Analyzing the Social and Cultural Context of Indigenous Education

This essay examines the social and cultural context of education, specifically focusing on the experiences of indigenous students in Australia. It evaluates the effectiveness of western educational efforts, highlighting the minimal success achieved in improving outcomes for indigenous students. The essay explores various aspects of the educational landscape, including teaching methods, staffing, cultural recognition, and policy implementation. It delves into the importance of educating indigenous students while analyzing the reasons behind the failures of western approaches, such as poor attendance, literacy and numeracy outcomes, and cultural insensitivity. The study emphasizes the need for culturally sensitive teaching practices, recognition of cultural protocols, and the significance of indigenous languages in education. The conclusion underscores the importance of understanding the cultural nuances of indigenous students and adapting educational strategies to meet their unique needs for improved learning outcomes and overall success.

Running head: SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF EDUCATION
Social and cultural context of education
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Western efforts to improve educational outcomes for indigenous students have only had minimal
success in Australia..........................................................................................................................2
Efforts of western society in educating indigenous students.......................................................2
Teaching education......................................................................................................................2
Staffing provided in schools........................................................................................................3
Recognition of aboriginal ancestry..............................................................................................3
Policies & practise.......................................................................................................................3
Outcomes.....................................................................................................................................3
Literacy and numeracy................................................................................................................3
Employability..............................................................................................................................4
Why it is important to educate indigenous students....................................................................4
Why western efforts have failed in educating indigenous students with valid reasons?.............4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
Reference List..................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
This study deals with evaluating the hypothesis that states the fact about how western
society had made an effort to improve in the educational outcomes for indigenous students that
have only minimal success especially in Australia (Zipin et al., 2015). The current segment
explains efforts of western society to teach aboriginal students in Australia. It is important to
teach Aboriginal students as it need to convey a relatedness as it considers as key feature of these
society. Their culture is all about traditions and spirituality. These students actually look at the
micro view of the world and notice everything in detail.
Western efforts to improve educational outcomes for indigenous students have only had
minimal success in Australia
Efforts of western society in educating indigenous students
The Western society is of the opinion that Aboriginal children present in remote societies
need proper Western education (Wilks & Wilson, 2015). According to western society, these
remote indigenous communities as well as endorsed low expectations Aboriginal people should
be provided with a palliative education. These indigenous people need the best possible
education but the western society faced challenge with Aboriginal people as these people cannot
be empowered as they show no interest to prioritize the one key to permission teaching. Because
of that, the western society claims that the parents need to negotiate their cultural life for the sake
of their children’s fiscal or financial future and this is the problem that underlies presently
(Whatman & Singh, 2015)
Teaching education
It is acknowledged that traditional and innovative owners of the region pays special
admiration to the Australian Aboriginal Torres Islander societies as they are main custodians that
include past as well as present and future elders (Wagner et al., 2017). For these students,
English is considered as second or third language. It is essential for the teachers to explain these
students about the significance of the culture. These students should be taught in their first
language that needs the brain to be neurologically developmentally primed at the same time
(Dickson & Manalo, 2014).

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Staffing provided in schools
Australian Professional Standards for teacher highlights on the fact on what teachers need
to understand in order to teach Aboriginal Torres Islander communities languages as well as
history and culture (Trudgett, 2014). There are resources used in schools that help teachers for
understanding the fact on how to meet initial teacher education as well as ongoing professional
learning.
Recognition of aboriginal ancestry
The archaeological history of the First Australians can be termed as truly remarkable
story (Santoro, 2015). These people made social as well as economic choices and developed
sustainable ways of living by undertaking significant activities and most unique civilizations in
and across the world.
Policies & practise
Aboriginal Torres Islander community’s functions according government policies that
connects with indigenous health as well as housing and education by using human rights
framework (O'Shea et al., 2017).
Outcomes
The extensive failure of indigenous students is noted during adolescence age and this can
be termed as shameful features present in the Australian education. Students need to gain
knowledge and skills after attending school; rather they are leaving school by getting access to
minimal knowledge and skills. There is lack of indigenous teachers and as a outcome results
schools have to depend upon the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander for getting access to
indigenous input (Milne, Creedy & West, 2016).
Literacy and numeracy
Aboriginal Torres Islander communities have the essential skills of literacy and numeracy
that are scaffolded as well as then enriched (McLaughlin, 2014).
Employability
Aboriginal Torres Islander communities need to be employed and received priority in
government programs. Measures need to undertake for eliminating discrimination based on
attributes such as caste or ethnic group (Martin et al., 2017).

