Monique Eggers EDUC2061

Student ID: 110231658 Essay

What are some of the key issues teachers need to consider for working successfully with
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students?
Teaching students about the history, culture, and language of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is seen to be a
positive step on the pathway to reconciliation (Price 2012, pp. 153). Learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander history and culture allows children the opportunity to get a deeper understanding and appreciation of their
culture, their significance for Australia, and the impact these have on the current world (ACARA, 2011). This essay
will outline the key issues that teachers need to consider when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students, such as acknowledging their culture and lifestyle, their family history and how this affects the ways in which
students participate at school, as well as the different languages that the students will use and how these languages can
be implemented into the curriculum. These key ideas should not only be acknowledged and respected, but also to be
taught to other non-Aboriginal students so they can understand the history and culture of this land and the students
within the class.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may have a very different culture and lifestyle compared to non-
Aboriginal people, which is why culture needs to be considered when successfully working with Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people. Teachers who are culturally competent will be able to bring more engagement and
positive learning from Indigenous children and build partnerships with local Indigenous communities (Buckskin 2012,
pp. 168). Buckskin also believes that policies and guidelines created in the 1990’s detailed the needs of Indigenous
Australian learners and the importance of having non-Indigenous educators learning about and welcoming in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in schools (pp. 174). The cultural values of the family is an issue that
needs to be considered when working with Indigenous students. Gollan (2012) states that “the importance Aboriginal
people place on family; it’s the first and foremost thing” (pp. 157). In a study that was produced, it was found that
every Aboriginal participant placed a great deal of importance on their Aboriginality, family, history and genealogy,
language, and region of origin (Gollan 2012, pp. 162-163). These factors all need to be acknowledged and respected
when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Indigenous Australians are mostly elder-oriented,
which is quite different from non-Aboriginals who do not have elders of the community, and believe in custodianship
of the land rather than land becoming property, as well as having a sense of equality with all other creatures on the
land rather than non-Aboriginals who believe that they have a sense of superiority to all other creatures (Behrendt,
1995, pp. 13-17). When the Aboriginal people lost their land, it became quite overwhelming for some communities
and they did not know how to deal with this, therefore their religious life was disrupted (Behrendt 1995, pp. 23).
These cultural differences could possibly affect the feeling and emotions an Indigenous child may have at school, so it
is important to acknowledge these differences in culture, as well as to respect them. Harrison (2011) states ‘Aboriginal
kids, like non-Aboriginal kids, come in all shapes and sizes and have different experiences…however for all these
children, learning becomes significant in the context of the community in which they live’ (pg.10). Learning about the
community that the school resides in allows teachers to have a better understanding of their students and it also allows
teachers to then introduce non-Indigenous students to the culture of the Indigenous people in the community. One way
of implementing this into the classroom is to bring community members and elders into the classroom to share their
experiences and culture with the class. They could do cooking experiences with the students or take the students on an
excursion to a historical place in the community. This then relates to the curriculum subject History and Social
Monique Eggers EDUC2061
Student ID: 110231658 Essay
Science where “The use of primary and secondary sources, including oral histories, gives students opportunities to see
events through multiple perspectives, and to empathise and ethically consider the investigation, preservation and
conservation of sites of significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples” (ACARA 2015). “Culture
cannot be ignored without losing a sense of self and personal value. Genuine respect for difference must be
widespread … and displayed in public policy and action, as well as in schools” (Buckskin 2012, pp. 177). Knowing
about the culture and lifestyle that an Indigenous student is being brought up in will allow a teacher to better
understand this student and the ways that they learn, thus resulting in this child having a better schooling experience
where more is being taught and understood.

