ACRP 2H 2019 Assessment 1 – Option 2

Matthew Munoz 17822099

Introduction

“… Aboriginal Learners continue to be the most educationally disadvantaged

student group in Australia.”. (NSW Department of Education and Training [DoE] &
NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Incorporated [AECGI] 2004, pp. 11)

It is undeniable that Aboriginal people have endured oppression and

resistance throughout history as a result of colonisation and eurocentrism (Price,
2015). The impact of this has resulted in prolific racially related issues and deeply
embedded ‘cultural resistance’, particularly against Aboriginal people feeling as if
they are being forced to engage in Western education, which has led to substantial
inequities for Aboriginal people in regard to health/healthcare, education and
employment, particularly when compared to non-Aboriginal Australians (Bodkin-
Andrews & Carlson, 2016). As outlined in Closing the Gap Report (Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2019) it is the duty of educators to strive for equity for
Aboriginal Learners.
Despite this issue being widely known, there is ongoing resistance to
adequately address the negative effects of these inequalities facing Aboriginal
people through continuing ignorance and undermining of the significant racism which
reinforces discrimination and prejudices that damage the wellbeing and identity of
Aboriginal people (Bodkin-Andrews & Carlson, 2016). Thus, it is crucial that the
Aboriginal culture and its people are treated with their due respect and treated as
equals, rather than lesser, within Australia’s education system.
For these amendments to occur, recognition of the diverse needs of
Aboriginal Learners must be addressed in mainstream education by showing
acknowledgement of their culture and showing respect to the strengths of Aboriginal
communities (Deer, 2013). Sarra (2014) states that teachers play an essential role in
ensuring that Aboriginal Learners receive high quality teaching, particularly teachers
who respect the diverse nature of their students and strive to create healthy and
mutually respectful relationships with them. Therefore, so as to achieve this, I, as a
future educator, will strive to uphold the NSW Aboriginal Educational Policy (AEP)
(NSW Department of Education [DoE], 2010), meet the criteria’s outlined in the
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) (Australian Institute for

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Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL], 2011) and utilise the eight-way framework
of Aboriginal Pedagogy (Yunkaporta, 2012)

Importance of inclusion for Aboriginal Learners

An important aspect for a positive educational experience for Aboriginal

Learners is fostering an inclusive, supportive, environment which encourages them
to maintain a strong cultural identity. It is our duty as educators to veer away from
harsh disciplinary practices which perpetuate alienation and exclusion of these
students and rather focus on amending the root causes of misbehaviour. Sarra
(2010) states that is important for teachers to actively support students to preserve
their cultural identity, whilst being taught in environments where Aboriginal Learners
are typically a minority. This then begs the question; how do we focus on enriching
the cultural identity of our student whilst also adhering to syllabus requirements? The
first step to achieving this is cultural competency. As defined by Perso (2012),
cultural competency is being able to compassionately and respectfully engage in
communication, interactions and understanding of individuals from different cultures
through adequate knowledge of appropriate actions, attitudes and behaviours. A
wide cultural lens can help strengthen a student’s cultural identity as it enables
educators to understand contemporary issues facing Aboriginal Learners and thus
allows teachers to adapt their teaching to address the unique needs of their students
and enhance the connection of learning activities to student’s lives.
Consequently, strong cultural competence allows teachers to achieve APST
Standards 1.4 - and 2.4 (AITSL, 2011). This also addresses point 1.2.1 of the AEP
which specifies the need for providing quality education for Aboriginal Learners, as
cultural competency enables teachers to have greater understanding of how to
appropriately interact with and teach Aboriginal Learners which in turn also satisfies
point 1.3.1 as it can enhance student participation and retention rates (DoE, 2010).

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Importance of appropriate pedagogy

The eight-ways pedagogy is a culturally responsive model which serves as a

middle ground between mainstream Western and Aboriginal learning methods which
allows teachers to effectively integrate Aboriginal perspectives into their classrooms
by using teaching strategies which are highly relevant to Aboriginal Learners
(Yunkaporta, 2012). The eight-way framework includes the use of storytelling and
sharing, visual learning maps, increased use of symbols and images, links to the
land and reinforcing community links, all of which are traditionally used in Aboriginal
culture to impart and share information to support and develop their community. By
utilising this framework and its accompanied strategies, educators can effectively
connect with Aboriginal Learners as these learning techniques have a higher degree
of relevancy to their everyday lives and thus can improve engagement and
participation (Yunkaporta, 2012).

