AboutContact UsRegister
Clearinghouse for Sport
The information and knowledge sharing platform for Australian sport

Education

Sport can contribute to improved educational outcomes and increased physical and mental wellbeing which can positively impact the ability to learn.

Attaining higher levels of education generally improves employment opportunities and is associated with higher socio-economic and overall wellbeing. 30, 31, 32

The National Aboriginal and Sporting Chance Academy (NASCA) highlights research that if First Nations students reach the same level of academic achievement as other students by the age of 15, there is no significant difference in subsequent educational outcomes such as completing Year 12 and participating in university or vocational training. Additionally, First Nations individuals who complete a university degree, are as likely to become employed as a non-Indigenous person. Education is therefore seen as a key factor in various aspects of 'closing the gap'. 30, 33

Sport is often promoted as a way to engage First Nations young people in education, often as a 'hook', incentive, or reward for attendance, as well as by promoting positive role models. 34, 35, 36, 37, 38

Studies have demonstrated that sport participation can contribute to improved literacy and numeracy, positive educational outcomes, and improved physical and mental wellbeing which can have a positive impact on the ability to learn. 12, 31, 39, 40, 41

The 2017 ‘After the Siren’ report investigated First Nations participation in Australian rules football at a grass-roots level, and the associated individual and community level outcomes. Some key findings relating to education and learning included: 12

  • Children who played football were six percentage points less likely to be assessed as having learning difficulties due to health issues.
  • Boys living in remote areas playing Australian football had a 20% lower truancy incidence.

The 'Sporting Chance' program encouraged improved educational outcomes for First Nations students using sport and recreation. An evaluation of the program found that over 90% of the students in the study reported a positive attitude toward their schooling, particularly in relation to their attitudes to school, self-identity, sense of pride in being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and self-efficacy as learners. 42

Resources and reading

  • Sport boosting academic outcomes of Indigenous children, opens in a new tab, Darby Ingram, National Indigenous Times, (28 January 2021). Research from the University of South Australia has linked higher participation in sport among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with better academic performance. Conducted in partnership with the University of Sydney and the University of Technology Sydney, the study found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who played organised sports every year for four years had numeracy skills that were advanced by seven months, compared to children who played less sport.
  • In both schooling and sport, Australia has slowly come to recognise its Aboriginal talent pool, opens in a new tab, Colin Tatz, The Conversation, (13 April 2018). Back in the 1960s, I wrote seemingly endless pieces about sport being a better pathway for Aboriginal youth than education. That remains true: where else but on the sports field can an under-educated and even a troubled youth pit their skills against opponents, get paid enormous sums, manage their own brand names, have entourages, achieve celebrity status and social mobility – and get to publish memoirs before reaching the age of 30? But what happens to life after sport is another story.
  • We can use AFL to boost school attendance and improve mental health in Indigenous communities, opens in a new tab, Michael Dockery, The Conversation, (14 September 2017). Indigenous boys living in remote Australian communities have a 20% lower truancy rate if they play AFL. This is one of the findings from our latest study exploring the benefits of Indigenous people’s participation in Australian rules football (AFL). Our report, After the Siren: The community benefits of Indigenous participation in Australia Rules Football found Indigenous children who participate in AFL have better physical and mental health than those who don’t. Children who played football were 6% less likely to be assessed as having learning difficulties due to health issues.

