Overview
This chapter begins by examining the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) culture in education. Next discussed in this chapter is the gaps and issues that are presented in ATSI culture and the importance of improving ATSI culture in literacy. Following on from this are the intervention strategies teachers can adopt in the classroom to support ATSI students in literacy.
History of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) culture in Education
The history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) culture stretches many years ago from being the first custodians of land to the present. During these times, ATSI culture have endured a lot of disempowerment where they were segregated from many schools in NSW,
…show more content…
These initiatives provided ATSI students with literacy and numeracy developmental skills that were closely linked to community cultural contexts. This has provided ATSI students with learning opportunities that are relevant in the context of society.
Gaps and Issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) culture have experienced many disadvantages. The issues that have caused disadvantage to ATSI culture include higher rates of infant mortality, poor health, low levels of educations and employment. These disadvantages have formed many gaps among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians that need to be readily fixed.
Infant Mortality
Infant mortality is defined by “the deaths of children less than one year of age” (Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS, 2012).
Evidence supported by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW, 2011) suggest that “the life expectancy of ATSI children is double compared with their non-Indigenous counterparts (6.2 deaths per 1000 births ATSI children; 3.7 deaths per 1000 births non-Indigenous