Kevin Lowe

How to teach Aboriginal perspectives

Aboriginal Perspectives in the Curriculum: Many teachers feel they lack the necessary skills and knowledge to teach Aboriginal perspectives, even though it’s a cross-curriculum priority. Researchers have sought to identify effective strategies to assist teachers, including how to meaningfully incorporate such perspectives into classroom learning and respond to the needs of local Aboriginal communities. It is vital for promoting mutual respect and understanding between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal members of society. 

Alongside research into the skills and knowledge needed to teach Aboriginal perspectives effectively, we suggest that understanding teachers’ motivation towards working with Aboriginal perspectives is a valuable avenue to explore. Taking self-efficacy as a motivational case in point, teachers lack the confidence to teach Aboriginal perspectives. This lack of confidence has been observed to impact their students’ own motivation for learning, including their Aboriginal students’ motivation.

Culturally Nourishing Schooling

We recently conducted a study as part of the Culturally Nourishing Schooling project, investigating teachers’ motivation to teach Aboriginal perspectives, what factors can support their motivation, and the implications of this for their Aboriginal students’ motivation. 

Specifically, we looked at two aspects of teachers’ agency (adaptability and teacher-student relationships), their role in teachers’ motivation (self-efficacy and valuing) to teach Aboriginal perspectives, and the extent to which this motivation predicted Aboriginal students’ own motivation (self-efficacy and valuing) to learn. The following figure shows the process we examined.

We explored two aspects of teachers’ motivation to teach Aboriginal perspectives: self-efficacy and valuing

Previous scholarship has argued that when teachers feel confidence (self-efficacy) in their capacity to teach particular subject matter, they invest greater effort in working with students, persist in meeting the needs of diverse students, and are more enthusiastic and energetic. This leads to positive impacts on students’ own motivation. When teachers place value in a subject or subject matter, this is communicated directly and indirectly to students, through instructions and through encouragement and modelling. This positively impacts student motivation. 

In our study, we hypothesised that teachers’ motivation to teach Aboriginal perspectives in the curriculum would positively impact their Aboriginal students’ motivation to learn, specifically, Aboriginal students’ academic self-efficacy and valuing of learning. 

Agency Factors Underpinning Teachers’ Motivation

There are salient agency factors that can impact motivation. Identifying such factors is important because it provides some guidance as to where professional learning might be directed to better support teachers’ motivation to teach Aboriginal perspectives. 

Research identifies two key aspects of agency implicated in teachers’ motivation: adaptability and teacher-student relationships

Adaptability is the capacity to adjust one’s thoughts, behaviours, and feelings in response to unfamiliar, new, changing, or uncertain situations and circumstances. Some examples of adaptability include looking at a situation in a different way (thought), taking a new course of action (behaviour), or minimising disappointment or fear (emotion).

Adaptability is highly relevant to teachers because their work often involves responding to and managing ongoing change and unfamiliar terrain, including new or changing curriculum. That includes teaching Aboriginal perspectives in the curriculum.

A large body of research has identified the ways in which interpersonal relationships impact motivation. Positive teacher-student relationships have an energising function that activates positive task-related emotions. Teachers ‘getting on’ with students in their classroom are more likely to be enthused and energised to teach these students. In many Aboriginal cultures, relationality to people and place are central ontological axes that have been demonstrated to underpin the manner and conditions by which students interact with teachers and learning content in Australian schooling spaces. For this study, we examined the extent to which teachers positively connected interpersonally with their Aboriginal students. 

Our Participants

Our online questionnaire had nearly 300 responses from Australian teachers who had taught Aboriginal perspectives to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students in 2020, 2021 and 2022. This made it both recent and relevant. Most of our respondents were women and they had taught, on average, for ten years. Other participant details can be found in the published study.

What We Found

Four key findings emerged from the study. 

