Aboriginal Studies 2024 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• refer to a specific Aboriginal community, not just ‘Australian Aboriginal people’ or ‘Aboriginal people’
• correctly identify Aboriginal and international Indigenous communities, for example, Yolngu peoples of North-East Arnhem Land or Oglala Lakota of Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, USA
• compare both an Aboriginal community and an international Indigenous community where appropriate
• use relevant terminology and concepts to support their response, such as ‘Aboriginal’ capitalised and not using the acronym ATSI
• distinguish between Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, where appropriate
• refer to Aboriginal peoples rather than First Nations peoples
• know the difference between a community initiative and a government initiative
• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• integrate source material throughout their response where appropriate
• have a clear understanding of key words in the question, and respond to the intent of the question and its requirements
• engage with what the question is asking rather than presenting a pre-prepared response
• relate to the question throughout the response rather than just at the beginning
• sustain their judgements, where appropriate, throughout the response with a clear connection to the question
• present a sustained, logical and cohesive response, where appropriate, that addresses the question.

Question 7

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a description of the significance of one Aboriginal or other Indigenous peoples’ protest movement
• provide details of one Aboriginal or other Indigenous peoples’ protest movement.

Areas for students to improve include:

• describing a specific protest or movement in detail.

Question 8

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of how initiatives by Aboriginal peoples aim to improve social justice outcomes of Aboriginal peoples
• provide a relevant example of a social justice initiative by Aboriginal peoples such as Aboriginal Medical Services.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the difference between initiatives by Aboriginal peoples and government initiatives
• providing a detailed response with reference to a specific initiative.

Question 9

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify one government policy, legislation or inquiry aimed to improve the social justice and human rights of Aboriginal peoples
• provide details about actions or initiatives as a result of the policy, legislation or inquiry
• identify improvements in social justice and human rights and provide relevant examples such as the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Closing the Gap, 1967 Referendum, Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW).

Areas for students to improve include:

• linking the government policy, legislation or inquiry to improved social justice and/or human rights for Aboriginal peoples.

Question 10(a) – Health

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a relevant example of one government program or strategy aimed at addressing Aboriginal peoples’ health needs, such as the NSW Aboriginal Nursing and Midwifery Strategy or Joint Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Question 10(b) – Health

In better responses, students were able to:

• describe a health issue faced by one Aboriginal community and one international Indigenous community such as heart disease or access to health care
• identify an Aboriginal community and an international Indigenous community correctly.

Question 10(c) – Health

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the social changes needed to improve Aboriginal and other Indigenous peoples’ health standards such as socioeconomic empowerment, healthcare access, cultural revitalisation.

Question 11(a) – Education

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly outline one government program or strategy that aims to address Aboriginal peoples’ education needs, such as, the Joint Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Question 11(b) – Education

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of an education issue faced by one Aboriginal community and one international Indigenous community, for example, inadequate resources or racism in schools, or access to schools.

Question 11(c) – Education

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the social changes needed to improve Aboriginal and other Indigenous peoples’ educational opportunities and outcomes such as enhanced community empowerment, addressing socioeconomic disparities, recognition of Indigenous Knowledges, culturally responsive pedagogy.

Question 12(a) – Housing

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly outline one government program or strategy that aims to address Aboriginal peoples’ housing needs such as NSW Aboriginal Housing Office - Strong Family, Strong Communities strategy.

Question 12(b) – Housing

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide an understanding and description of a housing issue faced by one Aboriginal community and by one international Indigenous community, for example, substandard housing and overcrowding.

Question 12(c) – Housing

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of social changes needed to improve Aboriginal and other Indigenous peoples’ housing standards such as community-led solutions, access to resources, land rights and ownership, collaborative governance.

Question 13(a) – Employment

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly outline one government program or strategy that aims to address the employment needs of Aboriginal peoples, such as, NSW Public Service Commission, Aboriginal Employment Strategy.

Question 13(b) – Employment

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of an employment issue faced by one Aboriginal community and by one international Indigenous community such as racism in the workplace.

Question 13(c) – Employment

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of the social changes needed to improve Aboriginal and other Indigenous peoples’ employment status such as education and training, economic diversification, cultural empowerment, land rights and resource management.

Question 14(a) – Criminal justice

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly outline one government program or strategy that aims to address the over-representation of Aboriginal peoples in the criminal justice system, for example, circle sentencing.

