Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T17:48:51.795Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Raising Awareness to Transcend Disciplines: Developing Teachers' Critical Awareness Across Disciplines to Increase Indigenous Learner Engagement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2014

Tasha Riley
Tasha Riley*
Affiliation:
Griffith Institute for Higher Research, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Tasha Riley, Griffith Institute for Higher Research, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD 4122, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The issue of low graduation rates among Indigenous learners transcends borders. Some argue that racism and discrimination in schools and in wider society impede the success of Indigenous learners. Although teachers may not intend to make discriminatory decisions based on a learner's ascribed characteristics, research has demonstrated that teachers are capable of making biased decisions that deny opportunities to Indigenous learners. After reflecting upon current debates regarding effective educational strategies for diversity and Indigenous learners, the author contends that courses directed towards best practices for Indigenous learners in the classroom may be less beneficial than developing teachers' overall critical consciousness-raising and self-awareness abilities. The author presents what the literature reveals regarding various educational methods, practices, and epistemologies that have been successfully shared across disciplines in order to create more effective teachers and more responsive learners.

Keywords

teacher educationcritical reflectionIndigenous educationengagement
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , December 2014 , pp. 144 - 153
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2014 

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.)

References

Aaronsohn, E., Carter, C.J., & Howell, M. (1995). Preparing mono-cultural teachers for a multicultural world: Attitudes toward inner-city schools. Equity in Education, 28, 5–9.Google Scholar
Anuik, J., & Gillies, C.L. (2012). Indigenous knowledge in post-secondary educators’ practices: Nourishing the learning spirit. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, (42)1, 63–79.Google Scholar
Archibald, J., Pidgeon, M., Janvier, S., Commodore, H., & McCormick, R. (2002). Teacher recruitment, retention and training: Implications for First Nations education. Ottawa, Canada: Minister's National Working Group on Education, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.Google Scholar
Aronson, J., Lustina, M.J., Good, C., Keough, K., Steele, K., & Brown, J. (1999). When white men can't do math: Necessary and sufficient factors in stereotype threat. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35, 29–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Averill, R. (2012). Caring teaching practices in multiethnic mathematics classrooms: Attending to health and well-being. Mathematics Education Research Group of Australia, 24, 105–128.Google Scholar
Bagley, C.A. (1992). In service preparation and teacher resistance to whole-school change. London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Banks, J.A. (1996). Multicultural education, transformative knowledge, and action: Historical and contemporary perspectives. New York: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Battiste, M. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy in First Nations education: A literature review with recommendations. Ottawa, Canada: The National Working Group on Education and the Minister of Indian Affairs, Indian and Northern Affairs.Google Scholar
Battiste, M., & Youngblood Henderson, J. (2000). Protecting Indigenous knowledge and heritage: A global challenge. Saskatoon, Canada: Purich.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Battiste, M., Bell, L., & Findlay, L.M. (2002). Decolonizing education in Canadian universities: An interdisciplinary, international, Indigenous research project. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 26 (2), 82–95.Google Scholar
Battiste, M., & Youngblood Henderson, J. (2009). Naturalizing Indigenous knowledge in Eurocentric education. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 32 (1), 5–18.Google Scholar
Beresford, Q., & Partington, G. (Eds.). (2003). Reform and resistance in Aboriginal education: The Australian experience. Perth, Australia: University of Western Australia Press.Google Scholar
Blau, J.R. (2003). Race in the schools: Perpetuating white dominance? Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodkin-Andrews, G., O’Rourke, V., & Craven, R. (2010). The utility of general self-esteem and domain-specific self-concepts: Their influence on Indigenous and non-Indigenous students’ educational outcomes. Australian Journal of Education, 54 (3), 277–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourque, J., Bouchamma, Y., & Larose, F. (2010). Aboriginal students’ achievement in science education: The effect of teaching methods. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 56 (1), 57–71.Google Scholar
Brandon, W. W. (2002). Interrupting racial profiling: Moving pre-service teachers from white identity to equity pedagogy. In Slater, J.S., Fain, S.M., & Rossatto, C.A. (Eds.), The Freirean legacy (pp. 139–156). New York: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Brophy, J.E., & Good, T.L. (1974). Teacher-student relationships: Causes and consequences. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar
Cabello, B., & Burstein, N.D. (1995). Examining teachers' beliefs about teaching in culturally diverse classrooms. Journal of Teacher Education, 46 (4), 285–294.Google Scholar
Cadinu, M., Maass, A., Frigerio, S., Impagliazzo, L., & Latinotti, S. (2003). Stereotype threat: The effect of expectancy on performance. European Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 267–285.Google Scholar
Carr, P.R., & Klassen, T.R. (1997). Different perceptions of race in education: Racial minority white teachers. Canadian Journal of Education, 22 (1), 67–81.Google Scholar
Chavous, T.M., Harris, A., Rivas, D., Helaire, L., & Green, L. (2004). Racial stereotypes and gender in context: African Americans at predominantly White colleges. Sex Roles, 51 (1/2), 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cherubini, L. (2011). Understanding the marginalized in the mainstream: Teacher education and Aboriginal educational policy in Ontario (Canada). International Journal of Education, 3 (2), 1–21.Google Scholar
Cook-Sather, A. (2007). What would happen if we treated students as those with opinions that matter? The benefits to principals and teachers of supporting youth engagement in school. NASSP Bulletin, 91, 343–362. doi:10.1177/0192636507309872.Google Scholar
Dei, G.J.S., Karumanchery, L.L., & Karumanchery-Luik, N. (2004). Playing the race card: Exposing white power and privilege. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.Google Scholar
Delpit, L.D. (1995). Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: The New Press.Google Scholar
Demmert, W. (2001). Improving schools academic performance among Native American students: A review of the research literature. Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.Google Scholar
Duncan, K.A., & Sokal, L. (2003). The path to education in a Canadian Aboriginal context. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 27 (2).Google Scholar
Farkas, G. (2003). Racial disparities and discrimination in education: What do we know, how do we know it, and what do we need to know? Teachers College Record, 105 (6), 1119–1146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, R.F. (2003). Teachers' perceptions and expectations and the black-white test score gap. Urban Education, 38, 460–507.Google Scholar
Fine, M., Weis, L., Powell, L.P., & Burns, A. (2004). Off white: Readings on power, privilege, and resistance (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Freire, P. (1998). Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare teach (Macedo, D., Koike, D., & Oliveira, A., Trans.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Garcia, R. L. (2001). Countering classroom discrimination. Theory into Practice, 23 (2), 104–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonzales, P.M., Blanton, H., & Williams, K.J. (2002). The effects of stereotype threat and double-minority status on the test performance of Latino women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 659–670.Google Scholar
Goulet, L. (2001). Two teachers of Aboriginal students: Effective practice in socio-historical realities. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 25 (1), 68–82.Google Scholar
Goulet, L. (2005). Creating culturally meaningful learning environments: Teacher actions to engage Aboriginal students in learning. Regina, Canada: University of Regina. Retrieved from http://www.indigenouspolicy.org/index.php/ipj/thesis/view/8Google Scholar
Harrison, N., & Greenfield, M. (2011). Relationship to place: Positioning Aboriginal knowledge and perspectives in classroom pedagogies. Critical Studies in Education, 52 (1), 65–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, N., & Murray, B. (2013). Reflective teaching practice in a Darug classroom: How teachers can build relationships with an Aboriginal community outside the school. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, (41)2, 139–145. doi:10.1017/jie.2012.14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hickling-Hudson, A., & Ahlquist, R. (2003). Contesting the curriculum in the schooling of Indigenous children in Australia and the United States: From Eurocentrism to culturally powerful pedagogies. Comparative Education Review, 47 (1)64–91.Google Scholar
hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge Press.Google Scholar
Hynds, A., Sleeter, C., Hindle, R., Savage, C., Penetito, W., & Meyer, L.H., (2011). Te Kotahitanga: A case study of a repositioning approach to teacher professional development for culturally responsive pedagogies. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39 (4), 339–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kolb, K.J., & Jussim, L. (1994). Teacher expectations and underachieving gifted children. Roeper Review, 17 (1), 26–30.Google Scholar
Kumashiro, K.K. (2000). Toward a theory of anti-oppressive education. Review of Educational Research, 7 (1), 25–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LaDuke, A.E. (2009). Resistance and renegotiation: Pre-service teacher interactions with and reactions to multicultural education course content. Multicultural Education, Spring, 37–44.Google Scholar
Lipsitz, G. (1995). The possessive investment in whiteness: Racialized social democracy and the ‘white’ problem in American studies. American Quarterly, 47, 369–387.Google Scholar
McGregor, D. (2005). Transformation and re-creation: Creating spaces for Indigenous theorising in Canadian Aboriginal studies programs. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 34, 34–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIntosh, P. (1998). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. In Rothenberg, P.S. (Ed.), Race, class, and gender in the United States: An integrated study (pp.165–169). New York: St. Martins Press.Google Scholar
