In this paper, I consider the importance of Indigenous studies programs, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as critical elements in enabling Indigenous Australian students to engage in the academe in ways that not only allow them to empower themselves, but, ultimately, to become effective change agents within both their own and the wider Australian community. While this paper will highlight the challenges that Indigenous Australians face in their engagement within the university learning environment, it will also reveal the increasingly successful outcomes that are being achieved. A particular focus of the paper will be to acknowledge higher education as a tool of empowerment – a process that enables people to identify and address their own issues, and to use such knowledge and understanding as the platform for personal, positive growth. Finally this paper will contextualise higher education from within an Indigenous perspective to demonstrate how Indigenous studies not only contributes to the empowerment of the individual but also has a critical role in ultimately re-positioning Indigenous Australians in the wider Australian society.

This article reports on the findings of an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded research project, ‘Building the future for Indigenous students’, an investigation of the hopes and dreams for the future of over 1,000 secondary students, 733 of whom were Indigenous, living in very remote, remote, and urban locations in the Northern Territory. Using both quantitative and qualitative research tools, researchers sought to understand what motivated the students at school and how they studied — critical elements in successful school achievement. In this article, the analysis of Indigenous student responses to a series of questions in the qualitative component of the study is presented. The analysis concludes that urban and remote Indigenous school children provide similar responses to questions that probe: (1) the value of education/school/self, (2) learner future goals, (3) learner motivation, and (4) learning preferences. The study also finds that very remote Indigenous school children, while similar in some question responses to both groups, also show some important differences that raise questions for more research.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the educational journey of indigenous Australians since the time of the 1788 invasion through into the modern Australian university. This exploration is intended to clarify the way in which education delivery in this country has been used to position the nation's "first peoples" within a context of centre/periphery thinking. Design/methodology/approach -The paper established an overview of the educational service provision for indigenous Australians through a review of archival materials, historical texts and education reports. This information was then aligned with the data gathered through face-to-face interviews and focus group meetings conducted by the author in her own PhD research, to test the complementarity of the sources in terms of the indigenous experience. Findings -The paper provides insights into the current positioning of indigenous Australians. The process of viewing the present against the backdrop of the past identified important historical landmarks that were then examined through the diversity of lens provided through interviews/ meetings with contemporary students and staff to reveal the critical impact of centre/periphery thinking on indigenous education in this country. Originality/value -This paper provides an historical overview of indigenous Australian education that, in clarifying some of the connections and ruptures between "centre and periphery", provides valuable insights into the full diversity of the indigenous historical experience in Australian education.

This Workshop paper was presented at the Ministerial Council on Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affair s (MCEETYA) Gender Equity Taskforce Promoting Gender Equity Conference 22-24 February 1995 held in Canberra and attended by advisers to various State/Territory governments, academics and some school-based educators, on gender issues.

This article examines some of the contemporary policies and practices in Australian early years education to provide an insight into why social justice is such a critical element in preparing Australia's Indigenous children to engage in learning experiences in ways that will enable them to establish sound foundations for their future learning journeys. In order to understand why social justice and equity are central to delivering quality early years education to Indigenous children, it is vital that the modern educator has some knowledge of educational history, in particular the role of education in promoting and maintaining the status quo, thus ensuring the continuing dominance of those who occupied positions of power. Viewing the expectations of contemporary early years education against the backdrop of past realities serves to highlight the way in which education sets the scene for the cultural destruction and dispossession that has, in too many parts of the world, been the long-term outcome of education for Indigenous peoples. Examining the themes and forms of discourse that have informed the theorising and practice underpinning the development of concepts around social justice demonstrates the importance of addressing diversity in early years education contexts.

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This Special Issue of the Australian Journal of Indigenous Education presents a unique collection of nine articles representing the initial outputs from the Remote Education Systems’ (RES) 5-year project to research and identify ways in which education systems might respond more effectively to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander expectations, aspirations and learning needs. The project is unique for two reasons: (1) its focus on one of the most critical and complex aspects of the Australian education landscape — the need for systemic change in improving the education outcomes of Indigenous students living in remote locations throughout the nation; and (2) there is sufficient time for researchers to meaningfully engage with the diversity of remote-based stakeholders — educators, parents, students and the wider community – in order to obtain their viewpoints concerning the value of the remote-based education service delivery provided in their schools.

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