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Rural and Remote Education Inquiry Briefing Paper

C. Indigenous students - a profile

C1 Demography

[O]urs is a young population with a large percentage living in rural and remote Australia (David Curtis, ATSIC Commissioner, Melbourne hearing, 12 November 1999).

The following data were provided to the inquiry by DETYA and ATSIC in their submissions and evidence.

C1.1 Student numbers

DETYA informed the inquiry that, in 1996, "there were about 120,000 Indigenous students across the preschool, school and VET sectors" (DETYA submission, page 90).

In NSW "in 1998 26,700 Aboriginal and Islander students were enrolled in government schools (3.5% of enrolments)" (NSW Department of Education and Training submission, page 9).

In NT 38% of students are Aboriginal students and "there are some 87 remote schools operating . which are providing educational services to Indigenous students" (NT Education Minister, State to Parliament, 24 November 1999).

In Tasmania, of 13,808 students in rural government schools, 943 (6.8%) are Aboriginal (Tasmanian Government submission, attachment 1). 258 Indigenous students are enrolled in rural and remote area Catholic schools, 4% of the total (Tasmanian Catholic Education Commission submission, page 10).

In Victoria Aboriginal students account for 0.92% of total government student enrolments in 1998. 4,807.9 EFT students in Victorian government schools are ATSI - 36.71% of them are enrolled in rural/remote schools (Victorian DEET submission, page 10).

In WA, "in Semester One 1998 ... 15,094 Aboriginal students were enrolled in government schools: 1,861 (12.3%) in pre-primary; 9,458 (62.6%) in Years 1-7; 3,046 (20.1%) in Years 8-10; 729 (4.8%) in Years 11-12".14

EDWA figures for 1998 show that Aboriginal children comprise 8.5% of total state enrolments. Eighteen per cent of enrolments in each of the Goldfields, Midwest and Pilbara and 58% of enrolments in the Kimberleys (Ian Trust, Kununurra hearing, 17 May 1999).

Independent Indigenous schools

[T]here are around a dozen independent Indigenous schools in the country. Independent schools strive to develop a total and unique education program that incorporates Indigenous languages, history, and pedagogy. The schools also reflect the Indigenous community's desire for self-determination in the education system. These schools have remained small and have encountered immense problems particularly in regards to registration, enrolment fluctuations and funding from the State and Territory Education Departments. Not surprisingly, these schools are always battling the possibility of closure (ATSIC submission, pages 24-25).

National Lutheran school system

There are three [Lutheran] schools where [Indigenous enrolment is] significant. Yirara college, 200 are all Indigenous Australians. 180 students, about 55%, so say 100, at Ceduna and I think there's about 50 in Peace College, Cairns. Then throughout the other schools invariably you will find there's just one or two. Places like Waikerie and Loxton have half a dozen. Gilgandra, yes, 10 of the 40 are Indigenous (Adrienne Jericho, National Lutheran Schools Office, Melbourne Hearing, 12 November 1999).

C1.2 Students speaking Indigenous languages

In NSW

... many of our Aboriginal students come to school speaking Aboriginal English and therefore, if they just arrive in a classroom, in a kindergarten classroom, where standard Australian English is spoken, those children are at a disadvantage in language terms (George Green, NSW Department of Education and Training, Sydney hearing, 22 October 1999).

In NT

[M]ore than fifty Indigenous languages and/or dialects are spoken by students in Territory schools . one-third of young people between five and seventeen years have a language other than English as their first language (NT Department of Education submission, page 2).

In WA

The first language for the kids here is Kriol. Many students don't care to learn their [traditional] first language. The community wants the kids to learn Walmajarri though we speak Jaru here too. We speak Jaru to the kids but this is Walmajarri country. We have the same problem with Kukatja. The parents speak in Kriol to their kids (Billiluna WA school meeting, 14 May 1999).

 


C2 School participation, attendance and retention

C2.1 Achievements since 1969 when Abstudy was introduced

DETYA and ATSIC agreed that there have been significant improvements in recent decades.

