The Aboriginal rural education program in teacher education at the University of Western Sydney : an innovative approach to an important challenge

Since 1983, the University of Western Sydney has offered primary teacher education programs targeted specifically for non-metropolitan Aboriginal people. As a result, many Aboriginal people have taken the opportunity to become primary school teachers in NSW schools. As well as strengthening Aboriginal education in schools, these teachers have provided role models for many Aboriginal children. All of this has been achieved while UWS has undergone a series of radical changes in structure and in its organisation of education for Aboriginal people. This paper describes the history of Aboriginal teacher education programs at UWS in the context of change which has envelopedthe university as a whole and its attempts to offer culturally appropriate teacher education for its Aboriginal students.