  1. Teachers’ adaptability was significantly associated with higher self-efficacy for teaching Aboriginal perspectives. It thus seems that teachers’ capacity to navigate change, uncertainty, unfamiliarity, and novelty underpinned a confidence to teach Aboriginal perspectives. 
  2. Teacher-student relationships was significantly associated with teachers’ valuing of Aboriginal perspectives. It seems that when teachers connect with their Aboriginal students, there is a greater sense of the intrinsic utility and importance of Aboriginal perspectives. This may be because these interpersonal connections lead teachers to feel a sense of purpose and commitment to their Aboriginal students, and by implication, a desire to promote Aboriginal perspectives in their teaching. 
  3. Teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching Aboriginal perspectives was associated with greater valuing among their Aboriginal students. Thus, teachers’ confidence to teach Aboriginal perspectives may help their Aboriginal students to be interested in their learning and to see their learning as important and worthwhile. 
  4. Teachers’ valuing of Aboriginal perspectives was associated with greater self-efficacy among their Aboriginal students. It seems that when teachers value teaching Aboriginal perspectives more, Aboriginal students tend to also show more confidence in their schoolwork. 

The figure below summarises these main findings.

Implications for Practice

These findings have important practice implications. They suggest adaptability and teacher-student relationships are critical to teachers’ motivation and for supporting Aboriginal students’ motivation. Adaptability and teacher-student relationships are modifiable so they are viable foci for supporting teachers’ professional learning and development. 

We suggest teachers might be encouraged to identify areas of Aboriginal curriculum where they are uncertain or find unfamiliar. They could then brainstorm adjustments that could be made to enhance adaptability. 

Here are some examples:

  • thought (e.g., adjust their attitudes, beliefs, or expectations about these areas of curriculum)
  • behaviour (e.g., seek help or look for new resources to help them navigate these areas of curriculum)
  • emotion (e.g., address anxieties about implementing this new curriculum material)

For interpersonal relationships, we suggest that teachers may benefit from better understanding the different forms of relational support they can provide students, including their Aboriginal students. Two major sources of relational support are instrumental support and emotional support. Instrumental support includes:  

  • help with homework and assignments
  • support for study management
  • additional content-specific instruction
  • seeking help from Aboriginal Education Officers in the school on pedagogical approaches 

For emotional support, teachers could look to:

  • ensure that communication with Aboriginal students is characterised by empathy, warmth, and care 
  • provide encouragement to Aboriginal students if they experience setback at school
  • connect and work with local Aboriginal communities
  • understand sovereignty and relational systems between students  

To Sum Up

Our study provides further insights into the motivational dimensions of teaching Aboriginal perspectives and the factors that may be targeted to better support this motivation, with a view to better supporting Aboriginal students’ own motivation to learn at school. 

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation (grant number: 5031). Any opinions, findings, or conclusions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation. The authors would like to thank members of the Culturally Nourishing Schooling project and the Blak Caucus for advice and assistance during the conduct of this research.

Biographies

Andrew J. Martin is Scientia Professor and Professor of Educational Psychology in the School of Education at UNSW, Sydney. His research interests are student motivation, engagement, learning, instruction, and quantitative research methods.

Keiko Bostwick is a Research Fellow in the Assessment and Evaluation Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. She previously worked for the Culturally Nourishing Schooling project at UNSW as a quantitative Postdoctoral Research Fellow.

Tracy Durksen is a Scientia Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer of Educational Psychology for the School of Education at UNSW, Sydney. As a non-Indigenous Canadian and former primary school teacher she aims to impact the learning and development of students and teachers through research on interpersonal interactions and psychological characteristics like motivation and adaptability.

Rose Amazan is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at UNSW, Sydney. She has extensive experience working with low socio-economic status communities in Australia and internationally. Rose’s research, teaching, and service activities are motivated by her commitment to community development and creating equitable environments for marginalised and disadvantaged communities.

Kevin Lowe is a Gubbi Gubbi man from southeast Queensland and is a Scientia Indigenous Fellow and Professor at UNSW, Sydney. Kevin has had experience in education as a teacher, administrator and lecturer. He has expertise in working with Aboriginal community organisations on establishing Aboriginal language policy and school curriculum implementation.

Sara Weuffen is a specialist of educational research in cross-cultural studies, history, diversity, and inclusion. As a non-Indigenous woman of German, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry, she works with other non-Indigenous educators with the intention of interrogating the almost invisible conditioning factors and systemic pressures of education in order to develop more relational and authentic schooling experiences for all students.

