ABORIGINAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Legislative Council » 12 March 2009 » Full Day Hansard Transcript » Item 33 of 47 »  

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (Parliamentary Secretary) [3.52 p.m.]: I speak in support of the motion of the Hon. Christine Robertson and I commend her for bringing the issue to the attention of the House. In 2003 the former Minister for Education and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Dr Andrew Refshauge, announced a major review into Aboriginal education. He was blunt. He said at the time:

Despite the many education initiatives implemented by the Commonwealth and the NSW governments over the past 20 years Aboriginal students continue to be the most educationally disadvantaged student group in Australia. I want student outcomes to match or better outcomes of the broader population.

The New South Wales Aboriginal Education and Training Strategy is the result of the initial review. In 2006 the then Minister for Education and Training, Carmel Tebbutt, said:

There is now an urgent imperative to transform educational outcomes for this generation of Aboriginal children and young people. The Review gives us the means to make this transformation.

As all the speakers have acknowledged, the strategy is a start but has a lot further to go. In his first public address since being named Australian of Year, Professor Mick Dodson said that education is key to improving outcomes for indigenous people and allowing them a roughly equal chance at happiness. He stated:

On 26 January 2010, every child will be geared up for the start of the school year. They will have a school to go to with chairs and tables and blackboards; with teachers ready, confident, determined, equipped to impart knowledge and confidence. Shoes on kids' feet, breakfast in their tummies; well-rested, ready to learn, willing to learn, able to learn. T

hat is his desire. But it is also a desire shared by kids, parents, teachers, communities, schools and governments. Closing the gap on the educational outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people is essential to building a socially just future. Forty per cent of New South Wales indigenous people are under 15 years of age. Across the State there are about 40,000 indigenous kids in New South Wales public schools. Education is the investment we can make to help build a better future for Aboriginal kids, their families and their communities-outcomes that, when achieved, actually make a difference.

I will give one small example. Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation cites Canadian research that shows that, on average, for every additional one year of education given to a young indigenous woman, four years are added to the lives of her children. So what has brought us to this point? The first policy for Aboriginal education in New South Wales was released in 1982. Back then it focused on the advancement of Aboriginal communities and the appreciation of Aboriginal cultures and societies by other Australians. Since that time the policy has gone through a number of manifestations. But more recent versions have acknowledged and incorporated into planning and policy the piece that too often has been missing: the participation of indigenous people themselves.

As history has shown, the involvement of Aboriginal people is essential to the success of any programs any government tries to implement. It is a lesson that is too often ignored and is still being ignored in some cases. It is not just about teaching Aboriginal history in classrooms but working with indigenous community groups, indigenous educators and indigenous parents. The Minister for Education launched the new policy late last year. It was updated after the Aboriginal Education Review. It took two years to develop and involved extensive consultation that was committed to engaging Aboriginal people at all levels of the process. Aboriginal communities, Aboriginal community groups and Aboriginal parents, along with school and TAFE colleges participated in consultation sessions. The working group received feedback from almost 200 submissions. Therefore, this policy truly reflects the views of the community and is reflected as a partnership, not a dictate from above.

At this stage I flag that I will move an amendment that recognises the essential contribution of the Aboriginal community in the development and ongoing implementation of the strategy. I thank all members for their unanimous support for the amendment. I move:

That the question be amended by omitting paragraph (b) and inserting instead:

(b) commends the Aboriginal community for their advocacy and persistence throughout the development and ongoing implementation of the Aboriginal Education and Training Strategy.

The education department will continue this commitment to collaborative decision-making, enshrining collaborative decision-making with Aboriginal people, parents, caregivers, families and their communities in the new policy and ensuring that collaboration is a feature throughout the education of each indigenous school student in New South Wales. The new policy also makes a commitment to increasing knowledge and understanding of the histories, cultures and experiences of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of Australia. It requires everyone in the New South Wales Department of Education and Training to undergo training about indigenous culture and history-not just teachers, but all employees of the department.

