It is common knowledge that higher levels of educational achievement improves

employment opportunities and are associated with higher income. Education includes
early childhood education, primary and high school education as well as any post
school education and training, therefore education is an important factor to life and
unfortunately throughout history Indigenous groups across Australia have had many
contributing factors against them to lead them into being marginalised from
mainstream education. Some of the major contributing factors towards this education
gap between the indigenous and non- indigenous Australians include a lack of
knowledge about Aboriginal historical and cultural contexts and rural and remote
areas causing a lack of access to educational facilities. Non-inclusive language and
literacy within schooling facilities causes marginalisation as well as Indiginous people
being more prone to certain health issues. According to Jorgensen, R, Grootenboer, P,
Neische, R and Lerman, S. (2010) Pg 161, concerns still prevail about the lack of
performance of Indigenous students in Australia compared to their non-indigenous
peers.
All Australian Aborigines shared an intimate understanding of, and relationship with,
the land. That relationship was the base of their spiritual life and shaped the
Aboriginal culture. The oral stories explain how the land was created by the journeys
of the spirit ancestors and how they breathed life into the land and made it rich for
the people. (Broome, R. 2010 Pg 5). Aboriginals have an immense amount of history
that is told orally about their past, explaining the beginning of life and their
relationship with the land from hundreds of years ago but unfortunately according to
Simpson, L and Clancy, S (2005) Pg 328-329, the main knowledge and focus of
Australian history began in 1770 when the Europeans arrived and claimed Australia.
Until recently this is what has been taught in schools therefore there is limited
knowledge within the non-Aboriginal communities of the history of Aboriginal people
and their oral stories of their land and culture before the European invasion occurred.
Aboriginals have been marginalised from mainstream education due to a vast amount
of the Australian non-Aboriginal population, including many teachers, having a lack
of knowledge or understanding of Australian aboriginals and their way of life.
According to Simpson, L and Clancy, S (2005) Pg 329, Australia is such a varied
country and the environments that are populated by the indigenous is quite vast and

wide spread from urban and rural areas to remote, coastal, desert and mountain
regions. Part of Australia's Aborigines way of life involved hunting and gathering,
those communities within the territory of coast or rivers were expert fishermen. The
territories were defined by geographic boundaries such as rivers, lakes and mountains.
Aboriginal Arts (2013). Due to such a close connection and relationship with the land
according to their culture throughout Australia, the indigenous population generally
lived in rural and remote areas to maintain their connection with the land. This
unfortunately contributes to the educational gap between indigenous and nonindigenous people. There are sufficient statistics to indicate a gap between nonIndigenous and Indigenous school attendance rates. Living in rural and remote areas
decreases the amount of access people have to educational facilities. If a person has to
travel a long distance to obtain an education each day then it is most likely to decrease
their attendance rate, causing them to have a lack of knowledge and education,
allowing them to being marginalised from mainstream education as they fall behind.
Indigenous people are more likely than all Australians to have never attended school.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (1996) In 1994, 5% of Indigenous
people aged 15 and over reported that they had never attended school and 71% who
were no longer attending school had left before completing Year 12. A further 17%
had obtained a post-school qualification. Overall, Indigenous women reported a
higher level of educational attainment than Indigenous men. 5% of Indigenous women
had a diploma or higher qualification compared to 3% of Indigenous men.

Since the beginning of National Australian Program in Literacy and Numeracy

(NAPLAN) in 2008, results continue to show very poor educational outcomes for
indigenous students, especially in the NT. Ford, M. (2013) Pg 81 suggests that the
point of view that tests are culturally inappropriate and not in indigenous languages
have been accepted arguments for poor results for many years. Unfortunately these
are not the only factors causing the marginalisation of Aboriginal Australians from
mainstream literacy education over the years. According to the Indigenous Literacy
foundation (2013) the gap in the English literacy rates of Indigenous and nonIndigenous people in Australia is quite large. The gap between Indigenous and nonIndigenous students unveils itself early. Non-Indigenous students far out-perform
Indigenous students in benchmark tests for reading, writing and numeracy in Year 3

