Rationale Education involves, in part, the transmission of the culture of a society. Australian society is fortunate in that it supports a variety of cultural groups, each with its own system of beliefs, ways of doing things and ways of communicating. Furthermore, Australia has two cultural groups which can claim Indigenous status - the Australian Aboriginal and Australian Torres Strait Islander peoples. In order that all Australians receive a balanced education, the curriculum for all Australian schools should reflect, therefore, the existence of many cultures and societies living together on this continent, with a particular emphasis on the cultures of traditional custodians of this land. Teachers and other practitioners need to have an understanding and appreciation of the diversity of cultures within Australia and how they interact. A study of Indigenous Australian cultures and societies, because of their uniqueness and complexity, provides an avenue for the development and consolidation of an understanding and appreciation of all peoples, their cultures and societies. It is through a study of Indigenous Australian cultures and societies that attitudes can be challenged and a foundation set to address issues of cultural arrogance (i.e. belief in the superiority of one's own culture), ethnocentrism and ignorance facilitating progression towards mutual understanding and respect for others' cultures and societies. Synopsis The course is built around themes with a central core based around the presentation of knowledge and experiences through Indigenous Australian perspectives and viewpoints. In so doing concepts may be presented in a manner that differs from the learner's understanding. The aim of presenting an Indigenous Australian perspective is to correct the imbalance in knowledge and understanding of Australia's history which has predominated since invasion. In the first half of the course, consideration is given to the concepts of culture, society and group and individual identity. An Indigenous Australian perspective on issues created by ignorance and misunderstandings about the sociological, technological and ideological aspects as they relate to Indigenous cultures of the world, especially Australia is presented. Without knowledge of the past one cannot appreciate the present or predict the future. The second half of the course investigates particular aspects of Indigenous Australian cultures and access to education equality. The impact of Government policies and practices will be examined with emphasis placed on having an understanding and appreciation of contemporary Indigenous Australia. With this comes the need for understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and projections for the future. Overarching the whole course is a concern to highlight the educational implications of such knowledge and to make students aware of current systemic initiatives such as the Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority's Indigenous Perspectives program. Objectives The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course. The assessment item(s) that may be used to assess student achievement of an objective are shown in parenthesis. On successful completion of this course students should be able to: demonstrate knowledge and understanding of aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, cultures and societies within a contemporary Australian context (Assignment ; Professional Standard 2; Focus Area 2.4) demonstrate a respect for, and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's lifestyles and attitudes (Assignment 1; Professional Standard 2; Focus Area 2.4) demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of the socio-cultural, political and economic position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in contemporary society (Assignment 2; Professional Standards 1.4, 2.4) demonstrate a commitment to the enhancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' desires for access to, and participation in, education at all levels which does not deny their heritage (Assignment 3; Professional Standard 1.4) express an understanding of past and current policies and practice in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Assignment 2; Professional Standard 2.4) demonstrate competence in written language and scholarly writing including correct spelling, grammar and bibliographic referencing (All assessments) demonstrate an understanding of the educational implications emanating from an appreciation of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures (Assignment 1; Professional Standard 1.4) demonstrate competence in and appropriate use of language and literacy, including spelling, grammar, punctuation and bibliographic referencing (All assessments).