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EDUC4132: Working with Indigenous Students

Reflecting on Culturally Responsive Teaching

Name: Paige Kiernan

Student Number: 32001964

Date: 22.10.21

Lecturer: Patrick Hampton

Tutor: Matt Colquhoun

Word Count: 1100

Student Number: 32001964

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Culturally Responsive Teaching Reflection

Part One
The Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework (Department of Education, 2015) is a

tool that teachers can use to reflect on their teaching practices when working with

Aboriginal students. At standard, culturally responsive schools believe in Aboriginal

students capability to succeed by holding high expectations for their learning, and

teaching in ways that “enable them to better reach their full education potential”

(Department of Education, 2015, p. 10). When reflecting on my own professional

experiences working with Aboriginal students, I would currently rate myself on the

Teaching Standard continuum as being ‘culturally aware’. Both in a personal and

professional sense, I have had very little experience working and interacting with

Aboriginal people and students. As such, I have had very few opportunities to

develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that encompass culturally responsive

teaching.

On my most recent professional experience, there was only one student in my class

that was Aboriginal. Whilst I was aware that this student was Aboriginal, I however

did not make the effort to know their “cultural, language and family connections”

(Department of Education, 2015) or understand how this could impact on their

learning. Furthermore, whilst I knew the curriculum content for this year group, I did

not understand how to teach it to Aboriginal students. In this way I did not consider

the diverse perspectives that this student would bring to the content being taught,

nor did I consider how to address their learning needs by using resources specifically

designed for Aboriginal students.

One area that I did attempt to incorporate into my teaching was Aboriginal cultures

and histories within the city of Fremantle. For this activity, students were asked to

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investigate a significant site within the local community and describe why it was

important to Aboriginal people. Whilst this activity had good intentions, I did not

consult any local Aboriginal people when identifying these sites within the

community. It therefore wouldn’t be justified to say that this was an example of

culturally responsive teaching.

The Teaching Standard also states that culturally responsive teachers plan for and

implement effective teaching strategies (Department of Education, 2015). Whilst I

believe that I did this in my class generally, I did not consider the how these

strategies were or were not appropriate for the student in question. Furthermore,

whilst I differentiated my teaching practices to cater for the high-achieving students

in my class, I failed to make those same adjustments for this student.

The final point within the Teaching Standard is that teachers should “assess, provide

feedback and report on the progress of Aboriginal students” (Department of

Education, 2015, p.10). Whilst this student was included in all of my formative and

summative assessment practices, I did not tailor any of these tasks to take into

account their unique linguistic background and individual needs. Consequently, this

student was not provided with the same opportunity to succeed as the rest of the

students in my class.

Taking all of this into consideration, I therefore firmly believe that given my lack of

knowledge, understanding, and experiences working with Aboriginal students, that I

fall under the ‘culturally aware’ category of the Teaching Standard continuum.

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Part Two

A culturally responsive educator is someone who understands and appreciates

issues affecting Aboriginal students, their culture, and way of life, and can confidently

and effectively communicate and interact with Aboriginal students, their families, and

the wider community (Gower & Byrne, 2012; Department of Education, Employment,

and Workplace Relations [DEEWR], 2009).

To become a culturally responsive teacher, the first step I will take is to know my

own cultural identity. This is important given that that every teacher enters the

classroom with their own set of attitudes, beliefs, and values that influences how they

act within the classroom (Gower & Byrne, 2012). By knowing my own cultural

identity, I will be able to reflect on how this has influenced my pedagogy as a

teacher, and will enable me to better understand the diverse perspectives of my

students (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016; Villegas & Lucas, 2002).

The next action I will take is to spend time learning about Indigenous knowledge

systems. Given my lack of knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal ways of

“knowing, seeing and living” (DEEWR, 2009, p. 18), I believe it’s important that I

develop a basic knowledge of the culture, language, and history of Aboriginal people

(Gower & Byrne, 2012; Harrison & Sellwood, 2016). This understanding would serve

as a starting point for me to develop strong and genuine relationships with Aboriginal

students and their families, and will inform how I integrate Aboriginal cultural

knowledge into the classroom (Gower & Byrne, 2012; Harrison & Sellwood, 2016).

To become a culturally responsive teacher, I also need to make learning culturally

relevant to my Aboriginal students (Villegas & Lucas, 2002). As Harrison and

Sellwood (2016) state, increased engagement and better learning outcomes for

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Aboriginal students are achieved when learning is highly contextualised. Aboriginal

people have rich and complex identities, life experiences, and beliefs, and a key

aspect of transforming my teaching will be to incorporate these into my pedagogy by

drawing on the expertise and knowledge of the local Aboriginal community (Harrison

& Sellwood, 2016; Villegas & Lucas, 2002). By doing so, I will be able to form a link

between what’s taught in school and the students’ lives outside of the classroom

(Villegas & Lucas, 2002). Ultimately however, the teaching strategies that I will use

when working with Aboriginal children will depend on the socio-cultural context of the

school I am teaching in (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016).

Another aspect that I will incorporate into my teaching practice is holding high

expectations for Aboriginal students, something which I don’t believe I upheld in my

most recent professional experience. This is an important step given that low

expectations of students, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, will severely damage

the teacher-student relationship (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016). As a culturally

responsive teacher, I thus need to believe that all students are capable of achieving

success, a view which will ultimately result in improved results for Aboriginal

students (Hattie, 2012; Harrison & Sellwood, 2016; Department of Education, 2015).

The final step I need to take in becoming a culturally responsive teacher is making

my classroom inclusive of all students by reflecting the lives and identities of all

children and families who engage in the setting (Villegas & Lucas, 2002; DEEWR,

2009). As the teacher, it will be my responsibility to ensure that all children,

regardless of language or cultural background, experience a sense of belonging in

the classroom that gives them the confidence to explore, challenge themselves, and

make mistakes (Hayes & Kernan, 2008; Hattie, 2012).

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References

Department of Education. (2009). Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework.

https://www.education.wa.edu.au/dl/jjpzned#:~:text=The%20framework

%20sets%20expected%20standards,students%2C%20their%20families

%20and%20communities.&text=The%20framework%20gives%20us

%20a,families%20and%20communities%20in%20schooling

Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations. (2009). Being,

Belonging & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.

https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/belonging_being_and_b

ecoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

Gower, G., & Byrne, M. (2012). Becoming a culturally competent teacher: Beginning

the journey. In Q. Beresford, G. Partington, & G. Gower (Eds.), Reform and

resistance in Aboriginal education: Fully revised edition (pp. 379-402). UWA

Publishing

Harrison, N., & Sellwood, J. (2016). Learning and teaching in Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander education (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning.

Routledge.

Hayes, N., & Kernan, M. (2008). Creating Inclusive Learning Environments. In

Engaging young children: A nurturing pedagogy. Gill & Macmillan.

Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers:

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Rethinking the Curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 20–32.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487102053001003

Student Number: 32001964