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Option 1:

Due to the difficult and challenging life experiences Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander students have faced, these students require further assistance and support in order to

remain and prosper within learning environments. It is significant to understand and

implement essential components that can shape and build positive and respectful

relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The significant essential

components involve, cultural and social inclusion, being able to connect to one’s physical and

self-identity, understanding one’s economic state, as well as the importance of government

funding’s, and effective teaching within learning environments. Such essential components

are imperative to consider as these students can academically succeed, and the retention rate

will increase due to their collaboration and engagement. This paper will also examine key

policy documents that the Australian government has implemented to improve learning

outcomes, such as “Closing the Gap” and the “NSW Aboriginal Education Strategy and

Policy”. As a future secondary teacher, it is crucial to explicitly understand these essential

components and strive to be consistent with supporting the learning of Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander students, as well as their success and retention in a classroom as this will

create a positive and respectful learning area.

To improve and advance the social and cultural inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander students in schools, it is significant to discover appropriate approaches to make

these students comfortable as they are exposed to a high rate of social exclusion (Dobia &

Roffey, 2017). In order to create a cultural inclusive environment, both teachers and students

must build mutual respect and treat one another equally. By encouraging students to become

“cultural agents”, students will gain further respect for one another, allowing for students to

comfortably share examples of anecdotes, regards to their culture, self-identity and their

tradition. The concept of cultural inclusion will further assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait

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Islander students, as they will begin to feel safe within the classroom and build a sense of

security. This essential component is also significant for educational leaders, more

specifically teachers as they learn to avoid common stereotypes and assumptions

(Department of Education, 2018). By effectively creating a cultural inclusive classroom,

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will be able to create a positive and respectful

relationship as well as improving retention. “Closing the Gap” is a government strategy that

objects to reduce difficulty amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

This has been successful in education as there has been an increase in participation, an

improvement in school attendance, and a development in reading, writing and numeracy

(Price, 2015, p.42).

It is significant to understand and consider the mental wellbeing and the social

inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, as well as the factors that these

students reliant on. Some of these factors include family relationships and environments,

one’s abilities and necessities, and the school environment one is placed in (Dobia & Roffey,

2017). As some students come from broken families, by considering these factors and

creating a safe and secure environment, students may feel safer in learning areas regardless of

the negative factors that occur in their lives. Once this safe and secure environment is created,

the learning opportunities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will increase, as

this will allow them to work collaboratively with other students, due to the factors of their

mental wellbeing and social inclusion being considered (Rose, 2015, p.78). Once the

wellbeing and social inclusion of the students have been taken into account, the retention rate

will increase and positive and respectful relationships will be successfully created.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have a strong connection with the

country and land. Due to this, it is significant to consider the physical advantages that will

build positive and respectful relationships as well as encourage retention within schools. By

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connecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to their cultural and physical

heritage of the land through concepts of the Australian curriculum, students will be able to

make a physical connection, engage in the lesson and retention is achieved (Rose, 2015,

p.79). Another common physical aspects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students tend

to continue to appreciate and associate with their way of life is to tell their personal

experiences through vibrant art works and music (Rose, 2015, p.78). By implementing

traditional approaches within school environments, such as acknowledging the custodians of

land at the beginning of each day and employing tasks to be completed through art work and

music, the retention rate will potentially increase due to the consistent collaboration of the

Aboriginal tradition and culture. This will lead to a successful change in building positive and

respectful relationships for these students.

Low education has been a major effect due to the low economic status of Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander families (Altman, 2000, p.8). As a future secondary teacher, it is

significant to be aware and consider one’s economic state as it may conflict with their

attention and focus level. It is the Australian government’s responsibility to support and fund

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in order for them to gain knowledge and reach

an effective learning achievement. The Australia Government provides ‘needs-based funding’

to support all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in achieving a successful learning

outcome as well as simply contributing and attending school (NSW, Department of

Education, 2018). Due to the positive funding of the Australian Government, it is a teacher’s

responsibility to implement learning pedagogies in order to engage students to the lesson

rather than them just attending school. Classroom teachers are also responsible to track the

progression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and examine other possible

strategies to build a positive and respectful relationship with these students as well as

improving retention.

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The “NSW Aboriginal Education Strategy and Policy” aims to improve educational

outcomes and welfare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Not only does the

policy mention the aim and strategy of the government, but it also contains diverse training

and personal development sessions for teachers in order for them to enhance their knowledge

on what these students require in classrooms (2018). Both the “NSW Aboriginal Education

Strategy and Policy” and “Closing the Gap” are clear evidence that the government is striving

to improve the retention rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, which will

also lead to improvements in learning outcomes.

