Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies

Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies Level 2 provides learners with an opportunity to study the histories, cultures, values, beliefs, lifestyles and contributions of Tasmanian Aboriginal people in past and present contexts.
The course aims to develop the knowledge, dispositions and understanding necessary for learners to gain an awareness of Tasmanian Aboriginal historical and contemporary experiences as they apply to place, culture and people.
The course aims to develop learner understanding of the complexity and differing cultural perspectives of Tasmanian Aboriginal history and identity. It provides learners with the opportunity to develop reflective and culturally sensitive responses to the Tasmanian Aboriginal narrative. The course further provides all learners, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, with understandings which will benefit them by exploring shared histories and involve themselves in active reconciliation. Additionally it will assist the Tasmanian community by helping to identify and combat racism. Significantly, in the context of the 2017 Uluru Statement, it represents a form of makarrata; the coming together after a struggle.
Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies Level 2 is significant as an affirmation of the rich cultural, political and social heritage of Tasmanian Aborigines, which in turn, relates strongly to the development of intercultural understanding, personal and social capabilities and ethical understanding of Tasmanian learners.

Teaching and Learning Context

The practical, contextual and historical aspects of Tasmanian Aboriginal people’s experiences makes this course a sensitive area of study. Providers need to plan for the delivery of potentially sensitive topics by being mindful of controversial issues and by establishing ground rules in classroom practice.

A print-based planning guide for teaching and learning of Aboriginal studies is:

Harrison, N. and Sellwood, J. 2016. Learning and Teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

It is highly recommended that providers obtain a copy of this text.

An online planning guide for teaching and learning of Aboriginal issues can be found at:

British Colombia Planning Guides for Aboriginal Education

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/kindergarten-to-grade-12/indigenous-education/planning-guide/front.pdf

Tasmanian Aboriginal Elders need to be recognised and consulted in the delivery of this course. Such Elders are respected and valued. Information regarding the Tasmanian Department of Education’s Aboriginal Sharers of Knowledge (ASK) program and the Aboriginal Educators in Schools can be accessed at:

https://www.education.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/school-colleges/aboriginal-education-services/

In framing this course, there is an invitation to teachers and learners to make appropriate contact with, experience and learn from and with Tasmanian Aborigines. It is recommended that learners be given the opportunity to learn from Tasmanian Aboriginal People, in particular Tasmanian Aboriginal Elders and to spend time on Country.

 To this end providers should consult with Aboriginal Education Services, Department of Education or, where relevant, The Tasmanian Catholic Education Office or Independent Schools Tasmania to facilitate contact with community organisations and individuals when appropriate, during the planning for and delivery of this course.

 On occasion, a learner may have personal/family/community knowledge and insights associated with parts of the course content. This should be taken into account when covering course content, and be respected when covering potentially sensitive topics and controversial issues within the course. 

 

Terminology

 Historical and social inquiry does not exist in a vacuum. Accounts, observations and recollections of social and political acts are subject to differing and changing perspectives. The same event or occurrence can be interpreted differently by different observers. This process reflects the background, perspective, bias and personal involvement and motivations of the observer. In addition, meanings of words and concepts vary between people and over time. For example the term ‘Aboriginal’ has both a general meaning as referring to the first or original inhabitant of a place, while in the Australian and Tasmanian contexts, and in the context of this course it means the members of the first people of Australia (and Tasmania).  Likewise, the terms ‘Australia’ and ‘Tasmania’ are European in origin, and do not reflect traditional understandings or naming of Country.

Many Aboriginal people interpret the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, and Lieutenant John Bowen at Risdon Cove in 1803, and the subsequent spread of European settlement, as an invasion. Many non-Indigenous people including a considerable number of historians agree with application of the term ‘invasion’ to the events associated with the establishment of British colonies from 1788.  Others argue that the terms ‘colonisation’, ‘non-Indigenous occupation’ or ‘settlement’ accurately describe the same events or actions.

Within the classroom, a particular perspective and use of specific terminology is valid when it can be supported by historical evidence. The provider’s presentation of a number of perspectives on the past based on evidence is central to a learner’s introduction to the way historical and social understanding and narratives are constructed. This process further provides an introduction for learners to the techniques of research and inquiry in the social sciences. In this course the terms contact, colonisation, settlement and invasion are used, which reflects the scope of terminology used within the literature. See Appendix 3: Glossary for definitions of these terms.

This course has a complexity level of 2.

At Level 2, the learner is expected to carry out tasks and activities that involve a range of knowledge and skills, including some basic theoretical and/or technical knowledge and skills. Limited judgment is required, such as making an appropriate selection from a range of given rules, guidelines or procedures. VET competencies at this level are often those characteristic of an AQF Certificate II.

This course has a size value of 15.

Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies Level 2 is divided into four (4) compulsory Units of study:

All topics are compulsory.

Topics will be assessed and delivered as they appear in this course document.

