Teaching Indigenous Australian Students: Minor Assignment

Teachers have a large impact on a young person’s development, which in turn, contributes
to shaping the person that the young person will become. In this way, teachers have a direct
role in shaping the future of Australian society. Therefore, it is imperative that I, as a teacher
who is in a position of racial privilege, have an accurate and informed understanding of
Australia’s history. In particular, I require an understanding of the history of Indigenous
people, and concepts such as race, and the enduring impact that these aspects have on
Australian society and education today (Schulz, 2020a). In Part A of this assignment, I will
consider how the knowledge I have gained in this topic has transformed my sense of self as
a professional teacher. In Part B, I will propose a Philosophy of Critical Practice related to
the teaching and learning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
PART A: SELF-REFLECTION
A constant reminder throughout my journey at University has been that teaching is a
profession in which I will continue to learn professionally and personally. This has been
especially true in this topic, as my learning has reshaped my personal perception of society,
and consequently, transformed my professional sense of self as a teacher. Alarmingly, most
of the knowledge that I have gained in this topic has been confronting and or absent from
my life. This highlights the importance of discussing and understanding issues related to the
history of Indigenous people and racism, especially for a teacher, who is in a position to
share this knowledge with future generations, in the hope of creating a more inclusive
society.
This topic has reasserted my understanding that there are a number of forms of racism
(Schulz, 2020a). It is common misconception that only overt actions, such as name-calling
through use of a derogatory term, constitutes racism (Schulz, 2020a). While this is one form
of racism, referred to as overt or individual racism, it is covert or internalised racism that is
far more common in today’s society (Schulz, 2020a). This form of racism is subtle, which
enables it to remain almost entirely invisible (Schulz, 2020b). This topic has also introduced
me to two new forms of racism, institutional racism, which describes how racial
assumptions are embedded in society’s social and economic institutions, such as schools,
and structural or cultural racism, which refers to “the dominant culture’s everyday
acceptance of a racialised” hierarchical society (Schulz, 2020a, Slide 26). This knowledge has
transformed my sense of self as despite the common claim that Australia is not a racist
country, which I have heard in everyday interactions as well as in the media, I can now see
that racism, in particular covert racism, persists in today’s society and continues to
undermine the histories, cultures and beliefs of Indigenous people. Further, I recognise that
this form of racism may be present in some of the schools where I may teach, however, I
can use the knowledge that I have gained to educate my students and colleagues, which can
help to change the racialised discourses that take place in schools (Vass, 2014).
I have also gained new knowledge in this topic, such as about the role that schools and
education in general have played in the oppression of Indigenous people, which has been
confronting. In particular, it was confronting to learn that schools, which are institutions on

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which I place high value, were not used to educate Indigenous children, but instead,
indoctrinate them in Christian habits and European values (Beresford, 2012). This was
enabled by the policies and practices that governed Aboriginal education, which were based
on the degrading theory of social Darwinism, a theory which has been used to rationalise
the concepts of race and racism (Beresford, 2012). As a teacher who believes that every
child has the right to receive an education, it was disheartening to learn that Indigenous
children received minimal schooling due to “perceptions about the limitations inherent in
their race”, even though race is a contrived social concept (Beresford, 2012, p. 87; Schulz,
2020b). Indigenous children’s educational experiences were also further restricted by the
Exclusion on Demand policy, which ordered teachers to exclude Aboriginal children from the
classroom upon the request of non-Indigenous parents (Beresford, 2012). This limited focus
on education for Indigenous children is reiterated in Uncle Lewis Yerloburka O’Brien’s
recount of his childhood, in which he states that his foster parents “couldn’t accept that a
kid like (him) should be bettering himself through education” (O’Brien & Gale, 2007, p. 119).
This knowledge has transformed my sense of self as it has enabled me to understand the
turbulent historical relationship shared between schools, education and Indigenous people,
and how this history racially privileges me as a teacher in the classroom. I will need to be
aware of this historical context when teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
PART B: A PHILOSOPHY OF CRITICAL PRACTICE
There are a number of reasons as to why I decided to become a teacher and pursue a career
in education. These include my passion for my subject area, as well as the importance and
value that I place on education, knowledge and learning. Connected to this, I believe that
each and every student has the right to receive an education, regardless of their personal
circumstances, such as socio-economic background, or society-imposed characteristics, such
as race. However, due to my learning in this topic, I have become aware that race and
racism are ingrained in the fabric of education, in much the same way that racism is ‘normal’
in Australian society today (Schulz, 2020a). Therefore, I need to take steps in my practice as
a teacher in order to help create change.
Foremost, I need to be aware of my own racial privilege, as well as recognise the impact that
this has in the classroom. This can be achieved through adopting the frameworks of Critical
Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) (Schulz, 2020a). CRT and CWS have
enabled me to recognise my own racial privilege, which is a step in creating a more inclusive
society and educational landscape. These frameworks have challenged my perception of
society and my place in it, which has allowed me to recognise that I have white race
privilege. Tannoch-Bland (1998) describes white race privilege as an “invisible, unearned,
denied, systemic, (and) undesirable” aspect of society, which “confers dominance” (p. 33).
This is evident as whiteness, which is a term used to explain the combined “experiences,
practices and beliefs that structure social relations in ways that routinely benefit whites”, is
perceived as the norm in Australian society, and this is not realised nor questioned by most
people (Schulz, 2020a). As a teacher, I can use the CRT and CWS frameworks to guide my
planning and teaching, which will help me to create learning experiences that do not include

