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Face the facts

Teaching resources and worksheets for use in Australian classrooms

Questions and Answers about Refugees, Migrants and Indigenous Peoples

Introduction

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PDF document for download Download in PDF [424KB]

Face the Facts was first published in 1997 at a time of heated debate over race issues in Australia. This debate has since broadened. Events such as the furore over refugees, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and the stalled Aboriginal reconciliation process have fanned the flames of this debate.

Today, there is even more need for clear information that addresses prevailing myths about refugees, migrants and Indigenous peoples. Face the Facts uncovers issues that are often misrepresented. It is an essential resource for exploring these issues in the classroom.

Face the Facts education resource is designed to complement the material in the Face the Facts publication and forms a part of the HREOC human rights education program. The activities are suitable for use in a range of key learning areas for secondary students across Australia. Teaching notes, student activities and worksheets are provided, plus a range of recommended online resources and further reading.

Note that the following resources should be used with a degree of sensitivity, particularly in classrooms with students from diverse backgrounds.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers

The activities provided will enable teachers to explore key current issues relating to ‘unauthorised arrivals’ or ‘boat people’, immigration detention and the so-called ‘Pacific Solution’. Simple information is provided to help students identify the reasons people become refugees and how the different ways they flee persecution impact on their treatment in Australia.

Activity 1:

What’s It Like to be a Refugee?

Activity 2:

Perceptions - Refugees in the Media

Migrants and Multiculturalism

The information provided in Face the Facts provides a useful starting point for the exploration of the history of the migration policies and patterns that influenced Australia’s settlement since the end of World War II, and the development of policies to promote multiculturalism and acknowledgement of the diversity of Australia’s population.

Activity 3:

Readers Theatre and Multicultural Storytelling

Activity 4:

Statistics: Migration in Australia

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

The information provided in Face the Facts gives an indication of some of the experiences of Indigenous Australians in regard to work, health, education, housing, criminal justice and the historical effects of government policies of separation.

Activity 5:

The Facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Activity 6:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Web Quest

Learning outcomes

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Students will develop:

Key learning areas

Face the Facts education resources can be used for the following key learning areas:

For specific links to curriculum see http://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/curriculum.html

Illustrations by Adam Hill