HEADER IMAGE:

The CNS logo was designed by Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay artist and curator, Dennis Golding.

Welcome to the first #AARE2023 blog of the conference

Day One, November 26, 2023.

We will update here during the day so please bookmark this page.

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Please write, comment, participate about our AARE2023 blog on social media using this hashtag #AARE2023.

Blog four!

Voices from the panel

Three amazing academics shared insights and experiences from the journeys they have travelled as early career researchers. Dr. Simon Knight (University of Technology Sydney), Dr. Eve Mayes (Deakin University), and Dr. Victoria Rawlings (University of Sydney) joined our panel to talk about those critical junctures they encountered that led them to where they are now in their research careers. 

Voice, truth, and place, as the AARE 2023 conference theme, resonated for each with the importance of amplifying voice, speaking to issues of social justice, and the challenge of addressing injustices that pervade education and society as key to their work. As Eve stated, we need to open ourselves up to “unlearning ourselves”, and Victoria went on to ask the audience to think about: 

“Who’s voices are important in your research? Who is silenced? How can we amplify their voices?”

Even further, how do we research in places that make global links without, as Eve suggests, “flattening local peculiarities.” 

Each of these academics was cognisant of understanding their purpose of research and being a researcher. 

Victoria spoke about the fact that “schools [as places] need to be bold” to make changes that will make a difference, and we, as researchers, have an important role and one in which we are given considerable trust and responsibility to support them to navigate this work.  

The panel discussed the meaning of being a researcher, and Victoria talked about the many different responsibilities that researchers have to their communities and everyone they work with, including emerging researchers. Simon raised the fact that education suffers as a marginalised discipline globally, and yet, it is such a rich and broad space.  

“It’s why I work in education… education research points to thorny and difficult dilemmas and that’s the stuff that I enjoy”.

Eve furthered this by adding a provocation about the privileging of particular actors’ research, providing a wonderful anecdote as to how deeply students themselves will theorise about schooling and education. 

“As researchers, we need to think about how we can be responsive to the questions and needs of our schools, and in helping communities to answer these questions, we all benefit”. 

When asked what message they would like to leave the postgraduates and ECRs with:

 “Work out why you are doing it” (Eve)

“Work out what are the things you care about and look at the opportunities that come to see what will help you….and there is no unswerving path to your research career, and speaking with others will help you”

Victoria likened academia to a football game in the rain- it might be scrappy and muddy, and there are very few perfect goals and just try and get some possessions along the way- it will build up partnerships and small grants, and if all else fails get a cat”. 

Blog three! Ellen Larsen reports from the Lightning Talks!

The future of education research is in good hands

The buzz was tangible and the excitement obvious as we headed into the break-out rooms for the
Lightning Talks. A highly anticipated part of the Preconference Day is the Lightning Talk session. These talks are an opportunity for postgraduate and early career researcher participants on the day to deliver a lightning-fast two- to three-minute snapshot of their research, with a chance to respond to questions and receive invaluable peer feedback from their conference colleagues.
Over the hour we heard a total of 21 Lightning Talks! We were both inspired and excited by the
breadth and depth of the education research undertaken by these emerging researchers. Their research
has challenged us to think differently about curriculum and pedagogy, issues of social justice, and
contemporary challenges facing education both in Australia and internationally.
These Talks have highlighted the considerable theoretical and methodological expertise among these
AARE members, and the quality of these presentations was reflected by the enthusiastic participation
of the audience and the discussion generated. Congratulations to all contributing researchers in this
session.

Clearly, the future of education research is in good hands.
Feedback from the session reflects the collegial ways of working of this next wave if researchers the
field:
“I couldn’t even imagine that I would see connections between my research topic and some of the
others I had the privilege of listening to, but I did. We really are working together to progress
education!”
“What an opportunity to be immersed in such a wide range of ideas and thinking about education. A
brilliant session and I am excited to keep learning about these projects over time.”

Our second contribution is from Jessica Holloway. Read Kevin Lowe’s post below.