  • participation in early childhood and primary schooling has improved dramatically;
  • Year 12 retention rates have shifted from single digits thirty years ago to over 32% in 1998;
  • the involvement of Indigenous parents and communities in education has increased, with over 3,500 parent (ASSPA) committees in 1997, covering about 98,000 or over 90% of Indigenous school students;
  • Indigenous participation in any kind of university course has increased from under 100 thirty years ago to over 7,700 in 1998; and
  • the participation rates of Indigenous 15 to 24 year olds in vocational education and training have actually reached levels about the same as for other Australians (DETYA submission, page 12).
The last 20 years have seen improvements in education and education outcomes for Indigenous people. This has been the result of a strong commitment by Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples to advance their educational outcomes. Indigenous communities recognise that education can improve their economic and social wellbeing. And improvements have also been achieved because governments have shown greater commitment towards Indigenous education. However, there is still a lot to be done to bring the level of education of Indigenous Australians to a satisfactory standard . There are significant differences in participation and retention rates and the levels of literacy and numeracy and the involvement by parents and communities in the education of their children (David Curtis, ATSIC Commissioner, Melbourne hearing, 12 November 1999).

The retention rate for Indigenous students is 33 per cent compared to 75 per cent for all students.

Only 5.5 per cent of the Indigenous school aged population are participating in years 11 and 12. The participation rate for non-Indigenous people is more than double the Indigenous rate.

In 1996 the overall employment rate for Indigenous people was 30.8 per cent of Indigenous people of working age, compared to 55 per cent of the non-Indigenous population.15 The unemployment rate at the time was 41.4% for Indigenous people as compared to 8.5% for all Australians.

In addition:
Nearly half of Indigenous people aged 15 years and over had received no formal education.

The year 10 certificate was the highest educational qualification achieved by almost 30 per cent of Indigenous people.

Only one in six Indigenous people had obtained a qualification after leaving school (ATSIC submission, page 10).

C2.2 Participation - national overview

[A] significant number of Indigenous students do not complete the compulsory years of schooling, with only 94.2% of Indigenous students progressing from Year 8 in 1997 to Year 9 in 1998, a loss of 429 students, and the loss of a further 916 students between Year 9 and Year 10. The data also shows that Indigenous students are around 15 times more likely than non-Indigenous students to leave school between Year 8 and the end of Year 9, around 6 times more likely to leave between Year 9 and the end of Year 10, around 3 times more likely to leave between Year 10 and the end of Year 11 and around 3 times more likely to leave between Year 11 and the end of Year 12 (DETYA submission, page 88).

Table: Grade progression ratios for Years 8 to 12, Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, Australia, all schools, 1996 to 1998 (%)16

  Indigenous Non-Indigenous
  1996 1997 1998 1996 1997 1998
Year 8 to Year 9 95.0 94.4 94.2 99.7 99.9 99.6
Year 9 to Year 10 84.8 83.3 86.4 97.7 98.0 97.6
Year 10 to Year 11 61.7 65.5 64.9 87.0 87.7 87.5
Year 11 to Year 12 59.8 65.5 64.8 86.1 86.4 85.2

C2.3 Participation - regional breakdown

Comparative data on Indigenous youth in each ATSIC Region and the Torres Strait Area who, in 1994, did not complete Year 10 show non-completion rates varied greatly between the States and the NT and against the national average of 36.3% (ABS 1996(a), pp.25-26).17 These contrasts are illustrated in Table 2.2 below where the Northern Territory had the worst rate for non-completion (52.8%) and Tasmania the best (10.8%). Intra State/NT variations were also substantial (ATSIC submission, page 14).

Table: Indigenous Youth (Aged 15 to 24 Years) Who did not Complete Year 10, for Australia, States and the Northern Territory, 1994 (Showing Best and Worst Outcomes* by ATSIC Regions)18

Location (States/Territories and ATSIC Regions) Population (15-24 Years)
No.		 Did Not Complete Year 10
%
Australia 62,500 36.3
NSW 16,400 45.2
Bourke Region 1,500 63.4
Sydney Region 4,800 28.6
Victoria 3,700 37.5
Ballarat 2,200 36.9
Wangaratta 1,600 34.7
Queensland 17,000 23.7
Cooktown Region 1,300 46.0
Townsville Region 3,200 22.2
South Australia 3,600 33.2
Port Augusta 1,200 40.8
Adelaide 2,300 27.1
Western Australia 9,500 34.4
Derby 900 38.4
Kalgoorlie 400 15.8
Tasmania / Hobart Region 2,300 10.8
Northern Territory 9,600 52.8
Aputulu 1,700 84.2
Darwin 1,500 21.9

* Data assessed by ABS as not reliable has been excluded.

