A Socio-Cultural Approach to the Bilingual Curriculum in Central Australian Schools

ABSTRACT

Although compelling arguments have been produced in favor of bilingual programs in Aboriginal schools, the results of these programs have been mixed. It is argued that, contrary to the apparent belief of many educators, these inconclusive outcomes are not just the product of staffing and other technical problems. Rather, the architects of bilingual programs have paid too little attention to the socio-cultural conditions under which the programs are applied. Research in central Australian Pitjantjatjara communities found that the bilingual programs run in the schools paid little or no regard to the socio-linguistic domains associated with Aboriginal and “whitefella business” in the communities. This omission created conflict between school and community, which was reflected in the delivery of the bilingual program. Alternative bilingual programs that may be more appropriate to the Pitjantjatjara communities could be based on a cooperative decision making or a domain specific model.

Many powerful arguments have been mounted in favor of bilingual education. However, there has been little study of the role of the socio-cultural conditions under which bilingual programs are actually applied. This article focuses on the value of such a study both to explain poor outcomes of some Australian bilingual programs and in choosing appropriate bilingual models .