Essay

With the world renown hallmark as the ‘lucky country’, it can be difficult to comprehend how the very people we have to thank for the prosperous land on which we live, are amongst the most disadvantaged in the world, rivalling many from developing countries. The dispossession of land, displacement of Australia’s first people and unremitting discrimination since European settlement, has given rise to intergenerational disadvantage in areas such as education, employment and health (***). Whilst the three areas are intertwined, education is unmistakably a quintessential vehicle for building resilience and improving socioeconomic outcomes for Indigenous Australians(***). Teachers and schools alike play a key role in acknowledging and addressing past and present injustices through:

Teachers in Australia have the responsibility of catering to the learning needs and abilities of the students in their classroom. Additionally they are also responsible for catering to the unique cultural backgrounds of each student, in particular the cultures of Indigenous Australians. The teacher can cater to the diverse and complex Indigenous cultures by creating a learning environment that is based on effective student engagement for Aboriginal students. Studies have shown that Aboriginal students are currently not academically achieving as well as non-Aboriginal students (What Works: Core Issue 5). Closing the academic performance gap is considered a national priority. As a result, the Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework has been developed to ensure that schools are delivering the best possible education to all students, specifically those who identify as Aboriginal. During term 3, 2017, I completed my final practicum at Baler Primary School in a year 4 classroom. The students in my class came from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, many of which identified as Aboriginal. Throughout this essay I will use examples from my final practicum at Baler Primary School in South Hedland to discuss how to make learning engaging, accessible and culturally responsive for Aboriginal students.

The important relationship building teachers must conduct with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is another key issue teachers must keep in mind for working successfully with Indigenous students. Price (2012) argues that teachers hold a special place in the Indigenous community, especially with parents and caregivers. She states that by “mastering the craft” of teaching, you will be rewarded both personally and professionally over the years of your career (Price, 2012). Over the last 30 years, a number of prepositions have been put forward that will assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to become emotionally healthy, so they can live out their entitlement to becoming a dignified citizen of Australia and the world (Price, 2012).

(Sarra, 2014 p. 8) In other words, teachers should learn their students’ differing socio-cultural and historical backgrounds to create authentic programs and advise their instruction (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016) I/ATR also highlights the importance of understanding socio-cultural and historical backgrounds, as I/ATR principles emphasise the importance of ensuring ‘Indigenous world views’ are upheld when Indigenous people are the stakeholders. (Bonney, 2017) I plan to take time to learn the dynamics of the community where I teach, as it will help integrate local cultural knowledge into the classroom (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016) I plan to use resources such as Oxenhams’ ‘Aboriginal domain’ Model (1999) and Yunkaportas’ ‘8 ways of Aboriginal learning’ (2009) to learn the dimensions of all my students, this will help me design culturally safe and inclusive programs and adhere to the Australian Professional Standard 1.4 ‘Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’

This paper focuses on how Aboriginal Knowledge can be included in the Education system in Australia with staff, academics and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. I will be talking about the living and health standards of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that plays a factor in why they are behind non-Aboriginal people in the education system. I will mention by incorporating education equity in the education system Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will have a better chance for higher achievement in school. To achieve equity in schools the education department needs to include Aboriginal knowledge in the curriculum, use appropriate teaching strategies and involve the Aboriginal community in the classroom.

Different cultures and people connect to things differently. What may be sacred or important to one may not be to another however; this does not exempt us from responding and acting appropriately towards specific beliefs (Yunkaporta, 2009). Instead we should be looking at ways to share and connect through the different cultures we have. Many educational institutions as well as professional teachers have found, and still find, teaching Indigenous education a frightening and complex task . This has had a negative impact on the educational experience of Indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and also placing a stigma on the shared history of non-Indigenous and Indigenous Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders (Kessaris, 2006).

Improving academic outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is mired in inherited troubles as well as contemporary ones. As a result of poor policies and pedagogy, generations fear and lack confidence in the education system (Harrison and Sellwood, 2013). It is therefore imperative that teachers have a range of resources and strategies for adapting the curriculum to the needs of Aborignal and Torres Strait Islanders. This should include fostering pride in identity, making connections to community and land, and respecting language variation and culture. In doing so, teachers meet expectaions for Australian professional teaching standards and the community.

