Improving Indigenous student outcomes through improved teacher education: the views of Indigenous educators

Abstract

This article describes an alternative approach to improving Indigenous student outcomes through improved teacher education, expressed through the views of Indigenous educators. The strategies required relate to the need for a cultural shift within the current Australian education system identified by Indigenous educators. The research demonstrates how connections between Westernised education systems and knowledge of Indigenous educators provide a locus of potential for the improved educational outcomes of Indigenous students. Indigenous educators’ knowledge about teaching and their specialist knowledge about Indigenous content place them in a position of epistemological privilege. The vehicle for change in the interests of Indigenous students is teacher education, and the driving force of untapped potential is Indigenous educators.

Keywords

Indigenous education student academic outcomes teacher education Indigenous educators Indigenous knowledge

Introduction

In Australia, Indigenous peoples are still seeking equity in education (Behrendt et al., 2012). Annual analysis and reporting associated with the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) shows that Indigenous school students repeatedly underperform, or their scores remain stagnant (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2016). Repeatedly, strong links are drawn between student underperformance and the need for teacher improvement (Harrington, 2013; Hattie, 2003).

It is important for Indigenous educators to express their views on this topic because Indigenous voices are seldom heard in the field of education in Australia. The First Peoples of Australia are not reflected in the national curriculum in a way that includes Indigenous positioning and perspective, and Indigenous students may not see themselves positively represented in schools. This under-representation does little to encourage reconciliation, or encourage and promote understanding of Indigenous Australian people and culture.

While it should be acknowledged that not all Indigenous students experience difficulties with education, many do. According to annual NAPLAN data, Indigenous students are the largest group of repeat under-performers; this group are routinely underserved by the Australian education system. Understanding and utilising Indigenous knowledge to improve teaching practice and Indigenous student outcomes is a logical step towards improving the reputation of the Australian teaching profession.

As an Indigenous woman researcher, I asked Indigenous educators and pre-service teachers about whether they thought it was important to include Indigenous knowledge in pre-service teacher education. The respondents detailed how Indigenous teachers and students use Indigenous knowledge in their day-to-day lives and pointed to its benefits in the school environment. In addition, Indigenous educators were emphatic that all teachers should recognise the importance of Indigenous knowledge to Australian social and environmental contexts. Every teacher should also know something about educational issues important to Indigenous teachers.

The research findings (see Woodroffe, 2019) were empowering for Indigenous educators, addressing concepts such as redefining and recognising Indigenous educational leadership, contemporary understandings of Indigenous identity, Indigenous knowledge in education, the Australian national curriculum and the treatment of Indigenous history, barriers to education such as Standard Australian English (SAE), mental health and well-being, and the fact that Indigenous educators have epistemological privilege.

The results indicated that understanding the importance of Indigenous knowledge to Indigenous people and the application of this understanding to teacher education programmes would create an environment for promoting engagement and participation and ultimately improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students.

NAPLAN and culture

Any discussion about why one specific cultural group of students repeatedly underperform in NAPLAN should begin by investigating and understanding what the assessment measures. According to the website, NAPLAN assessments determine “. . . whether or not young Australians have the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community” (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2016, para. 2).

The NAPLAN is informed by the National Curriculum, which is the foundation of the Australian mainstream education system. The NAPLAN literacy and numeracy assessments are conducted in SAE. However, not all Indigenous students in Australia speak SAE as their first language. Many Indigenous students—particularly those living in remote areas—speak their own traditional languages, while many more Indigenous students—including those living in larger urban centres—speak Aboriginal English. According to Eades (2014), “Aboriginal English is the name given to the dialectical varieties of English spoken by the majority of Aboriginal people throughout Australia” (p. 417). It is necessary to consider the ramifications of this regarding not only NAPLAN achievement but also Indigenous academic achievement within the Australian education system.

If we fully appreciate the always-disadvantaging position of Indigenous students who speak Aboriginal English or who do not speak English as their first language, then improving teacher practice and student achievement is so much more than being able to demonstrate the only two Indigenous-specific Australian Professional Standards for Teachers 1.4 and 2.4. which are (a) Focus 1.4—Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and (b) Focus 2.4—Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), 2018).

