Rural and Remote Education Inquiry Briefing Paper
Rural and Remote
Education Inquiry Briefing Paper
C. Indigenous
students - a profile
- C1. Demography
- C2. School
participation, attendance and retention
- C3. Literacy
and numeracy
- C4. Tertiary
participation
- C5. Employment
opportunities
C1 Demography
[O]urs is
a young population with a large percentage living in rural and remote
Australia (David Curtis, ATSIC Commissioner, Melbourne hearing, 12
November 1999).
The following data
were provided to the inquiry by DETYA and ATSIC in their submissions and
evidence.
- 70% of Indigenous
Australians - 45% of all Australians - are under 25
- 31% of Indigenous
Australians - 14% of non-Indigenous Australians - live in rural and
remote areas
- one-third of rural
and remote Indigenous people speak an Indigenous language as their first
- Indigenous people
were 3.6% of Australia's rural population in 1991 and 4.1% in 1996.
Student numbers
DETYA informed the
inquiry that, in 1996, "there were about 120,000 Indigenous students across
the preschool, school and VET sectors" (DETYA submission, page 90).
In NSW "in
1998 26,700 Aboriginal and Islander students were enrolled in government
schools (3.5% of enrolments)" (NSW Department of Education and Training
submission, page 9).
In NT 38%
of students are Aboriginal students and "there are some 87 remote schools
operating . which are providing educational services to Indigenous students"
(NT Education Minister, State to Parliament, 24 November 1999).
In Tasmania,
of 13,808 students in rural government schools, 943 (6.8%) are Aboriginal
(Tasmanian Government submission, attachment 1). 258 Indigenous students
are enrolled in rural and remote area Catholic schools, 4% of the total
(Tasmanian Catholic Education Commission submission, page 10).
In Victoria
Aboriginal students account for 0.92% of total government student enrolments
in 1998. 4,807.9 EFT students in Victorian government schools are ATSI
- 36.71% of them are enrolled in rural/remote schools (Victorian DEET
submission, page 10).
In WA, "in
Semester One 1998 ... 15,094 Aboriginal students were enrolled in government
schools: 1,861 (12.3%) in pre-primary; 9,458 (62.6%) in Years 1-7; 3,046
(20.1%) in Years 8-10; 729 (4.8%) in Years 11-12".14
EDWA figures
for 1998 show that Aboriginal children comprise 8.5% of total state enrolments.
Eighteen per cent of enrolments in each of the Goldfields, Midwest and
Pilbara and 58% of enrolments in the Kimberleys (Ian Trust, Kununurra
hearing, 17 May 1999).
Independent Indigenous
schools
[T]here
are around a dozen independent Indigenous schools in the country. Independent
schools strive to develop a total and unique education program that incorporates
Indigenous languages, history, and pedagogy. The schools also reflect
the Indigenous community's desire for self-determination in the education
system. These schools have remained small and have encountered immense
problems particularly in regards to registration, enrolment fluctuations
and funding from the State and Territory Education Departments. Not surprisingly,
these schools are always battling the possibility of closure (ATSIC
submission, pages 24-25).
National Lutheran
school system
There are
three [Lutheran] schools where [Indigenous enrolment is] significant.
Yirara college, 200 are all Indigenous Australians. 180 students, about
55%, so say 100, at Ceduna and I think there's about 50 in Peace College,
Cairns. Then throughout the other schools invariably you will find there's
just one or two. Places like Waikerie and Loxton have half a dozen. Gilgandra,
yes, 10 of the 40 are Indigenous (Adrienne Jericho, National Lutheran
Schools Office, Melbourne Hearing, 12 November 1999).
Students speaking Indigenous languages
In NSW
... many
of our Aboriginal students come to school speaking Aboriginal English
and therefore, if they just arrive in a classroom, in a kindergarten classroom,
where standard Australian English is spoken, those children are at a disadvantage
in language terms (George Green, NSW Department of Education and Training,
Sydney hearing, 22 October 1999).
