1

There were almost no improvements in school attendance, with rates

remaining well below the attendance rates of non-Indigenous students.

Positive learning environments for Indigenous children and young people

Resource sheet no. 33 produced by the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse Lucy
Ockenden July 2014

What are these essential components that can build positive, respectful
relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and improve
attendance? Assess how you as a future secondary classroom teacher may
be able to shift your classroom so that it supports Indigenous students
learning, success and attendance. Use key policy documents to support your
argument.

There were almost no improvements in school attendance, with rates

remaining well below the attendance rates of non-Indigenous students.

(Ockenden, 2014)

The provided quote is from a resource sheet produced by the Closing

the Gap Clearinghouse. The paper outlines how Indigenous students are

performing in areas such as literacy and numeracy, year 12 completion and

attendance. The quote specifically refers to the lower attendance rates

recorded by Indigenous students.

This essay will extend on the observations of Ockenden (2014) by

exploring several significant educational policies that legislate attendance

within Australian public schools. Furthermore, it will focus on current literature

which examines the challenges surrounding the alarming differences in

attendance between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Lastly, it will

assess a variety of strategies that future secondary teachers can utilise to

 2

support Indigenous students by creating positive relationships with successful

learning and encouraging attendance. These strategies are based on

increased engagement in the classroom and include the 8 Ways pedagogy,

object based learning and positive relationships. This essay will concentrate

on the implications of these strategies for a stage 5 history classroom.

Throughout Australias history there have been many different policies

regarding Indigenous Australians. A clear majority of these have negatively

impacted on the lives of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In

the last 10 years, new government reports such as the Social Justice Report

(HREOC, 2006) have identified areas of disadvantage experienced by

Indigenous students. In response to this, a number of new government and

school policies have been put in place to stimulate Indigenous achievement.

The most noted of these policies include the education strand of the Closing

the Gap initiative (Department of Social Services, 2009). The current target

set by the Australian Government is to close the gap between Indigenous

and non-Indigenous attendance by 2018. The 2014-2015 data, however,

does not reflect positively with only a 0.2% increase in attendance

(Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2016).

The nature of Indigenous attendance is a very complex issue which

encompasses both educational and cultural aspects. Government

educational policy dictates that all students of compulsory school age (6-16)

attend school whenever instruction is provided. Students must not be absent

 3

more than 100 days in a calendar year and any absences are to be

explained by a guardian within 7 days (NSW Department of Education, 2015).

In 2015, the attendance rate for Indigenous students around Australia

was recorded at 83.7%, compared to 93.1% for non-Indigenous students

(Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2016). While this suggests that

attendance is still reasonably high there is a 9.4% difference between

Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The big question is why?

Ockenden (2014, 1) suggests many school based factors can impact

on the attendance and the engagement of Indigenous students. The factors

range from previous negative experiences at school to racism and poor self-

perception. This suggests that Indigenous students do not have a positive

schooling experience and can lead to truancy.

Cultural and family expectations may also present hurdles toward a

students attendance. Previous Indigenous educational systems do not

necessarily align with western forms of education. Historically, Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander people have educated young people as a community

reinforcing kinship values (Price, 2015). This may force Indigenous students to

create two identities, a western identity and an Indigenous identity and

cause a negative school relationship.

In a case study conducted at Salisbury North R-7 School, some of the

identified reasons for absenteeism included helping the family with fortnightly

shopping, transience, i.e. moving between two domestic sites and even

embarrassment about running out of clean clothes. This demonstrates the

 4

reality of cultural and family expectations of Indigenous students (What

Works, 2011).

Despite the reasons for lower rates of attendance there is a multitude

of evidence about the damaging effects it causes. Findings by Purdie and

Buckley (2010) concluded that students with lower rates of attendance are

more likely to leave school earlier and have increased risk factors towards

crime. Likewise, students with less than 90% attendances are less likely to

achieve in areas such as literacy and numeracy (Purdie and Buckley, 2010).

This only further proves the need of deep engagement that is required in

classrooms to encourage school participation and positive, respectful

relationships. This will be explored in the second section of this essay

As a future teacher there are a plethora of educational policies and

government bodies that dictate what is taught in the classroom. The first of

the important governing bodies is the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and

Reporting Authority (ACARA). It is ACARA who develop the Australian

Curriculum. This is then localized by the NSW Board of Studies Teaching and

Educational Standards(BOSTES).

