Aust. Educ. Res.

(2015) 42:613–625
DOI 10.1007/s13384-015-0182-3

Aboriginal student stories, the missing voice to guide us

towards change

Michael J Donovan1

Received: 21 November 2013 / Accepted: 8 June 2015 / Published online: 23 July 2015
 The Australian Association for Research in Education, Inc. 2015

Abstract Despite decades of policy and practice oriented at improving educa-

tional outcomes for Aboriginal students in Australia, achievements on most mea-
sures indicate that there is a long way to go in this endeavour. One avenue for
improving Aboriginal education that has received little attention is accessing the
views of Aboriginal students themselves about best practice in engaging Aboriginal
students. While there is a body of research in education that attempts to privilege
‘student voices,’ little work has explicitly focussed on accessing the voices of
Aboriginal students. This paper reports on my study that involved asking Aboriginal
students their views on schools, teachers and the curriculum in culturally safe
discussion spaces. The Aboriginal students highlighted the need for their culture to
be represented at schools and the recognition of their Aboriginality in safe envi-
ronments at school. These findings reinforce the importance of engaging with
Aboriginal people in the development of best practice so as to build Aboriginal
understandings within a Western educational system.

Keywords Aboriginal education
Student voice
Pedagogy
Narrative

Aboriginal cultural knowledge

Introduction

For decades, there has been a consistent stream of research and statistical evaluation
highlighting the under-achievement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students in Australian schools. Since the 1970s there has been a series of national
reports and inquiries addressing issues involving Aboriginal communities that have
highlighted these poor educational outcomes.

& Michael J Donovan

michael.donovan@newcastle.edu.au
1
The Wollotuka Institute, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia

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614 M. J. Donovan

Some of the inquiries that have identified poor educational outcomes for
Aboriginal people include Poverty and Education in Australia (Fitzgerald 1976,
p. 2), the 1985 Report of Aboriginal Education (Commonwealth of Australia 1985),
the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody [RCIADIC] (Johnston
1991), the National Review of Education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples (Commonwealth of Australia 1995), the National Inquiry into the
Separation of Aboriginal Children from their Families (Wilson and Dodson
1997), the NSW Review of Aboriginal Education (NSW Aboriginal Education
Consultative Group & NSW Department of Education & Training, 2004) and results
from PISA studies. (Thomson et al. 2013). Each of these reports and inquiries has
shown great disparity, and limited success, of Aboriginal students compared with
non-Aboriginal students in achieving educational benchmarks. In the PISA 2012
review of Australian results, Aboriginal students were cited as being approximately
30 months behind the educational benchmarks of their non-Aboriginal peers
(Thomson et al. 2013, pp. 15–16).
Over the last 40 years, much research has been conducted in an attempt to
understand why so many more Aboriginal students experience difficulties in school.
Several features of the educational system have been identified as potential
contributors to this problem. These include the poor attendance rates of Aboriginal
students (Bourke et al. 2000; Commonwealth of Australia 1995), low expectations
of Aboriginal students’ academic achievement by teachers (Donovan 2007;
Johnston 1991; NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group & NSW Depart-
ment of Education & Training 2004; Sarra 2011), limited knowledge of teachers
about Aboriginal society and cultures (Harris and Malin 1994; Hughes et al. 2004;
NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group & NSW Department of Education
& Training 2004), poor quality relationships between schools and Aboriginal
communities (Donovan 2011; Mellor and Corrigan 2004), lack of engagement of
Aboriginal students in schools (Halse and Robinson 1999; Heitmeyer 2004) and the
quality of pedagogy in the classroom (Donovan 2009; Yunkaporta and Kirby 2011).
Many of these identified features intersect and impact on teachers’ educational
practices when working with Aboriginal students. For many Aboriginal students,
their culture is rarely represented in the classroom, which can lead to poor
relationships with the teachers due to limited connection between the teacher and
the Aboriginal students’ identity. This disconnection can lead to Aboriginal students
disengaging from their teacher (Donovan 2007; Hughes et al. 2004; Mellor and
Corrigan 2004; Sarra 2011).
Efforts to improve outcomes for Aboriginal students are typically driven by
educational researchers, policy-makers and teachers, drawing on their observations,
their own educational experiences and new theoretical and pedagogical develop-
ments. However, as Crane (2001) provocatively suggests, ‘‘schools cannot learn
how to be better places for learning without asking the students’’ (p. 54). Asking
students can, at the very least, provide insight into which teachers’ actions best
engage these students in learning. Cook-Sather (2002), a prominent academic who
engages students to present their positions on education and educational reform
states,