In NT
[M]ore than
fifty Indigenous languages and/or dialects are spoken by students in Territory
schools . one-third of young people between five and seventeen years have
a language other than English as their first language (NT Department
of Education submission, page 2).
In WA
The first
language for the kids here is Kriol. Many students don't care to learn
their [traditional] first language. The community wants the kids to learn
Walmajarri though we speak Jaru here too. We speak Jaru to the kids but
this is Walmajarri country. We have the same problem with Kukatja. The
parents speak in Kriol to their kids (Billiluna WA school meeting,
14 May 1999).
C2 School
participation, attendance and retention
- C2.1 Achievements
since 1969
- C2.2 Participation
- national overview
- C2.3 Participation
- regional breakdown
- C2.4 Attendance
- C2.4 Retention
- national overview
- C2.5 Retention
- regional breakdown
Achievements since 1969 when Abstudy
was introduced
DETYA and ATSIC agreed
that there have been significant improvements in recent decades.
- participation
in early childhood and primary schooling has improved dramatically;
- Year 12 retention
rates have shifted from single digits thirty years ago to over 32%
in 1998;
- the involvement
of Indigenous parents and communities in education has increased,
with over 3,500 parent (ASSPA) committees in 1997, covering about
98,000 or over 90% of Indigenous school students;
- Indigenous participation
in any kind of university course has increased from under 100 thirty
years ago to over 7,700 in 1998; and
- the participation
rates of Indigenous 15 to 24 year olds in vocational education and
training have actually reached levels about the same as for other
Australians (DETYA submission, page 12).
The last 20 years
have seen improvements in education and education outcomes for Indigenous
people. This has been the result of a strong commitment by Aboriginal
and Torres Strait peoples to advance their educational outcomes. Indigenous
communities recognise that education can improve their economic and social
wellbeing. And improvements have also been achieved because governments
have shown greater commitment towards Indigenous education. However, there
is still a lot to be done to bring the level of education of Indigenous
Australians to a satisfactory standard . There are significant differences
in participation and retention rates and the levels of literacy and numeracy
and the involvement by parents and communities in the education of their
children (David Curtis, ATSIC Commissioner, Melbourne hearing, 12 November
1999).
The retention
rate for Indigenous students is 33 per cent compared to 75 per cent
for all students.
Only 5.5 per cent
of the Indigenous school aged population are participating in years
11 and 12. The participation rate for non-Indigenous people is more
than double the Indigenous rate.
In 1996 the overall
employment rate for Indigenous people was 30.8 per cent of Indigenous
people of working age, compared to 55 per cent of the non-Indigenous
population.15 The unemployment rate at the time was 41.4%
for Indigenous people as compared to 8.5% for all Australians.
In addition:
Nearly half of Indigenous people aged 15 years and over had received
no formal education.
The year 10 certificate
was the highest educational qualification achieved by almost 30 per
cent of Indigenous people.
Only one in six
Indigenous people had obtained a qualification after leaving school
(ATSIC submission, page 10).
Participation - national overview
[A] significant
number of Indigenous students do not complete the compulsory years of
schooling, with only 94.2% of Indigenous students progressing from Year
8 in 1997 to Year 9 in 1998, a loss of 429 students, and the loss of a
further 916 students between Year 9 and Year 10. The data also shows that
Indigenous students are around 15 times more likely than non-Indigenous
students to leave school between Year 8 and the end of Year 9, around
6 times more likely to leave between Year 9 and the end of Year 10, around
3 times more likely to leave between Year 10 and the end of Year 11 and
around 3 times more likely to leave between Year 11 and the end of Year
12 (DETYA submission, page 88).
