Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Option 1:
When supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student learning, success and
achievement (McGaw, 2016, p. 15-16). As such, policies enacted, such as the 2008
Aboriginal Education Policy, the Closing the Gap report and the 2008 Melbourne
Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians attempt to redress disparities faced
by Indigenous Australians, and may be used to forge real institutional change within
schooling environments. Leading from this, essential components for improving Aboriginal
student learning, success and retention, hinge on culturally competent educators of whom
engage and collaborate with the wider community, including parents, carers and Elders to
and academia, and facilitate a positive sense of identity within Aboriginal and Torres Strait
competencies and “build positive learning relationships with Indigenous children” (Price,
2015, p. 177). Within integrating these components, this provides opportunity to privilege the
voice and concerns of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in supporting
youth with knowledge and skills required to navigate society. This generally stands
particularly important for Indigenous Australians, who currently have “lower levels of
educational attainment than non-Indigenous Australians” with the available data showing a
significant gap in school attendance between Indigenous and non-Indigenous (Purdie &
1
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
Bucket, 2010, p. 1). Within 2017, the grade 7 to 12 Apparent Retention Rate for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander students was standing at 62.4% in 2017, up from 59.8% in 2016
(ABS, 2018). However, comparatively the 2017 National Apparent Retention Rate for non-
Indigenous Australian full-time students remaining in school until grade 12 was 84.8%; an
increase from 84.3% in 2016, conveying a difference of 22.4% with Apparent Retention
Rates within schools between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students (ABS,
2018). Purdie and Bucket (2010, p. 1) discuss reasons manifesting from a “combination of
home, school and individual factors” being involved in the absence of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander students, with the Prime Minister’s annual report to Parliament on progress in
Closing the Gap suggesting a “range of underlying issues such as housing, health care,
Australia, 2016, as cited in Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2017, p. 35).
However, the various causes are contested from differing perspectives with most Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander parents and students stressing school-related factors, such as poor
teaching and lack of engagement as reasons, whereby educators stress parental attitudes and
the home environment, such as poor attitudes toward education (Purdie & Bucket, 2010, p.
1). This stands particularly relevant to current Indigenous Australian retention concerns, as
“students who are engaged, both in academic and social matters … tend to stay in school”
with students from families with lower education, with adverse attitudes toward schooling or
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student learning, success and retention. Within this, the
2008 Aboriginal Education Policy put forward a commitment to improve retention rates,
2
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
education, seeking to “value the skills, experiences and knowledge of Aboriginal people and
will … increase the participation and retention of Aboriginal students in schools (1.3.1)”
(NSW Department of Education, 2008). Furthermore, the Prime Minister’s annual report to
Australians discloses intention to close the attendance gap by the end of 2018, due to the
“acknowledgement of the strong link between school attendance and student performance”
(Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2017, p. 35). However, the report recognises
this lack of progress in improving rates, conveying “no meaningful change in the national
Indigenous [Australian] school attendance rate from 2014 (83.5 per cent) to 2016 (83.4
Aboriginal students is key Aboriginal community engagement, with Jones and Harris-Roxas
emphasising as “establishing strong relationships between schools and the communities they
serve has long been recognised as a necessary component of education” (2009, p. 9). The
2008 Aboriginal Education Policy advocates consultation and working with local Aboriginal
dispositions and conversational processes needed to develop quality relationships within the
classroom, staffroom and school community” and to create a learning environment where
students can thrive and succeed and develop a positive sense of identity (Stronger Smarter
Institute, 2014, p. 19). In utilising a high-expectations approach, most “families and the
community feel welcomed within the school and support the school in promoting good
student behaviour and school attendance” (Stronger Smarter Institute, 2014, p. 20).
3
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
“dynamic that underpins failure for many Aboriginal students, and start to confront problems
of low attendance and low achievement, rather than laying the blame on the children and the
teaching and learning strategies which involve working from what children already know,
making content relevant while also explaining why it is important, and using practical, hands-
on examples” (Sarra, 2011, as cited in Stronger Smarter Institute, 2014, p. 18-19). Within
these high-expectations, I would utilise a framework such as the Universal Design for
Learning (UDL) of which proposes a curriculum based off three principles: multiple means
engagement, to enable a “broader access to school for all students, therefore encouraging
my classroom would take strides to dismantle ‘deficit discourse’, of which posits that most
“Indigenous [Australian] children are less able to learn than their non-Indigenous
counterparts because of their external situation”, rather taking a stance to acknowledge each
individuals strengths and capacity, to create spaces of equal power (Stronger Smarter
Institute, 2014, p. 4). Investing in high-expectations ensures most Aboriginal students feel
“supported, cared for and engaged with their learning, and teachers understand and use the
high quality teaching strategies that best support student needs” therefore building positive,
respectful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and supporting
and improving Aboriginal student learning, success and retention (Stronger Smarter Institute,
2014, p. 20).
