The project will identify how adults and students learn about and nurture a strong sense of cultural identity. It will also identify ways in which the values Relationship, Responsibility, Respect and Rigour relate to the concepts of Connectedness, Empowerment and Learning as described in the celebration of Worawa Aboriginal College’s thirtieth anniversary presentation, Building On A Dream.
The project will demonstrate how respectful relationships are built at the College and how these relationships enable learning through participation, contribution and the setting of high and achievable expectations so as students are sustained and advanced in both ancient and contemporary cultures as articulated by Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls when he said at the Opening of Worawa Aboriginal College in 1983, “Aboriginal children must be educated in the way of our people. They must learn their history, about their great ancestors, the language and the law. It’s time for them to know and understand themselves. They must also be educated in the ways of the society in which they live, in the very best of what it has to offer, so they can truly be part, not only of Australia’s past, but also its present and future”. These aspirations were subsequently translated into reality in 1983 by Hyllus Maris, Aboriginal visionary and the founder of Worawa Aboriginal College, when she said the Worawa curriculum “should be based on the best elements of both traditional Aboriginal and current Australian education, aiming to produce an Aboriginal person versed in his/her traditions and proud of his/her identity, who has the tools and necessary qualifications to contribute effectively to the Australian community”.
The major focus therefore, is the nurturing of a strong sense of cultural identity in the context of the respectful relationships formed at Worawa Aboriginal College and the reflection of these relationships in rigorous learning experiences, as the students develop skills and take increasing responsibility for their intellectual and social development. Relationships between adults are also relevant.