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educators think that we know what education is and should be. Because we
have lived longer and have a fuller history to look back upon, we certainly
know more about the world as it has been thus far. But we do not know more
than students living at the dawn of the 21st century about what it means to be a
student in the modern world and what it might mean to be an adult in the
future (Cook-Sather 2002, p. 12).
Accessing students’ opinions and stories about what they believe works in their
schooling has the potential to shed light on how better outcomes for Aboriginal
students might be achieved. Students’ stories are a narrative rendering of their lived
experiences that can inform educational professionals (teachers, researchers) of
their understandings. However, most accounts of students’ school lives are targeted
towards mainstream cultural understandings, even in culturally diverse educational
systems such as in Australia. There is very limited research trying to connect
Aboriginal students’ voices and understandings with the current Australian
education system. Indeed, Aboriginal students’ voices have rarely been heard in
the literature on student voice either in relation to the classroom or in relation to
systemic change.
This paper draws on discussions with Aboriginal students in Yarning Circles.
Within these culturally safe spaces the Aboriginal students were asked their
opinions on their school, their teachers and their curriculum. The insights that
emerge from these conversations are the focus of this paper. My aim is to present
the Aboriginal students’ standpoint on what practices best engage them at school.
In this paper I focus mainly on students’ discussions of Aboriginal cultural
practice and understandings, as these ideas dominated the Yarning Circle
conversations. The Aboriginal students highlighted that engaging with Aboriginal
Cultural Knowledge (ACK) when working with Aboriginal students is of particular
importance in their educational experience. Some of the features of schooling
identified by the Aboriginal students included the importance of the relationship
between the students and staff, the importance of schools using Aboriginal spaces
and engaging Aboriginal Education workers to support Aboriginal students and
maintain supportive cultural practices across the school. As a Gumbaynggirr man
and Aboriginal researcher with over twenty years experience working with
Aboriginal students and training pre-service non-Aboriginal teachers to work with
Aboriginal students, I was able to identify and interpret the culturally embedded
behaviours of Aboriginal students during our discussions which is reflected in the
analysis below.
Before elaborating on the study, a clarification of terms is important. In this paper I
refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students as ‘‘Aboriginal students’’ as
supported by the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) in the NSW
Department of Education and Training (DET) Aboriginal Education Review of 2004
(NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group & NSW Department of Education &
Training 2004, p. 11). While using the singular term for all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander populations I acknowledge the great diversity amongst Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander populations. The term ‘‘Indigenous’’ is only used when referring
to other international studies of Indigenous peoples globally. I include all Aboriginal

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education workers in schools under the title ‘‘Aboriginal Education Officer’’ (AEO) to
limit confusion between positions, employment time frames and the specific roles
played. These Aboriginal education positions include Aboriginal Education Workers
(AEWs), In-Class Tutors (ICTs), Aboriginal Teachers’ Aides (ATAs) and various
school-developed Aboriginal support personnel.

