For pre-service teachers (PSTs) who are still finding their feet in the classroom, wading into confronting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content can be daunting. Educating young people about issues such as British colonisation, genocide, and the Stolen Generations involves not only a high degree of knowledge about these events, but a conscious effort to remove oneself from their teaching comfort zone.
New research from UniSA shows that authentic and sometimes confronting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content is helping the next generation of Australian teachers be more socially responsible and inclusive.
In their study, the University’s researchers found that pushing PSTs outside their comfort zones helped educate them about the injustices faced by First Nations’ people – including racism, prejudice and discrimination – and to more confidently integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content into their lessons.
The barriers – and how PSTs can overcome them
UniSA Adjunct Associate Professor Kathy Paige noted the key challenges that PSTs face when integrating sometimes confronting First Nations knowledges into their lessons, and shared some insights on how these can be addressed in teacher education programs.
One barrier, says Associate Professor Paige, is the lack of knowledge and hence confidence at “having a go” at incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing in their planning and practical teaching experiences.
“PSTs don’t know what they don’t know, which, is to be expected for many people of a European-Australian background,” she told The Educator.
“They need to have a sense of self-regulation to determine what they need to do to upskill and to build confidence to extend their pedagogical repertoire. We appreciate that their final placement is a time of great concern, and they are under pressure to do well.”
Associate Professor Paige said highlighted the importance of challenging PSTs to think and work outside their comfort zones.
“Our interventions and assessment requirements challenge our pre-service teachers to plan for and be prepared for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students by providing curriculum that puts students’ knowledge at the centre,” she said.
However, Associate Professor Paige pointed out that often there is no opportunity to implement during PSTs’ placement.
“For over a decade we refined our practices and have pushed pedagogical boundaries wherever possible, but this is more difficult in constrained circumstances,” she said.
“This work is not easy or straightforward [for white academics or predominantly European-Australian PSTs] but is vitally important in this era, particularly as the profile of Australian classrooms becomes increasingly diverse.”
Associate Professor Paige said research such as this is vital in highlighting the complexity of what pre-service teachers and early career teachers, with limited firsthand knowledge or experiences, are faced with when attempting to meet the AITSL requirements of 1.4 (Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students) and and 2.4 (Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students).
“Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
Another concern Associate Professor Paige points out is that while most PSTs understand how critical it is to embed First Nations knowledges and/or ways of knowing, a small minority do not see this as important or part of their responsibility.
“We also know that in planning transdisciplinary units of work, students can confidently incorporate in First Nations knowledges and experiences as a result of their PST experience.”
Important lessons for teacher education programs
For teacher education programs to better prepare pre-service teachers for introducing First Nations content, Associate Professor Paige outlined an approach focusing on several interventions. These included sharing personal stories through a photo journal, discussing documentaries on First Nations topics, and guest lectures emphasising culturally responsive pedagogy.
Associate Professor Paige said the 2023 Voice Referendum brought issues of race, belonging, and identity in Australia, and dealing with unresolved injustices in Australia for First Nations peoples into sharp focus, perhaps even into a state of disrepute.
“Many student responses in this study expressed surprise that racism is still this widespread,” she said.
“As in the current moment with national debate around the referendum, racism and injustice is ever with us and will not move in a positive direction without a strong sense of confidence and justice-oriented actions amongst our teacher workforce.”
An important pedagogical approach that Associate Professor Paige and her team encourage is to centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in the delivery of these lessons.
“This includes working from high quality resources that are increasingly becoming readily available to teachers, often already located within - and connected to – relevant areas of the Australian curriculum,” she said.
“Then we support students to make the local connections to make the learning culturally and contextually responsive.”
Associate Professor Paige said this can include working with local families, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisations, and so on.
“This approach addresses concerns around authenticity, accuracy, power and voice.”
Reframing deficit views of Aboriginal communties
As part of the study, Associate Professor Paige and her fellow researchers challenged PSTs to explore their own attachments to place, identity and belonging as a stepping-stone towards engaging with First Nations cultures, histories, Country, and identities.
The PSTs 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.
Associate Professor Paige said this is “a fundamental challenge” to this work.
“A teacher [at any point of their career] who rejects deficit positioning and assumptions in relation to ‘Others’ and can create a learning space where the assets and intelligences of a child, their families, languages, cultures and communities can be woven into curriculum is going to make a positive impact towards educational justice in Australian schools,” she said.
“A teacher who upholds and redistributes deficit positioning and assumptions will simply redistribute – or worsen the state of current educational inequities.”
Useful approaches moving forward
Associate Professor Paige said it is important for PSTs to focus on Culturally Responsive Pedagogical principles for the context of Australian schooling.
“These principles emphasize a high intellectual challenge and connect deeply with student lifeworlds. Recognizing cultural difference as a positive asset enriches learning environments, supports diverse literacies, and fosters an activist orientation,” Associate Professor Paige said.
“Furthermore, embracing eco-justice principles underscores the necessity for fairness across generations. This approach involves listening and challenging prevailing worldviews, fostering communities that care for both natural and human systems, and collaborating towards creating socially and ecologically just communities.”
Ultimately, Paige noted, these principles guide pre-service teachers to become role models who value partnerships, quality of life, and long-term ecological and cultural sustainability.
“By fostering eco-social wisdom and prioritizing culturally responsive pedagogies, we cultivate educators who not only teach but also inspire critical reflection and respect for our collective future.”