The Status and Future of Bilingual Education for Remote Indigenous Students in the Northern Territory

Autor/in	Devlin, Brian
Titel	The Status and Future of Bilingual Education for Remote Indigenous Students in the Northern Territory
Quelle	In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 34 (2011) 3, S.260-279 (20 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0155-0640
Schlagwörter	Bilingual Education; Attendance; Bilingual Education Programs; Bilingualism; Rural Education; Foreign Countries; Indigenous Populations; Futures (of Society); Languages; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Politics of Education; Literacy; Alienation; Government Role; Political Influences; Language of Instruction; Educational Planning; Strategic Planning; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Bilingual teaching; Bilingualer Unterricht; Anwesenheit; Bilingualismus; Ländliche Erwachsenenbildung; Ausland; Sinti und Roma; Future; Society; Zukunft; Language; Sprache; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Educational policy; Bildungspolitik; Alphabetisierung; Schreib- und Lesefähigkeit; Entfremdung; Political influence; Politischer Einfluss; Teaching language; Unterrichtssprache; Bildungsplanung; Strategy; Planning; Strategie; Planung; Australien
Abstract	This article analyses the status and future of bilingual education programs using Indigenous languages and English in remote Northern Territory schools. It explains why this educational approach is so contested at present, resulting in an unresolved situation which can best be regarded as an uneasy compromise on the ground and a stalemate at higher levels of political decision making. If the bilingual education approach was better understood by the current NT Government, there would a strong impetus now to "refine" and effectively implement a model of schooling that is appropriate for students in remote areas. Instead, current politicians debunk the bilingual approach, thereby robbing schools and literacy plans of any momentum and distracting attention away from the work that needs to be done. Meanwhile, student attendance rates have fallen away to worryingly low levels (Dickson, 2010). The current regime may well resolve the impasse, but in the absence of any meaningful, open negotiation the future looks uncertain. It is too soon to judge the cost of this uncertainty, but it may well result in further alienation and the emergence of non-government alternatives. (Contains 1 table and 1 endnote.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Applied Linguistics Association of Australia. e-mail: info@alaa.org.au; Web site: http://www.alaa.org.au/page/aral_journal.html
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10