Unit 1: Country and Place (30 percent of course content/45 hours)
Unit 2: Culture (30 percent of course content/45 hours)
Unit 3: People (20 percent of course content/30 hours)
Unit 4: Personal Inquiry (20 percent of course content/30 hours).

Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies Level 2 consists of four (4) units.

All Units and the work requirement are compulsory. Units will be delivered and assessed in the sequence in which they appear in this course document.

Adults associated with and/or working for Tasmanian Aboriginal community organisations and/or service providers who operate as a mentor/expert supporting the delivery of the course are required to have a current Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP).

Work submitted for assessment must be produced over the duration of one academic year, be unique to this course and not be submitted for assessment for any other course.

UNIT 1: COUNTRY AND PLACE (30 PERCENT OF COURSE CONTENT)

The focus of this Unit is an investigation of Tasmanian Aborigines rich and continuing connection to Country and place. Aboriginal people arrived in Tasmania at least 40,000 years ago. They lived in a landscape and used controlled burning to manage the land and its resources. Tasmanian Aborigines successfully negotiated momentous changes in climate, vegetation and topography. The land provided shelter, sustenance and spiritual and communal meaning. European colonisation and the settlers’ demand for natural resources became the basis of conflict and war. The loss of lands due to European population growth, agriculture and grazing meant that Tasmanian Aborigines lost much of the source of their collective life.

1.1 CONNECTING TO COUNTRY AND PLACE – THE DISTANT PAST
Learners will study:

• Ice Age migration in to Tasmania, land settlement & Ice Age hunting patterns, (40,000-12,000 years ago)
• Climate, change and land settlement patterns, the last 12,000 years 

o Forests, grasslands & Aboriginal burning

• Sacred country, Tasmanian creation stories and life-sustaining powers and Fertility ceremony
• Land tenure, local estates and seasonal travels, late 18th century

o Country-groups & ritual owners
o Residential bands & local estates
o Seasonal rounds & trade alliances

• Land-management and food resources, late 18th century 

o Food resources
o Abundance
o Controlled burning.

1.2 CONNECTING TO COUNTRY AND PLACE – THE PAST I - EUROPEAN CONTACT
Learners will study: 

• the European search for Terra Australis - the Great Southern Land
• reasons for European contact / links to European ideologies (imperialism, colonialism, nationalism and militarism)
• the European legal concept of terra nullius and its application to questions of invasion/contact/settlement
• pre-British European contact: the Dutch (Abel Tasman 1642); and the French (Marion du Fresne 1772, D’Entrecasteaux1792, Labillardiere 1793 and Baudin 1802)
• First British contact: Bowen at Risdon Cove 1803 / Collins at Sullivan’s Cove 1804
• 19th century British expansion and the militarisation of Tasmanian land - the rise of pastoralism and the spread and extent of British settlements.

 

1.3 CONNECTING TO COUNTRY AND PLACE – THE PAST- II – RESISTANCE AND WAR
Learners will study:

• Pre-cursor to The Black War – 3 May 1804 – Risdon Cove
• The questions of frontier, frontier warfare and the effectiveness of tactics of Tasmanian Aborigines in the defence of Aboriginal lands
• Guerrilla Warfare - the key characteristics of The Black War: 

o conflict
o land seizures
o loss of food, water and connection to sacred places
o disease
o abduction of women and children 

• European massacres and Aboriginal resistance, 1826 -1828, and Martial Law 1828-1830
• The Black Line 1830-1831
• George Robinson’s 1830 mission to the Western Nations and attempted colonial conciliation/’domestication’ and humanitarianism; capture, surrender, displacement and exile: Wybalenna (1832-34/5) and the impact on Aboriginal people of dispossession from Country
• In memorandum: a commemorative silence - the absence of commemorations to The Black War.

1.4 CONNECTING TO COUNTRY AND PLACE - TODAY
Learners will study:

• the political, social and legal struggle for recognition and repatriation of Tasmanian Aboriginal lands

o land handbacks 1983, 1995,1999 and 2005: putalina (Oyster Cove), truwana (Cape Barren Island), Wybalenna and Cape Grim

• World Heritage listing of South West sites (1985)
• Declared Indigenous Protected Areas in Tasmania: preminghana, Risdon Cove, putalina, Mount Chappel and Badger Islands
• Tasmanian Government legislative reforms

o Aboriginal Relics Act 1975 / Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975 (Tas)
o Aboriginal Lands Act 1995 (Tas)

• Country and Place Case Study: kutalayna (The Brighton Bypass) or takayna/Tarkine tracks (Learners will study one case study).

 

MINIMUM WORK REQUIREMENTS – UNIT 1

Two (2) completed responses, comprising:

One (1) written response on Tasmanian Aboriginal Country and Place (600-750 words), or the equivalent in multimodal form (learners are required to provide a copy, in print or digital form, to their teacher, if they select a multimodal response). Note: if multimodal form is selected in Unit 1, a written response must be done in Unit 2

and;

One (1) journal entry in the learner’s course reflective journal on aspects of Tasmanian Aboriginal Country and Place (each journal entry is to be 150-200 words).