Table: Grade progression
ratios for Years 8 to 12, Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, Australia,
all schools, 1996 to 1998 (%)16
Indigenous | Non-Indigenous | |||||
1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
Year 8 to Year 9 | 95.0 | 94.4 | 94.2 | 99.7 | 99.9 | 99.6 |
Year 9 to Year 10 | 84.8 | 83.3 | 86.4 | 97.7 | 98.0 | 97.6 |
Year 10 to Year 11 | 61.7 | 65.5 | 64.9 | 87.0 | 87.7 | 87.5 |
Year 11 to Year 12 | 59.8 | 65.5 | 64.8 | 86.1 | 86.4 | 85.2 |
Participation - regional breakdown
Comparative
data on Indigenous youth in each ATSIC Region and the Torres Strait Area
who, in 1994, did not complete Year 10 show non-completion rates varied
greatly between the States and the NT and against the national average
of 36.3% (ABS 1996(a), pp.25-26).17 These contrasts
are illustrated in Table 2.2 below where the Northern Territory had the
worst rate for non-completion (52.8%) and Tasmania the best (10.8%). Intra
State/NT variations were also substantial (ATSIC submission, page 14).
Table: Indigenous
Youth (Aged 15 to 24 Years) Who did not Complete Year 10, for Australia,
States and the Northern Territory, 1994 (Showing Best and Worst Outcomes*
by ATSIC Regions)18
Location (States/Territories and ATSIC
Regions) |
Population (15-24 Years)
No. |
Did Not Complete Year
10 % |
Australia | 62,500 | 36.3 |
NSW | 16,400 | 45.2 |
Bourke Region | 1,500 | 63.4 |
Sydney Region | 4,800 | 28.6 |
Victoria | 3,700 | 37.5 |
Ballarat | 2,200 | 36.9 |
Wangaratta | 1,600 | 34.7 |
Queensland | 17,000 | 23.7 |
Cooktown Region | 1,300 | 46.0 |
Townsville Region | 3,200 | 22.2 |
South Australia | 3,600 | 33.2 |
Port Augusta | 1,200 | 40.8 |
Adelaide | 2,300 | 27.1 |
Western Australia | 9,500 | 34.4 |
Derby | 900 | 38.4 |
Kalgoorlie | 400 | 15.8 |
Tasmania / Hobart Region | 2,300 | 10.8 |
Northern Territory | 9,600 | 52.8 |
Aputulu | 1,700 | 84.2 |
Darwin | 1,500 | 21.9 |
* Data assessed by
ABS as not reliable has been excluded.
In NT
It is also
apparent that some 1,560 students in the compulsory schooling 4 to 14
age group . are not participating in formal education . The Indigenous
participation rate for the compulsory schooling years (4 to 14) is 87.1%
for males and 99.6% for females (NT Department of Education submission,
page 5).
Table: Percentage
Participation Rate by Age for NT Students, 1988-199719
4-14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 15-19 | Total | |
1988 | 91.8 | 78.8 | 59.3 | 29.8 | 8.5 | 4.3 | 36.3 | 75.0 |
1989 | 92.8 | 78.4 | 58.4 | 30.5 | 9.7 | 3.7 | 34.9 | 75.2 |
1990 | 93.0 | 81.1 | 59.9 | 33.1 | 11.2 | 3.7 | 35.9 | 76.0 |
1991 | 94.2 | 80.7 | 70.1 | 38.8 | 12.8 | 5.1 | 40.2 | 78.5 |
1992 | 94.2 | 79.5 | 65.3 | 41.6 | 12.4 | 4.7 | 40.3 | 78.6 |
1993 | 94.6 | 82.7 | 64.9 | 42.6 | 14.0 | 4.3 | 41.4 | 79.2 |
1994 | 95.0 | 82.0 | 66.0 | 41.9 | 12.5 | 3.2 | 40.3 | 79.4 |
1995 | 95.7 | 81.5 | 69.0 | 41.8 | 14.0 | 3.7 | 40.8 | 80.0 |
1996 | 96.0 | 83.7 | 66.2 | 45.4 | 13.7 | 3.6 | 41.8 | 80.8 |
1997 | 95.6 | 82.7 | 72.8 | 43.5 | 13.2 | 3.6 | 43.6 | 81.0 |
Attendance
The significance
of regular attendance was acknowledged.
