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Assignment 1 16137165
Introduction
There is an abundance of research stating that there is an educational gap between Indigenous
and non-indigenous students (Ford, 2013; Song, Perry and McConney, 2014; Lewthwaite et al, 2015).
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have been accepted into the mainstream education system
since the early 1950’s; despite this, syllabus content and teaching has regularly failed to incorporate
Indigenous culture (Harris & Malin, 1994). Limited Indigenous content in classrooms has been
proven to lead to a sense of disengagement and a low level of acceptance amongst Indigenous
students (Malin & Maidment, 2003). The article by Lewthwaite et al., (2015) outlines the importance
of a pedagogy that includes the cultural knowledge and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders, in order to help decrease this educational disadvantage. However, a gap in the research
exists in regards to what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and communities identify as
teaching practices that influence their learning. In order to address this, Lewthwaite et al.’s article
will be used to provide a framework for a lesson plan aimed at influencing Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander’s engagement in the lesson, in turn improving their educational outcomes.
In 2016 there were 207 852 Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders enrolled in Australian schools.
This accounts for almost 5.5% of all students (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017), meaning that
almost every teacher will educate at least one student identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander each year. The current retention rate of Indigenous students from year 7 to year 12 is 24.5%
lower than that of all students (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017). In order for Australia to be
classed as a high quality educational performer and provider for all students, this is something that
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requires attention and alteration. It is required for education in Australia that all teachers must
include Aboriginal perspectives across all Key Learning Areas (KLAs) (Australian Curriculum
Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2016; Harrison and Greenfield, 2011). Student’s level
of engagement has been linked to educational performance, therefore it is important to engage the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in learning to get their best results. One area that has
been found to improve student’s engagement is through relating the content to the students (Reeve
& Tseng, 2011). Therefore the use of a cultural responsive pedagogy could be considered an ideal
On analysis of how this relates specifically to the KLA of PDHPE, we first focus on the PDHPE year
7-10 syllabuses which has an emphasis on the influence culture has on adolescent health. Two
primary topics of the syllabus are aimed at health education and sexual health education. When
comparing the heath of non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians it has been found that
Indigenous Australian’s have a lower life expectancy, which can be attributed to chronic diseases
including diabetes and heart disease(Gracey, 2014; NSW Government Health, 2017). On comparison
of the sexual health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous youths it has been found that Indigenous
youths have higher rates of both sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) and pregnancies higher (The
Kirby Institute, 2012; Ireland, Narjic, Belton, Saggers, McGrath, 2015). It has been found that an
essential component to help reduce health problems and diseases is through education (Nutbeam,
2000). Therefore this highlights the importance for Indigenous student’s engagement and education
Critical Summary
Background Research
The educational issue that is highlighted in the article by Lewthwaite et al (2015) is the increasing
educational performance gap between Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. This
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issue extends to the need for a pedagogy that influences Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
student engagement and learning. The author provides background research into the roles that
teachers and teaching practices have in improving students learning outcomes. In addition, they
make mention of the need for a culturally responsive pedagogy aimed at improving the learning
outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. This article provides a critical analysis of
the background research which can be seen through the analysis of Hattie’s research, where he
identifies areas that were missed in the research (p. 133). The article established that there is
currently no conclusive research indicating ‘what works’ (p. 134) in influencing Indigenous students
learning. Lewthwaite et al also highlighted gaps in the research, with specific focus placed on the
fact that there is currently limited research in regards to what Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
students and communities identify as teaching practices that influence their learning. The
insufficient research on this topic in turn becomes the guide for the research highlighted in this
article.