In NT

It is also apparent that some 1,560 students in the compulsory schooling 4 to 14 age group . are not participating in formal education . The Indigenous participation rate for the compulsory schooling years (4 to 14) is 87.1% for males and 99.6% for females (NT Department of Education submission, page 5).

Table: Percentage Participation Rate by Age for NT Students, 1988-199719

  4-14 15 16 17 18 19 15-19 Total
1988 91.8 78.8 59.3 29.8 8.5 4.3 36.3 75.0
1989 92.8 78.4 58.4 30.5 9.7 3.7 34.9 75.2
1990 93.0 81.1 59.9 33.1 11.2 3.7 35.9 76.0
1991 94.2 80.7 70.1 38.8 12.8 5.1 40.2 78.5
1992 94.2 79.5 65.3 41.6 12.4 4.7 40.3 78.6
1993 94.6 82.7 64.9 42.6 14.0 4.3 41.4 79.2
1994 95.0 82.0 66.0 41.9 12.5 3.2 40.3 79.4
1995 95.7 81.5 69.0 41.8 14.0 3.7 40.8 80.0
1996 96.0 83.7 66.2 45.4 13.7 3.6 41.8 80.8
1997 95.6 82.7 72.8 43.5 13.2 3.6 43.6 81.0

C2.4 Attendance

The significance of regular attendance was acknowledged.

The delivery of educational outcomes is, of course, dependent on students attending school on a regular basis. It is in this area that Indigenous students have a generally poor track record which can only be addressed through schools working in partnership with their respective communities. In this context a determined commitment is needed in the approach of the family to the education of their children (NT Minister for Education, 24 November 1999).

"Anecdotal evidence suggested that large groups of school aged students in some major centres did not attend school regularly; with overall attendance in some places being as low as 60-70%."20 A CAEPR study in Maningrida identified that "school attendance records show an average combined attendance for the hub and homeland centre schools of around 64%, but some weeks the attendance can drop as low as 20%"21 (ATSIC submission, page 11).

In WA

"A survey of schools conducted by the Aboriginal Education Branch in 1997 shows [for WA government schools]:

  • Aboriginal students attend preschool 70% of the time compared to 85% for non-Aboriginal students
  • Aboriginal students attend primary school 84% of the time compared to 93% for non-Aboriginal students
  • Aboriginal students attend the compulsory years of secondary school 81% of the time compared to 92% for non-Aboriginal students."22

Reasons for non-attendance

There are a variety of reasons for non-attendance. Some children get teased at school. Some are embarrassed because of their bad clothes. Some are from dysfunctional families with lots of alcohol and gambling and as a result are often awake until after midnight. Some don't come to school because they don't have enough money for the tuckshop (Doomadgee Qld teachers meeting, 6 October 1999).

C2.5 Retention - national overview

Indigenous students are two and a half times more likely to leave school before finishing Year 12 than non-Indigenous students (DETYA submission, page 88).

Table: Apparent retention rates of Indigenous & non-Indigenous students to Years 10, 11 & 12, all schools, Australia, 1994-199823

  1994
%		 1995
%		 1996
%		 1997
%		 1998
%
Year 10          
Indigenous 78.6 76.5 75.8 80.6 83.1
Non-Indigenous 97.4 96.9 97.3 97.6 97.5
Difference (percentage points) 18.8 20.4 21.5 17.0 14.4
           
Year 11          
Indigenous 47.5 48.8 47.2 49.6 52.3
Non-Indigenous 86.3 84.1 84.3 85.3 85.4
Difference (percentage points) 38.8 35.3 37.1 35.7 33.1
           
Year 12          
Indigenous 32.5 30.6 29.2 30.9 32.1
Non-Indigenous 75.6 73.2 72.4 72.8 72.7
Difference (percentage points) 43.1 42.6 43.2 41.9 40.6

Note: Apparent retention rates for Indigenous students may be affected by an increased propensity over time to identify as Indigenous.