  • National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy (NASCA), opens in a new tab. NASCA is acutely aware that effective Aboriginal education outcomes require connection to communities and engaged parents and guardians. NASCA’s model engages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mentors or mentors with a deep understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues as a crucial key in the development of the educational confidence of young Indigenous people. By adding cultural elements and encouraging community input in the school day we are directly addressing a gap that is evident in the mainstream education system.
  • John Moriarty Football, opens in a new tab. JMF is named for co-founder, John Moriarty, the first Aboriginal player selected to play football for Australia. It is a transformational skills mastery program for 6-18 year-olds that uses football (soccer) for talent and positive change, improving school attendance and achieving resilient, healthier outcomes in Indigenous communities. JMF is a permanent presence in the communities where we operate. We deliver 5-6 days per week to primary and secondary school children, with equal participation of boys and girls, through in-school and after school sessions, school holiday clinics and tournaments.
    • Indi Footi, opens in a new tab is a pre-school football fitness program for 2 to 6 year olds delivered by John Moriarty Football coaches through our Indi Kindi initiative. Indi Footi promotes healthy growth and development and is aligned to Indi Kindi’s daily messaging: *Eat well *Drink well *Clean well *Play well. The underlying objective of Indi Footi is to activate young brains through movement, and develop basic football and motor skills, balance and coordination in a fun, non-competitive way.
    • The JMF Scholarships and Pathways, opens in a new tab initiative provides a life-changing pathway for talented young footballers aged 10-18 years in our grassroots JMF program who show exceptional sporting ability and a desire to work hard at school.
  • Coaching Unlimited, opens in a new tab. A national coaching education program that provides sport-specific coaching accreditation, and research-based health promotion workshops, to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples become sport coaches and community leaders.
  • The Clontarf Foundation, opens in a new tab works to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem, and employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and by doing so equips them to participate meaningfully in society. Using the existing passion that these boys have for sport allows Clontarf to initially attract them to school, and then keep them coming. It is however, not a sporting programme – it’s about developing the values, skills, and abilities that will assist the boys to transition into meaningful employment and achieve better life outcomes.
  • Shooting Stars, opens in a new tab, an initiative of Glass Jar Australia, empowers Aboriginal girls and women across Western and South Australia to make informed choices about their education and employment journey, helping them shoot for the stars. Based in host schools, our program combines advocacy and support, engagement activities, rewards, and health and wellbeing sessions to strengthen participants' confidence, cultural identity, and positive attitudes, while promoting their health and wellbeing. Participants are engaged with different sports, arts, and fun games at school and outside of school. The program operates with a minimum target of 80% attendance at school for our Indigenous girls, with a goal to increasing this to over 90%.
  • I-CAN, opens in a new tab is an Indigenous Marathon Foundation program that works in remote Indigenous primary schools and communities across Australia to provide children with access to fun and educational health and fitness programs that encourages school attendance and addresses childhood obesity and inactivity. The program is conducted over an eight-week period during the selected school term and involves a series of health screenings, delivery of weekly games and activities in schools and communities, and the installation of running tracks and fitness equipment in primary schools or community parks. The program also trains and supports local teachers and community leaders to improve the children’s skill, abilities, understanding and enjoyment of physical activity and health.
  • Learn Earn Legend!, opens in a new tab An Australian Government message to young Indigenous Australians and their role models. The Learn Earn Legend! message encouraged and supported young Indigenous Australians to stay at school, get a job and be a legend for themselves, their family and their community.

