Abstract
This book brings together diverse perspectives about Australian literacy education for Indigenous peoples. The editors of this volume share a long history of working in Indigenous education, both as classroom teachers and as academics, and in school and tertiary settings. As non-Indigenous (Settler) academics, we acknowledge that Indigenous educational priorities ultimately need to be driven by Indigenous people, and we must enter this space respectfully. As educators we are aware of the disparate voices in literacy education generally, but the more so in the multiplicity of Indigenous contexts. We are motivated by the need to keep nudging the conversations along, as Indigenous people determine their own ways of being literate, and as educators continue to tackle the unfinished business of growing their institutions into places where Indigenous people can come to learn successfully. For any Australian teachers and researchers in the field of education, the topic of Indigenous literacy education should be particularly significant because it concerns many of our most marginalised students. It brings our attention to one of our deepest national educational dilemmas, namely, who gets to participate fully in which education.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Altman, J. C. (2009). Beyond closing the gap: Valuing diversity in Indigenous Australia (Vol. 54). Canberra: Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, ANU.
Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (ACARA). (2009). National assessment program: Literacy and numeracy. Retrieved from, http://www.naplan.edu.au/
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2016). NAPLAN achievement in reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy: National report for 2016. Sydney: ACARA. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu.au/results-and-reports/national-reports.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (n.d.) Australian curriculum: English. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/english/key-ideas/
Barton, D., & Hamilton, M. (1998). Local literacies: Reading and writing in one community. London: Routledge.
Christie, F. (1990). Literacy for a changing world. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Council of Australian Governments (COAG). (2008). Closing the gap. Australian government. Canberra: Department of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Retrieved from, https://pmc.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/closing-gap.
Cummins, J., Bismilla, V., Chow, P., Cohen, S., Giampapa, F., Leoni, L., Sandhu, P., & Sastri, P. (2005). Affirming identity in multilingual classrooms. Educational Leadership, 63(1), 38–43.
Department of Employment, Education and Training. (1989). National aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy: Summary. Canberra: Department of Employment, Education and Training. Retrieved from, https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/publications-articles/national-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-education-policy-1989.
Devlin, B. C., Disbray, S., & Devlin, N. R. F. (2017). History of bilingual education in the Northern Territory. Singapore: Springer.
Fogarty, W., Riddle, S., Lovell, M., & Wilson, B. (2018). Indigenous education and literacy policy in Australia: Bringing learning back to the debate. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 47(2), 185–197.
Freebody, P., & Luke, A. (1990). ‘Literacies’ programs: Debates and demands in cultural context. Prospect, 5(3), 7–16.
Frigo, T., Corrigan, M., Adams, I., Hughes, P., Stephens, M., & Woods, D. (2003). Supporting English literacy and numeracy learning for indigenous students in the early years (ACER research monograph 57). Camberwell: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Gillan, K., Mellor, S., & Krakouer, J. (2017). The case for urgency: Advocating for indigenous voice in education. Australian education review. Camberwell: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Godinho, S., Woolley, M., Scholes, M., & Sutton, G. (2017). Literacies for remote schools: Looking beyond a one size fits all approach. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 25(1), 28–40.
Guenther, J. (2013). Are we making education count in remote Australian communities or just counting education? The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 42(2), 157–170.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as social semiotic (1st ed.). London: Edward Arnold.
Huffman. (2010). Theoretical perspectives on American Indian education: Taking a new look at academic success and the achievement gap. Lanham: AltaMira Press.
Huffman, T. (2018). Tribal strengths and native education: Voices from the reservation classroom. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
Hughes, P. (Chair). (1988). Report of the aboriginal education policy task force. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
Kerwin, D., & Van Issum, H. (2013). An aboriginal perspective on education–policy and practice. In Pedagogies to enhance learning for indigenous students (pp. 1–20). Singapore: Springer.
Luke, A. (2014). On explicit and direct instruction. ALEA Hot Topic Newsletter. Adelaide: Australian Literacy Educators’ Association. Retrieved 20 June, 2016 from http://www.alea.edu.au/documents/item/861
Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA). (2010). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010–2014. Carlton South: Commonwealth Government of Australia. Retrieved from, http://scseec.edu.au/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/documents/ATSI%20documents/ATSIEAP_web_version_final.pdf.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training, and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). (1996). A national strategy for the education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 1996–2002. Carlton South: Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs..
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). How people learn II: Learners, contexts, and cultures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24783
Northern Territory Department of Education. (1999). Learning lessons—An independent review of indigenous education in the Northern Territory. Report, Retrieved 12 November 2018, from https://www.nintione.com.au/?p=5350
Purdie, N., Reid, K., Frigo, T., Stone, A., & Kleinhenz, E. (2011). Literacy and numeracy learning: Lessons from the longitudinal literacy and numeracy study for indigenous students (ACER research monograph 65). Camberwell: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Reyhner, J. (2017). Affirming identity: The role of language and culture in American Indian education. Cogent Education, 4(1), 1340081, Web.
Street, B. V. (Ed.). (1993). Cross-cultural approaches to literacy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Street, B. (2006). Autonomous and ideological models of literacy: Approaches from new literacy studies. Media Anthropology Network, 17, 1–15.
Tharp, R. G. (1982). The effective instruction of comprehension: Results and description of the Kamehameha Early Education Program. Reading Research Quarterly, 17, 503–527.
Tharp, R. G., & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing minds to life: Teaching, learning, and schooling in social context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Walton, C., & Eggington, W. (1990). Language: Maintenance, power and education in Australian aboriginal contexts. Darwin: NTU Press.
Wignell, P. (1999). Double power: English literacy and indigenous education. Melbourne: Language Australia.
Wilson, B. (2014). A share in the future: Review of indigenous education in the northern territory. Darwin: Northern Territory Department of Education. Retrieved from https://education.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/229016/A-Share-in-the-Future-The-Review-of-Indigenous-Education-in-the-Northern-Territory.pdf
Yunupingu, M. (Chairman). (1995). National review of education for aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: Final Report. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Harper, H., Rennie, J. (2019). Why a Book About Indigenous Literacy Education in Australia?. In: Rennie, J., Harper, H. (eds) Literacy Education and Indigenous Australians. Language Policy, vol 19. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8629-9_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8629-9_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-8628-2
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-8629-9
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)