The Case for Change : A Review of Contemporary Research on Indigenous Education Outcomes
From the Publisher: This Australian Education Review report “examines the research evidence underpinning current [Australian] government policy developed over the last two decades in an attempt to improve the educational outcomes of Indigenous students. It reviews and analyzes existing educational research into the precursors and concomitant factors that contribute to educational achievement for students generally and for Indigenous students in particular. It argues that current policy is insufficiently underpinned by substantive research, and that changes should be made, both to research methodology and to policy content.”
This report provides an overview of the continuing under-performance of Australian Indigenous students whose outcomes, similar to American Indian students, continue to trail non-Indigenous students. Decades of research and numerous education policy initiatives have failed to improve outcomes. In the report, the authors effectively state their purposes and meet them, building a case for both higher quality research methods and a comprehensive national research agenda supporting Indigenous education outcomes. Communications quality is solid, using effective designs, end-of-chapter summaries, and easy-to-understand tables. While the report may seem a bit dated (2004), its issues and recommendations still have crossover and relevance for American Indian education.