The delivery
of educational outcomes is, of course, dependent on students attending
school on a regular basis. It is in this area that Indigenous students
have a generally poor track record which can only be addressed through
schools working in partnership with their respective communities. In this
context a determined commitment is needed in the approach of the family
to the education of their children (NT Minister for Education, 24 November
1999).
"Anecdotal evidence
suggested that large groups of school aged students in some major centres
did not attend school regularly; with overall attendance in some places
being as low as 60-70%."20 A CAEPR study in Maningrida identified
that "school attendance records show an average combined attendance
for the hub and homeland centre schools of around 64%, but some weeks
the attendance can drop as low as 20%"21 (ATSIC submission,
page 11).
In WA
"A survey
of schools conducted by the Aboriginal Education Branch in 1997 shows
[for WA government schools]:
- Aboriginal students
attend preschool 70% of the time compared to 85% for non-Aboriginal
students
- Aboriginal students
attend primary school 84% of the time compared to 93% for non-Aboriginal
students
- Aboriginal students
attend the compulsory years of secondary school 81% of the time compared
to 92% for non-Aboriginal students."22
Reasons for non-attendance
There are
a variety of reasons for non-attendance. Some children get teased at school.
Some are embarrassed because of their bad clothes. Some are from dysfunctional
families with lots of alcohol and gambling and as a result are often awake
until after midnight. Some don't come to school because they don't have
enough money for the tuckshop (Doomadgee Qld teachers meeting, 6 October
1999).
Retention - national overview
Indigenous
students are two and a half times more likely to leave school before finishing
Year 12 than non-Indigenous students (DETYA submission, page 88).
Table: Apparent
retention rates of Indigenous & non-Indigenous students to Years 10, 11
& 12, all schools, Australia, 1994-199823
1994
% |
1995
% |
1996
% |
1997
% |
1998
% |
|
Year 10 | |||||
Indigenous | 78.6 | 76.5 | 75.8 | 80.6 | 83.1 |
Non-Indigenous | 97.4 | 96.9 | 97.3 | 97.6 | 97.5 |
Difference (percentage points) | 18.8 | 20.4 | 21.5 | 17.0 | 14.4 |
Year 11 | |||||
Indigenous | 47.5 | 48.8 | 47.2 | 49.6 | 52.3 |
Non-Indigenous | 86.3 | 84.1 | 84.3 | 85.3 | 85.4 |
Difference (percentage points) | 38.8 | 35.3 | 37.1 | 35.7 | 33.1 |
Year 12 | |||||
Indigenous | 32.5 | 30.6 | 29.2 | 30.9 | 32.1 |
Non-Indigenous | 75.6 | 73.2 | 72.4 | 72.8 | 72.7 |
Difference (percentage points) | 43.1 | 42.6 | 43.2 | 41.9 | 40.6 |
Note: Apparent retention
rates for Indigenous students may be affected by an increased propensity
over time to identify as Indigenous.
Retention - regional breakdown
[T]he averaged
data on retention rates hide much worse outcomes in some parts of Australia.
For example, 1993 retention rates for Years 10, 11 and 12 in the Northern
Territory were 41.2%, 22.2% and 10.3% respectively compared with New South
Wales where the rates were 84.8%, 51.9% and 30.2%24 (ATSIC
submission, page 14).
... the percentage
of Indigenous youth who did not complete Year 10 in 1994 was 36.3% for
all of Australia, but the non-completion rate can be far greater for
rural and remote locations, for example, 63.4% for Bourke and 84.2%
for Aputula (David Curtis, ATSIC Commissioner, Melbourne hearing,
12 November 1999).
In NSW
We just
looked at it for the last 7 years and the retention rate has grown for
Aboriginal students and now is about the same for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
students (Rob Sweaney, Moree hearing, 4 March 1999).