Student voice and narrative research

Using story as a research tool is very effective with Indigenous communities. As

Thomas King, an American Indian author and storyteller informs us, ‘‘the truth
about stories is that’s all we are’’ (King 2005, p. 2). The use of story is present
through all aspects of the lives of Indigenous peoples, including Aboriginal people,
and has been used as a major learning and information tool. Using narrative as a
methodological tool emphasises the importance of story in people’s lives. As
Connelly and Clandinin (1990) state ‘‘people by nature lead storied lives and tell
stories of those lives, whereas narrative researchers describe such lives, collect and
tell stories of them, and write narratives of the experience’’ (Connelly and Clandinin
1990, p. 2). This quote accentuates the importance of working in collaboration with
participants. Narrative research becomes part of a collaborative partnership between
participants and the researcher. This is true for narrative inquiry in general but has
greater significance when developing research with Indigenous communities, given
the centrality of stories to Indigenous cultures.
Student voice is a very limited field, with a slim history in Australian educational
research (Manefield et al. 2007). Much of the literature is directed towards small-
scale school-based research that examines student participation across a variety of
issues such as student involvement in decision-making on teaching and learning or
future directions for the school, students as co-researchers, and students’ views of
inclusion principles (Manefield et al. 2007, p. 5). Rarely have Aboriginal student
voices been the subject of investigation.
Even globally, there have only been a handful of studies that target Indigenous
school students’ voices and their views of education. Bishop and Berryman (Bishop
et al. 2003) through the New Zealand school reformation practices called Te
Kotahitanga initiated their study by asking Maori students what they believed
would improve their educational achievement. Through using the recognised
Indigenous practice of storytelling, or as Bishop termed it ‘collaborative storying’
(Bishop et al. 2003) the Maori students presented their educational stories from their
own standpoints on their education. Collaborative storying allowed the students to
tell their stories with their own words embedding their cultural identity as part of the
discussion. Bishop and Berryman (Bishop and Berryman 2006) found that, ‘‘these
students were able to clearly identify the main influences on their educational
achievement (both positive and negative), they were also able to clearly tell us how
their educational achievement could be improved’’ (p. 3).
In North America, Peacock et al. (2003) undertook a phenomenological study
involving Native American students exploring what they saw as the most
appropriate way to engage them in schooling. The authors wanted a firsthand view

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of the education system through the eyes of American Indian, First Nation, and
Native Alaskan students to inform the research. As the authors stated, ‘‘the
experience of the participants (Indigenous students) with regard to the subject being
studied (their education) was important in coming to an understanding of that
subject’’ (Peacock et al. 2003, p. 391). So the specific view of the central
participants (Native American students) was the key link for any form of in-depth
study of pedagogical practices.
In an Australian context there has been little work asking Aboriginal students
about their education. A notable study was conducted in 2001 by a research team led
by Godfrey from Edith Cowan University (ECU) where the research team surveyed
470 Aboriginal students across the middle years of schooling (Year 5 to Year 10),
attempting to analyse the treatment and care they receive at school (Godfrey et al.
2001). This work focused on Aboriginal students’ views of school environments and
the systemic management of Aboriginal students, with some targeted questioning
towards their views of teachers.
My study has similar interests to the Godfrey et al. study, but uses very different
methods of data collection. I wanted to avoid the constraints of a survey that by
design limits students’ responses to the terms set by the researchers. Instead, I
explored the views of Aboriginal students about their schooling through a narrative
methodology involving Yarning Circles.

Design of the study

This study involved interviewing Aboriginal high school students on what they
believe is best for them in improving their educational experiences. The study is
consistent with the principles of self-determination in respecting Aboriginal values,
diversity and allowing choices by Aboriginal peoples in their education (Human
Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 2002). This study enables Aboriginal
students, through their own stories, to identify what they see as the best practices to
engage them in schooling. This study was conducted at a variety of school locations
to maximise the possibility of capturing differences related to place, socio-economic
standing and culture.
The discussions occurred in Yarning Circles, which are a level space where all
participants are equally valued in the discussion. This structure has been used in
Aboriginal cultures for as long as human memory (Bessarab and Ng’andu 2010,
p. 39). The Yarning Circle involves all the participants sitting in a circle facing each
other, which allows for all participants to see each other comfortably in an open
discussion space. In a traditional sense the Yarning Circle is led by a facilitator,
someone who is respected for their wisdom or ability to guide their community. In
this study, with the support of the AEO, I led the Yarning Circles.
The circle establishes a safe non-hierarchical place where everyone present has
the opportunity to speak without interruptions. In a research context the researcher
facilitates the process by introducing the discussion topics and supporting the open
discussion. The researcher can do this by clarifying some comments, probing the
comments further or inviting participants into the Yarning Circle to gather

