Key issues and challenges in Higher School Certificate Aboriginal studies

Higher School Certificate Aboriginal Studies, which was implemented in New South Wales in 1991, fulfilled a vision of teaching Aboriginal culture and history to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. However, in recent years, total student enrolments have declined, raising concerns about the future success of Aboriginal Studies within the secondary curriculum. At the foreground of these concerns is the intended role of Aboriginal Studies as a principle motivational factor in improving retention rates of Aboriginal secondary students to Year 12, and related issues of student self-concept and motivation with regard to course selection, participation and completion. Of equal concern is how Aboriginal Studies is perceived by both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students, and whether a decline in student enrolments in this subject is a result of broader policy direction and impact. This paper examines a number of critical factors in the implementation of the Aboriginal Studies curriculum, specifically the relation between self-concept, motivation and retention of Aboriginal students. It also addresses the function of Aboriginal Studies within secondary curricula and student perceptions of its validity as a subject choice. This paper outlines some of the issues of concern that need to underpin research and concludes with a research design to address the study purposes.