Assessment 2 Task 3

1. EPT 429 – Professional
Engagement
Research Report

2. Introduction to the Report
This report outlines the action research project conducted
at a local Christian School in Western Sydney. The school
has asked not to be named in the report to ensure privacy.

3. Indigenous studies is important for all students to
undertake, given this, it is crucial that the teacher is
knowledgeable and able to provide education that is
meaningful, current and appropriate; that positive and
respectful relationships are built between the teacher
and the families and between the teacher and the
student; that the learning experiences offered to the
students are not tokenistic or prejudicial. The
curriculum needs to explore both the traditional and
contemporary cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples, as well as provide an environment
that includes and encourages the use of languages
(Commonwealth of Australia, 2011).

4. Purpose
The research was conducted to assist the school in the
beginning stages of implementing the cross curricula
priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories
and culture (NSW Board of Studies, 2014) as such, it
allows for growth and for ownership to be taken on by the
school as they implement and further ideas and plans
developed through the research conducted. The intended
audience of the research is the school Principal, Deputy
Principal – Primary, Heads of Stages Primary, School
Librarian and Classroom Teachers.

5. Area of Research
How can the school increase the content of
Indigenous Education (and make it meaningful not
tokenistic) in the units of study’s that are being
prepared for next year and in future planning?

6. Following from this question are
smaller questions:
 What resources does the school currently have that will
assist them with implementing the cross curricula
priority?
 What units of work have Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander perspectives added?
 What training and knowledge does staff currently have?

7. Methodology
To address the research questions the following methodology will take place:

Discussions held with the Principal and Assistant Principal to understand what
the school is interested in, and where the school is at.

Discussions with the Librarian as part of the resource review.

A survey of teachers to
 gauge their current knowledge
 look at further training options
 look at what units of study they feel work alongside this
priority
 measure their response to and knowledge of what
resources the school currently has and what they would
like added.

A Resource Review

Reviewing existing and proposed learning though the scope and sequences
developed

8. Literature Review
As this is a new component of the Australian Curriculum,
there is limited research completed on the implementation
of the cross curricula priority in the classroom. However
there is substantial information on what programs schools
are implementing using Indigenous knowledge, culture and
community, as well as the frameworks that could be
included.

9. Embedding the learning
and making it meaningful
will help to breakdown
prejudices and
stereotypical concepts. By
doing this, teachers can be
„agents of change‟
(Villegas and Lucas, 2002)
providing ways to engage
all students in high quality
and equitable education.
Teachers can purposefully
act to change their impact
on children‟s learning
opportunities so it is
positive and promotes anti
– bias behaviours.
 Harrison and Greenfield (2011)
discuss the importance of
incorporating Aboriginal
knowledge into school programs
without using the stereotypical
representations, or the contexts
of past histories (Aboriginal
people lived, Aboriginal people
were, Aboriginal people looked
like, Aboriginal people did) that
are often used as part of the
current methods of teaching.

The 8Ways pedagogy builds this
knowledge into a usable
framework for teachers to use as
a starting point in embedding
relevant education based on
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander history and culture.

10.  Ford and Fasoli (2001)
emphasise that the
relationships built and,
through this local
Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander community
engagement, is a critical
element on embedding
Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander learning
and knowledge. Their
research indicated that
cultural experiences
helped in recognising the
day to day interactions as
significant especially for
non-Indigenous educators
who were implementing
an Indigenous
perspective.
 A Study of Best Practice in
The Teaching of
Indigenous Culture in
Australian Schools (2008)
also includes a strong
argument on ensuring that
approaches to teaching
Indigenous Studies are
representative of the local
culture and utilise the local
Indigenous community.
This provides a way to
move beyond a tokenistic
approach to teaching
Indigenous Studies and
helps break down the
stereotypes.

11. Findings
 Resource Review
 Teacher Survey

12. Resource Review
 Each of the books or book series in the school library
non-fiction section has been reviewed using the resource
review tool.
 Narrative based books were predominately from the
Dreaming. This is an area that I would recommend the
school focus on and source additional narratives that use
modern lifestyles and show Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people as part of modern Australia.
 A new document called the Living Resource document
has been created for the resource review.