  • Education Statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, opens in a new tab, Australian Bureau of Statistics, (December 2020). Early childhood, primary, secondary, and non-school education statistics including highest level of education and attendance information.
  • Barhava Report: Indi Kindi Impact Report, opens in a new tab, Moriarty Foundation, (August 2020). Indi Kindi has successfully developed a model that has been driven by, and adapted to, the needs of the community. This model draws on local Indigenous leaders, employs local Indigenous women, fosters local Indigenous languages and culture, and operates outdoors on Country through a uniquely interactive ‘walking learning’ approach. The 'Barhava Report' is an independent assessment of the impact Indi Kindi has demonstrated in Borroloola and Robinson River, two very remote Northern Territory Indigenous communities with complex needs and disadvantages. Benefits of Indi Kindi for the local community include: Improved educational outcomes for the children attending the service, including demonstrated improvements in listening, school readiness, classroom engagement and motor skills.
  • After the Siren: The community benefits of Indigenous participation in Australia Rules Football, opens in a new tab, Michael Dockery and Sean Gorman, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, (September 2017). This report is based on analyses of data from the 2014-2015 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS), supplemented by interviews with a number of stakeholders in West Australian communities. The community benefits of Indigenous participation in Australian Rules Football reveal the numerous benefits that participation in sport, and AFL in particular, bring to Indigenous Australians. Direct health benefits are apparent in both children and adults involved in AFL, with better mental and physical health outcomes compared to those who are not involved in sport. The report also highlights the broader role AFL can play in a community, by being the conduit through which community programs targeted at health and safety can be delivered, and the means through which communities can be brought together.
  • Evaluation of the Sporting Chance Program, opens in a new tab, Lonsdale, M., Wilkinson, J., Armstrong, S., McClay, D., et.al., for the Australian Council for Educational Research, (2011). The objective of the Sporting Chance Program is to encourage improved educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students using sport and recreation. Such outcomes may include an increase in school attendance, strengthened engagement with school and improved attitudes to schooling, improved achievement in learning, increased retention to Year 12 or its vocational equivalent, and greater parental and community involvement with the school and students’ schooling. The program comprises two elements: School-based Sports Academies (Academies) for secondary school students; and, Education Engagement Strategies (EES) for both primary and secondary school students. More than 90 per cent of the 1,012 students surveyed and interviewed as part of the evaluation reported a positive attitude toward their schooling, particularly in relation to their attitudes to school, self-identity, sense of pride in being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and self-efficacy as learners.
  • Performance Audit of The Sporting Chance Program, opens in a new tab, Department of Finance and Deregulation, Office of Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous Programs), (July 2009). The objective of the performance audit was to assess the performance of academies funded under the Sporting Chance Program and DEEWR’s management of the program. The audit did not assess the performance of the program’s education engagement strategies component as this did not commence until 2008.
  • Contextual factors that influence the achievement of Australia’s Indigenous students: Results from PISA 2000 - 2006, opens in a new tab, Lisa De Bortoli, Sue Thomson, Australian Council for Educational Research, (2010). Results from international programs that assess the skills and knowledge of young people have indicated that Australia’s Indigenous students perform at a significantly lower level than non-Indigenous students. The current report provides an understanding of how various aspects of students’ background and psychological constructs relate to each other and to student performance.

  • ‘ … if my family didn’t play football … we would literally have pretty much nothing’: how high school Aboriginal students continue culture through rugby league and Australian football, opens in a new tab, John Williams, Shane Pill, John Evans, et al., Sport, Education and Society, Volume 27(1), pp.57-71, (2022). Sport, including rugby league and Australian football (AFL), was used in Australia to teach British values and gentlemanly behaviour to show Aboriginal people their ‘place’. This study explains how both sports have meaning for high school students, as an unintended outcome of their introduction to Australia’s Indigenous peoples. Figurational sociology, through its concern with long-term processes, is used to examine the importance of AFL and rugby league to 12 Year 7–10 (age 12–16 approximately) participants. Data were collected using six semi-structured interviews and were interpretively analysed. Instead of experiencing a sense of being ‘civilized’ or enlightened through their involvement in AFL and rugby league, participants instead spoke about both sports offering: (i) personal meaning through enjoyment and identity creation; (ii) family and community connections; (iii) support networks from family members, peers and others; and (iv) opportunities to continue their culture. It would seem then that the introduction of rugby league and AFL to Australia’s Indigenous peoples has resulted in the adaption of both sports for cultural and other reasons. It is possible that similar reconstruction of meaning is experienced by Indigenous groups beyond Australia who were similarly colonised by Western nations.
  • Combining psychology, a Game Sense Approach and the Aboriginal game Buroinjin to teach quality physical education, opens in a new tab, Williams, J., Pill, S., Coleman, J., et al., Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, Volume 13(1), pp.34-48, (2022). In this research, we show how a quality teaching framework can be used with psychology, specifically self-determination theory (SDT), and a Game Sense Approach (GSA) to plan and teach a unit of work as a context-specific version of quality Physical Education. This unit of work using Buroinjin, an Australian Aboriginal traditional game, was taught to two Year 5 classes (49 students in total aged 10–11 years) at a government school in Australia’s capital city, Canberra. Following unit completion, a qualitative research design was adopted to answer our research question: To what extent do Year 5 students experience basic psychological need satisfaction by playing Buroinjin taught using a GSA? Four semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 26 of the original students who were taught the unit. Findings suggest the unit was effective in satisfying the participants’ SDT basic needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness.
  • Conceptualising games and sport teaching in physical education as a culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy, opens in a new tab, Shane Pill, John Evans, John Williams, et al, Sport, Education and Society, Volume 27(9), pp.1005-1019, (2022). We present an opportunity to ‘close the gap’ between Western and Aboriginal knowledge through the purposeful design of engagement in reconciliation, respect and recognition of continuous living Aboriginal cultures. We use the game Parndo (ASC, 2000) to illustrate an example of how Yunkaporta’s (2009) framework and the Game Sense approach (GSA) become a solution for closing our identified gap. By proposing a culturally responsive curriculum, we focus on the importance of identity for all people and how curricula must be relevant and meaningful for all Australians. Importantly, Yunkaporta's (2009) 8 Ways is a product of ‘cultural interface’, co-created through dialogue between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators. Our findings, although not transferable to other settings, nonetheless have relevance to other countries where there is a similar move to decolonise PE curricula.
  • Sport and academic performance in Australian Indigenous children, opens in a new tab, Dorothea Dumuid, Rachel Wilson, Timothy Olds, et al., Australian Journal of Education, Volume 65(1), pp.103-116, (2021). Sport may promote academic performance through physiological and psychosocial mechanisms. We aimed to examine the association between sports participation and academic performance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Participants were from four successive waves of Australia’s Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (n = 303, baseline age 5–6 y). Cumulative sports participation was regressed against academic performance from two standardised tests. Results showed that children participating in sport at all four waves performed significantly better than children participating in sport in 0, 2 or 3 waves in Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) Maths, and better than children participating at two waves in National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) numeracy. There were no significant differences in PAT reading or NAPLAN literacy. The authors conclude that sports participation appears to be associated with subsequent better numeracy (2–7 months of learning) in a sample of Australian indigenous children. Fostering sports participation among indigenous children may be an avenue for reducing disadvantage.
  • Navigating culturally responsive pedagogy through an Indigenous games unit, opens in a new tab, Alison Wrench, Robyne Garrett, Sport, Education and Society, Volume 26(6), pp.567-578, (2021). Curricula and pedagogies that fail to utilise the cultural resources of students contribute to educational disadvantage. The health and physical education (HPE) learning area is not exempt from these concerns with calls emerging within Australia to include movement forms and ways of knowing of Indigenous and ethnic-minority students. In many respects, these are calls to counter the normativity of Anglo-Saxon middle-class male framings for HPE. This paper engages with these concerns and seeks to contribute through reporting on a case study from Australian-based research into culturally responsive pedagogies (CRP).
  • Lifestyle clusters and academic achievement in Australian Indigenous children: Empirical findings and discussion of ecological levers for closing the gap, opens in a new tab, Rachel Wilson, Dorothea Dumuid, Tim Olds, et al., SSM - Population Health, Volume 10, (April 2020). Participation in sport and physical activity can improve academic outcomes and has been identified as a potential mechanism for addressing educational disadvantage and ‘closing the gap’ in Australian Indigenous communities. To explore this possibility in relation to sport and lifestyle we performed a cluster analysis on data from the Footprints in Time study (also known as the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children), using data from Waves 3–6 (2010–2013, ages 5–9 years) of this cohort study. Cluster inputs were organised according to not only sports participation, but also screen time, sleep duration and unhealthy food intake, as reported in parent surveys. Three clusters were identified: Low Sport (36% of sample), characterised by low sports participation and low sleep duration; Junk Food Screenies (21% of sample), with high screen time and high intake of unhealthy foods; and High Sport (43% of sample), showing high sports participation and low screen time. Cluster membership was associated with academic performance for NAPLAN Literacy and Numeracy, and for PAT Maths. The High Sport cluster consistently performed better on these tests, with effect sizes (standardised mean differences) ranging from 0.10 to 0.38.