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comments from all participants. For many non-Aboriginal researchers this structure
may look like a focus group. But for many Aboriginal peoples this circular structure
is the norm for community meetings especially at important community gatherings
where the community gains guidance from the leaders (Elders) who bring their
wisdom to the issue in open discussion to inform the community or suggest
direction when developing viewpoints. It is a known structure to Aboriginal
peoples; a comfortable space and a forum typically seen as a culturally secure space
for open collaborative discussion.
The schools purposively selected for this study were schools with recent success
or engagement in positive change for Aboriginal students, as identified through
active Aboriginal educational networks. Each school was asked to identify
approximately five Aboriginal high school students in Stage 5 (Year 9 and 10) to
discuss what they believe are best practices in engaging Aboriginal students at
schools.
A total of eight high schools were visited beginning with four schools from a
single school region. This region was targeted because it covered both urban and
rural areas and the four initial schools were chosen because they enrolled some of
the largest Aboriginal student numbers for the region. This part of the study
establishes some preliminary coding to guide the categorising of responses. The
next four schools were targeted as features of these schools have been consistently
connected to Aboriginal student populations. For example, a school in a low-socio-
economic area, was also an urban school; a remote school, a school that had a high
presence of Aboriginal culture, this was a school that had a long standing Aboriginal
languages program and an elite independent single-sex boarding school that had a
strong long-term mentorship program. (Table 1).
A total of 50 students (33 male and 17 female) participated in the Yarning
Circles, as some schools invited more than the five students to participate. The
Yarning Circle evolved from informal introductions and establishment of cultural
positioning or relationships of family and community between the researcher and
the participants. This begun with a personal introduction that includes identifying
your family and Aboriginal Nation as a well-established cultural foundation. Other
Aboriginal researchers have identified this practice as an important practice when
working in collaboration with Aboriginal communities (Blair 2008; Hanlen 2002).
The students were informed of the anonymised nature of our collaborative
discussions. I also highlighted that this open discussion space was for all voices that
are equally valued because of the unique Aboriginal perspective that only
Aboriginal students should present. From there we proceeded to more targeted
discussions around the research questions. The research questions were (1) what do
you think are the best things about this school? (2) What do teachers do best that
engages you? (3) What content that is taught in schools is important to you as an
Aboriginal student? Within these discussions the students shared their views on
aspects of their school, their teachers and the curriculum, and how these impacted
on their engagement with their educational experiences.

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Table 1 School site information from My Schhol website (Australian curriculum and reporting authority
2014)
Schools Location Student population Aboriginal % ICESA Attendance rate (%)

1 Metropolitan 553 15 895 81

2 Provincial 1221 8 959 90
3 Metropolitan 867 10 956 88
4 Metropolitan 529 13 927 88
5 Metropolitan 535 12 872 85
6 Metropolitan 1056 3 1145 100
7 Remote 101 65 771 85
8 Provincial 401 21 911 85

Initial findings

The initial findings presented here highlight key elements of schooling raised by
Aboriginal students through the collaborative storying of the Yarning Circles. The
analysis of the transcribed Yarning Circle discussions was developed within a
grounded theory context with emergent themes drawn from the discussion within
the Yarning Circles.
The analysis highlights the Aboriginal students’ recognition of Aboriginal culture
at schools. What I refer to as Aboriginal cultural recognition is aspects of Aboriginal
cultural practices that the Aboriginal participants identified from their home lives
that are represented in their schools. Such recognition includes behaviours and
practices Aboriginal students would see as culturally safe and engaging. These can
include having an Aboriginal space with Aboriginal staff members who are
recognised within the local Aboriginal community.
The major themes identified and discussed in this paper are the presence of
authentic relationships, Aboriginal culture in schools, and engaging educational
practices as the scope within this paper is to focus on issues specific to ACK.