Teaching and culture

Aside from the question of the English language bias in NAPLAN, if we are to take seriously this requirement to “understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”, Indigenous Australian voices, still largely unheard in the field of Australian education, must be central to improving the Australian education system. Indigenous teachers are ready and willing to speak. As Santoro (2007) points out, Indigenous teachers “have a strong commitment to principles of social justice and the education of students who, like themselves, are not members of the hegemonic ‘mainstream’” (p. 83). The Indigenous advisory group for the Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE) is the Australian Indigenous Lecturers in Teacher Education Association (AILITEA), which is composed of Indigenous academics with expertise in the field of education. One of the recommendations from the 2017 Network of Academic Directors of Professional Experience (NADPE) report (Ure et al., 2017) is that “the ACDE AILITEA group be recognised as the key advisory group for Indigenous education and Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and that this group report to the ACDE on these matters” (p. 19). It is important that this group of Indigenous professionals have been recognised for their expertise and that they continue to have a voice.

Other Indigenous academics have also contributed to the debate about the Australian education system and the knowledge required by teachers. For example, Nakata (2011) identifies national curriculum links to Indigenous perspectives and understandings about the needs of Indigenous students. He highlights the necessity to utilise available documentation relating to working with English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) learners, in addition to also stressing that teachers should not make assumptions about Indigenous students but should instead treat each student as an individual. In this regard, Nakata (2011) frames his statements by “suggesting that teachers and schools might be assisted to move forward more confidently if we begin from a different premise than the one that informs the current discourse in Indigenous education” (p. 2), instead of beginning with the premise that we expect Indigenous students to do badly.

Langton and Ma Rehea (2005) caution about the use of Indigenous knowledge and commercialising intellectual property that belongs to communities of people and not individuals. They do this in reference to traditional knowledge and the context of biodiversity-related knowledge, stating that “A community cannot build its capacity to mobilise its knowledge if there is no recognition that it is owned by them” (p. 47). In education, Indigenous educators are the holders of Indigenous knowledge. While it is necessary to remain respectful of community and intellectual property, Indigenous educators are an important piece of the education puzzle and should be highly regarded as custodians regarding utilising their skills and knowledge as they deem appropriate in order to mentor non-Indigenous educators. The teachers in my study indicated that Indigenous knowledge should not be learned by non-Indigenous educators; rather, non-Indigenous educators should learn about the importance of Indigenous knowledge in educational contexts from Indigenous educators.

Price (2015) has gone some way to ensuring that this happens with the publication of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An introduction for the teaching profession, in which Indigenous educators and authors present a wealth of knowledge to aid teachers in the education of Indigenous students. While other such texts follow a similar format, Price (2015) has included only Indigenous voices, thus ensuring that Indigenous voices are not distorted or reinterpreted. But while the book’s chapters weave an intricate picture of best teaching practice in Australian classrooms, the suggestions made by Indigenous educators are difficult to meet because teachers continue to feel underprepared and unconfident to teach Indigenous learners (Ure et al., 2017). All Australian teachers need to be acquainted with Indigenous researchers’ perspectives and suggestions for educational change which are outlined. The knowledge and perspectives conveyed are foundational understandings to ensure that pre-service and practicing teachers are capable and confident in engaging with Indigenous students and communities. These are messages that would assist non-Indigenous educators to understand Indigenous perspectives on education within the Westernised education system. Western ideas and understandings dominate the Australian education system, with pre-service teachers more likely to be familiar with John Hattie rather than prominent Indigenous academics such as Martin Nakata, Tyson Yunkaporta, Lester-Irabinna Rigney, Kaye Price, Mark Rose or Peter Buckskin.

It was thought that the Australian teaching profession would be improved by the introduction of teaching standards as outlined in the ACDE’s (1998) Preparing a profession: Report of the national standards and guidelines for initial teacher education. However, a focus on professional standards is not enough to improve the teaching profession since there exists a complication or “catch”: the system does not adequately cater for the students who are apparently most in need of support—Indigenous students.

Mainstream Australia is perceived as non-Indigenous, and in fact, the education system is typically largely the domain of White Anglo-Celtic teachers (Santoro, 2007). In this regard, an education system based solely on Western knowledge with a White Anglo-Celtic teaching force that enforces linguistic imperialism is necessarily less than inclusive. Therefore, it is logical that the change required to improve the Australian teaching profession (and its reputation) is a cultural and political one—one led by Indigenous educators with the power to make decisions and define “effective teaching” (Price, 2015; Rose, 2015; Woodroffe, 2016, 2019). In this regard, it is worth pointing out that while teaching may be considered an art that is developed over time (Hattie, 2003), a new Indigenous educator (mature or young) may come into the profession with a wealth of Indigenous knowledge to inform practice. As well as learning about Indigenous interests from their initial teacher education study, mainstream teachers should support a teacher education system that empowers Indigenous educators as experts, to contribute significantly to designing and leading teacher education programmes.