Research Methodology
The methodology for the research project in the article uses quantitative research and is
“informed by participatory action research (PAR)” (Lewthwaite et al., 2015, p. 137). PAR is an
appropriate method for this research as it provides an opportunity for strategies to be developed
with people (McIntyre, 2007), who in this case, are the affected community. The participants
included Aboriginal students, parents and caregivers, inclusive of Indigenous teachers within the
North Queensland Catholic school system. This use of Indigenous participants allows the information
to come directly from the affect group, decreasing the likelihood of stereotypical responses to occur
which can sometimes be seen by non-Aboriginal participants (Harrison and Greenfield, 2011). These
participants were either interviewed individually or within a group setting. The participants were
asked open ended questions focusing on teaching and learning experience in school and outside of
school as well as questions relating to teaching practices that assist their learning. The utilisation of
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open ended questions is appropriate for this study as it allowed the participants to discuss the
question in their own words, without researcher bias. The open ended questions utilised increased
the validity of the study, enabling the researchers to garner a true opinion of their participant’s
(Marvasti, 2003). The interviews were recorded and then transcribed. The transcriptions were then
analysed and coded by each of the researchers, both individually and as a team. The use of the initial
individual analysis carried out by each researcher allows them to gain their own opinion on the
responses, without being lead to a belief based on their colleague’s opinions (Collier and Mahoney,
1996). This coding allowed the researchers to find the significant meaning when relating to effective
teaching.
Results
Five themes were identified by the parents and 7 themes were identified by the students as
factors that lead to Indigenous student’s engagement in learning. These themes were discussed with
the inclusion of participant quotes in order to determine that the researchers weren’t altering their
comments in order to facilitate their research. Although some of the identified themes are concepts
that are identified as effective teaching for all students, they were able to establish themes that
The main themes that were found to be most beneficial to Indigenous students learning outcomes
were to incorporate into the pedagogy the welcoming of indigenous, local community members,
cultural knowledges, history and values. Also of note was the need for further support from the
community of not being important at school. Ultimately, this research task provides critical research
in regards to creating a culturally responsive pedagogy, in the view to decrease the educational gap
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The recommendations from the article by Lewthwaite et al can be explored through the use of a
BOSTES provided lesson plan for PDHPE (Appendix). The lesson plan (BOSTES, n.d.) is aimed at a
stage 4 class focusing on drug use, specifically tobacco. This falls under Strand 3: Individual
and Community Health of the syllabus (BOSTES). The activity requires students to describe the short
and long term effects of tobacco use based from the reading provided.
In revising this lesson plan with the recommendations from Lewthwaite et al it is clear that
alterations can be made in order to improve the engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students, thus improving their education on this topic. From the outset, although it is obvious that
the lesson is well set out, no mention of Indigenous culture or background is given, which is required
as part of the cross curriculum priorities (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority
(ACARA), 2016).
When observing the article provided (Watt, Nemec and Dawe, 1999), it is noticeable that it makes
no reference to how smoking affects the Indigenous community at a far greater rate compared to
the non-Indigenous community (Arjunan et al, 2016). This failure to mention the major effect
smoking has specifically on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community can link to the
leading to a lack of engagement in the topic. However if the lesson plan included an article that also
mentioned the affect it has specifically on the Indigenous community it would allow the students to
connect to the information on a personal level, therefore increasing the engagement on the content
(Webster, Mîndrilă and Weaver, 2011). This links with the recommendations by Lewthwaite et al to
include pedagogies that respond to the cultural norms of Indigenous student’s community.
aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students was the “welcoming of local community members”
(p.151). This could be incorporated within this lesson plan be approaching a local Indigenous
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member of the community, that has a history with smoking, to attend class and explain the effect it
has had on them. This is important for the indigenous students, as not only does it allow them to
relate to the Indigenous member but it also involves the Indigenous member telling a ‘story’ about
their experience. The sharing of stories plays a primary role in Indigenous culture and it is seen as a
great way of distributing knowledge (Margaret, 2015). The incorporation of an elder in the lesson
allows the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to experience learning in a way that is
common to them, decreasing the amount of ‘cross over’, as mentioned by Lewthwaite et al.
