Aboriginal education, long considered the poor relation in education, is currently in a stage of development akin to a Renaissance. The success of the one-best-method of education is seriously being questioned, as are the twin constraints of the hidden curriculum - tradition and conformity.

The first major breakthrough in Aboriginal education came with the development of the concept of Aboriginal learning styles (Kearins, 1983; Harris, 1980). Teachers became aware that different strategies and materials had to be employed to cater more successfully for Aboriginal students. It is most likely the case also that school principals need to adopt an administrative style which is significantly different from that employed in urban, middle-class schools. Thomas Greenfield, a Canadian, has revolutionized thought in educational administration, and his thoughts may have relevance to administering Aboriginal schools.

Teachers of Aboriginal children in Australia often have the problem of adapting or modifying curriculum materials which have been developed to meet the needs of the average white Australian/European child. For science and mathematics teachers especially, we believe that appropriate adaptation is essential to ensure that Aboriginal children are better able to comprehend the concepts involved. Many of these concepts at the primary school level involve some aspect of conserving quantities. For example, take a simple experiment where a child is asked to find out whether or not aluminium foil sinks in water. Its flotation, of course, is dependent on shape. The child may roll the aluminium foil into a ball, or flatten it out, and place it in the water. What happens can be observed and discussed and reported. But what if the child thinks this aluminium foil has some unexplainable properties? Maybe it not only changes shape but also its weight! Certainly, on the surface this may appear to be a typical case of nonconservation of weight, but perhaps this is a direct consequence of working with unusual materials and is not a true indicator of mental development!

Koonibba is a non-traditional Aboriginal settlement 40 kilometres west of Ceduna. It began as a Lutheran mission in 1901, when Aboriginal people from several areas were gathered together at the foot of Koonibba Hill to live as a community. The mission operated until 1964, when the Lutheran Church officially ceased administrative control and various government departments took over. An Education Department school began then. Now approximately 100 adults and 35 children live at Koonibba. None of them are traditionally from this area, but all identify as being part of the Koonibba Community.

Kangaroo, sleepy lizard and other local native animals form a significant part of the Koonibba people’s diet but they have retained few other traditional skills.

This paper describes the way in which a program in Adult Literacy has been successful in developing individualized educational programs. The fundamental criterion for this is the identification of the individual needs for each learner, and the development of a teaching-learning program that enables the learner to become self-directing and active in the attainment of literacy skills.

Queensland has isolated Aboriginal communities whose contact with the dominant society is restricted by the tyranny of distance, if nothing else. Several additional communities experience greater contact because of proximity.

In 1972, a majority of these schools were still mission controlled. Transition to State responsibility has occurred at various negotiated rates, but by 1978 all were the responsibility of the Queensland Education Department except for Islander schools in the Torres Straits. These remained the concern of the Department of Aboriginal and Islanders Advancement until 1985.