Indigenous-Education-Review_DRAFT

Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory
Bruce Wilson
The structure of the report
This report analyses the current state of play in the education of Indigenous young people in the
Northern Territory, outlines findings, discusses the basis of those findings and makes
recommendations. This introductory section includes a short reference to the Learning Lessons
review and a list of review recommendations. The rest of the report starts with three preliminary
sections intended to set the context for the key findings:
a caveat about the areas that educators can and cannot control;
a discussion of the demographics of the Northern Territory; and
an outline of the review’s approach to ‘town’ and ‘bush’ schools in the Northern Territory 2 .
The report then addresses those areas where changes are needed to improve outcomes and
opportunities for Indigenous young people:
the structures and practices of the Department of Education (DoE);
the early childhood years: the period before children enter school when much of their
capacity to benefit from schooling is shaped;
primary education, where children ought to gain the foundations on which a high quality
education is built;
secondary education, including middle schooling and senior schooling, when young people
gain the learning that will shape their opportunities in life and give them power over their
lives;
attendance, which is the principal school‐level barrier to improved outcomes;
wellbeing and behaviour and their links to effective learning;
community engagement: how schools can most effectively work with parents and
communities to benefit the children they serve;
workforce planning: teacher quality and supply, addressing the core lever for change in
schools; and
the financial basis for Northern Territory Government education, including relationships
between the Australian and Northern Territory Governments.
DRAFT
There is also a series of appendices providing additional material relevant to the draft report.
This is the draft review report. The final version of the report, due in March 2014, will include further
appendices containing more detailed data about some aspects of Indigenous education in the
Northern Territory.
Learning Lessons
The last major review of Indigenous education in the Northern Territory was the Collins review,
Learning Lessons (Collins, 1999). In 1998, the Northern Territory Government established a Review
Team, comprising the Hon. Bob Collins, Tess Lea, and a team of departmental personnel to fulfill the
Terms of Reference to establish:
the views and educational aspirations of Indigenous parents and community members in
relation to their children’s schooling, with particular reference to English literacy and
numeracy;
the key issues affecting educational outcomes for Indigenous children; and
supportable actions for educational outcome improvements.
2 See Chapter 4 ‘Two systems’ for the definitions of ‘town’ and ‘bush’ schools.
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