UNIT 2: CULTURE (30 PERCENT OF COURSE CONTENT)

The focus of this Unit is the historical and contemporary expression of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture. Like all Aboriginal Australians, Tasmanian Aborigines lived in a deeply immersive culture. Tasmanian Aboriginal life was established by the creation ancestors and recorded in creation stories which became a moral blueprint that told people how to behave and how not to behave. Traditions and practices including the nightly campfire, body marking, hunting practices and funeral rites gave character to their culture, and the kinship system; marriage rules and authority relations promoted order and social cohesion. More recently there has been a revival in Tasmanian Aboriginal culture in the performing and creative arts: in the production of artefacts; and in the restoration of cultural traditions such as mutton birding, language and through the repatriation of lands.

2.1 EARLY TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL CULTURE
Learners will study:

• worldview: ancestral law, ruling spirits and social order
• communication: language, gesture and symbol
• social relations: identities, kinship and marriage
• technology: skills. manufacture and uses
• life after dark: story, dance and community
• authority: initiation, direct action and power relations
• afterlife: death, funeral rites and amulets.

 

2.2 HISTORICAL TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL CULTURE
Learners will study:

• 1882-1942 Cape Barren Island Reserve/Mission
• World War One Aboriginal servicemen from the Bass Strait Islands
• 1929-60 Dislocation to mainland Tasmania from the Bass Strait Islands/ policies of assimilation.

 

2.3 CONTEMPORARY TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL CULTURE I – RESILIENCE AND RESURGENCE
Learners will study:

• significance of the discovery of living sites e.g. 20,000 year old Aboriginal cave paintings in the South West (1986)
• role of Aboriginal institutions in restoring culture - Aboriginal Information Centre and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
• contemporary Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural artefacts and experiences - cultural heritage programs
• examples of cultural resilience and resurgence:

o language
o music
o ceremony
o visual and performing arts (including dance, song, film and theatre)
o writing and artefact production

• examples of contemporary cultural practices – mutton-birding, weaving, bark canoe building, shell necklaces, bush tucker, yarning circles, ochre production
• Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies – installations, programs and resources. 

 

2.4 CONTEMPORARY ABORIGINAL CULTURE II – RECOGNITION AND RECONCILIATION

Learners will study: 

• the return of Tasmanian Aboriginal ancestral remains / ownership of Aboriginal heritage
• restitution for historical injustices (Learners will study two examples, from the list below of restitution): 

o 1967 Referendum
o Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1991)
o The Native Title Act (Cth) (1992)
o Tasmanian Government apology for the Stolen Generations (1997) / Tasmanian Sorry Day (from 2000)
o Closing the Gap (from 2008)
o Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Children Act 2006 (Cth)
o Australian Government apology for stolen generations. (2008)
o Amendment of the Constitution Act 1934 (Tas) to constitutionality recognise Tasmanian Aboriginal people 

• Proposal for Commonwealth Constitutional reform related to the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia.

MINIMUM WORK REQUIREMENTS – UNIT 2

Two (2) completed responses, comprising:

One (1) written response on Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture (600-750 words), or the equivalent in multimodal form (Learners are required to provide a copy, in print or digital form, to their teacher, if they select a multimodal response). Note: multimodal form cannot be selected if this form has been selected in Unit 1

and;

One (1) journal entry in their course reflective journal on aspects of Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture (each journal entry is to be 150-200 words).

UNIT 3: PEOPLE (20 PERCENT OF COURSE CONTENT)

The focus of this Unit is an investigation of the origins, characteristics and qualities of the nine Aboriginal country groups/clans in Tasmania which existed in Tasmania prior to European settlement and invasion. The Unit further considers the tangible contributions of contemporary Aboriginal Tasmanians to the renewal and continuation of Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural, spiritual and political identity and life in contemporary times.

3.1 KEY HISTORICAL TASMANIAN ABORIGINIES
Learners will study: 

• the original Tasmanian Aboriginal country groups/clans: 

o Oyster Bay
o North East
o North, Big River
o North Midlands
o Ben Lomond
o North West
o South West
o South East

• the nuenonne people of the Bruny Island Mission
• the people of Wybalenna
• the people of putalina (Oyster Cove)
• the people of truwana (Cape Barren Island)/Straitsmen
• the initial 19th century Tasmanian Aboriginal Stolen Generation
• key individuals including (Learners will study any one individual) 

o Clan chiefs: Woureddy, Mannalargenna, Warwternatterlargener, Tongerlongter, Umarrah, Montpeliater, Heedeek, Wymurrick, Towterrer and Walyer
o Kickerterpoller, Mannalargenna, Umarrah and Woolaytopinnyer
o Fanny Cochrane Smith
o Dolly Dalrymple
o Lucy Beeton
o Tunnerminnerwait
o Truganini
o Davy Bruny
o Mathinna.