Understanding the history and culture of the first Australians is important to all of us. It is important to us as Australians to have an appreciation of the unique culture of our indigenous people but also to be able to see things through the eyes of indigenous people and to find new ways to educate indigenous students. This has an impact not only on the way teachers teach but also on the way the whole department understands indigenous culture. As the policy says:

The Department will provide Aboriginal cultural education for all staff, and education about Aboriginal Australia for all students, as it is everybody's business.

The 2008-09 New South Wales State budget has dedicated $68.5 million for targeted Aboriginal education programs. The budget includes funding for initiatives to improve the educational outcomes of Aboriginal students, such as the Schools in Partnership program, that many members have spoken about today; personalised learning plans for Aboriginal students; the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Plan; a focus on quality teaching to improve achievements in literacy and numeracy; and the Aboriginal Education and Training Policy, which was updated at the end of last year and to which this motion mainly refers.

I will highlight a couple of the programs. First, the personalised learning plans for Aboriginal students. The new Aboriginal Education and Training Policy re-emphasises personalised learning plans. Personalised Learning Plans [PLPs] were introduced just over two years ago.

Since that time 15,000 personalised learning plans have been developed and implemented for students across the State. These plans are designed by parents and teachers, and may include initiatives such as engaging children about their Aboriginal ancestry and finding a way to get them involved in their learning. It is a good approach that has wider implications for all students, not only indigenous children. Linking children to the things they are interested in and the topics they want to pursue through school is one way of keeping them linked to their own education.

 Maddison Hall, a year 6 student, developed a personal learning plan that involved connecting with her Aboriginal ancestry. She travelled with her family to western New South Wales after discovering her grandfather's origins with the Wiradjuri people in Dubbo.

 Muswellbrook South Public School runs a program in which every Aboriginal student sets three short-term goals for the year. The goals can be academic, sporting or cultural; the parents, teachers and children monitor them. Programs like these work because they engage children on a level that is relevant to their lives, culture and experiences. University of Technology Sydney Professor Larissa Behrendt has said that programs like these work because they are based on a curriculum that engages Aboriginal children and teaches them the essentials in a way that resonates with their culture, values and world views.

The Schools in Partnership program recognises that educational success is a team effort. As other members have said, the program has been implemented in 30 schools around the State. It was initiated in 2006 to assist schools with significant populations of Aboriginal students to improve the literacy, numeracy and participation outcomes of all students, with a focus on improving the educational outcomes of indigenous students. This program is already successful. I again use the example of the Muswellbrook South Public School. The school has seen the number of indigenous students in band one-the lowest band for literacy and numeracy in statewide assessments for years 3 and 5-drop dramatically.

Other members may have already highlighted the importance of early education and what is happening in preschools. I will briefly refer to a program that has been implemented in my duty electorate of Bega. The program was initiated at Moruya Public School, which is situated on the far south coast of the State. The school has run a successful school readiness and transition program for sometime. Local preschools bring their students, mostly with their parents, to be introduced to structured learning in a school environment. This program covers all students from indigenous and non-indigenous backgrounds. The school also works to make indigenous students and their families feel welcome. The school's Aboriginal education assistant and the principal greet Aboriginal students and their parents at the school gate.

The school also runs an additional program for Aboriginal children have not attended preschool and their parents. Called KinderStart, the program runs for four weeks. The school's Aboriginal education assistant and Aboriginal tutors collect children and parents, and bring them to school. They go through a special transition program to learn about the school and have their first contact with staff members with whom they are more culturally comfortable. The school sees this as an important starting point. Through this program the school is reaching parents with whom it has not had contact. This personal contact starts on the first day of school. The Aboriginal education assistant continues to meet the parents at the gate and speaks with families before and after school.

Through this initiative, Moruya Public School has had more indigenous parents enrolling their children in preschool. The school has had an opportunity to gather information about incoming students and what their needs will be in terms of work habits and socialisation. Indigenous children and parents say they feel valued and welcomed by the school. School readiness and attendance are improved because students and parents view the school as important. I know many more members wish to speak in this debate and we are running out of time. I thank the Hon. Christine Robertson for providing us with the opportunity to spend sometime reflecting on a very important development in Aboriginal education in New South Wales, and working with Aboriginal people to help their families and communities. I look forward to good news as a result of the significant investment made by this Government.