Title:
RECONCILIATION EDUCATION: A NEW CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR INTERRUPTING PREJUDICES AND DEVELOPING POSITIVE INTERGROUP PERSPECTIVES

Authors:
Dr Adam Heaton

Abstract:
Just as there are a myriad people groups across the world, there are countless prejudices and divisions between them. These prejudices and divisions can shape the worldview of children and young people. It was evident that 12-14 year old Grade 8 school students in Australia, of who the majority were white, initially held racial prejudices toward Aboriginal Australians. As students engaged in a program of learning about Aboriginal people they commenced dropping these prejudices and developing more positive perspectives toward them. This paper presents a conceptual framework for how Reconciliation Education, a new approach to anti-prejudice education, can provide students with opportunity to drop prejudices and see other groups of people more positively