  • Using a Game Sense Approach to Teach Buroinjin as an Aboriginal Game to Address Social Justice in Physical Education, , opens in a new tabJohn Williams, Shane Pill, Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, Volume 39(2), pp.176-185, (2020). To explore a teacher educator professional learning opportunity within the context of a taught unit of work at a government primary school in Canberra, Australia’s national capital. The unit of work focus was a traditional Australian Aboriginal game taught using a Game Sense Approach to deliver a socially just version of quality physical education. Participants were Author 1 and 49 Year 5 students (aged 10–11 years). Game Sense Approach was found to be an effective professional learning opportunity for Author 1, while Author 2’s knowledge about Indigenous perspectives in physical education was extended. In addition, student participants valued the taught lessons, which highlighted issues of social justice. It is possible for the self-study approach described here and seemingly incompatible epistemological approaches to work together to realize a socially just version of quality physical education that can inform physical education teaching beyond this study.
  • Yarning with the Stars Project: An Indigenous evaluation protocol for a sport for development and peace program, opens in a new tab, Rose Whitau, Helen Ockerby, Journal of Sport for Development, Volume 7(13), pp.46-54, (September 2019). In Australia, the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their non-Indigenous peers is significant in terms of attendance, retention to Year 12, and literacy and numeracy skills, with the gap widening in regional and remote contexts. School-based, “academy-style” engagement programs work to close this gap by providing holistic support services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students while requiring a certain level of school attendance by program participants. Shooting Stars is an engagement program based in seven remote and regional schools in Western Australia, where it uses netball and other incentives to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls in their education, while promoting their health and wellbeing. Shooting Stars evaluates the efficacy of its services through collation of attendance data, participant case studies, and yarning circles. The methods used in the yarning circles research were developed over 18 months in collaboration with Shooting Stars participants, localized Shooting Stars steering committees, and Shooting Stars staff. This paper presents the evaluation protocols for the Shooting Stars program, focusing on the yarning circles’ methods in order to provide a framework or model of Indigenous evaluation methods for others working within this space.
  • The impact of physical activity and sport on social outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: A systematic scoping review, opens in a new tab, Rona Macniven, Karla Canuto, Rachel Wilson, et al., Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Volume 22(11), pp.1232-1242, (2019). Of the 1160 studies identified, 20 met the inclusion criteria and were published between 2003 and 2018. Most studies reported positive findings across multiple, broad outcomes of education (N = 11), employment (N = 1), culture (N = 9), social and emotional wellbeing (N = 12), life skills (N = 5) and crime reduction (N = 5). Some evidence was found for increased school attendance and improved self-esteem resulting from physical activity and sport participation as well as enhanced aspects of culture, such as cultural connections, connectedness, values and identity.
  • A figurational analysis of how Indigenous students encounter racialization in physical education and school sport, opens in a new tab, John Williams, European Physical Education Review, Volume 24(1), pp.76-96, (February 2018). The recently launched Australian Curriculum Health and Physical Education has five propositions, one of which is for students to adopt a critical inquiry approach within this subject area. In particular, students are encouraged to explore issues that relate to social power and taken-for-granted assumptions. This paper problematizes the concept of ‘biological race’ as one such assumption at three government high schools in Canberra, Australia’s national capital. This study found that Indigenous students at the three schools experience racialization both from their health and physical education (HPE) teachers and from their non-Indigenous peers. Figurational sociology was used to show that this racialization is a characteristic of power relationships in the physical education and school sport figuration examined. The findings presented are important because they show that HPE teachers perpetuate the myth of ‘biological race’. Further, this fantasy of ‘biological race’ restricts opportunities for Indigenous students and is an obstacle for reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
  • ‘I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as Aboriginal games’: a figurational account of how Indigenous students experience physical education, opens in a new tab, John Williams, Sport, Education and Society, Volume 23(5), pp.462-474, (2018). This article is about how Indigenous students from Year 7 to 10 at three government schools in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) experience PE. Data were collected over a two year period using semi-structured interviews, school websites, school based documentation and wider ACT Education and Training Directorate system level documents. The research found that Indigenous students experience almost entirely Eurocentric PE that lacks acknowledgment of their own culture. The PE provided is an example of ‘superior’ knowledge characteristic of dominant groups. The research also showed that the habituses of key players such as principals, Health and Physical Education curriculum writers and teachers were pivotal as long-term processes in upholding Eurocentric PE content. The findings suggest that for Indigenous perspectives to be included in PE as stipulated in national level documentation, policy directives alone are inadequate. For meaningful change to take place alteration at the habitus level of the mentioned key players has to occur and such change requires a multi-faceted approach.
  • Indigenous knowledges as a way to disrupt norms in physical education teacher education, opens in a new tab, Susan Whatman, Mikael Quennerstedt, Juliana McLaughlin, Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, Volume 8(2), pp.115-131, (2017). The maintenance and reproduction of prevailing hegemonic norms have been well explored in physical education teacher education (PETE). A related problem has been the exclusion of Indigenous knowledges around health and physical education (HPE) in students’ experiences of HPE and PETE. The danger is that certain ways of being and becoming a PE teacher, other than the sporty, fit, healthy (and white) teacher, are excluded, positioning other preservice teachers’ experiences, knowledges and ways to teach as deficient. In this paper, we discuss findings from an investigation (Australian Office for Learning and Teaching CG10-1718) into the HPE practicum experiences of Indigenous Australian preservice teachers.