C2.6 Retention - regional breakdown

[T]he averaged data on retention rates hide much worse outcomes in some parts of Australia. For example, 1993 retention rates for Years 10, 11 and 12 in the Northern Territory were 41.2%, 22.2% and 10.3% respectively compared with New South Wales where the rates were 84.8%, 51.9% and 30.2%24 (ATSIC submission, page 14).

... the percentage of Indigenous youth who did not complete Year 10 in 1994 was 36.3% for all of Australia, but the non-completion rate can be far greater for rural and remote locations, for example, 63.4% for Bourke and 84.2% for Aputula (David Curtis, ATSIC Commissioner, Melbourne hearing, 12 November 1999).

In NSW

We just looked at it for the last 7 years and the retention rate has grown for Aboriginal students and now is about the same for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students (Rob Sweaney, Moree hearing, 4 March 1999).

Where is the good news? We constitute a third of the population in Moree and we get 1% through to Year 12 if we're lucky. Where's the good news? (Moree NSW community meeting, 4 March 1999).

In NT

Northern Territory-wide there are Year 12 retention rates of 42% [but] only 4% of our Indigenous students achieve Year 12 level, and we think that this is pointing to a provision of education which is clearly discriminatory on the grounds of race (Robert Laird, Australian Education Union, Darwin hearing, 10 May 1999).

In Queensland

Queensland sits at 46% retention of students from Years 8 to 12; much higher than New South Wales, which is 33% (Shane Williams, Education Queensland, Brisbane hearing, 8 October 1999).

In WA of 1,012 Aboriginal students who enrolled in Year 1 in government schools in 1986 only 148 (14.6%) were enrolled in Year 12 in 1997.25

In 1997 in WA government schools 82.8% of Aboriginal Year 9 students progressed into Year 10 compared with 98.9% of non-Aboriginal students; 48.5% of Aboriginal Year 10 students moved into Year 11 compared with 87% of non-Aboriginal students; and 41.6% of Aboriginal students completing Year 11 enrolled in Year 12 (a total of 148 students) compared with 74.6% of non-Aboriginal students (10,119 students).26

In 1997 67% of the Aboriginal students enrolled completed Year 10 compared with 88% of non-Aboriginal students and 72% of Aboriginal students enrolled completed Year 12 compared with 85% of non-Aboriginal students.27

Of the 148 Aboriginal Year 12 students in 1997, 44 (29.7%) achieved secondary graduation. This number was a decrease from previous years: 84 graduates in 1996 and 68 in 1995. The requirements for secondary graduation did change significantly in 1997.28 Eight Aboriginal students achieved a TEE score at the minimum University entrance requirement or better (a similar number to those graduating in 1995 and 1996).29

Aboriginal students in country districts of WA are less likely to complete and graduate from Year 12 than Aboriginal students in metropolitan and outer metropolitan districts.

Statistically, an Aboriginal male entering Year 8 in the Country Districts has a:
  • 12% chance of being retained to Year 12 [metro = 26%; outer metro = 31%]; and
  • 5% chance of achieving Secondary Graduation from Year 12 [metro = 9%; outer metro = 25%].
Statistically, an Aboriginal female entering Year 8 in the Country Districts has a:
  • 15% chance of being retained to Year 12 [metro = 31%; outer metro = 37%]; and
  • 8% chance of achieving Secondary Graduation from Year 12 [metro = 17%; outer metro = 26%].30


C3 Literacy and numeracy

C3.1 National overview

Although there was evidence that Indigenous students in remote locations were at a particular disadvantage in terms of literacy and numeracy skills, such disadvantage was also found in rural and urban settings. In urban locations approximately 35% of Indigenous primary school students had significantly lower literacy and numeracy achievement compared with approximately 43% in rural and remote locations. The percentage of other Australian students with significantly lower literacy and numeracy achievement levels was estimated at 16% in both urban and rural and remote locations (DETYA submission, page 48, reporting findings of research conducted by the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) in 1994).

