Personal

Educational Philosophy
My Personal Educational Philosophy is that everyone has a right to a quality education,
regardless of race, culture or religious beliefs and that Inclusive classrooms MUST cater to
all students regardless of academic abilities. This philosophy has been ingrained within me
from my childhood educational experiences of growing up in a remote farming community
as an Aboriginal child. I am one of eight children and when I attended school both primary
and secondary I felt as though some but not all teachers did not care about my learning, I
was never challenged academically even though I was a bright student and keen to learn. I
loved reading but was never encouraged to borrow books I felt as though there were no
expectations of my schooling or future, I believed that teachers believed that I didnt need
an education because I would follow in many of my peoples path and have babies and
collect Centrelink payments, and basically amount to nothing, therefore why challenge me?
From this experience and my continual reflection on that time in my life I believe that No-
one gets left behind when it comes to an education and that we as teachers must have
high expectations of ourselves and our students. We must get to know our students and
how they learn best and cater to their individual needs and instil in them a strong sense of
belonging, not only to the classroom but the community and the country. We must show
compassion and reiterate to them that they are a valuable member of the class and society.
When I began my University journey five years ago I had no idea or thought about
Culturally Responsive Teaching and the many benefits that this style of teaching brings to
not only students and teachers but the whole school community. Australia has become a
multi-cultural society and we must cater to the many diverse cultures, in all areas but
especially in education. Students will benefit from sharing their cultural identities and
students will benefit from learning about other cultures. I firmly believe that education does
not begin and end with the class room, students have a wealth of invaluable Prior
knowledge and teachers must utilise this to maximise their teaching and the students
learning. I strongly believe that all universities within Australia should make Culturally
Responsive Teaching a core unit of study and that a teaching practicum in a multicultural
school be a component.

Joy OHara S00086963 SDFD452

Assessment 1: Personal Educational Philosophy

 The media has the ability to negatively portray certain cultures and many young people will
believe what they hear and see, it is the nature of the beast so to speak, and it is our
responsibility as teachers to counter balance that negativity by teaching culturally relevant,
responsive perspectives.
I also firmly believe that teaching needs to be interactive and hands on, its not just about
reading and writing, students learn best when they see, touch, and hear from elders,
organisations and take field trips that are connected to the topic at hand. We are teaching a
technology driven generation and it is our responsibility to upskill our knowledge of the
current technology trends and to bring this into our classrooms for the benefit of our
students. The benefits of computers to those students that have English as a second
language or the students who cannot write are immeasurable, in terms of self-belief,
participation and belonging. We as teachers must also acknowledge that we continually
learn from our students and we need to share this information with our students as a tool
for engagement, this will also assist with building a healthy, functioning, trusting
relationship with the students and help break down the us and them mentality. I believe
that Think, Pair, Share and group work are extremely important as this style of learning
helps students of lesser abilities to complete tasks with confidence, and students of higher
abilities get the opportunity to know the feeling of helping a classmate out and this also
allows for continuity in the lesson. All students move through the program sequence
together and teachers are able to stay on track with their planning.
Teachers and Pre graduate teachers need to understand that critical reflection is not a
negative but a positive and that we grow from feedback and are able to create richer more
relevant lessons that our students then engage in and have success in terms of personal
growth and academically.
I am a caring teacher, and student well-being is pivotal in my educational philosophy,
students need to feel safe and supported throughout their schooling in order to move into
the next phase of their lives as adults, whether it is employment or university. Teachers are
mentors and role models.

Joy OHara S00086963 SDFD452

Assessment 1: Personal Educational Philosophy

To know and understand students individual learning style.

Create a class room environment that is cooperative, friendly and supportive.

Being mindful of students culture, religious beliefs and home environment when
lesson planning. Culturally Responsive Teaching.

Creating partnerships and relationships with community organisations and

businesses.

Take into account the diversity within the classroom and cater.

Encourage self-belief, self- worth, and that everyone can learn and achieve their
dreams.

Inclusion of Technology

Group work, Think, Pair, Share.

Positive reinforcement.

Joy OHara S00086963 SDFD452

Assessment 1: Personal Educational Philosophy