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Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies.

Do the current strategies and resources available in todays teaching climate engage all
students with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-
curriculum priority?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in Australia has extremely deep roots and when

examined closely, can be seen to contain a rich history embedded with aspects of community,

story-telling, and movement. In today’s society, the culture and the history of these people

are present within the teaching sector, although some may argue that the extent is

unsatisfactory.

Theorists such as Lowe (2013), Parkinson (2019), and Maxwell (2018) in particular

acknowledge that there is a lack of sufficient engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander histories and culture. They explore reasoning as to why this may be, which includes

the ‘lack of students’ acceptance of content and level of engagement with it’. This comes

alongside Maxwell’s theory that ‘certain policy problematisations perpetuate contemporary

racialisation’.

Due to this, a need has been born to reassess whether or not the current strategies and

resources available in today’s teaching climate engage all students with the Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-curriculum priority effectively or not. This

essay will look at the current strategies, assess whether they are sufficient and will discuss

how they can be implemented into an English classroom. This is to determine if students are

effectively engaging with the histories and culture of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander

people and to see if this can be executed in a better way.

Current Strategies, Texts & Resources available

Strategies exist which are able to help students within an Australian classroom to all have an

equal opportunity at success in its many forms. One strategy is the ‘Fair Go’ Project (2009)
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which many teachers have engaged with. This strategy has proven to be helpful as it

encourages students of all backgrounds, cultures, and social classes to have a ‘fair go’ at

education. This is completed through equal opportunity learning environments, as well as

educating students of the various paths they may wish to take after the completion of their

schooling, as well as the various paths available. In agreement, Munns et al. (2012) research

shows that the ‘Fair Go’ project allows students from less privileged backgrounds to gain

‘insight into their possible futures, more opportunities and better enjoy their schooling

experience’.

Within the classroom, the ‘Fair Go’(2009) project focuses on providing avenues for work

experience, cultural experiences and creating industry contacts for those involved. By doing

so, the Fair Go project not only gives teachers and educators tools by which they can help

shape student’s futures. They also help to engage non-Indigenous students with Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander culture.

While the ‘Fair Go’ project provides many avenues for future success especially for

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, it lacks specific resources in the form of

worksheets and many physical educating tools. This is one of the few shortcomings of this

approach, regardless this approach holds a strong foundation for providing success to

Indigenous youths in Australia.

In relation to the NSW syllabus document for stage 4 & 5 (NESA, 2020, pp.153,154.). The

syllabus in many cases asks for students to be able to explore concepts of social

sustainability, or how different groups and cultures influenced the ways in which we see

thing today. These expectations from NESA’s curriculum coincide with many of the ‘Fair

Go’ (2009) projects goals also. Included in these are how Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander’s are able to sustain various aspects of their culture, and the effect it has had on
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todays society. From these similar interests, it becomes clear that the Fair Go project can be

considered a good resource which can help students achieve both Australian standards and

cultural standards. As it sheds light onto the issues that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander’s face, while also informing non-indigenous Australians of the same issues.

The Australian government has taken steps forward in recent years towards Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander education. This is seen through various initiatives and strategies, one of

which is the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy (2015). This

strategy focuses on encouraging progress and development in various priority areas in

schools, such as attendance, literacy & numeracy, transition points within the school and

school and child readiness. This strategy would be beneficial to implement due to a variety of

factors, some of which include the monitoring of students’ level of engagement with content

and interaction with peers, among others. This strategy proposed by the government would

help classrooms and teachers within, by giving them a method by which to examine students’

level of achievement during learning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural

features.

Although this strategy has many potential benefits, Maxell et al.(2018) believe that although

the government (ACARA) introduces many initiatives, projects and study opportunities

through the NSW curriculum. The Australian Government are still ‘systemically perpetuating

the negative stereotypes’ which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are trying to

rid themselves of. Maxwell et al.(2018) explain that this result is achieved because the

government has implied that through the required syllabus data which is specific to

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, students of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander descent often experience issues relating to educational underachievement’. Therefore

this vicious cycle perpetuates itself and causes issues and strife for Indigenous students.
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One of the organisations which is attempting to combat against this is the stronger smarter

institute (2013). They fight against negative stereotypes which relate to Aboriginals and

Torres Strait Islanders, instead they focus on teaching students that ‘being Indigenous and

embracing your culture gives you strength’. The Stronger smarter institute(2013) explains

that its goal is one which helps students to see that ‘their Indigenous culture is special and

that it should give them hope, strength and pride’. The stronger smarter institute (2013) also

has the goal of combining various aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture

into students regular classroom practices and learning. As doing so will educate non-

Indigenous students about the various cultures they share their land, home, and country with.

Similarly, Dyment, Hill & Emery (2014) found through their study that ‘sustainability and

recognition of the issues being faced’ (such as lack of promotion of reconciliation and an

uneducated lack of respect for these cultures also.) from an Indigenous standpoint are

important issues which require more attention.

My Practice

Teaching in a secondary school comes with its fair share of daily issues and demanding tasks,

many of which are central to students education and require a lot of attention to address

sufficiently. Among those is the fact that in many schools there is a ‘lack of Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander culture and importance being taught’ (Kanu, (2005). Therefore, when

considering that I as a pre-service teacher wish to implement Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander culture into the classroom. A careful hand must be used to create a space which

allows for discussion and exploration of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories

and Cultures, within both everyday life and within the cross-curricular priority via NESA and

the NSW syllabus.

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This can be achieved through 3 key aspects which are a part of a teachers everyday classroom

activities and behaviour, these aspects are, Inclusion, Acknowledgement and Change.

