ERIC Number: EJ1371752
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Apr
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0311-6999
EISSN: EISSN-2210-5328
From Assimilation towards Reconciliation with Amy Levai, Nee O'Donoghue (1930-2013), South Australia's First Qualified Aboriginal Infant Teacher
Australian Educational Researcher, v50 n2 p221-235 Apr 2023
This article honours Amy Levai, nee O'Donoghue (1930-2013) who was a member of the Stolen Generations and South Australia's first Aboriginal woman to qualify as an infant teacher. Beginning with Amy's childhood at Colebrook Home and schooling, the article highlights her agency and resilience in countering racism to qualify and teach in the South Australian education department from January 1958. With the marriage bar still in place she was required to resign in 1965, but rejoined the state school system in the early 1970s. Negotiating nationwide policy shifts from assimilation to reconciliation, and concomitant education and curriculum reforms, Amy Levai taught in several schools including the Kaurna Plains Aboriginal school which opened in 1986. Always focussed on education as the key to social justice for Aboriginal and white Australians, Amy's reconciliation activism during her retirement is foregrounded in the final section of the article.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Indigenous Populations, Females, Early Childhood Teachers, Racism, Resilience (Psychology), Educational Policy, Professional Autonomy, Social Justice, Activism, Teacher Qualifications
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A