Martin, A.M., & Hand, B. (2009). Factors affecting the implementation of argument in the elementary science classroom: A longitudinal case study. Research in Science Education, 39, 17–38. doi:10.1007/s11165-007-9072-7.Google Scholar
Marx, D.M., & Roman, J.S. (2002). Female role models: Protecting women's math test performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1183–1193.Google Scholar
Milner, H.R. (2006). Preservice teachers' learning about cultural and racial diversity: Implication for urban education. Urban Education, 41 (4), 343–375.Google Scholar
Morgan, S., & Goldring, B. (2010). Crossing over: Collaborative cross-cultural teaching of Indigenous education in a higher education context. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39, 8–14.Google Scholar
Neito, S., & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity: The socio-political context of multicultural education. Boston: Pearson.Google Scholar
Partington, G., & Gray, J. (2003). Classroom management and Aboriginal students. In Beredford, Q. & Partington, G. (Eds.), Reform and resistance in Aboriginal education: The Australian experience (pp. 164–184). Perth, Australia: University of Western Australia.Google Scholar
Phillips, M., Crouse, J., & Ralph, J. (1998). Does the Black-White test score gap widen after children enter school? In Jencks, C. & Phillips, M. (Eds.), The Black-White test score gap (pp. 229–272). Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd. (2004). Aboriginal peoples and post-secondary education: What educators have learned. Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation.Google Scholar
Riley, T. (2014). Sex education. Into the community and not on the shelf: Learning to develop a meaningful HIV/AIDS curriculum for multiple communities. Sex Education, 14 (1), 42–56.Google Scholar
Riley, T., & Ungerleider, C. (2008). Pre-service teachers' discriminatory judgements. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 54, 378–387.Google Scholar
Riley, T., & Ungerleider, C. (2012). Self-fulfilling prophecy: How teachers' attributions, expectations, and stereotypes influence the learning opportunities afforded Aboriginal students. Canadian Journal of Education, 35 (2), 303–333.Google Scholar
Sarra, C. (2011). Strong and smart-towards a pedagogy for emancipation: Education for First peoples. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Schick, C. (2000a). White woman teachers accessing dominance. Discourses: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 21 (3), 299–309.Google Scholar
Schick, C. (2000b). By virtue of being White: Resistance in anti-racist pedagogy. Race Ethnicity and Education, 3 (1), 83–102.Google Scholar
Schick, C., & St. Denis, V. (2005). Troubling national discourses in anti-racist curricular planning. Canadian Journal of Education, 28 (3), 295–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silver, J., Mallett, K., Greene, J., & Simard, F. (2002). Aboriginal education in Winnipeg inner city high schools. Winnipeg, Canada: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives — Manitoba. Retrieved September 2012 from www.policyalternatives.ca/manitoba/aboriginal-education.pdfGoogle Scholar
Sleeter, C.E. (1993). How white teachers construct race. In McCarthy, C. & Crichlow, W. (Eds.), Race, identity and representation in education (pp. 157–171). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sleeter, C.E. (2001). Preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools: Research and the overwhelming presence of Whiteness. Journal of Teacher Education, 52 (2), 94–106.Google Scholar
Sleeter, S, Torres, M.N., & Laughlin, P. (2004). Scaffolding conscientization through inquiry in teacher education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 31 (1), 81–96.Google Scholar
Smith, C.S., & Hung, L. (2008). Stereotype threat: Effects on education. Social Psychology Education, 11, 243–257.Google Scholar
Sparks, S. (2000). Classroom and curriculum accommodations for Native American students. Intervention in School and Clinic, 35 (5), 259–263. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105345120003500501CrossRefGoogle Scholar
St.Denis, V. (2004). Real Indians: Cultural revitalization and fundamentalism in Aboriginal education. In Schick, C., Jaffe, J., & Watkinson, A.M. (Eds.), Contesting fundamentalisms (pp. 35–27). Halifax, Canada: Fernwood.Google Scholar
St.Denis, V., & Hampton, E. (2002). Literature review on racism and the effects on Aboriginal education. Ottawa: Prepared for Minister's National Working Group on Education Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.Google Scholar
Steele, C.M. (1998). Stereotyping and its threat are real. American Psychologist, 53, 680–681.Google Scholar
Steele, C.M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69 (5), 797–811.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tenenbaum, H.R., & Ruck, M.D. (2007). Are teachers' expectations different for racial minority than for European American students? A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99 (2), 253–273.Google Scholar
Wotherspoon, T., & Schissel, B. (1998). Marginalization, decolonization and voice: Prospects for Aboriginal education in Canada (Discussion paper). Toronto: Council of Ministers of Education Canada.Google Scholar
Zygmunt-Filwalk, E., & Clark, P. (2007). Becoming multicultural: Raising awareness and supporting change in teacher education. Childhood Education, 83 (5), 288–293.Google Scholar