Relationships

The relationship between the Aboriginal student and the teacher is a key feature
when engaging Aboriginal students in a learning environment. This understanding
of an authentic relationship was repeated by Aboriginal students across the Yarning
Circles as they discussed the teachers that treated them like real people. An
authentic relationship was foundational to many of the Aboriginal students wanting
to engage with their teachers in the classroom. As one student described a teacher
where there was a good relationship, ‘‘he’s a fun person that you can talk to about
personal stuff and he’ll be good with it, he’ll be all cool. Yeh I think I just been
friends with him I guess’’ (Yarning Circle 2).

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620 M. J. Donovan

When defining an authentic relationship from an Aboriginal standpoint I engaged

with the Kaupapa Maori view of whanaungatanga (far-know-na-tounge-ah), or
family-like relationship (Bishop et al. 2014). This is a relationship that treats
participants of the relationship like family members. As Bishop et al. (2014)
highlight this relationship is ‘‘necessary and foundational’’ (Bishop et al. 2014,
p. 209) when working with Indigenous students. From an Aboriginal standpoint or
in my case a Gumbaynggirr standpoint such a relationship is about treating students
like your ‘mob’ (colloquial term used in Aboriginal English for family). I term this
relationship girrwabugany (gear–wa-boo-gany) or relating to the student ‘like your
mob’. From a contemporary Aboriginal perspective ‘mob’ is a term used to engage
with the extensive kinship relationships that are part of Aboriginal society. The
concept of your ‘mob’ was noted in the Yarning Circles when Aboriginal students
used the term to relate to family or associates to a group, ‘‘your mob is up from
Queensland’’ (Yarning Circle 2).
This family-like relationship is an authentic relationship that a teacher needs to
understand and develop when attempting to effectively engage with Aboriginal
students. It is the relationship that many Aboriginal students build their engagement
to their learning. Once they connect and trust the teacher then the Aboriginal
students will engage with their teachers and work upon that relationship. Many
aspects of Aboriginal students’ learning are relational, and built from the shared
understanding that comes from a shared learning experience. As one Aboriginal
student suggested that, ‘‘It’s good to have a teacher that connects with you. It makes
it more interesting and more interactive’’ (Yarning Circle 6). The teacher needs to
develop this family connection or authentic relationship of trust, understanding of
identity including family and community, humour, social connections on a more
personal level. This includes aspects of known interests and important features of
community life.
From this culturally different worldview Aboriginal students may have different
demands on an authentic relationship then non-Aboriginal students and teachers. So
when teachers work with Aboriginal students they need to consider some aspects of
this difference and connect with these to support the development of an appropriate
relationship with their Aboriginal students through establishing an authentic or
girrwabugany relationship.

Aboriginal student spaces and the AEO

At many of the schools visited a separate space, generally called the Aboriginal
room by students and staff, was a focal point or cultural hub for the Aboriginal
students. By cultural hub I mean a place where practices and conditions were more
aligned with the familiarity of home rather than the sometimes alien or hostile
experience of school. Much of this home life similarity revolved around the people
who staffed these centres such as an AEO.
Given that the Aboriginal rooms are seen as culturally safe places, many
Aboriginal students congregate there and use the centre on a regular basis as a social
hub and an information centre. Bin-Sallik (2003) argues that due to Australian

