The Australian Educational Researcher (2019) 46:273–295

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00312-8

The impact of racism on the schooling experiences

of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students:
A systematic review

Nikki Moodie1 · Jacinta Maxwell2 · Sophie Rudolph3

Received: 8 August 2018 / Accepted: 18 February 2019 / Published online: 1 March 2019
© The Australian Association for Research in Education, Inc. 2019

Abstract
We present results of a systematic review of empirical research on racism and the
schooling experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, focussing
on research published from 1989 to 2016. Our review is part of a series of system-
atic literature reviews on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in Aus-
tralia. It attends to diverse manifestations of racism, from institutional and systemic
discrimination to everyday microaggressions, and varying levels of analysis, from
individual experiences to cohort approaches. This work adopts a critical perspec-
tive on disciplinary boundaries and the outcomes discourse within the broad field
of education research. Additionally, we discuss the challenges inherent in system-
atic review inclusion/exclusion criteria related to racism in a field such as education
in which racism and discrimination are frequently misrepresented or misreported,
for example, as disciplinary and behaviour management issues, disadvantage or as
regional and remote education challenges. The review discusses study types and
locations, explores how racism is defined and understood and details the effects of
racism on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Keywords Race · Racism · Discrimination · Prejudice · Indigenous · Education

* Nikki Moodie
nikki.moodie@unimelb.edu.au
Jacinta Maxwell
jacinta.maxwell@usq.edu.au
Sophie Rudolph
sophie.rudolph@unimelb.edu.au
1
School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne,
Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
2
School of Linguistics, Adult and Specialist Education, University of Southern Queensland,
Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
3
Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010,
Australia

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274 N. Moodie et al.

Introduction

This paper forms part of a larger project deploying the systematic review method
to explore empirical research on different aspects of education and schooling for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander1 students (reference to methodology paper, this
issue). In this paper, we report on the results of a systematic review of empirical
research published between 1989 and 2016 into racism and its impact on Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander students by asking the question: How is racism understood
to influence schooling experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students?
Whilst other systematic reviews in the Aboriginal Voices project assessed literature
in the range 2006-2016, our review extends to 1989, recognising the release of the
first National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (Department
of Education, Employment and Training 1989). Our review identified a collection
of 2138 papers which were subject to de-duplication and appraisal, resulting in 46
studies included in the review.
The findings of our review show that whilst researchers have developed a more
nuanced appreciation of what racism is over a generation, the effects of racism on
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school students are well described, significant
and stable in the empirical research. These effects include school withdrawal, de-
identifying as Indigenous, emotional distress and internalisation of negative beliefs
about Indigenous intelligence and academic performance. These experiences then
shape the school choice and school engagement strategies of those students when
they themselves become parents. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
tend to have a more complex understanding of what racism is than teachers, and
tend to self-determine their responses rather than relying on teachers or schools to
implement anti-racist responses (which students perceive as unlikely). Teachers tend
to attribute problems at school to home life and diminish the impact of their own
assumptions about Indigenous ability. Schools tend not to implement pro-active
anti-racism strategies. With an increased focus in the Australian school system of
high-stakes testing, this systematic review suggests that the initially high expecta-
tions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have of themselves become
difficult to sustain in the face of persistent and repeated negative representations
of Indigeneity, Indigenous intelligence and academic achievement from teachers,
schools and the media.

1
In this article, we use the terms ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ and ‘Indigenous’ often inter-
changeably but with recognition both of original source material and the inadequacy of these terms.
When referring to specific Indigenous political collectives, we will use their preferred description such as
Wurundjeri People and Kulin Nation.

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The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal… 275

Methodology

Systematic reviews are used in the health sciences to assess the rigour of design in
quantitative studies, and to enable meta-analyses or statistical comparisons of those
findings such as through documented data extraction and confirmation strategies,
disclosure of variables, comparing methods for identifying and controlling for bias
and comparing effect estimates or confidence intervals (Welch et al. 2012). System-
atic reviews of qualitative research are however becoming more common and often
attend to issues of equity, but still prioritise a particular understanding of rigour in
study design. In applying this methodology, the authors acknowledge the importance
of research conducted by and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and
participants.

