Yalca: A Partnership in Education and Training for the New Millennium (Koorie Education Policy)

Since its inception the VAEAI has had a strong working relationship with the now Victorian Department of Education and Training (DE&T). In 1990 this relationship was formalised under the Partnership in Education: Koorie Education Policy, which provided the framework and strategies to address the goals of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP).

In 2001 the VAEAI and the Victorian State Government recommitted to the principles of the Partnership in Education, under a new policy framework, Yalca: A Partnership in Education and Training for the New Millennium, Koorie Education Policy.

Yalca provides a long term policy framework relevant to all sectors of education and training. All education strategies and programs which are developed for and by Koorie people must support and be respondent to this document. Yalca contains six major objectives:

1. To place the Koorie student at the centre of educational policy and decision making.

2. To maintain and strengthen the formal partnership between the VAEAI and the Victorian State Government.

3. To recognise the central role of Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups (LAECGs) in education and training.

4. To formalise the protocols that inform all education related discussions and negotiations with the Koorie community.

5. To strengthen the framework, at all levels of education and training, for the implementation of strategies which will:

• Enable involvement of Koorie people in educational decision-making,

• Increase the participation and outcome rates of Koorie students,

• Provide a supportive and culturally relevant learning environment,

• Provide to all Victorian students an understanding and respect for Koorie traditional and contemporary cultures, and

• Increase the number of Koorie people employed within all sections of the education and training system.

6. To ensure that Koorie education forms part of the core business of all sectors of education.

The Partnership in Education focused on making education systems accessible for Koorie students. Yalca aims to improve educational outcomes for Koorie students. This is the fundamental intention of Yalca's objective of placing the Koorie student at the centre of educational decision making.

The philosophy behind this objective is that meeting the needs of Koorie students and placing them at the centre of decision making, by providing avenues for Koorie community participation in decision making processes will lead to the provision of an inclusive and appropriate learning environment. This in turn will lead to real outcomes for Koorie students and communities, and will further result in Koorie community and individual empowerment.

The rest of the policy is available on PDF

View Yalca: Koorie Education Policy

To view this, you will need to download Acrobat's free PDF reader.
Download Acrobat Reader