Price (2015) suggests that for teachers to optimise their engagement and
quality of teaching, they must use the APST as a guide for their professional
practice, particularly standards 1 and 2 which states that to achieve high quality
learning, teachers must know their students and how they learn, as well as being
knowledgeable of the content and how to present it to their students (AITSL, 2011),
Yunkaporta (2012) highlights the importance of supporting the connection between
Aboriginal Learners and their heritage to strengthen their cultural identity which can
enhance engagement levels. Through implementation of the eight-ways framework,
teachers can also satisfy the needs of standards 1.4 and 2.4, which focus on
addressing the particular needs of Aboriginal Learners and can create stronger
connection between student and teacher, thus reducing student misbehaviour, and
consequently reduce the rate of suspensions (AITSL, 2011; Bloomberg, 2004).

Effects of disciplinary practices

“… Aboriginal Learners continue to be the most educationally disadvantaged

student group in Australia, with consistently lower levels of academic achievement
and higher rates of absenteeism and suspensions than among non-Aboriginal

Learners.”.(NSW DoE & AECGI, 2004, pp.12).

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This quote gives us an insight into the negative experience Aboriginal
Learners are faced with during their education. One of the primary concerns of
teachers and parents alike, is appropriate classroom management. Cultivating safe
and supportive environments for students to learn is essential for providing high
quality learning. There are many disciplinary strategies teachers can utilise to
improve classroom management, such as detention or out-of-school suspension
(OSS) / in-school suspension (ISS), which are reserved for more significant issues
(Blomberg, 2004). OSS being the final resort prior to expulsion is deemed the most
severe disciplinary strategy will be the focus of this section, as Aboriginal Learners
have significantly higher rates of suspension than their non-Aboriginal peers (NSW
DoE, 2004)

OSS has been met with mixed results regarding its overall effectiveness.
Although it obviously does remove students who are potentially dangerous or
extremely or disruptive from negatively impacting classes, these at-risk students
receive little-to-no benefit in the long run. Perhaps the most prominent concern with
OSS is that it oftentimes will push away students who are in the most need of
support from the school. Forms of suspension shifts the entirety of fault on the
student, rather than acting as a driver for schools to evaluate whether they have
adequately met the student’s needs (Bloomberg, 2004). OSS is frequently used as a
relief strategy for teachers but does not address the root causes of the misbehaviour
and in regard to learning and sustained behavioural improvement, it rarely serves its
purpose, as students rarely learn from their misbehaviour and often end up being
suspended repeatedly (Morrison & Skiba, 2001). It is also a common pattern that
students at risk of suspension have difficult home situations or suffer from
depression, mental illness and therefore suspending these students and forcing
them to stay at home in a (potentially) unsupervised environment can create new or
worsen existing problems the student is facing, as students fall into a vicious cycle
due to receiving less quality teaching while they are suspended, which leads them to
fall even further behind in their education (Skiba & Peterson, 1999).

In summation, the literature regarding OSS suggests that it is not a

particularly effective disciplinary practice which does not offer at-risk students much
benefit in the long run. It is deemed as a reactive measure rather than one that

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amends the root causes of misbehaviours, and perhaps highlights that school culture
or organisation needs to share the blame for student misbehaviours (Bloomberg,
2004).

Incorporating strategies into teaching

Being aware of the importance of addressing the particular needs of

Aboriginal Learners, I believe that cultivating a strong sense of acceptance and
cultural identity is essential for supporting academic success and reducing
misbehaviours. Appropriate acceptance and respect of Aboriginal culture requires a
thorough understanding through adequate education (Craven, Yeung & Han, 2014).
Accordingly, I will actively strive to continue to develop my knowledge and
understanding of Aboriginal culture, perspective and history, as well as integrating
them into my Physical Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE)
teaching by utilising the eight-way framework. By doing so, I will be able improve my
own cultural competency as well as that of my students, whilst additionally satisfying
standard 6 of the APST by engaging in professional learning (AITSL, 2011).