3.2 CONTEMPORARY TASMANIAN ABORIGINES
Learners will study:

• On being a Tasmanian Aboriginal today – questions of kinship, Aboriginal identity and the law

o Determining eligibility prior to 1 July 2016
o Determining eligibility from1 July 2016
o Reaction to, and impact on Tasmanian Aborigines arising from eligibility changes
o Demographic trends in the Tasmanian Aboriginal community.

• The contribution of a contemporary Tasmanian Aborigine (Learners will study any one individual) who has contributed to one or more of the following categories:

o the arts
o the law
o politics
o community activism, advocacy and leadership
o reconciliation
o the management of Country
o cultural revival
o tourism
o education
o sport.

 

MINIMUM WORK REQUIREMENTS – UNIT 3

Two (2) completed responses, comprising:

One (1) written response on Tasmanian Aboriginal People (600-750 words), or the equivalent in multimodal form (Leaners are required to provide a copy, in print or digital form, to their teacher, if they select a multimodal response),

and;

Two (2) Journal entry in their course reflective journal on aspects of Tasmanian People (each journal entry is to be 150-200 words).

 

UNIT 4: PERSONAL INQUIRY (20 PERCENT OF COURSE CONTENT)

Learners will undertake ONE individual (i.e. not group work) research investigation and present their findings in a written report (of approximately 900 - 1200 words in length).
The investigation will take the form of a written report. Learners will negotiate a topic for investigation. The topic may be drawn from the list provided below, or, by negotiation with the provider, another relevant topic. Learners are to identify, describe and assess one aspect of Tasmanian Aboriginal experience. The learner will undertake the investigation regarding the topic in the Tasmanian context, and will refer to, where relevant:

• aspects of historical and contemporary Tasmanian Aboriginal experiences
• the experiences and perspectives of mainland Aboriginal Australians,
• First Peoples in an international context. 

Learners must negotiate a suitable topic before undertaking substantial work in relation to this inquiry. A list of suggested topics is given below. Learner ability to plan and organise to complete this activity (Criterion 2) forms a part of the overall assessment of this task.
Suggested topics:

• land rights / land handback
• Aboriginal Heritage and sacred sites
• Tasmanian Aboriginal Identity and personal identification
• personal connections to Tasmanian Aboriginal community, heritage and identity
• oral histories / written histories /contested histories
• media representations of Tasmanian Aboriginal people
• health and education
• The Stolen Generations
• language
• reconciliation
• art and artefacts
• artistic representations of Tasmanian Aboriginal people
• Tasmanian Aboriginal political movement
• Tasmanian Aboriginal people and Australian mainland Aboriginal people
• constitutional recognition (National and Tasmanian)
• treaty
• Tasmanian Aboriginal women’s ritual, beliefs and practices
• cultural heritage land management
• contemporary cultural revival
• engagement of Tasmanian Aboriginals with development issues such as mining and/or tourism
• myths about Tasmanian Aboriginal culture.

Reports must:

• have a title, headings and sub-headings
• use a numbering system for sections/sub-sections
• use dot points and paragraphs where appropriate. When dot points are used they must provide clear information, not an over simplistic summary or a single word
• have an introduction and a conclusion
• sequence the text to produce a cohesive report
• use the process of planning, drafting and proof reading
• use the process of report writing as a tool for identifying issues and generating new ideas
• integrate new ideas and information with existing understanding
• separate fact from opinion
• draw logical conclusions supported by relevant argument and evidence
• reflect on the usefulness of selected text(s) used in the report’s development.

Diagrams, illustrations, tables and charts may be included within the report or attached as appendices. They must to be referred to, and discussed within, the report. Learners may use a graphic organiser to show planning for their report.

The source of the information, images, ideas or words not the learner’s own must be explicitly acknowledged using an appropriate referencing/citation method, and a reference list/bibliography must be provided.

COURSE REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
In competing the requirements of the course, learners must keep a reflective journal. In this journal learners are to complete the three journal entries for each of the first three unit work requirements.

Journal entries will demonstrate learners:

• knowledge of Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural protocols
• knowledge and understanding of historical, cultural, and social contexts and sources of information as they apply to Tasmanian Aboriginal people
• reflections on Tasmanian Aboriginal perspectives on place, culture and people (traditional and contemporary)
• reflections and responses on a range of facts, polices, practices, ideas, issues, theories and perspectives that impact on Tasmanian Aboriginal people both within the historical and contemporary period;
• reflections on their own and others changes in points of view, construction of knowledge and perspectives over time
• articulated and justified conclusions about information, research and perspectives relevant to Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies.

Learners entries in their journal can be recorded in a variety of ways, for example: stories; critical appraisal; attributed quotes; reflections; poem; song lyrics and/or artistic representations.

Sketching and other forms of visual and multimodal media may be used in addition to the written word.

As a learner progresses throughout the course earlier reflections may be re-examined by learners to focus on and address their own understandings and developing knowledge and insights of the course content.