Indigenous “specialist” knowledge

What does all this mean for Australian teacher education? The 2017 NADPE report “Professional Experience in Initial Teacher Education” (Ure et al., 2017) states that student teachers are still struggling to understand how to cater for Indigenous students’ success, which stems from poor practicum experiences in host schools. The report’s recommendations highlight the need for more research and a considered approach to the issue.

Collectively, the evidence suggests that much more needs to be achieved for Indigenous Education and teacher preparation if we are to be confident that all graduating teachers have the cultural awareness, responsiveness and competencies they need to be able to address the knowledge required in the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching. (Ure et al., 2017, p. 249)

While the report specifically discusses the area of Initial Teacher Education, more could also be done for graduate and experienced teachers already working within the school system who require professional development. Indigenous teacher educators also have a role here, to work as inter-cultural allies. As Ure et al. (2017) state, “. . . teachers need guidance from inter-cultural allies to improve their preparation for placements and to support and assist them to engage in deep listening to community as they negotiate cultural thinking and practices” (p. 248).

The term “inter-cultural allies” appears to refer to educators from different cultural backgrounds working together to promote inter-cultural understanding (De Turk, 2017). This statement confirms that greater cultural understanding is needed, though the term “inter-cultural allies” does not go far enough. For ally-ship to work well within the schooling system, Indigenous allies need to be people who are already successful practitioners as teachers. They need to have current knowledge and expertise. They also need to have cultural knowledge and cultural expertise.

As cultural knowledge—in this case, Indigenous knowledge—is specialist knowledge (Ure et al., 2017) and is fundamental to implementing positive change within the Australian education system, Indigenous educators should be recognised for their specialist knowledge. This specialist knowledge should be recognised and defined through a formalised leadership model. The current leadership statements and expectations outlined in the AITSL website at https://www.aitsl.edu.au/lead-develop/understand-the-principal-standard/leadership-profiles do not acknowledge cultural distinctions that shape Indigenous educational leadership.

Making the links

How can all teachers be informed about how to better cater for their Indigenous students? The answer is for informed and expert Indigenous educators to elaborate on cultural links, using Indigenous knowledge in order to mentor, guide and co-create appropriate, respectful and expert classroom practices (Buckskin, 2016; Malin, 1994; Rigney, 2002). While this needs to happen, it is a double-edged sword where Indigenous educators may be left to take responsibility for Indigenous struggles in education, and then be discredited if the results are less than favourable.

Indigenous educators’ ability to observe and understand the education system from the perspective of minorities strengthens their knowledge and skills as educators. It enables them to have a unique standpoint, and a different way of viewing or understanding the education system. Their cultural and educational knowledge places Indigenous educators in a position of epistemological privilege that should be recognised and acknowledged. In this regard, Indigenous educators have the necessary expertise to improve the Australian education system and add to the professional knowledge and skills of Australian teachers. However, these changes cannot occur in isolation. They must be implemented by building on what we already have, and such implementation must take place within the current Westernised system.

Changing the game: research findings

I consulted Indigenous educators to find out their views about the link between knowledge systems and the way that Indigenous knowledge could be included to create a more inclusive learning environment and to contribute to teacher education. My research study (see Woodroffe, 2019) included eight Northern Territory (Australia) Indigenous educators in the Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary sectors and one pre-service teacher, all of whom had experience and knowledge of urban classroom settings. The participants were asked if it was important to include Indigenous knowledge in pre-service teacher education and, if so, why and what should be included.

I used a shared epistemology model (Dunbar & Christie, 2013) as the methodology to guide respectful and ethical practice in working with Indigenous participants. Complementing this, Indigenous women’s standpoint theory (Moreton-Robinson, 2013) was operationalised to focus on the Australian education system rather than the deficit view that often directs a negative gaze onto Indigenous people. Semi-structured interviews and participant journaling were the methods used for data collection.

Indigenous women’s standpoint theory was used to analyse the following question: What does the data tell us about the education system? This analysis method highlighted the significance of Indigenous participant voice, and the interpretation of the data by me, an Indigenous woman researcher. Participants were asked if there was anything else, they wanted to add. Thematic coding was used to analyse the research questions and provide further depth to the topic based on the responses of Indigenous educators.

The Indigenous educators had definite views about teacher education and what should be included in pre-service teacher education. It was stated that pre-service teachers should learn about Indigenous knowledge and that there is no need for pre-service teachers to learn Indigenous knowledge because it is the domain of Indigenous people. The distinction between “learning about” and “learning” something is at the heart of this article. Pre-service teachers should learn about the existence of Indigenous knowledge and its importance to Indigenous people. They should learn about examples of Indigenous knowledge and how it impacts Indigenous students and Indigenous colleagues in the contexts of the school and classroom. Indigenous educators and Indigenous community members are the knowers and keepers of Indigenous knowledge. And pre-service teachers should learn this from appropriate Indigenous teachers.

