Hostname: page-component-68c7f8b79f-m4fzj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-01-18T03:13:20.121Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Talking about culturally responsive approaches to education: teacher professional learning, Indigenous learners and the politics of schooling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2020

Michelle Bishop Open the ORCID record for Michelle Bishop [Opens in a new window]  and
Greg Vass Open the ORCID record for Greg Vass [Opens in a new window]
Michelle Bishop*
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109, Australia
Greg Vass
Affiliation:
School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University, Parklands Drive, Southport, QLD 4222, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Michelle Bishop, E-mail: michelle.bishop@mq.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

Culturally responsive approaches to schooling (CRS) aim to address pervasive inequities that exist in education. More specifically, CRS practices seek to improve the experiences and academic achievements of marginalised and minoritised learners, such as those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In this paper, we consider the possibilities for CRS in the context of Australia where Indigenous students (along with their parents, peers and teachers) are consistently reminded, courtesy of the deficit government policies and ‘close the gap’ rhetoric, that they have the worst educational outcomes of any settler society. This paper does not seek to offer fixed solutions in response to this. Rather, based on shared experience researching and teaching together that draw on CRS, the paper foregrounds a collaborative culturally responsive dialogue between the authors. Together we discuss, deliberate and despair about the state of the education system for Indigenous students, we also remain tentatively hopeful about how CRS might become embedded in teaching and learning, through teacher professional learning, in ways that are relevant to the Australian context.

Keywords

Culturally responsive schoolingcurriculumeducation policyIndigenous studentsprofessional learning