BOSTES is in charge of the NSW syllabus and states that stage 5 History

must examine a variety of Indigenous topics such as the Changing Rights

and Freedoms of Indigenous people inspired by Indigenous leader such as

Charles Perkins and Eddie Koiki Mabo (BOSTES, 2012). These two bodies are

particularly relevant as they have identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander histories and cultures as a cross-curricula priority. To be considered,

 5

an effective teacher, it is imperative that all cross curricula priorities are

observed for the benefit of both indigenous and non-indigenous students.

The next relevant governing body is the Australian Institute for Teaching

and School Leadership (AITSL). In 2011, AITSL updated the National

Professional Standards for teachers to include 37 different essential standards

that all Australian teachers must meet. Of particular importance are

standards 1.4 and 2.4. Standard 1.4 asks proficient teachers to design and

implement strategies that are responsive to the local community and cultural

setting, linguistic background and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander students (AITSL, 2011). Meanwhile, standard 2.4 requires proficient

teachers to provide opportunities for students to develop understanding of

and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and

languages (AITSL, 2011). These standards are integral to the improvement

and maintenance of teaching standards towards furthering Indigenous

education.

The current literature on the improvement of attendance amongst

Indigenous is very clear that the key to retaining students is through strong

engagement and positive relationships between students, teachers and

schools (Price, 2011; Purdie and Buckley, 2010; Ockenden, 2014). It is the job

of an effective teacher to observe all educational policies above while

meeting all of the educations standards and curriculum priorities. For a new

teacher this can prove incredibly daunting. Herbert() believes the key to

improving the achievements of indigenous students is to educate pre-service

 6

teachers to build cultural competence. This education is most successful

when new teachers are deeply engaged with Indigenous mentors who help

demonstrate meaningful and engaging teaching practices. According to

the NSW Department of Education there are over 600 Indigenous teachers

and 300 Indigenous support staff in schools Australia wide. This means that

only a small minority of educational staff are likely to have strong cultural

awareness prior to Indigenous training. This pre-service education supports

new teachers to forge positive relationships with future students as they have

greater understanding of the factors that impact Indigenous attendance.

One of the strategies for increased Indigenous engagement and a

positive relationship between teachers and students is the 8 Ways pedagogy.

As discussed earlier there are noticeable differences between western and

Indigenous education. The 8 Ways pedagogy has been developed to use

methods that resonate with Indigenous philosophy. The 8 Ways are all

connected and involve important cultural processes such as story sharing,

community and links to the land (Yunkaporta, 2009). This pedagogy works

best when used in conjunction with consultation with local elders and

community members. Herbert (2015) strongly believes in the involvement of

local elders and communities in all levels of schooling as it empowers

Indigenous students to see themselves in future positions of leadership. This

reflects the 8 Ways pedagogy as it displays community links. The downside to

this method is that it is a difficult pedagogy for non-Indigenous teachers to

understand and implement. In fact, it is impossible to implement without the

 7

support of the local community, Aboriginal Education Officers and school

staff.

Another strategy that can help increase Indigenous engagement in

schools and therefore increase attendance is Object Based Learning. Object

Based Learning is a pedagogy that encourages learners to engage with a

particular object. This pedagogy is commonly used in museums such as the

Powerhouse Museum to create a connection between the learner and a

particular historical time period (Arnold, 2012). In a classroom it could be used

to foster deep understanding and problematic knowledge; both of which

form part of the Quality Teaching Framework(QTF).

An example of Object Based Learning is See, Think, Wonder which

comes from the Visible Thinking routines by Project Zero (2011). During this

routine, learners are given an object and asked to look for clues that may

help identify the object. From there learners put the clues together to

hypothesise what the object is. Lastly, learners are encouraged to ask their

own questions. The purpose of this exercise is to create an environment of

active listening and deeper understanding very similar to the concept of

Dadirri.

This pedagogy can be closely linked with the 8 Ways pedagogy

through Story Sharing and Deconstruct and Reconstruct. Every object has a

story to tell, but first you have to deconstruct it to discover the truth, then
 8

reconstruct to understand it. This would be an acceptable example of

graduate teaching standard 1.4.

