School House to Big House

Abstract

<jats:p>In 1991, the Australian Government released the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Report. Of the 339 recommendations, <jats:italic>Recommendation 62</jats:italic> identified that there was an alarming over-representation of Indigenous youth in contact with the criminal justice system. The report called for immediate action by governments to develop strategies that would urgently reduce retention rates of Indigenous youth within the prison system. Analysis of the literature indicates that almost three decades after the release of this report, the high numbers of Indigenous youth who are incarcerated, or who have come into contact with the juvenile justice system remains the same. Although there is a good deal of literature investigating the criminological characteristics of this phenomena; there is a substantial gap in the literature surrounding the educational exclusion of young Indigenous males from the formal education system. This paper focusses specifically on the literature surrounding student exclusion from state schools and how this may provide some insight into the subsequent over-representation of young Indigenous males within the Queensland juvenile justice system.</jats:p>

Overrepresentation of Indigenous students in school suspension, exclusion, and enrolment cancellation in Queensland: is there a case for systemic inclusive school reform?

“…This same research found that African American students are four times as likely and Latinx students twice as likely to be suspended or expelled for minor offences in primary school (Skiba et al, 2011). While the overrepresentation of Indigenous students in the use of exclusionary school discipline has also been observed in the Australian context, only a very small number of studies have investigated this to date (Beauchamp, 2012;de Plevitz, 2006;Gardiner et al, 1995;Graham et al, 2020a;O'Brien & Trudgett, 2020). None has been national, most have used only descriptive statistics or reviewed existing literature, and only one (Graham et al, 2020a) has conducted longitudinal or disaggregated analyses.…”

Early childhood education and care for Indigenous children and their families from colonised nations

“…O'Brien and Trudgett (2018) argue it is essential that Indigenous children are able to recognise their own culture within all systems of education. This requires more than scattering within the curriculum an occasional Indigenous song or an Indigenous story.…”

Racial Profiling, Surveillance and Over-Policing: The Over-Incarceration of Young First Nations Males in Australia

“…Federal, state and territory government policies that impose social and economic disadvantage must be addressed to achieve any significant change for the next generation of young First Nations peoples. First Nations peoples and organisations that facilitate First Nations led programs have better prospects than non-Indigenous government led programs at achieving long-term success (Hunt 2013;O'Brien and Trudgett 2018). Goldson (2006) stated that to institutionalise children with multifaceted needs and who present with complex vulnerabilities is a fundamentally violent act in of itself.…”