Since the early 1970's a rapid increase has been experienced in
the number of Aboriginal homeland communities being
established throughout the Northern Territory.
While educational services commenced to many homeland
communities as early as 1972/3, such services did not
commence in the Elcho Island area until 1983/4. Since this
time educational services have been provided to eleven
homeland communities in the Elcho Island area. Of the eleven
educational programs established, five continued to operate at
the end of 1989.
It is established that homeland schools in the Elcho Island area
differ significantly in characteristics of student enrolment,
frequency of student attendance and in the homeland school's
ability to continue to function as a viable community initiative.
On the basis of the data presented in the study, the following
four levels of classification of homeland schools is established;
highly functional homeland schools,
moderately functional homeland schools,
minimally functional homeland schools, and
homeland schools that have ceased operating.
It is revealed that enrolment and attendance data, traditionally
utilised by government authorities to prioritise the allocation
of limited resources between competing homeland
communities, is in fact a poor indicator for assessing a
homeland community school's long term viability.
This study identifies the following three sociological
characteristics as being strongly correlated to the long term
viability of homeland schools in the Elcho Island area;
land affiliation,
parental residency, and
family mobility.
From the analysis of the data, three recommendations are
proposed;
1. In assessing the long term viability (functional status) of a
homeland community school, educational administrators should
analyse the three sociological indicators;
land affiliation
family mobility, and
parental residency
as an alternative to the more traditional method of relying
primarily upon enrolment and attendance data.
2. In the allocation of scarce resources, especially resources
of a fixed capital nature, to homeland community schools,
priority be given to those homeland community schools that fit
the profile of a moderate to highly functional homeland school.
3. Minimally functional homeland schools need access to
resources in order to provide the educational programs
requested by the local community. Resources provided for this
category of homeland school need to be easily re-located
should the educational program be suspended at the homeland
community.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218973 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Griffin, Barry A., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Barry A. Griffin |
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