Research Teaching and Learning - 102097

Part A: Literature Review

How can educators build on improving a safe and supportive learning
environment for Indigenous students?

It necessary for educators to continuously build on improving the learning setting for

indigenous students to be in a safe and supportive environment. This begins with

context-awareness which allows teachers to gain better knowledge on how to

integrate certain, relatable approaches into their teaching methods. Acquiring

knowledge on the theoretical, conceptual and pedagogical principles stimulates an

innovative teaching approaches on improving and managing issues to improve

results and willingness to learn.

Understanding factors such as their environment, family background and their

economic status (Law, 2005; Miliszewska and Horwood, 2004) allows for room in

which educators can focus their practices to be adjusted in a manner that provides

agency for motivation and engagement. Studies show that finding students’

motivation provides opportunity for teachers to create activities which aid students by

improving the way in which content is taught. Integrating content in a manner that

relates and engages students, enhances their desire to learn and develop

academically. There are many ways in which teachers have introduced various

methods of teaching to create a supportive classroom environment for Indigenous

students. Chen and Huang, (2012) discusses how teachers introducing cultural

similarities and differences through various formats such as outdoor teaching,

exercise experiments and filmstrips in classrooms has had a positive impact on

students.

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Various research highlights the importance of how a supportive environment

correlates to students’ development in learning. Creating a space in which students

feel safe to discuss, research and understand content has shown evidence of

improvement. Zepke and Leach’s article Improving student engagement: Ten

proposals for action (2010) reviews research that brought forward findings that

deliberated the effects of positive teacher student relationships. Research provided

evident change in students’ results based on the actions that have been taken by

educators to build an environment that not only promotes safety for them to learn but

a supportive and interactive setting to push students to strive in bettering

themselves. Zepke and Leach’s (2010) article uses both qualitative and quantitative

studies to highlight the actions that are required in order to create a safe and

supportive environment for student thus leading to their engagement.

Creating a supportive and safe environment begins with recognising students’ self-

belief and their experiences with what surrounds them. Grasping knowledge on their

cultural background and adapting methods that cater to their needs through investing

in support services drives an enrichment to students’ academic abilities.

Understanding the relationships that influence and foster learning relationships

enables teachers to create educational progress. With the focus on Indigenous

students, qualitative research within the article by Brayboy and Castagno (2009)

brings forward evidence regarding Indigenous students’ reading and literacy skills

and the correlation it has with their engagement and lack of support. Brayboy and

Castagno (2009) highlights that “community and culture-based education best meets

the educational needs of Indigenous children”. Within this article, the approach that

shows evidence for academic success stems from the culturally responsive model

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which proves that communities and schools that are more culturally aware provided

programs for Indigenous students that catered to their needs. These programs were

not solely focused on academic progress but on creating an inclusive environment

for students to interact with teachers and with one another in order to build

relationships. These relationships then encourage students, through their

connections to be more motivated and comfortable to engage and participate within

class. Culture-based activities creates a sense of connection for students that allows

for them to be more inclined to engage with content. Activities that integrate cultural

aspects such as music and imagery shifts teaching methods that assimilates

students into a more inclusive environment. Associating culture within teaching

practices is a fundamental approach that “builds a bridge between a child’s home

and culture” (Pewewardly & Hammer, 2003), improving the way in which students

learn and achieve in school.

Studies conducted within the article Teaching Indigenous Children: Listening to and

Learning from Indigenous Teachers by Santoro, Reid, Crawford & Simpson, (2011)

illustrates evidence found that despite their intentions, most teachers have an

“inadequate understanding of appropriate pedagogies and the complexities of

Indigenous cultures, knowledge and identities” (Brayboy & Maughan, 2009; Malin &

Maidment, 2003; Partington, 2003; Villegas, Neugebauer, & Venegas, 2008). The

Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2007) has shown that most of the educationally

disadvantaged group of students are those from an Indigenous background.

