Samantha Disbray and Gillian Wigglesworth present at the ACTA Conference, Melbourne, October 2014

1. Presenta(on
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Presenta(on
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Remote Control
Language in Indigenous
Education Policy and Practice
Samantha Disbray & Gillian Wigglesworth
ACTA Conference, Melbourne
October 2014

2. Presenta(on
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Presenta(on
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Remote Control
Language in Indigenous
Education Policy and Practice
Samantha Disbray & Gillian Wigglesworth
ACTA Conference, Melbourne
October 2014

3. Remote
control
Governments-­‐
Federal/State/
Territory
from
social/historic/physical
distance
Educa(on
Department
bureaucrats,
local
officers
from
social/historic
distance
School
principals,
visi(ng
teachers
from
social/historic
distance
Local
teaching
staff,
leadership
&
governance

4. Wider
poli(cal
&
public
discourse
Remote
control
Governments-­‐
Federal/State/
Territory
from
social/historic/physical
distance
Educa(on
Department
bureaucrats,
local
officers
from
social/historic
distance
School
principals,
visi(ng
teachers
from
social/historic
distance
Local
teaching
staff,
leadership
&
governance
no
distance

5. Guiding
Ques(ons
1. What
does
language
educa(on
policy
look
like
in
social
prac(ce?
Who
does
it,
with
what
purposes,
to
and
for
whom,
and
with
what
consequences?
2.
How
are
language
users
and
prac(ces
‘disciplined’
or
regulated
through
explicit
and
implicit
policies?
(McCarty
2011;
also
Stri(kus
&
Wiese
2006;
Levinson
&
SuZon
2001).

6. Data
• Na(onal
and
Territory
policy
documents,
official
statements,
posi(ons,
default
or
de
facto
policies,
responses
in
prac(ce
• Long-­‐term
observa(on
of
local
prac(ces
in
schools
(8
sites
in
NT),
documents
generated
in
schools
(workshop
reports,
mee(ng
notes),
interview
data
from
community
members,
school
staff
and
educa(on
department
officers,
plus
involvement
in
regional
community
educa(on
bodies,
such
as
the
Warlpiri
Educa(on
and
Training
Trust,
the
Pitjantjatjara/Yankunykatjara
Educa(on
Council

7.
“Knowing
that
our
own
language
and
culture
play
the
biggest
role
in
growing
our
spirit,
our
connec(on
to
our
land
and
the
stories
of
our
grandmother
and
grandfathers.
With
our
language
we
know
where
we
belong,
we
know
the
names
from
our
country
and
Jukurrpa
(Dreaming
stories
and
designs).
Young
people
can’t
lead
a
good,
healthy
and
happy
life
without
this.
Language
and
culture
come
first.
When
kids
feel
lost
and
their
spirit
is
weak
then
they
can’t
learn
well
or
be
healthy.
They
need
to
feel
pride
in
their
language
and
culture
and
know
that
they
are
respected.
That’s
the
only
way
to
start
closing
the
gap”
(Warlpiri
Patu
kurlangu
Jaru
2012).

9. Rhetoric
and
Prac(ce
Despite
rhetoric
of
the
value
of
Australian
Languages
to
Australia,
and
the
their
benefits
to
speakers,
the
Na(onal
Indigenous
Languages
Policy
does
not
commit
to
ac(on,
funding
and
privileges
English.

10. Na(onal
Indigenous
Languages
Policy
hZp://arts.gov.au/indigenous/languages
The
importance
of
Australia's
Indigenous
languages
The
most
recent
report
on
Indigenous
languages
in
Australia,
the
Na(onal
Indigenous
Languages
Survey
(NILS)
Report
2005,
found
that
the
situa(on
of
Australia’s
Indigenous
languages
is
grave
and
requires
urgent
ac(on.
Of
the
145
indigenous
languages
s(ll
spoken
in
Australia,
110
are
cri(cally
endangered.
All
of
Australia’s
Indigenous
languages
face
an
uncertain
future
if
immediate
ac(on
and
care
are
not
taken.
The
Australian
Government
is
commiZed
to
addressing
the
serious
problem
of
language
loss
in
Indigenous
communi(es.

