102096

Hue Nghi Tran

Researching Teaching and Learning 1 Std Id: 17370673
Assignment 01: Engagement with an educational issue
As a country of migration and multi-culture, Australia faces several social justice issues such
as race, ethnicity, language, gender, culture, etc. Education is seen as a miniature society
where students from different social groups come together and move towards educational
success. These social issues, as a result, exist in the educational environment and place
significant impacts on students and the classroom. Thus, it is the accountability of schools,
educators and teachers to tackle these issues in a way that promotes and practices equity.
When equity is practiced and students feel accepted and equal, effective education will take
place. In order to understand and employ responsive pedagogy, referring to educational
research would be helpful to teachers. This essay will discuss the issue of cultural conflicts in
Aboriginal students learning styles and how studying educational research could support
teachers in employing culturally responsive pedagogy.
According to Gay (as cited in Sleeter, 2012), culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) is
teaching to and through students lenses of personal and cultural understandings, intellectual
capabilities and prior accomplishments. Thus, it is crucial for teachers to understand their
students cultural backgrounds and their specific learning styles, so that culturally responsive
teaching can be practiced. However, it is always easier said than done. Sleeter (2012) argued
that culturally responsive pedagogy is commonly misunderstood by teachers as cultural
celebration which ignores the connection of cultural understandings with academic learning.
Thus, many teachers and school substitute teaching academic knowledge through responsive
cultural processes with merely culture education (Sleeter, 2012). For example, in Meyer and
colleagues (as cited in Sleeter, 2012) evaluation of a professional development program for
culturally responsive pedagogy in a Maori school in New Zealand, they found that the only
culturally responsive pedagogy that teachers employed was adding the Maori terms for week
days to the calendar. Therefore, it is important for teachers to clearly distinguish the
1

102096
Hue Nghi Tran
Researching Teaching and Learning 1 Std Id: 17370673
differences between culturally responsive pedagogy and multicultural education. Rychly and
Graves (2012) concluded that culturally responsive teachers should be caring, empathetic,
reflective about their attitudes of their own cultures as well as knowledgeable of their
students cultures.
Understanding students and be aware of how they learn is the key to teaching success.
According to Vygotskian sociocultural perspective on education, people from varied
backgrounds have different frameworks in thinking and actions because cognitive process is a
product of culture (Smagorinsky, 2007). Therefore, it is understandable that teachers and
students with varied cultural backgrounds would have different mindsets and cognitive
processes. When these mindsets do not synchronize, it is, invariably, the students who would
fall behind (Gay, as cited in Dallavias, 2011).
According to ABS (2015), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students accounted for 5.3%
of total enrolments in Australias schools, and New South Wales (NSW) held the largest
proportion of Indigenous students (32% of the total 200,563 students). This statistical data
indicates that in a NSW teachers teaching career, it is inevitable that they will be teaching
Indigenous students at some certain point in time. Thus, understanding these student cohorts
characteristics plays a crucial part in determining the success of teaching and learning.
According to Hudsmith (1992), Indigenous students have different world views, learning
styles and sociolinguistic etiquette compared with their Western peers. According to Harris
(as cited in Christie, 1985), this student cohort learns most effectively through real-life or
hand-on activities and in specific context-based situations. Moreover, Indigenous students
also have high autonomy, peer affiliation, and sharing attitudes (Hudsmith, 1992).
Consequently, when teaching pedagogies are informed and responsive to Indigenous
students characteristics, experience, values, and learning styles, problems in