Research within this article further exemplifies that due to the lack of cultural

awareness among educators most students are misplaced into special needs

classes; their needs being misdiagnosed (De Plevitz, 2006). The education systems

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and teacher education committee constantly undergo the consistent challenge of

preparing teachers to productively work with Indigenous students. There is a push

for teachers to prepare themselves on the different pedagogical approaches they

need to invest in their teaching practices but in order to do so they need to try

understand Indigenous world views and the grasping knowledge on the challenges

that these students face in a ‘White’ schooling system (Santoro, Reid, Crawford &

Simpson, 2011). Studies further back the notion of the importance of building

relationships with Indigenous students and communities as teachers play an

important role in creating opportunity for the production of a safe and supportive

environment. Formalising these opportunities begins a chain of support in which

students may feel a sense of connection to these programs organised for them.

Formalising these opportunities can begin from class activities like understanding a

certain cultural tradition; this sets a certain time to integrate cultural recognition in

including Indigenous understanding into the classroom. Bringing knowledge on

cultural practices, values and beliefs has shown in studies that it gives students the

chance to express their social and personal experiences as they now positioning

themselves with the support of teachers and peers to explore their connection to

their culture and the people around them.

Indigenous education can be enhanced through the eight ways pedagogy. The eight

ways pedagogy is a framework that has been designed to respond to the needs of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. It supports students and teachers

within the schooling environment by emphasising on areas such as “narrative-driven

learning, land-based learning, and connectedness to community” (AITSL, 2017). The

eight ways pedagogy consists of the following: Story Sharing, Community Links,

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Learning maps, Deconstruct Reconstruct, Non-Verbal, Symbols and Images, Land

Links and Non-Linear. The eight ways pedagogy not only validates and teachers

Aboriginal content but it teaches it through Aboriginal Culture. This pedagogical

approach not only enhances learning and inclusivity for Indigenous students but for

all students (Pain Australia, 2012). This framework has been built to aid both

teachers and students in understanding the Indigenous culture and to take

approaches that effectively support and create a safe environment for Indigenous

students.

It is evidently illustrated throughout many articles with supporting research that

creating a safe and supportive environment for Indigenous students takes place in

many forms. It is not just through the way teachers approach their teaching practices

but also in the way they learn to understand students personally and their culture. An

essential aspect of creating a safe and supportive environment is produced from the

relationships teachers build with Indigenous students and the relationships that are

aided in developing with their peers.

Part B: Data Collection Protocol: Observation

Below are questions that will not be directly asked to students. Students are to be
observed and the data collected will be gathered by answering the following:
 How has the teacher/educator created a safe and supportive environment for
the whole class?
 How has the teacher/educator created a safe and supportive environment for
Indigenous students?
 Are there specific programs designed to include students from Indigenous
backgrounds?
 Have the eight ways pedagogy been implemented in any lessons?
 Have there been any relation to Indigenous Culture in any lessons?
 What support system is provided for students with an Indigenous
background?
 In which ways was there a form of inclusivity for Indigenous students in the
teachers’ practice?

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The following is a consent form to be signed by students:

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Part C: Data Collection Protocol Explanation

This Data Collection Protocol has been designed to employ qualitative data through

the use of observation done by the researcher. The researcher observes a set of

classes answering a questions that are not directly asked to students or teachers but

for their own personal use to gather information on the topic at hand. This

observation is conducted in a manner that allows for students and teachers to

continue on with their day to day practices. The observations made are based on the

information the researcher is gathering on how teachers build a safe and supportive

environment for Indigenous students (Efron & Ravid, 2013).