11.
Na(onal
Indigenous
Languages
Policy
hZp://arts.gov.au/indigenous/languages
Con(nued
Suppor(ng
Indigenous
Language
Programs
in
Schools
Significant
funding
for
languages
educa(on
is
being
provided
to
the
states
and
territories
through
the
Na(onal
Educa(on
Agreement
for
languages,
allowing
jurisdic(ons
flexibility
to
determine
how
funding
is
allocated.
Funding
can
be
used
to
support
and
maintain
Indigenous
language
programs
opera(ng
in
government
schools.
$56.4
million
is
also
being
provided
over
2009
to
2012
through
the
Schools
Assistance
Act
2008
to
support
the
teaching
of
languages
generally,
including
Australian
Indigenous
languages,
in
non-­‐
government
schools.

12. Na(onal
Indigenous
Languages
Policy
hZp://arts.gov.au/indigenous/languages
Con(nued
Suppor(ng
Indigenous
Language
Programs
in
Schools
The
Government
is
commiZed
to
languages
educa(on
and
recognises
the
important
role
that
Indigenous
language
learning
plays
in
some
schools,
par8cularly
bilingual
schools.
The
learning
of
English
is
also
a
fundamental
skill
that
all
Australians,
including
Indigenous
Australians,
must
have
in
order
to
maximise
their
learning
opportuni8es
and
life
chances.
All
Australian
governments
through
the
Council
of
Australian
Governments
(COAG)
processes
have
commiZed
to
halving
the
gap
in
the
reading,
wri(ng
and
numeracy
achievements
between
Indigenous
and
non-­‐Indigenous
students
within
a
decade.

13.
Na(onal
Indigenous
Languages
Policy
hZp://arts.gov.au/indigenous/languages
Indigenous
languages
&
literacy
&
numeracy
The
Government
is
providing
$56.4
million
over
four
years
to
provide
extra
assistance
to
schools
to
enable
them
to
expand
intensive
literacy
and
numeracy
approaches
that
have
been
successful
with
Aboriginal
and
Torres
Strait
Islander
students
and
provide
professional
development
support
to
assist
teachers
to
prepare
Individual
Learning
Plans
for
Indigenous
students.

14.
Funding
for
Indigenous
Languages
Support
Its $9 million annual budget falls far short of demand. According to the
recent House of Representatives Enquiry “funding for language programs
has remained at around $9 million for 15 years [and in 2012-13] the
budget for the ILS program is $9.9 million, with applications exceeding
$21 million” (Commonwealth of Australia, 2012, p. 65).
In 2014, $8.8 million was allocated for community language programs,
not exclusively education related.

15. NT
Language
and
Culture
in
Schools
60
out
of
154
schools
-­‐
one
or
more
Indigenous
language,
overwhelmingly
at
primary
level,
for
on
average
between
1
and
4
hours
per
week

16. Indigenous
Language
Prac((oners
in
NT
Schools
To
do
it
well,
you
have
to
do
it
that
way,
to
make
it
official.
Its
one
of
the
official
languages
taught
in
the
school.
So
you
get
proper
money
and
so
you
make
it
official.
Have
a
budget
for
it,
you’ve
goAa
have
the
human
resource
and
the
material
resources.
We
wrote
a
Language
and
Culture
Policy,
but
no
one
sees
it.
Every
new
principal
comes
with
a
different
idea.
We
have
to
start
again
and
may
be
we
can
teach
language
and
culture.
Things
are
always
changing,
we
are
doing
accelerated
literacy,
then
kids
maAer,
now
its
visible
learning
There
is
no
team-­‐teaching,
no
learning
together,
planning
together
and
teaching
together,
so
Kardiya
and
Yapa
just
work
apart.