How to be generous as a researcher – our collective tapestry

In the landscape of educational research, I find myself contemplating the collaborative nature of knowledge creation. Like the threads of a rug converging, our diverse backgrounds and expertise intertwine to create a collective tapestry of understanding. While this metaphor may sound overly romantic, it encapsulates the essence of how I see our scholarly pursuit. I shared my thoughts on educational research with those attending the AARE pre-conference. What follows are some of the ideas I discussed earlier today.

The theme was: “Truth, Voice, Place: Critical Junctures for Educational Research” so I explored the intricate interplay between expertise, knowledge creation, and the shared responsibilities within academia. 

Within the intricate tapestry, questions about individual and collective expertise come to mind. The act of citation, particularly the principle of making labour visible, plays a crucial role. Citation goes beyond mere acknowledgment; it is a deliberate choice that shapes discourse and determines whose voices and traditions are recognized in our collective knowledge creation.

At the same time, expertise is not a solitary possession; it is a mosaic formed by weaving together various ideas, traditions, and experiences. Navigating an academic landscape that oftentimes amplifies specific voices over others requires a critical examination of citation practices, recognizing their material consequences within a power-laden dynamic.

Furthermore, accepting that we each play many roles within the knowledge creation process (e.g., researcher, author, editor, supervisor) can help us not only fortify resilience in the face of rejection, but also foster a sense of unity within the academic community. I hope for a steadfast commitment to ethical research practices and a perspective that views individual contributions as integral components of a broader intellectual pursuit. In other words, the work is bigger than each of us individually.

Bearing this in mind, expertise also requires a degree of intellectual humility and curiosity. The loss of my dad to COVID-19 entirely reshaped my own perspective on matters of truth and knowledge. It forced me to accept the limitations of analytical tools in capturing the complexity of human existence. It also made me realise that not having the answers can create a valuable space for curiosity and the emergence of new insights.

Finally, I want to raise generosity as an often-overlooked aspect of academic endeavours. Fostering connections, building relationships, and creating space for others can help assuage the potential isolation in our profession. This collective effort can sustain us through the challenges and joys of our scholarly journey, and it will ultimately lead to better knowledge creation.  

As we look forward, it’s crucial to recognize that the ideas and traditions shared today will contribute to the ongoing construction of the academic fabric. Each stitch, informed by our collective efforts, adds to the rich tapestry of knowledge. Grateful to be part of this academic community, I anticipate the remarkable contributions that each of you will make.

Our first contribution is from UNSW’s Kevin Lowe, who gave the AARE Pre-Conference Keynote

The role of educational research is one of immense responsibility, both in the conceptualisation and execution of studies that aim to bring deeper understanding to the range of issues that seem to impact the life trajectories of many students in schools.

This keynote presentation showcased the foundational principles and research practices that have been underpinned by the Culturally Nourishing Schooling Project. The target audience is higher-degree research students and early career researchers.

This presentation focuses on three interrelated ideas and the projects that ensure from them, with the hope that they provide valuable insights and propose effective strategies for the education of First Nations students in schools throughout Australia.

The presentation focussed on:

Building a research platform for consequential action: A four-year project. The initial focus looks to the question of deepening our understanding of the field such that we can push back on education systems assertions on ‘research-informed’ policy and practice change. I will focus for a moment on why I and others spent three years to undertake a comprehensive review of recent Australian research on the education of First Nations students. I will discuss the purpose of this work, and then orientate my comments to the impact of this landmark project on the future development of a critically informed educational program. 

Secondly, the presentation explained how these systematic reviews were used to develop the Culturally Nourishing Schooling Project. The initial iteration of this project has been implemented in eight schools across New South Wales as a practice/research initiative between 8 researchers, 5 staff and 8 schools. Its aim is to promote a whole-school approach, where schools are seen to work with First Nations families and communities to shift schooling practices. I will briefly describe how the project works with teachers to deepen their understanding of the histories and cultures of local communities, and how this consequently impacts on their beliefs and teaching and learning practices. It also examines curriculum theories in relation to teachers and indigenous knowledge. Lastly, it provides support to teachers in developing a relational pedagogy that aligns with discipline-oriented practices.

