A snapshot from Closing the Gap:Commonwealth 2023 Annual Report, page 18
Local support, local teachers
Mokak’s sentiments are echoed by Professor Rhonda Oliver, Director of Research in the School of Education at Curtin University.
Her extensive research investigates methods to assist in school engagement and education delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote communities.
“For me, Priority Reform 1 – Formal partnerships and shared decision-making – is key and is especially true for education,” Professor Oliver says. “We need to be informed by the community whose children we are teaching.”
Professor Oliver was the lead researcher on a recent study, Researching School Engagement of Aboriginal Students and their Families from Regional and Remote Areas.
The study concludes: “The evidence (or the lack of evidence) for attendance strategies points to them not working. Despite over $200 million of investment, the Remote School Attendance Strategy [a federal government program] has not resulted in higher school attendance, let alone its intended 95 per cent aspirational goal.”
“The evidence from school level data, as well as from our research participants, points to the importance of a well-trained local workforce.
“It also points to the need for more personalised approaches to teaching and learning that takes account of students’ individual needs – and is facilitated by smaller class sizes.”
Professor Oliver believes we need to adapt our curriculum and pedagogy to better suit not only the needs of students, but also their learning style and interests.
“For remote and very remote Aboriginal students, in particular, there is a need to teach using a two-way approach, and also giving strong support to home language as a foundation for English language learning,” she says.
“Such practices promote a strong cultural identity, which in turn supports the wellbeing of students.
“We also need greater support and involvement of community in the governance of schools. And, most importantly, we need more local Aboriginal teachers and educators in schools – particularly remote and very remote schools. Governments need to invest in this.”
ABSTUDY issues
Dr Lois Peeler, Elder in Residence at Victoria’s only registered Aboriginal school, Worawa Aboriginal College, says funding is an issue.
Worawa caters for Aboriginal girls in Years 7–12 from communities across the country.
She says the holistic nature of Worawa’s education, culture and wellbeing approach enables the school to address the social and emotional wellbeing needs of students and tackle Closing the Gap priorities.
“A key challenge facing the college however is reliance on government funding,” Dr Peeler says. “The socio-economic status of many Aboriginal families is such that families of students are means tested to meet eligibility requirements of ABSTUDY based on home conditions.
“This criterion, while designed to support Indigenous students, unintentionally creates barriers to entry for students from NSW and Victoria, who are deemed eligible to attend their local public school without consideration for their desire for cultural connection and safety.”
Dr Peeler says recent government changes making it more difficult to access ABSTUDY, which provides financial support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and apprentices, was a step in the wrong direction.
“The changes require ABSTUDY applications to be done online with no walk-in or face-to-face process anymore. There’s an assumption that everybody has access to it, whether in urban or remote communities where Aboriginal language is used,” she says.
“It doesn’t suit our community. It’s going to make it even more difficult for Aboriginal families who choose to send their child to a boarding school, to deal with the application process.”
Education as protection
Dr Peeler, who also works with the Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria, says education is a “protective factor” in keeping young people out of the justice system.
“There is still a lot of racism and if our kids are experiencing racism at school, they become disengaged and may end up encountering the justice system, and across the country there are concerns at the high incarceration rates of Aboriginal youth,” she says.
“As the Productivity Commission review stated, we need systemic change.”
Challenging teacher perceptions
A South Australian study found preservice teachers may need to re-examine their cultural views before they go to teach in remote and regional schools.
“Teachers, preservice teachers and teacher educators in Australia are predominately European Australian with a small minority of First Nations people,” says University of South Australia Associate Professor in educating for sustainability Kathryn Paige.
“What this means is that their knowledge of Australian histories and living cultures is limited by what they’ve been exposed to,” Professor Paige says.
“In this study, we challenged preservice teachers to explore their own attachments to place, identity and belonging as a stepping-stone towards engaging with First Nations cultures, histories, Country, and identities.
“They then engaged in a range of authentic learning practices that helped reframe deficit views of Aboriginal students, parents, and communities as intractable problems to be overcome, to people who are capable, intelligent and valuable. This is vital for professional teachers.”
Embedding culture
Professor Paige says that despite the professional and ethical responsibility to embed Australian histories and living cultures into schools, most preservice teachers have limited first-hand experiences and understanding of First Nations ways of knowing, which can make the process difficult for some.
“As passionate, experienced educators, we intentionally push the boundaries to ensure our teaching graduates have a sense of self-regulation to determine what they need to do to upskill and build confidence to locate and embed authentic First Nations voices, experiences, and knowledges across the curriculum,” Professor Paige says.
“Empowering preservice teachers to take on this responsibility, and understand the importance of doing so, is critical for a strengthened and more just Australian identity for all Australian students.”
References
bit.ly/remoteengagementstudy
https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/closing-the-gap-review/report
bit.ly/Closingthegapreport
bit.ly/unisaresearch
