Contemporarily Australian Indigenous peoples are portrayed by white Australians according to deficit understandings. As well as being inaccurate, this depiction, as part of a long-term civilising process, is an expression of 'fantasy-laden thinking' [Mennell, S., & Goudsblom, J. (1998). Introduction. In S. Mennell & J. Goudsblom (Eds.),…

Research demonstrates that teachers' expectations of students have long-term effects on students' educational, occupational, health and well-being outcomes. In this Australian-based study, teachers were invited to explore the questions "Do teachers have different expectations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students?"…

An underinvestigated and significant source of stress for U.S. student sojourners across racial/ethnic groups is exposure to stereotypes that target their American identity. This study built on the extensive research literature on stereotype threat to investigate U.S. students' vulnerability and reactions to being the target of stereotypes.…

In a study of the auto- and heterostereotypes of Aboriginal and Anglo-Australian adolescents, students responded to schedules that included attributes arranged on bipolar scales. Anglo-Australian students' stereotypes of Aboriginals were unfavorable, uniform, and extremely negative, whereas Aboriginal Australians expressed favorable and positive…

Educational failures in the United States are attributed to family problems, low I.Q. and poverty. In Australia, the ancient behavior of walkabout, where early Australians leave their camps at certain seasons of the year to look for food, is given as the reason for believing that Aborigines are uneducable and unemployable. The explanation works…