17.
3.
How
do
policy
processes
normalize
some
languages
and
speakers,
and
marginalize
others?

18. The
review
focuses
on
the
English
language
skills
and
knowledge
that
underpin
success
in
the
western
educa(on
system
and
proposes
that
these
are
gained
through
rigorous
and
relentless
aZen(on
to
the
founda(ons
of
the
language
and
the
skills
that
support
par(cipa(on
in
a
modern
democracy
and
economy.
This
report
recommends
the
explicit
teaching
and
assessment
of
founda(onal
elements
of
English
literacy,
including
phonemic
awareness,
phonics
and
vocabulary.
(Wilson
2014,
p.12
Review
of
Indigenous
Educa(on
in
the
NT
)

19. Language
and
Ideologies
1. Social
Darwinism
–
set
low
educa(onal
expecta(ons
for
Indigenous
students
2. Cultural
Imperialism
–
held
Indigenous
language
and
culture
in
low
esteem
and
ac(vely
repressed
them
3. Cultural
Depriva(on
(Deficit)
–
Indigenous
language
and
culture
as
a
handicap
to
rec(fy
(1-­‐
3
TruscoZ
&
Malcolm
2011)
4. Cultural
Rela(vism
–
Pluralis(c,
inclusive,
rights-­‐based
support
for
Indigenous
languages
5. Global
Impera(ves
–
focus
on
global
markets
and
economic
needs,
at
the
expense
of
more
local
objec(ves
(eg.
Home
languages)
(On
points
4
&
5
see
also
Lo
Bianco
2001)
6.
Literacy
Crisis
–
Lo
Bianco,
2002,
Lo
Bianco
&
Freebody
2001,
Hannan
2009)
7. Prac(cal
Equality
–
ra(onaliza(on
of
a
set
of
skills,
goals
&
indicators
for
all.

20. Literacy
is
all
things
Languages
>
Language
(English)
>
Literacy
(English,
in
formal
setngs
ie.
educa(on
and
the
workplace)
Literacy
is
the
key
to
success
(No
other
factors
lead
to/contribute
to
a
lack
of
success
eg.
lack
of
iden(fica(on
of
the
goals
associated
with
this
formula(on
of
success
–
mo(va(on,
poverty,
trauma,
racism,
mental
health)
Literate
=
either/or
LiZle
or
no
acknowledgement
of
bilingualism;
knowledge
of
a
language
other
than
English
does
not
lead
to
success
or
fulfillment,
but
rather
acts
against
success
and
fulfillment.

21. Language
Speakers
percep(on
of
bilingualism
When
I
went
to
school,
it
was
a
bilingual
educa(on
at
Ernabella.
I
learned
my
first
language
and
then
English.
When
I
was
16
years
of
age
it
was
my
family’s
decision
that
I
have
to
go
away
to
school
[…]
I
stayed
and
learned
new
things
in
a
new
place
and
environment
[…]
I’m
s(ll
learning
today
and
everyday.
Pitjantjatjara
educator
and
educa(on
leader
Makin(
Minutjukur
(2013)
Warlpiri
is
like
a
vehicle
to
learn
a
new
language
[…].
I
think
that
the
proper
recogni(on
of
our
iden(ty
and
language
makes
us
strong
and
grown-­‐up,
knowing
English
and
Warlpiri
together.
I
think
that
the
Indigenous
language
can
assist
in
many
ways
such
as
in
transla(on,
because
that
is
what
I
grew
up
on,
especially
the
experience
in
the
classroom
of
always
having
two
people,
a
Kardiya—a
European—and
a
Yapa
an
Aboriginal
person,
a
Warlpiri
person.
They
were
both
there
for
me
to
make
sure
that
I
got
the
proper
educa(on
in
both
ways.
That
has
been
an
important
thing
in
my
growing
up
in
both
worlds,
Warlpiri
and
English
(Commonwealth
of
Australia,
2012,
p.
25).

