Cameron Wallace 17698724 RTL:A2

RTL: Assessment 2

Educational Issue: Teaching Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the most educationally disadvantaged group in Australia (Santoro, Reid,
Crawford, & Simpson, 2011). Their educational outcomes are generally well-below that of their non-
indigenous peers. (Bradley, Draca, Green, & Leeves, 2007). Indigenous students are also more likely
to be absent, suspended and expelled from school and have a significantly lower school completion
rate in comparison to non-Indigenous students (Helme & Lamb, 2011). These educational disparities
Indigenous individuals face significantly affects their life outcomes. Indigenous Australians have
higher rates of unemployment and homelessness, juvenile and adult incarceration, chronic illness,
substance abuse and mental illness and lower incomes compared with non-Indigenous Australians
(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2015). Education is important as higher levels of
educational attainment improves employment opportunities providing greater access to economic,
health-care and community resources, which in turn contributes to higher levels of positive well-
being (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2015; Benzeval et al., 2014; Purdie & Buckley,
2010).

There are many variables that influence a students’ education including parents, peers and the
school. But the most powerful influence on student education is the teacher (Hattie, 2003).
Therefore, teachers have a responsibility to provide quality education to all their students, including
indigenous students. However, despite the best efforts and intentions from many teachers
Indigenous students face great educational disparities, which suggests Indigenous students are not
receiving the education they require to succeed. There is significant evidence to suggest that this is
because non-Indigenous teachers do not have an adequate understanding of the appropriate
pedagogies and the complexities of Indigenous cultures and worldviews to sufficiently educate
Indigenous students (Hewitt, 2000; Santoro et al., 2011). Furthermore, research conducted in rural
NSW highlighted that majority of teachers hold negative attitudes towards teaching and celebrating
diversity with over 65% of teachers agreeing that accommodating diverse cultural learning styles and
inclusion of Indigenous perspectives was not important (Forrest, Lean & Dunn, 2017).

The negative attitude teachers have towards including Indigenous perspectives in their classroom is
an example of sustaining dominant patters of white hegemony (Forrest, Lean & Dunn, 2017).
Sustaining patterns of white hegemony adheres to the Anglo-Celtic traditions which teaching and
learning in Australia has derived from, negatively impacting Indigenous students as they do not
conform to this discourse (Hewitt, 2000). Because Indigenous students do not conform to the
dominant discourse in schools, teachers develop misinterpreted views of these students, negatively

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affecting the teacher-student relationship. Research has shown Indigenous students are aware of the
negative attitudes and perceptions teachers have against them, impacting their motivation to learn
(Godfrey, Partington, Richer, & Harslett, 2001). The student-teacher relationship is further strained as
schools and teachers tend to blame school disengagement on Indigenous logic, parental attitudes
and the home environment (Hewitt, 2000; Purdie & Buckley, 2010). This ‘blame the victim’ discourse
has existed for generations, with the school and teacher placing the failure on the student, absolving
themselves of any responsibility (Hewitt, 2000).

Teachers should not be placing complete responsibility on these students rather they should be
accepting the responsibilities to ensure Indigenous students are receiving adequate education. In
order to improve Indigenous student learning the teacher must confront their own racism and
prejudices they may hold, perceive the world through a diverse cultural lens and learn about their
students’ culture and worldview (Hewitt, 2000; McAllister & Irvine, 2000). The worldview of an
individual encompasses their language, social system, religious beliefs and traditions, and how they
live their daily life (Christie, 1985 as cited by Hewitt, 2000). Understanding and learning about
Indigenous students’ worldviews are important for teachers as it allows them to develop a positive
relationship with students as they are able to perceive the world as they do. This allows teachers to
recognise, understand and value why their Indigenous students are engaging in certain behaviours
(Hewitt, 2000). For example in the Australian dominant culture it is perceived as rude to not look
someone in the eyes, but in Indigenous cultures it is seen as sign of respect (Queensland Department
of Health, 2015).

Although Indigenous histories and cultures have been outlined in the Australian curriculum as a
cross-curriculum priority, this does not ensure the inclusion of this priority area in the classroom. The
responsibility to incorporate Indigenous histories and cultures lies with the teacher. There is great
opportunity to incorporate this priority area in all key learning areas (KLAs) through Indigenous
literature and more specifically the KLA of health and physical education, through teaching
Indigenous games, dance and sports (Williams, 2017). However, research has shown health and
physical education teachers teach sports and techniques through a Eurocentric lens, reflecting their
own experiences and training (Williams, 2017).

