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Abstract

The Moombaki (where the river meets the sky) study hypothesises that increasing the knowledge and pride that Aboriginal children have of their identity will contribute positively toward their education, health and well-being outcomes. Through research yarning circles conducted at three urban primary schools in Boorloo (Perth), Aboriginal educators (Aboriginal and Islander Education Officers [AIEOs] and teachers) described how to respond to Aboriginal students’ needs in school environments. These included culturally safe environments for the provision of culturally responsive education. Forty-five non-Aboriginal teachers and school leaders (Principals and Vice-Principals) also participated. The article prioritises the voices of the Aboriginal educators and discusses the findings in relation to their lived experiences of working with non-Aboriginal educators. The findings show that AIEOs repeatedly manage the resistance and reluctance of non-Aboriginal educators to meaningfully collaborate in culturally safe and responsive ways. The findings also show the potential for non-Aboriginal staff to work alongside Aboriginal educators.

Keywords

Aboriginal education Aboriginal students culturally safe schools culturally responsive education Aboriginal educators Aboriginal & Islander Education Officer (AIEO)

Introduction

The Moombaki (where the river meets the sky) study, ‘Cultural Learnings: Strengthening Aboriginal children’s well-being and educational outcomes by connecting urban children to identity, culture, country, and kin’, anticipates that by increasing Aboriginal children’s knowledge and self-esteem, by reconnecting to culture, country and kin, racial identity and self-esteem will improve. This, in turn, will result in improved outcomes for education, health and well-being. In this article, we discuss how a group of Aboriginal educators describe the processes and knowledge required to respond to Aboriginal students’ needs in ways that are culturally safe and responsive. We argue that an essential pre-requisite for culturally responsive education is culturally safe school environments staffed by school leaders and educators who acknowledge and respect the knowledge, skills and expertise of Aboriginal educators and work in authentic collaboration with them.

Australian education policy context

National and State Australian education policy and curriculum emphasise that schools and educators should be culturally responsive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, their families and communities and embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in their classroom lesson plans and processes (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2011, Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2018; Department of Western Australia Department of Education, 2015). The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers requirements state that pre- and in-service teachers must engage meaningfully with Aboriginal content and demonstrate that they teach this in ways that enable successful educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (AITSL, 2018b; Jackson-Barrett et al., 2019). This is supported by an AITSL (2022) discussion paper that emphasises the importance for the non-Aboriginal workforce to adopt lifelong learning about Aboriginal culture, language and knowledge or otherwise be complicit in perpetuating deficient and even harmful teaching practices toward Aboriginal students.

Historically, education provided for Indigenous students in Australia by non-Indigenous educators has been predicated on education policies and practices that assume inherent deficits and the need for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to assimilate and absorb Western ways of being, knowing and doing (Anderson et al., 2024; Bishop & Durksen, 2020; Morgan, 2018; Nakata, 2002, 2007, 2011; Shay et al., 2024). The focus on literacy, numeracy and attendance outcomes fail to take account of the numerous strengths of Aboriginal students, including independence, adaptability, sharing, respect for Elders and learning to take responsibility at a young age (Kickett-Tucker, 2009). Numerous policies and reports on Aboriginal students’ education outcomes including ‘Closing the Gap’ implicitly incorporate ‘deficit’ approaches such as emphasising literacy, numeracy and attendance outcomes (Bishop & Durksen, 2020: Productivity Commission, 2023, 2024). A focus on how individual teachers respond to Aboriginal students in the classroom and the social contexts in which this occurs is also deserving of attention. While avoiding deficit assumptions, there is still a necessity for all teachers to acknowledge and understand the specific social and health determinants that may present challenges for Aboriginal children and their families (Jones, Tjitayi, & Cook, 2018; Morrison et al., 2019; Thomas et al., 2015).

The National Guidelines for Trauma-Aware Education have also been developed in response to and in recognition of the complex childhood trauma that may be experienced by students (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children). The document highlights the importance for educators to know about and respond appropriately to students who may be experiencing intergenerational trauma, personal and systemic racism (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2018).

Culturally responsive education

The United Nations Declaration of the Right of Indigenous Peoples asserts the right of Indigenous peoples to develop and drive their own education systems (Declaration by General Assembly, 2007). In Australia, increased attention has been paid to how schools can become more culturally safe environments to enable successful educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (Australian Education Research Organisation, 2024; Morgan, 2018; Rigney et al., 2020; Vass, 2014, 2017). The attributes, values and qualities that have been identified in several studies as contributing to more culturally responsive approaches and more positive outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are well documented (Bishop & Durksen, 2020; Llewellyn et al., 2018; Partington, 2001). These include leveraging culture to connect school and home environments and staff having a positive view of Aboriginal students (Lewthwaite et al., 2015). The necessity for teachers to be self-reflective about their own cultural frames of reference, biases and blind spots is a recurrent theme in international and national publications addressing cultural responsiveness (AERO, 2024; Comstock et al., 2023; Ladson-Billings, 2021; Rigney, 2023: United Nations, 2007).

