The type of research that I have conducted to construct this critical study is based on both quantitative and qualitative research. The qualitative research summarises the specific knowledge and literature, based on the critical issue of differentiated educational outcomes for Indigenous Australian students in the classroom, in addition to various strategies that can be used for “inclusive education in the classroom” (Foreman & Arthur-Kelly, 2014, p.9). The quantitative research in this paper, investigates the statistical representations of the low educational outcomes in the classroom. The approaches used towards this research, include the examination of the relevant literature which revolves around the issue, the analysis of the statistical …show more content…
In 2008, the Australian Government committed to confronting the issue of Indigenous “social disadvantage” (Dobia & O’Rourke, 2011, p.5) in Australia, suggesting that the “gap” (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2016, para.1) between Indigenous Australians’ educational outcomes, and non-Indigenous Australians’ educational outcomes, could be closed. However, statistics suggest that “Indigenous Australian students are continuing to perform well below the educational standards of other students on measures of literacy, numeracy, school enrolment, school attendance and Year 12 completion” (AIHW, 2014, p.2). Research from The Telethon Kids Institute (2006) indicates that “measures of school academic performance have consistently indicated that Aboriginal students have lower levels of achievement than the non-Aboriginal student population” (p.51), with a “decline of more than one-quarter over the last 15 years in the gap in apparent retention rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and the gap is still 41.5% compared with 72.1% for males, and 49.5% compared with 82.7% for females” (Helme & Lamb, 2011, p.3). This statistical representation indicates Indigenous Australian students are continuing to struggle in the classroom, compared to non-Indigenous Australian