Systemic Racism: The Hidden Barrier to Educational Success for Indigenous School Students

Abstract

Explanations for poor educational experiences and results for Australian Indigenous school students have, to a great extent, focused on intended or conscious acts or omissions. This paper adopts an analysis based on the legislation prohibiting indirect racial discrimination. Using the elements of the legislation and case law it argues that apparently benign and race-neutral policies and practices may unwittingly be having an adverse impact on Indigenous students' education. These practices or policies include the building blocks of learning, a Eurocentric school culture, Standard English as the language of assessment, legislation to limit schools' legal liability, and teachers' promotions.

Racial Inclusion in Education: An Australian Context

“…A Sikh schoolboy was denied enrolment in a school because he could not adhere to the school uniform due to a religious rule (De Plevitz 2007).…”

“…After neglecting the issue of racism in schools in the past, many Australian educational departments and schools are more recently focusing on dealing with the challenges posed in order to become more inclusive (De Plevitz 2007). In many countries, social group hierarchies and contextual events have helped to shape the perceptions of racism.…”

“…Contextual influences can shape group-based perceptions of racism (Bailey et al 2017). Many successful exemplars provide the degree of progress achieved in addressing racism (De Plevitz 2007). Studies on individual versus structural racism could demonstrate the perceptions and status of current social inequality (Correa-Montoya and Castro-Martínez 2016; Anderson and Boyle 2015).…”

Aspiration, achievement and access: The ACT-Indigenous Success pathway to university

“…From the open genocide of nation groups (Moses, 2000) and the forced removal of children (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, HREOC, 1997), to the high levels of (both implicit and overt) racism still evident, Indigenous people continue to endure systematic, and systemic, discrimination (de Plevitz, 2006(de Plevitz, , 2007. The recent debate surrounding Adam Goodes (a talented Indigenous football player whose public stance concerning Indigenous issues has placed him at the centre of a national debate on racism) is a prime example of this.…”

How Do Pre-service Teachers Cope With a Literacy Intervention Program in a Remote Indigenous Community? The Community Action Support Program in the Northern Territory, Australia

“…In illustrating this inequity, it is claimed that the overrepresentation of Indigenous Hawaiian students in special education is partly through the failures of standardized testing, but more through teachers' interpretation of "inappropriate" behaviour (Ogata, Sheehey & Noonan, 2006). Indigenous learners face the possibility of negative assessment based on unconsciously held and culturally specific notions about interpretations of student behaviour (De Plevitz, 2007). In regards to Indigenous students, low literacy levels exist particularly for those in remote areas (Kral & Schwab, 2003).…”