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Why it is important to educate indigenous students
It is very important to educate youth in own cultures and make use of indigenous
languages for educating the people (Hunt et al., 2015). It is necessary to educate indigenous
people where the main focus is on education indigenous information, representations as well as
approaches and satisfied with both formal and non-formal educational systems. There had been
growing recognition as well as use of indigenous education methods that can be a retort to the
erosion as well as loss of indigenous information by a process of colonialism, globalization as
well as modernism. It was claimed by these communities that are able to regain as well as
increase their languages and traditions for bringing improvement in the enlightening realization
especially of indigenous students that ensures existence as a philosophy (Hollinsworth, 2016).
For instance,
Indigenous Feminism is one of the theory and practice of feminism that explains the
sovereignty especially for indigenous people. In addition, the branch of feminism displays the
oppression of indigenous people that results as a racist as well as patriarchal colonization.
Building social and Cultural capital within the indigenous community is important
aspect that needs to be taken into consideration in this study. Recognition of the rick cultural
capital among indigenous students brought in their schools that enhances the students who
actually have experienced less opportunity to learn about their culture and work together for
building strong home-school-community partnerships that help in strengthening student
engagement in schooling as well as learning process.
Research showed that relationship between learning outcomes as well as their impact had
mainly on attributes such as family, social capital and development as a whole. It was argued
that social capital help in capturing the multiple processes that is involved in the study where the
process is consistent and their assets are in the shape of social capital that gets benefited from the
returns of investment for getting access to better stronger as well as enhanced family life.
Research showed that economic capital and development of indigenous people needs
improvement in Australia. For past 20 years, these people aims to combine academic as well as
teaching excellence on the Aboriginal people with realism, relevance and objectivity.

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Normalization was one of the basic objectives of Indigenous Aboriginal people in the
Northern Territory and transforms the society for added implications. Before getting indulged
into normalization analysis, it is thereby essential to understand the nature of land-holding under
the Land Rights Act.
People often argue with the term Meritocracy as it is like working with all-white juries
all schooled in western literature and naturally rise to the top.
Why western efforts have failed in educating indigenous students with valid reasons?
The reason to why western efforts failed in educating indigenous students are poor levels
of attendance, literacy as well as low retention rates and numeracy outcomes that goes below
within the Australian society (Fredericks et al., 2014). Teaching Aboriginal students need
sensitivity for their special needs as well as knowledge on matters relating to Aboriginal cultural
protocols. There are various successful programs that relates to real life as well as work that goes
around Aboriginal parent’s limitations. Most of the non-aboriginal teachers do not have much of
experience in teaching as well as engaging with the Aboriginal children. In order to reach them
efficiently and make them learn, teachers need to leave behind the textbooks solutions that they
had studied at their times (Graham, Van Bergen & Sweller, 2015).
For instance,
It is noted several times that teachers find it difficult to address the unacceptable gap that
is present between Aboriginal as well as non-Aboriginal students outcomes because of lack of
education and knowledge in specific area. Most of the teachers are in fear of doing the wrong
thing or offending the sentiments of Aboriginal people.
Conclusion
At the end of the study, it is concluded that it is important to educate Aboriginal people.
Aboriginal students mostly avoid direct eye contact with an adult as in their culture, it is
considered as rude behavior. These types of students actually are shy in nature and do not answer
questions in classroom session as in their culture, they are told stories. These students actually
know the answer but hesitate to say anything in front of class. The above study properly explains

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the need for educating Aboriginal students where teachers should take special attention by
understanding their culture and traditions.

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Reference List
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peoples of Australia and America. InInternational handbook of educational leadership
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Graham, L. J., Van Bergen, P., & Sweller, N. (2015). To educate you to be smart’: disaffected
students and the purpose of school in the (not so clever)‘lucky country.Journal of
Education Policy, 30(2), 237-257.
Hollinsworth, D. (2016). Unsettling Australian settler supremacy: combating resistance in
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Hunt, L., Ramjan, L., McDonald, G., Koch, J., Baird, D., & Salamonson, Y. (2015). Nursing
students' perspectives of the health and healthcare issues of Australian Indigenous
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Martin, G., Nakata, V., Nakata, M., & Day, A. (2017). Promoting the persistence of Indigenous
students through teaching at the Cultural Interface. Studies in Higher Education, 42(7),
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McLaughlin, J. (2014). ‘Crack in the pavement’: Pedagogy as political and moral practice for
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Milne, T., Creedy, D. K., & West, R. (2016). Integrated systematic review on educational
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students. Nurse education today, 36, 387-394.

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O'Shea, S., May, J., Stone, C., & Delahunty, J. (2017). First-in-Family Students, University
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