Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies

Option 1:

When supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student learning, success and

retention, it is essential to implement an education that fosters positive, respectful

relationships. It is essential to recognise Australia’s position as a ‘high-quality, low-equity’

country within education, whereby social background substantially influences educational

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

implement culturally responsive pedagogies, ensure high expectations inclusive of attendance

and academia, and facilitate a positive sense of identity within Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander students. Fundamental to each of these components is an “engagement with, and

participation by, local indigenous [Australian] communities” to develop cultural

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

Aboriginal student learning, success and retention.

Education stands as a vitally important avenue to empower Indigenous Australian

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 &

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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,

mental health issues, family violence and intergenerational unemployment” (Mission

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

inability to support their children due to an array of undeterminable or unavoidable reasons,

having a higher likelihood of dropping out (OECD, 2012, p. 19-20).

Key policy documents have been implemented as an imperative to improve

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,

noting the fundamentality of attendance for engagement, participation and success in

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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

Parliament on progress in Closing the Gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous

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

percent)” (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2017, p. 35).).

An essential component in addressing and improving retention and success of

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

communities ensure “Aboriginal people participate as equal partners in education (1.6,

1.7.1)” (NSW Department of Education, 2008). In integrating the community, high-

expectations relationships in the school provide a framework to describe the “behaviours,

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).

Furthermore, within this high-expectations approach, educators need to recognise the

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“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

complexities of their communities” (Stronger Smarter Institute, 2014, p. 8).

As a future educator, the application of a high-expectations approach within my

classroom would be paramount, whereby I would “adopt high-order, high-expectations

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

of representation, multiple means of action and expression and multiple means of

engagement, to enable a “broader access to school for all students, therefore encouraging

students’ participation, addressing all possible educational needs” (García-Campos, Canabal

& Alba-Pastor, 2018, p. 2-3). However, within implementing a high-expectations approach,

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).

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Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies

Furthermore, culturally responsive pedagogical practices and community

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

professional engagement required as an educator” (AITSL, 2011, p. 2). The Melbourne

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

nationalised Australian Curriculum emphasise implementation of Aboriginal and Torres

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,

respect, engagement and collaboration, strengths-based approaches, accountability,

reciprocity and planning (NESA, 2017).

Furthermore, the APST pledges to provide quality and effective teaching and provide

carefully shaped opportunities for culturally responsive pedagogies, through three domains of

teaching – professional knowledge, professional practice and professional engagement – with

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

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Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies

2.4: Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote

reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians’ (AITSL, 2011, p. 9, 11).

Cultural competency is essential to achieve these national standards, to recognise diversity

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).

Within my classroom, I would utilise culturally responsive pedagogy relevant to

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

implementation of literacy strategies, identified as an area of need for Aboriginal students

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

culturally responsive practice such as the ‘deconstruct-reconstruct’ model within Eight-Ways

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,

I believe the ‘story-sharing’ component of the Eight-Ways framework could be implemented,

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

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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

of the community in decision-making processes, further engages the local Aboriginal

community to support effective school and classroom planning processes.

Furthermore, collaborating with the community facilitates a development of a positive

sense of identity, as the presence of respected Indigenous Australian mentors or role models

at school, along with an appropriate proportion of Indigenous teachers is believed to help

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

differently and classroom relationships can be significantly improved” (Stronger Smarter

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

community strengths and “building trust through a relationship of reciprocity” to “explicitly

show Elders and community that their input is highly valued and that you are willing to learn

from the community” (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016, p. 73-74).

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As such, in supporting Aboriginal student learning, success and retention within my

classroom, I would ensure to develop positive student/teacher relationships as a support

network, to ensure a positive sense of identity and enhance the academic outcomes of

Indigenous Australian students. Cultural competency is essential in underpinning the support

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

“cultural intermediaries between students, community and non-Indigenous teachers”, as well

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).

As such, in supporting Aboriginal student learning, success and retention, facilitating

a cultural competency when promoting a positive sense of identity within Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander students and implementing culturally responsive pedagogies stand

fundamental within the learning environment. High-expectations leadership encapsulates the

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process, being inclusive of expectations of attendance and learning to improve educational

outcomes and retention rates. Within these expectation and learning environment,

engagement with the community including parents, carers, elders and the wider community

enables opportunities of ownership, collaboration and accountability within education, to

build a positive school culture for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

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Jennifer Arts 18025558 Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies

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