Question 14(b) – Criminal justice

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of a criminal justice issue faced by one Aboriginal community and by one international Indigenous community, such as, recidivism, over-policing and racism.

Question 14(c) – Criminal justice

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of the social changes needed to address the status of Aboriginal and international Indigenous peoples regarding the criminal justice system such as community-led justice initiatives, socioeconomic disparities, sovereignty and self-determination, healing and rehabilitation, systemic reform.

Question 15(a) – Economic independence

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly outline one government program or strategy that aims to address the economic status of Aboriginal peoples, such as, providing funds for Aboriginal enterprise, Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC), Indigenous Business Australia
• provide details of the government program and its purpose for Aboriginal peoples such as supporting Aboriginal self-determination.

Question 15(b) – Economic independence

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding regarding the economic status of one Aboriginal community and one international Indigenous community.

Question 15(c) – Economic independence

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of the social changes needed to improve Aboriginal and international Indigenous peoples’ economic status such as education and training, entrepreneurship and business development, access to resources and infrastructure, sustainable development initiatives, cultural preservation and tourism.

Question 16

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly articulate an understanding of the two topics explored by discussing, in detail, current issues or trends in each community, such as, contemporary social justice issues that impact Aboriginal and international Indigenous peoples
• maintain a focus on social justice and human rights as the basis of the response.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring communities are correctly referenced, for example, people and place
• including a discussion of communities referenced in the response
• integrating a discussion of human rights and social justice.
• nality, representations, stereotypes, self-determination.

Question 17(a) – Research and inquiry methods

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of how researchers effectively reflect the viewpoints of Aboriginal peoples when communicating their findings, such as, acknowledging the local protocols of Aboriginal people, using interviewees’ words, seeking review and confirmation by participants, communicating protocols used for conducting the research.

Areas for students to improve include:

• focusing on the researcher’s communication of their findings, rather than the research process in general.

Question 17(b) – Research and inquiry methods

In better responses, students were able to:

• link the response to their own knowledge such as comparing their Major Project research process to the researcher in the scenario
• integrate information from the scenario, using relevant terms and concepts.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying ethical research practices such as free, prior and informed consent
• proposing cultural differences and sensitivities that need to be considered, such as communication styles, language differences, sensitive topics
• including examples of appropriate protocols such as preferred interview locations.

Question 18(a) – Aboriginality and the land

In better responses, students were able to:

• explain the importance of rights to land and water for maintaining and strengthening spiritual and cultural practices, using examples from their own knowledge
• integrate detailed information from source A, such as, outlining why all Australians should learn about the histories and stories of significant Aboriginal sites.

Areas for students to improve include:

• outlining contemporary issues related to the land and water rights movement such as degrees of applicability of the Native Title Act, competing interests of industry.

Question 18(b) – Aboriginality and the land

In better responses, students were able to:

• articulate how culture, heritage and identity is connected with Country, such as Dreaming(s), ceremony, kinship, language, practices.

Areas for students to improve include:

• referencing and integrating the source in their response
• understanding the concept of Country and the importance to Aboriginal peoples.

Question 19(a) – Heritage and identity

In better responses, students were able to:

• break down varying components of the source to integrate into their response
• outline contemporary aspects of Aboriginal peoples’ cultural lives and identities, such as, social systems, expressions of heritage and identity, language and cultural maintenance and revival
• identify several relevant contemporary issues and provide appropriate details such as the impact of government policies, Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), media representations, responses to expressions of identity exploring Language within a broader conversation about Aboriginal Cultural lives
• integrate a discussion of the source and its relevance to a contemporary issue.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding restating the source
• understanding of contemporary issues relating to Aboriginal peoples’ cultural lives and/or identity
• exploring Language within the broader context of Aboriginal peoples’ cultural lives.

Question 19(b) – Heritage and identity

In better responses, students were able to:

• consider the source in a variety of ways
• use components of the source to help support arguments, such as, use of new technologies in cultural expression, incorporation of Aboriginal cultural knowledge with western knowledge, impact of affirmations of identity on wellbeing.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring sources are referred to and evaluated
• focusing on affirming culture rather than influence on non-Aboriginal perceptions, representations and responses
• demonstrating subject specific knowledge rather than writing about diversity more broadly and using key terms and concepts such as Aboriginality, representations, stereotypes, self-determination.