Summary of Minimum Work Requirements

Unit 1: Country and place	Two (2) completed responses, comprising: One (1) written response on Tasmanian Aboriginal Country and Place (600-750 words), or the equivalent in multimodal form (Learners are required to provide a copy, in print or digital form, to their teacher, if they select a multimodal response). Note: if multimodal form is selected in Unit 1, a written response must be done in Unit 2  And; One (1) journal entry in their course reflective journal on aspects of Tasmanian Aboriginal Country and Place (each journal entry is to be 150-200 words)
Unit 2: Culture	Two (2) completed responses, comprising: One (1) written response on Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture (600-750 words), or the equivalent in multimodal form (Learners are required to provide a copy, in print or digital form, to their teacher, if they select a multimodal response). Note: multimodal form cannot be selected if this form has been selected in Unit 1 and; One (1) journal entry in their course reflective journal on aspects of Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture (each journal entry is to be 150-200 words)
Unit 3: People	Two (2) completed responses, comprising: One (1) written response on Tasmanian Aboriginal People (600-750 words), or the equivalent in multimodal form (Learners are required to provide a copy, in print or digital form, to their teacher, if they select a multimodal response), and; One (1) journal entry in their course reflective journal on aspects of Tasmanian People (each journal entry is to be 150-200 words)
Unit 4: Personal Inquiry	Learners will undertake ONE individual (i.e. not group work) research investigation and present their findings in a written report (900-1200 words). The investigation will take the form of a written report. Learners will negotiate a topic for investigation. The topic may be drawn from the list provided in this course, or, by negotiation with the provider, another relevant topic. Learners are to identify, describe and assess one aspect of Tasmanian Aboriginal experience. The learner will undertake the investigation regarding the topic in the Tasmanian context, and will refer to, where relevant, aspects of historical and contemporary Tasmanian Aboriginal experiences as well as, where relevant, in a comparative sense, those of Aboriginal Australians as well as, where relevant, First Peoples in an international context.

 

Criterion-based assessment is a form of outcomes assessment that identifies the extent of learner achievement at an appropriate end-point of study. Although assessment – as part of the learning program – is continuous, much of it is formative, and is done to help learners identify what they need to do to attain the maximum benefit from their study of the course. Therefore, assessment for summative reporting to TASC will focus on what both teacher and learner understand to reflect end-point achievement.

The standard of achievement each learner attains on each criterion is recorded as a rating ‘A’, ‘B’, or ‘C’, according to the outcomes specified in the standards section of the course.

A ‘t’ notation must be used where a learner demonstrates any achievement against a criterion less than the standard specified for the ‘C’ rating.

A ‘z’ notation is to be used where a learner provides no evidence of achievement at all.

Providers offering this course must participate in quality assurance processes specified by TASC to ensure provider validity and comparability of standards across all awards. Further information on quality assurance processes, as well as on assessment, is on the TASC website: http://www.tasc.tas.gov.au

Internal assessment of all criteria will be made by the provider. Providers will report the learner’s rating for each criterion to TASC.

The following processes will be facilitated by TASC to ensure there is:

• a match between the standards of achievement specified in the course and the skills and knowledge demonstrated by learners
• community confidence in the integrity and meaning of the qualification.

Process – Each provider will submit bodies of learners’ work sufficient to allow an assessment against a nominated range of criteria and the overall award to an annual review meeting organised by TASC. The work, while not necessarily fully resolved, will be assessed by the provider against the range of nominated assessment criteria and the overall award. TASC will give each provider guidance regarding the selection of learners and the nominated criteria.

Each body of learner work that providers submit to the meeting should include sufficient and appropriate material for judgements to be made about the learner’s standard of literacy skills. The review meeting will give advice about the provider’s assessment standards. Providers are expected to act on this advice.

TASC may require providers to supply further samples of individual learners’ work to determine that standards have been applied appropriately when finalising learners’ results. The nature and scope of this requirement will be risk-based.

The assessment for Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies Level 2 will be based on the degree to which the learner can:

Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies Level 2 (with the award of):

EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

HIGH ACHIEVEMENT

COMMENDABLE ACHIEVEMENT

SATISFACTORY ACHIEVEMENT

PRELIMINARY ACHIEVEMENT

The final award will be determined by the Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification from 7 ratings.

The minimum requirements for an award in Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies Level 2 are as follows:

EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT (EA)

6 ‘A’ ratings, 1 ‘B’ ratings

HIGH ACHIEVEMENT (HA)

3 ‘A’ ratings, 3 ‘B’ ratings, 1 ‘C’ rating

COMMENDABLE ACHIEVEMENT (CA)

5 ‘B’ ratings, 2 ‘C’ ratings

SATISFACTORY ACHIEVEMENT (SA)

6 ‘C’ ratings

PRELIMINARY ACHIEVEMENT (PA)

4 ‘C’ ratings

 A learner who otherwise achieves the rating for a SA (Satisfactory Achievement) award but who fails to show any evidence of achievement in one or more criteria (‘z’ notation) will be issued with a PA (Preliminary Achievement) award. 