and Year 5. By Year 7, the gap has widened. This may be due to the fact that NonIndigenous homes have a smaller amount if any books, computers and other
educational resources than Indigenous homes. Having access to educational resources
will help children get a head start with their literacy attainment and children who do
not have access or opportunity for these resources fall behind the mainstream. These
factors are contributed to childrens achievements at school and in the development of
English literacy skills. Another situation causing the vast gap in literacy skills is the
Aboriginal Language. Aboriginal English is not the main language used in Australian
classrooms, there are over 700 different types of Aboriginal language and this can
cause the child to be confused or misunderstood, this being a major factor
contributing to the marginalisation of aboriginal children from mainstream education.
Simpson, L and Clancy, S (2005) Pg 330. The development of English literacy skills
is important for the life opportunities of Indigenous children and youth. Literacy
provides them with 'the necessary skills to interact within mainstream society and
include themselves in a range of civic, social, educational and employment
possibilities. The gap has not only marginalised aboriginals from mainstream
education it has also contributed to the lack of employment opportunities which in
turn leads to aboriginals having a lower income to support their way of life.
(Indigenous Literacy foundation 2013)

Regular school attendance is critical for the achievement of gaining an education but
unfortunately due to various reasons, specifically health related attendance rates of
non-Aboriginal Australians are affected. Lyons, Z and Janca, A (2012) Pg 8 state that
Indigenous children are more prone to certain health complications such as Otitis
Media which is a middle ear infection. This infection can cause up to 32 months of
school absenteeism from school for an indigenous child compared to an average of 3
months for a non-indigenous child. Acute rheumatic fever, also a common illness
experienced by non- Aboriginal children is an autoimmune consequence of infection
with bacteria. It is an inflammatory disease that can affect all parts of the body and
can cause long- term heart complications. Gastroenteritis is an illness that both
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children will experience but unfortunately indigenous
children are more prone to this condition and it can be a cause of hospitalisation for

them. Higher rates of respiratory infections are also apparent in indigenous children.
The indigenous community being affected by poor health plays a role in their
educational outcomes resulting in lower levels of gained knowledge and achievement,
contributing to the education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
communities resulting in the indigenous being marginalised from mainstream
education. Due to Indigenous children being seen as different or considered outside
the norm due to their Aboriginality they may be outcast or bullied at school affecting
their social and emotional wellbeing. Children who experience bullying may
experience symptoms of anxiety or depression and due to this stop attending school to
avoid conflict. Therefore creating lower attendance records and less educational
outcomes. Absenteeism from school negatively affects students academic
performance.

It is evident that historically there have been many contributing reasons as to why
Aboriginal Australians have been marginalized from mainstream education. Although
they are not the only causes cultural and historical factors and well as living in rural
and remote areas have played a huge role. Literacy and language barriers cause
conflict as well as health concerns decreasing attendance. Overall Aboriginals have
been disadvantaged historically when it comes to the attainment of education.

References:
Aboriginal Arts. (2013). Australian Aboriginal Culture. Retrieved 25/04/13 from:
http://www.aboriginalarts.co.uk/aboriginal_culture.htm
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1996) Australian Social Trends, 1996 Retrieved
25/04/13from http://www.abs.gov.au
Broome, R. (2010) Aboriginal Australians, A History Since 1788 (4th ed.) New South
Wales: Allen and Unwin
Ford, M. (2013) Achievement Gaps in Australia: What NAPLAN reveals about
education inequality in Australia. Race Ethnicity Education.16(1) 80-102. Doi:
10.1080/13613324.2011.645570
Indigenous literacy Foundation (2013) Indigenous Literacy retrieved 25/04/13 from
http://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/what-is-indigenous-literacy.html
Jorgensen, R, Grootenboer, P, Neische, R and Lerman, S. (2010). Challenges for
teacher education: the mismatch between beliefs and practise in remote indigenous
contexts, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 38(2), 161-175. Doi:
10.1080/13598661003677580

Lyons, Z and Janca, A. (2012). Indigenous Children in Australia: Health, Education

and Optimism for the Future. Australian Journal of Education, 56 (1), 5-21. Doi:
10.1177/000494411205600102
Simpson, L and Clancy, S. (2005): Enhancing Opportunities for Australian Aboriginal
Literacy Learners in Early Childhood Settings. Childhood Education. 81(6), 327-332.
Doi: 10.1080/00094056.2005.10521321