Teaching Social Justice for Indigenous Students with Critical

Race Theory
Leo Ningzhuo Liu Student Number: 2144047

Introduction
The marginalisation of Indigenous people in main-stream Australian society has been a huge
issue for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This essay will argue that education
could potentially shift this marginalisation. It needs to be highlighted that the elimination of all
forms of racism, the recognition of Indigenous cultural identity, and the inclusion of Indigenous
knowledge and perspectives, are all important in achieving the collective goals of Australian
education. This paper aims to explain how I, as a beginning teacher, would teach for social justice
within the framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT), and how I would apply this theory in the
classroom. Furthermore, it will discuss how the Australian Institute for Teaching and School
Leadership (AITSL) graduate standards are met in my teaching practice, and how the practice
would improve learning outcomes for Indigenous students. The key argument is that racism will
not be eliminated until every privileged member of society self-reflects on their role, and learns
to interpret the world from the perspectives of the disadvantaged.

Critical Race Theory

CRT is a theoretic framework of social science; it critically examines the society to find out
whether there is justice in racial issues, and pursues social justice for victims of various forms of
racism. The doctrine of CRT is discussed in a few aspects. First, race is a contrived way of
categorizing people according to their physical attributes, while these attributes have no
corresponding relations with genetic or biological reality (Abrams & Moio 2009, p.251). Second,
racism is a normal fact of daily life in the society, instead of being rare (Taylor 1998, p.122). Racial
discourse may have become a part of the upbringing and environment of those who do not even
consider themselves as racist, and who are unaware of the impact or meaning of their words
(Giles 2010, p.358). Third, covert racist activities need to be revealed through marginalised
perspectives (Schulz 2016, p.26). Injustice is perceived by the oppressed, and those who stand
with them and see the society with their eyes. CRT encourages the combination of theory and
practical work for a better world that has eliminated racism and its detrimental effects.

Applying CRT in the classroom

As an educator, I am obliged to examine my teaching and attitude towards students with CRT and
apply it in the classroom. First, I constantly reflect on myself. As a non-Indigenous teacher and in
turn a representative of institutionalised authority, I must ensure that the distribution of power
and resources within my responsibility eliminates the influence of racial discrimination. It also
includes the examination of the part of society and the institution that I work in, to make sure
that the institutional practices and cultural patterns do not perpetuate racial inequity, even when
this perpetuation does not rely on racist actors (Powell 2001, p.795). The boldness of standing up
against the structural racism that may have accumulated over centuries (Hinson, Healey &
Weisenberg 2011, cited in Schulz 2016, p.20) comes from my firm belief in equity and humanity. I
am privileged as a non-Indigenous teacher, and I more closely resemble a perpetrator in the
framework of structural racism.

Second, I encourage students to stand with the disadvantaged and interpret issues through their
perspectives. The oppression facing people of colour associated with their disempowerment
stems from a combination of discriminations based on race, sex, class, national origin, and sexual
orientation (UCLA n.d.). Empathy towards others is the beginning of generating genuine care and
help. Not long ago, I had the honor of watching a physical theatre work called Sk!n, in which the
audience were thrust into the world of human trafficking, in the scenes that they were treated
inhumanely, acting as the victim, so that the plight of refugees is experienced directly (Keen
2016). In my teaching, I would have students participate in activities such as Sk!n, so that they
would play the role of others, and view the world from the perspectives of the disadvantaged.

Third, I use counter-stories as a tool to produce rich interpretations of historical and current
issues, to avoid students being indoctrinated by dominant ideologies. Majoritarian stories told by
those with wealth, power, and privilege usually paint a false picture in which everyone who works
hard can attain equal opportunity towards success (UCLA n.d.). Counter-stories give a voice to
those who have been silenced and marginalised by white supremacy (UCLA n.d.) and they help to
preserve cultural wealth and the ignored history of Indigenous Australians.

