Executive Director of the Carumba Institute Professor Peter Anderson has joined forces with Monash researchers Zane Diamond and Sun Yee Yip to outline their latest research.

The Australian Government’s Closing the Gap framework was set up in 2008 to address systemic Indigenous disadvantage. The idea of ‘school readiness’ is embedded into that framework, along with the expectation that Indigenous families bring their children to school ready to learn.

When children aren’t ready, the implication from the education system is that Indigenous culture and Indigenous parents are to blame. Instead we asked: how ready are Australian schools to respond to the educational needs of Indigenous children? Here’s what the research found.

How ready are teachers to help Indigenous children reach their full potential?

Our analysis highlighted three critical areas of concern looking at teacher readiness.

1. A shortage of Indigenous teachers

The presence of First Nations staff and Indigenous culture in the school enhances Indigenous students’ sense of belonging to the school, their enrolment, and school participation. It creates visible First Nations role models in the school community.

More than five per cent (5%) of the student population in Australia is Indigenous. And yet First Nations educators make up only two per cent (2%) of the total teacher workforce. The lack of Indigenous teachers at the systemic level leads to the silencing of professional Indigenous voices, particularly in the formulation of Indigenous education policies.

Pre-service teacher training continues to be preferred by Indigenous students entering higher education, but it is negated by high rates of attrition of in-service Indigenous teachers. These teachers are leaving the profession due to high rates of racism, a heavy workload and lack of recognition.

2. Inadequate training and professional development for non-Indigenous teachers

A study of almost 1,000 early career teachers in Victoria and Queensland showed teachers felt unprepared to teach diverse learners, including Indigenous students. Another study in NSW showed non-Indigenous teachers felt they lacked the skills and knowledge to teach Indigenous perspectives in their program as required by the Australian Curriculum.

The Australian professional standards require Australian teachers to demonstrate competencies in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and their histories, cultures and languages through Focus Areas 1.4 and 2.4. However, pre-service teachers have been shown to receive little preparation to meet those standards. Further research highlights superficial approaches to both teacher training and professional development, and the presence of deficit views by teachers when it comes to their Indigenous students.

3. Problematic interactions between non-Indigenous teachers and Indigenous students

Indigenous students’ learning experiences, attendance, engagement and overall perception of school are heavily influenced by their relationships with teachers. Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes shape their classroom learning environment, and their relationships with students.

However, most non-Indigenous teachers have little to no direct contact with the Indigenous community, and have an inadequate understanding of Indigenous cultures, knowledge and learning styles. The strengths of Indigenous children are not harnessed in lesson design, and instead a deficit mentality can prevail.

Research shows that understanding students and their culture is essential to building a positive learning environment for Indigenous students. Unconscious bias and a deficit mentality need to be set aside. Teachers need to draw on their understanding of Indigenous learners’ ways of knowing, the knowledge they bring into the classroom and how their cultural practices, values and beliefs shape them as learners.

Teachers who adjust their way of teaching to the needs of Indigenous students, and who link their curriculum to local Indigenous communities, are more successful in engaging First Nations learners and managing their behaviours.

How ready is our curriculum to support Indigenous students?

It is essential to have a high-quality curriculum that is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives. When the curriculum is relevant to the lives of Indigenous students, it’s been shown to enhance their sense of positive self-identity and strengthen their sense of attachment and connectedness to school. Both of these lead to positive school outcomes. Non-Indigenous students also benefit from learning about Indigenous culture, addressing racism and discrimination and a more positive school culture at the same time.

However, our deep dive into the research revealed a number of challenges:

1. Tensions in embedding Indigenous content in the Australian Curriculum

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority was introduced for all young Australians to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of Indigenous histories and cultures, knowledge traditions and holistic world views.

However, there have been cultural and political tensions with this initiative. There are issues about what constitutes essential content, and even when implemented, studies have shown it to be superficial and tokenistic.

Finally, when the cross-curriculum priorities are framed as a solution to address educational underachievement and disengagement in Indigenous students, it positions Indigenous people, histories and knowledge in a deficit.

2. Lack of appropriate and relevant school-based curriculum

Including Indigenous content is mandated in the Australian curriculum, but another significant challenge is the ability of a school to customise its curriculum to engage both its Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

When done well, it has been shown to be an effective way to engage Indigenous students with mainstream education, strengthen their identity – both as Indigenous people and as learners – and to improve the status of local Indigenous knowledge.

3. Awareness of how language barriers impact Indigenous students

Research has also shown that Indigenous students may face a language barrier to learning content, if their first language is not English. The school curriculum needs to recognise and accommodate students’ linguistic backgrounds and capabilities, and teachers need to be skillful in scaffolding the learning of these students.

How ready is our pedagogy to encourage excellence in Indigenous students?

Schools and teachers need to develop a genuine understanding of Indigenous students’ learning styles, communication patterns and the conditions that facilitate learning. This allows teachers to better understand behaviours in school and incorporate effective learning activities.