The Department of Education’s Curriculum Services will develop and regularly revise the curriculum. This evaluation will be informed by the experience of the course’s implementation, delivery and assessment.

In addition, stakeholders may request Curriculum Services to review a particular aspect of an accredited course.

Requests for amendments to an accredited course will be forward by Curriculum Services to the Office of TASC for formal consideration.

Such requests for amendment will be considered in terms of the likely improvements to the outcomes for learners, possible consequences for delivery and assessment of the course, and alignment with Australian Curriculum materials.

A course is formally analysed prior to the expiry of its accreditation as part of the process to develop specifications to guide the development of any replacement course.

The Department of Education acknowledges the significant leadership of Dr Adam Grover, Professor Henry Reynolds, Mr Shayne Breen and the members of the Department of Education’s Aboriginal Education Reference Group, in the development of this course.

There are no statements of national standards relevant to this course.

The accreditation period for this course is from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2026.

During the accreditation period required amendments can be considered via established processes.

Should outcomes of the Years 9-12 Review process find this course unsuitable for inclusion in the Tasmanian senior secondary curriculum, its accreditation may be cancelled. Any such cancellation would not occur during an academic year.

Version 1 - Accredited on 8 December 2017 for use from 1 January 2018.

Accreditation renewed on 22 November 2018 for the period 1 January 2019 until 31 December 2021.

Version 1.a - Renewal of Accreditation on 14 July 2021 for the period 31 December 2021 until 31 December 2026, without amendments.

Course Relationship to the Australian Curriculum General Capabilities

The Australian Curriculum general capabilities encompass the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that will assist learners to live and work successfully in the twenty-first century. Providers will find opportunities to incorporate the capabilities into their teaching and learning program for this course. The general capabilities are assessed when they are specifically identified in the course content. The general capabilities are:
• Literacy
• Numeracy
• Information and communications technology capability
• Critical and creative thinking
• Personal and social capability
• Ethical understanding
• Intercultural understanding

By the end of this course of study, learners will have contextualised the general capabilities in the contents and requirements of the course, as detailed below:

General Capability	Unit 1	Unit 2	Unit 3	Work Requirement
Literacy
Numeracy
Information and communications technology capability
Critical and creative thinking
Personal and social capability
Ethical understanding
Intercultural understanding

Illustrative examples of the application of the General Capabilities in this course are:

Literacy
Learners’ engage in a range of learning activities in this course with significant literacy demands, for example the drafting and completion of the course reflective journal, in addition to the course summative work requirement.

Numeracy
Numeracy and numerical skills are useful in deepening learner engagement with key materials in this course. For example learners can develop patterns and relationships by supporting their views with data, some of which is numerical data, for example the quantum of lands returned to Tasmanian Aboriginal people since the 1990’s.

Information and communications technology capability
Learners develop their Information and communications technology capability when they construct and present multimodal texts, such as an individual or group digital presentation on the Black War.

Critical and creative thinking
Critical and creative thinking is integral to the completion of the work requirement of Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies. Beyond the personal inquiry, there are numerous opportunities for learners to critically research contentious and contested parts of Tasmanian Aboriginal historical and cultural narrative. The process of posing questions, researching primary and secondary sources and developing interpretations and conclusions based on evidence is centrally important to the successful completion of this course.

Personal and social capability
Personal and social capability skills are developed as a result of learners working independently and at other times in small groups. Learners should be given opportunities to work collaboratively in groups and also independently as part of their learning and research. For example a small group task of organising a presentation on pre-contact Aboriginal perspectives on connection to place, will allow learners to develop and appreciate the perspectives and experience of others. Learners will develop increased social awareness through the study of relationships between individuals and groups, for example between Aboriginal and European Tasmanians in a historical context.

Ethical Understanding
Building upon personal and social capability, ethical understanding provides learners in Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies to explore, reflect on and develop an understanding of the multiple perspectives that shaped and influenced the actions of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Tasmanians over the last two centuries and beyond. Learners have opportunities to explore and articulate the values, beliefs and principles that were the basis for the decisions and actions of Tasmanians in the past as well as contemporary Tasmanians. An example of this is an examination of the rationale for the decision to exile Tasmanian Aborigines to Wybalenna.

Intercultural understanding
Intercultural understanding is a vital and central part of this course. Learners, in their exploration and reflection on the differing beliefs, values and historical experiences and perspectives of a range of cultural groups, most significantly Aboriginal and European Tasmanians, develop an appreciation of the diversity of lived experience in Tasmania, both pre and post-European contact. For example, the course provides opportunities for learners to develop their intercultural understanding in a consideration of the causes and consequences of conflict, Aboriginal dispossession, resistance and resurgence of Tasmanian Aborigines.

Course Relationship to the Australian Curriculum Cross-Curriculum Priorities

The Australian Curriculum cross-curriculum priorities address contemporary issues which learners face in a globalised world.  Teachers are to find opportunities to incorporate the cross-curriculum priorities into their teaching and learning program for this course. This is particularly relevant for the first and third priorities (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, and Sustainability). The cross-curriculum priorities are not assessed unless they are identified within the course content. The cross-curriculum priorities are:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
• Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
• Sustainability.