4
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
collaboration are endorsed through the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
(APST) and the nationalised Australian Curriculum, auspiced by the Australian Institute for
Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) and the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and
Reporting Authority (ACARA) respectively, to “make clear the knowledge, practice and
Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians underpins the goals and
commitments of the Australian Curriculum and APST, in “promoting equity and excellence”
for all students (MCEETYA, 2008, p. 13). Cross-curriculum priorities (CCPs) within the
Strait Islander histories and cultures, through a conceptual framework of which “comprises
the underlying elements of Identity and Living Communities and the key concepts of
Country/Place” (ACARA, 2016). This framework provides opportunity for students to gain a
deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and
participate positively with the culture through deepening knowledge and connection
(ACARA, 2016). The NSW Education and Standards Authority (NESA) further implement
these CCPs, as guided by and recognition of key principles and protocols of recognition,
Furthermore, the APST pledges to provide quality and effective teaching and provide
carefully shaped opportunities for culturally responsive pedagogies, through three domains of
each of these domains standing applicable to Aboriginal student learning, success and
retention. The support of Aboriginal student learning is directly addressed through ‘Standard
1.4: Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ and ‘Standard
5
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
2.4: Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote
and appropriately address it within lessons, and to recognise the cultural identity of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students as a “construction, a product and an effect of
social and historical relations” (St, Denis, 2007, p. 1070 as cited in Price, 2015, p. 177).
Standard 1.4 and Standard 2.4, such as the Western NSW Eight-Ways framework, to provide
insight into bringing Indigenous Australian ways of being and knowing into the classroom,
through “eight interconnected pedagogies that see teaching and learning as fundamentally
holistic, non-linear, visual, kinaesthetic, social and contextualised” (Yunkaporta & Kirby,
2011, p. 1). Furthermore, my Key Learning Area (KLA) of English enables unobtrusive
within the 2017 Closing the Gap Report, (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
2017, p. 38) to develop reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Within this, utilising
to understand certain texts such as narratives or poetry, aligns closely with utilising a literacy-
developing Reading to Learn (R2L) strategy in seeing an “overall meaning, purpose and
structure first and then breaking it down into manageable chunks” (Yunkaporta & Kirby,
2011, p. 208). Furthermore, I would ensure to utilise culturally responsive material to provide
students the “opportunity to engage with texts that give them experience of the beliefs and
value systems of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples” (NESA, 2012). Furthermore,
in both English KLA’s, as well as my secondary KLA of History, through the utilisation of
yarn circles as a transmission of knowledge. This could allow a discussion of oral histories
6
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
and stories through a receptive Indigenous Australian pedagogical framework. Further than
this, utilising culturally responsive practice within my classroom such as inviting Elders to
communicate their stories as speakers within aforementioned yarn circles on a class or whole-
school level, allocating a dedicated Elders’ and parents’ room, or through ensuring inclusion
sense of identity, as the presence of respected Indigenous Australian mentors or role models
encourage “pride, self-identity and reduce alienation from school for Indigenous youth”
(Jones & Harris-Roxas, 2009, p. 16). Further than mere inclusion, when these Indigenous
leaders, school staff and others are provided a positive role to play within the school, and
there is a clear value and respect, “students [can] start to see the school and teachers
Institute, n.d.). Furthermore, the APST provide an advocation for safe, inclusive and
challenging learning environments in a fair and equitable manner and to demonstrate respect
when interacting with students, parents, carers and the wider community, evident through
notably through ‘Standard 3.7: Engage parents/carers in the educative process’, ‘Standard
4.1: Support student participation’ ‘Standard 7.3 Engage with the parents/carers’ and
‘Standard 7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities’
(AITSL, 2011, p. 4). As such, the national standards have the potential to effect real
institutional change through recognising the importance of working with parental and
show Elders and community that their input is highly valued and that you are willing to learn
7
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
network, to ensure a positive sense of identity and enhance the academic outcomes of
of positive identity, with Malin (1990, cited by Rahman, 2012) conveying a failure to
recognise the cultural characteristics and backgrounds of three Aboriginal students resulted in
their “underachievement at school and the teachers’ negative views of their behaviours in
class” (p. 663). These positive relationships can be developed with students through teacher
actions such as “speaking kindly, calmly and slowly and being sensitive to the social codes of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students”, or through the incorporation of culturally
responsive pedagogies, such as Eight-Ways (Lloyd, Lewthwaite, Osborne, Boon, 2015, p. 6).