Positioning

We come to this project as a group of early career researchers, one Aboriginal and
two non-Indigenous women, committed to anti-racist work that centres First Nations
sovereignty. We also came to this project with a degree of scepticism, aware of the
deep injustices that Western research traditions have perpetrated on Indigenous peo-
ple worldwide (Smith 2012). However, being aware too of the misuse of research,
we were open to what this method might reveal. We have endeavoured to keep this
tension visible throughout our discussion.

Method

Given their use in medical research, the systematic literature review method is a
tested strategy to synthesise empirical studies. They rely on strict models for the
definition of research questions and frameworks for each stage of data collection,
extraction and analysis. The five steps in a systematic review—framing the question;
identifying relevant work; assessing quality; summarising evidence and interpreting
findings—were followed systematically, to identify research relevant to our ques-
tion. The research question, sources, inclusion/exclusion criteria and filtering and
appraisal process are documented in Fig. 1.

Review question

The question used for this systematic review was: “How is racism understood to
influence schooling experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students?”
In designing a question to enable the best description of the research (Stage 1), we
attend to three key issues. First, we document the methods used to explore this issue
empirically and the jurisdictions from which the research emerges. This alludes to
any consistent absences in research location, patterns of research funding or exper-
tise. Second, we focus on the various conceptualisations of ‘racism’ by research-
ers and participants in the empirical research. In designing the research question,

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Fig. 1 Five stages of a systematic review Adapted from Khan et al. (2003)

concepts such as ‘outcomes’, ‘engagement’ and ‘success’ were avoided in order to

enable a review that was responsive to the various manifestations of racism through-
out a school career. Finally, we describe the various impacts of racism on Aborigi-
nal and Torres Strait Islander school students, as documented and analysed in the
empirical literature.
Table 1 provides the three core concepts and keywords used in search strings.
Minor variations were required according to the parameters and terminology adopted
by various databases (responding to, for example, the definitional complexity of

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The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal… 277

Table 1 Search terms

Concept 1: Indigenous Concept 2: Racism Concept 3: Schooling

Aborigin* Racism School*

Indigen* Racial “Secondary school”
“Torres Strait*” Race “Primary school”
Indigenous populations Stereotyp* “High school”
Discrim* “Public school”
Acculturation “Middle school”
“Racial bias” Elementary
“Ethnic stereotyp*” Boarding
“Hate crime” “Junior high school”
Prejudice “School environment”
Stigma “School facilities”
Marginali*
“Equal education”
“Social equality”
Bully*
Disadvantaged
Whiteness
Assimilat*
“Compensatory education”

Table 2 Databases and initial Database Results

results
Informit A + education 533
Informit indigenous collection 215
ERIC-Ovid 238
PsycInfo 265
ProQuest 589
Scopus 167
Web of Science 131
Total records 2138

indigeneity such as where the term ‘Aboriginal’ is used similarly in Australia and
Canada).

Databases and publication sources

The authors conducted searches of seven online databases listed in Table 2 (Stage
2). Hand searches were conducted producing four results, one of which was included
in the final review.

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278 N. Moodie et al.

Fig. 2 Stage 2 screening tool—inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Emerging from the research question, five inclusion and three exclusion criteria
were established to refine results (Fig. 2). With the intent to establish the ‘state of
the field’, we restricted our review to peer-reviewed academic literature.2,3 This
necessarily excluded a number of government documents, unrefereed project
reports and grey literature, which is a significant limitation of our study. However,

2
Where findings from a Masters or Doctoral thesis are later published in a peer-reviewed publication,
the latter publication was retained.
3
Where articles are re-published, the earliest peer-reviewed publication was retained.

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The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal… 279

in determining a time period for review, we found little justification for restricting
our search to the decade 2006 to 2016.4 Research on Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples’ education in Australia received national attention from 1989, with
the release of the first National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Pol-
icy, which explicitly noted the effect of racism in education. We have thus conducted
the first systematic review of 27 years—a generation—of research on racism and
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ schooling from 1989 to 2016.

Filtering and appraisal

Filtering and selection

If the paper’s abstract or other bibliographic fields did not describe research, evalu-
ation or empirical evidence, it was excluded. Similarly, if an article did not describe
a methodology, was not peer reviewed or did not respond to the review question, it
was excluded. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for Stage 2 assessment are provided
in Fig. 2. Application of filtering processes reduced the number of included articles
from 2138 to 1886 (see Fig. 3). All papers at this stage were coded and removed
according to the inclusion criteria.

