69
The smallness of Aboriginal numbers beyond the age of
compulsion in secondary schools prompted a search for other
situations where senior students, with a view of reality possibly
differing from that of school students, could be found.
*
Powell (1978:53) had shown that Aboriginal students opted
for situations in which they would feel more at ease than in the
school situation and where they received support from other
Aboriginal students.
It was therefore decided to include in the study a situation
where students had opted for a form of schooling that could be seen
as alternative to government state schools, and a tertiary situation
where Aboriginal students had special support facilities.
The following post-secondary situations were chosen for
study.
5.42 Post-secondary institutions
(i) Stone’s Business College
Of the independent educational institutions surveyed, Stone’s
Business College was selected for the study because it stood out as
having a high enrolment of Aboriginal students. The college drew
students from wide areas, including both the metropolitan area and
Pt. Augusta. .
The number of Aboriginal students in 1980 was 19. і
t
I
1
* і
і
(ii) South Australian Institute of Technology - Task.Force
Aboriginal Students in the South Australian Institute of
Teclinology Task Force were included on the grounds that, given the
small numbers of Aboriginal students attending educational
institutions beyond the age of compulsory attendance, the presence
of students in the Task Force showed a commitment to further
*
education that is too difficult for the Aboriginal population, in
general, to make. For this reason, students in the Task Force were
seen as having the potential of being reality definersɪ.
1See p. 2 above*