'Literacy Standards in Australia' (ACER, 1997) showed that in the National School English Literacy Survey, only 19% of Year 3 Indigenous students and 23% of Year 5 Indigenous students met the draft minimum acceptable standard for reading. For writing, only 29% of Year 3 Indigenous students and 24% of Year 5 Indigenous students met the draft minimum acceptable standard (DETYA submission, page 49).

C3.2 Regional breakdown

In WA the Education Department has reported that "the overall performance of Aboriginal students is significantly lower in all learning areas, except physical education, when compared to the performance of non-Aboriginal students".31 For example, in 1996 "83% of all Year 10 students met or exceeded the Level 4 MSE [Monitoring Standards in Education] requirements for mathematics skills compared to 37% of Aboriginal students" and in 1997 "91% of all Year students met or exceeded [that level] for reading skills compared to 75% of Aboriginal students".32

My experience as the head this organisation is that at times we've had people who've applied for positions who've basically been mature people, who've been through the education system but have very poor literacy and numeracy skills. They just can't read and write. These are not old people ... in actual fact I think the contradiction is that the old people from the missions are probably more educated (Peter Yu, Kimberley Land Council, Broome hearing, 20 May 1999).

In NSW

My husband is an AEA at Boggabilla School and he says that half the kids in the high school can't read or write. It's sad (Boggabilla NSW ASSPA Committee meeting, 5 March 1999).

In NT

... not only did education outcomes plateau, they declined in many areas - particularly in the areas of English literacy and numeracy which are the key building blocks for economic survival in today's society. The reasons given for the decline are many and varied (NT Education Minister, 24 November 1999).

Literacy levels are very low amongst the children in the community. There are many skilled people in their 30s and 40s in the community but there seems to be a lack of skilled young people to take over the leadership roles. Community elders fear the loss of Aboriginalisation of the community. They fear that the traditional ways will be eroded if leadership does not emerge through the younger people (Daguragu NT community meeting, 13 May 1999).

In Queensland

... the data released in the statewide performance testing in literacy and numeracy in Queensland - this is very recent data of the last three weeks - show that Indigenous rural children's scores were significantly lower than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. In fact, half the level of score (Dr David McSwan, James Cook University, Brisbane hearing, 8 October 1999).

My son is 19. He has been attending pre-school and school in Doomadgee for the past 17 years. He still cannot read or write (Doomadgee Qld community meeting, 6 October 1999).

Last year, in Gulf and Torres Strait schools, not a single student qualified for tertiary entrance ranking (Ian Mackie, Queensland Teachers' Union, Brisbane hearing, 8 October 1999).

 


C4 Tertiary participation

An analysis of successful course completions and qualifications of 20 to 24 year old Indigenous Australians (1991-1996) shows that educational attainment has improved. The percentage of Indigenous Australians with a post-secondary qualification increased from 8% to 11.7% and the percentage who left school at age 15 or younger declined from 36% to 29%. In 1991 non-Indigenous Australians were 3.3 times more likely to have a post-school qualification than Indigenous Australians. In 1996 this difference had declined to 2.8 times (DETYA submission, page 90).

In 1998, 3.7% of VET clients identified themselves as being Indigenous Australians, which is significantly higher than their representation of 1.7% in the general population aged between 15-64 (1996 census) (DETYA submission, page 93).

Although Indigenous people may be well represented in VET overall, they tend to be in lower level and shorter courses compared with non-Indigenous Australians. In 1998, around 35% of Indigenous enrolments were in AQF Certificate I and II and Senior Secondary courses, around 13% in AQF Certificate III and equivalent, and 11% in Diplomas and AQF Certificate IV and equivalent courses. By comparison, non-Indigenous enrolments were 20%, 17% and 22% respectively (DETYA submission, page 94).