Where is the good
news? We constitute a third of the population in Moree and we get 1%
through to Year 12 if we're lucky. Where's the good news? (Moree
NSW community meeting, 4 March 1999).
In NT
Northern
Territory-wide there are Year 12 retention rates of 42% [but] only 4%
of our Indigenous students achieve Year 12 level, and we think that this
is pointing to a provision of education which is clearly discriminatory
on the grounds of race (Robert Laird, Australian Education Union, Darwin
hearing, 10 May 1999).
In Queensland
Queensland
sits at 46% retention of students from Years 8 to 12; much higher than
New South Wales, which is 33% (Shane Williams, Education Queensland,
Brisbane hearing, 8 October 1999).
In WA of 1,012
Aboriginal students who enrolled in Year 1 in government schools in 1986
only 148 (14.6%) were enrolled in Year 12 in 1997.25
In 1997 in WA government
schools 82.8% of Aboriginal Year 9 students progressed into Year 10 compared
with 98.9% of non-Aboriginal students; 48.5% of Aboriginal Year 10 students
moved into Year 11 compared with 87% of non-Aboriginal students; and 41.6%
of Aboriginal students completing Year 11 enrolled in Year 12 (a total
of 148 students) compared with 74.6% of non-Aboriginal students (10,119
students).26
In 1997 67% of the
Aboriginal students enrolled completed Year 10 compared with 88% of non-Aboriginal
students and 72% of Aboriginal students enrolled completed Year 12 compared
with 85% of non-Aboriginal students.27
Of the 148 Aboriginal
Year 12 students in 1997, 44 (29.7%) achieved secondary graduation. This
number was a decrease from previous years: 84 graduates in 1996 and 68
in 1995. The requirements for secondary graduation did change significantly
in 1997.28 Eight Aboriginal students achieved a TEE score at
the minimum University entrance requirement or better (a similar number
to those graduating in 1995 and 1996).29
Aboriginal students
in country districts of WA are less likely to complete and graduate from
Year 12 than Aboriginal students in metropolitan and outer metropolitan
districts.
Statistically,
an Aboriginal male entering Year 8 in the Country Districts has a:
- 12% chance of
being retained to Year 12 [metro = 26%; outer metro = 31%]; and
- 5% chance of
achieving Secondary Graduation from Year 12 [metro = 9%; outer metro
= 25%].
Statistically, an
Aboriginal female entering Year 8 in the Country Districts has a:
- 15% chance of
being retained to Year 12 [metro = 31%; outer metro = 37%]; and
- 8% chance of
achieving Secondary Graduation from Year 12 [metro = 17%; outer metro
= 26%].30
C3 Literacy
and numeracy
National overview
Although
there was evidence that Indigenous students in remote locations were at
a particular disadvantage in terms of literacy and numeracy skills, such
disadvantage was also found in rural and urban settings. In urban locations
approximately 35% of Indigenous primary school students had significantly
lower literacy and numeracy achievement compared with approximately 43%
in rural and remote locations. The percentage of other Australian students
with significantly lower literacy and numeracy achievement levels was
estimated at 16% in both urban and rural and remote locations (DETYA
submission, page 48, reporting findings of research conducted by the Australian
Council for Education Research (ACER) in 1994).
'Literacy Standards
in Australia' (ACER, 1997) showed that in the National School English
Literacy Survey, only 19% of Year 3 Indigenous students and 23% of Year
5 Indigenous students met the draft minimum acceptable standard for
reading. For writing, only 29% of Year 3 Indigenous students and 24%
of Year 5 Indigenous students met the draft minimum acceptable standard
(DETYA submission, page 49).
