ጎደና ኣብ ምዕባለ፡
ሳሮን ደቪስ ፡ ንዓወት ትምህርቲ ብኸም ምጥፋእ መሃይምነት ወይ ናይ ትምህርቲ ተሳትፎ ብዝኣመሰሉ መሐበሪታት ብምዕቃን ፡ እቲ ዝዓበየ ስእሊ ክርከብ ከምዝከኣል ትገልጽ ።
ይኹን እምበር ፡ ኣብ ውጽኢት ትምህርቲ ዘሎ ጋግ ሕጂ እውን ኣገዳሲ ምዃኑ እዮም ዘጕልሑ ።
ዴቪስ ካብቲ ኣብ ቀረባ ግዜ ብደረጃ ሃገር ዝወጸ ሓበሬታ ሓደ ኣብነት የብርህ ።
Retori Lane (L) with her mother, Jenadel Lane. Source: Supplied / Retori Lane
ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ዓመት ፡ ናይ ጋምሎይ መንእሰይ ሰበይቲ ራይቶሪ ላይን ኣብ ዱቦ ሰንትራል ኮለጅ ፡ ናይ ላዕለዋይ ትምህርቲ ሰርቲፊኬት (HSC) ትምህርታ ዛዚማ እያ ። ንሳ ሓንቲ ካብተን ኣብ ኒው ሳውዝ ዌልስ 12 ዓመት ዝዛዘማ ደቂ ኣንስትዮ ዝዀኑ ተመሃሮ ደቀባት እያ ።
“ናይ ምድጋፍ ምትእትታው ፡ ኣብ መንጎ ምምራቕን ዘይምምራቕን ዘሎ ፍልልይ እዩ፡ ናይ 12 ዓመት ትምህርቲ ምውዳእን ዘይምውዳእን ፍልልይ እዩ ። ንዓይ ኣብ ከባቢ ቤት ትምህርቲ ዝግበር ደገፍ ዓቢ ነገር እዩ ፡.”
እቲ ናታ ናይ ደገፍ መርበብ ፡ ሰራሕተኛታት ቤት ትምህርቲ ፡ ደቀባት መምህራንን ሰራሕተኛታትን ካብ ሃገራዊ ትካል ኣቦርጅናል ስፖርት ኣውስትራልያ (NASCA) ፡ ኣብ መላእ NSW ከምኡ "ውን ኣብ ሰሜናዊ ግዝኣት ኢንገል ንተማሃሮ ምስ ባህሊ ርክብ ዘለዎምን ኣብ ትምህርቶም ዕዉታት ዝኾኑን ናይ ማሕበራት ፕሮግራማት ዘጠቓለለ እዩ ።
“ብፍላይ ካብ ኩሎም ሰራሕተኛታት ብዙሕ ደገፍ ከም ዝነበረኒ ኣየጠራጥርን እዩ ። ብዘይካዚ ፡ ሰራሕተኛታት NASCA ልክእ ከምቲ ንሳቶም ዝመጽዎ ፡ ኣብ ምሉእ መገዲ ኽሕግዙኻ ይኽእሉ እዮም ። ድሕሪኡ ፡ እቶም መምህራን ገለ ነገር ክሕግዙ ኣብኡ ዝጸንሑኻ እዮም።.”
ኣደኣ ን ረቶሪ ጄንደል ኣብቲ ጓላ ዝተመረቐትሉ ዱቦ ሲንየር ኮለጅ ምክትል ዋና ዳይረክተር እያ ።
ንሳ ካብ ስድራ ቤታ ናብ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ዝኸደት ናይ መጀመርታ እያ ነይራ ። ብዛዕባ እቲ ኣብ ትምህርቲ ደቀባት ዝርአ ዘሎ ትውልደኣዊ ለውጥታት ትዛረብ ።
“ሕጂ 'ውን ቆልዑት ይመጹኒ እዮም ፡ ንሶም ድማ' ሚስ ፡ ኣብ ስድራይ ክምረቕ ኣነ ናይ መጀመርያ እየ 'ይብሉኒ ። እዚ ንባዕሉ እውን ንህዝብና ዓብዪ ዕማም እዩ ። ከም ጓለባት መጠን ፡ ብዛዕባ ኵሉ እቲ ኣብዛ ሃገር ዝሰገርናዮ ነገራት ድማ እሓስብ እየ ፣ እዚ ከኣ ሓደ ፍረ እዩ ፣ ኸመይሲ ፡ ከም ደቂ ዓዲ መጠን ዘጓነፈና ኵሉ ፀገማት ፡ ንምዕራባዊ መገዲ ክንስዕሮ ክኢልና ኢና ፣ እዚ ከኣ ትምህርቲ እዩ ።.”
ሬቶሪ ብ ባችልር ኦፍ ኣርት ብፍሉይ ብናይ ደቀባት ትምህርታት ቀዳማይ ዲግሪ ከተጽንዕ እያ ።
ካልኦት መንእሰያት ኣብ ትምህርቶም ሓይሊ ንኽረኽቡን ምስ ባህሊ ንኽራኸቡን ከምዘለዎም ትዛረብ ። “ንገዛእ-ርእሰይ ኣብ ናይ ትምህርቲ ደረጃ ከእትዋ ብምፍታን ፡ ነዚ ዝሰኣኑ ካልኦት ተወለድቲ ደቀባት ፡ ብዛዕባ እዚ ዘይፈልጡ ፡ ብሰንኪ እቲ ዘጋጠመ ድማ ንውሉድ ወለዶ ይጠፍእ ኣሎ ። ስለዚ ፡ እቲ ባህሊ ናብ ቦታኡ ንምምላስ ኣካል እቲ መስርሕ ክኾኑ ምድጋፍ እዩ።.”
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