_{Education, 52(1), 65-76}.

_{http://www.whatworks.edu.au/dbAction.do?cmd=displaySitePage1&subcmd=select&id=164} 

Swan Hill Primary School (Swan Hill, Victoria)
Introduced the Wemba Wemba language to their school in early 2014. This is a program that is taught by a descendent of the Wemba Wemba people to Year 1 students. They are taught songs such as ‘heads, shoulders, knees and toes’ and the ‘hokey pokey’ in the Wemba Wemba language. Teachers would often sit in on classes so they were able to learn the language too in order to use it in the classroom throughout the week in their lessons. 

http://www.vaclang.org.au/projects/swan-hill-primary-school.html 

Melton West Primary School (Melton, Victoria)
Preps spend 10 weeks where they learn the Woi Wurrung language. They learn greeting phrases as well as colours and counting. 

Hutchinson, E. (2017). Swan Hill Primary School. Vaclang.org.au. Retrieved 26 August 2017, from http://www.vaclang.org.au/projects/swan-hill-primary-school.html

NAIDOC Poster. (2017). NAIDOC. Retrieved 29 August 2017, from http://www.naidoc.org.au/naidoc-poster

The gap: Indigenous disadvantage in Australia. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.australianstogether.org.au/stories/detail/the-gap-indigenous-disadvantage-in-australia

What Works - The Work Program - Improving Outcomes for Indigenous students. (2017). Whatworks.edu.au. Retrieved 26 August 2017, from http://www.whatworks.edu.au/dbAction.do?cmd=displaySitePage1&subcmd=select&id=164

Wyn, J. (2009). Touching the future: Building skills for life and work.

 

In terms of health and education, we know Indigenous Australians are significantly disadvantaged. Indigenous Australians have a life expectancy of approximately 10 years less than their non-Indigenous counterparts and are less likely to complete year 12 studies (The Gap, 2017). Racism in schools has been linked to this schooling outcome, negatively impacting the attendance rate of Indigenous students in schools (Biddle & Priest, 2015). By including Indigeneity into school practice, we hope to overcome this.

 

Through incorporating local language (i.e. speaking or through books) and authentic cultural experiences (i.e. inviting elders into the school to speak) within the classroom, we hope to decrease discrimination in the classroom (i.e. cultural understanding, cultural representation), ultimately fostering positive relationships between and across various cultural groups within the school.