It is important that the teaching and learning sequences of this course place Tasmanian Aboriginal histories, narratives and cultures at the centre.  This course affirms Tasmanian Aboriginal history, identity and culture as part of the shared history and culture of all Tasmanians.

With respect to sustainability, this course examines the beliefs, values and traditions that have influenced the complex relationship between Tasmanian Aboriginal people and their environment (Country/Land/Water). These beliefs, values and traditions provide the basis for exploring the short and long-term impact of European contact and the consequences on Tasmania’s natural environment in differing cultural contexts, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.

Appendix 3: Glossary

Analyse: Consider in detail for the purpose of defining meaning or relationships, and identify patterns, similarities and differences

Artefact:  An object made by a human being, typically one of cultural or historical interest 

Assess: Determine the value, significance or extent of (something)

Bands:  In anthropology, bands are the tiniest societies, consisting typically of 5-80 people, most of them close relatives by birth or by marriage

Clan: a descent group in which genealogical links to a common ancestor are assumed but are not actually known; a group of people with a strong common interest.

Colonisation: the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area: the action of appropriating a place or domain for one's own use

Country: refers to relationship between Tasmanian Aborigines and the spiritual, communal and spatial relationship to place

Country Group: otherwise known as a clan, is the landowning group, effectively the ritual owner of a country, responsible for the regular performance of major ceremonies associated with its country.  Not all members of a country group live together, as members are typically dispersed into a a number of residential bands, however they come together as a single group for major ceremonies

Contemporary: In terms of Aboriginal societies and cultures, occurring within the past three generations

Cosmology: Systems of belief and knowledge about the nature, structure, evolution and origins of the universe as a whole

Culture: Culture has two elements: (a) the foundation, or body of customary knowledge, beliefs and values shared and learned by members of a group. This element has continuity over time, being passed from one generation to the next. (b) The second element consists of the day-to-day experiences of individuals which add to their cultural foundations, and whereby individual cultures are constructed

Cultural perspective: the identities, values, norms, and habits that member of a group develop. The processes and activities that members take part in, arising from their shared identities, values, norms, and habits

Critically analyse: Examine the component parts of an issue or information, for example the premise of an argument and its plausibility, illogical reasons or faulty conclusions

Critically evaluate: Evaluation of an issue or information that includes considering important factors and available evidence in making critical judgement that can be justified

Describe: Give an account of characteristics or features

Dreaming: Dreaming broadly describe the complexity of important Aboriginal concepts and beliefs. It is the realm of the spiritual that encompasses all living things, as well as those things in the natural world  (land, seas, rocks, mountains, people, flora and fauna, winds, constellations etc.), and relates to the past, the present and the future

Early: In the context of Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies Level 2, the period prior to European invasion

Ethical perspective: a person’s individual perception of moral values, beliefs and rules based on his or her personal view of right and wrong

Ethnocentrism: The practice of regarding the customs, standards and beliefs of one’s own social/ethnic/cultural group as the normal way of behaving and thinking and those of other social groups as inferior and/or not natural   

Evaluate: Provide a detailed examination and substantiated judgement concerning the merit, significance or value of something

Evidence: The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid

Explain: Provide additional information that demonstrates understanding of reasoning and/or application

Historical:  Of or concerning past events

Identify: Establish or indicate who or what someone or something is

Identity: The condition or fact of a person being that specified unique person. Aboriginal people identities are linked with place and culture

Ideology: The cultural system, including values and beliefs about the nature of the universe, its order, structure and functioning, which is consciously learned and incorporated, as an integrated whole, into the culture of a group of people 

Indigenous people: People native to a particular land or place: original inhabitants

Indigenous World View: The concept of the world held by Indigenous people. It may include the notion that all things are parts of a single system within which people, animals, plants, and places are intimately related to each other physically and spiritually; and that humans have custodial responsibilities that relate to maintain the natural order of the universe

Intercultural: existing between, relating to or involving one or more cultures. For example the relationship between Aboriginal and European cultures

Invasion: Aboriginal people regard the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 as an invasion

Land Rights: The rights held by Indigenous people to determine the use of lands (and waters) to which they claim traditional ownership or connection. Land rights encompass compensation for lads (and waters) taken from them 

Multimodal: Multiple (more than one) modes of delivery to demonstrate understanding of key concepts and the general objectives and criteria of the course through a combination of aural, oral, visual, graphical, tactile, practical and written modes. For example: tutorials, presentations, seminars, webpages, interactive presentations visual and performing arts, craft production, photographic or video graphic essays

Outline: give the main features or aspects of

Race: A concept used to refer to the alleged existence of separate biological groups or subspecies of people on the basis of differing physical characteristics, particularly skin, and eye colour. Modern biology has shown extensive diversity in genetic inheritance which determines such characteristics.  This has revealed that there is sometimes greater genetic similarity between people of different social/cultural groups than between the members of the same so-called ‘race’

Racism: An extreme form of ethnocentrism in which one social group attributes negative characteristics to another social/cultural group which is seen as physically or racially distinctive in order to justify excluding or exploiting its members.  Racism may take many forms, such as overt or covert, and result from individual as well as institutional behaviour

Reconciliation: The restoration of friendly relations, and the action of making one view or belief compatible with another

Resistance: The refusal to accept or comply with something

Range of sources: has dimensions of type (primary and secondary), number (how many sources) and scope (books, academic articles, internet, film/video etc.)

