No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
‘Teaching from the Heart’: challenges for non-Aboriginal teachers teaching Stage 6 Aboriginal Studies in NSW secondary schools
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2020
Abstract
This paper explores the unique challenges, experiences and circumstances that enable and/or constrain non-Aboriginal teachers involved in teaching the Stage 6 Aboriginal Studies syllabus in the New South Wales (NSW) curriculum (2010). Drawing on the yarning inquiry methodology of Bessarab and Ng'andu, seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Aboriginal Studies teachers to open a powerful and insightful dialogue pertaining to the complexities and challenges for non-Aboriginal teachers teaching in the Aboriginal Studies space. Interview data identified key issues, strategies and themes relating to how non-Aboriginal teachers of Aboriginal Studies negotiate and operate in highly contested knowledge spaces, their roles and responsibilities as social justice educators and their capacity to enact substantive change within and beyond the Aboriginal Studies classroom. Nakata's cultural interface theory provides a useful tool for data analysis as Aboriginal Studies sits squarely at the centre of this interface. The findings provide valuable insights and practical recommendations for aspiring and current non-Aboriginal Aboriginal Studies teachers seeking to develop a clearer understanding of their, thus far under-researched, roles within the classroom, whilst opening an intriguing dialogue pertaining to the future of Aboriginal Studies in schools and its place within Australia's broader movement for conciliation.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , December 2021 , pp. 304 - 311
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press
References
Aboriginal Studies Association (2014) Why Aboriginal Studies Matters. Sydney: Aboriginal Studies Association.Google Scholar
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2014) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. Sydney: Author, Retrieved 10 October 2017, Available at https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculumpriorities/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-histories-and-cultures/.Google Scholar
Beresford, Q (2003) The context of Aboriginal education’. In Beresford, Q and Partington, G (eds), Reform and Resistance in Aboriginal Education: The Australian Experience. Perth, WA: University of Western Australia Press, pp. 10–68.Google Scholar
Beresford, Q (2012) Separate and equal: an outline of Aboriginal education. In Beresford, Q, Partington, G and Gower, G (eds), Reform and Resistance in Aboriginal Education. Perth, WA: University of Western Australia, pp. 85–119.Google Scholar
Beresford, Q and Partington, G (2012) The context of Aboriginal education. In Beresford, Q, Partington, G and Gower, G (eds), Reform and Resistance in Aboriginal Education. Perth, WA: University of Western Australia, pp. 35–84.Google Scholar
Bessarab, D and Ng'andu, B (2010) Yarning about yarning as a legitimate method in Indigenous research. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies 3, 37–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodkin-Andrews, G and Carlson, B (2014) The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian identity within education. Race, Ethnicity and Education 19, 1–24.Google Scholar
Booth, S (2014) Teaching Aboriginal Curriculum Content in Australian High Schools. Perth, WA: Edith Cowan University Press.Google Scholar
Burridge, N (2009) Perspectives on reconciliation and Indigenous rights. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Journal 1, 111–128.Google Scholar
Buxton, L (2015) Classroom Teachers Meeting the New National Professional Standards for Teachers Specifically Standards 1.4 and 2.4. Sydney: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Comber, B and Kamler, B (2004) Getting out of deficit: pedagogies of reconnection. Teaching Education 15, 293–310. doi: 10.1080/1047621042000257225CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connell, R (2018) Coloniality and Education: the worldwide challenge to dominant forms of knowledge. Indigenous Research Collaboration Forum: Keynote Address, (15 February). University of Sydney.Google Scholar
Council of Australian Governments (2008) National Indigenous Reform Agreement: Closing the Gap. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: COAG.Google Scholar
Creswell, J (2012) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Nebraska, America: Edward Brothers.Google Scholar
Dodson, M (2009) Australian of the Year Speech. Presented to the National Press Club, Canberra, Australia.Google Scholar
Fletcher, JJ (1989) Clean, Clad and Courteous: A History of Aboriginal Education in NSW. Sydney: J. J. Fletcher.Google Scholar
Foley, D (2003) Indigenous epistemology and Indigenous standpoint theory. Social Alternatives 22, 44–52.Google Scholar