Yet there is a lack of research about what a culturally-responsive pedagogy – or way of teaching – might look like in Australia. Part of the problem lies in the lack of Indigenous voices in developing Indigenous pedagogies. The research lacks definitions and detail, and is commonly conducted in remote locations and is specific to where it took place.

Of the research available, it usually identifies general strategies to engage and support Indigenous students, rather than improve their educational outcomes.

This presents challenges in identifying effective teaching frameworks that can be applied more broadly in both urban and rural areas.

Put simply, teachers have little research evidence to draw upon to guide Indigenous students in their learning.

But what we do know is that learning outcomes of both teachers and students improve when Indigenous knowledge and approaches are embedded into classrooms through the genuine involvement of Indigenous researchers.

Is the school culture and environment ready?

Research shows a positive school culture that makes First Nations students feel welcome, safe and valued is vital in supporting Indigenous students’ attendance, engagement and education success.

A positive school culture has many layers.

• It promotes and values Indigenous culture;
• Fosters a positive sense of Indigenous identity;
• Develops appropriate and relevant curriculum for students;
• Sets high expectations for staff and students;
• Establishes partnership with Indigenous families and communities.

Having strong and effective school leadership is a key driver in creating a positive school environment as this directs and guides many practices that support the educational outcomes of Indigenous students.

Racism and bullying, commonly reported by Indigenous students, are major roadblocks to a positive school culture. Indigenous students who have experienced racism and bullying show lower academic achievement, school withdrawal, de-identifying as Indigenous, emotional distress and a negative perception of their intelligence and academic performance.

Another barrier to a positive school culture for Indigenous students is the shortage of Indigenous staff and teachers experienced in many schools. It results in a lack of visible Indigenous role models in the school community.

When present, these staff serve as a link for Indigenous children between home, community and school, help develop networks and enhance a feeling of belonging. Their presence has also been shown to improve enrolment and participation and can act as advisors and mentors for teachers.

It’s time for solutions

Our research was a deep dive into all available studies about Indigenous education, and revealed how our educational system is not prepared to support the effective education of Indigenous students.

It also revealed a significant lack of solutions being offered to many of these well-documented issues. For example the shortage of Indigenous teachers has been highlighted in several reports, but the papers did not tackle in depth the underlying reason for such a shortage, nor propose a means to address it at a systemic level.

Similarly the lack of Indigenous teachers’ voices and insights has been identified as a significant barrier to the development of an effective strategy to address issues of school readiness, yet programs to increase Indigenous leadership in education have been insufficiently mobilised, funded or evaluated.

Until schools and the wider education system are able to proactively respond to properly educate Indigenous children, it is schools – rather than children and their families – who need to be driven by the idea of ‘school readiness’.

Indigenous education from an Indigenous perspective

We can look to Worawa Aboriginal College, a school for young Aboriginal women from all over Australia. Aboriginal philosophy is central to the school’s curriculum design. Aboriginal ways of knowing, content and context are presented in keeping with intrinsic values and complexity.

The school places a strong focus on nurturing and building Aboriginal identity and pride. It celebrates Aboriginal culture as a crucial part of self-esteem and wellbeing.

The model of Worawa Aboriginal College could serve as a benchmark for other schools and is a powerful example. Principal Dr Lois Peeler AM summarises the school's approach to this:

Students need three things for a good future:

• pride and confidence in themselves and in culture
• strong education, especially in literacy and numeracy, but in all the main areas of school
• a safe, fit and healthy lifestyle.

References

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Bullying in an Aboriginal context
Coffin, J. M., Larson, A., & Cross, D. (2010), The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39(1), 77–87.

Closing the gap: Using graduate attributes to improve Indigenous education
Anderson, P. J., & Atkinson, B. (2014). International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, 12(1), 135–145.

Cultural Responsiveness and School Education With particular focus on Australia’s First Peoples: A Review & Synthesis of the Literature
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Culturally responsive schooling for Indigenous youth: A review of the literature
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Each Australian school should employ an Indigenous educator: World vision
Chrysanthos, N. (2020, June 7). The Sydney Morning Herald.

Early career teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to teach ‘diverse learners’: Insights from an Australian research project
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Effective behaviour management strategies for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students: A literature review
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Indigenous Australians and preschool education: Who is attending?
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Positive learning environments for Indigenous children and young people
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Teaching Indigenous children: Listening to and learning from Indigenous teachers
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The impact of racism on the schooling experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students: A systematic review
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The journey to ‘Big School’: Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s transition to primary school
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Theory and research on bullying and racism from an Aboriginal Australian perspective
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Transforming Indigenous education
Sarra, C. (2011), in N. Purdie, G. Milgate, and H. R. Bell (Eds.), Two way teaching and learning: Toward culturally reflective and relevant education. ACER Press.

‘We’re the mob you should be listening to’: Aboriginal Elders at Mornington Island speak up about productive relationships with visiting teachers
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