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102096:
Research Teaching & Learning

Assessment Task 2
A Clash of Worldviews: Experiences from Teaching Aboriginal Students
Doug Hewitt

In his article, Hewitt (2000) introduces the concept of worldviews which refers to the

recognition of differing views about how the world around us has formed and the human

experience. Hewitt (2000) discusses the increased need within educational settings to teach

various cultural and ethnic perspectives as a way of fostering socially conscious students (Åhs,

Poulter & Kallioniemi, 2015; Breman, 1990). This idea of fostering worldviews within

educational settings is discussed by Hewitt (2000) in relation to the experience of Aboriginal

people, adding how dominate societal views, developed over the course of Australia’s

European history have overshadowed the experience of the original custodians of this land.

Adding that, as the educational system within Australia was developed on Angelo-European

traditions, dominate views around how society was formed and governed were embedded into

national the curriculum. These dominate views usually fail to take into consideration the

experience of the traditional custodians of this land, creating schooling environments which

are not relatable and promote alienation (Geary, 1996). In his article, Hewitt (2000) provides a

synthesis of literature which aims to identify the value of integrating Aboriginal perspectives

within educational settings as beneficial process for both Aboriginal and non-aboriginal

students. This paper will critically examine the research presented by Hewitt and apply this

research to relevant activities with classroom environment, focusing on the key learning area

of Geography.

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The article presented by Hewitt (2000) follows the schema of traditional academic papers,

including:

 Broadly introducing the issues being examined.

 Building on these ideas through drawing upon the conclusions of other researchers to
reaffirm validity
 Forming conclusions based off a synthesis of results and ideas (Wilkson, 2018).

When reading through the article, this schema becomes apparent through the format of the

article and the various citations to other scholarly work made when presenting different ideas

such teaching worldviews, the success of implementing Aboriginal views within the classroom

and the role of the teacher within implementing these perspectives.

In his article Hewitt (2000) draws upon primarily only secondary data to illustrate his views.

The implementation of secondary data allows for researchers to effectively incorporate a

variety of different viewpoints within their work, generating new insights and perspectives

(Irwin & Winterton, 2011). Hewitt (2000) effectively demonstrates this in his article through

drawing upon various scholars works, often which he directly quotes throughout this article.

Similarly, the collection of secondary data by Hewitt effectively identifies researchers and

scholars who share close links with the issue being discussed, drawing upon the published

works of teachers who share experience in working with Aboriginal students such as Judy

Geary and Stephan Harris, as well as Aboriginal researchers such as Tyson Yunkaporta.

Also, when examining academic articles which rely on only secondary data as a basis for its

argument, like the article presented by Hewitt (2000), it is important to consider the influence

of bias in the presentation and representation of ideas and views from other scholars to help

agree with the authors views. These ideas may be manipulated by the author and also require

carefully examination on the part of the reader (Kaptchuk, 2003).

Finally, it is important to note that Hewitt (2000) fails to present is the implementation of any

primary research methodologies in relation to the issue which is being discussed regarding the

Aboriginal experience within Australian schooling context. The lack of primary data within

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the research allows for an exclusion of valuable, current and original data on the topic at hand.

The implementation of a mixed method approach could prove to be useful validate the ideas of

these paper through the collection of raw first-hand data (Shank, Brown & Pringle, 2016),

which then can be linked to existing research.

Aside from discussing the importance of teaching Aboriginal perspectives within schooling

contexts, Hewitt (2000) also discusses the issue of expectations of Aboriginal students within

the classroom, discussing the widely accepted belief that simply because they of Aboriginal

background, that high expectations should not be placed on them. This is reinforced by Geary

(1996) who stated that as a high school student, teachers had low expectations of her

academically simply because she was Aboriginal. Sarra (2011) writes that as teachers we

should not hold such presumptions of student capabilities based on a student’s ethnic/cultural

background, instead we should focus on not shifting our expectations of students but rather

adopting a pedagogical practice which seeks to reinforce the importance of Aboriginal identity

and culture, contributing to an inclusive and supportive classroom and schooling environment.

The article by Hewitt (2000), as well as many other scholars also identify the significance of

implementing Aboriginal perspectives within teacher education at undergraduate and

postgraduate levels. Through implementing Aboriginal perspectives in the education of future

teachers, these perspectives can be adopted within classroom settings and help develop

proactive teachers who seeks to promote more inclusive and holistic learning environments

(Forlin, Loreman, Sharma & Earle, 2009).

