ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Australian Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

Indigenous.gov.au Connecting With First Nations Australians
Back to Stories

Yolngu culture key in school attendance success

28 April 2014
Children and Schooling

In Galiwin’ku, elders are using their Yolngu culture to get kids excited about school.

In Galiwin’ku, elders are using their Yolngu culture to get kids excited about school.

Since the launch of the Australian Government’s Remote School Attendance Strategy (RSAS) earlier this year, elders in Galiwin’ku, on Elcho Island in northeast Arnhem Land, have worked closely with government and school staff to ensure children are enrolled and attending school every day.

A key part of the Strategy’s approach has been to allow each community to take ownership of the Strategy and adapt it to be locally relevant and effective. Ted Gondarra, Galiwin’ku’s RSAS co-ordinator, believes that the community is successfully using aspects of their culture to help students stay at school.

“It’s going really well so far,” Ted said.

“Enrolment and attendance is increasing and there is a greater interest in the school from children and parents. A lot of this can be attributed to the support community elders have given RSAS because the elders know that if children aren’t going to school they are not going to grow up to be the strong leaders the community needs.”

At Galiwin’ku’s Shepherdson College, Ted co-ordinates the School Attendance Officers, local community members who in many cases are related to the children and work to help kids in the community get to school. They help parents and families make sure their children have what they need to go to school each day and stay there to learn.

One aspect of the support the community is giving students and parents is tied in with a key feature of Yolngu culture.

“We use ‘Raki’, which is Yolngu Matha for ‘family ties’, and means the entire community is involved in ensuring kids are going to school,” Ted said.

“We found some students weren’t attending last year because they were being bullied so we now use appropriate cultural connections with the students to introduce them to Yolngu concepts of sharing and looking after each other. This gets them out of bad behaviour like teasing or bullying.”

While it’s still early days, Galiwin’ku’s plan looks to be a success. Enrolments and attendance have significantly increased, thanks to the local community support for the Remote School Attendance Strategy.

Find out more

Getting children to school is the Australian Government’s number one priority for Indigenous children and their families. That’s because going to school and being at school every day gives every child the best chance for a good start in life.

The Remote School Attendance Strategy is about working together – with schools, families, parents, and community organisations – to ensure all children go to school every day.