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assimilation practices, Aboriginal society has resisted losing its culture in part by
demanding the need for Aboriginal spaces in educational facilities in order to
maintain their unique cultural identity. The students stated that they use the rooms
for a variety of reasons, as illustrated in the following statements: ‘‘Aboriginal room
is like the best part of the school. You can come here to cool down if you’re angry,
come and talk to the AEO about anything’’ (Yarning Circle 1). ‘‘Always lots of
programs and things to engage you and make you want to be at school’’ (Yarning
Circle 8), ‘‘We’re doing painting up at recess and lunch, I think that’s pretty good’’
(Yarning Circle 4) and ‘‘Look after your homework there’’ (Yarning Circle 8).
These rooms would be used for all these reasons depending on the needs of the
students.
As I set up for the Yarning Circle in each school, I was privileged to observe
many students dropping into the Aboriginal rooms either between classes or during
breaks. I noted the strong social construction of the Aboriginal rooms. They
reminded me of a central campfire in a traditional Aboriginal context, where the
community circulated their business around this point, always gathering back there
between activities. In traditional Aboriginal society the central campfire is where
everyone comes together to share stories of the day and socialise. In contemporary
times this campfire is more symbolic, representing a place to sit and converse and
usually be able to make a cup of tea. This idea of gathering around a central point is
not uniquely Aboriginal but the community gathering around a central point to
connect with their peers and family is a very significant Aboriginal practice.
The students conveyed that the Aboriginal rooms take on this persona of a central
campfire in many schools, where Aboriginal students connect with their peers and
have a connection with a Community guide (AEO, in-class tutor, Elder). From my
observations of these spaces, good working Aboriginal rooms establish an
Aboriginal cultural foundation and maintain this cultural relationship with
Aboriginal students at their schools.
The primary contact for Aboriginal students at schools is often the AEO. When
the participants were asked about their AEOs, many students spoke warmly of the
person and the relationship they had with them. As one student highlighted when
commenting about the AEO they stated she was, ‘‘more like an Aunty than a
teacher’’ (Yarning Circle 1). This statement highlights the cultural significance to
the honorarium of ‘Aunty’ for the Aboriginal student. The AEOs recognition of the
students Aboriginality is an important feature in their relationship. That is, the AEO
understands them as Aboriginal people. This understanding carries the cultural
affinity, the cultural demands of the students’ home lives into the relationship
between the AEO and Aboriginal student.

Aboriginal cultural knowledge (ACK)

Culturally responsive schooling is a pedagogical argument that many Indigenous

pedagogical theorists have argued as beneficial for Indigenous students (Battiste
2002; Bishop et al. 2014; Castagno et al. 2008; Donovan 2009; Heitmeyer 2004;
Hughes et al. 2004; Nakata 2007; Peacock et al. 2003; Sarra 2011; Yunkaporta and

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McGinty 2009). This feature was evident in the unique spaces that the Aboriginal
room created and allowed the AEOs to provide aspects of ACK with which the
students could engage. These expressions of culture took many different forms
depending on the AEO’s skills or the available skills in the local Aboriginal
community. Some examples of these cultural activities included; Aboriginal dance
groups, boys’ didgeridoo groups, Aboriginal art workshops, Aboriginal student
cultural camps, tracking of the students’ genealogy to identify their Aboriginal
Nation, Aboriginal tools and weapons workshops, local Dreaming stories, Bro and
Sista Speak programs, junior AECGs, leadership activities, Traditional Aboriginal
Games (TIG), workshops and weaving. Most of these activities were designed to
support the Aboriginal students in gaining a greater understanding of their culture.
ACK was also evident in some classrooms but presentation of Aboriginal culture
is a very minor feature of most lessons (NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative
Group, 2011; NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group & NSW Department
of Education & Training 2004). This view of limited ACK being present in their
classes was supported in one yarning circle as a student stated,
‘‘the only time I’ve ever done it (ACK) was in English where we studied
Oodgeroo’s poetry and in history were civil rights movement in America and
like they made a few references to Aboriginal culture is about all I ever heard
mentioned at all’’ (Yarning Circle 2).
In the 2004 NSW Review of Aboriginal Education teachers stated that they had
very limited knowledge of Aboriginal Australia and had difficulties in presenting it
in their classes (NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group & NSW
Department of Education & Training 2004, p. 92). So there is a great need and
demand for appropriate Aboriginal cultural workshops to support teachers to gain a
greater understanding of Aboriginal society in order to support all their students.
Nakata (2007) argues that this interplay between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
society is an aspect of the ‘cultural interface’ that Aboriginal people live with in
their daily interactions across wider Australia. This interface needs to be
acknowledged by non-Aboriginal teachers when working with Aboriginal students
to better engage with these students (Nakata 2007; Yunkaporta and Kirby 2011).