102096
Hue Nghi Tran
Researching Teaching and Learning 1 Std Id: 17370673
misunderstanding and communication between teachers and students would be reduced
(Hudsmith, 2012).
In short, it is paramount that teachers should understand and employ proper culturally
responsive pedagogy in education and especially in the key learning areas (KLAs) where the
dominant discourse is highly European such as English and History. Though Indigenous
knowledge and information has been infused and integrated into these two KLAs, the
contents are predominantly European. Thus, it is unavoidable that Indigenous students may
experience learning difficulties in these KLAs, which may result in disengagement and poor
academic performance. In order to solve this problem, teachers and educators must align
instructions and pedagogies to Indigenous students cultural paradigms so that their academic
performance can be improved.
To clearly understand any educational issues, it is advised that analysis and study of empirical
evidence should be conducted. Educational research is a valuable tool for educators or
teachers to gain a deeper insight into an educational phenomenon from which explanations
and predictions for future performance could be drawn upon (Ullman, 2015). The chosen
educational research for this cultural incompetence issue is a qualitative research named
Seeking a Pedagogy of Difference: What Aboriginal students and their parents in North
Queensland say about teaching and their learning (Lewthwaite, Osborne, Lloyd, Boon,
Llewellyn, Webber, Laffin, Harrison, Day, Kemp, & Wills, 2015). This qualitative research
article was conducted with the purpose of informing teachers at the Diocese of Townsville
Catholic Education of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and parents
aspirations for teaching practices. Also, it was set to help develop teachers cultural awareness
and responsiveness in schools. The methodology used in the research was open-ended
interviews with Aboriginal parents and students. Different themes were designed and

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Hue Nghi Tran
Researching Teaching and Learning 1 Std Id: 17370673
organised for different student and parent cohorts. Being set in different topics, these themes
mainly focus on the issues of Aboriginal students distinct learning styles and the importance
of teachers understanding of their history and characteristics (Lewthwaite et al., 2015).
Comments from the interviews helped build up a pedagogy framework which guide teachers
towards a culturally responsive pedagogy or a pedagogy of consequence. According to the
framework, to be culturally responsive, firstly, teachers should show ethic of care and respect
for students cultural identity. Secondly, students social development beside academic
achievement should also be targeted. Third, teaching instructions either verbal or non-verbal
should be precise and explicit to students. Fourth, students should be treated as individuals
with distinct support and encouragement. Similarly, teaching should be differentiated in
accordance with students diverse backgrounds and characteristics. Moreover, teachers should
shift their roles from an authority figure to a facilitator, and the act of under-talking should
replace the conventional over-talking practice. Lastly, teachers are deemed responsible for
students overall health and well-being; and teachers should collaborate with schools
Indigenous staff in order to thoroughly understand and provide responsive support to their
Aboriginal students. In short, this framework requires teachers to be culturally
knowledgeable and responsive in their pedagogies in order to facilitate the learning and
development of the Aboriginal student cohort (Lewthwaite et al., 2015).
The learning activity to be discussed and compared with the research article is a news
reporting activity about the benefits of Aboriginal cool burning for year 7 and 8 English. The
activity requires students to be able to produce a communication project in writing and oral
presentation detailing the benefits of cool burning in cultural, environmental and economic
perspectives. The expected social outcome from this activity is to encourage young students
to learn about Indigenous Australian knowledge. The lesson sequence is as below:

102096
Hue Nghi Tran
Researching Teaching and Learning 1 Std Id: 17370673

Image 01- Lesson Sequence 01 (Cool Australia, 2016)

102096
Hue Nghi Tran
Researching Teaching and Learning 1 Std Id: 17370673

Image 02 Lesson sequence 02 (Cool Australia, 2016)