The history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people needs to be acknowledged and taught to effectively work
with these students. Price (2012) acknowledges that because we live in this country, we should have a good
knowledge of the country’s history. Price references the late Paul Behrendt from 1996 who said: “Australia will never
matter as a nation unless we know what our roots are. Our roots lie firmly in Aboriginal culture. Australia didn’t start
in 1770 and unless we learn about Australia as a whole, we have no foundation to build a nation on” (pp. 152). The
Stolen Generation has played a major role on the lives of many Aboriginal communities and has had a large impact on
the behaviour of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Gollan (2012) stated that “literally thousands of
Aboriginal adults live with the trauma caused by these removal policies” (pp. 155). It’s important when teaching both
Indigenous and non-Indigenous students about the Stolen Generation that the issue is treated sensitively in case that it
may have involved a family member of a student. Therefore, it is a good idea to become familiar with stories from
members of the community who were a part of the Stolen Generation, as well as their language and terminology.
During these conversations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, educators can understand more
history, and are therefore able to teach future generations about this (Williams-Mozley 2012, pp. 32-33). A large
factor of Indigenous education is that some Indigenous students are not being treated equally and there is a negative
deficit discourse towards them which needs to change in order for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to
have the best education. Deficit discourse ‘is the social, economic standing of an individual or certain group which can
change according to race, religion, or background. It allows the education system to ‘pre-determine’ the outcomes of
an individual and has the power to position people in a negative place’ (Beard 2013). Harrison (2011) state that this
“is something that is very active in some schools and it is noted that your choice of language can rub off on others and
create an impression for anybody who listens” (pp. 9). According to Harrison (2011), “As teachers we need to
remember the history between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians and the unequal power relationships that
exists between them.” Even though the formal ending of the segregation in education that happened between
Indigenous and non- Indigenous people ended in the 1950’s, the effects of this went on for a while. Aboriginal
students were still being denied a place to go to school, or were given an unfair educational experience (Beresford
2012, pp. 100). This history is why some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people still feel left out and not equal
to others. Reconciliation has a large impact on Indigenous peoples lives, in and out of school, and it was said that
“reconciliation had to take place in the hearts and minds of all Australians” (Short 2005, pp. 34). It is important that
when teaching Indigenous students to understand that there is a reason why this reconciliation had to happen and that
is what has shaped their community and made them the people they are today. The history of Indigenous Australians
can be largely implemented into the History and Social Science subject of the Australian Curriculum (ACARA 2015).
Monique Eggers EDUC2061
Student ID: 110231658 Essay
The Australian Curriculum states in their cross-curriculum priorities that one area of focus is on: “experiences before,
during and after European colonisation including the nature of contact with other peoples, and their progress towards
recognition and equality. In particular, students investigate the status and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Peoples, past and present, including civic movements for change, the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Peoples to Australian society, and contemporary issues” (ACARA, 2015). The main reason the history
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people needs to be acknowledged and taught is so that these Indigenous
children are able to have a positive schooling experience where they are equal with students from other cultures and
this will only happen if these Indigenous students and their communities are respected.

Teachers being culturally competent is vital to work successfully with Indigenous students because they understand
that a great number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children speak another language other and Standard
Australian English (SAE) (Buckskin 2012, pp. 171). This then leads to these Indigenous students having to learn a
Language Other Than English (LOTE). Buckskin (2012) states that “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’
languages reflect their culture, their identity and their self-esteem. Like all children, they are partly defined by their
language, and through it they express their personal identity, their culture and their place within their community” (pp.
171). This language, as well as other cultural concepts, needs to be respected at school for the children to feel
respected and positive about learning (Buckskin 2012, pp. 171). Buckskin (2012) quoted that: “The first language is
the language of learning. It is by far the easiest way for children to interact with the world. And when the language of
learning and the language of instruction do not match, learning difficulties are bound to follow” (pp. 172). This quote
represents the importance of not only teachers learning the language of the Indigenous community that they reside in,
but the importance of other children in the class also being taught this language so they can fully communicate and
engage with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Aboriginal students will rarely fully commit to their
school work with a passion, rather they will work at it more quietly, slowly and carefully, while observing how others
are doing it (Harrison, 2011, pg. 11). This is possibly a stereotype, however this may also mean that the teacher has to
engage the Indigenous students more and talk to these students about the work that they are completing to see if they
have a good understanding of what is being taught. A key issue with the language of Indigenous Australians is not to
stereotype all Indigenous Australians as having the same language because there are approximately 120 Aboriginal
languages that are still spoken across Australia today (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Studies (AIATSIS), n.d.). This means that when you are teaching students about the language of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people, it is best to go out into the community and talk to the Indigenous community members
about their language and bring that information back to the classroom. This can be implemented into lessons in a wide
variety of ways. For example, when reception/year 1 students are learning about counting, the teacher could introduce
all the students to the Indigenous community’s own language and numbers (ACMNA002) (ACARA 2015).
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people also used the water and shadows as a way to tell time, so this is
something that can be implemented into the curriculum (ACARA 2015). The Australian Curriculum (ACARA 2015)
also states that in “English, students begin to engage with the priority as they develop an awareness and appreciation
of, and respect for, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander literature. This includes storytelling traditions (oral narrative)
and contemporary literature. Students will learn to develop respectful, critical understandings of the social, historical
Monique Eggers EDUC2061
Student ID: 110231658 Essay
and cultural contexts associated with different uses of language features and text structures including images and
visual language.” A way to implement this is, instead of reading a modern class novel, have students read dream time
stories and have elders and community members come into the school and share their, or their families, experiences.
The students can then create literatures based on this storytelling.