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Critical Summary

The issue of teaching Indigenous students is explored in the article “A Clash of Worldviews:
Experiences from Teaching Aboriginal Students”, by Hewitt (2000).The article aims to show how the
differing worldviews of non-Indigenous teachers and Indigenous students negatively affects the
teacher-student relationship. The article draws on previous research to highlight Indigenous
Australians experiences in school as well as drawing on the authors own experience of teaching
Indigenous students. The author then draws on the research they have conducted to make
recommendations on how schools and teachers can satisfactorily provide culturally relevant
education to Indigenous students.

This qualitative approach to research is known as autoethnography. Autoethnography is an approach

to research and writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyse personal experience in
order to understand cultural experience, it involves comparing and contrasting personal experience
against existing research (Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2011). This approach enables researchers to
explore and portray a culture where a phenomenon is being experienced (Méndez, 2014). It also
enables researchers who are classified as ‘outsiders’ because of their cultural differences and values
to become ‘insiders’ through deep understanding and reflection (Méndez, 2014). This is further
achieved by Hewitt as he uses Indigenous methodologies. Indigenous methodologies enable the
researcher to enter into the worldview of the participant as they explore Indigenous knowledge,
history, and experiences in the research process (Dawson, Toombs, & Mushquash, 2017). Therefore,
the methods used in the research are valid as the author is exploring Indigenous students and how to
improve their education experience.

Hewitt uses these approaches throughout the article highlighting his own experience teaching
Indigenous students and highlighting how these students felt marginalised at school through their
own recounts and narratives. Personal narrative fits the Indigenous epistemology because it builds
rapport through telling ‘their’ side of the story (Wilson, 2001). Another advantage of using personal
narrative is it enables the researcher to access the participants’ private world and experiences,
providing rich data on the issue at hand (Méndez, 2014). Drawing on these experiences allowed
Hewitt to develop a deep understanding of the issue as he had firsthand accounts of indigenous
student’s school experience. This guided his research towards ways to address the issue.

Firstly Hewitt asked his Indigenous students to think of strategies that will improve Indigenous
students learning. These strategies are never completely outlined. They are mentioned to be

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effective however there is no evidence to support the claim (pg. 115). In addition, Hewitt draws on
previous research conducted, highlighting Indigenous Elders views on how education can be
improved for Indigenous students (pg. 113, 115). This is a valid way of collecting data as research has
shown pursuing Indigenous Elders in Indigenous research is a crucial and valid method of acquiring
knowledge (Saini, 2012). They recommend ‘two-way-schooling’ which involves teaching Indigenous
perspectives ‘side-by-side’ the European ways of learning (pg. 115).

While the research in the article on the effectiveness of ‘two-way-schooling’ is limited current
research indicates that including Indigenous perspectives is effective in improving Indigenous
students’ education as it allows the students to see their own culture valued in the classroom, which
in turn facilitates a relationship to form between the teacher and the student (Lloyd, Lewthwaite,
Osborne, & Boon, 2015).

Lesson Plan: Assessment and Revision

The recommendations of Hewitt’s article can be explored in the context of an Australian Curriculum
produced activity on the skills of Australian Rules Football (AFL), which is found within the Stage 4
unit- Movement and Physical Activity (Australian Curriculum Lessons, 2013; Appendix A). The lesson
plan has been designed to incorporate the learning outcomes of “compose and perform movement
sequences for specific purposes in a variety of contexts” and “practise, apply and transfer movement
concepts and strategies” (Australian Curriculum Lessons, 2013). In this lesson, students are too
practice three fundamental skills of AFL, the handpass, catching and kicking and apply them to game
situations. The lesson also promotes students spatial awareness and their ability to apply personal
and social skills (Australian Curriculum Lessons, 2013).