Thus, the way to incorporate the use of Indigenous knowledge into the Australian education system is to acknowledge Indigenous educators as the holders of expertise. A summary of what the research participants thought that pre-service teachers should learn about Indigenous knowledge is summarised in Table 1.

Table 1.

What pre-service teachers should learn about Indigenous knowledge.

What	How
An in-depth understanding of Aboriginal English and how to respectfully and professionally cater for the learning of Aboriginal English speakers (mandatory for all mainstream classroom teachers)	By learning the linguistic knowledge and skills required
Real Indigenous Australian history, including information about Indigenous treatment such as exclusion and assimilation	By learning from Indigenous people. Participants confirmed that only Indigenous teachers can have, and then convey, their Indigenous perspectives
Indigenous culture to develop cultural awareness and an understanding of the Indigenous worldview
How to not only teach Indigenous learners but also acknowledge the importance of Indigenous teachers, particularly in schools with a greater percentage of Indigenous students
It is necessary for non-Indigenous students to learn about and understand Indigenous Australians
Possible barriers to learning such as: ESL needs Mental health issues Well-being concerns and How to create a sense of belonging for Indigenous students
Indigenous educational pedagogy

Source: See Woodroffe (2019, p. 272).

ESL: English as a Second Language.

A summary is useful for gaining an overview of the recommendations of my study. To provide more context, I explain each recommendation in greater detail below.

Aboriginal English: linguistic knowledge and skills

Indigenous educators raised the concern that teachers do not know enough about the Aboriginal English spoken in regional and urban areas, and they are usually unaware that demands for competence in SAE are a hurdle to educational success. Teachers need to know about Aboriginal English and have positive attitudes towards Aboriginal languages and linguistic training in order to help Indigenous students be successful in school.

Real Indigenous Australian history

Indigenous educators addressed the area of Australian history taught in schools and pointed out that a version portraying Indigenous people incorrectly and not including the atrocities inflicted on them—in addition to promoting the idea that Australian history only began with British settlement—is not true or acceptable. In this regard, Pascoe (2011) contends that history represents the real gap between Black and White: “Australia doesn’t know its history and it’s embarrassing to listen to the tripe some educators believe” (Pascoe, 2011, p. 5). Teachers need to know real Indigenous Australian history. This history can be found in many sources such as on the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) website at https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/history, in books such as Young Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe and in the television series First Australians on SBS, and there are significant resources available through or in the stories of Indigenous people who teach in a school, who are students or community members.

Indigenous cultural awareness and understanding

To say that someone needs to be “culturally aware” is only part of the story. Knowing about the existence of other cultures could be described as cultural awareness, but this does not mean that anything in depth is known about the cultures in question. Teachers in Australian schools need to know about Indigenous culture to the degree that they can explain shared understandings to all their students and better understand and relate to their Indigenous students. Key factors in being able to do this are understanding the concept of Indigenous sovereignty, knowing about and respecting the struggle that colonisation has represented for Indigenous people, the strength and resilience of Indigenous culture, and the diversity represented in contemporary Indigenous Australians.

How to teach Indigenous learners while also acknowledging the importance of Indigenous educators

Each time we use the term Indigenous education, it only continues to highlight the fact that the Australian education system does not automatically or intrinsically cater to the needs of all students since the structure and workings of the system are not founded on the knowledge of the First Peoples of Australia. The Australian education system should begin with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people as central to the curriculum and then focus on the teaching and learning that develops from there. Indigenous Australia should be integral to and integrated throughout the Australian education system—instead of being separate and only represented by two descriptors in the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers that cause teachers to account for their knowledge and teaching practice as part of their staff Performance and Development Review System (PDRS).

Teachers have the responsibility to know how to teach all their students—including their Indigenous students—in a way that is informed, professional, respectful, caring and effective. This can be greatly enhanced through working closely with Indigenous educators who have the combined skills and knowledge of Indigenous culture and perspectives as well as experience and knowledge of the Western education system.

Non-Indigenous students learning about Indigenous Australians

The research participants emphasised that it is imperative that all Australians know about Indigenous Australia, starting with non-Indigenous students who—depending on their circumstances—are likely to know less about the topic than Indigenous students. Teachers need to ensure that non-Indigenous students are taught about Indigenous Australia and that they receive accurate information that portrays Indigenous culture in a positive light. Students should be provided with enough information and Indigenous perspectives to enable empathetic positioning.