For instance, implementing yarning circles into theory lessons, which are a
traditional method of sharing and learning information within Aboriginal culture, can
be utilised for discussions to foster healthy communicative relationships between
teachers and peers, can support the story sharing of the eight-ways pedagogy
(Yunkaporta, 2012). This would include presenting an explanation of yarning circles
and their usage purposes, history and significance within Aboriginal culture. This
satisfies point 1.1.3 of the AEP as it improves understanding and knowledge of
Aboriginal culture (Doe, 2010), whilst also satisfying standard 1.4 and 4 of the APST
by cultivating supportive and positive environments for students, with a focus on
addressing the needs of Aboriginal students (AITSL, 2011).
The nature of this collaborative teaching strategy preserves cultural
knowledge and encourages development of respectful relationships between
students and teachers and supports the passing down of cultural practices
(Yunkaporta, 2012). Yunkaporta (2012) highlights that this practice can assist non-
Indigenous students to build respect towards develop a better understanding of
Aboriginal culture. As such, this particular activity is an example of a teaching

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strategy which I will incorporate into my future teaching career as it supports
Aboriginal Learners in feeling connected to their cultural identity and traditional
practices (Perso, 2012).
In effect, improved sense of acceptance and connectedness for Aboriginal
students can have positive effects on engagement and motivation, which in turn
leads to reduced misbehaviours, and as a result, fewer misbehaviours which result in
suspension (Deer, 2013).

Furthermore, connection to community is an important aspect in creating

respectful and positive relationships between teachers and Aboriginal Learners
which can support improved student engagement and behaviour, and reduced
incidences of misbehaviours resulting in suspension (Craven, Yeung & Han, 2014).
Craven, Yeung & Han (2014) state that appropriate consultation with Aboriginal
communities and elders is essential in creating suitable curricular resources which
support Aboriginal Learners in educational environments, as well as highlighting the
importance of optimising classroom engagement when imparting knowledge about
Aboriginal culture. Active efforts to foster positive cultural partnerships are an
example of strategies I will use in my teaching, as guided by the community links
recommendation outlined in the eight-way pedagogy (Yunkaporta, 2012), as
research has shown that positive educational experiences for Aboriginal Learners
has a degree of dependency on proper utilisation of culturally appropriate and
relevant pedagogical practice (Price, 2015). For instance, bringing in mentors who
are important members of the Aboriginal community, such as parents or elders, to
share their knowledge and teach traditional Aboriginal sporting activities, which
would be implemented into my practical PDHPE lessons. By doing so, this would
satisfy point 1.1.6 of the AEP (DoE, 2010), as it involves collaboration with Aboriginal
people, whilst also meeting the criteria for standards 6 and 7 of the APST, which
specify engaging in professional learning, and with parents and community
members.
Thus, engaging with Aboriginal community members in schools is suggested
to have a positive effect on the cultural identity as Aboriginal Learners benefit from
having positive cultural role models involved with their learning allows for improved
understanding and appreciation for their culture and its history (Perso, 2012).

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Additionally, I will endeavour to establish and maintain high expectations with

my students, which is an aspect which teachers often forget, particularly prevalent
against Aboriginal Learners due to unconscious prejudices (Craven, Yeung & Han,
2014). Stronger Smarter Institute [SSI] (2018) highlight the preconceived perceptions
about the capabilities and behaviours of Aboriginal Learners. To ensure that I
maintain high expectations for Aboriginal Learners and non-Aboriginal Learners
alike, I will continually partake in self-reflection practices which develop my cultural
competency and alleviate any conditioned perceptions about the capabilities of any
students, particularly Aboriginal Learners. To support high expectations, I would
utilise the eight-way pedagogy strategy of creating diagrams or mind-maps which
explicitly specify the standards needed to achieve high marks for a particular
assessment task. This acts as a visual representation of the high expectations set for
Aboriginal Learners and non-Aboriginal Learners alike (Yunkaporta, 2012). By
incorporating and displaying high expectations that are outlined in point 1.6.1 of the
AEP (DoE, 2010), this will cultivate a supportive environment for learning, as
specified by standard 4 of the APST (AITSL, 2011). This in turn will allow me to
enhance the quality of teaching being provided to Aboriginal Learners to optimise
their education so that are able to thrive and achieve desired educational targets, as
outlined in point 1.3.1 of the AEP (DoE, 2010).
In doing so, Aboriginal Learners are given the education they deserve to
become stronger individuals and smarter learners which will reduce prevalence of
suspension through improved student behaviours and engagement levels (Sarra,
2010).

Conclusion

In summary, the education of Aboriginal Learners should be supported

through positive, healthy relationships with their teachers and peers. By utilising the
recommendations and strategies outlined by the AEP, APST and eight-way
framework, teachers can play their part in reducing prevalence of suspensions and
student misbehaviours, as well as cultivate respectful, strong relationships with
Aboriginal Learners through culturally competent teaching and learning strategies,

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which develop appreciation of Aboriginal culture and to better understand and
acknowledge its rich and wonderful history as the first inhabitants of the land.

Word count including in-text references: 2309

Word count excluding in-text references: 2199

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