Polices about Aboriginal Australians are concerned with making sure Aboriginal people achieve the
same standards of health, education and wellbeing as other Australians. Adopting a sociological
approach to Indigenous issues requires that we look at little deeper as to why these gaps close so
slowly, if at all.
Select one Aboriginal policy to analyse (examples include Closing the Gap, The Northern Territory
Intervention and Stronger Futures) in response to the following question: Do attempts to address
indigenous disadvantage at a policy level effectively address or compound the challenges facing
Aboriginal Australians?
Option #2:
According to Pillar (2016, p.161), ‘language is central to the ability to fully participate in the life of the
community. However, the ability to deploy language for effective participation is unequally distributed.’
Select an example of each (i) one way that lived experience can be enhanced and (ii) one way that
lived experience can be limited by an individual’s language skills. Then, respond to the following
question: To what extent does being bi/multilingual enhance participation in local and (or) global
contexts.
Option #3:
Australia, and Western Sydney in particular, is considered by many to be ‘super-diverse’. While there
are a number of policy and government approaches to develop social harmony, cohesion and a sense
of belonging, there are also occasions where disharmony and conflict occurs.
Select an example of each (i) a ‘prescriptive’ (policy) approach to, and (ii) a ‘descriptive’
(everyday/lived) experience of, diversity. Then, respond to the following question: Do policy
approaches to diversity build a sense of belonging and harmony in a community more or less
effectively than everyday, lived experiences