Assessing quality

Each paper was appraised according to the Long and Godfrey (2004) scoring sys-
tem, which assesses aspects of quality in qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods
studies (Stage 3, Fig. 4). In the review of each paper, a score of 1 was given if the
criterion was fully met, 0.5 if the criterion was partially met and 0 if it was not met
satisfactorily. Scores were calculated for each paper reviewed. Those that did not
achieve a score of at least 3 out of a possible 6 were rejected. From the 1886 papers,
1853 were excluded (see Fig. 3), leaving 6 mixed methods studies, 8 quantitative
studies and 32 qualitative studies. A summary of critical appraisals for each paper
is provided in accordance with the Long and Godfrey (2004) guidelines in Tables 3
(qualitative studies), 4 (mixed methods studies) and 5 (quantitative studies).

Summarising evidence

Each paper was analysed for ten key types of data (Stage 4): issue, methodology,
research design, sample size, racism (definition), impact (of racism on students),
outcomes discussed, cohort (preschool, primary, secondary), gender (of partici-
pants) and jurisdiction.

4
All other papers in this systematic review project were restricted to research published 2006–2016;
whilst that period includes the nationalisation of education policies and the Council of Australian Gov-
ernments (COAG) endorsement of the ‘Closing the Gap’ policy, this policy change did not explicitly
address racism. Racism was clearly stated as key factor in the alienation of Indigenous people from edu-
cation in the NATSIEP, hence our use of this date range.

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Fig. 3 Filtering strategy

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The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal… 281

Fig. 4 Quality assessment—critical appraisal checklist

Results

The results of the review reveal six mixed methods studies, eight quantitative stud-
ies and 32 qualitative studies, demonstrating the prevalence of qualitative empiri-
cal work in this area. Quantitative studies have increased in recent years and are
often from within the discipline of psychology. It is critical to note that following
appraisal with the Long and Godfrey (2004) tool, the majority of autobiographi-
cal and narrative accounts from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors were
excluded (for example, because research design was omitted). This is a major limita-
tion of the systematic review method, critical appraisal tools and the overall study
design. In this section, we outline the key findings from the review (Stage 5) under
the following themes: Study Type and Location, Understandings of Racism and the
Impact of Racism.

Study type and location

Most research was focused on the secondary school context, with one study con-
ducted with preschool students (Kaplan and Eckermann 1996) and three focused
solely on primary schools (Malin 1990; Paki 2010; Partington et al. 2001) or pri-
mary school curriculum material (Crawford 2013). Single studies of note include
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in special schools (Graham 2012);
parents’ attitudes to their children’s experiences of racism (Groome 1990) and a
mixed methods study of Nyungar children’s attitudes to Aboriginal English (Purdie
et al. 2002). Several historical analyses of racism in early-to-mid 20th century
schools did meet the appraisal criteria (e.g. Crawford 2013; Healy 2015; Morgan
2006; Sarra 2008).
No publications report on data exclusively from Tasmania or the ACT; geograph-
ical information is summarised in Table 6 in order to highlight research locations.
It is also notable that two studies conducted at Queensland sites, Martino (2003)
and Matthews and Aberdeen (2004), recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

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 Table 3 Critical appraisal assessment—qualitative studies
282

Long and Godfrey Research design, Sources/sample Study connects to Discusses ethical Responds to Research utility/ Unweighted
(2004) criteria: appropriate method- recruitment theoretical or philo- considerations, articulated research Implications dis- score (/6)

13
ology described strategy sophical constructs researcher position- questions cussed
ality

