Melissa Kok 306165783

EDBT 5619GEO
Task 4: Research essay
‘Collaboration with members of the local Aboriginal community, organizations and
contact people is essential in developing effective school-based teaching and learning
experiences that emphasise Aboriginal and Indigenous knowledge and understanding.’

The inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives is mandated in the

NSW curriculum, but this inclusion is often not explicitly laid out in the outcomes for

each topic. In the Geography Years 7-10 Syllabus (BOS, 2003), some topics have a

natural lead in to indigenous study, for example ‘water’ and ‘human rights’ (BOS, 2003,

p. 33). Alternative treatment of environment is also another area that naturally suits this

cross-curricular focus. It is important to remember when designing and teaching units

involving Indigenous perspectives to engage with the living community and emphasise

cultural sensitivity and respect.

The cross-curriculum statement in the Geography Syllabus suggests that students in the

mandatory course examine the relationship between indigenous peoples and land (BOS,

2003, p. 12). In incorporating this, teachers must realise that different groups of

indigenous people think of the land in very different, specific terms. It is impossible for a

teacher, especially one out of their home area to know this content, and so it becomes

necessary to engage with the local community of the school.

The Board of Studies encourages teachers to reach out to any local Indigenous

communities when covering Indigenous perspectives (BOS, 2008, pp. 4-5). Teachers

should make use of the human resource represented by elders and appropriately
knowledgeable community members. The Board of Studies has also laid out a set of

protocols to facilitate this – to both direct teachers as well as to ensure proper respect

(2008, pp. 10-12). This book also guides teachers in procedures to locate appropriate

members of the community and to establish a base of understanding to begin planning for

lessons (BOS, 2008).

When this is not possible, the internet is a useful tool to access some of this knowledge.

Price’s chapter on Aboriginal and Indigenous perspectives contains several links to web-

based sources, since all Australian state and territory education sites have some space on

the topic (2008, pp. 384-385). Use of technology such as this will become even more

important in the future as schools move away from paper-based forms such as textbooks,

and it also has the advantage of giving students the opportunity to get in touch with

members of indigenous organisation groups from outside their local area.

One topic that is particularly suited to looking at alternative perspectives is the issue of

water, which is found in sections 4G3, 4G4 and 5A3 of the mandatory syllabus. To begin

with, the issue is already fraught with political and moral debate, and different

perspectives should already be worked into the teaching of the topic. The case study

approach outlined by Marsh (2008, p. 373) would be most suitable in investigating this

topic. The class would take one example of a waterway in crisis in either their local area,

or another well-known example, and conduct a series of activities around this particular

waterway. The teacher would have to get in touch with members of the local Indigenous

community who may be interested in passing on some of their knowledge and

understanding of the role of water in the community, or else look outwards to the case

study region and access information from sources such as AIATSIS and the local

Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (BOS 2008, p. 8). Protocols outlined in the

Working with Aboriginal Communities guidebook (BOS, 2008, pp. 10-12) should be

adhered to, especially in communicating with a variety of sources and making students

explicitly aware of culturally specific ways to show respect.

Students should look at the impacts of changing water use on Indigenous groups as one

of many stakeholder groups – and this would be a good place to engage with different

voices in the Indigenous and non-Indigenous community. One of the protocols notes that

this diversity is important, so as not to stereotype Indigenous people, as well as to

develop better understanding of the community as a whole (BOS, 2008, p. 12). In looking

at solutions for the problems posed by unequal access to water and the effects of climate

change, Indigenous perspectives, in the form of guest lessons, should be incorporated –

especially when exploring ideas of sustainability. In forming these lessons, the classroom

teacher must adhere to the common-sense procedures outlined by the BOS (2008), in

developing lessons with the guest speaker, and not just around them.

Topic 4G2 of the syllabus (2003, p. 29), requires students to investigate one particular

environment (such as coasts, rivers or wetlands) and look at the ways that one community

interacts with it – this would be a good place to situate a local case study with Aboriginal

perspectives as one among many. It would have the added benefit of being relevant to the

students, as well as promoting understanding of diversity.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has created a fact sheet that contains

indigenous perspectives on the Torres Strait Islands and the Murray-Darling River

system, which could provide a good way into the topic (AHRC, 2008). Modern

technology means it is possible for students to explore these areas through online maps,

conduct research on these sites and possibly contact Indigenous groups directly for their

views on the issues.

