PRIVILEGE

IN EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM

EDUC 5249 Critical Perspectives of Education
Workshop 3
Acknowledgement of
country
We are meeting on the
traditional lands of the
Kaurna people of the
Adelaide Plains.

We acknowledge their

continuing culture, link to
their lands and their elders;
past, present and future
.

Ref: http://www.mangkaja.com/about/project/mangkaja-arts-21-year-anniversary-
exhibition

EDUC 5251 2020 Week 1

SACE - Acknowledgement of Country -
Kaurna Land
Privilege in Education and curriculum
• CRITICAL QUESTION: Whose knowledge counts?
• Prompts for consideration:
• Whose and what knowledge is privileged in the curriculum?
• Whose and what knowledge is silenced or marginalised?
• Why might this be?

• KEY CONCEPTS: Privilege, disprivilege/oppression, deficit

perspective, cultural reproduction
• PREPARATION EXERCISE: Is there any such thing as value-free
curriculum or is it always imbued with particular perspectives? Is
this problematic in any way?
• LECTURE: Prof Irabinna Rigney
 INDIGENOUS
KNOWLEDGE BINGO
WARMUP ACTIVITY
What did you learn ……
what did you think ….what
impact did this have ??
From whose perspective
do we look at Australia ?
 POWER…what is the connection between
these elements ?

What do think?
HISTORY
Based on what you
have heard and read KNOWLEDGE TRUTH

Identify some Where does our knowledge come from?

MYTHS about How do we know that the knowledge we have is true?

Indigenous peoples. POVERTY……. Implications and

impact of learning
….DISTANCE…regional & remote ….impact
Multiple
Benefits & power of of LITERACY
intelligences….how does
What are the implications ?
this notion apply
Funds of knowledge….should we & how can we acknowledge
Vygotsky theory…what is the connection
History Images Opportunities Education

The indigenous child

Where do indigenous
kids go if they don’t
receive their
CULTURE/LANGUAGE
/IDENTITY through
More of the schooling ?
same
Colonisation dispossessed the indigenous of
lands, suppressed their culture /identity. It
constructed an economy, education& political
system that excluded them.
Today indigenous peoples and their children
operate in a system that has been fundamental
to their own oppression because they have no
choice.
CRP focusses NOT on what the students don’t
have BUT on what the students brings to
school
• What do YOU think ???
Indigenous Australia: What They Don't Teach
You (Part 1)

Part 1: Sovereignty Amazingly, in 2018, many young non-Indigenous Australians still have very little understanding
of the historical and contemporary realities faced by the traditional owners of this land. In this 35-minute, three-part
documentary, BuzzFeed’s Indigenous Affairs Reporter Amy McQuire goes on a journey through the past, present
and future of this land to meet community leaders around Australia. Her mission? To explain where we’re at,
address unfinished business, and hypothesize about a better future.
 Indigenous Australia: What They Don't Teach
You (Part 2)

Part 2: Survival Faced with inaction from governments and politicians, Aboriginal communities across the
country are starting to do things their own way. At Uluru, the climbing ban is just the first step. Credits:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/bfmp/videos/...
 • Harrison, N. & Greenfield, M 2011, ‘Relationship to
place: positioning Aboriginal knowledge and
Reading & perspectives in classroom pedagogies’ Critical
lecture Studies in Education, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 65-76.

discussion • Children colouring: speaking ‘colour difference’

with Diversity dolls
Prasanna Srinivasan & Merlyne Cruz
Rather than learning Aboriginal perspectives,
they are learning about their non-Aboriginal
teachers’ perspective on Aboriginal
Australia.
They are learning their teacher’s meta-
narrative about Aboriginal people.”
………links to last weeks topic the teacher’s
orientation to the curriculum and the strong
implication of OUR perspectives.
 Harrison, N & Greenfield, M 2011,
‘Relationship to place: positioning Aboriginal
knowledge and perspectives in classroom
pedagogies’, Critical Studies in Education, vol.
12 primary schools
52, no. 1, pp. 65–76.
Identified problems…..
• many teachers struggled to define Aboriginal
This research aimed to ….. perspectives…non indigenous teaching about
• promote a critical indigenous perspectives
discussion around the • how teachers talked about Aboriginal people were
work of teachers and the based on the stereotypes and excessive
concepts that constituted generalisations
the very basis of teaching • Aboriginal people were described in a past
in Aboriginal education, tense e.g. Aboriginal system was incredible; they
Aboriginal knowledge, and lived in harmony with the environment  they are
perspectives.     learning about their non-Aboriginal teachers’
perspective on Aboriginal Australia.
• They are learning their teacher’s meta-narrative
about Aboriginal people. 

What is the grand slam approach ???

 St Francis House was a home for inland Aboriginal Australian boys from 1946 to 1959
at Glanville Hall in Semaphore South, Adelaide, South Australia.
In a time when it was commonly believed that Aboriginal children were unable to be educated beyond
Grade 3, Smith saw the home as a way of providing a family environment for the children to pursue a
higher level of education without losing their Aboriginal identity. He described the hostel as “not one of
fostering, but rather a boarding establishment to which boys came with their mothers' consent for the
school year, and in that respect it was no different from children being sent by their parents to a boarding
school".[4]
The manor became known as "St Francis House: A Home for Inland Children" and over the next 14
years, more than 50 children found at home at St Francis on their way to greatness.

