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... Indigenous students are no exception. In fact, catering for Indigenous students is vital for a socially just curriculum, and thus a democratic one, because it recognises and values differences and promotes an inclusive system aimed “towards countering racism, discrimination and stereotypes. ... Indigenous perspectives need to be included in the curriculum because Australia is a diverse society; the culture/s of Australia’s primary inhabitants included. ... The present paper will define what a democratic curriculum is and justify it by briefly looking at social justice and inclusiveness. Following this, an exploration of theoretical components will be considered to illustrate how democratising the curriculum can be achieved. ... The school, and in particular its curriculum, should be democratic; a process by which both majority and minority groups are involved in decision making and where each person has a moral responsibility to each other. ... To that end, the notion of inclusivity and social justice must be paramount. ... By including a raft of perspectives, and in particular Indigenous perspectives, the curriculum celebrates diversity and values it. All students strive towards the same goals and thus a sense of community and belonging is fostered. ... 74 - 76) It gives teachers the opportunity to collaborate and tackle new challenges and gives Indigenous students the prospect of having their identities, histories and perspectives acknowledged and celebrated. ... It means two things: firstly teaching is to be reflective of the fact the class is comprised of culturally diverse groups of which Indigenous students play an important role, and secondly teaching, and consequently learning must contest and challenge the dominant way of thinking; namely a white, middle-class, heterosexual male perspective. ... 37-39)3 In a socially just curriculum, Indigenous perspectives are incorporated with the current curriculum to democratise it.
When democratising the curriculum, the principle of social justice “demands that Indigenous people feel that education…providers value their involvement in the programs they offer (CETYA, 1995 p.
Approximate Word count = 1444
Approximate Pages = 5.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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