Blanch (2011) Partially No Yes Yes No Partially 3

Coffin et al. (2010) Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 5
Crawford (2013) Yes Yes Yes No Partially Yes 4.5
Day (1992) Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes 5
Eckerman (1999) Yes Yes Yes Partially No No 3.5
Edwards-Groves Yes Yes Yes Partially Yes Yes 5.5
(2008)
Foley (2000) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 6
Groome (1990) Yes Yes No No Yes Yes 4
Hardy (2016) Yes Partially Yes Yes Partially Yes 4.5
Healy (2015) Yes Yes Yes No Partially Yes 4.5
Kaplan and Ecker- Yes Yes Yes No Yes No 4
mann (1996)
Keddie (2011) Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes 5
Keddie (2013) Yes Yes Yes Yes Partially Yes 5.5
Keddie and Williams Yes No Yes Yes No Yes 4
(2012)
Keddie et al. (2013) Yes Partially Yes Partially Partially Yes 4.5
Malin (1990) Yes Yes Yes Partially No Yes 4.5
Mander et al. (2015) Yes Yes Partially No Partially Yes 4
Martino (2003) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No 5
Matthews and Aber- Yes Yes Yes No No No 3
deen (2004)
N. Moodie et al.
 Table 3 (continued)
Long and Godfrey Research design, Sources/sample Study connects to Discusses ethical Responds to Research utility/ Unweighted
(2004) criteria: appropriate method- recruitment theoretical or philo- considerations, articulated research Implications dis- score (/6)
ology described strategy sophical constructs researcher position- questions cussed
ality

Mills (2006) Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes 5

Mohajer et al. (2009) Yes Yes No Yes Partially Partially 4
Morgan (2006) Yes No Yes No No Yes 3
Nelson and Hay Yes Partially Yes No No Yes 3.5
(2010)
Paki (2010) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 6
Partington et al. Yes Yes Yes Partially Yes No 4.5
(2001)
Russell (1999) Yes Yes Partially No Yes No 3.5
Sanderson and Allard Yes Yes Yes Partially Yes No 4.5
(2003)
Sarra (2008) Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 5
The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal…

Simpson et al. (2001) No Partially Yes No Yes Partially 3

Wall and Baker Yes Yes Yes No Partially Yes 4.5
(2012)
Wilkinson (2005) Yes Partially Yes Yes Yes Yes 5.5
Wooltorton (1997) Yes Partially Yes No Partially Yes 4
283

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Table 4 Critical appraisal assessment—mixed methods studies
Long and Godfrey Research design, Sources/sample Study connects to Discusses ethical Responds to Research utility/ Unweighted
(2004) criteria: appropriate method- recruitment theoretical or philo- considerations, articulated research Implications dis- score (/6)
ology described strategy sophical constructs researcher position- questions cussed
ality

Gool and Patton Yes Yes Yes Partially Yes No 4.5

(1998)
Helme (2005) Partially Partially No No Yes Yes 3
Mansouri and Jen- Yes Partially Yes No Partially Yes 4.5
kins (2010)
Mansouri et al. Yes Yes Partially No Yes Partially 4
(2012)
Mansouri et al. Yes Yes Yes Partially Yes Yes 5.5
(2009)
Purdie et al. (2002) Yes Yes Yes Partially Yes Partially 5
N. Moodie et al.
 Table 5 Critical appraisal assessment—quantitative studies
Long and Godfrey (2004) criteria: Research design Sources Findings gener- Limitations Responds to articulated Replicability Unweighted
described alisable to acknowledged research questions/hypotheses score (/6)

Bodkin-Andrews et al. (2013) Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes 5

Bodkin-Andrews et al. (2010a) Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes 5
Bodkin-Andrews et al. (2010b) Yes Yes No Yes Yes No 4
Dandy et al. (2015) Yes Yes No No Yes Yes 5
Graham (2012) Yes Yes No Partially Yes Yes 4.5
The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal…

Michaelson (2006) Yes Yes No Yes Yes No 4

Priest et al. (2011) Yes Yes Yes Yes Partially Yes 5.5
Tarbetsky et al. (2016) Yes Yes Partially Yes Yes Yes 5.5
285

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Table 6 Research jurisdictions

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Jurisdiction Number Publication

