The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries has announced a new toolkit to assist teachers and staff incorporate Aboriginal histories and cultures in the classroom through reconciliation projects.
In a statement, the Department said the Partnership, Acceptance, Learning and Sharing program (PALS), provided $1,000 grants to schools for a wide range of projects that incorporated and increased the understanding of Aboriginal cultures, histories and communities.
“This may include creating a language or dance program, attending a cooking lesson using traditional bush tucker or creating a book in the local Aboriginal language,” the Department said.
“The project toolkit has been developed to assist educators to integrate reconciliation projects into the classroom through the meaningful teaching and learning of Aboriginal histories, cultures and communities, and provides resources to assist schools to plan and develop PALS projects.”
It said the toolkit provided project ideas, examples of past projects and information and guidance on how to build relationships with the local Aboriginal community.
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Ben Wyatt said that last year PALS funded a total of 678 projects in 643 schools, engaging 100,000 students across the State.
“This meant 60 per cent of all schools in WA participated in the PALS program,” Mr Wyatt said.
“It is inspiring to see the meaningful projects being undertaken by WA schools which facilitate the learning of Aboriginal histories and cultures.”
He said by supporting projects that enhanced education of Aboriginal peoples and cultures in WA classrooms, students were able to gain a deeper understanding of our shared histories and unified futures.
The next round of funding opens on 20 January, 2021 to all Western Australian primary and secondary schools.