The idea of incorporating Aboriginal perspectives with schooling contexts discussed by Hewitt

(2000) is one that transcend across all the various key learning areas within schools in what

was become referred to as a cross-curriculum priority. This refers to the incorporation of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture across all curriculum areas from music

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through the implementation of traditional Aboriginal instruments to science through a focus to

English through a focus on Aboriginal literature and even mathematics through interacting with

concepts such as Ethno-mathematics (The Australian Curriculum, 2018).

In relation to the key learning area of history, the application of Aboriginal perspectives is one

that can be easily adopted into classroom work, as the National curriculum for History from

years K-10 incorporates depth studies focusing on Australian history. As early as stage 2 (year

3-4) of schooling students engaged with Australian history through completing a depth study

of first contacts, which focuses on civilization before and after European settlement.

Throughout the years, students engage with a variety of different units which incorporate the

experience of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, all the way up to stage 5 of

schooling (9-10) where students engage in a mandatory depth study of changing rights and

freedoms which has a specific focus on Aboriginal rights between the periods of 1945 until the

current time (NSW Standards Education Authority, 2012).

The main issue when teaching history is not where to teach Aboriginal perspectives in the

curriculum, but how to effectively implement them in a way which provides various viewpoints

of certain events but also validates the Aboriginal experience. As Hewitt (2000) discusses in

his article providing cultural significant perspectives is fundamental for actively engaging

students in classroom work. Craven (2011) builds on this by stating that when teaching

Aboriginal history and culture we should be providing students with sources which were

produced/composed by the Aboriginal people or communities to engage students with valid

perspectives, as opposed to providing students with only perspectives produced dominantly by

Angelo-Europeans writers. Providing students with both Aboriginal and Angelo-European

sources will allow for an understanding of different perspectives, whilst seemly validating the

history and culture of the Aboriginal people/community (Shipp, 2013).

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Linking these ideas to classroom work, Carlson (2013) effectively implements some of these

ideas into one of her activities for the depth study of Rights and Freedom (see Appendix 1).

For one of these activities, the teacher has designated that students will be watching a video of

the apology given by Prime Minster Kevin Rudd back in 2008 on the mistreatment of

Aboriginal people over the course of Australian history, specifically for the Stolen Generation

(Rudd, 2012). The teacher has also provided students with three focus questions to reflect on

as they watch the video including:

1. List five specific things Kevin Rudd apologises for.

2. List five specific things he would like to see in the future.
3. Explain why the apology would be significant to Aboriginal people.

These three questions are scaffolded to help students reflect on what they have learnt which

are essential, as research has demonstrated that providing guided questions when using

multimedia platforms helps students recall information more effectively as they know what to

focus on finding (Kreiner, 1997). Research has also demonstrated that implementing

multimedia within classroom settings improves student’s engagement with classroom activities

and overall benefits student’s success academically, compared to students who are not exposed

to multimedia in the classroom (Allen, 1997; Xu, 2017).

This video and activity are very important learning tools as they help to promote the view that

Aboriginal culture and perspectives are valid and need to be taught within schools, as discussed

by Hewitt (2000), through a public declaration of wrong on behalf of the Australian

Government. The video serves as a source to remember the pain inflected by European settlers

onto the Aboriginal people through the process of colonization, leading to the diminish of

Aboriginal culture, which was replaced by dominate western ideologies and the rights and

freedoms which the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were denied.

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The video and activity positively involve students in thinking about Aboriginal perspectives,

examining the significance of the apology through their perspective by asking questions such

as, explain why the apology would be significant to Aboriginal people? (Carlson, 2013).

However, this activity can be further improved through the incorporation of Aboriginal

perspectives on the events which took place in 2008. This provides great insight into how

Aboriginal People felt receiving an apology for government, which could help students answer

the original question posed to them by the teacher in relation to the significance of the apology

for Aboriginal People. This refers back to the argument made Craven (2011) that when

teaching Aboriginal history, teachers should be providing students with sources which directly

reflect the views of that community or groups of people.