Reflective journal: a written instrument containing a range and balance of entries that represent a selection of reflections on the three course units.  These reflections could include research findings, solved and unsolved problems and dilemmas and analytical and evaluative responses to stimulus such as illustrations, newspaper and journal articles, photo’s, classroom guest speakers, visits to Country and contemporary media, social and political commentary. The format of the entry may take a variety of forms including a narrative, a creative response such as a song lyric or poem, or an artistic response; discussion and/or evaluation of a stimulus text

Self-determination: determination by oneself or itself, without outside influence; freedom to live as one chooses, or to act or decide without consulting another or others; the determining by the people of the form their government shall have, without reference to the wishes of any other nation

Settlement: the act or state of settling or the state of being settled: the settling of persons in a new country or place.

Society: A group of people who inhabit the same territory, regularly spend time together, and are often part of the same political unit, usually distinguished from other surrounding groups.

Task characteristics: may include, but are not limited to: word limits; format of response; mode of response; and presentation requirements

Terms: word or phrase used to describe abstract aspects or features of legal and political systems

Terra Nullius: Territory belonging to no state, i.e. territory not inhabited by a socially and politically organized community.

Tools and strategies: used to collect and organise information include, but are not limited to:

• graphic organisers
• note taking
• use of categories to organise information.

Traditional:  an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, self and/or group-concept, action, or behaviour (such as a religious belief or custom, a social custom or pattern of lived experience or day to day behaviour)

Values: Emotional/affective beliefs about the world, often used by people to identify and evaluate what is ‘good’ and ‘bad, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, appropriate and inappropriate and so on. Values are frequently accommodated and reflected as part of ideology, religion and world view, and are often reflected in law

World View:  The basic cultural orientation (combining beliefs, knowledge and values) shared by members of a group. It includes ways of looking at life and the nature of the world and its inhabitants, as well as the basis of the choices people make.  World views might be expressed as philosophy, ideology, cosmology, religion; and integrated into morality, ethics, ritual, behaviour, belief and knowledge. They are the foundation of shared and agreed understandings and acquired wisdom amongst members of a group.

 

Learning Outcome	Criterion and Elements	Content
communicate historical and anthropological ideas and information	C1. communicate historical and anthropological ideas and information Elements: C1- Elements 1-8	Unit 1: Country and Place Unit 2: Culture Unit 3: People; and Unit 4: Personal Inquiry.
apply inquiry skills to plan and undertake investigations historical and contemporary Aboriginal Issues	C2. apply inquiry skills to plan and undertake investigations into historical and contemporary Aboriginal Issues Elements: C2 – Elements 1-6	Unit 4: Personal Inquiry
use evidence and historical terms, concepts and ideas to support interpretations and arguments	C3. use evidence and historical terms, concepts and ideas to support interpretations and arguments Elements: C3 – Elements 1-6	Unit 1: Country and Place Unit 2: Culture Unit 3: People; and Unit 4: Personal Inquiry.
identify and describe Tasmanian Aboriginal culture and cultural practices, early to contemporary	C4. describe Tasmanian Aboriginal culture and cultural practices, early to contemporary Elements: C4 – Elements 1-6	Unit 1: Country and Place Unit 2: Culture Unit 3: People; and Unit 4: Personal Inquiry
identify and describe different the perspectives, experiences and effects of colonisation on Tasmanian Aboriginal societies	C5. describe the perspectives, experiences and effects of colonisation on Tasmanian Aboriginal societies Elements: C5 – Elements 1-7	Unit 1: Country and Place Unit 2: Culture Unit 3: People; and Unit 4: Personal Inquiry
identify and describe the role and contribution of Tasmanian Aboriginal people, historically and in the contemporary period	C6. describe and assess the role and contribution of Tasmanian Aboriginal people, historically and in the contemporary period Elements: C6 – Elements 1-7	Unit 1: Country and Place Unit 2: Culture Unit 3: People; and Unit 4: Personal Inquiry
identify and describe historical and cultural issues of land and place from the perspectives and beliefs of Tasmanian Aboriginal people	C7. identify and describe historical and cultural issues of land and place from the perspectives and beliefs of Tasmanian Aboriginal people Elements: C7 – Elements 1-5	Unit 1: Country and Place Unit 2: Culture Unit 3: People; and Unit 4: Personal Inquiry