Regional breakdown
In WA the
Education Department has reported that "the overall performance of Aboriginal
students is significantly lower in all learning areas, except physical
education, when compared to the performance of non-Aboriginal students".31
For example, in 1996 "83% of all Year 10 students met or exceeded the
Level 4 MSE [Monitoring Standards in Education] requirements for mathematics
skills compared to 37% of Aboriginal students" and in 1997 "91% of all
Year students met or exceeded [that level] for reading skills compared
to 75% of Aboriginal students".32
My experience
as the head this organisation is that at times we've had people who've
applied for positions who've basically been mature people, who've been
through the education system but have very poor literacy and numeracy
skills. They just can't read and write. These are not old people ... in
actual fact I think the contradiction is that the old people from the
missions are probably more educated (Peter Yu, Kimberley Land Council,
Broome hearing, 20 May 1999).
In NSW
My husband
is an AEA at Boggabilla School and he says that half the kids in the high
school can't read or write. It's sad (Boggabilla NSW ASSPA Committee
meeting, 5 March 1999).
In NT
... not
only did education outcomes plateau, they declined in many areas - particularly
in the areas of English literacy and numeracy which are the key building
blocks for economic survival in today's society. The reasons given for
the decline are many and varied (NT Education Minister, 24 November
1999).
Literacy levels
are very low amongst the children in the community. There are many skilled
people in their 30s and 40s in the community but there seems to be a
lack of skilled young people to take over the leadership roles. Community
elders fear the loss of Aboriginalisation of the community. They fear
that the traditional ways will be eroded if leadership does not emerge
through the younger people (Daguragu NT community meeting, 13 May
1999).
In Queensland
... the
data released in the statewide performance testing in literacy and numeracy
in Queensland - this is very recent data of the last three weeks - show
that Indigenous rural children's scores were significantly lower than
non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. In fact, half the
level of score (Dr David McSwan, James Cook University, Brisbane hearing,
8 October 1999).
My son is 19.
He has been attending pre-school and school in Doomadgee for the past
17 years. He still cannot read or write (Doomadgee Qld community
meeting, 6 October 1999).
Last year, in
Gulf and Torres Strait schools, not a single student qualified for tertiary
entrance ranking (Ian Mackie, Queensland Teachers' Union, Brisbane
hearing, 8 October 1999).
C4 Tertiary
participation
An analysis
of successful course completions and qualifications of 20 to 24 year old
Indigenous Australians (1991-1996) shows that educational attainment has
improved. The percentage of Indigenous Australians with a post-secondary
qualification increased from 8% to 11.7% and the percentage who left school
at age 15 or younger declined from 36% to 29%. In 1991 non-Indigenous
Australians were 3.3 times more likely to have a post-school qualification
than Indigenous Australians. In 1996 this difference had declined to 2.8
times (DETYA submission, page 90).
In 1998, 3.7%
of VET clients identified themselves as being Indigenous Australians,
which is significantly higher than their representation of 1.7% in the
general population aged between 15-64 (1996 census) (DETYA submission,
page 93).
Although Indigenous
people may be well represented in VET overall, they tend to be in lower
level and shorter courses compared with non-Indigenous Australians.
In 1998, around 35% of Indigenous enrolments were in AQF Certificate
I and II and Senior Secondary courses, around 13% in AQF Certificate
III and equivalent, and 11% in Diplomas and AQF Certificate IV and equivalent
courses. By comparison, non-Indigenous enrolments were 20%, 17% and
22% respectively (DETYA submission, page 94).
C5 Employment
opportunities
Research
shows the strong link between education attainment and employment prospects.
Research has revealed that completing Year 10 or 11 increases an Indigenous
person's chance of employment by 40%. Completing Year 12 increases employment
prospects by a further 13% and having a post-secondary qualification increases
employment prospects again by between 13 and 23%. It confirms that relatively
low levels of education is one of the major labour market disadvantages
faced by Indigenous people (David Curtis, ATSIC Commissioner, Melbourne
hearing, 12 November 1999).
ATSIC informed the
inquiry that, in 1996, 52% of Indigenous male adults in rural areas were
employed compared to 75% of all other male adults. Only 35% of Indigenous
female adults in rural areas were employed compared to 58% for all other
females in rural areas (ATSIC submission, page 40).