Another way to support the learning of Indigenous Australians is to have good resources that allow programs that
improve the teaching of Indigenous children, to run smoothly and for a large amount of time. For these programs to
work, teachers need a good support crew to go to for help and guidance, and they need to always be reflecting and
developing their practice (Buckskin 2012, pp. 175).

In Conclusion, this essay outlined that to effectively work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, their
culture and lifestyle, history, and language all need to be understood and acknowledged. An indigenous child’s
culture and lifestyle will affect the way that they learn, and having an understanding of a child’s culture will allow
teachers to work one-on-one with this child until they feel capable of working alone. The history of a child and their
community will also affect an Indigenous child’s schooling experience, so if an Indigenous child is treated with
respect and equality, they should be able to complete school with a positive attitude. With approximately 120
Aboriginal languages in Australia, no Indigenous student will be the same (AIATSIS, n.d.). Therefore, getting to
know the language of the community that the school resides in allows teachers to help this child communicate at
school, and will also allow the Indigenous students to possibly help teach other students their language which will
give the Indigenous students a positive reinforcement. I believe that to be an effective teacher for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander students, you need to be able to understand and acknowledge their past and know how it can
affect them in the future and treat these students as equal as non-Indigenous students.

WORD COUNT: 2347

Monique Eggers EDUC2061
Student ID: 110231658 Essay

Reference List

- ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority), 2011, Cross-Curriculum Priorities,
accessed 19 September 2017, <http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/cross_curriculum_priorities.html>

- ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority), 2015, The Australian Curriculum,
accessed 19 September 2017, <https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/>

- Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). (n.d.). Indigenous Australian
Languages. [online] accessed 21 September 2017, <http://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/indigenous-
australian-languages>

- Beard, H.R 2013, Deficit Discourse, The Education Business Model, Accessed 25 August 2017,
<http://education-business-model.weebly.com/deficit-discourse.html>

- Behrendt, L. 1995. ‘Dispute Resolution in Traditional and Contemporary Aboriginal Society’. Aboriginal

Dispute Resolution. Maryborough, Victoria: Federation Press, 12-30.

- Beresford, Q, 2012, Separate and unequal: an outline of Aboriginal education 1900-1990s, in Q Beresford,
chapter 3, Reform and Resistance in Aboriginal Education, UWA Publishing, Crawley, W.A. pp. 85-119

- Buckskin, P 2012, ‘Engaging Indigenous students’, in K Price (ed.), chapter, Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Education: An Introduction for the Teaching Profession, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
pp. 164–180

- Gollan, S, 2012, Teachers and Families working together to build stronger futures for our children in schools,
in Q Beresford, chapter 5, Reform and Resistance in Aboriginal Education, UWA Publishing, Crawley, W.A.
pp. 149-173

- Harrison, N 2011 ‘Starting out as a teacher in Aboriginal education’, Teaching and Learning in Aboriginal
Education, Oxford University Press, Australia, pp. 1 – 15.

- Price, K 2012, ‘A brief history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in Australia’, in K Price
(ed.), chapter, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education: An Introduction for the Teaching Profession,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 1–20
Monique Eggers EDUC2061
Student ID: 110231658 Essay
- Price, K 2012, ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in the classroom’, in K Price (ed.), chapter 10,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education: An Introduction for the Teaching Profession, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, pp. 151–163

- Short, D 2005, Reconciliation as education: the Council and the ‘Peoples Movement’, Journal of Australian
Indigenous issues, Volume 8, pp. 33-52

- Williams-Mozley, J 2012, ‘The Stolen Generations’, in K Price (ed.), chapter, Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Education: An Introduction for the Teaching Profession, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp.
21–34