NSW 9 Bodkin-Andrews et al. (2013), Bodkin-Andrews et al. (2010a, b), Crawford (2013), Edwards-Groves and
Murray (2008), Graham (2012), Kaplan and Eckermann (1996), Morgan (2006), Simpson et al. (2001)
Vic 1 Healy (2015)
Qld 13 Eckerman (1999), Gool and Patton (1998), Hardy (2016), Keddie (2011), 2013), Keddie et al. (2013),
Keddie and Williams (2012), Matthews and Aberdeen (2004), Michaelson (2006), Mills (2006), Nel-
son and Hay (2010), Sarra (2008), Wilkinson (2005)
SA 5 Blanch (2011), Groome (1990), Malin (1990), Russell (1999), Sanderson and Allard (2003)
WA 7 Dandy et al. (2015), Coffin et al. (2010), Mander et al. (2015), Paki (2010), Partington et al. (2001),
Purdie et al. (2002), Wooltorton (1997)
Tas 0 –
NT 2 Day (1992), Priest et al. (2011)
ACT 0 –
National 2 Helme (2005), Wall and Baker (2012)
Multi-jurisdictional
Qld, NSW, NT, Vic 3 Mansouri et al. (2009), Mansouri and Jenkins (2010), Mansouri et al. (2012)
NSW, Vic, WA 1 Tarbetsky et al. (2016)
Qld, NSW 1 Foley (2000)
Qld, WA 1 Martino (2003)
Not stated 1 Mohajer et al. (2009)
Totala 46
a
Indicates total number of papers over 27 years, addressed by this systematic review
N. Moodie et al.
The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal… 287

identities (but did not specify identification data); no other studies from 1989 to
2016 explicitly identify Torres Strait Islander students.

Understandings of racism

The way racism is understood has changed over the 27 years of empirical studies.
Initially, racism was predominantly defined as discrimination and oppressive prac-
tices such as demeaning attitudes, stereotyping, subjugation, ostracism, prejudice,
exclusion, exploitation, domination, marginalisation and alienation. This earlier
work also includes a focus on physical assault and verbal racial harassment from
school staff and other students (Foley 2000; Groome 1990). One historical ethnog-
raphy frames the issue of scientific racism (Eckerman 1999) and there is some dis-
cussion of the structural relations of power and institutional racism (Foley 2000;
Groome 1990; Martino 2003; Matthews and Aberdeen 2004). In the later studies,
the experience of racism is extended from individual, attitudinal understandings
(Mansouri and Jenkins 2010; Mansouri et al. 2012) encompassing discrimination,
prejudice and stereotypes to explicitly note negative representations of Aboriginal-
ity leading to deficit thinking (Blanch 2011; Keddie et al. 2013; Michaelson 2006;
Wilkinson 2005), low expectations (Bodkin-Andrews et al. 2013; Day 1992; Helme
2005; Hewitson 2007; Malin 1990; Sarra 2008; Wilkinson 2005) and intra-cultural
racism (Coffin et al. 2010; Tarbetsky et al. 2016). A discussion of Whiteness also
appears in more recent studies (e.g. Martino 2003; Paki 2010; Keddie 2013). This
includes work that considers issues of White dominance and White privilege and
the impact of these on epistemology (Hardy 2016; Martino 2003) and privileging
students from culturally dominant ethnic groups (Mills 2006).
Researchers who included systemic racism in their analysis tended to present a
complex picture of racism in schools or education settings. In such studies, nega-
tive impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ schooling experi-
ences were contextualised with reference to a range of factors. For example, the
presence of institutional racism combined with interpersonal racism perpetrated by
non-Indigenous teachers and students was conceptualised by Wilkinson (2005) as
systemic racism. Other studies saw systemic racism represented by assimilatory pol-
icies, meritocracy and racial conflict (Morgan 2006); structural relations of power
(Martino 2003; Partington et al. 2001; Sanderson and Allard 2003); implicit and
explicit racism (Edwards-Groves 2008) and interpersonal and internalised racism
(Priest et al. 2011). Systemic racism was also discussed in relation to more recent
trends in schools in identifying disability in students (Graham 2012). It was recog-
nised as historical, ongoing and repeated (Keddie and Williams 2012) and main-
tained through hidden ideological constructs (Wall and Baker 2012). Helme (2005)
suggests systemic racism leads teachers, students and community members to con-
ceptualise vocational pathways as more appropriate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander secondary students at a disproportionate rate, when compared to non-Indig-
enous students; this observation is consistent across three decades of research.
Bodkin-Andrews et al. (2010a) distinguish between racial discrimination and
racism. Discrimination, they maintain, can affect students of any cultural, ethnic or

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288 N. Moodie et al.