To add to the lesson designed by Carlson (2013), I would further implement another

multimedia video to further help promote the idea of Aboriginal perspective in learning

discussed by Hewitt (2000). The video is a speech given of the Aboriginal people at the

Parliament House by Tom Calma (Reconciliation Australia, 2012), an aboriginal elder

Kungarakan people and Chancellor of the University of Canberra (Doman, 2014). The speech

provides a perspective of Aboriginal upbringing in a period of time which did not seek support

their rights and freedoms and the significance of the apology in the process of moving forward.

This video is an example of a relevant source of information which has been composed by an

Aboriginal, which reflects their perspective. Similarly, in relation to the original activity by

Carlson (2013), I would also incorporate some guiding questions in relation to the video when

carrying out this activity to also help engage and focus student learning.

In conclusion, the article by Hewitt (2000) effectively demonstrates the importance of

incorporating Aboriginal perspectives into the Australian educational system as a beneficial

strategy to help engage both Aboriginal through making the curriculum relevant to their

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perspective and teaching non-Aboriginal students the importance of worldviews. Whilst the

methods used to obtain data with the article can be improved to introduce more recent and raw

data on the topic, the initiation of various changes within the Australian schooling systems

reinforce many of the ideologies discussed in the article. These changes attempt to recognize

Aboriginal history and culture throughout all aspects of schooling.

Final word count: 1880

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Appendix 1:
Original classroom activity by Radell Carlson (2013).

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Reference List:

Åhs, V., Poulter, S., & Kallioniemi, A. (2015). Encountering Worldviews: Pupil Perspectives
on Integrative Worldview Education in a Finnish Secondary School Context. Religion &
Education, 43(2), 208-229.
Allen, D. (1997). The effects of computer-based multimedia lecture presentations on
community college microbiology students' achievement, attitudes and
retention (Doctorate). The University of Texas at Austin.
Breman, S. (1990). Educating for Social Responsibility. Retrieved from
http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_199011_berman.pdf
Carlson, R. (2013). Year 10 Australian History: Rights and Freedoms. Retrieved from
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/1279/lesson-plan.docx
Craven, R. (2011). Teaching Aboriginal Studies: A practical resource for primary and
secondary teaching. Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Doman, C. (2014). New UC Chancellor calls for a fairer Australia. Retrieved from
http://www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/media/monitor/2014/february/20-new-chancellor
Forlin, C., Loreman, T., Sharma, U., & Earle, C. (2009). Demographic differences in
changing pre‐service teachers’ attitudes, sentiments and concerns about inclusive
education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13(2), 195-209.
Geary, J. (1996). Education: Social justice in education. In A. P. Gray & M. Upah, Black and
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Hewitt, D. (2000). A Clash of Worldviews: Experiences from Teaching Aboriginal
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Irwin, S., & Winterton, M. (2011). Debates in Qualitative Secondary Analysis: Critical
Reflections. Retrieved from http://www.timescapes.leeds.ac.uk/assets/files/WP4-March-
2011.pdf
Kaptchuk, T. (2003). Effect of interpretive bias on research evidence. BMJ, 326(7404), 1453-
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Kreiner, D. (1997). Guided Notes and Interactive Methods for Teaching with
Videotapes. Teaching of Psychology, 24(3), 183-185.
NSW Education Standards Authority. (2013). History K-10 Syllabus. NSW Education
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Reconciliation Australia. (2012). Dr Tom Calma responds to The Apology to The Stolen
Generations. [Video]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=181&v=KWXd1W5BjU0
Rudd, K. (2012). National Apology to the Stolen Generations [Video]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiLnsFyAVqE

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Sarra, C. (2011). Transforming Indigenous Education. In N. Purdie, G. Milgate & H.

Bel, Two-way teaching and learning: toward culturally reflective and relevant
education (pp. 107-117). Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research
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Shank, G., Brown, L., & Pringle, J. (2016). Understanding Education Research: A Guide to
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Shipp, C. (2013). Bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the
classroom: Why and how. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 21(3), 24-29.
The Australian Curriculum. (2018). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and
Cultures. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-
curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-histories-
and-cultures/
Wilkinson, W. (2018). Organization of a Traditional Academic Paper. Retrieved from
https://uncw.edu/ulc/documents/OrganizationofanAcademicPaper.pdf
Xu, X. (2017). Study on Effective Using of Multimedia Teaching System and Enhancing
Teaching Effect. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 12(06),
187.

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