Indigenous Education
Closing the gaps between the outcomes of Indigenous Australians and other Australians is a national priority. All governments in Australia have agreed to work with Indigenous Australians to close these gaps and as an initial focus, governments will be pursuing the achievement of following targets:
- closing the life expectancy gap within a generation,
- halving the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade (2018),
- ensuring all Indigenous four years olds in remote communities have access to early childhood education within five years (2013),
- halving the gap for Indigenous students in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade (2018),
- halving the gap for Indigenous students in Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates by 2020, and
- halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians within a decade (2018).
Australia’s Education Ministers, through the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA), are developing an Indigenous Education Action Plan to drive actions to close the gaps in early childhood development and education outcomes. The Indigenous Education Action Plan will be developed in consultation with Indigenous Australians, and will include a focus on the key areas of:
- readiness for school
- engagement and connections
- attendance
- leadership, quality teaching and workforce development
- literacy and numeracy
- pathways to real post-school options
The Indigenous Education Action Plan will demonstrate how governments are working together to improve education outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and will facilitate national, state, systemic and local actions as well as joined up work such as sharing successful practices.
Visit MCEECDYA to view the draft Indigenous Education Action Plan.
The Action Plan is to be finalised in 2010.
The Hon Julia Gillard MP, Minister for Education, delivered a speech on her expectations for the Indigenous Education Action Plan in September 2009. View the Minister for Education, Julia Gillard’s speech from the Indigenous Leadership in Education Institute: Stronger Smarter Summit.
For more information on Indigenous education programs please visit: