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Part A – Comprehension of Foundation Concepts

The daily work load of Australian teachers includes the constant juggling of

expectations; not only teachers’ expectations of their students, but the principals, colleagues,

students and parents’ expectations of the teacher. The Australian Professional Standards for

Teachers, (APST), is a federal government policy that provides the standards to which teachers

are expected to perform. While maintaining this expected level of professionalism, teachers

must deliver the Australian national curriculum content to their students. The procedure in

which teachers deliver this content to students is called pedagogy. The NSW Quality Teaching

model, developed in association with NSW Department of Education and Training, aims to

highlight how best to impart knowledge to students, in all kinds of scenarios. Once the lesson

has been delivered, assessment is used to measure how effective teachers are, and how well the

lesson is internalised by students. There are many more layers involved in a teachers’ day, such

as preparation, discipline, and playground duties, to name a few. The day in the life of a teacher

is demanding.

Connell (2013) highlights that there are two discourses on teaching; “one centred on

accountability and school failure as interpreted by tests; the other centred on caring, individual

engagement with students” (p.263). I would argue the NSW Quality Teaching model, (Gore,

2007), addresses the relationship discourse, while the Australian national curriculum and

assessment fit with the responsibility discourse. The amalgamation of both attributes is outlined

in the APST, as the ideal teacher. The APST is described by Nelson (2013) as aiming to “’make

a public statement about what constitutes teacher quality’ as well as helping to raise the status

of the profession” (p.21). In order to have a quality learning environment, the teacher/student

relationship is important. Furthermore, in order to succeed academically, the teacher must take

an active role in preparing students for assessments.

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The APST has been criticised by Nelson (2013) for being a checklist of duties for

teachers to check off for career progression, and has no real impacts for the school as a whole

(p.22). The Standards were developed to guide teachers to perform to a higher degree, however,

Nelson states “there is a danger that [the standards] will become objects of compliance rather

than development” (p.22), rather, only a means to progress to the next pay grade. Clarke &

Pittaway (2014) agree with Nelson; “[the standards] encourages a ‘check-list’ mentality rather

than an understanding of the multiple links between all aspects of the profession” (p.414). As

a side note, the government designed the standards with development of teaching in mind, and

it is purposely difficult to upgrade levels of capability (Clarke & Pittaway, 2014, p.413).

The NSW Quality Teaching model and APST outline the need to provide differentiated

learning to students so that a wide variety of students can achieve the same outcomes. Diversity

can be differences in language, culture, class, and ability. For example, Lingard (2010) states,

“those from poor families lacking the requisite cultural capital have to learn many things at

school. Learning to do school is one aspect here” (p.140). The reasons for critique of the

Australian national curriculum and National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy,

(NAPLAN), is that the policies do not take into account the students backgrounds. Not all

Australian students of the same age, or grade, share an equal level of understanding. The

curriculum is not only explicit content outlined in a syllabus, it is the implicit societal lessons;

which Ford (2013) argues is “culturally inappropriate” (Jorgensen, as cited by Ford, 2013,

p.81), to expect diverse students to realize the hidden and excluded messages. The APST

dictates teachers instruct this content using differentiated learning. In contradiction, the

politically aligned NAPLAN test, has only one national version of the test. This is why teachers

are accused of ‘teaching to the test’ (Lingard, 2010, p.139), so that diverse students have a

sense of accomplishment.

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The States and Territories within Australia used to have more control. The States and

Territories could aim their curriculum and tests towards their relevant minorities; for example,

Northern Territory that has many remote families, as well as Indigenous peoples who may or

may not speak English. The national curriculum places value upon English, Maths, Science

and History, with general capabilities and cross cultural priorities included. Teachers are

therefore under a lot of pressure to deliver. NAPLAN results reflect the teachers’ schools’

reputation and job retention. Hence, why some teachers ‘teach to the test’. Not only do teachers

have to contend with diverse classrooms, they also have to contend with private schools with

bigger budgets. ‘Teaching to the test’ narrows lessons down to what will be in NAPLAN, to

get higher testing results. Lingard (2010) points out that “a focus on improving test scores can

lead simply to enhanced capacity to take tests, rather than enhanced and authentic learning

across a broad and defensible range of schooling purposes” (p.135). Teachers will be high

quality teachers, that channel content into a narrow field for NAPLAN.