Possible barriers to learning

Not all Indigenous students experience difficulties in the classroom. But as pointed out above, some of the common barriers experienced by Indigenous students, which the Indigenous educators identified, include English as a Second Language (ESL) needs, mental health issues, well-being concerns and a sense of belonging.

It is important for classroom teachers to possess ESL training—and EAL/D training (as addressed earlier with mention of Aboriginal English)—in order to break down the barrier of SAE. Central to this is the attitude of the teacher in being able to recognise and support the strength of culture that Indigenous students bring with them to school. Negative attitudes diminish confidence and pride and contribute to poor self-esteem, reflected in mental health or well-being problems.

The participants pointed out that Indigenous students and Indigenous educators use and benefit from Indigenous knowledge daily in schools. So, to facilitate a sense of belonging, they want to see Indigenous people and culture represented positively in schools, which would be the basis for teachers to build their knowledge of each Indigenous student as an individual to create a productive student–teacher relationship.

Indigenous educational pedagogy

A curriculum provides the content for learning, and our national curriculum determines what is taught in classrooms in Australia, whereas pedagogy—the teaching strategies employed by educators to ensure that the curriculum is taught and learned—encompasses educators’ beliefs about how learning happens. The Western curriculum is taught by means of Western pedagogy and is based on understandings of a Western knowledge system.

The research participants noted that Indigenous people have their own ideas and understandings about education and how learning occurs, based on understandings that come from Indigenous knowledge systems (see also Malin, 1994; Martin, 2003). Instead of a Western educational pedagogical approach, educators working with Indigenous students need to know how to utilise Indigenous educational pedagogies, which provide more inclusive learning experiences (see Yunkaporta, 2009).

One of the currently known and easily adaptable Indigenous educational pedagogies in Australia is Yunkaporta and Kirby’s (2011) “8 Ways of Aboriginal Learning.” However, there are many more that are contextually appropriate to the Indigenous communities in which they are used. It is difficult to name these, as they will be as diverse as the approximate 250 language groups identified throughout Australia. Unfortunately, they are seldom heard about outside of these communities (Bat & Shore, 2013). For these reasons, a great deal of research has been carried out and published relating to culturally responsive pedagogies (see Bennett et al., 2018; McKinley & Gan, 2014; Warren, 2018).

I summarise the views of Indigenous educators participating in my research study when they consider pedagogical priorities as Indigenous educators within the current Western system in Figure 1. Emphasis is placed on family and culture first. This is perceived as different to the expected practice in Western classrooms with curriculum placed first.

Figure 1.

Indigenous educational priorities within a Western system.

Observing the difference in emphasis on factors shaping educational pedagogy and thinking about the way that a curriculum informs teaching practice, it follows that an inclusive approach to education would also consider the importance of family and culture to shape the curriculum. Some of the participants argued that the Australian education system requires a change to the national curriculum. Instead of a system focused only on general intelligence, a shift is required to accommodate a focus on people, culture, family and connections. In this regard, the national curriculum could be informed by social, emotional and cultural intelligence, thus shaping a new pedagogical practice based on Indigenous educational pedagogy, an educational approach that is inclusive of Indigenous knowledge.

Creating a situation where Indigenous Australians have shared ownership in the Australian education system supports the argument for an educational treaty (Rigney, 2002; Woodroffe, 2019). The way that New Zealand’s bicultural arrangement is based on the Treaty of Waitangi is an international example of the possibilities in educational reform when cultural considerations are formalised. The “Māori Education Strategy: Ka Hikitia—Accelerating Success 2013–2017” outlines

. . . how the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (the Treaty) are applied in education. The rights and duties that stem from the principles of the Treaty include ensuring the position of Māori is considered fairly when developing policies and funding. (Ministry of Education, 2013, p. 6)

The document describes the shared responsibility and stresses the importance of collaboration. This type of formal arrangement is missing from the Australian education system.

While Western systems frame the education that Indigenous students must engage with, the substance of that education can serve Indigenous peoples better if the voice of Indigenous educators is enhanced rather than ignored or minimised.

Conclusion

Australia’s Indigenous history is long and enduring. It is the foundation of human life in Australia and—despite the devastation of colonisation—Indigenous people and culture have survived. The potential for all Indigenous students to thrive in education is a matter of inclusion and equity, in addition to being an issue of respect for culture and an openness to changing a system that results in Western academic standards and programmes failing Indigenous students. Thus, Indigenous voices and collaboration on an equal footing are necessary to improve the teaching profession and develop towards an inclusive Australian education system in which all students can excel. By so doing, Australia could have one of the best education systems in the world and a world-class national teacher education programme.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Tracy Woodroffe

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