22. Language
Speakers
percep(on
of
bilingualism
cont.
We
learn
from
our
elders
that
language
is
sacred.
Yolngu
kids
think
in
their
own
language,
which
can
then
inform
them
about
English,
its
meaning
and
its
value.
I
consider
that
Yolngu
kids
can
be
as
clever
as
any
one
else
in
the
world.
And
I
don’t
want
the
cleverness
ley
outside
the
classroom
door.
Not
for
my
kids,
or
my
grandkids.
They
should
have
equal
rights,
the
same
rights
as
any
kids
in
the
world,
whether
they’re
Chinese
or
Balanda,
equal
rights
to
learn
in
their
own
language.
There
should
be
a
choice
given
to
all
schools
and
communi(es
about
how
our
schools
should
operate.
Yalmay
Yunupingu
2014
And
yet,
Fogarty
and
Schwab
(2012
p.9)
note:
Calls
for
‘back
to
basics’
educa(on
fail
to
recognise
that
it
never
ley.
In
fact,
“[p]hone(cs,
arithme(c
and
grammar
exercises
have
long
formed
a
daily
part
of
the
teaching
and
learning
cycle,
especially
in
the
remote
schools
of
the
Northern
Territory
where
much
of
the
debate
is
focused.

23. 4.
How
do
minori(sed
speech
communi(es
exercise
agency
in
the
face
of
restric(ve
language
policies?
And
finally
5.
How
can
we
use
our
work
to
address
these
maZers?

24. Creative and Innovative Ways to use, teach & promote Indigenous Languages

27. Ways
Forward
Local
-­‐
Bilingual
affordances
through
innova(ve
out
of
school
partnerships
Remote
-­‐
Na(onal
mul(lingual
language
educa(on
policy
opens
up
ideological
and
implementa(onal
spaces
for
mul(lingual
educa(on
(Hornberger
2009)
Remote
to
Local
-­‐
TruscoZ
&
Malcolm
2011
–
advocacy,
beZer
teacher
training,
decisive
and
well-­‐implemented
policy
Remote
to
Local
-­‐
Recognise
Campaign
–
Cons(tu(onal
recogni(on

28. Angelo,
D.
(2013).
Steps
for
encouraging
early
independent
wri(ng:
A
language
perspec(ve
on
whole-­‐
class
literacy
learning
inclusive
of
EAL/D
learners.
PracPcally
Primary,
18(2),
11-­‐16.
Commonwealth
of
Australia.
(2012).
Our
Land,
Our
Language.
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Learning
in
Indigenous
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of
Representa(ves
Standing
CommiZee
on
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and
Torres
Strait
Islander
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W.
(2013).
Country
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In
J.
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&
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Landscapes,
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74-­‐81.
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29. Lowe,
K.,
&
Howard,
P.
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So
you
want
to
work
with
the
community?
Principles
and
strategies
for
school
leaders
affec(ng
the
establishment
of
Aboriginal
language
programs.
In
J.
Hobson,
K.
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S.
Poetsch
&
M.
Walsh
(Eds.),
Re-­‐awakening
languages:
theory
and
pracPce
in
the
revitalisaPon
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Australia's
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194-­‐
209).
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University
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Nicholls,
C.
(2001).
Reconciled
to
what?
Reconcilia(on
and
the
Northern
Territory's
Bilingual
Educa(on
Program.
In
J.
L.
Bianco
&
R.
Wickert
(Eds.),
Australian
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in
Language
and
Literacy
(pp.
325–341).
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Osborne,
S.
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G.,
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J.
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Language
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Thanks to all of the people who have taken part in the Remote
Education Systems project so far and shared their insights.
The work by the first author reported in this publication was
supported by funding from the Australian Government
Cooperative Research Centres Program through the Cooperative
Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP).
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the
views of the CRC-REP or Ninti One Limited or its participants.
Errors or omissions remain with the author.

31. 31