If video-conferencing facilities were available at both ends, face-to-face conversation

may also be possible, further widening the pool of different opinions that students are

exposed to.

Another topic that would require focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

perspectives is that of human rights, found in the mandatory sections of the geography

syllabus in 4G4 and 5A4. There are specific references in these sections for the

consideration of Australia’s policy of reconciliation and the importance of this movement,

and students could also look at pan-indigenous issues moving from the local to the

global, and the voice that Indigenous Australians have in global indigenous forums

(4G3).

The historical dimensions of the Indigenous Australian struggle for rights can be read

from a textbook, but meeting elders and hearing about the lived experience would both

engage students while teaching them the very real human dimensions of social and

political practice and change. The social issues approach described by Price (2008, pp.
376-377) would be an appropriate model for the study of human rights, as it exposes

students to factual information and encourages them to “talk about and evaluate” the

ways that their attitudes sit against facts. In this model, Price mentions it is important for

teachers to ensure that causes are looked side-by-side with plain facts – otherwise the

class runs the risk of attributing groups of people with characteristics isolated from

context (2008, p. 377). Other problems that could be faced in engaging with community

members around this issue may include a reluctance to talk about the experiences, or

particular political framing of various individual views (BOS, 2008, p. 11). What is

important is to teach students to investigate the reasons behind these perspectives, and to

use techniques of critical literacy to build an understanding of the issue taking all of these

views into account. Lessons could be arranged based on each source of information (or

students could undertake individual or group research), and then the teacher would

provide scaffolds in analysing these sources. It is also important that any guest speakers

in this instance are involved in this analysing process, and that students should learn how

to value the different kinds of knowledge they are exposed to. The presentation form of

assessment would also be appropriate here, so students can share there findings and build

a more complete understanding of the issue from various perspectives. Bringing in

community members (from all interest groups) would make this task much more

meaningful, and thus engaging, and strengthen ties between schools and community.

The perspectives approach described by Price (2008, pp. 377-378) resonates strongly

with the underlying concept of cross-curricular content in NSW. Combined with pointed

case studies of Indigenous knowledge, this more “discreet” (Price, 2008, P. 378) model
can emphasise to students that Indigenous peoples are contemporary and have to deal

with the same issues as everyone else. Geography topics such as globalisation can be

explored by looking at pan-indigenous movements and conferences that have been held.

Students can look at any similarities and differences faced by these groups and what

effects they have had on wider society. The history and formation of maps can be

questioned by looking at Indigenous and other cultural divisions of land as opposed to

current mainstream models. In each topic, conversation with knowledgeable community

members is vital, because teachers are almost never experts at Indigenous knowledge –

they need to be able to relinquish some control of a classroom, allowing students to see

that nobody has all the ‘right’ answers. Other topics such as land management (4G4,

5A3), tourism (4G4, 5A4) and access to resources (4G3) all benefit from investigating

Indigenous perspectives, and especially in case-study form.

More generally, modern society’s treatment of the environment continues to be plagued

with problems. It is past time for our culture to look at alternative models of interacting

with our environment, and the Indigenous peoples of this country provide just one

important alternative for study. At every point in the syllabus, some effort should be made

to look at Indigenous knowledge, either traditional or current. Australian case studies

easily accommodate this, while global locations would benefit from looking at their

various indigenous peoples and any conflicts that they are experiencing due to global

structures. The only way for teachers to do this is by reaching out to Indigenous

communities and asking to work with them in educating the next generation, and to do

this, there must be mutual understanding, goals and respect.

 1568

References

Australian Human Rights Commission. (2008). Climate change, water and Indigenous

knowledge: a community guide to the Native Title Report 2008. Sydney: author.

Board of Studies NSW. (2003). Geography Syllabus Years 7-10. Sydney: author.

Board of Studies NSW. (2008). Working with Aboriginal Communities: A guide to

community consultation and protocols. Sydney: author.

Price, K. (2008). Aboriginal studies and Torres Strait Islander studies. In C. Marsh (Ed.),

Studies of Society and Environment (pp. 362-387). NSW: Pearson Education

Australia.