racial background, whereas racism can only be deployed by those from a major-
ity group because racism “can only exist in the context of oppression” (Bodkin-
Andrews et al. 2010a, p. 14). Later work by Bodkin-Andrews et al. (2013) looks
closely at racial discrimination enacted by teachers and the differing effects of
this on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous minority
groups. These studies deploy a particular understanding of race and racism more
common in quantitative research, necessarily attending to construct validity rather
than the relational aspects of racialised education systems.
There is a collection of studies that understands racism as constituted by false
and damaging representations of indigeneity. These studies see racism as ‘subtle and
sinister’ (Wall and Baker 2012) in that it is perpetuated through media and school-
ing materials that position Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as inferior
in relation to non-Indigenous people (Wall and Baker 2012; Crawford 2013; Healy
2015). Racism here sets up social and educational circumstances in which Aborigi-
nal and Torres Strait Islander students have to answer to deeply ingrained racial ste-
reotypes and violences. In Foley’s (2000) study, 100% of Indigenous students were
questioned on their Aboriginality by non-Indigenous teachers at least once in the last
year, such that 93% of those students no longer openly identified to non-Indigenous
staff.
Underreporting of racism was noted in a small number studies (Mohajer et al.
2009; Priest et al. 2011), but these papers also highlight the complexity in how stu-
dents themselves identify, understand, resist and refuse racism:
In this context, racism is not either direct and overt or covert and institutional,
and racial discourse enables particular logics and rationale to buy back, and
reconfigure, anti-racism or multicultural intervention. We have shown that
students are able to dissasociate themselves from colonial legacies, to dismiss
them as bogus, to refuse to recognise anything but their own positions and sta-
tus as legitimate and to mythologise Anglo-Australian citizens as the rightful
representatives of the Australian nation state. Indigenous students are also well
versed in settler colonial myths and stereotypes. These inform their self-per-
ceptions, responses and anticipated interactions. (Sanderson and Allard 2003,
p. 207)

The impact of racism on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Racism was found to have a wide range of harmful impacts on Aboriginal and Tor-
res Strait Islander students, from exclusion to threats on identity to disengagement
and withdrawal. Physical experiences of racism in the form of physical assault, ver-
bal harassment, corporal punishment and aggression were reported, particularly
in early studies (Foley 2000; Groome 1990; Martino 2003; Simpson et al. 2001).
Other manifestations of racism also impact students’ identity formation and learning
experiences including ostracism of parents by school staff (Partington et al. 2001;
Sanderson and Allard 2003), teacher indifference to racism and white supremacy
(Foley 2000; Sanderson and Allard 2003) and substandard instruction for Aboriginal
students (Malin 1990). Two studies in particular draw attention to the assimilationist

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The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal… 289

function of schooling and teacher attitudes (Foley 2000; Wooltorton 1997). Simp-
son et al. (2001) describe how students are placed in the impossible position of
trading cultural identity for educational success as a result of racial and cultural
marginalisation.
Racism has a strong impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student
performance and achievement, including contributing to internalised racism, dis-
engagement, emotional distress and school withdrawal. Several research projects
established that perceived interpersonal and systemic racism had a considerable
and negative impact on academic performance and grades, particularly in English,
Maths and Science (Bodkin-Andrews et al. 2010b; Mansouri et al. 2009; Sarra
2008). Racism was also found to impact student identity construction and subjec-
tivity, with Aboriginal students being found to experience marginalisation (Malin
1990; Wilkinson 2005) and exclusion from learning activities and school (Mansouri
et al. 2009), internalised racism (Blanch 2011; Coffin et al. 2010), disengagement
from school (Hickey 2010), poor social and emotional wellbeing (Edwards-Groves
2008; Mansouri et al. 2009; Priest et al. 2011) and negative perceptions of schooling
and the fairness of teachers’ disciplining practices (Edwards-Groves 2008; Mansouri
et al. 2009). These findings are confirmed by two recent studies that show that racist
attitudes and behaviours are prevalent in Australian secondary schools, occurring
in and out of the classroom (Mansouri et al. 2012; Dandy et al. 2015). The attitudes
of teachers and training teachers have been found to significantly impact students.
Teachers who discriminate against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
and their parents, or have a low view of Indigenous academic capacity (thus perpet-
uating negative stereotypes) have been shown to have a consistently negative effect
on academic disengagement and self-sabotaging behaviour (Foley 2000; Groome
1990; Bodkin-Andrews et al. 2013; Partington et al. 2001). Michaelson (2006) found
a strong correlation between the percentage of Indigenous students in Queensland
schools and its Department of Education transfer rating (part of the Remote Area
Incentives Scheme) which he equates with an indication of how undesirable the
school is to teachers. Sanderson and Allard (2003) find that teachers tended not to
recognise that racism existed within the school, but attribute any problems to home
life, or factors outside school influence. However, racism clearly accounts for dif-
ferences in achievement; racial discrimination “negatively explained a significant
proportion of the variance in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students’ stand-
ardised achievement” in spelling and maths (Bodkin-Andrews et al. 2010a, p. 17).
Systemic racism impacts opportunities available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students. Helme’s (2005) research into Vocational Education and Training
programs in secondary schools concluded that such initiatives can be “a ladder of
opportunity for Indigenous student” but low expectations of Indigenous students led
staff in some schools to use VET “as a streaming device … that locks students out
of academic studies and pathways” (p. 179). Helme warns against interpretations of
Indigenous uptake of and success in VET as an indication that such programs are a
singular solution to disadvantage, when they can also mask different aspects of dis-
advantage such as widespread racism and streaming.
Negative stereotypes of Indigenous academic capacity that teachers can hold have
been shown to have already formed when teachers are in teacher training (Dandy

