Abstract:
The history of the education of Aboriginal children in NSW since 1788 and in other states of Australia, covers periods of major policy shifts that until the late 1960s saw Aboriginal children suffer under a system of discrimination that variously separated, segregated, excluded, 'protected' or removed them from their families. It is important to revisit this history by highlighting aspects of these policy shifts as they provide the context for a deeper understanding of current Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education programs and policies that seek to enable Indigenous children and young people to gain access to educational opportunities offered to all students.