According to the lesson sequence, students will watch three videos about cool burning which
are then followed up by a group work activity in which students discuss and write a
responding news article. The lesson concludes by a group oral presentation of the news article
that have been written. The activity is a good opportunity to promote and respect Aboriginal
culture as students get a chance to learn about it. Also, it inspires young Indigenous
Australians to acknowledge and be proud of their heritage. The contents and materials are
culturally supportive; however, the pedagogy and the teaching methods show a lack of
employment of culturally responsive pedagogy. The learning activity includes a requirement
to watch three videos, using the Internet and is very classroom-based though the contents are
practical. The lesson contents may not be as interesting as they were set because opportunities
for hand-on activities are very limited. According to the research article (Lewthwaite et al.,
2015), the interviewed Aboriginal students expressed teachers affirmation of their cultures
and the shows of interest in their heritage made them feel welcomed and their identity is
acknowledged. In comparison, this learning activity shows teachers interest in Aboriginal
students heritage; however, the employment of Western teaching pedagogy may result in
students difficulties in learning.
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Hue Nghi Tran
Researching Teaching and Learning 1 Std Id: 17370673
As stated above, Aboriginal students learn most efficiently when they are engaged in contextbased learning, peer teaching and affiliation (Hudsmith, 2012). The learning activity could be
revived in the following ways. (1) Prior to the lesson, the Aboriginal students are asked to
consult their parents, caregivers, or any Aboriginal elders about the topic Cool burning. This
will show the teachers respect and appreciation for Aboriginal culture to both the students
and parents. This factor responds well to the comments made by parents in the research
article regarding their wishes for schools and teachers to understand and value their history.
(2) When grouping students, the teacher should assign the Aboriginal students as the leaders
or guiders of the group throughout the whole project. This revision is justified by the
comment made by students about their preference for teachers ethic of care and attention to
them (Lewthwaite et al., 2015). (3) Lastly, organization of an excursion to the field or
invitation of an Aboriginal elder to give a talk to the students about cool burning would be
considered as culturally effective since students will get a chance to learn from a practical
context. This is justified by the students comments about teachers employment of various
learning practices for causing learning (Lewthwaite et al., 2015).
In conclusion, constant researching and learning is crucial for on service and pre service
teachers professional development. It helps teachers gain more knowledge and insights into
current educational phenomena from which possible solutions to improve the standards and
quality of teaching could be drawn. In approaching the issues of cultural conflicts in schools
and promoting culturally responsive pedagogy, the chosen research article in this essay has
provided valuable resources and information about Aboriginal children and parents thoughts
about their preferred educational pedagogy and practice in schools. By understanding and
applying this knowledge into future teaching, effective education and equity practice can
concurrently occur.

102096
Hue Nghi Tran
Researching Teaching and Learning 1 Std Id: 17370673
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students.
Retrieved 20th March, 2016, from
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4221.0main+features100062013
Cool Australia. (2016). Teacher worksheet: Activity-News report on the benefits of cool
burning, year 7 & 8. Retrieved 15th March, 2016, from
http://www.coolaustralia.org/worksheet-view/teacher_worksheet/11216/?access_key
Dallavis, C. (2011). Because that's who I am: Extending Theories of Culturally Responsive
Pedagogy to Consider Religious Identity, Belief, and Practice. Multicultural
Perspectives, 13(3), 138-144.
Hudsmith, S. (1992). Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Urban Classrooms: How Two
Teachers of Aboriginal Students Cater for Cultural Differences and Minimize
Conflict. Aboriginal Child at School, 20(3), 3-12.
Lewthwaite, B. E., Osborne, B., Lloyd, N., Boon, H., Llewellyn, L., Webber, T., Laffin, G.,
Harrison, M., Day, C., Kemp, C., & Wills, J. (2015). Seeking a Pedagogy of
Difference: What Aboriginal Students and Their Parents in North Queensland Say
About Teaching and Their Learning. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(5).
Rychly, L., & Graves, E. (2012). Teacher Characteristics for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy.
Multicultural Perspectives, 14(1), 44-49.
Sleeter, C. (2012). Confronting the Marginalization of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy.
Urban Education, 47(3), 562-584.

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Hue Nghi Tran
Researching Teaching and Learning 1 Std Id: 17370673
Smagorinsky, P. (2007). Vygotsky and the social dynamics of classrooms. English Journal,
92, 6166.
Ullman, J., Gall, Joyce P, Gall, Meredith D., Borg, Walter R, & University of Western
Sydney. (2015). Applying educational research: How to read, do, and use research to
solve problems of practice (Custom ed.)