Evaluation Guidelines for Aboriginal Studies Courses
Abstract
A number of issues critical to Aboriginal Studies Courses are extrapolated from the literature. These issues are expressed as questions important for evaluators of Aboriginal Studies Courses to ask. They may also be seen as guidelines for the construction of Aboriginal Studies Courses. In conclusion, a summary of the developed guidelines is presented.
The Commission of Inquiry into Poverty (1975:183) reported of Aborigines and Islanders:
…they stand in stark contrast to the general Australian society, and also to other ethnic groups whether defined on the basis of race, nationality, birthplace, language or religion. They probably have the highest death rate, the worst legal status of any identifiable section of the Australian population.
The National Aboriginal Education Committee (1980:4) notes that the Australian Schools Commission Report (1975) adds that they also have the least schooling. With this in mind the NAEC, in its policy statement on Aboriginal Education (1980:3), says:
Since 1788 the Aborigines of Australia have been subjected in varying degrees to an authoritarian system which has rationalised their dispossession from the land, and deprecated their cultures. This dispossession forced indigenous people from their land and from the source of their own rich cultural background and uniqueness.
References
Aboriginal Consultative Group: Education for Aborigines: Report to the Schools’ Commission. Canberra, 1975.
Aboriginal Education Conference, Proceedings. Nyngan , 1978.
Aboriginal Studies in N.S.W. Proceedings of the first statewide seminar/workshop on Aboriginal Studies in schools in N.S.W. Sydney , 1978.
A.C.T. Schools Authority: Aboriginal Study Kit: Aborigines of the A.C.T and Monaro Region. Evaluation Report, December 1977.
Barlow A. : Teaching resources for Aboriginal/Islander Studies. In National Aboriginal Studies Seminar Re-port. Alice Springs , 1978.
Budby J. : Priorities in Self-determination. NAEC, Canberra, August 1980.
Budby J., Kelly J. and Massey D. (Eds): Education in the 80’s: The Role of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Report of the 4th National Aboriginal Education Conference, University of Queensland, 1979 . NAEC, Canberra , 1980.
Catchpole M. : Rough draft of Chapter II: Attitudes. Unpublished paper, U.N.E., Annidale, 1980 .
Chambers B. : Teaching about Aborigines. Unpublished paper, 1979.
Chambers B. : Attitude change and Aboriginal Studies Courses. In National Aboriginal Studies Seminar Report. Alice Springs , 1978.
Commission of Inquiry into Poverty: Poverty and Education in Australia, 5th Main Report. AGPS, Canberra , 1976.
Curriculum Development Centre: Core Curriculum for Australian Schools: What it is and why it is needed. Canberra, 1980.
Fidock A. : Goals of Aboriginal Studies programs. In National Aboriginal Studies Seminar Report. Alice Springs, 1978.
Hill M. and Barlow A. : Black Australia: An Annotated Bibliography and Teacher’s Guide to Resources on Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. AIAS , Canberra, 1978.
Hughes P. : Curriculum development in Aboriginal education. In Budby J. Kelly J. and Massey D. (Eds): Education in the 80’s: The Role of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Report of the 4th National Aboriginal Education Conference, University of Queensland, 1979 . NAEC, Canberra , 1980.
Katz P., (Ed): Towards the Elimination of Racism. Pergamon, New York, 1976.
Kotsep J. : Examination of an Aboriginal Studies programme. Unpublished paper completed to fulfil the requirements of the Diploma in Aboriginal Education at Armidale CAE , 1980.
Lippmann L. : The Aim Is Understanding: Educational Techniques for a Multicultural Society. ANZ Book Co., Sydney, 1977 .
Maddock K. : The Australian Aborigines: A Portrait of Their Society. Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1978.
Morrison K. : Examination of an Aboriginal Studies program. Unpublished paper completed to fulfil requirements of the Diploma in Aboriginal Education at Armidale CAE , 1980.
National Aboriginal Education Committee: Coming Together: First Step to Unity . NAEC/NAC Workshops, Sydney , 1980.
National Aboriginal Education Committee: Rationale, Aims and Objectives in Aboriginal Education. Canberra, 1980.
National Aboriginal Studies Seminar Report:Alice Springs , 1978.
NSW Department of Education: Dubbo Conference on the Teaching of Aborigines , 1975.
O’Brien G., Plooij D., and Whitelaw A. : Culture Training Manual for Teachers in Aboriginal Communities. Flinders University, S.A., 1975 .
Papers from the National Conference for Teachers of Aboriginal Children, Darwin, 1978 . Armidale CAE, 1979.
Quaker Race Relations Committee: Aboriginal Studies in Australian Education: Ideas and Suggestions for a New Approach. Quaker Race Relations Committee, Sydney, 1975.
Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultative Committee: Guidelines for Studies About Aborigines in Queensland Schools. Brisbane, 1980.
Tatz C. : Aboriginal studies: by whom and for whom in a multicultural society? In Aboriginal Studies in New South Wales: Report of a Statewide Seminar/Workshop. Sydney, 1978.
Triandis H.C. : Attitudes and Attitude Change. Wiley, New York, 1971.
Tyndall T. : The construction, development and surveying of an Aboriginal Studies programme conducted in Armidale High School in 1979. Unpublished paper, 1980.
Schools Commission: Report for the Triennium 1976–78. AGPS, Canberra, 1975 .
Viner I. : Opening address. In National Aboriginal Studies Seminar Report. Alice Springs, 1978.
Williams D. : Techniques for achieving goals. In National Aboriginal Studies Seminar Report. Alice Springs, 1978.