When investigating the incorporation of history and oppressions of Aboriginals into the lesson
plan (as recommended by Lewthwaite et al.) we can make mention of the history to help the
Indigenous students become aware of why smoking is an issue within Indigenous communities. This
history includes the link to Indigenous sources of Tobacco being part of their culture as well as a
history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders being paid in Tobacco for their services, and the
inclusion of Tobacco in the rations provided by the government in the past (Brady, 2002). This
history will help engage the Indigenous students as it relates to them as well as allows them to
Conclusion
The use of the research by Lewthwaite et al., in order to revise a lesson plan, can show the impact
that one research article can have on improving the engagement and educational outcome of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. This reflects the importance that continued research
has on improving the educational outcomes of not only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students but on all students’ educational outcomes. Therefore continual research throughout a
teacher’s career is vital as it allows them to evaluate the effectiveness of research and in turn
incorporate the findings into their pedagogical approach towards teaching the class. This will assist
in improvements of not only student engagement, but also their educational outcomes.
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References
Arjunan, P., Poder, N., Welsh, K., Bellear, L., Heathcote, J., Wright, D., Millen, E., Spinks, M., Williams,
M., & Wen, L.M. (2016). Smoking among Aboriginal adults in Sydney, Australia. Health
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2017, February). Schools, Australia, 2016 (no. 4221.0). Retrieved
from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4221.0
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2016). Australian Curriculum.
https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/7-10-literacy-numeracy/pdf-doc/pdhpe-sample-
lesson-plan.pdf
Ford, M. (2013). Achievement gaps in Australia: What NAPLAN reveals about education inequality in
Brady, M. (2002). Health inequalities: Historical and cultural roots of tobacco use among Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health,
26(2), 120-124.
Collier, D., & Mahoney, J. (1996). Insights and pitfalls: Selection bias in qualitative research. World
Politics, 49(01), 56-91.Gracey, M. (2014). Why closing the Aboriginal health gap is so elusive.
Harris, S. & Malin, M. (Eds.). (1994). Aboriginal kids in urban classrooms. Katoomba, Australia: Social
Science Press.
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Harrison, N., & Greenfield, M. (2011). Relationship to place: positioning Aboriginal knowledge and
DOI:10.1080/17508487.2011.536513
Ireland, S., Narjic, C. W., Belton, S., Saggers, S., & McGrath, A. (2015). ‘Jumping around’: exploring
young women’s behaviour and knowledge in relation to sexual health in a remote Aboriginal
Lewthwaite, B., Osborne, B., Lloyd, N., Llewellyn, L., Boon, H., Webber, T., Laffin, G., Kemp, C., Day,
C., Wills, J., & Harrison, M. (2015). Seeking a Pedagogy of Difference: What Aboriginal
Students and Their Parents in North Queensland Say About Teaching and Their Learning.
Malin, M. & Maidment, D. (2003). Education, Indigenous survival and well-being: Emerging ideas and
Margaret, K. (2015). Emerging from the margins: Indigenous methodologies. Toronto, Canada:
McIntyre, A. (2007). Participatory action research (Vol. 52). California, USA: Sage Publications.
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/aboriginal/pages/default.aspx
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Nutbeam, D. (2000). Health literacy as a public health goal: a challenge for contemporary health
education and communication strategies into the 21st century. Health Promotion
Reeve, J., & Tseng, C. M. (2011). Agency as a fourth aspect of students’ engagement during learning
Song, S., Perry, L. B., & McConney, A. (2014). Explaining the achievement gap between Indigenous
and non-Indigenous students: an analysis of PISA 2009 results for Australia and New
The Kirby Institute. (2012). Bloodborne viral and sexually transmitted infections in Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people: surveillance and evaluation report. Sydney: The University of
http://kirby.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/hiv/resources/2012ATSIP-ASR.pdf
Watt, A., Nemec, M., & Dawe, B. (1999). Jump into PDHPE – Book 1. Australia: Macmillian Education.
Webster, C., Mîndrilă, D., & Weaver, G. (2011). The influence of state motivation, content relevance
and affective learning on high school students’ intentions to use class content following
30(3), 231-247.
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Appendix
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