As part of my work this year I was required to undertake an evaluation project. I decided to combine some of my concerns about the appropriateness for Aboriginal students of some of the ways in which state education curriculum priorities are implemented with one of my focus curriculum areas, namely Work Education.

In South Australia the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy ( AEP ) is seen as the overarching Aboriginal Education Policy. However, most Aboriginal students in South Australia and all state schools are required to address mandatory curriculum are as set out in the “Educating for the 21st Century” (1990), the curriculum policy document.

Maningrida is one of the largest of the Aboriginal communities in the ‘Top End’ of the Northern Territory. It is located on the eastern bank of the Liverpool River and is home for some 1000 residents. Maningrida is identified on most maps but what is not so readily identified is the large number of smaller communities, located within a 100 kilometre radius of Maningrida and provided with services from there (see Map 1). These small communities (outstations or homeland centres) are found on the homelands of the families who live within them and the groups are usually quite small.

The Philosophy for Children programme was developed during the 1970s and 1980s to address the low level of thinking skills exhibited by university and high school students in the United States. A programme of studies in philosophy for children from grade one upwards was based on eight novels with accompanying instructional manuals to assist the teacher in extracting the philosophical issues from the novels as children choose them. This programme is relevant and appropriate for use as part of the English curriculum in a remote Aboriginal school in Australia: whether the school has a bilingual or bicultural program in place or not, Philosophy for Children is fitting as it makes thinking skills explicit. Basing it on a concept of a community of inquiry is very supportive to people from a non-English speaking background. The programme of Philosophy for Children brings in subjects from all curriculum areas, thus encouraging the recently supported integrated approach, but is particularly useful for language learning and understanding.

Middle ear disease is one of the most common childhood illnesses (Kokko 1974) and often results in hearing loss. This type of conductive hearing loss is endemic among Aboriginal children in particular. Between twenty-five and fifty percent of Aboriginal primary school age children are affected by hearing loss at any point in time (Quinn 1988). However, Aboriginal children's hearing loss is often not identified, in part because of ‘masking’ due to cultural differences. The awareness of possible hearing loss among non-Aboriginal children is usually prompted by children's behaviour. For example, the children don't follow directions and fail to answer questions. However, among Aboriginal children these behaviours may also be attributed to cultural differences in appropriate social behaviour (Harris 1980). Therefore, concern about possible hearing loss is less likely to emerge on the basis of the behaviour of Aboriginal children (Price 1981, Howard 1991). This means identification of Aboriginal children's hearing loss often occurs only if children are tested, usually as part of a hearing screening program. However, in some areas of the Northern Territory at least, the likelihood of Aboriginal student's hearing being screened has actually diminished in recent years.

Recently, I asked a young teacher who made much use of the computer in her classroom, “Why do Aboriginal children succeed at the computer?”.

She gave these reasons:

1. 1. Racial differences go out the window.

2. 2. Ability groups do not matter - all are happily involved.

3. 3. Concepts, e.g. direction, come early.

4. 4. Hastens sight-word recognition.

5. 5. Adult helpers are well employed.