Paper short abstract:

This paper examines theoretical and pedagogical issues affecting Indigenous Australian education. It also analyses comparative dimensions, mostly Melanesian. The major objective is to analyse issues of education and pedagogy and to suggest forms of reconciliation between Western and Indigenous forms of education.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines theoretical and pedagogical issues affecting Indigenous Australian education. It also analyses comparative dimensions, mostly Melanesian. The major objective is to analyse issues of education and pedagogy and to suggest forms of reconciliation between the dominant Western or mainstream education and Indigenous forms of education. The work is grounded in ethnographic case studies, Australian and Papua New Guinean, and wide-ranging interaction and consultation with Indigenous people and their community organisations.

We can learn a great deal from Indigenous cultures, however their knowledge and methodologies are often ignored or discounted by metropolitan, industrial societies. Conversely, a theoretically and methodologically ethical and inclusive anthropology is increasingly vital as Indigenous people are often suspicious of, even opposed to, anthropological research (L.T. Smith, 1999).

The provision of the most appropriate education for Indigenous students is extraordinarily complex and presents an enormous analytical and professional challenge. The implications are profound; continued ignorance and arrogance from dominant cultures will lead to even greater resentment, social alienation, poverty and divisiveness. The presentation and paper explore and analyse these issues in broad historical and localized forms, each informing the other.