These questions are developed broadly, based on the in-depth analysis that was

constructed in the literature review (Jacob & Furgerson, 2012). The questions have

been created to allow for the researcher to target and experience first-hand within a

schooling environment whether these issues are being targeted. The questions bring

forward the necessary information that the researcher is trying to gain on the sub-

topic. The research has been conducted provides access to the overarching

research topic on ‘how do educators create a safe and supportive environment’. This

sub-topic stems from the overarching research topic constructed by other pre-service

teachers whom with their own sub-topics have targeted various focuses on how

educators create a safe and supportive environment for the certain students they are

focusing on. The results gathered from the various sub-topics can then be used to

delve into the approaches and practices teachers and students take place in when

creating a safe and supportive environment and whether these sub-topics results

contain any similarities and/or differences and if so why.

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This qualitative approach on the sub-topic takes place within the educational

environment as it allows for deeper research to take place in seeing whether certain

pedagogical and social issues are being addressed within schools. Understanding

the school culture and the relationship between teachers and students provides an

insight on the engagement of students with their peers and their academics. This

insight more evidently than not correlates as seen in previous studies and research

with the environment that students are placed in. The questions created based off

the sub-topic generate inquires that allows the researcher to review whether certain

pedagogical approaches are taking place, whether there are frameworks and

practices that are being employed within the classroom to give students the

opportunity for inclusivity. It is also used to shed light on the challenges that students

and teachers face that may not be necessarily recorded in a quantitative approach.

Due to its relaxed nature, the observation that takes place utilises its position in a

manner that uses the questions as a guide for the necessary information; allowing

the researcher to gain a deeper understating on the school’s setting and approaches

on how they handle the construction of a safe and supportive environment for

Indigenous students. This data can then be developed and gathered into the bigger

picture on the ways educators practice and create a safe and supportive

environment for all their students.

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References:
AITSL. (2017). Eight Ways of Learning. Retrieved from
https://www.aitsl.edu.au/tools-resources/resource/eight-ways-of-learning-
illustration-of-practice
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2007). ABS directions in Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander statistics, Catalogue no. 4700.00. Retrieved November 23, 2008,
from
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4700.0Main%20Fea
tures4Jun
%202007?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4700.0&issue=Jun%
202007& num=&view=
Brayboy, B., & Castagno, A. (2009). Self‐determination through self‐education:
culturally responsive schooling for Indigenous students in the USA. Teaching
Education, 20(1), 31-53. doi: 10.1080/10476210802681709
Chen, C. and Huang, T. (2012). Learning in a u-Museum: Developing a context-
aware ubiquitous learning environment. Computers & Education, 59(3),
pp.873-883.
De Plevitz, L. (2006). Special schooling for Indigenous students: a new reform of
racial discrimination. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 35, 44-
53.
Efron, S. E., & Ravid, R. (2013). Action research in education: A practical guide. New
York, USA: Guilford Press.
Jacob, S. A., & Furgerson, S. P. (2012). Writing Interview Protocols and Conducting
Interviews: Tips for Students New to the Field of Qualitative Research. The
Qualitative Report, 17(42), 1-10. Retrieved from
http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol17/iss42/3
Law B (2005) Experiential learning in the context of educating for a sustainable
future: Is it an appropriate pedagogy for shifting teachers’ thinking and
engaging learners? Set no. 3
Malin, M., & Maidment, D. (2003). Education, Indigenous survival and well-being:
Emerging ideas and programs, The Australian Journal of Indigenous
Education, 32, 85-99.
Miliszewska I and Horwood J (2004) Engagement theory: A framework for
supporting cultural differences in transnational education, in Transforming
Knowledge into Wisdom: Proceedings of the 27th HERDSA Annual
Conference, Miri, Malaysia, 4–7 July: http://www.herdsa.org.au/?page_id=170
[accessed July 2010].
Partington, G. (2003). Why Indigenous issues are an essential component of teacher
education programs. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 27(2), 39-48.

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Pewewardy, C. and Hammer, P. 2003. Culturally responsive teaching for American

Indian students, Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education
and Small Schools
Villegas, M., Neugebauer, S. R., & Venegas, K. R. (Eds.) (2008). Indigenous
knowledge and education: Sites of struggle, strength, and survivance.
Harvard Educational Review Reprint Series No. 44. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
Education Press.

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