Furthermore, Lloyd, Lewthwaite, Osborne and Boone (2015) emphasise in the process of
developing these relationships, the inclusion of community in school life stands fundamental
to ensuring the home to school transition was continuous rather than disruptive (p. 6). Within
this, I would propose to invite Aboriginal and Islander Education Workers (AIEWs) as
as inviting Elders to teach culture within the school and my classroom (Lloyd, Lewthwaite,
Osborne, Boon, 2015, p. 6). It is within this celebration of cultural identity, experience,
language and knowledge that the development of positive, respectful relationships with
students and community matures, thus enabling efficacious support for Aboriginal student
learning, success and retention. (Lloyd, Lewthwaite, Osborne, Boon, 2015, p. 6).
a cultural competency when promoting a positive sense of identity within Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander students and implementing culturally responsive pedagogies stand
8
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
outcomes and retention rates. Within these expectation and learning environment,
engagement with the community including parents, carers, elders and the wider community
build a positive school culture for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
9
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
Reference List
and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. Retrieved August 21st, 2018 from:
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-
priorities/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-histories-and-cultures/
Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2018, February). Schools, Australia, 2017: Summary
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4221.0main+features22017
https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/apst-
resources/australian_professional_standard_for_teachers_final.pdf
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2017). Closing the Gap: Prime Minister’s
https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/ctg-report-2017.pdf
Harrison, N., & Sellwood, J. (2016). Learning and teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander education (pp. 70-99). (3rd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University
Press.
Jones, A., & Harris-Roxas, B. (2009). The Impact of School Retention and Educational
10
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
Sydney: Centre for Health Equity Training Research and Evaluation (CHETRE):
http://hiaconnect.edu.au/old/files/Impact_of_School_Retention_on_Indigenous_Stude
nt_Wellbeing.pdf
Lloyd, N. J., Lewthwaite, B. E., Osborne, B., & Boon, H. J. (2015). Effective Teaching
Practices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students: A Review of the
http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2015v40n11.1
McGaw, B. (2006). ‘Achieving quality and equity education’, Adelaide: University of South
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/hawkecentre/events/2006events/BarryMcGaw_presentation_A
ug06.pdf
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educat
ional_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf
https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/aboriginal-education-and-
training-policy
NSW Education and Standards Authority. (2012). Learning Across the Curriculum. Retrieved
k10/learning-across-the-curriculum/
11
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/529813ed-9bef-4cd6-98d0-
3605ff6cfed5/nesa-commitment-to-aboriginal-education-final-4-
july.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD]. (2012). Equity and
Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264130852-en
Price, K. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education: An introduction for the
teaching profession (2nd ed.). Port Melbourne, VIC: Cambridge University Press.
Purdie, N., & Buckley, S. (2010). School Attendance and Retention of Indigenous Australian
Students. (No. 1). Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved 20th August,
2018 from:
https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1045&context=indigenous_e
ducation
Rahman, K. (2012) Belonging and learning to belong in school: the implications of the
hidden curriculum for indigenous students, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics
http://strongersmarter.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/20180612-SSI_position-
Paper_High-Expectations-Relationships-2018.pdf
12
Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
http://www.strongersmarterplm.edu.au/content/index/summary2
Yunkaporta, T., & Kirby, M. (2011). ‘Yarning up Indigenous pedagogies: A dialogue about
eight Aboriginal ways of learning’, in R Bell, G Milgate & N Purdie (eds.) Two Way
Teaching and Learning: Toward culturally reflective and relevant education, ACER
https://vuws.westernsydney.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-3691390-dt-content-rid-
27634200_1/courses/102085_2018_2h/individual-investigation-of-a-learning-theory-
aboriginal-pedagogy.pdf
13