Inclusion is a vital part of any classroom and due to this it is important that teachers explore

how they are able to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders feel a greater sense of

inclusion. One way in which this may be achieved according to Perso & Hayward (2015) is

through the inclusion of local languages and traditions in the school environment. This would

help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to feel more comfortable as they are able

to experience something that they would normally find in their homes at school.

Another way which inclusion can be implemented is through the research of Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander texts and resources which provide a clearer look at some of what the

Indigenous lifestyle entails. This may be achieved through resources such as the ULURU

statement (2017) as well as Films and other media depicting major turning points in the lives

of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, such as Rabbit Proof Fence & Mabo. These

resources grant a look into the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, allowing

us to examine the significance of the tradition and culture which has persevered through the

ages.

Acknowledgement is the second aspect which is imperative to creating a classroom culture

which embraces Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions and practices. It helps

Indigenous students by providing context and acknowledgement of the hardships they

endured. Acknowledgement also provides opportunities for secondary students to appreciate

the results of other people suffering, efforts and hardships. This comes in many forms and is

observed through examples such as the National Sorry Day and Kevin Rudd’s apology

(2008). As it acknowledged Aboriginal peoples suffering and that their culture is valued and

that they are indeed ‘citizens’ and the original owner of the land which is Australia.
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Unfortunately, in regard to the sincerity of these matters Lowe (2013) believes that ‘while the

government says they are trying to help, there seems to be a lack of intention to engage fully

with the potential of the changes it employs’. While this could also be said regarding many

schools, facilities and curriculums, it is important to also keep an eye out for the positive

changes and the long-lasting effects these have.

The ‘Fair Go’ (2009) project previously mentioned does a great job of providing a scaffold

for how teachers can create a space which fosters both encouragement and inclusion. This is

done through its informative practices as they allow for students to experience difference in

the way they perceive the world around them.

Change is the third way in which a space can be created that sufficiently supports, nurtures

and is adaptable enough to support localised approaches and goals. Change can come in the

form of shifting focus, to variety of the exercise or resource being used. Parkinson (2019)

explored in her article varying types of change and which showed the largest and important

gaps within the curriculum currently and in her classroom and larger community. Parkinson

found that there was a need for the curriculum to offer more in terms of ‘critical-oriented

learning opportunities’ in addition to what the curriculum already explores.

This can be realised through the implementation of empathic tasks in the classroom as well as

tasks which require students to objectively perceive their surrounding and others’ culture.

The 8 ways framework (2020) of teaching and learning is a powerful approach which can be

taken, which in turn helps students learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture

through story sharing, symbols & images, community links and more. This in turn can help to

enhance students ability to link their understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

culture with the curriculum and how they learn. Thus giving them a deeper knowledge and

understanding of society and how culture shapes it.

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This alongside models such as the Quality Teaching Framework (2003) allow teachers and

educators to systematically ensure higher and deeper levels of understanding and learning in

their students. Both of which call for higher standards which helps raise levels inclusion of

individuals in the content they are learning, a firm need to acknowledge mistakes and

shortcomings in both literature and culture, and a large amount of change which is

desperately needed within many classrooms today.

In conclusion there are many resources and ways in which Aboriginal culture is taught in

schools, although it is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that their classes are

inclusive, that they respectfully acknowledge and that appropriate change is made to meet the

many needs of students.

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References
8 Ways. 8 Ways Online. (2020). Retrieved 24 August 2020, from https://www.8ways.online/.

Department of Education, (2015). National Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Education

Strategy. Australian Government. 1-12. Retrieved from:

https://docs.education.gov.au/node/45966

E. Dyment, J., Hill, A., & Emery, S. (2015). Sustainability as a cross-curricular priority in the

Australian curriculum: A Tasmanian investigation. Environmental Education Research,

21(8), 1105-1126.

Fair Go Australia Foundation, (2009). Fair Go Australia Foundation | Inspiring Brighter

Futures. [online] Available at: https://fairgoaustralia.com.

Kanu, Y. (2005). Teachers' perceptions of the integration of Aboriginal culture into the high

school curriculum. Alberta journal of educational research, 51(1).

Lowe, K., & Yunkaporta, T. (2013). The inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

content in the Australian National Curriculum: A cultural, cognitive and socio-political

evaluation. Curriculum Perspectives, 33(1), 1-14.

Maxwell, J., Lowe, K., & Salter, P. (2018). The re-creation and resolution of the ‘problem’of

Indigenous education in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cross-curriculum

priority. The Australian Educational Researcher, 45(2), 161-177.

Munns, G., Arthur, L., Hertzberg, M. L., Sawyer, W., & Zammit, K. (2012). A fair go for

students in poverty: Australia. Changing schools: Alternative ways to make a world of

difference, 167-180.
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(NESA) English K–10 | NSW Education Standards. (2020). Retrieved 22 August 2020, from

https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/english-

year-10/english-k-10

NSW Department of Education. (2003). Quality teaching in NSW public schools. NSW

Government.

Parkinson, C., & Jones, T. (2019). Aboriginal people’s aspirations and the Australian

Curriculum: A critical analysis. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 18(1),

75-97.

Perso, T., & Hayward, C. (2015). Teaching Aboriginal students: Cultural awareness and

classroom

strategies for improving learning outcomes. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Sarra, C. (2013). StrongerSmarterProgram. Strongersmarter.com.au. Retrieved 24 August

2020, from https://strongersmarter.com.au/.

Uluru Statement from the Heart. Uluru Statement from the Heart. (2015). Retrieved 24

August 2020, from https://ulurustatement.org/.