Purpose: Recent trends in Western civics education have attempted to secure democratic institutions from perceived threats. This paper investigates how political securitisation historically operated within civics textbooks in Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand. It further evaluates how Maori, Aboriginal and other Indigenous peoples were variably…

Although multiculturalism replaced the White Australia Policy in the 1970s, the Australian nation continues to be imagined predominantly as a White space from which Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders and peoples of non-White immigrant heritage are excluded. Whereas White people's positioning as Australian is secure and taken for granted,…

Records the author's understanding that public texts written by others are not the only texts carrying covert ideological meanings. The article's analysis of the author's own text on Aborigines in Australia reveals ideological positions previously unknown to her. Argues that even a well-intentioned teacher cognizant of how texts work ideologically…

I examine how science curricula are complicit in maintaining the dominance of knowledge production by major powers, particularly the USA, through their efforts to tell the "truth" about certain topics, and whether resistant counter-discourses are being mounted, especially in "peripheral" states such as Canada, Australia, and…

This article examines the topic of racism in textbooks by reviewing the content of a geography textbook popular in the United Kingdom and Australia. Concludes that the problem of racism in textbooks is pervasive and in violation of United Nations standards for antiracist instruction. (JDH)

This article reveals the nature of the images of society in traditional approaches to geographical education and explores the implications of these in terms of the ideology involved. The data include student interviews, geography textbooks, and geography curriculum writings. (Author/JDH)

Reports on a pilot survey of the authors of three sets of textbooks used in Australia and Canada, which have previously been shown to include a relatively high proportion of Indigenous and other minority groups' knowledges, cultures and sciences. Explores issues of voice and power in the production of textbooks. (MM)

An Australian researcher exploring the underlying assumptions held by non-Aboriginal educators involved in Aboriginal education reexamined his first childhood history book, "Australia from the Beginning" (Pownall, 1980). Although a liberal and sympathetic treatment, the book reflected non-Aboriginal assumptions about assimilation as…

An analysis of elementary social studies textbook series showed that the images presented in the texts do not equate with the reality that most Australians experience. A more realistic approach to teaching about Australia would be to examine the lifestyles of urban Australians. Possible ways of doing this are discussed. (RM)

This book presents a comparative analysis of racial attitudes within formal schooling of both Britain and its former dominions and colonies. It provides essays that examine racism, education, and imperialism, and focuses on the function of education, curriculum, and textbooks in shaping imperial images of dominance and deference. The following…

Presents a study of language, attitudes, and change in masculinity in two groups of Australian men. Claims that schools act as agents in constructing gender definitions. Cites a report finding that gender stereotypes abound in textbooks; career counseling; and teacher expectations. Argues that males are advantaged by this and will resist change.…

Examines the possibility of developing a socially critical geography curriculum in Australian schools. Emphasizes teachers' responsibility to evaluate, select, and use appropriate instructional materials. Explains technical, interpretive, and critical approaches to geography instruction by contrasting three activities based on "Women of…