102085 - Aboriginal and Culturally Responsive Pedagogies

Summer 1A - Assessment 1
18593424 - Chris Tierney

For students to be fully engaged and reach their educational potential they need to be
behaviourally, emotionally and cognitively engaged.

Q3. What are these essential components that can build positive, respectful relationships with
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and reduce the use of punishment and
suspension? Assess how you as a future secondary classroom teacher develop the key skills,
values and relationships with future school communities

Aboriginal Australians have only recently come to the forefront of education in Australia as
diverse and highly capable learners and have often been dismissed due to a low rate of school
completion and lower literacy and numeracy levels. In a Western based education system,
Aboriginal Australian children have often found it difficult to conform to the expectations of a
Western classroom and Western disciplinary systems whilst also maintaining a sense of
Aboriginal identity. This essay aims to highlight the essential components of positive, respectful
relationships between teachers and students whilst also reducing punishment and suspension.
This essay also aims to discern how to best implement these programs into teaching praxis that
engage students to reach their maximum educational potential especially in the area of Music.

Teachers are expected to incorporate Aboriginal and community based educational contexts
into their teaching practices. The importance of this inclusive educational practice has
determined that working closely with Aboriginal people is the most effective method of assisting
student-teachers to understand and empathise with an Aboriginal perspective (New South
Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Incorporated, 2004; Harrison and Greenfield,
2011). Placing the onus to empathise and take the perspective of Aboriginal Australian
communities on teachers is not ideal, as schools on the whole need to work collaboratively with
Aboriginal Australian communities to increase the amount of Aboriginal perspectives in the
curriculum (Muir, Rose, & Sullivan, 2010). Teachers who are able to generate an understanding
of local Aboriginal Australian culture are able to build on this knowledge to form positive and
respectful relationships with local communities and, as a result, generate a better understanding
of how to engage with students emotionally and cognitively. In the subject of Music,
collaboration and cultural sensitivity is important in the reproduction and performance of music
of non-Western cultures. Aboriginal Australian music is also greatly based on the location of the
people and the geographic landmarks surrounding that location, which means that the music will
be extremely diverse in the manner in which it is performed, as well as the content of the music
itself (Bell, 1998). Chadwick and Rrurrambu (2004) devised a musical program that required
highly trained music industry professionals, as the trained music teachers did not have the
necessary skills required to provide industry level outcomes. Music tutors also need to be very
empathetic to Aboriginal Australian students and have a great knowledge of Aboriginal
Australian music. Hence, Chadwick and Rrurrambu (2004) selected musicians from Papua New
Guinea, and from all around Australia to work as music tutors in this project to provide
vocational music education to Aboriginal Australian students. Having an emotional connection to
the music and the music tutors is an excellent demonstration of creating positive and successful
relationships between students, and teachers who have a greater understanding of Aboriginal
Australian behaviour and how to engage students without the need for punishment or
suspension.
However, as the large proportion of teachers are not Aboriginal Australians themselves (Patton,
Lee Hong, Lampert, Burnett, & Anderson. 2012) this process of recruiting large numbers of
specifically trained musicians is not ideal. As a result, the education process of non-Aboriginal
Australian music teachers should be examined and refocused into a more direct method of
instruction so that Aboriginal Australian music students are able to reach a more industry
specific outcome. Currently pre-service secondary music teachers are required to meet the
standards of the Australian Institute for Teaching and Leadership (AITSL) at the completion of
their degree and in practice during their career (Australian Institute for Teaching and School
Leadership, 2015). AITSL outlines two main standards that teachers must utilise during their
career for Aboriginal Australians - 1.4. Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students; and 2.4. Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. However, only
one of these standards demonstrate the creation of positive relationships between teachers,
students and communities, and neither mention the reduction in punishment and suspension for
Aboriginal Australian students. The standards also do not mention the possibility of non-
Aboriginal Australian students utilising Aboriginal Australian industry professionals to develop
outcomes that are of a more suitable nature to Aboriginal Australians who wish to undertake a
less Westernized perception of the music course outlined by the Board of Studies Teaching and
Educational Standards (BOSTES). BOSTES also include some provisions for Aboriginal
Australian content in the years seven to ten music course through cross-curriculum priorities,
contexts in the mandatory music course, compulsory topics and objectives in select assessment
areas (Board of Studies New South Wales, 2003). However, there are no direct methods of
forming relationships with Aboriginal Australian students in the Music curriculum outlined by
BOSTES, so much of the relationship formation is left up to teachers to develop the best way to
form positive and respectful relationships with Aboriginal Australian students and communities.
Realistically, this does not give enough support or information to future and current non-
Aboriginal Australian teachers on how best to approach the foundations of relationships with
these students.