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290 N. Moodie et al.

et al. 2015). This also converted into student perceptions, with Aboriginal students
tending to perceive their group as low achieving; however, overall, students’ expec-
tancies were generally higher than those of teachers and trainee-teachers (Dandy
et al. 2015). Internalised beliefs of lower academic capacity have been found to
deeply impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ capacity for academic
achievement. Tarbetsky et al. argue that this demonstrates how Indigenous status
itself does not predict poor outcomes; rather academic achievement is impeded by
implicit beliefs about intelligence and ability (Tarbetsky et al. 2016). This work
draws attention to the role of teachers in promoting both student success and stu-
dent awareness of the malleability of intelligence and ability (Tarbetsky et al. 2016).
Conversely, earlier research documents how students believe teachers are indifferent,
unwilling or unable to assist when they experience racism (Sanderson and Allard
2003), and that when schools and teachers pro-actively combat racism, students can
express their Aboriginality and be secure in their identity (Russell 1999).
When these findings are viewed alongside those of Wall and Baker (2012), who
conducted a review of racist representations of Indigenous academic capacity in the
media, the impact of the broader social surroundings of Indigenous students on their
academic capacity is highlighted. Wall and Baker found that the hidden ideologi-
cal constructs in the media about Aboriginal student identities and achievement at
school resulted in subtle and sinister racism. They state that, “These hegemonic dis-
cursive systems serve to delineate Indigenous students and vilify them for poor aca-
demic standards. This negative stereotype is most wounding not only because it may
be believed by society at large, but also accepted by students themselves” (Wall and
Baker 2012, p. 61).

Limitations

In focusing exclusively on peer-reviewed empirical research, a number of important

publications have been omitted from our analysis. For example, three early reports
(Duncan 1990; Rigney et al. 1998; Herbert et al. 1999) rely on significant data sets
and provide extensive discussions on the impact of racism on the schooling experi-
ences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The exclusion of these—
otherwise high quality—publications due to a lack of evidence of peer-review dem-
onstrates the limitations of the systematic review method (or inclusion, exclusion
and appraisal criteria) in an emerging field of research, particularly given that Abo-
riginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers appear in little of the appraised litera-
ture. Research was also excluded from this review if it was not possible to identify a
clear research design, or description of sample size, recruitment strategy, or articu-
lated research questions (Fig. 4). Similarly, excellent publications that chart the field
or make connections to other discipines (e.g. Bodkin-Andrews and Carlson 2014),
may not fall within the inclusion criteria defined for the review.
Our review also suggests that the majority of research in this field is not of a type
amenable to assessment with the systematic review methodology; Smith’s 2012 cri-
tique of western research methodologies may be salient here. Many papers describing
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ experiences of racism were removed

13
The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal… 291

because they did not meet the critical appraisal criteria (Long and Godfrey 2004). We
are concerned about the exclusion of narrative or autobiographical accounts by Abo-
riginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and teachers of the impact of racism on their
own schooling experiences. It is a significant limitation of this study and the system-
atic review method more broadly that the critical appraisal process adopted for the
broader Aboriginal Voices project did not include specific criteria related to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and methodologies. However, we are conscious
that the systematic review methodology has not been applied in Indigenous education
research so far and believe it is important to demonstrate the effect of a strict applica-
tion of this approach and resulting focus on empirical research in order to provide one
type of stocktake of the field. The innovation of our contribution perhaps lies less in the
application of this methodology to a complex and evolving field, and perhaps more as a
stocktake of the quality of proof that can be drawn upon for critical decisions in policy
and practice regarding Indigenous schooling.