Former residents include Charles Perkins AO, Gordon Briscoe AO, John Moriarty AM, Les Nayda AM,

and Bill Espie (Queen's Medal for Bravery) and the artist Harold Thomas (activist) (Bundoo). Some
notable sporting identities included Vincent Copley, Richie Bray and Ken Hampton went on to play
football for Port Adelaide, while Wally McArthur became an accomplished track and field athlete as well
as rugby player. Many other residents went on to lead successful and fulfilled lives.[5]
Indigenous and education
….whose perspective
3 key ways in which teachers can incorporate Aboriginal knowledge in their
programs without recreating some of the stereotypical representation.
These include  

*Relationship to place
-acknowledgement of country was explained
(e.g. why we do it, what is a traditional
custodian, what is Aboriginal land, why this
school has always been on Aboriginal land)
*Transition to school
programs for Aboriginal
children
- make connections with
Aboriginal families and to
understand what is culturally
appropriate for both teachers
and Aboriginal children
*Strong culture of collaboration
among the school and community:
- teachers work together to weave
Aboriginal knowledge into the fabric
of the curriculum through careful
negotiations with Aboriginal Elders
and the community -> the
involvement of community positions
Aboriginal knowledge in the school
as alive, performative and reflective
of the place where it is produced
Awareness …how do you gain it ?
 Definitions
Sociological understanding
• Systematic, ie: a social hierarchy.
• Unearned and socially conferred.
• Considered ‘the norm’ or the
standard way things are.
• Those who do not possess or have
access to the ‘standard norm’ face
structural obstacles.
• Does not guarantee good/bad
outcomes e.g. white privilege, but
‘loads the odds’.
Dictionary definition
(Dictionary.com)
• a right, immunity, or benefit
enjoyed only by a person beyond the
advantages of most: the privileges of
the very rich.
• a special right, immunity, or
exemption granted to persons in
authority or office to free them from
certain obligations or liabilities: the
privilege of a senator to speak in
Congress without danger of a libel suit.
• a grant to an individual, corporation,
etc., of a special right or immunity,
under certain conditions.
 Why privilege as a
lens?

Building blocks for marginalisation:

Patterns of Prejudice, Stereotyping
and Oppression (power)
Provide the right conditions for
• Privileging of one group over
another
• Marginalisation (Social/ class/
gender/ cultural)
• Leading to Racism/
Sexism/Ableism etc
• Under-achievement – loss of
human potential
A privilege isn’t earned; it is viewed as a ‘normal’
right but is not necessarily available to everyone.
To varying extents we enjoy privileges not
always available to others:
• class privilege
• professional privilege
• heterosexual privilege
• race privilege What evidence
of privilege can
• socio economic privilege you identify for
• religious privilege each of these?

• cultural privilege
8 ways pedagogy
The 8 Aboriginal
Ways of Learning is a
pedagogy framework
that allows teachers
to include Aboriginal
perspectives by using
Aboriginal learning
techniques. Teaching
through Aboriginal
processes and
protocols, not just
Aboriginal content
validates and teaches
through Aboriginal
culture and may
enhance the learning
for all students.
 • Story Sharing: Approaching learning through
8 WAYS narrative.
PEDAGOGY • Learning Maps: Explicitly mapping/visualising

processes.
• Non-verbal: Applying intra-personal and

kinaesthetic skills to thinking and learning.

• Symbols and Images: Using images and

metaphors to understand concepts and content.

• Land Links: Place-based learning, linking

content to local land and place.

• Non-linear: Producing innovations and

Further information understanding by thinking laterally or combining

https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/10974/4/04B systems.
ookchapter.pdf
• Deconstruct/Reconstruct: Modelling and

https://vickidrozdowski.files.wordpress.com/2 scaffolding, working from wholes to parts (watch

012/10/individual-investigation-of-a-learning-t
heory-aboriginal-pedagogy.pdf then do).
• Community Links: Centring local viewpoints,
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.a
u/f-10-curriculum/technologies/design-a applying learning for community benefit.
nd-technologies/?year=12975&strand=D
esign+and+Technologies+Knowledge+a
nd+Understanding&strand=Design+and

The myth of Aboriginal stories being
myths | Jacinta Koolmatrie |
TEDxAdelaide
For more than 50,000 years there were
over 200 different groups of people living
on the landmass now referred to as
Australia. All of these groups formed a
strong understanding of the land. This
knowledge was passed down through
thousands of generations. Who holds this
knowledge today and is it respected in
Australian society? Jacinta Koolmatrie
explores these questions and connects
them to her own experiences as an
Adnyamathanha person. Jacinta
Koolmarie is an Adnyamathanha and
Ngarrindjeri person who grew up in Port
Augusta. Last year she won the Flinders
University’s Ken Wanganeen Medal as the
most outstanding Indigenous student for
her studies in archaeology. Jacinta is
currently working on her Masters thesis,
researching Adnyamathanha yura malka
(rock art), with a focus on centring
Indigenous knowledge. At the beginning
of 2017, Jacinta began working at the
South Australian Museum with the aim of
changing the way museums portray and
work with Aboriginal people. This talk was
given at a TEDx event using the TED
conference format but independently
organized by a local community. Learn
more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
What has set the educational focus in Australia?

Goal 1:
Australian schooling promotes equity
and excellence
Goal 2:
All young Australians become:
– successful learners
– confident and creative individuals
– active and informed citizens

EDUC 5251 ...2019 D&T Week 2

10 minute wrap-up
• What are the key ‘take home’ messages
from this week’s content for you?
• Did anything challenge your previous ideas
about pedagogy or curriculum?
• Do you have any new questions?
 Debate propositions
Topic A…Early childhood educators should be more accountable to the
parents/caregivers and their community rather than a National accrediting
authority

Topic B…..Early childhood education is seen as caring for children and so is

increasingly feminised, this will not change until we attract more men as early
childhood educators.

Topic C…… Play curriculum will further disadvantage children from

disadvantaged backgrounds. Early Childhood education needs to prepare children
for school and academic learning.

Topic D…… Competition between early childhood providers and parental choice
is the best way of ensuring high quality early childhood education
Debate Questions