The ambition of this framework is that all students become “active and informed citizens…confident and creative individuals…and successful learners” (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL] 2014a). In pursuit of this goal they have identified seven key standards which all teachers are to meet related to Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement. Within these key areas Standard 1.4 and Standard 2.4 relate directly to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and require evidence of teachers demonstrating that they know; the students, how they learn, the content, and how to teach it. Standard 1, Focus Area 4 addresses “Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children” (AITSL 2014b) and is further supported by Standard 2, Focus Area 4, “Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians” (AITSL 2014b). These standards highlight the responsibility of teachers to not only understand Indigenous students and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait culture, but also to be actively involved in the ongoing process of reconciliation between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians. The progressive nature of the benchmarks provided for teachers is a strength of the AITSL standards. This ensures that as educators develop and become more experienced they are encouraged to further improve and progress their professional knowledge, practice and

Cultural responsiveness involves acknowledging the cultural differentiation between home and school - home is underpinned by indigenous Australian values and norms, whilst school is underpinned instead by Western norms due to colonisation (Krakouer, 2015). To improve academic outcomes, this differentiation will be minimised and cultural identity will be fostered through open communication lines with Aboriginal parents - establishing learning partnerships which connect social and cultural aspects of home and school (Krakouer, 2015). In regards to CRT, the negative discourses centred on race from historical and ideological concepts that pervade educational institutions will have to be addressed in my teaching to ensure full inclusion of Indigenous students within the schooling system (McDonald, 2003). An example of achieving this would be by implementing a system of under-talking rather than over-talking. This provides indigenous Australian children the opportunity to share their own unique and marginalised narratives about their learning experiences so that my curriculum, classroom teaching and assessment can be structured around their individual learning abilities (McDonald,

The integration would then make the child’s transformation to adulthood easy and with an understanding. For non-Aboriginal students, such a system of education raises awareness of the collective traditions of Aboriginal citizens and their community, through which, promotes respect and gratitude to the existence of the varied cultures. Moreover, students from other communities can benefit from the exposure to Aboriginal education, which can massively lower classroom racism and raise the sense of a community within the diverse group of learners. However, for the development of such a system of education, it would be significant to involve Aboriginal agencies and educators such as elders and community leaders in an attempt to develop teachings and curriculum strategies while encouraging activism of the Aboriginal

Sarra’s Stronger Smarter Learning module encouraged me to reflect on my capacity to enhance the learning outcomes of Aboriginal students in the classroom. High expectations in Stronger Smarter Learning module means to expect the same from Aboriginal students like any other student. The module further teaches that embracing positive leadership and working with local Aboriginal community fosters positive student-teacher relationship. According to Price (2015), Aboriginal students need the education revolution that embraces the significance of their cultures which is the basis on which Aboriginal students establish the sense of personal identity and self-esteem. Thus, school culture plays a responsible role in creating a connection between community and curriculum for its Aboriginal students. DiAngelo (2011) believes that during cultural competency training one encounters a challenge to their racial understandings. After this module, my perspective of engaging Aboriginal students in the classroom as a culturally competent teacher is more respectful and

Ways in which an educator can involve Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in their evaluations can be to seek advice and tips on how you can implement cultural safety and education into childcare services; this can help build strong connections and relationships with the indigenous people. Regarding Indigenous cultural safety and education and seeking relevant content the participation from those people helps the services to be culturally safe, acceptance and acknowledgment of Aboriginal and/ or Torres Strait Islander beliefs and practices. Also relevant health care issues, language barriers and kinship requirements should be improved and upgraded, all of these key factors can occur if the educator has a meeting with the relevant

Educators should establish a good rapport and try to gain the trust from the Aboriginal community. Educator’s role is convincing them that their children will receive good education and positive learning throughout

In the past history of Indigenous life, many challenges were present for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, however in our

culture has on the process of learning and teaching. Santoro refers to Morgan and Slade who explore cultural learning tendencies and different views of knowledge, learning and teaching. For Indigenous people, it is suggested that they consider effective learning as being ‘contextual, interdependent, subjective and motivated by community commitment and obligation’ compared to non-Aboriginals where learning tends to be ‘fragmented and theoretical’ (Santoro, 2007). This highlights the need for teachers to be able to reflect on their own intercultural understandings and personal experiences in order to address the needs of diverse students from diverse cultural backgrounds.