Having business
set up in our community and encouraging employment is the first thing.
The problem with that is though that we don't have many young people with
the level of education to try and take ... taking control of the jobs
(Nguiu NT community meeting, 11 May 1999).
I think figures
quoted by the economic unit for ATSIC if the current rate of unemployment
continues by the year 2006 something like 46% of Aboriginal people will
be unemployed in Australia. If you bring that down to a local level
you cannot disassociate the nature of education from employment, so
therefore you'd say that in actual fact the rate of success in the education
field is being pulled back. Because the facilities are not there in
the communities and kids are still leaving schools earlier (Peter
Yu, Kimberley Land Council, Broome hearing, 20 May 1999).
... but what are
you going to do with 20 hairdressers in Halls Creek? How is it targeted
to the skill needs in that community and what is the overall aspiration
of the community there in terms of trying to improve itself (Peter
Yu, Kimberley Land Council, Broome hearing, 20 May 1999).
If you've got
children who have gone through a six-year school program or even, in
some cases, nine, 12 years and they still end up unemployed in a community,
or if you've got adults that have been going for 20 years or more on
training programs who never achieve the jobs that they're always told
they're training for, then, obviously, there's going to be an erosion
of goodwill and trust in the process (Peter Toyne, Shadow Minister
for Education, Darwin hearing, 10 May 1999).
Moree Aboriginal
Education Workers also said that local knowledge and social issues within
their own community was most relevant because, especially in isolated
areas such as Boggabilla and Goodooga, 95% of the children will not leave
the area.
2-Unit Maths
and Japanese are going to be of no value or use to that community in the
long run. Why sit there wasting time? If they made it relevant to the
local community it's going to benefit the community: offer apprenticeship
courses through a joint Schools-TAFE program; hands-on things that our
kids are really good at (Moree NSW Aboriginal workers meeting, 5 March
1999).
Some kids go away
to do Years 11 and 12. They come back to Doomadgee and find that there
are no jobs, so they just start drinking and having babies. Other kids
coming up through the system see this happening so they don't see any
point going up to Year 12 (Doomadgee Qld community meeting, 6 October
1999).
Endnotes
14 EDWA
1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools,
page 3.
15 This excludes Indigenous employment associated with the
Community Development Employment Projects Scheme.
16 From DETYA submission, page 91.
17 Stanley, Owen and Hansen, Geoff, 1998 ABSTUDY: An Investment
for Tomorrow's Employment - A Review of ABSTUDY for the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Commission, Commonwealth of Australia page
47.
18 ATSIC submission, pages 14-15. Adapted from ABS, 1994
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey: Australia's Indigenous
Youth, 1996, pages 25-26. Extracted here from Stanley and Hansen,
page 48.
19 NT Department of Education submission, page 4.
20 Stanley, Owen and Hansen, Geoff, 1998 ABSTUDY: An Investment
for Tomorrow's Employment - A Review of ABSTUDY for the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Commission, Commonwealth of Australia, page
45.
21 Schwab, R.G, 1998 Educational 'failure' and educational
'success' in an Aboriginal community, Centre for Aboriginal Economic
Policy Research Discussion Paper No. 161/98, ANU, page 5.
22 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government
Schools, page 4.
23 DETYA submission, page 91. See also Table 2.1 in ATSIC's
submission, on pages 12-13, which compares apparent retention rates for
the period 1989-1996.
24 CofA 1994(a), page 68. Extracted here from Stanley and Hansen,
page 47: ATSIC submission.
25 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government
Schools, page 3.
26 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government
Schools, page 4.
27 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government
Schools, page 5.
28 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government
Schools, page 5.
29 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government
Schools, page 6.
30 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government
Schools, page 10-11.
31 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government
Schools, page 7.
32 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government
Schools, page 7.
D:
Commonwealth, State and Territory
Indigenous education policies and programs
Last
updated 2 December 2001.