AITSL standards are met

AITSL has developed Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL 2011). My approach of
applying CRT in the classroom meets the AITSL standards in the aspect of understanding the
impact of cultural identity on education. AITSL states that graduate teachers need to
‘demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and
linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
backgrounds’ (AITSL 2011). From a CRT point of view, I realise that the lack of formal
western-style political hierarchies, does not mean Indigenous peoples do not have complex
cultural, spiritual, educational and environmental knowledge, or the presence of intricate social
systems, practices and beliefs (Schulz 2016, p.9). However, for centuries of Australian history, it is
shown that Indigenous education served white interests (Miller 1986, cited in Ford 2013, p.83).
For a long period of time, Indigenous education was limited under a certain level to ensure
labourers with appropriate knowledge served white interests; and Indigenous students once had
access only to missionary education (Ford 2013, p83.). The suppression and limitation on
Indigenous education, and the effort of educating Indigenous students in a western style, has
been detrimental to the preservation and inheritance of Indigenous culture. The critical reflection
on myself based on CRT, as part of the western education system, has encouraged me to
challenge the norms and trappings of systemic racism that might seem benign or invisible (Giles
2010, p.363). The Indigenous cultural identity needs to be decided by Indigenous people
independently, not affected by western elements in the education system in a negative way.
Indigenous people and Indigenous culture should be served as a goal, not be considered as a tool
of serving. The aim of Indigenous education should not be targeting Indigenous learners as
‘human capital’ and preparing them for contributing to the economic well-being of the broader
community (Vass 2015, p.378); the aim should be helping Indigenous people in enhancing the
ability of inheriting, defining and creating Indigenous cultural identity.

Improvement of outcomes for Indigenous students

In Schulz’s (2016) lecture, a counter-story (McDonald 2003, cited in Schulz 2016, pp.28-30) told
by Rasta, an Indigenous man was recorded. In his story, Rasta was forcibly taken away from his
home, and found out that the best way to cope with all his difficulties and awkwardness in a
white dominant school was to keep silent. The story ends up with Rasta not willing to go back to
that school any more.

BabaKiueria (ites 2014) is a 1986 Australian satirical film on relations between Aboriginal
Australians and Australians of European descent. In the film, the positions of white and
Aboriginal Australians were exchanged. Some racial comments and behaviours in the film sound
more outstanding and strange when they are on white people from Aboriginal voices.

The above two examples illustrate the mind-sets of two groups of ordinary people with either
Indigenous or non-Indigenous origin that make reconciliation and positive outcomes of
Indigenous students seem impossible. But these mind-sets are not unchangeable. For
non-Indigenous Australians, they may have been trapped by structural and institutional racism,
so that they may unconsciously have stubborn mind-sets that exert harm. However, when their
views are led to see society through the perspectives of the disadvantaged, their words,
behaviours and ways of thinking, that have been common practices for such a long period of time,
start to become shocking to themselves when their self-reflection begins. This is akin to the
shocking impact of the outside world to a person who has been trapped in darkness for a long
time. Through counter-stories, education based on CRT would make readers not only interested
in the story, but in the story-teller, and their well-being as well. The fact is highlighted that the
characters in the counter-story have the same kinds of emotions and feelings as the readers.
When empathy is raised, bridges of understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
students would start to be built and this would result in an amicable and supportive school
environment. Therefore, it would become possible that what Rasta has experienced would not be
repeated for any other Indigenous student.

For Indigenous students, CRT approaches would help to offer them an environment in which their
cultural identity is valued and respected. Counter-story telling would help those Indigenous
students who find their own culture identity an ambiguity to see more clearly the origin of
Indigenous inheritance, and gain more confidence by recognising and following Indigenous role
models. As mentioned in Rudolph (2011, p.55), acknowledging the importance of Indigenous
culture, knowledge and perspectives, and including them in an Australian curriculum, helps to
draw them from a marginalised position into one of more prominence.

Conclusion
The unfair treatment of Indigenous people and their marginalisation in Australian society and
education, and the denial of Indigenous cultural identity have all contributed to social injustice
that needs to be a fundamentally and systematically tackled. This paper investigates how to
increase social justice in the aspect of racial issues through discussing a pedagogical practice
based on CRT. In order to apply CRT in the classroom, I constantly self-reflect and encourage
non-Indigenous students to reflect on whether racism takes shape through our own mind-set, or
unconscious words and behaviours. Furthermore, I use counter-stories as a tool to change racist
mind-sets, and encourage perspectives that enhance empathy for an amicable school
environment. Overall, Indigenous education can only achieve great outcomes if everyone realises
how unfair power is distributed, and they all need to stand up against all forms of racism.

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