Discussion

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have a complex view of what racism
is and self-determine their responses when they experience it. The research dem-
onstrates that both students and parents have high expectations for achievement,
but exposure to persistent and repeated negative representations of indigeneity or
Indigenous academic ability from teachers and the media leads to disengagement,
de-identification and reduced wellness.
Our review identifies little empirical research related to racist beliefs and/or prac-
tices of adults associated with school communities, such as policy and curriculum
authors, teachers and other school staff and parents. Research that may have docu-
mented such findings was likely excluded due to the strict application of the system-
atic review methodology, and associated inclusion, exclusion and appraisal criteria.
In addition to further work on this topic, research on the framing of racism by schol-
ars working in Australian education settings would be a valuable addition to the lit-
erature. For example, studies that employ the individualising discourse of disadvan-
tage may in fact address the topic of racism. This highlights the challenges that can
arise when investigating race and racism in education and schooling using this meth-
odological approach. Drawing attention to the ‘ways in which racism is understood’
will be an ongoing challenge in this field, and much more high-quality research is
needed on how teachers understand racism, and how the field of research deploys
euphemisms for structural and interpersonal racialised violence (e.g. McGloin 2014;
Vass 2014).

Conclusion

This systematic review has examined ways in which racism is understood in research
related to the schooling experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stu-
dents, and the ways in which racism is documented to impact these students.

13
292 N. Moodie et al.

Included studies reveal that researchers’ conceptualisations of racism have expanded

from that related to prejudice and violence perpetrated by individuals and groups
of individuals, to systemic manifestations of discrimination, oppression and white
supremacy. Although the late 2000s saw some shift in focus from people who are
targets of racism to those who perpetrate it, there remains little empirical research
focussed on the latter group. Underreporting of experiences of racism and the use of
euphemisms when referring to racism seem staple features of research in this field.
Empirical evidence demonstrates that racism negatively impacts the experiences
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from primary school, through
high school and to later life, when those students become parents, employees and
Elders. The impacts on students are harmful, wide reaching and life long, and influ-
ence academic achievement, attitudes to language, emotional wellbeing, physical
health, self-concept, school attendance and post-school pathways, and eventually
school choice and engagement when those students become parents. Contemporary
research highlights the central role of racism (not the students’ Indigeneity) in the
oft-reported underperformance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. It
should not need to be stated, but racism is—profoundly—harmful for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander students and their experience of the education system,
whilst at school and through the life course.

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Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published
maps and institutional affiliations.

Dr Nikki Moodie (Gomeroi) is a Senior Lecturer in Indigenous Studies in the School of Social Political
Sciences at the University of Melbourne. The focus of her research is Indigenous public policy and the
sociology of education, with specific interests in relationality, networks and identity.

Dr Jacinta Maxwell is a Pākehā-New Zealander and a non-Indigenous Australian, who is currently a

Senior Lecturer at the School of Linguistics, Adult and Specialist Education at the University of South-
ern Queensland, Australia. Her doctoral research examined stated and implicit intentions underpinning
the inclusion of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-curriculum prior-
ity within the Australian Curriculum. Jacinta’s research engages with critical race theories of education,
policy and curriculum, and notions of national culture in international and offshore schools.

Dr Sophie Rudolph is a Lecturer in the Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Aus-
tralia. She has a long-standing interest in exploring issues of social justice, difference and equity in edu-
cation. As a non-Indigenous, Anglo-settler Australian she has been particularly interested in the impact
that colonial history has on present day inequalities in Australia. These interests frame her teaching
and research practices. Her research includes sociological and historical examinations of education and
investigates issues of curriculum, pedagogy and politics in education, policy and practice. Her work is
informed by critical and post-structuralist theories and aims to offer opportunities for working towards
social change. Her PhD thesis was awarded a Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in 2016.

13