  • Sport, Educational Engagement and Positive Youth Development: Reflections of Aboriginal Former Youth Sports Participants, opens in a new tab. Fitch, N., Ma'ayah, F., Harms, C., et al., The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, Volume 46(1), pp.23-33, (2017). The purpose of the current research was to investigate how participation in sports impacted on the educational engagement, aspirations and development of Aboriginal former youth sports participants. Interpretive phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews with six participants was conducted. For these participants, involvement in youth sport had clear educational and developmental benefits. It is concluded that youth sports participation is one developmental context with the potential to have a positive influence on the educational and developmental trajectory of Aboriginal youth.
  • A Kickstart to Life: Australian Football League as a Medium for Promoting Lifeskills in Cape York Indigenous Communities, opens in a new tab, Maree Dinanthompson, Juanita Sellwood, Felicity Carless, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, Volume 37(1), pp.152-164, (2015). This paper presents evidence collected from an evaluatory study of the Kickstart program conducted by Australian Football League (AFL) Cape York in far North Queensland. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of the Kickstart program in meeting its overall objective of enhancing lifeskills of Indigenous Australians through participation in AFL. Evidence collected via interviews with Indigenous youth, parents, teachers and Kickstart stakeholders (including community representatives) suggest mixed meanings surrounding the interpretation of “lifeskills”, and yet improvement in the education, attitudes, and lifestyle choices of Indigenous youth in the selected Cape York communities.
  • Indigenous Youth Sports Program - Widening participation for higher education, opens in a new tab, Macgregor, Campbell; Mann-Yasso, Melinda; Wallace, Stacey; et al., Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, Volume 17(1), pp.86-102, (2015). In this report the success of the Indigenous Youth Sports Program (IYSP) at Central Queensland University is evaluated. Students who participated in the IYSP completed a survey both pre and post IYSP that was targeted at their age level. There is a call for a change of culture within institutions and ongoing emphasis on the value of higher education institutions to develop relationships with schools, while acknowledging that the changing context for schools (development of academies in particular) means that flexibility is necessary. Where academic departments do engage with local schools and communities in a sustained and detailed way, the results are encouraging, especially when sport is used as the medium to engage young people. The IYSP successfully increased student knowledge of HE opportunities that exist for these students, and resulted in increased awareness of the various choices they have for pursuing HE.
  • Recognising change and seeking affirmation: themes for embedding Indigenous knowledges on teaching practicum, opens in a new tab, Julie McLaughlin, Susan Whatman, International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, Volume 14(2), (2015). In this paper, we discuss key themes that emerged from a recent Australian Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) research project which investigated ways in which preservice teachers from one Australian university embedded Indigenous knowledges (IK) on teaching practicum.
  • The Effects of a Community and School Sport-Based Program on Urban Indigenous Adolescents’ Life Skills and Physical Activity Levels: The SCP Case Study, opens in a new tab, Louisa Peralta, Donna O’Connor, Wayne Cotton, et al., Health, Volume 6(18), (2014). The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a community and school sport program (SCP) on Indigenous adolescents’ life skills and physical activity levels within program sessions. A secondary aim was to determine the acceptability of the SCP. The objective of the SCP is to encourage improved educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students using sport. Such outcomes may include an increase in school attendance, strengthened engagement with school, improved attitudes to schooling and improved achievement in learning. A recent evaluation of these outcomes found that the SCP is meeting these objectives with girls reporting a 11.5% increase and boys reporting a 15.4% increase in attendance since joining the SCP, more than 90% reporting a positive attitude towards school, 90% of lower secondary students maintaining or improving literacy levels and 92% maintaining or improving numeracy understanding. This study highlights the need for partnerships between Indigenous community organisations and schools to design sport-based programs to promote Indigenous adolescents’ MVPA.
  • Indigenous Secondary Education in the Northern Territory: Building for the Future, opens in a new tab, Jeannie Herbert, Dennis McInerney, Lyn Fasoli, et al., The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, Volume 43(2), pp.85-95, (2014). This article reports on the findings of an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded research project, ‘Building the future for Indigenous students’, an investigation of the hopes and dreams for the future of over 1,000 secondary students, 733 of whom were Indigenous, living in very remote, remote, and urban locations in the Northern Territory. Using both quantitative and qualitative research tools, researchers sought to understand what motivated the students at school and how they studied — critical elements in successful school achievement. The strongest motivations they provided for attending school were the opportunities that school provided to play sports and for enjoying the company of their peers. Despite their interest in sport where the competition to win is highly motivating, when asked about competition in school work, most of the students tended to endorse collaboration over competing with each other.
  • Introducing Torres Strait Island dance to the Australian high school physical education curriculum, opens in a new tab, John Williams, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Volume 34(3), pp.305-318, (2014). This study was carried out within the context of a requirement for every Australian Capital Territory Education and Training Directorate (ACT ETD) high school to include Indigenous perspectives across all areas of the curriculum. For the first time ever in the case study school reported in this article, two Torres Strait Island dances were taught to students from Year 7 to Year 9. Traditionally dance within Physical Education (PE) in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has been informed by British and American influences. This paper seeks to problematize the inclusion of Indigenous dance into a Westernized PE curriculum and considers the challenges faced by non-Indigenous Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers in relation to this, as well as what support is available. It is argued from the findings of this study that it is possible for schools to move beyond traditional PE content and include Indigenous perspectives in a non-tokenistic way. However, it is also argued that such an approach requires Indigenous people to have a central role, and for non-Indigenous teachers to challenge taken for granted mainstream Westernized and racialized teaching practices and discourses.

