The Australian education system is still lacking in embedding Indigenous perspectives into the school curriculums. Despite various amendments to both the Australian curriculum standards and New South Wales Education Standards (NESA), there are still beliefs and perspectives to be reformed about Indigenous history. The current curriculum sets out a framework for schools and education providers, but recently many debates and controversies surrounding the perspectives of Aboriginals within the Australian culture. Most noteworthy was the Australian Day protests and petitions to change the national anthem, demonstrating the need to include Indigenous perspectives into the education system. In addition to exploring historical and contemporary events, this report will analyse the current impact of these events on the NSW education system and evaluate the importance of incorporating Indigenous perspectives into early year classrooms.
The current education system encompasses various aspects of history, human society and environment (HSIE) subjects to educate primary school students about Indigenous people. According to a 2012 NESA publication, the syllabus sets a framework for teachers to structure classroom activities around these areas of learning. In history classes, students will analyse the impact of British colonisation from an Indigenous perspective by comparing their lifestyle before and after first contact. Furthermore, students will be evaluating the interactions between the British colonists and local tribes as well as investigating the contributions of some prominent Indigenous people. The framework aims to deepen students’ knowledge and understanding of Australia’s shared history.
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Australia/Invasion/Survival Day
First and foremost, the most important event in Australian history is January 26th, known as Australia Day or Invasion/Survival Day to the Indigenous community. This date signifies the anniversary of Captain Arthur Phillip’s First Fleet arrival in Sydney Cove, declaring the land as Terra Nullius, land belonging to no one which allowed the British to colonise Australia. For many decades, this date has been commemorated as the founding day of the country, but to the Indigenous community, January 26th marks a day to mourn. According to many Indigenous people, January 26th is the beginning of a forcible destruction of their culture, families and land.
Activism and protests have been held for many years around the country, but only in the last five years, the momentum started to increase through public protests and discussion became more frequent. In the most recent protest, about 50,000 Indigenous and non-Indigenous people marched alongside each other in the streets of Sydney to protest the date of Australia Day (Loomes, 2019). To many Indigenous Australians, this movement has been viewed as a sign of reconciliation and a path to recognition.
Before campaigns, lobby groups and protests, many Australians were brought up with the notion that Australia Day is one to be celebrated and to feel lucky to live in this great, welcoming country. This one-sided perspective is reminiscent of Australia’s White history, which ignores the mistreatment and darker events of 1788. Australia Day has been a tradition in most households as a day of celebration rather than a day of mourning. According to the Australia Institute’s 2017 survey, only about 49% of respondent supported a change of date overall, while only 21% strongly agreed that it should not be held on a date that is offensive to Indigenous Australians. This low percentage of supporters demonstrate the importance of educating primary school students and raise awareness about a date that divides the nation. By incorporating the history behind Australia Day into the school curriculum, students will learn about the perspectives and the impact on the Indigenous Australians. In NSW, students are taught about the history of Australia Day from an Indigenous perspective which allows students to participate in the ongoing discussion of whether Australia Day should be renamed as Invasion Day.
National Sorry Day
While the date of Australia Day is debated across the country, another date May 26th holds an important annual event known as the National Sorry Day. This date started in 1998 after the Bringing Them Home report was presented in the Parliament. Moreover, in 2008, former Australian prime minister (PM) Kevin Rudd became the first PM to deliver an apology to the nation, formally apologising to the children and families of the Stolen Generation. Australia Day consists of barbeques and celebrations, while conversely, Sorry Day commemorates and remembers the mistreatment of Indigenous Australians. In Torpey (2006), children of the Stolen Generation were described as those who were forcibly removed from their families and placed into institutions that attempted to assimilate them into White families. These children would be referred to as ‘half-caste’ or mixed race in a resocialisation program, which unsuccessfully tried to raise their social position. According to the Bringing Them Home report, an estimated number of 100,000 Aboriginal children were removed during 1905 to 1967 (Wilkie, 1997). Instead of improving their social position, these children were more likely to commit crimes and dropped out of school earlier, thereby lowering their social position than those without government intervention.
A part of the Bringing Them Home report recommended an official apology of which did not occur until almost a decade later. Rudd’s apology had widespread positive feedback from Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and initiated a renewed step towards reconciliation (Person, 2013). It is imperative to incorporate Rudd’s speech into primary school education as it marks the first step to reconciliation. Although the speech itself did not directly state any compensation for those affected, Rudd had raised greater awareness for action. Since 2008, there have still been no implementation of reparations to survivors of the Stolen Generations at a national level (Pearson, 2018). All states but Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria have introduced reparations for the survivors, including increased educational and financial support. In NSW, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs started a reparations scheme (2017-2022) that enabled any living survivor of the Stolen Generation to claim an ex gratia once-off payment of $75,000 to apologise for the act of forcible removal. Nevertheless, survivors are still campaigning for greater justice, recognition and assurance from the federal government to ensure that it will never be repeated. By incorporating his speech and its effect in the classroom, both teachers and students can develop new perspectives and participate in reconciliation activities with their Indigenous peers.
