Critical reflection

It is important to study about Aboriginal people because they were the first people in Australia. They
form the central to the narratives that make up Australia’s history. Aboriginal studies are of utmost
importance because they can influence the individual, school and society. Aboriginal culture has a
rich heritage and intrinsic value. However, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have a
strong history of poor school performance, attendance and achievement. These are the
consequences of the challenges they face in their day to day school life. For example, Aboriginal
students are always considered as under performers and low achievers by the teachers.

Education is the basis and gives the Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander students with opportunities
in later part of their life. Teachers who are well trained and with the knowledge to improve the
outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students should use the strategies from teacher
education in lifting the standards of the students.

First and foremost, in order to improve the education outcome of the Aboriginal students. graduate
teachers, teachers have to be culturally competent (Price, 2012). Teacher education programmes
provides a scope for the teachers to receive education about the Indigenous Australia. They
understand the past and present practices of the Aboriginal people. Through developing cultural
competency, teachers can improve indigenous students school retention rate and help them achieve
high educational outcomes

Next, teachers should keep themselves updated in Indigenous teaching through professional
development. Studies on professional development for teachers on indigenous studies has shown a
positive impact on teacher’s psychosocial characteristics. Indigenous students learning was seen to
be greatly influenced by teachers attending the professional development programs. Moreover,
when teachers were more often involved in professional development, they frequently used the
Indigenous teaching strategies which too effected the indigenous students learning positively
(Craven, Yeung and Han, 2014).

Third, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student’s education lacks standards because they have
issues with writing and literacy skills. Graduate teachers should address these needs by becoming
culturally competent. Teachers should apply effective pedagogy for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students. They must have deep knowledge and understanding of the syllabus and its
outcomes. These skills are built upon through the learnings from this unit. This will contribute in the
Aboriginal Student’s success.
Fourth, the elements such as home, community and education should interlink for the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander students to have successful educational outcomes. According to Neil
Harrison, graduate teachers are not experienced enough to teaching Aboriginal culture and content
since he states that “non-Aboriginal teachers should not be teaching about Aboriginal cultures”.
Therefore, to support Aboriginal education, teachers should collaborate with the community and
parents. This also provides important understanding of aspects which causes students
disengagement. Through this unit I have understood the importance of connecting school and
community to provide culturally competent teaching practice

Another idea is to provide multicultural and anti-racist education. This can be achieved by
communicating with the local community. Teachers must be aware of the conscious and explicit
engagement surrounding problems of race and the conventions of community discussions. They
should consider the Aboriginal people as the guardians of knowledge and culture. They have to
respect their knowledge of culture.

To conclude, it is highly important to improve the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’
outcomes. This can be achieved through improving the graduate teacher qualities on graduating the
teacher education program. Therefore, quality teaching is necessary. As a graduate teacher, I will be
culturally competent. I will do anything in my power to be culturally aware. For example, attend
conferences, community engagement and take part in social works etc. Moreover, I will maintain
culturally reflective teaching practices. My aim will be to encourage positive student identity in the
classroom. Further I will incorporate Indigenous culture into the classroom for both Aboriginal and
Non-aboriginal students after getting a sound understanding about the culture and its practices. By
undergoing intense teacher training, referring to theory and government policies and by undertaking
professional development courses I will keep myself updated with the indigenous cultural practices.
Further, I will use “*8 ways of learning” in designing my lesson for Aboriginal students (Yunkaporta &
Tyson, 2009. Also, I would follow the approach of Stronger Smarter Institute by Chris Sara to
emphasize on strengthening the identity of the Aboriginal students. I will constantly be reflecting on
my practices making sure to avoid any prejudice and be open minded to Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students.
References:

Craven, R. G., Yeung, A. S., & Han, F. (2014). The Impact of Professional Development and Indigenous

Education Officers on Australian Teachers’ Indigenous Teaching and Learning. Australian

Journal of Teacher Education, 39(8). http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2014v39n8.6
Price, K. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An introduction for the teaching

profession (2nd ed.). Port Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press.

Sarra, C. (2010). Stronger Smarter Approaches to Indigenous Leadership in Australia. In I. Snyder &

J. Nieuwenhuysen, Closing the Gap in Education? (1st ed.). Clayton, Victoria: Monash
University Publishing. Retrieved from

Yunkaporta, Tyson (2009) Aboriginal pedagogies at the cultural interface. Professional Doctorate

(Research) thesis, James Cook University