Aborigines. Her study was concerned with identity-maintenance.
Sommerlad (1976:1) describes it as ”a commentary on education as
an agent of social change that fails to enhance self-identity
and potential for growth and development and abandons its learners
in a state of confusion and self-doubt”.
Binnion .and Lunnay (1974) held a discussion with Aboriginal
high school students as part of an action research project. Among
the issues emphasized as problem areas was the perception of the
Aboriginal students that they did not feel they were ’people’,
they lacked an identity and were made to feel they had nothing
to offer.
On the question of ethnic identification Sommerlad (1976) found
the tradition-oriented children expressed a positive evaluation of
whites, of Aborigines, and of self; higher valuations were assigned
to whites and self than to Aborigines. The small proportion of
students (12.9%) identifying with whites had high aspirations,
achievement related value orientations and high acculturation scores.
Watts (1976), in a study on ethnic identification in schools, found
that 52 per cent of 900 children surveyed indicated that they preferred
to identify themselves as Aboriginal and Australian, 22 per cent as
Aboriginal, and 19 per cent as Australian.
1.35 Social Psychology
Attitudes to Schools
McKeich (1971) found that, in their attitudes to school, in
*
general the Aboriginal children were more negative than the non-
Aboriginal students. De Lemos (1979), however, found no difference
between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in their attitude
to school.
1.36 Watt’s overview of research relating to Aboriginal identity
Watts (1982:Volume 1, 127), in an overview of research
directed to the education of Aborigines, discussed Aboriginal
identity and noted ’’the increasing emphasis by many non-tradition