The activities in this lesson teach the students the skills of AFL through modified games, this is
referred to as technocratic physical education (PE) or ‘PE-as-sport-techniques’ (Williams, 2017).
Technocratic PE has been widely used in Australian schools for over five decades, whilst it is effective
in teaching core skills it has been criticised as it is largely Eurocentric ignoring the viewpoint of other
cultures including Indigenous Australians (Williams, 2017). Skills that are needed for many western
sports can be learnt through an Indigenous perspective as the skills used in Indigenous games such
as throwing, catching and kicking are largely transferable (Edwards & Meston, 2008). Despite this and
the emphasis placed on Indigenous cultures in the Australian Curriculum as a cross-curriculum
priority (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, n.d.) the lesson does not
incorporate Indigenous perspectives, which is a crucial factor for improving Indigenous students’
education (Hewitt, 2000; Lloyd et al., 2015; Santoro et al., 2011).

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The revision of the lesson plan will utilise ‘two-way-learning’ as Hewitt (2000) has highlighted ‘two-
way-learning’ as an effective strategy to improve Indigenous learning. The revised lesson plan will
include Indigenous perspectives, culture and histories as doing so will make Indigenous students feel
included (Lloyd et al., 2015). Therefore the lesson plan should be modified to include two
Indigenous games that require the skills required to play AFL, reflecting the Indigenous perspective.
The two Indigenous activities to be included are ‘millim baeyeetch’ and ‘marn-grook’ which is often
considered to be the foundation on which AFL was created (Edwards & Meston, 2008). Including
these two games particularly ‘marn-grook’ highlights the importance of Indigenous cultures and the
contributions they have made to society, creating a more engaging learning environment (Santoro et
al., 2011).

Firstly the lesson will commence with an open discussion with the students on Indigenous games
they know of and whether or not they are aware of ‘millim bayeetch’ and ‘marn-grook’. Students will
be encouraged to explain the games they know and play. This is important to include as learning
benefits are evident when students are provided with opportunities to utilise prior knowledge
(Cordova et al., 2014). They will also be asked to tell a story of a time when they were playing these
games as sharing stories in a classroom environment has the potential to create new relationships
among students, creating a positive learning environment (Martin, 2000).

Furthermore, including the Indigenous games and the movement skills required challenges
Eurocentric technocratic PE which has become embedded in Australian schools. Challenging the
Eurocentric discourse in schools by recognising Indigenous traditions such as music, art and games
improves students’ ability to participate in a European-based curriculum (Hewitt, 2000). This gives
teachers an opportunity to experience the different ways Indigenous students learn, improving their
pedagogy (Hewitt, 2000). Developing a culturally relevant pedagogy is important for promoting a
positive teacher-student relationship (Santoro et al., 2011), which is essential as positive teacher-
student relationships are a step towards educational success (Godfrey et al., 2001).

The lesson plan also fails to discuss the history of AFL and its early conception as the Indigenous
game ‘marn-grook’. Therefore prior to playing the Indigenous games the history of their conception
and how it was played will be discussed. As discussing the history of ‘marn-grook’ and how it was
played by the Indigenous people of Victoria creates relevance for Indigenous students as it promotes
their history and culture (Santoro et al., 2011). It is important teachers implement Indigenous
histories and cultures as doing so allows Indigenous students to see their identities and cultures in
their learning environment building their self-esteem, it also enables non-Indigenous students to

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engage in and respect Indigenous cultures (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting
Authority, n.d.).

In conclusion, including these activities is of importance as students will demonstrate higher rates of
participation and display greater levels of academic achievement if the activity aligns with their own
background experiences and home culture (Montgomery, 2001).

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Dawson, A., Toombs, E., & Mushquash, C. (2017). Indigenous research methods: A systematic

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rs06.pdf.aspx?inline=true

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Lloyd, N. J., Lewthwaite, B., Osborne, B., & Boon, H. (2015). Effective teaching practices for

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students: A review of the literature. Australian Journal

of Teacher Education, 40(11), 1-22. doi:10.14221/ajte.2015v40n11.1

Martin, K. J. (2000). “Oh, I have a story”: narrative as a teacher's classroom model. Teaching and

Teacher Education, 16(3), 349-363. doi:10.1016/s0742-051x(99)00066-9

McAllister, G., & Irvine, J. J. (2000). Cross cultural competency and multicultural teacher

education. Review of Educational Research, 70(1), 3-24. doi:10.2307/1170592

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criticisms. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 15(2), 279-287.

