Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Officer
What the work is
Assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in their education, and supports cultural awareness and community engagement. Provides feedback to parents or guardians and teachers about students' progress, and liaises with educational bodies, government agencies and committees.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Advises on cultural protocols on observing the cultural diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in all school activities, including excursions
- Identifies and develops resources to support the learning outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Coordinates the delivery of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and cultures lessons
- Acts as a liaison between the community and the school to develop education programs that are relevant to both educational and cultural needs
- Assists in the development and implementation of personalised learning plans for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Promotes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander celebrations within schools
- Leads cultural group experiences with students
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a regional high school with a boarding house and a cultural education team. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A student who has been absent for weeks walks in smiling and sits at the front
- Elders visit the school and the students listen in a way they rarely do in class
- A boarder who was homesick in week one now shows the new arrivals around
Hard days
- Being the only person asked to speak for a whole community in a staff meeting
- A student you care about drifts away from school and you cannot reach them
- Late-night boarding house duty when a young person just wants to go home
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 432931, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.