Interpreting the Maths Syllabus for Aboriginal Schools
Abstract
The Western Australian Maths Syllabus with Notes is the recommended Maths curriculum for all Northern Territory schools. However, for teachers in tribal Aboriginal communities it is obvious that the gulf between this syllabus and the education setting is enormous. It is therefore essential that teachers try to bridge this gulf. The answer does not lie in the syllabus itself, but in the insights a teacher has about the culture and systems of knowledge of his/her Aboriginal students. I would like to talk about these insights in the form of a letter to a first-year non-Aboriginal teacher in an Early Childhood class in an Aboriginal bilingual school in the Northern Territory. I hope it makes her/him a little more insightful, because it has made me so.
Dear H.……
By now you will have had time to look at the Western Australian Maths Syllabus with Notes which is the recommended Maths curriculum for N.T. schools. If you are like me, you will initially have been overwhelmed at the thought of having to interpret it for planning a Maths program in your Aboriginal classroom. But take heart, because I would like to try to help you think about how to do this, and I’ll refer you to support materials and readings that have some answers. Then, hopefully, you can feel confident about planning a Maths program to guide your students towards meaningful experiences.
I believe that, as teachers in Aboriginal schools, it is essential that we try to make education (and Maths in particular) meaningful for our students. Without meaning and purpose in education, we are perpetuating the unequal opportunity that has been offered to Aboriginal students in the past.
References
Christie M., 1982: The Ritual Reader: Guiding Principles for Teaching Meaningful Reading to Aboriginal Children. Paper presented 6th ARA Conference, Adelaide.
Christie M., 1984: The Aboriginal world view: a white person’s ideas. The Aboriginal Child at School, 12:1.
Clements K., 1982: Language factors in school Mathematics. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 5:1
Graham B., 1982: Can we count on Maths? The Aboriginal Child at School , 10:2.
Graham B., 1983: Language factors in school Mathematics. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics. 5:1.
Guy R., 1982: The Teaching of Mathematics. N.T. Dept of Education . Macarthur Press N.S.W.
Harris P., 1980: Measurement in Tribal Aboriginal Communities. N.T. Dept of Education, Darwin.
Harris P., 1983: What is Primary School Maths? (unpublished paper).
Harris S., 1980: Culture and Learning : Tradition and Education in N.E. Arnhem Land. Professional Services N.T. Dept of Education , Darwin.
Hunting R. & Whitely H., 1983: Mathematics, prior knowledge and the Australian Aborigine. MERGA . Research in Maths Education in Australia. Dec.
Mathematics in Aboriginal Schools. T-3 Part 1: Transition. Maths Unit, Professional Services N.T. Dept of Education, Darwin.
Sayers B., 1983: Aboriginal mathematical concepts: a cultural and linguistic explanation for some of the problems. The Aboriginal Child at School, 11:1.
Western Australian Maths Syllabus with Notes. Pre-Primary – Yr 7. Curriculum Branch, Western Australian Department of Education, Perth.
Western H., 1979: Mathematics for Young Children: A Handbook of Activities for Australian Teachers. Forrest Press, Victoria.
