This chapter proposes ways of becoming more aligned with the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and community members through pre-service and professional experiences. It also outlines a range of strategies and opportunities that seeks to make sense of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and education studies for participants in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs through corequisite, experiential learning opportunities in educational and community settings. The chapter also discusses some of the challenges and dilemmas that may be encountered in the process of developing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander professional experience frameworks within teacher education programs.

There are many reasons why we should study and teach about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. An underlying factor is that Australia is our home, and we should have a thorough knowledge of the country’s history. As Joe Sambono says in Chapter 9, ‘If you don’t know about us, how can you have a respectful conversation with us?’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies is about educating all Australians in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, histories, societies and cultures. That we are educating Australia in a climate of increasing racism is another important point.

Disability is an unspoken aspect that is overshadowed by larger issues in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. Young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people with a disability often fall through the cracks in the education system, with their disability not recognised or not supported. The presentation of their disability in the classroom is routinely mis-characterised as behavioural issues rather than a learning disability requiring specific support, an assumption that leads to excessively high rates of suspension and expulsion when disability is a factor in the education of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and young people.

Indigenous boarding programs have long been framed as a response to the structural barriers faced by First Nations students from remote and regional communities in accessing secondary education. For many First Nations families, boarding schools represent a double-edged sword: an avenue for opportunity that also perpetuates colonial systems of dislocation and assimilation. This chapter critically examines the lived experiences of Indigenous students in boarding schools, foregrounding the voices of those most impacted – students, families and communities. It interrogates the systemic and cultural challenges faced by these students while celebrating the strength, adaptability and agency of First Nations peoples. Through an Indigenous lens, the chapter seeks to move beyond narratives of ‘success’ and ‘opportunity’, calling instead for culturally led and self-determined ways for boarding to support students who live away from home for schooling.

I have often been asked: How can mathematics be beautiful? This question is usually sparked by popular culture, such as the movie A Beautiful Mind or television shows that have popularised mathematics. For most of the inquirers, their experience with mathematics is so divorced from subjective statements such as ‘beautiful’ that they cannot fathom any connection between them. They have also been taught that mathematics is supposed to be objective – that is, transcending our own subjectivity (or bias) to find ‘the truth’. These are common perceptions of mathematics informed by our common experience with the teaching and learning of mathematics. This chapter explores such perceptions, questions notions such as objectivity and explores how these perceptions have positioned Indigenous people as mathematical learners. In essence, this chapter explores the connection between culture and mathematics – putting subjectivity back into mathematics and looking at how this can affect the teaching and learning of mathematics for Indigenous students. These new approaches also have implications for mathematics education in general, by allowing students to connect with mathematics through their own social and cultural backgrounds.

This chapter employs the timestamp of the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE), emphasising that elements of education relating to both First Nations communities and the teaching profession are central to transversing and bridging the two knowledge traditions of Indigenous and Western knowledges. Within this timestamp, we will look at the foundations we have created, the distance we have travelled and the new challenges we face for what remains as unfinished business.

This chapter explores how important it is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in particular to have access to studying their own languages across all jurisdictions in Australian education. It also explores the increasing options available to teachers to provide these opportunities for students from Foundation to Year 12. The value is not limited to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students; all students in Australian schools can benefit from the deeper understanding of Indigenous peoples, cultures and histories that develops through the study of Indigenous languages. Language is the vehicle of cultural expression, and when a language is no longer spoken by its people all humanity is diminished by the loss of cultural transmission that occurs when a language ‘goes to sleep’. Teachers are very well positioned to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to help wake up the sleeping Australian languages and to maintain those that are still languages of everyday communication.

Game worlds are steeped in depictions of different characters, settings, events and, in many cases, different cultures and cultural knowledges. In some cases, these in-game cultural depictions have been created by outsiders of the culture and, even with good intentions, these creators may misrepresent the culture or represent the community in superficial ways. My game design approach attempts to respond to this issue faced by digital game designers and developers and provides an approach that encourages close collaboration with communities, cultural immersion by developers and greater forms of rigorous research in constructing game worlds. While the intent of my approach is to help designers create more meaningful and deeper cultural representations in digital games, the design process itself is an educative experience and there may be opportunities to capitalise on this digital and cultural design approach in learning contexts.

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians identified that a world class curriculum in the twenty-first century required more than learning areas alone. It also required the interweaving of other aspects such as fundamental skills and capabilities as well as being able to respond to critical educational issues and future needs. These requirements were met by the Australian Curriculum through its three-dimensional structure of Learning Areas, General Capabilities and the Cross-Curriculum Priorities. The Melbourne Declaration noted that to meet its commitment of ensuring that all Australians could become active and informed citizens, each learning area would require all students to have the opportunity to access First Nations Australian content where relevant. Additionally, the Declaration highlighted the need to improve educational outcomes for First Nations Australians to ensure that, as a nation, we achieve not only equality of opportunity but also more equitable outcomes. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures Cross-Curriculum Priority provides a national opportunity to confront First Nations Australian educational disadvantage and break the cycle of non-First Nations Australians not knowing about or who this country’s diverse and vibrant First Nations peoples are.