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unintentional racial bias and which help me to create a learning environment that promotes
equity and inclusivity for all of my students.
I also believe that it is important to recognise Indigenous history, culture and beliefs in the
classroom and incorporate Indigenous perspectives in my teaching. To do this, I plan to
begin my lessons with an Acknowledgement of Country. In doing so, this can help encourage
discussion in the classroom about the importance of understanding and recognising
Indigenous history, culture and beliefs, the ways in which these factors have, and continue
to, impact upon Australian society, and the ways in which we can use this understanding to
help shape a more inclusive society in the future (Schulz, 2020a). As noted by Schulz
(2020a), education is imperative in helping to unlearn racism and restructure our current
society, which is dominated by whiteness. I also plan to, where possible, incorporate
storytelling pedagogy into my teaching as “storytelling is an act of sovereignty that
reinforces Indigenous identity, values, and worldview” (Tur, 2020, Slide 7). I intend to
purposefully select and use resources in my teaching that generate counter-narratives,
which acknowledge and promote Indigenous sovereignty and values (Schulz, 2020a).
In implementing these strategies in the classroom, I am endeavouring to fulfill a moral and
professional obligation, as a member of Australian society, but also as a teacher. In
particular, these strategies align with Focus Areas 1.4 and 2.4 of the Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers, which are about implementing strategies to teach Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander students and promoting respect and reconciliation, respectively (APST,
2015). These strategies align with these Focus Areas because including an
Acknowledgement of Country at the beginning of my lessons, as well as incorporating
storytelling pedagogy and counter-narratives in my teaching, demonstrates that I have an
understanding of, and respect for, the importance of Indigenous culture and cultural
identity (APST, 2015). It also demonstrates that I have an understanding of the way in which
these strategies and pedagogy can have an impact on the education of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander students (APST, 2015).
Word Count: 1486

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References
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST). (2015). Professional Standards for
Teachers: Standard 1, Canberra ACT: AITSL Limited. Retrieved from
https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/defaultsource/teach-documents/australian-professional-
standards-for-teachers.pdf.
Beresford, Q. (2012). Separate and Unequal: An Outline of Aboriginal Education 1900-1996.
In Q. Beresford, G. Partington, & G. Gower (Ed.), Reform and Resistance in Aboriginal
Education (pp. 85-119). Crawley, Western Australia: UWA Publishing.
O’Brien, L. Y., & Gale, M. A. (2007). My Difficult Childhood. In M. A. Gale, & L. Y. O’Brien
(Ed.), And the Clock Struck Thirteen: The Life and Thoughts of Kaurna Elder Uncle Lewis
Yerloburka O’Brien (pp. 102-122). Kent Town, South Australia: Wakefield Press.
Schulz, S. (2020a). Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) [Lecture
PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://flo.flinders.edu.au/course/view.php?id=63703.
Schulz, S. (2020b). Introduction: Teaching Indigenous Australian Students [Lecture
PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://flo.flinders.edu.au/course/view.php?id=63703.
Tannoch-Bland, J. (1998). Identifying White Race Privilege. In Bringing Australia Together:
The Structure and Experience of Racism in Australia (pp. 33-38). Woollongabba, Queensland:
Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action.
Tur, S. U. (2020) Storytelling Pedagogy [Lecture PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from
https://flo.flinders.edu.au/course/view.php?id=63703.
Vass, G. (2014). The Racialised Educational Landscape in Australia: Listening to the
Whispering Elephant. Race Ethnicity and Education, 17(2), 176-201.