Connell (2013) states “what characterised good teachers […] was ‘immersion’ in the

job. This meant total involvement, expending time and energy to meet the endless expectations.

A common outcome was that the ‘good teachers’ became exhausted” (p.265). There is much

involved in the daily workload of a teacher. For example, in regards to differentiation, one class

may have many diverse students, this involves individualised planning, instruction and

assessment for each. Therefore, there are a lot of expectations, but there are also a lot of

variables, such as lesson plans failing due to the mood of the students on a particular day.

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Part B – Integration & Application of Foundation Concepts

Indigenous students require attention from teachers in regards to their learning needs.

The specific issue is the underperformance of Indigenous students within education over

decades, with little improvement in recent years (Ford, 2013). Some wider contextual reasons

for the underachievement of Indigenous students is colonialism, and the lasting effects of white

power. Students can become frustrated when teachers do not appreciate them. They disengage,

they leave school. “The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1991) identified

limited access to and participation in education as factors contributing to Aboriginal

disadvantage” (Wilson & Wilks, 2015, p.663). Therefore, within a classroom, teachers can

must make sure they develop a relationship with their students, of all diversities. This opens

the way for shared conversation. Teachers must address differentiation, but also have cultural

compassion. McGloin (2014) outlines the need for choosing words wisely. In terms of

‘settlement’ or ‘invasion’ of the British in 1788, the terms employed by the teacher imply

underlying messages about a political standpoint (p.157). Also relevancy is found in white

power, behind the ‘toning down’ violent histories. McGloin (2014) asks “how does the

sanitizing of historical events affect those doing the narrating as well as those who are subjects

of narrative?” (p.158). The narrator is guilty, and the subjects would feel hurt and demoralized.

Ford (2013) explores how year 3 students sit a test called Measuring Academic

Progress, (MAP), and in 1998, a review highlighted “82% of non-indigenous students

[achieved the] national benchmark and only 31% indigenous students [did] the same” (Collins

and Lea, as cited by Ford, 2013, p.88). Perhaps, pre-school preparation needs to be explored.

For example, white families partake in reading to their children before bed, and “playing word

games […]” (Nunn, 2011, p.1227) in preparation for schooling. This highlights differences in

background, as Indigenous students will not be receiving this on the same level. Therefore,

national testing and national curriculum cannot be fair, when there is an uneven foundation.

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Kerley (2015) states; “while there is still controversy and contention surrounding our national

curriculum it has at least got us talking about how and what we teach in regard to Indigenous

content and Indigenous ways of teaching and learning” (p.5).

A dominant discourse in history, is the insignificant protest that Indigenous people

made to British taking over their traditional lands. This could primarily be because they had

never experienced conflict prior to white arrival, or that white society was already quite

accomplished with colonialism at this time. Indigenous students and white students need to be

made aware of these contextual histories that influence present ideology.

In designing a history lesson, based on the Indigenous activism in Australia, for

example, teachers could employ a cultural bubble of sorts, of the time before white arrival.

Aboriginal perspective must be emphasised. Immerse students, of all diversities, into the pre-

white culture in order to persuade them to view colonisation as the contributing force it was.

Then teachers must invite students to explore each of the policies, protests and gains made, and

discuss if it is enough. In order for a teacher to implement this design, they must adhere to

guidelines within the Australian national curriculum, APST, and the NSW Quality Teaching

model. Resources such as the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership, (AITSL)

website, and the Board of Studies Teaching and Education Standards, (BOSTES) website, aid

in developing the design into a lesson plan.

The national curriculum dictates that one of the cross cultural priorities is ‘Indigenous

histories’, ergo, a history teacher is already adhering to curriculum guidelines (Clark &

Pittaway, 2014, p84). The syllabus for teaching Aboriginal rights is as follows; “explain the

purpose and significance of early twentieth-century Aboriginal activism including the 1938

Day of Mourning protest for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”; “outline the rights

and freedoms denied to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples before 1965 and the role

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and policies of the Aboriginal Protection Board, eg the control of wages and reserves”; “using

a range of sources, describe the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

who were forcibly removed from their families (Stolen Generations)”; “describe the effects of

the assimilation policy for rights and freedoms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

peoples” (BOSTES, History 7-10, p.3).

Firstly, within context of the classroom, implement the APST to promote good practice.

The teacher in the video by AITSL, called ‘Promoting Reconciliation’, demonstrates his

knowledge of Indigenous culture through awareness of different maturation ages in cultures,

he is careful never to address men, as boys. This as a Standard, is to “understand and respect

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and

non-Indigenous Australians” (APST, Graduate Standard 2.4).

In teaching the syllabus for history years 7 to 10, teachers could call upon two or three

of the available pedagogies outlined within the NSW Quality Teaching model. In the design,

the aim was to shock students at the level of social inequality for Indigenous people. Therefore,

a relevant item to discuss from the model is “problematic knowledge”, and perhaps

“connectedness” (Gore, 2007). This calls upon the elements of intellectual quality and

significance. Problematic knowledge means that students are given information, from many

different perspectives, and are invited to critically engage with a common idea or relationship.

This is relevant to the aim in the design, as students needed to interpret Indigenous peoples’

inequality for themselves. ‘Connectedness’, as a pedagogical method, invites students to look

around society, at the contexts and problems, and see parallels for their topic. It helps students

internalise the lesson as it provides relevancy.

To assess this unit of work, the teacher can grade students utilising the outline they

employed for the lesson. For example, ‘connectedness’ required students to interpret their

knowledge against their surroundings. An assessment would measure the depth of the students’

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understanding of the concepts. An example of an assessment could be a class debate, or a paper

written, on one contextual outcome of Indigenous activism in current society. In this, their

problematic knowledge would become apparent, as they would reconcile all evidence to

decipher how they view the situation. This particular avenue would be good for all students,

Indigenous and non-indigenous, as it is giving everyone a chance to engage with controversial

material, and to voice their concerns. The teacher must create a safe space for all students to

have the confidence contributing to the discussion.

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References

Australian professional standards for teachers: Graduate standards. (2014). Retrieved Aug 19, 2016,

from AITSL: http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-

teachers/standards/list?c=graduate

Australian professional standards for teachers: Promoting reconciliation. (2012). Retrieved Aug 19,

2016, from AITSL: http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-

teachers/illustrations-of-practice/detail?id=IOP00061

Clark, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Teacher standards. In Marsh's becoming a teacher (6 ed., pp. 400-

417). Sydney: Pearson Australia.

Connell, R. (2013). Teachers. In Education, change & society (3 ed., pp. 261-275). South Melbourne:

Oxford University Press.

Ford, M. (2013). Achievement gaps in Australia: What NAPLAN reveals about education inequality in

Australia. Race ethnicity and education, 16(1), 80-102. doi:10.1080/13613324.2011.645570

Gore, J. (2007). Improving pedagogy. In J. Butcher, & L. McDonald (Eds.), Making a difference:

Challenges for teachers, teaching and teacher education (pp. 15-32). Sense Publishers.

History K-10. (2015). Retrieved Aug 19, 2016, from BOSTES:

http://syllabus.bostes.nsw.edu.au/hsie/history-k10/

Kerley, V. (2015). Thoughts on creating culturally inclusive classroom: Indigenous literature and the

Australian curriculum. Access, 4-13.

Lingard, B. (2010). Policy borrowing, policy learning: Testing times in Australian schooling. Critical

studies in education, 51(2), 129-147.

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McGloin, C. (2014). Tone it down a bit!: Euphemism as a colonial device in Australian indigenous

studies. Review of education, pedagogy, and cultural studies, 36(2), 156-167.

doi:10.1080/10714413.2014.898542

Nelson, J. (2013). The Australian professional standards for teachers: Are they the best drivers?

Australian educational leader, 35(4), 21-23.

Nunn, L. M. (2011). Classrooms as racialised spaces: Dynamics of collaboration, tension and student

attitudes in urban and suburban schools. Urban education, 46(6), 1226-1255.

doi:10.1177/0042085911413146

The Australian curriculum. (2014). In M. Clark, & S. Pittaway, Marsh's becoming a teacher (6 ed., pp.

74-88). Sydney: Pearson Australia.

Wilson, K., & Wilks, J. (2015). Australian indigenous higher education: Politics, policy and

representation. Journal of higher education policy and management, 37(6), 659-672.

doi:10:1080/1360080X.2015.1102824

Years 7-10 history. (2003). Retrieved from NSW Department of education and communities:

Curriculum support:

http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/hsie/history4_5/index.htm

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