Inclusion is a term used frequently, but what does it really mean? Inclusion in its simplest term is ‘the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure’ (Oxford Dictionary). This is a fundamental right of all people, but unfortunately when diversity exists, this is not a right afforded to everyone. The Oxford Dictionary has an alternate definition which elaborates on this initial one. Inclusion is also defined as ‘the practice or policy or providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those who have physical or intellectual disabilities and members of other minority groups’. As recognised in this definition, inclusion is about opportunities for all, including those with disability, developmental delay, neurodivergence, mental health difficulties, cultural diversity, variations in socio-economic status, LGBTQIA+ people, gender diversity, people experiencing trauma, unique family structures, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, just to name a few! While there are differences in what every individual needs to be included, the principles of inclusion and the foundation of everyone having the same rights, should not change.

In today’s evolving educational landscape, collaboration and networking are essential for creating an inclusive and engaging learning environment. This chapter invites you to explore how building strong connections with colleagues, your school community, and wider networks can enhance your teaching and professional growth. By collaborating proactively, you can co-develop plans, adapt strategies, assess student progress, and draw on the strengths of others.

Transitions are essentially changes in relation to physical locations, routines and experiences. This explanation from 2012 still appropriately identifies some of the key transitions in early childhood. Transitions happen whenever children switch from parent to educator, move from place to place, or change from one activity to another. However, since 2012, we have become more aware of the significance of different transitions and the impact they can have on many other aspects of a child’s life. This chapter will start by defining what transitions are in early childhood and the different transitions that occur for most children into, within and beyond the ECEC service. Individual children respond differently to transitions so we will explore how both large and smaller transitions can impact and influence some children. This chapter will conclude with the importance of maintaining high expectations for all children, through embedding different strategies that can be used to support all children during transitions, whether they are large transitions in early childhood or smaller transitions during the day.

This chapter explores the rationale behind, and the importance of understanding, the unique profiles of each child being cared for, across early childhood settings. The purpose of this is to frame ways in which all children can be supported to achieve the best developmental, educational and wellbeing outcomes possible, now and in the future. Drawing on the principles and frameworks discussed in Chapter 1, this chapter will support further understanding of the importance of individualised care and education for every child.

Chapter 9 concludes the book by further probing the theory’s generalizability, mechanisms, and implications. It starts with the theory’s applicability to the illustrative case studies of India and Mexico. It next hones in on the ideational mechanisms – learning and experimentation – that account for how a developmentalist legacy is updated and discusses other potential mechanisms, including emulation and competition. It lastly assesses three implications of the book’s theory. The first is whether state support for nationally controlled MNCs can continue to be an effective strategy under the current wave of backlash to globalization in advanced economies. The second is whether states that lack a developmentalist legacy can support the internationalization of national firms at a more limited scale. The third is whether the internationalization of national firms is compatible with more expansive definitions of development that go beyond structural transformation.

You may have thought that as an early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider, your unifying focus will be centred around on the children in your setting. Supporting children’s learning and wellbeing may indeed be the priority, but this cannot be achieved without the positive involvement of children’s family members. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model describes the layered systems of support that children can be influenced by, acknowledging that no individual child exists in a vacuum (See chapters 1 and 2 for further details). The resources and wellbeing of the family as a whole will have an impact on children’s development, behaviour and engagement in ECEC settings, as well as at home and other community settings.

The early years of a child’s life represent a critical period of development where identities form, relationships flourish and foundations for lifelong learning are established. Within this formative landscape, inclusion emerges not only as an educational approach but as a fundamental human right and ethical imperative. In Australian early childhood contexts, inclusive practice exists at the intersection of policy, pedagogy and personal commitment. This chapter establishes the conceptual underpinnings of inclusion and inclusive practice and invites the reader to consider inclusion not as an additional responsibility, but as the very essence of quality early childhood education and care. By creating environments where every child experiences belonging, participation and growth, we honour each individual child, while also laying the groundwork for a more equitable society.

Chapter 16 examines what it means to be a primary mathematics teacher in a professional context. It considers the attributes of effective mathematics educators, the requirements for professional accreditation, and the value of professional learning and engagement with mathematics education networks. You will also reflect on your preparation for the LANTITE and how to continue developing your identity as a confident and capable mathematics educator.

Chapter 14 focuses on diversity in the primary mathematics classroom and the need to create inclusive and responsive learning environments. It examines strategies to recognise and value students’ diverse cultural, linguistic, and learning needs, and offers practical approaches for differentiation and equitable participation in mathematics. You will explore how inclusive pedagogy supports all learners in developing confidence and capability as mathematical thinkers.

Chapter 7 introduces the interrelated strands of Number and Algebra (Foundation to Year 2) and explores how young children build informal understandings of number through everyday experiences. The chapter focuses on early numeracy skills such as magnitude, counting, number order, and using numbers in real-world contexts. Thinking and working mathematically is foregrounded through rich tasks that encourage flexible thinking and build foundational knowledge for later learning.