13. Teacher survey
 The teachers returned 23 surveys from this a mixture of
qualitative and quantitative data has been gathered.
 The teachers have minimal basic knowledge about
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture.
 Teachers discussed the need for a culture change within
the school to help with implement meaningful learning.
They discussed items such as displaying the three flags
(Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Australian),
celebrating and acknowledging days of cultural
significance such as Sorry Day and NAIDOC week, and
having an Acknowledgement of Country at assemblies.

14.  Many teachers discussed their concern at giving offence
or teaching the wrong thing, cultural awareness training
would assist with this.
 74% of teachers said they were not confident teaching
the cross curricula priority.
 87% teachers would like to undertake more professional
development in Indigenous Education

15.  From the quantitative data, the majority of the teachers
are viewing the cross curricula priority as important and
a strong way to build depth into the classroom learning.
 The strong feeling that was represented was that this is
an area of curriculum that is important for the students
to be engaged with in ways that are meaningful,
authentic, enabled rich exploration, insightful and are
not tokenistic in their approach.

16. Conclusion
 Indigenous studies is important for all students to
undertake, given this, it is crucial that the teacher is
knowledgeable and able to provide education that is
meaningful, current and appropriate. For the school to be
effective in teaching and embedding a strong and
meaningful curriculum for the students, the school needs to
develop teacher capacity through training in cultural
awareness and „Basics 101‟ as well as further professional
development. This would be best if conducted at the school
with all staff to allow for learning to be team based and
provide teachers time to discuss how it would look in the
school.
 To support the teachers in this new cross curricula priority,
a culture of respect and acknowledgement of the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander cultures should be presented
across the whole school.
 Building on the resources available at the school and
utilising a collaborative approach to online learning
materials will assist teachers.

17. References

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. The Australian Curriculum. Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Search?page=6&q=Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2012) Teacher Professional Standards. Retrieved from
http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/Standards/Overview

Charles Sturt University (2012) EDU 419 Teaching Indigenous Studies Effectively Module 3 Teaching Indigenous Studies; pg2

Commonwealth of Australia/Department of Education, Employment and Work Relations. (2011). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy

Department of Education, Employment and Work Relations. (2008). A Study of Best Practice in The Teaching of Indigenous Culture in Australian School; final project
report.

Ford, M. and Fasoli, L. (2001) Indigenous early childhood narratives: Some methodological considerations.

Harrison, N. and Greenfield, M. (2011) Relationship to Place: Positioning Aboriginal knowledge and perspectives in classroom pedagogies. Critical Studies in Education, Vol.
52, No.1, pp. 65-76

Hudson, A. (2003) Multicultural Education and the Postcolonial Turn. Policy Futures in Education, Vol. 1, pp.381-401.

Johansson, R. (2003) Case study Methodology. Keynote speech presented to the International Conference “Methodologies in Housing Research” organised by the Royal
Institute of Technology in cooperation with the International Association of People–Environment Studies, Stockholm, 22–24 September 2003. Retrieved from
http://www.infra.kth.se/bba/IAPS%20PDF/paper%20Rolf%20Johansson%20ver%202.pdf

Neale, P., Thapa, S. & Boyce, C. (2006).Preparing A Case Study: A Guide for Designing and Conducting a Case Study for Evaluation Input. Pathfinder International.
Retrieved from: http://www2.pathfinder.org/site/DocServer/m_e_tool_series_case_study.pdf

NSW Department of Education and Training. Quality Teaching Model. Retrieved from https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/proflearn/areas/qt/qt.htm

Rowley, J. (2002). Using Case Studies in Research. Management Research News, Volume 25 Number 1 2002. Retrieved from: http://www.arfasia.org/resources/using_case_study_in_research.pdf

Stringer, E. (2014). Action Research. (4th ed.) Sage Publications Ltd.

Teacher Professional Standards. Retrieved from http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/Standards/Overview

http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/IgnitionSuite/uploads/docs/18pp%20PTSF%20book%20v6.pdf

Villegas, A and Lucas, T. (2002) Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers – Rethinking the Curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, pp.20 - 32

Yin, R. (Date unknown.) Chapter 1. A (Very) Brief Refresher on the Case Study Method. Book unknown. Retrieved from: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/41407_1.pdf

Yin, R. (2009). Applied Research Methods Vol. 5. Case Study Research: Design and Methods (4 th ed.) Sage Publications Inc. Retrieved from http://cemusstudent.se/wpcontent/uploads/2012/02/YIN_K_ROBERT-1.pdf

8Ways wikispace retrieved from http://8ways.wikispaces.com/
and