Finally, the presentation delved into an investigation of how deeply entrenched epistemic constructs regarding Indigenous peoples, knowledge, and culture are ingrained in the fundamental constructs of educational policy. This discussion aims to uncover how these assumptions are embedded in ways that are considered normal and foundational, and therefore, persist over time to the detriment of educational opportunities for First Nations students.

Our goal is to create sophisticated programs that can tackle intricate problems effectively. We conduct research with the aim of making a tangible impact in the world.

Kevin Lowe (kevin.lowe@unsw.edu.au) is a Gubbi Gubbi man from southeast Queensland. He is a Scientia Indigenous Fellow at UNSW, working on a community and school focused research project on developing a model of sustainable improvement in Aboriginal education. Kevin has had experience in education as a teacher, administrator and lecturer. He has expertise in working with Aboriginal community organisations on establishing Aboriginal language policy and school curriculum implementation. Recently Kevin has worked with colleagues to review research across key areas of schooling and established the Aboriginal Voices a broad-base, holistic project which is developing a new pedagogic framework for teachers. 

Images by Ellen Larsen

What makes a culturally nourishing school?

AARE Symposium : The Culturally Nourishing Schooling Project

Dr Keiko Bostwick (UNSW), Associate Professor Kevin Lowe (UNSW), Dr. Greg Vass (Griffith), Professor Annette Woods (QUT), Dr. David Coombs (UNSW), Mrs. Candace Kruger, Dr. Tracy Durksen (UNSW), Dr. Rose Amazan (UNSW), Professor Andrew Martin (UNSW)

It was a full house for this symposium which shared progress and initial insights from the first year of the Culturally Nourishing Schooling (CNS) project – an ambitious, collaborative school reform project involving researchers across a range of institutions with a focus on improving schooling for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through deepened connections between schools and First Nations families, educators, and Communities. 

Associate Professor Kevin Lowe commenced the symposium by outlining the impetus behind the Culturally Nourishing Schooling Project, drawing together findings from recent Australian research to argue for the establishment of a new model of schooling for Aboriginal Students and Communities. Lowe shared the foundational conceptual underpinnings of the Culturally Nourishing Schooling program – Learning from Country, curriculum workshops, professional learning conversations, culturally nourishing pedagogies and cultural mentoring. Lowe shared how these five integrated, Indigenous and critically informed strategies interlock in a holistic professional learning program to support a whole-school approach to the education of Indigenous students.

Dr Greg Vass  then shared insights from the intensive two-day curriculum workshops for CNS participants in which teachers work with notions Learning from Country and apply different analytical frameworks in their curriculum work. Participants shared how the workshops developed greater critical consciousness and supported teachers to move beyond tokenism in their practice to develop deep and purposeful reflection on knowledge and their own influence.  The workshops represented a hopeful, energising and positive influence for the teachers. 

Paper 3 in the symposium from Professor Annette Woods shared findings from the first culturally nourishing pedagogical cycles undertaken by teachers across eight public schools in New South Wales. This model of locally-designed, research-supported professional learning was designed to engage educators and researchers alongside community educators and Cultural Mentors to shift the relations of pedagogy and curriculum in classrooms. 

Dr Tracy L. Durksen and Dr Rose Amazan then shared another dimension of the CNS project – the use of professional conversations to develop a common language and build a cultural body of knowledge within a Community of Practice amongst researchers and participants. The conversations highlighted the importance of relationality in designing and implementing professional learning with the goal of improving schooling for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in ways that are sustainable for communities in the longer term. 

Finally, the symposium concluded with Dr Keiko Bostwick exploring quantitative research on teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching First Nations perspectives and curriculum in their classrooms. Findings from this research demonstrate that participant CNS teachers tended to report significantly higher self-efficacy beliefs for teaching First Nations perspectives than non-CNS teachers within the same schools – demonstrating the exciting potential of the CNS model to influence practice and schooling in the long term. 

Discussant Professor Bob Lingard drew together the presentations in his final reflection – noting that the idea of ‘nourishing’ means the promotion of growth, health and conditions for flourishing. Professor Lingard noted the capacity and potential of the CNS model for the future – in forging powerful relationships between schools, researchers, communities and families in ways that make a meaningful difference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students.