Statement from Indigenous educators and community members
on the
Inclusion of Indigenous Perspectives in the Australian Curriculum
To: The Hon Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations
CC: Professor Barry McGaw, Chairperson, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting
Authority
Dr Peter Hill, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting
Authority
The policy context and framework outlined by the Rudd Labor Government highlights the
importance of engagement of Indigenous peoples. It determines that this should be a central
focus of all Departments and agencies of Government at a national level. In his historic Sorry
Day speech, Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd stated:
“We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future
that embraces all Australians.” 1
Noting that education is the foundation of knowledge, understanding and engagement of the
future decision‐makers of Australia, it is important that a framework of engagement and Social
Inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be enacted effectively across all levels
and sectors of the education system. This is particularly pertinent to the formative stages of
development of Australia’s new Australian Curriculum Framework.
The new Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has stated that it
will establish an Indigenous reference group to guide the development of all curricula and to
appoint Indigenous people to a number of the subject‐specific writing panels. This is a good
start and must be acknowledged as such, even though the names of the people on this panel
have not as yet been made public.
Any framework for the development of a new Australian Curriculum must be inclusive of
Indigenous Australian content, knowledges and expertise, and include explicit reference across
all areas of the curriculum framework. This can only occur with genuine engagement of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators and community members at all levels of the
process.
The recently released framework for the development of the Senior Secondary Years
Curriculum mentions Indigenous perspectives only twice: in English, in terms of the
development of a course for students from diverse backgrounds with English as an Additional
Language or Dialect; and in History – Ancient History. Whilst it may not be ACARA’s intention,
the current framework relegates Indigenous peoples and their knowledges to the category of
historical artifacts in the History course.
Further, although the intent of the EALD stream is inclusive, the fact that it is the only stream in
the English course that explicitly mentions Indigenous students, could be interpreted as
exclusive of those Indigenous students who may choose stream (d), for example, to ‘study
literature at a more intensive level… (and) enhance the breadth and depth of students’
understandings of literary texts.’ Both of these examples could be interpreted as offensive to
Indigenous people and institutionally racist in their construction.
To reiterate the words of the Prime Minister – it is time to create a future for all Australians.
This future should envisage Indigenous Australians as peoples with living histories, and include
knowledge frameworks which value Indigenous sciences, technologies, mathematics, languages
and literacies. These should be recognised in the framework of the new Australian Curriculum.
Consequently, we the undersigned call on the Deputy Prime Minister and ACARA to ensure
that:
• Structured opportunities are created for Indigenous educators and community
members from all areas of Australia to engage collectively in all levels of the process of
the development of the Australian Curriculum;
• Through this engagement, the Australian Curriculum accurately include and reflect
perspectives of Indigenous Australia;
• Consideration be given to a stand‐alone stream of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
studies in the Australian Curriculum;
• Indigenous people are appointed to all panels established to guide the development of
the Australian Curriculum;
• An Indigenous person with appropriate educational qualifications/experience and
expertise in curriculum development is appointed to the ACARA board; and
• Indigenous educators are employed by ACARA to drive the above processes.