Languages and cultures

​​​​​​​​​​​​Cross curriculum priority

The Australian Curriculum sets consistent national standards to improve learning outcomes for all young Australians.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) acknowledges the gap in learning outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their non-Indigenous peers. It recognises the need for the Australian Curriculum to provide every opportunity possible to 'close the gap'. Therefore, the Australian Curriculum is working towards addressing 2 distinct needs in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are able to see themselves, their identities and their cultures reflected in the curriculum of each of the learning areas, can fully participate in the curriculum and can build their self-esteem.
• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority is designed for all students to engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world's oldest continuous living cultures.

The department is committed to building the capacity of all educators in Queensland state schools to confidently embed the cross-curriculum priority, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, in teaching and learning. Through this work, all educators will have the ability to provide opportunities for all students to deepen their knowledge of Australia by engaging with the world's oldest continuous living cultures, and develop an understanding that contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are strong, resilient, rich and diverse.

Cultural capability

The department is committed to building the cultural capability of all employees. Cultural capability is a shared responsibility across our workforce. It means understanding and respecting Aboriginal peoples and their cultures and perspectives, as well as Torres Strait Islander peoples and their cultures and perspectives. It involves recognising the ongoing impacts of colonisation and applying this knowledge to the department's standards, policies and practices.

The Building Cultural Capability in State Schools (BCCISS) initiative is designed to build the cultural capability of those working with and for Aboriginal students and communities and Torres Strait Islander students and communities. It aims to increase all department employees understanding of the shared histories, government legislation, policies and other significant events that have impacted and continue to impact the lives of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This understanding of Australia’s colonial past allows departmental employees to more appropriately deliver educational, economic and social outcomes for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Indigenous English as an additional language or dialect (IEAL/D)

Many Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students in Queensland state schools speak a creole, a variety of Aboriginal English, or a traditional language as their first or home language. In order to access the curriculum through Standard Australian English, these students need to be explicitly and actively taught Standard Australian English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D). All EAL/D students in Queensland schools should be identified, regularly Bandscaled and supported to learn Standard Australian English in and through the curriculum.

Professional development is available for state school staff through each region's principal advisor—Indigenous EAL/D, the EAL/D Hub via OnePortal and from the Languages and Cultures team. Department employees can search 'languages and cultures' on OnePortal for more information.

Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander languages

It is the right of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples to have access to and education in their own languages.¹ The department is committed to supporting Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait islander peoples to teach their languages and cultures in Queensland schools.²

Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples are central to all activities and decisions related to the learning and teaching of their languages.³ This is underpinned by the following principles:

• Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Isander languages reflect the distinct cultures, values, insights and knowledge systems of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• Every Aboriginal language and Torres Strait Islander language belongs to a group of people who are its custodians, their language can only be taught in schools with their agreement.⁴
  
• Sustainable Aboriginal language programs and Torres Strait Islander language programs in schools are authentically designed, led and delivered in partnership with the custodians of the language being taught.^4​​
  

The department recognises the significant and wide-ranging benefits to all students when languages are respected and kept strong. Most importantly, the department acknowledges that Aboriginal languages and cultures, and Torres Strait Islander languages and cultures are central to the identity of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.⁵

• enhance genuine partnerships between schools and local communities, enabling meaningful engagement, shared decision-making and community-connected learning
• provide culturally relevant and localised learning experiences that deepen student engagement, participation and academic achievement
• strengthen connection to culture, Country and identity, supporting wellbeing, confidence, pride and a sense of belonging at school
• improve educational pathways and outcomes, including attendance, retention through key transitions, post-school qualifications and broader career opportunities.

For all students and the wider school community, a language program can:

• build a shared understanding of histories and lived experiences, supporting deeper awareness of Australia's past and its ongoing impacts
• provide a deeper understanding of Country, including the interconnected relationships between land, seas and waterways, sky, plants, animals, people and culture
• create genuine partnerships between Elders, community and schools, strengthening opportunities to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and to teach Languages as a learning area within the Australian Curriculum.
  

Contact your school principal, or the Languages and Cultures, Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (CTL) team at LanguagesCultures.FNSP@qed.qld.gov.au to find out more.​​​