To ensure that SACE provides a more culturally responsive qualification that delivers opportunities for Aboriginal students to utilise their living history, languages and cultures as an integral part of their SACE, three recommendations were endorsed in-principle by the Board. These recommendations were:
- Formal recognition of Aboriginal students’ cultural knowledge and learning
- Aboriginal students to provide evidence of learning in language
- Recognition of the authority of Aboriginal Language and Culture custodians to teach and assess Aboriginal languages and cultures
In September 2020, the SACE Board and our Aboriginal Allyship made a significant commitment to ensure all Aboriginal students would be able to demonstrate and share their language and cultural knowledge and understanding, and for these to be valued and recognised in the SACE.
Pilot 1
In 2022, the SACE Board worked closely with SACE Change Network schools to run a small-scale pilot to recognise Aboriginal students’ cultural knowledge and learning, including:
- Community led learning – students have their cultural knowledge and learning verified by a local Aboriginal authority and recognised by the SACE in partnership with the school
- Self-directed cultural learning - students explore and develop their Aboriginal culture and identity and have this learning recognised as part of their SACE
We were excited to announce that 20 Aboriginal students received formal recognition for their Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Understanding in this pilot. This is a significant milestone for the SACE Board and for education more broadly. The learnings from this project connect to the assessment of capabilities, and the EIF and AIF pilots through exploring the nature of evidence and the way we might partner with the broader community to verify and quality-assure student learning.
A learning event was held in March 2023 with key stakeholders, including students, teachers, school leaders, Aboriginal community members, NT & SA Department for Education representatives, and SACE Board staff and Aboriginal Allyship members.
The resounding message from the day was the need for this project to continue to enable Aboriginal students to feel empowered, to feel a sense of belonging, and to strengthen their identity both in the Western education system and their own Aboriginality.
Trailer
To assist with marketing the program to parents and teachers, Braw created a host of assets for social media, including a shortened trailer version of the video.