Conclusion

My analysis of Aboriginal students’ standpoint on their schools, teachers and

curriculum in their Yarning Circles has highlighted some positive Aboriginal
cultural practices in schools. Three main features were highlighted by the
Aboriginal students that relate to aspects of Aboriginal culture that contribute to
their engagement in school.
Central to a positive experience of school was an authentic relationship between
teachers and Aboriginal students. This view of relationship goes beyond personal
acknowledgements but recognise the significance of Aboriginal identity of the
student. The teacher needs to acknowledge the cultural interactions that play within
these relationships and embed these understandings within the daily practices within

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Aboriginal student stories, the missing voice to guide us… 623

their classroom. This is an authentic relationship that embraces Aboriginal cultural

understanding and familial standpoints. This is a girrwabugany or ‘mob-like’
relationship that embraces the cultural interplay between teachers and Aboriginal
students that is present in the classroom. These actions inform the Aboriginal
students that they are welcome and their culture has some place within that
classroom. As the Aboriginal students highlighted in the Yarning Circles some
teachers and their practices are seen as alien to Aboriginal students and the students
cultural standpoint.
The Aboriginal space that is supported by AEOs is another feature that needs to
be acknowledged as important when supporting Aboriginal students’ engagement
with their schools. Spaces like the Aboriginal rooms in schools maintained by AEOs
should be a part of school to support the identity and engagement of Aboriginal
students. Aboriginal rooms are significant to Aboriginal students as they provide
students with a physical place where a strong sense of their culture and connection
with their peers and community are found, without fear of their cultural difference
being challenged. These spaces allow the AEOs who are the primary contact in
maintaining Aboriginal cultural connections between the Aboriginal students and
their school to work towards bridging some of the gap that has existed between
Aboriginal students and schools.
The recognition of ACK is another important outcome of this research. By
acknowledging Aboriginal culture through the curriculum and their teaching
practices, teachers will help Aboriginal students to recognise that their culture has
value within that educational space. The identification of ACK will connect with
Aboriginal students and their communities, supporting the engagement of Aborig-
inal students to the school. But to achieve this engagement of ACK informing all
students about Aboriginal Australia, teachers will need greater education about
Aboriginal Australia to support the transfer of these understandings to our education
system.
This study has identified various features of good practice when working with
Aboriginal students through eliciting the standpoints of Aboriginal students
themselves. Engaging with the Aboriginal students’ standpoint and interpreting
their voice, their view, through my own Aboriginal cultural understandings has
provided clear insights for supporting Aboriginal students. Through the use of the
Aboriginal students voice some of the common positions of the Aboriginal
pedagogical theorist have been re-interpreted and extended from an Aboriginal
standpoint. That is, allowing Aboriginal culture to be at the centre of the argument
and lay the foundations of these understandings to be built from that position and
placing the Aboriginal students culture and voice at the front of the educational
practices not as an add-on.

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Michael J Donovan is a member of the Gumbaynggirr Nation from the north coast of NSW. His research
experience is in Aboriginal educational research, Aboriginal pedagogy, student voice and working with
Aboriginal communities.

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