The relationships formed by Aboriginal Australians and non-Aboriginal Australians are critical in
the formation of both academic and non-academic goals (NHMRC, 2003). The National Health
and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has determined six values that lie at the heart of the
formation of positive relationships with the Aboriginal Australian community. These are: Spirit
and Integrity, Reciprocity, Respect, Equality, Survival and Protection, and Responsibility.
Employing these values when developing relationships with Aboriginal Australian students and
communities will have a positive impact on behaviour and emotional development in a
classroom. It may also develop the personal growth and understanding of an individual teacher,
in order to become a critical member of the school who can liaise with future and current
teachers and Aboriginal Australian community members and students. Standard 2.4. of the
AITSL Professional Standards for teachers makes it very clear that understanding and
respecting Aboriginal Australian students is beneficial to the creation of positive relationships
(Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2015). However, this standard is only
present in its highest form at the Lead career stage whereby teachers can become vital
members of the local school and Aboriginal community, and aid colleagues and non-Aboriginal
Australian students alike to develop a respect for Aboriginal Australians histories, cultures and
languages. This means that to reach this level at least five to ten years of career teaching is
required to reach the Leading status, as there are three prior career stages that may take
more than a single year to both accomplish and document the completion of. For many
teachers, the aforementioned values of Integrity, Reciprocity, Respect and Equality are already
large parts of their teaching philosophies, and, as teachers consider themselves role models for
their students, diversity and cultural understanding plays an important role in many classroom
(Lumpkin, 2008). However, many teachers may fall short in the integration of the values of
Survival and Protection, Spirit and Responsibility within the creation of meaningful and positive
relationships. In a Western tradition Spirit can be imposed through some Catholic and other
religious schools and may create a meaningful experience in the creation and understanding of
how Spirit works for Aboriginal Australian students. Some teachers may have a deeper
connection to the idea of Spirit but it may not be quite the same definition that Aboriginal
Australians relate to. For many Aboriginal Australians, the religious schools may be out of reach
as they are often high fee-paying schools which may not be suitable for some students (Good
Schools Guide, 2013). Survival and Protection is something that many teachers may not be
privy to. Survival and Protection refers to the preservation of Aboriginal Australias cultures and
identities from erosion due to colonisation and marginalisation. Forming relationships and
promoting the protection of Aboriginal Australian culture in the classroom is a defining factor in
maintaining a behaviourally and emotionally engaged classroom with Aboriginal Australians, as
a means of reducing punishment and suspension. Currently, the support for the protection and
survival of Aboriginal Australian culture in the area of Music relies on the appreciation and
understanding of Aboriginal Australian music through listening and performance (Board of
Studies New South Wales, 2003). A third area of composition may be relevant for Aboriginal
Australians themselves, but may be difficult for non-Aboriginal Australian teachers and students
to create in a sincere and genuine manner that is reflective of Aboriginal Australian cultures.
This may be an appropriate place for the collaboration between teachers and Aboriginal people,
to help teachers understand and empathise with an Aboriginal perspective (New South Wales
Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Incorporated, 2004; Harrison and Greenfield, 2011)

Aboriginal Australian students are often disregarded as too difficult or too unwilling to
participate or learn in a classroom. These dismissive ideas and low expectations have negative
impacts on the relationships between students and teachers, and do not allow Aboriginal
Australian students to engage cognitively in a classroom. The inclusion of a program which
allows students to be held to high expectations is essential, as low expectations can create low
self-efficacy and low self-importance. Shinkfield (2014) reveals the importance of such a
program, which was created in cooperation with Charles Darwin University (CDU) and several
schools with large Aboriginal Australian cohorts. The Into Uni program gave Aboriginal
Australian students a high standard to reach toward and to accomplish with the support of a
system which provided a similar education style to a university, with units of study dedicated to
a distance education style of learning. These advanced learning styles generate an
understanding of the amount of work Aboriginal Australian students will be undertaking in future
years and provides students with an appropriate level of expectation that is matched by their
non-Aboriginal counterparts. The AITSL Professional Standards for Teachers do not specifically
mention high expectations for Aboriginal Australian students in standard 1.4. or 2.4 (Australian
Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2015). However, part of the professional practice
heading standard 3.1. specifically refers to the development of high expectations for all
students. This can often be ignored for students who may be falling behind others in their cohort
which allows students to fly under the radar for the sake of just passing students so that a
teachers performance does not come into question. The BOSTES music curriculum for years
seven to ten makes note that standards for students must be high, but realistic, and repertoire
should reflect students needs, experiences, expectations, backgrounds and levels of musical
development (Board of Studies New South Wales, 2003). The clarification of the expectations
of students that are high, but realistic set out by BOSTES appropriately allows for the
completion of higher level academic achievement whilst also maintaining an understanding that
students are not expected to complete tertiary level music assessments.

The support for teachers in the creation of supportive and positive relationships with Aboriginal
Australian students is limited. AITSL relies on the development of a teachers career over
several years to become proficient in the understanding of how best to approach Aboriginal
Australian pedagogy, and relationships between teachers and students and the Aboriginal
Australian community. BOSTES allows for teachers to implement some aspects of Aboriginal
Australian cultural identity into the music program whilst also providing a lot of space for
teachers to develop their own style of teaching and programming for the music curriculum.
However, these are not necessarily direct enough for teachers who may have had very limited
contact and connection with Aboriginal Australians, and who may require a lot of assistance in
the propagation of these relationships and classroom management skills without resorting to
punishment or suspension. Some teachers may have a deep misunderstanding of Aboriginal
Australian mannerisms and behaviours and misconstrue certain behaviours as disruptive,
however these teachers may be failing to utilise a variety of learning styles and assessment
types which allow all students to reach their full potential regardless of cultural identity. Pre-
service teachers are also limited in the amount of support they receive for teaching Aboriginal
Australians in a manner which allows effective connections with the students cognitively,
emotionally and behaviourally, with most universities only offering one to two units of Aboriginal
Australian pedagogical material per course. In future, a greater variety of support, such as more
readily available resources provided by governing bodies and more direct learning strategies
provided in pre-service teacher education, for future and current teachers should be
implemented to allow teachers to become the best possible teachers they can through the
formation of positive and supportive relationships with Aboriginal Australian students and
communities.
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