The Aboriginal voices project: findings and reflections

Beginning in 2017, the Aboriginal Voices project brought together 14 researchers from 11 Australian universities to conduct the first systematic review of empirical research on Indigenous education. Collectively, the project has now reviewed more than 13 000 publications in 10 areas that address the experiences and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners in schooling. As a result of these reviews, we can critically engage with claims about "what works" and what doesn't, what enjoys a burden of proof and what doesn't. Beyond the weight of evidence however, this work allows us to clarify that what counts as knowledge, what counts as success, and what counts as proof, which are rarely defined by Indigenous people. The project allows us to make some claims about what is working well: where teachers are supported to engage in robust professional learning, and families and communities are meaningfully involved in the life of schools and decision-making, outcomes for Indigenous students improve. Yet we find there is still some distance between practice and perceptions of practice, between mapping cause and effect, and between the aspirations of Indigenous students and families, and the ability of settler colonial education systems to meet those aspirations.