 


C5 Employment opportunities

Research shows the strong link between education attainment and employment prospects. Research has revealed that completing Year 10 or 11 increases an Indigenous person's chance of employment by 40%. Completing Year 12 increases employment prospects by a further 13% and having a post-secondary qualification increases employment prospects again by between 13 and 23%. It confirms that relatively low levels of education is one of the major labour market disadvantages faced by Indigenous people (David Curtis, ATSIC Commissioner, Melbourne hearing, 12 November 1999).

ATSIC informed the inquiry that, in 1996, 52% of Indigenous male adults in rural areas were employed compared to 75% of all other male adults. Only 35% of Indigenous female adults in rural areas were employed compared to 58% for all other females in rural areas (ATSIC submission, page 40).

Having business set up in our community and encouraging employment is the first thing. The problem with that is though that we don't have many young people with the level of education to try and take ... taking control of the jobs (Nguiu NT community meeting, 11 May 1999).

I think figures quoted by the economic unit for ATSIC if the current rate of unemployment continues by the year 2006 something like 46% of Aboriginal people will be unemployed in Australia. If you bring that down to a local level you cannot disassociate the nature of education from employment, so therefore you'd say that in actual fact the rate of success in the education field is being pulled back. Because the facilities are not there in the communities and kids are still leaving schools earlier (Peter Yu, Kimberley Land Council, Broome hearing, 20 May 1999).

... but what are you going to do with 20 hairdressers in Halls Creek? How is it targeted to the skill needs in that community and what is the overall aspiration of the community there in terms of trying to improve itself (Peter Yu, Kimberley Land Council, Broome hearing, 20 May 1999).

If you've got children who have gone through a six-year school program or even, in some cases, nine, 12 years and they still end up unemployed in a community, or if you've got adults that have been going for 20 years or more on training programs who never achieve the jobs that they're always told they're training for, then, obviously, there's going to be an erosion of goodwill and trust in the process (Peter Toyne, Shadow Minister for Education, Darwin hearing, 10 May 1999).

Moree Aboriginal Education Workers also said that local knowledge and social issues within their own community was most relevant because, especially in isolated areas such as Boggabilla and Goodooga, 95% of the children will not leave the area.

2-Unit Maths and Japanese are going to be of no value or use to that community in the long run. Why sit there wasting time? If they made it relevant to the local community it's going to benefit the community: offer apprenticeship courses through a joint Schools-TAFE program; hands-on things that our kids are really good at (Moree NSW Aboriginal workers meeting, 5 March 1999).

Some kids go away to do Years 11 and 12. They come back to Doomadgee and find that there are no jobs, so they just start drinking and having babies. Other kids coming up through the system see this happening so they don't see any point going up to Year 12 (Doomadgee Qld community meeting, 6 October 1999).

 


Endnotes

14 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 3.
15 This excludes Indigenous employment associated with the Community Development Employment Projects Scheme.
16 From DETYA submission, page 91.
17 Stanley, Owen and Hansen, Geoff, 1998 ABSTUDY: An Investment for Tomorrow's Employment - A Review of ABSTUDY for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Commonwealth of Australia page 47.
18 ATSIC submission, pages 14-15. Adapted from ABS, 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey: Australia's Indigenous Youth, 1996, pages 25-26. Extracted here from Stanley and Hansen, page 48.
19 NT Department of Education submission, page 4.
20 Stanley, Owen and Hansen, Geoff, 1998 ABSTUDY: An Investment for Tomorrow's Employment - A Review of ABSTUDY for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Commonwealth of Australia, page 45.
21 Schwab, R.G, 1998 Educational 'failure' and educational 'success' in an Aboriginal community, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper No. 161/98, ANU, page 5.
22 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 4.
23 DETYA submission, page 91. See also Table 2.1 in ATSIC's submission, on pages 12-13, which compares apparent retention rates for the period 1989-1996.
24 CofA 1994(a), page 68. Extracted here from Stanley and Hansen, page 47: ATSIC submission.
25 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 3.
26 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 4.
27 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 5.
28 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 5.
29 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 6.
30 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 10-11.
31 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 7.
32 EDWA 1998, A Profile of Aboriginal Education in Government Schools, page 7.

Section D:
Commonwealth, State and Territory
Indigenous education policies and programs

Last updated 2 December 2001.