Gay, G and Kirkland, K (2003) Developing cultural critical consciousness and self-reflection in preservice teacher education. Theory into Practice 42, 181–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goulding, D, Steels, D and McGarty, C (2015) A cross-cultural research experience: developing an appropriate methodology that respectfully incorporates both Indigenous and non-Aboriginal knowledge systems. Ethnic and Racial Studies 39, 783–801.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haberman, M (1991) The pedagogy of poverty versus good teaching. Phi Delta Kappan 73, 290–294.Google Scholar
Hattie, J (2009) Visible Learning: A Synpaper of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.Google Scholar
Lowe, K and Yunkaporta, T (2013) The inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in the Australian national curriculum: a cultural, cognitive and socio-political evaluation. Curriculum Perspectives 33, 1–14.Google Scholar
Martin, K (2006) Please Knock Before You Enter: An Investigation of How Rainforest Aboriginal People Regulate Outsiders and the Implications for Western Research and Researchers. Queensland, Australia: James Cook University Press.Google Scholar
Martin, K (2008) Please Knock Before You Enter: Aboriginal Regulation of Outsiders and the Implications for Researchers. Queensland, Australia: Post Pressed.Google Scholar
McGloin, C (2009) Considering the work of Martin Nakata's ‘Cultural Interface’: a reflection of theory and practice by a non-Aboriginal academic. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 38, 36–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miles, MB and Huberman, AM (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis. London, United Kingdom: SAGE.Google Scholar
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (2008) Melbourne Declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Available at http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf.Google Scholar
Mooney, J, Halse, C and Craven, R (2005) Teaching Aboriginal Studies: producing inclusive Australian citizens, Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Parramatta, Sydney: AARE, pp. 1–10.Google Scholar
Nakata, M (2007) The cultural interface. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36(suppl.), 7–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and New South Wales Department of Education and Training (2004) Review of Aboriginal Education: Yanigurra Muya: Ganggurrinyma Yaarri Guurulaw Yirringin. Gurray: Feeling the Spirit: Dreaming an Equal Future. Darlinghurst: NSW Department of Education and Training.Google Scholar
New South Wales Board of Studies (2010) Aboriginal Studies Stage 6 Syllabus. Sydney, New South Wales: Board of Studies Press.Google Scholar
Perso, T (2012) Cultural Responsiveness and School Education: With Particular Focus on Australia's First Peoples; A Review & Synpaper of the Literature. Darwin, Northern Territory: Menzies School of Health Research.Google Scholar
Reconciliation Australia (2016) The State of Reconciliation in Australia: Our History, Our Story, Our Future. Sydney: Reconciliation Australia.Google Scholar
Rigney, L (1999) Internationalisation of an Indigenous anti-colonial cultural critique of research methodologies: a guide to Indigenist research methodology and its principles. Journal for Native American Studies 14, 109–121.Google Scholar
Riley, L (2015) Conditions of Academic Success for Aboriginal Students in School. Sydney: Australian Catholic University Press.Google Scholar
Sarra, C (2007) Young Black and deadly: strategies for improving outcomes for Indigenous students. In Keeffe, M and Carrington, C (eds), Schools and Diversity. pp. 74–89. Frenches Forest: Pearson Education Australia.Google Scholar
Sarra, C (2011 a) Strong and Smart: Towards a Pedagogy for Emancipation: Education for First Peoples. London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sarra, C (2011 b) Time for a High-Expectations Relationship between Indigenous and Non-Aboriginal Australia. Keynote address, Strong Start Bright Futures Conference, Darwin, 18 October 2011. Retrieved from http://chrissarra.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/time-for-a-highexpectationsrelationship-between-indi-genous-and-non-Aboriginal-australia/.Google Scholar
Stanner, WEH (1968) The Boyer Lectures 1968 – After the Dreaming. Sydney, NSW: Australian Broadcasting Commission.Google Scholar
Stronger Smarter Institute (2014) High-Expectations Relationships: A Foundation for Quality Learning Environments in all Australian Schools. Queensland: Stronger Smarter Institute.Google Scholar
Teese, R and Polesel, J (2003) Undemocratic Schooling. Equity and Quality in Mass Education in Australia. Melbourne, Australia: Melbourne University Press.Google Scholar
United Nations (2007) United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. New York City, New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
Wray, DE (2006) HSC Aboriginal Studies: Strengths, Limitations, and Impact upon Aboriginal Students’ Self-Concepts and Educational Outcomes. Sydney: University of Western Sydney Press.Google Scholar
Yunkaporta, T (2009) Aboriginal Pedagogies at the Cultural Interface (Unpublished PhD thesis). James Cook University, Townsville.Google Scholar