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Accountability the key to change through education
Issue 69 - 24 Nov 2004
We write, as experienced Aboriginal educators, to express concern at the suggestion by Noel Pearson (The Weekend Australian, 30-31 October 2004), that “Aboriginal youth had no chance in life unless they attended ‘high quality, high-expectation boarding schools down south’”.
Within the same article, Noel Pearson is described as “one of the Aboriginal community’s most prominent leaders...”.
There appears to be a pattern arising in Australia, and specifically in news coverage of Aboriginal affairs. It seems every time Noel Pearson expresses a view it echoes out of the mouths of mostly non-Indigenous people quick to adopt simplistic solutions and using these to qualify their usually unqualified views and versions of what needs to be done with, or for, Indigenous people.
This creates difficulties for Indigenous people who are working at the various levels trying to improve the lot of our own people in a variety of areas.
It also creates a situation whereby Noel Pearson’s views and prominence are considered to be shared amongst all Indigenous people. Yes, he is a prominent spokesperson and someone who has kept the profile of Indigenous affairs on the national stage.
However, prominence and leadership should not be confused with the wholesale consensus of agreement of all Indigenous people, in all of Australia.
This should not be construed as a personal attack on Pearson, but a caution to those with good intentions that a more rounded knowledge of various issues affecting Indigenous people needs to be adopted.
That balance will provide a clearer understanding of the issues and how we can all move forward.
During the past few years, newspapers have published a number of reports and articles about conditions and/or incidents that have taken place in the Aboriginal communities of Cape York.
These reports/articles have included both specific examples and broad generalisations.
Although read and discussed by Aboriginal people in Queensland (and other states/territories), formal responses have been rare - in most instances because the focus has been on a single issue in isolation of the multiple factors affecting the day-to-day business of Indigenous education and Indigenous affairs generally.
This latest article, however, has gone too far.
Pearson would be aware of the vital connection between Indigenous people, their families, communities and their ‘country’, or place of birth.
He would know that for Aboriginal people, separation for any length of time from these connections, can lead to serious (and often life-long) consequences for individuals and their families (as brought to public attention through the Bringing Them Home Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families,1997).
The warning by the co-author of that report, Sir Ronald Wilson, “...that any scheme should not be based on compulsion...” confirms our concerns.
Where are the voices of Aboriginal elders, parents, carers, leaders from the communities to whom the article refers?
Has comment been sought formally and respectfully from elders and leaders who community members choose to relate their views in wider public forums, and from whom community members seek advice and support?
They - and the young people who are the subjects of this discussion - have the right to express their views concerning the mode and content of education most appropriate to address their formal learning needs and aspirations.
During the past 15 years, the door has been open to include Indigenous parents and community members in education decision-making. This is the primary goal of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (1989).
Although the policy has been in place for some time, its goals have more recently been re-stated in both national and Queensland education strategies and directions for both government and non-government schools.
So, why is it that these strategies do not appear to be working? Is it because this is not the reality ‘on the ground’?
The statement by Sir Ronald Wilson that “Education is fundamental to advancement and achievement but there must be safeguards” is true, and is reflective of the views of Indigenous elders, parents, carers and educators.
There is room for debate, however, about what these ‘safeguards’ might be, and how they might be put into place.
Indigenous educators aim for, and have continued to work towards, systemic change, whereby systems and schools deliver education that is meaningful to all students, addresses their backgrounds and experiences, and meets their needs and aspirations while ensuring that they acquire the knowledge and skills to pursue their individual goals.
It is too much to expect that in this day and age, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community elders, parents, carers, educators are given opportunities to decide how and where their children are to be educated? They need to be given time to discuss among themselves the range of options for schooling and beyond, before making any decisions.
To inform the decision-making process, there is a range of models for schooling that currently operate within Queensland and in other states and territories.
These models include both government and non-government (including Indigenous independent) day schools, boarding schools (some with accommodation available for visiting families), many of which follow community direction and/or maintain extensive community involvement).
Such decisions must belong to the relevant parents, students and communities; and educators, education administrators, policy-makers need to listen to, and engage with, communities during every step of the process.
We do not question the place - the centrality - of education for achieving change: however, such change will not be realised unless governments ensure accountability of provision through systems, schools and people.
We believe this is the key to making education work.
Victor Hart, Manager, Ooodgeroo Unit, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.
Professor Jeannie Herbert, Chair of Indigenous Australian Studies, James Cook University, Townsville.
Dr Penny Tripcony, Chair, Queensland Indigenous Education Consultative Body, Brisbane.
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