Not only do students require their cultural and social traditions being embedded

within the classroom, however, effective teaching is also an essential component that can

assist in creating positive and respectful learners, which will then lead to academic

achievement and an increase in retention. According to Russell (1999), the retention rate of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students has improved over the past fifteen years due to

the support and assistance from teachers (p.10). As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

students require immense attention from their educational leaders, by implementing

productive classroom pedagogies such as acknowledging the tradition custodians of the lands

of the area of the school, these students may feel a safe connection with the teacher and

classroom. As some students may value education more than others, it is significant to

accommodate and amend the lesson in order to cater for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

students. Effective teaching is also related to concept of differentiating. By differentiating the

lesson in accordance to the student’s needs, ways of success will be evident as students

become more aware of the task expectations (O’Neill, 2018, p.2). This will also lead to the

set outcomes being achieved.

The significance of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers is that it

provides a clear framework for teachers to know and understand what is expected and

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required by them (AITSL, 2011, p.2). Standards 1 and 2 both contribute to the education of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in relation to their culture and informing other

students about their traditions. Lead standard 1.4 states that teachers are required to support

students by “engaging in collaborative relationships with community representatives and

parents/carers” (AITSL, 2011, p.10). Proficient standard 2.4 also relates to teachers providing

opportunities “for students to develop understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages” (AITSL, 2011, p.11). As a future English

secondary teacher, Aboriginal culture and teachings will be implemented throughout many

learning tasks, in order for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and other students

to create a positive and respectful relationship.

For stage five English students, a learning task would require students to watch an

Aboriginal based movie, such as “Bran Nue Dae” by Jimmy Chi, and then analyse the film as

a class. Following this, students will then be required to complete a learning table about the

history culture and languages that were apparent within the film. This task will allow for

classroom collaboration to occur as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and other

students will be able to discuss both the cultures and the Aboriginal history together, leading

to a potentially positive and respectful relationship. This will also create a notion of success

and retention as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will be able to make a personal

connection with the film and engage with the lesson content. Also, the teacher will

successfully meet the lead and proficient standards of ‘The Australian Professional Standards

for Teachers’ as the lesson will encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to

become confident and engaged learners. This learning task successfully relates back to all

three essential components discussed as the history is incorporated within the lesson, leading

to class collaboration. I believe that making a connection with all students is significant as it

creates a sense of security and friendship.

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Not only is it important to cover and teach students the learning outcomes of the

syllabus, however, it is crucial that a strong and trustworthy relationship is immediately

created between students and the teacher. As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

do not often trust easily they may shy away from classroom discussions (C, Ricketts,

Aboriginal and Culturally Responsive Pedagogies, week five, 2018). However, as a future

secondary teacher the following will be a main priority within classrooms, supporting and

encouraging inclusion within learning environments and also creating a safe and secure

classroom atmosphere. By doing this, a positive and respectful relationship will be created

with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and the rate of retention will improve. It

will also support Aboriginal student learning as trust is significant.

It is significant to consider the essential components of cultural inclusion,

understanding and considering the struggles of one’s economic state, and the importance of

effective teaching when teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Differentiating classroom lessons and employing Aboriginal language within classrooms will

improve learning outcomes. Hence, implementing such essential components within a

classroom as well as creating a safe learning environment, Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander students will be able to build positive, respectful relationships and improve retention.

Not only is this significant for Aboriginal students, however this will improve the academic

achievement of all students. When the above essential components are employed in

educational systems, the main objective of the “NSW Aboriginal Education Strategy and

Policy” is achieved as well as gaps in education being closed.

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References

Aboriginal education strategy and policy | Aboriginal education and communities. (2018).

Retrieved from https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/aec/policy-strategy-

and-business-systems

Altman, J. (2000). The economic status of Indigenous Australians. Retrieved from

http://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/economic-status-indigenous-

australians

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2016). Australian Professional

Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-

standards-forteachers

Dobia, B. & Roffey, S. (2017). Respect for Culture - Social and Emotional Learning with

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth. In E. Frydenbert, A. J. Martin & R. J.

Collie (Eds.) Social and Emotional Learning in Australia and the Asia Pacific. New

York: Springer.

Indigenous Education | Department of Education and Training. (2018). Retrieved from

https://www.education.gov.au/indigenous-schooling

NSW, B. (2018). NSW Syllabus :: Stage 5. Retrieved from

https://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/stage-5/

O'Neill, S. (2018). Effective Teaching. Retrieved from

https://www.education.wa.edu.au/documents/43634987/44524721/Effective+Teaching.p

df/5dcc8207-6057-3361-ade8-cf85e5a2c1ab

Price, K., & Garlett, Carol, Rose, write of foreword. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander education: An Introduction for the teaching Profession (Second ed.).

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Russell, D. (1999). The Importance of Identity in the Retention and Attainment of Aboriginal

Students at Secondary School: some research findings. The Australian Journal Of

Indigenous Education, 27(01), 10-19. doi: 10.1017/s1326011100001496