102085 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies

Assessment 2 Essay

Name: Keer Zhang

Student Number: 19655198

Reducing inequality has been one of the top priorities in Australian education
in recent years, especially the inequality between Indigenous and non-
Indigenous students. In order to help improve the educational outcomes of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, the Australian Curriculum,
Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) included Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Histories and Cultures as one of the cross-curriculum priorities.
This essay will examine the importance of the cross-curriculum priority in
promoting the reconciliation, respect, and recognition of Indigenous
Australians. It will also discuss how I would engage all students with the
priority in the English classroom by using strategies that cater for the learning
style and language background of Indigenous students, using texts that
represent the experiences of Aboriginal peoples, and working closely with
Aboriginal members of the community.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students experience a range of

disadvantages in their education. Firstly, teachers' low expectations negatively
impact their educational outcomes. A study in North Queensland found that
many teachers view Indigenous students as "lesser" or "not as capable as"
their non-Indigenous peers (Lewthwaite et al., 2015). According to research,
these low expectations could have negative impacts on Indigenous students'
motivations, which could lead to low academic achievements (Lloyd,
Lewthwaite, Osborne & Boon, 2015). Secondly, many Indigenous students
experience racism in schools. According to the 2008 National Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011),
around 6% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people felt that they
had experienced racial discrimination at schools or other educational settings.
Research suggests that racism can have negative impacts on Indigenous
students' academic performance, particularly in English, Maths and Science
(Moodie, Maxwell & Rudolph, 2019). Thirdly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students' learning potentials are limited by the mainstream
educational system. Rahman (2013) argues that in Western countries like
Australia, the learning guidelines in mainstream education reflect white values,
practices and worldviews, which are in contrast to the Indigenous ways of
being, thinking, and, doing. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
education is staged and it develops learners' specific skills, which is different
from Western education where learning is regulated, and participation is
enforced (Price, 2012). As a result, many Indigenous students have to give up
their ways of learning in order to succeed in mainstream education, and for
students who have difficulties adapting to the Western ways of learning, they
respond by withdrawing from education (Rahman, 2013).

In order to address the disadvantages experienced by Indigenous students,

ACARA included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures as
a cross-curriculum priority in the Australian curriculum. The cross-curriculum
priority is significantly important in the promotion for "reconciliation, respect
and recognition of the world's oldest continuous living cultures" (ACARA,
2020), and its importance can be seen through two aspects. The first aspect is
that the cross-curriculum priority allows Aboriginal histories and cultures to be
represented in mainstream education. In the Australian curriculum, the priority
is embedded in all learning areas, aligning with each area's content and
focuses (ACARA, 2020). This allows Indigenous students to feel that their
identities, histories and cultures are recognised and respected in their
education, which is an important step towards reconciliation. The second
aspect is that the priority provides an opportunity for non-Indigenous students
to learn about the histories and cultures of Australia's First Peoples. Through
the cross-curriculum priority, non-Indigenous students learn about the
Aboriginal communities through the key concepts of Country/Place, Culture
and People (ACARA, 2020). This allows non-Indigenous students to develop
respect and appreciation for Aboriginal peoples and their contribution to
society, which plays an essential role in the promotion of reconciliation
(Heaton, 2019).

Since the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-
curriculum priority was added to the Australian curriculum, many scholars in
Australia has researched how to engage all students with the priority in the
classroom. The following section of the essay will discuss three strategies that
research has shown to be effective in meeting the learning needs of Indigenous
students and incorporating Aboriginal histories and cultures in the classroom.

The first strategy is that teachers should use instructional approaches that
cater to the learning style of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. A
study in a school of largely Indigenous students in western New South Wales
found that students were disengaged when teachers use mainstream
instructional methods such as teacher-centred instructions; they became more
engaged once teachers incorporated Indigenised pedagogies into their
teaching, such as using visual symbols and storytelling (Yunkaporta & McGinty,
2009). Storytelling is an important strategy for teaching Indigenous students as
stories are "inextricably entwined with the lives and identities" of these
students. (Harrison & Skrebneva, 2020, p.20). The students in Yunkaporta and
McGinty's (2020) study expressed that learning is more engaging when they
can "watch first and join in for small parts, then take on larger parts", which
indicates the importance of modelling and demonstrations. Another study in
North Queensland found that when learning new content, Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander students prefer collaboration amongst students and
teacher rather than "being talked to" or "listening to learn" (Lewthwaite et al.,
2015). To conclude, to meet the learning needs of Indigenous learners,
teachers can integrate Indigenous pedagogies into their teachings, such as
using visual imagery, storytelling, clear demonstration and collaboration.

The second strategy is that teachers can relate the classroom content to
Country and to the local Aboriginal community. For Indigenous students, using
content related to Country and the local Aboriginal community allows them to
see a link between learning materials and their lives, which makes learning
more engaging. An Indigenous student in a study in North Queensland
expressed that he was able to participate in class and understand difficult
concepts when teachers relate the lesson content to his Country (Lewthwaite
et al., 2015). For non-Indigenous students, learning about the Country and the
local Aboriginal community helps them develop a better understanding of
Aboriginal peoples. According to Harrison and Skrebneva (2020), Country is an
engaging medium for "teaching all students about Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples" as it represents the ontologies of Indigenous Australians (p.
16). Harrison and Greenfield's (2011) study suggest that teachers can
incorporate acknowledgement of Country into lessons and teach students
about the concept of custodianship and connection to Aboriginal land, which
can help develop non-Indigenous students' understanding of Aboriginal
cultures.