Australia National Anthem / I am Australian song
In addition to educating students about the significance of National Sorry Day, the Australian national anthem plays a pivotal role in the identity of Australia. It was first performed in 1878 and later established as the official national anthem in 1977, Advance Australia Fair captures a predominately White perspective. By contrast, another song called ‘I am Australian’ sung by The Seekers (1987) is a popular alternative to the official national anthem. This song encapsulates many distinguished figures as well as cultural and historical references such as Albert Namatjira, Banjo Paterson’s Clancy of the Overflow and Ned Kelly. While also being considered a patriotic song, ‘I am Australian’ celebrates diversity, unity and symbolises the connection of people with history, culture and the landscape. It is a contemporary view of Australia’s national identity that adequately reflects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who have still not been recognised in the national anthem.
However, there have been many petitions to reform the anthem to one which is inclusive of Australia’s multicultural and Indigenous community. In a recent article, at least four Indigenous sport players refused to participate in singing the Advanced Australia Fair at a major sporting event (Parry & Cleland, 2019). This caused public outcry and varied responses from the sporting organisers and the general public with supporters on both sides. Understanding perspectives held by both sides, will be pivotal in developing reconciliation action plans to ensure that Indigenous people are being fairly represented as well as being inclusive of all Australians. Similarly, the Australia Broadcasting Corporation released a music video on popular streaming website YouTube that reached 518,000 views and embeds Indigenous perspectives into primary school education (ABC, 2018). The video showcase students at the Broome Primary School singing to ‘I am Australian’ with Indigenous and English lyrics, which was met with positive response from the community.
Despite silent protests from sport players during major events and videos of primary school students participating in Indigenous focused activities, there have been slow progress on changing the national anthem. A subsequent poll by 7News (2019) indicated that only 28% of respondents agreed to a change to the national anthem (the sample size contained 68,400 votes). Most respondents did not wish to change the national anthem nor amend the current lyrics, demonstrating the need to reform perspectives. Even though the Australian government and various lobby groups have worked on increasing general awareness, it is practically easier to include the different perspectives into the primary school curriculum.
Examples in the classroom
In the classroom, education providers and teachers can utilise a diverse range of activities to keep students engaged about Indigenous perspectives. Some methods include showing students films such as Rabbit Proof Fence (2002), participating in Indigenous performances and school excursions to historical places. Noyce’s Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) is a dramatic film that loosely follows a trio of Aboriginal children, attempting to return home after being taken away from their families as part of the Stolen Generation. While the film is based on a true story, it caused controversy during its release from conservatives and some historians who criticised its historical accuracy which has since been refuted by the filmmakers. Primary school excursions and observing Aboriginal performances can also broaden student perspectives about the richness in Indigenous cultures. There are also government campaigns such as Closing the Gap, which aims to reduce the disparity of health and life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This campaign predicts that equality will be achieved in 2031 (AHRC, 2019) and targets these main areas of the disparity: a needs-based, responsive health care system and implementation of good housing. Closing the Gap campaign marks one of the first campaigns that Indigenous people have been involved in the design stage, improving its probability of a successful implementation. Besides raising awareness and reducing the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, the government must also promote unity and respect.
Conclusion and future directions
In primary schools and early year education settings, the embedding of Indigenous perspectives would ensure that young Australians are educated and be prepared to challenge current perspectives. By starting early in primary schools, students can broaden and deepen their understanding of Australian history and participate in reconciliation. Additional education campaigns are necessary to challenge perspectives of Australian adults as seen in an Institute of Public Affairs poll, most opposed to Australia Day reforms belong to the 55-64 and 65+ years age groups. These members would have finished their schooling prior to the release of ‘I am Australian’ (1987), Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) and former PM Rudd’s speech. The reason behind their opposition can be attributed to their educational environment which only supported a one-sided perspective of history with White Australian values, not reflective of contemporary Australia. In conjunction with future campaigns, current initiatives like Closing the Gap, requires greater approval from Parliament leaders and the Australia public to meet its objective by 2031 (Pearson, 2019).
In conclusion, the current Australian education system is still inadequate in embedding Indigenous perspectives and more needs to be done. Through exploration, the controversy and debate surrounding dates of significance, national identity and current actions are insufficient in the education system. Not only does the Australian government need to educate children, it also needs to focus on adults who have left school already. Only by concentrating on both children and adult perspectives, can equality and reconciliation be achieved for Indigenous Australians, who have been largely misrepresented and unrecognised.
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