Together we can’t lose

Teaching Aboriginal Studies has been a practical guide for classroom teachers in primary and secondary schools, as well as student teachers, across Australia. Chapters on Aboriginal history and culture, stereotypes and racism, government policies and reconciliation provide essential knowledge for integrating Aboriginal history and culture, issues and perspectives across the curriculum.

This second edition of Teaching Aboriginal Studies encompasses developments over the past decade in Aboriginal affairs, Aboriginal education and research. It features a wide range of valuable teaching sources including poetry, images, oral histories, media, and government reports. There are also strategies for teaching Aboriginal Studies in different contexts and the latest research findings. The text is lavishly illustrated with photographs, posters, paintings, prints, ads and cartoons.

The image of Cathy Freeman and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor carrying the Australian and Aboriginal flags on their victory lap at the 1994 Commonwealth Games illustrates a watershed in Australian sporting history. This chapter provides a summary of some recent research findings and identified the implications of these findings for delivering excellence in the teaching of Indigenous students-noting that many of these quality practices are also useful for other Australian students. It reports on the first Australian Reconciliation Barometer research. It suggests that other Australians clearly want to learn more about Aboriginal history and culture. In 2006, the Indigenous Land Corporation bought the old Redfern Public School in inner Sydney from the New South Wales government. Under the Indigenous Education Action Plan, teachers would need to learn how to teach Aboriginal children as part of their training before they could register to work in public and private schools.

Copyright © Rhonda Craven, 2011. All rights reserved.