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , December 2021 , pp. 340 - 347
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Alim, H and Paris, D (2017) What is a culturally sustaining pedagogy and why does it matter? In Paris, D and Alim, H (eds), Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World. New York, NY: Teachers College, pp. 1–21.Google Scholar
Applebaum, B (2010) Being White, Being Good: White Complicity, White Moral Responsibility, and Social Justice Pedagogy. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Aronson, B and Laughter, J (2016) The theory and practice of culturally relevant education: a synthesis of research across content areas. Journal of Educational Research 86, 163–206.Google Scholar
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2011) Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list.Google Scholar
Berryman, M, SooHoo, S and Nevin, A (2013). Culturally responsive methodologies from the margins. In Berryman, M, SooHoo, S and Nevin, A (eds), Culturally Responsive Methodologies. Bingley, UK: Emerald, pp. 1–31.Google Scholar
Bishop, M and Durksen, TL (2020) What are the personal attributes a teacher needs to engage Indigenous students effectively in the learning process? Re-viewing the literature. Educational Research 62, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, M, Vass, G and Thompson, K (2019) Decolonizing schooling practices through relationality and reciprocity: embedding local Indigenous perspectives in the classroom. Pedagogy, Culture and Society 1–19. http://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2019.1704844Google Scholar
Bishop, R, Berryman, M and Wearmouth, J (2014) Te Kotahitanga: Towards Effective Education Reform for Indigenous Minoritised Students. Wellington, NZ: New Zealand Council for Education Research.Google Scholar
Blair, N (2015) Aboriginal education: more than adding different perspectives. In Weatherby-Fell, N (ed.), Learning to Teach in the Secondary School. Port Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press, pp. 189–208.Google Scholar
Brayboy, BMJ (2005) Toward a tribal critical race theory in education. The Urban Review 37, 425–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, L (2018) Indigenous young people, disadvantage and the violence of settler colonial education policy and curriculum. Journal of Sociology 55, 54–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, C (2017) Beyond cultural competence: transforming teacher professional learning through Aboriginal community-controlled cultural immersion. Critical Studies in Education 60, 477–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burridge, N, Whalan, F and Vaughan, K (2012) Indigenous Education: A Learning Journey for Teachers, Schools and Communities. Rotterdam: Sense.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castagno, A and Brayboy, B (2008) Culturally responsive schooling for Indigenous youth: a review of the literature. Review of Educational Research 78, 941–993.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craven, R, Yeung, A and Han, F (2014) The impact of professional development and Indigenous education officers on Australian teachers’ Indigenous teaching and learning. Australian Journal of Teacher Education 39, 85–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (DFHCSIA) (2009) Closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage: The challenge for Australia. Retrieved from http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/indigenous/closing_the_gap/default.htm.Google Scholar
Education Council (2019) Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration. Carlton South, Victoria: Education Services Australia.Google Scholar
Egan, M (2015) Opening futures: culturally responsive and relational practice in schools. In Berryman, M, Nevin, A, SooHoo, S and Ford, T (eds), Relational and Responsive Inclusion: Contexts for Becoming and Belonging. New York, NY: Peter Lang, pp. 107–125.Google Scholar
Gay, G (2010) Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Gillan, K, Mellor, S and Krakouer, J (2017) The Case for Urgency: Advocating for Indigenous Voice in Education. Camberwell, Vic: ACER Press.Google Scholar
Hammerness, K, Darling-Hammond, L, Bransford, J, Berliner, D, Cochran-Smith, M, McDonald, M and Zeichner, K (2005). How teachers learn and develop. In Darling-Hammond, L and Bransford, J (eds), Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and be Able To Do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, pp. 358–389.Google Scholar
Hattam, R (2018) Diversity, global citizenship and the culturally responsive school. In Davies, I, Ho, L, Kiwan, D, Peck, C, Peterson, A, Sant, E and Saghid, Y (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Global Citizenship and Education. London, LDN: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 257–275.10.1057/978-1-137-59733-5_17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmes, A and Gonzalez, N (2017). Finding sustenance: an Indigenous relational pedagogy. In Paris, D and Alim, H (eds), Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World. New York, NY: Teachers College, pp. 207–224.Google Scholar
Khalifa, M, Gooden, M and Davis, J (2016) Culturally responsive school leadership: a synthesis of the literature. Review of Educational Research 86, 1272–1311.10.3102/0034654316630383CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ladson-Billings, G (2014) Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: a.k.a. the remix. Harvard Educational Review 84, 74–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lampert, J (2012) Becoming a socially just teacher: walking the talk. In Phillips, J and Lampert, J (eds), Introductory Indigenous Studies in Education: Reflection and the Importance of Knowing. Melbourne: Pearson Australia, pp. 81–96.Google Scholar
Ma Rhea, Z, Anderson, PJ and Atkinson, B (2012) Improving Teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education: Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Melbourne: Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.Google Scholar
Martin, F, Pirbhai-Illich, F and Pete, S (2017) Beyond culturally responsive pedagogy: decolonizing teacher education. In Pirbhai-Illich, F, Pete, S and Martin, F (eds), Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Working Towards Decolonization, Indigeneity and Interculturalism. London, UK: Springer, pp. 235–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marx, S (2006) Revealing the Invisible: Confronting Passive Racism in Teacher Education. New York, NY: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKnight, A (2016) Preservice teachers’ learning with Yuin Country: becoming respectful teachers in Aboriginal education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education 44, 110–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) (2008) Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Retrieved from http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/mceecdya/publications,11582.html.Google Scholar
Moll, L, Amanti, C, Neff, D and Gonzalez, N (1992) Funds of knowledge for teaching: using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory Into Practice 31, 132–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moreton-Robinson, A (2004) Whiteness, epistemology and Indigenous representation. Whitening Race: Essays in Social and Cultural Criticism, Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press, pp. 75–88.Google Scholar
Moreton-Robinson, A (2009) Imagining the good Indigenous citizen: race war and the pathology of patriarchal white sovereignty. Cultural Studies Review 15, 61–79.Google Scholar
Moreton-Robinson, AM, Singh, D, Kolopenuk, J and Robinson, A (2012) “Learning the Lessons? Pre-Service Teacher Preparation for Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students” Retrieved from Indigenous Studies Research Network, Queensland University of Technology.Google Scholar
Morrison, A, Lester-Irabinna, R, Hattam, R and Diplock, A (2019). Toward an Australian Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: A Narrative Review of the Literature. Adelaide, South Australia: University of South Australia.Google Scholar
Paris, D and Alim, HS (2014) What are we seeking to sustain through culturally sustaining pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review 84, 85–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perso, T and Hayward, C (2015) Teaching Indigenous Students: Cultural Awareness and Classroom Strategies for Improving Learning Outcomes. Crows Nest, NSW: A&U Academic.Google Scholar
Santoro, N (2015) The drive to diversify the teaching profession: narrow assumptions, hidden complexities. Race Ethnicity and Education 18, 858–876.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarra, C (2011) Strong and Smart—Towards a Pedagogy of Emancipation: Education for First Peoples. Abingdon, Ox: Routledge.Google Scholar
Schlunke, K (2008) Captain Cook chased a chook. Cultural Studies Review 14, 43–54.Google Scholar
Sleeter, C (2012) Confronting the marginalization of culturally responsive pedagogy. Urban Education 47, 562–584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sleeter, C and Cornbleth, C (eds) (2011) Teaching with Vision: Culturally Responsive Teaching in Standards Based Classrooms. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Thorpe, K and Burgess, C (2016) Challenging lecturer assumptions about preservice teacher learning in mandatory Indigenous studies. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 45, 119–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vass, G (2016) Everyday race-making pedagogies in the classroom. British Journal of Sociology of Education 37, 371–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vass, G (2017) Preparing for culturally responsive schooling: initial teacher educators into the fray. Journal of Teacher Education 68, 451–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vass, G (2018) White microaffirmations in the classroom: Encounters with everyday race-making. In Vass, G, Maxwell, J, Rudolph, S and Gulson, K (eds), The Relationality of Race and Racism in Education. Review of Australian Research in Education Series, Local/Global Issues in Education. Abingdon, Ox: Routledge, pp. 72–84.Google Scholar
Vass, G (forthcoming) Teachers talking about culturally responsive schooling. In Fforde, C and Fogarty, B (eds), The Deficit Discourse in Indigenous Education. Canberra: ANU Press.Google Scholar
Vass, G, Bishop, M, Thompson, K, Murray, C, Bellar, P, Tovey, J and Ryan, M (2018) Whose story is it anyway? Reflecting on a collaborative research project with/in an educational community. In Stanley, P and Vass, G (eds), Questions of Culture in Autoethnography. Abingdon, Ox: Routledge, pp. 167–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vass, G, Lowe, K, Burgess, C, Harrison, N and Moodie, N (2019) The possibilities and practicalities of professional learning in support of Indigenous students experiences in schooling: a systematic review. The Australian Educational Researcher 46, 341–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walton, J (2018) Beyond ‘getting along’: Understanding embodied whiteness in educational spaces. In Vass, G, Maxwell, J, Rudolph, S and Gulson, K (eds), The Relationality of Race in Education Research. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, pp. 59–71.Google Scholar
Walton, J, Priest, N, Kowal, E, White, F, Brickwood, K, Fox, B and Paradies, Y (2014) Talking culture? Egalitarianism, color-blindness and racism in Australian elementary schools. Teaching and Teacher Education 39, 112–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yosso, T (2005) Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity & Education 8, 69–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Youdell, D (2011) School Trouble: Identity, Power and Politics in Education. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar