Bulletin

Issue: April 2006

News

Education and Indigenous students

La Trobe University Bendigo Senior Lecturer in Education, Mr Raymond Nichol, has produced a book that examines the history and practice of education for Indigenous students in Australia.

It examines the widespread failure to meet their needs and offers creative ways to incorporate Indigenous forms of learning.

Entitled Socialisation, Land and Citizenship Among Aboriginal Australians: Reconciling Indigenous and Western Forms of Education, the 460 page book was recently published in New York by the Edwin Mellen Press.

It is being distributed in the USA, UK and elsewhere in Europe, and Australia and has been reviewed very positively in the United States and Australia.

Mr Nichol argues that culturally appropriate education for Indigenous people is not a privilege but a fundamental right. He explores Indigenous Australian education, particularly over the last 30 years, and suggests forms of reconciliation between western and Indigenous forms of education.

Mr Nichol says he hopes the book will help to increase understanding of the context of education for Aboriginal students and their communities.

‘It aims to provide insight and positive directions for students, educators and those working in allied professions, particularly those in Indigenous Studies, Indigenous education and health, and community development courses.’