The Injinoo Home Language Program: A Positive Community Response to Marginalisation and Institutional Racism

Abstract

Teaching in and of itself is a difficult task fraught with obstacles to classroom success. For those who teach Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students these obstacles are compounded by a political atmosphere that colours every decision made within the school and indeed within education departments.As classroom teachers it is easy to say that politics has nothing to do with teaching and pretend that it is not an issue. As convenient as this attitude may be, it is denying the facts. Indeed all teachers involved in Indigenous education must accept that their role is political. They must see that part of their task is to overcome years of institutional policy and attitude that have contributed significantly to poor educational performances for Indigenous students in Australia.

Literacy in Pidgin and Creole Languages

“…Also in Australia, the Home Languages Project began in 1995 at Injinoo School in north Queensland. In this project, pre-school and Year 1 children have been taught to read and write in their home language, a variety of Torres Strait Creole (Turner, 1997).…”

Around inCircles orExpanding Spirals?: aRetrospective Look atEducation inTorres Strait, 1964-2003

“…In the last of these articles (Shnukal, 1996) she describes the implementation of English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching strategies at Thursday Island State High School. Kale (1987Kale ( , 1995 and Turner (1997) have also examined issues of language in education for Torres Strait Islanders.…”