doi:10.14483/udistrital.jour.calj.2013.2.a09

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Children, 33(4), 4-9. doi:10.1177/004005990103300401

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Santoro, N., Reid, J., Crawford, L., & Simpson, L. (2011). Teaching Indigenous Children: Listening to

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%20is%20Indigineous%20Research%20Methodology.pdf

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Appendix A: Original Lesson Plan

focus Shape
SPECIFIC LEARNING ACTIVITY (& TEACHING POINTS CLASS ORGANIZATION TIM
OUTCOMES Methods) E
I Warm up Relay 8.50
N
T
-display speed and agility -Set up four teams in -Team members stay -
R -warm up a square close together so 8.55
O -First in line of each others can run round
D
U
team run with the -Handball from about
C footy around all other 2-3 metres away.
T teams and handball
I
O
to next in line
N

Handball 8.55
-Partner passing -sit ball on hand, hit -
D -demonstrate correct with closed fist 9.00
E
V
handballing technique and -4 v 1
E accuracy 5 accurate passes -move to space
L without the defender -swap defenders
O
P
-develop their handballing touching ball = 1 9.00
M technique while moving and point. -
E under slight pressure - Add another 9.10
N
T
defender (4v2)
-correct grip, drop on
Kicking to foot, swing 9.10
-demonstrate correct kicking -partner kicking through with leg -
technique 9.15
-4 v 1
5 accurate passes = 1 9.15
-develop their kicking point -
technique while moving and -Add another 9.25
under slight pressure with a defender (4v2)
defender -no tackling, can carry
Game play ball for 5 steps. 9.25
-2 small sided games -move to space -
-display the passing (6v6) 9.40
techniques in a game -No goals.
situation. -5 clean passes,
handball or kick =
-develop attacking and goal.
defensive skills. -swap teams
C
L
O -pack up equipment 9.40
S -group feedback and -
U dismissal 9.45
R
E

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Appendix B: Modified Lesson Plan

focus Shape
SPECIFIC LEARNING ACTIVITY (& Methods) TEACHING CLASS ORGANIZATION TIM
OUTCOMES POINTS E

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I 8.50
N
T Brainstorm Activity -Team -
R Assess students background members 8.55
O knowledge on Indigenous Students are to engage in stay close
D
U
games through the use of discussion reciting any together so
C narrative Indigenous games they know others can
T and tell a story of time when run round
I
O
-display speed and agility they played it. -Handball
N -warm up from about
Warm up Relay 2-3 metres
-Set up four teams in a square away.
-First in line of each team run
with the footy around all other
teams and handball to next in
line

Marn-grook 8.55
-sit ball on -
D The ball is dropped and kicked hand, hit 9.00
E
V
high into the with closed
E -develop their handballing air using the instep of the foot. fist
L technique while moving and Players then
O
P
under slight pressure attempt to secure the ball. The -move to 9.00
M player who takes space -
E possession of the ball kicks it in -swap 9.10
N
T
the air and defenders
-demonstrate correct kicking again a scramble for the ball
technique ensues. Players 9.10
may not dive on the ball on the -
ground to secure 9.15
-develop their kicking it and must try to avoid physical -correct
technique while moving and contact as much grip, drop 9.15
under slight pressure with a as possible. It is usual for the on to foot, -
defender players to attempt swing 9.25
to catch the ball, but if it is through
knocked or dropped with leg
-display the passing to the ground by players it is still 9.25
techniques in a game in play. (Edwards & Meston, -
situation. 2008) 9.40

-develop attacking and Millim Baeyeetch

defensive skills.
Players in a team attempt to -no
keep possession tackling,
of a ball by kicking the ball to can carry
each other. No ball for 5
passing from the hands, steps.
throwing or hitting of the -move to
ball to another player is allowed. space
The ball cannot
be kicked back to the player
from whom the ball
was received.

The team that kicks the ball the

most number of
times or retains possession the
longest wins the
game. The game could be played
to a set number of
passes to score a point.
(Edwards & Meston, 2008)

Game play
-2 small sided games (6v6)
-No goals.
-5 clean passes, handball or kick
= goal.
-swap teams

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Cameron Wallace 17698724 RTL:A2

C
L
O -pack up equipment 9.40
S -group feedback and dismissal -
U 9.45
R
E

14