Object Based Learning has both strengths and weaknesses. One of its

greatest strengths is that future teachers can use this pedagogy to teach

both Indigenous students and Indigenous History, which means it benefits

everyone. A weakness, however, is that some objects have significant

meanings to different people. The object may be anglocentric and

disadvantage Indigenous students or may contain culturally sensitive

information, such as a photo of an Aboriginal Elder that has passed away. It is

important to carefully select the object. This reflects this importance of

teaching standard 2.4, to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and

non-Indigenous people. There is still a lack of cultural awareness between

non-Indigenous people. For example, in the second episode of First

Contact (Perkins, 2016) the high profile guests were exposed to former

Aboriginal boarding houses during the Stolen Generations. By experiencing

part of the objects, the guests were able to feel empathy for their Indigenous

hosts. Empathy in one of the 6 historical concepts laid out in the NSW syllabus.

In conclusion, Indigenous attendance is a very complex issue with

many different cultural and educational factors. In light of this, Indigenous

attendance rates continue to fall almost 10% shorter than non-Indigenous

attendance despite a number of targeted programs under the Closing the

Gap initiative. Current data suggests that more needs to be done to support
 9

positive relationships and engagement in schools to encourage better

attendance.

There are numerous effective strategies that future teachers can use

within their own classrooms to deeply engage Indigenous students. It is also

important to reflect upon the importance of teaching Indigenous history. The

8 Ways pedagogy is a useful tool for sharing knowledge with students,

however is sometimes difficult to handle for non-Indigenous teachers. When it

is done right it seems to provide positive results. Likewise, Object Based

Learning is an inclusive pedagogy that can be used to teach Indigenous

history to all students. These strategies can be used to document professional

teaching standards 1.4 and 2.4 for future teachers.

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Reference List

AITSL. (2011). Australian profession standards for teachers. Retrieved from

http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-
teachers/standards/list

Arnold, D. (2012). Using museum objects to stimulate student interest in

Australian curriculum: Ethos, Vol. 20 (No. 2), 11 - 17. Retrieved from
http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=55266216972322
2;res=IELHSS ISSN: 1448-1324.

BOSTES. (2011). History K-10 Stage 5, Content (Core study - rights and
freedoms). Retrieved from
http://syllabus.bostes.nsw.edu.au/hsie/history-k10/content/835/

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2016). Closing the gap: Prime
ministers report (Chapter two: Education). Retrieved from
http://closingthegap.dpmc.gov.au/index.html

Department of Social Services. (2009). Closing the gap. Retrieved from

https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2012/closing_
the_gap.pdf

Herbert, J. (2015). Delivering the promise: Empowering teachers to empower

students. In K. Price (Ed 2), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Education (35-52). Port Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University
Press.

HREOC. (2006). Social justice report 2005. Retrieved from

https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/social_justi
ce/sj_report/sjreport05/pdf/SocialJustice2005.pdf

NSW Department of Education. (2016). School attendance policy (Ref

PD/2005/0259/V07). Retrieved from
https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/school-
attendance-policy

NSW Department of Education. (2016). School teaching. Retrieved from

http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about-us/careers-centre/employing-
aboriginal-peoples/career-pathways/school-teaching

NSW Department of Education. (2016). School administration and support

roles. Retrieved from http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about-us/careers-
centre/employing-aboriginal-peoples/career-pathways/school-admin
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Ockenden, L. (2014). Positive learning environments for Indigenous children

and young people (Resource sheet no. 33). Retrieved from
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Price, K. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An

introduction for the teaching profession (2nd ed.). Port Melbourne,
Australia: Cambridge University Press.

Project Zero. (2010). See, think, wonder. Retrieved from

http://www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingR
outines/03c_Core_routines/SeeThinkWonder/SeeThinkWonder_Routine.
html

Purdie, N., & Buckley, S. (2010). School attendance and retention of

Indigenous Australian students (Issue 1). Retrieved from
http://www.aihw.gov.au/uploadedFiles/ClosingTheGap/Content/Publi
cations/2010/ctg-ip01.pdf

Perkins, R. (2016). First Contact. [Television Documentary]. Australia: SBS

What Works. (2011). Salisbury North R-7 school, South Australia. Retrieved
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ubcmd=select&id=292

Yunkaporta, Tyson. (2009). Aboriginal pedagogies at the cultural interface.

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