Access to resources Where possible, direct links to full-text and online resources are provided. However, where links are not available, you may be able to access documents directly by searching our licenced full-text databases (note: user access restrictions apply). Alternatively, you can ask your institutional, university, or local library for assistance—or purchase documents directly from the publisher. You may also find the information you’re seeking by searching Google Scholar, opens in a new tab.

Back to top

Working together for Australian sport

C4S-Footer-Sport Integrity Australia logo
C4S-Footer-Sport Integrity Australia logo
C4S-Footer-Australian Sports Foundation logo
C4S-Footer-Australian Sports Foundation logo
C4S-Footer-Australian Olympic Committee
C4S-Footer-Australian Olympic Committee
C4S-Footer-Paralympics Australia logo
C4S-Footer-Paralympics Australia logo
C4S-Footer-Commonwealth Games Australia logo
C4S-Footer-Commonwealth Games Australia logo
C4S-Footer-SAHOF
C4S-Footer-SAHOF
C4S-Footer-Invictus Australia logo
C4S-Footer-Invictus Australia logo
C4S-Footer-PLA
C4S-Footer-PLA
C4S-Footer-ACT Gov
C4S-Footer-ACT Gov
C4S-Footer-NSW Gov
C4S-Footer-NSW Gov
C4S-Footer-NT Gov
C4S-Footer-NT Gov
C4S-Footer-QLD Gov
C4S-Footer-QLD Gov
C4S-Footer-SA Gov
C4S-Footer-SA Gov
C4S-Footer-Tas Gov
C4S-Footer-Tas Gov
C4S-Footer-Vic Gov
C4S-Footer-Vic Gov
C4S-Footer-WA Gov
C4S-Footer-WA Gov
C4S-Footer-ACTAS
C4S-Footer-ACTAS
C4S-Footer-NSWIS
C4S-Footer-NSWIS
C4S-Footer-NT
C4S-Footer-NT
C4S-Footer-QAS
C4S-Footer-QAS
C4S-Footer-SASI
C4S-Footer-SASI
C4S-Footer-TIS
C4S-Footer-TIS
C4S-Footer-VIS
C4S-Footer-VIS
C4S-Footer-WAIS
C4S-Footer-WAIS
First Nations Flags, the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag.
The Clearinghouse for Sport pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and acknowledge the valuable contribution Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make to Australian society and sport.