The third strategy that teachers can employ is developing a strong relationship
with the local Aboriginal community. According to Harrison and Murray (2013),
working closely with Aboriginal peoples in the community is the most effective
way of helping students and teachers to understand and value Aboriginal
perspectives. Research has found various ways that educators can involve
Aboriginal community members in the life of the schools. For example, a few
schools in Harrison and Greenfield's (2011) study in New South Wales invite
parents of Aboriginal students to come to the school and help students work
on art projects and smoking ceremonies. One school worked with the
community to build an outdoor learning area where they invite Aboriginal
Elders to share stories with the students and teach them about the deep
connections that these stories have with the land (Harrison & Greenfield,
2011). Munn, O'Rourke and Bodkin-Andrews (2013) suggest that schools can
also work with Aboriginal members of the community to organise community
events such as homework centre and sports competitions.

Learning from research on Indigenous education, I have developed three

strategies that I would use to meet the specific needs of Indigenous learners
and to incorporate Aboriginal histories, cultures, and perspectives in the
English classroom.

Firstly, I would use differentiation strategies to cater to the learning needs of

students who speak dialects or Aboriginal English at home. Studies have shown
that many Indigenous students have grown up speaking Indigenous dialects or
Aboriginal English, and they need to learn how to "code-switch" between their
home language and Standard Australian English (S.A.E.) in order to succeed at
school (Rahman, 2013). To support the learning of these students, I would
firstly differentiate the content of teaching and learning by using texts that are
written in local dialects or Aboriginal English. Williams (2011) considers that
using texts written in Indigenous dialects can create a link between students'
home life and school life, which helps to keep students engaged in English
classrooms. I would then differentiate the process of teaching and learning by
using visual symbols, pictures, and graphs when teaching texts written in
Standard Australian English. Lewthwaite et al., (2015) suggest that using visual
images could effectively prompt conversations about the texts before reading.
I would also differentiate the product of learning by giving students the choice
of completing assessment tasks in written, verbal, or visual mode.

Secondly, I would use texts that represent the experiences of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people and engage students in critical reading and
creative tasks related to these texts. Scarcella and Burgess (2019) suggest that
when teaching texts that reflect Aboriginal experiences, teachers need to avoid
tokenism and engage students in an in-depth analysis of these texts. Learning
from this advice, in my future practice, I would engage students in critical
reading of Aboriginal texts where they examine how different elements of the
texts influence the representations of Aboriginal peoples and cultures. For
example, I would ask students to critically analyse how the notion of land and
time is explored in a literary text and its film adaptation, and discuss which
form is more effective in representing the Aboriginal ways of thinking about
land and time. After teaching a text that represents the experience of
Aboriginal people, I would engage non-Indigenous students in a narrative
writing task where they write from the perspective of an Aboriginal character
from the text. Through this activity, students can learn to recognise and
respect the resilience of Aboriginal peoples. (Heaton, 2019).

However, a barrier that needs to be considered is that there are existing texts
written by non-Indigenous people that reinforce the stereotypes of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples. According to Price (2012), texts that include
stereotypes and uses derogatory terms to describe Indigenous Australians are
still available through schools, libraries and bookshops. These texts "assert
white superiority" in the minds of young people, and "encourage distrust,
disrespect, and resistance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students"
(Price, 2012, p. 158). Therefore, in my future practice, I would use texts that
are created by Aboriginal writers and carefully examine the use of words in the
texts before introducing them to students.

Thirdly, I would work with Aboriginal members of the community to

incorporate Aboriginal cultures and perspectives in the English classroom.
Harrison and Greenfield (2011) state that strong collaboration with the
community is a crucial element in the success of positioning Aboriginal
knowledge and cultures in the classroom. ACARA (2020) advises that teachers
should help students develop an appreciation for Aboriginal peoples' oral
narrative tradition. Therefore, a strategy that I would employ in my future
practice is inviting parents and Elders from the community to share stories
with the students, and help students work on oral storytelling projects. I would
also invite Aboriginal writers and filmmakers from the local community to
share their work and discuss their creative process with students. Through this
activity, students can learn about the beauty of Aboriginal literature and film
directly through Aboriginal creators. Another strategy that I would use is to
work with Aboriginal members of the community to build an "Indigenous
Australian Literature Corner" in the classroom where students can access
quality Indigenous literary works. In the book selection process, I would work
with Aboriginal members of the community to ensure that books available to
students in the literature corner reflect a positive and authentic representation
of Aboriginal peoples and cultures.

In conclusion, this essay examined the importance of the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority and discussed
how I would engage all students with this priority in the English classroom. The
essay started by discussing some of the disadvantages experienced by
Indigenous students, including low expectations from teachers, racism, and the
learning rules of the educational system. Then the essay addressed the
importance of the cross-curriculum priority for the promotion of reconciliation,
respect and recognition of Indigenous Australians through its impact on
Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The third section of the essay
provided three strategies that research has proven to be effective in meeting
the learning needs of Indigenous students and incorporating Aboriginal
histories and cultures in the classroom. The final part of the essay discussed
how I would engage all students with Aboriginal histories and cultures in the
English classroom by using strategies that cater to the learning needs and
language background of Indigenous students, using texts that represent the
experiences of Aboriginal peoples, and working closely with Aboriginal
members of the communities.
(word count: 2127)

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