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Policy and Practice Now

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History of Bilingual Education in the Northern Territory

Part of the book series: Language Policy ((LAPO,volume 12))

Abstract

The dominant policy discourse in Indigenous education is one of deficit, failure and intractable problems, with a definition of educational success measured by performance on standardised literacy and numeracy tests. In response, schooling for remote communities is positioned ever more narrowly, with a narrowed curriculum, an intensive focus on English literacy and a proliferation of prescriptive pedagogies promising to raise literacy levels. This discourse leaves little room for community expectations, aspiration, bilingual-bicultural-biliteracy programs. Surprisingly though, NT Department of Education has established a position in order to manage the remaining eight bilingual programs. With this in mind, the chapter examines the current policy settings for languages in education, and the openings in other domains, such as arts and employment, that might present new opportunities for Aboriginal language and culture teaching and learning.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Samantha Disbray

  2. Charles Darwin University, Alice Springs, Australia

    Samantha Disbray

Authors
  1. Samantha Disbray
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Correspondence to Samantha Disbray .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

    Brian Clive Devlin

  2. Charles Darwin University, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

    Samantha Disbray

  3. Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

    Nancy Regine Friedman Devlin

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Disbray, S. (2017). Policy and Practice Now. In: Devlin, B., Disbray, S., Devlin, N. (eds) History of Bilingual Education in the Northern Territory. Language Policy, vol 12. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2078-0_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2078-0_19

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-2076-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-2078-0

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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