The Australian Education Research Organisation reports there is limited evidence for what works in the provision of culturally responsive education and that more work in this area is needed to establish what works (AERO, 2024). The researchers advocate for further ‘field-based’ research that is led by Indigenous people. The Moombaki research team acknowledges the need for governments, policymakers and Education Departments to enable the systems to support this work. This includes working closely with Aboriginal communities, educators and researchers who already know how to respond to the needs of their communities (Peacock & Prehn, 2021). The Moombaki research team acknowledges the historic, systemic and resourcing issues that are required to progress policy and practice in culturally responsive teaching (AERO, 2024; Morgan, 2018; Rigney et al., 2020; Vass, 2014). We contend this does not obviate the need for individual non-Aboriginal educators to take personal responsibility for their own education about cultural responsiveness. Furthermore, it does not preclude non-Aboriginal school leaders and educators from learning how to work alongside AIEOs with respect, authenticity and humility. Culturally responsive education depends not only on the disruption of the historical, colonialist and racist ideology underpinning educational pedagogies but also on the willingness of individual non-Aboriginal teachers (to critically reflect on their own ways of being, knowing and doing). The effectiveness of culturally responsive education strategies also depends on school leaders and educators ensuring they ‘do the work’ about their own assumptions, biases and cultural world views (Bodkin-Andrews et al., 2019; Farinde-Wu et al., 2017; Morrison et al., 2019; Perso & Hayward, 2015; Peacock & Prehn, 2021).

Ignorance caused by a lack of critical self-reflection by non-Aboriginal school leaders and educators and complicity in the systems that privilege their own positions of power, can result, at best, in misunderstanding the disadvantage experienced by others, and, at worst, in explicit racism and hostility (Macdonald, Gringart, & Gray, 2016). Ignorance itself, whether conscious or not, is a luxury that pertains only to the dominant culture resulting in systems and practises that may be to the detriment of others including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (Bishop, 2022; Bishop & Durksen, 2020; Moreton-Robinson, 2006; Thunig & Jones, 2021). When teachers distance themselves from their students, deny that there is racism or insist they are colour-blind and treat everybody the same, these are factors that all contribute to the harmful practices to Aboriginal students identified in other studies (Auld et al., 2016; Bishop & Durksen, 2020; Hollinsworth, 2016; Macdonald et al., 2016).

A common refrain by non-Aboriginal educators is that they lack the knowledge, experience and professional support to teach in culturally responsive ways (AITSL, 2020; Baynes, 2016; Bodkin-Andrews, Page, & Trudgett, 2022; Steele & Gower, 2024). This reluctance, coupled with the discretionary rather than mandated obligation to meaningfully include Indigenous perspectives in their teaching content and practice, can result in lacklustre approaches to cultural responsiveness. This may result in low learning expectations for Aboriginal students, ignorance about the current lived experiences of Aboriginal students, their families and communities and a superficiality about how Indigenous perspectives are included in lesson content and ways of teaching and knowing (AITSL, 2020; Lowe & Yunkaporta, 2018; Yunkaporta & McGinty, 2009). As Santamaría & Santamaría (2016) assert, most leaders in schools are traditionalists and purport to be ‘treating everyone the same’ rather than culturally sustaining or innovative leaders who acknowledge the inherent strengths of cultural diversity (p.3). They are also less likely to connect their teaching approaches to the social and cultural experiences of Aboriginal students or create power-sharing and self-determination for their students (Harrison & Skrebneva, 2019).

There are ample resources and information available in Australia that school leaders and educators can use to educate themselves about cultural responsiveness. For example, The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership provides tools supporting teacher professional development in this area. These include an ‘Indigenous cultural responsiveness self-reflection tool’, for teachers which is described as a ‘starting point’, for them to become more informed about their own implicit and explicit biases (AITSL, 2018c). Teachers can also further educate themselves by interrogating the ‘Indigenous cultural responsiveness development continuum and Indigenous cultural responsiveness capability framework for more information,’ (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2018). Other studies emphasise the importance for non-Aboriginal educators to more effectively draw upon and be guided by the skills, knowledge and expertise of Aboriginal educators (Peacock & Prehn, 2021). In Western Australia, the Western Australian Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework recommends teachers include cultural content and forge relationships with Aboriginal educators, Aboriginal students, their families and community (Western Australia Department of Education, 2015).

The Moombaki Research team hypothesised that for culturally responsive education to be effectively implemented, schools needed to be culturally safe places for both Aboriginal educators and Aboriginal children.

This article will respond to the following key issues addressed in the Moombaki research:

(1) The extent to which Aboriginal educators and the Aboriginal community members from the three primary schools felt culturally safe and confident to inform non-Aboriginal educators and school leaders about the actions needed to effectively respond to the needs of Aboriginal students.

(2) How (if at all) non-Aboriginal educators and school principals work with, prioritise and incorporate the knowledge and skills of Aboriginal educators and the Aboriginal community in their responses to Aboriginal students.

(3) The extent to which the Western Australian Cultural Standards Framework (2015) is implemented at the school (if at all) and what other Aboriginal culture and culturally responsive educational professional development is referred to or practiced by educators.

Method

The Moombaki (where the river meets the sky) cultural learnings study

The study used a qualitative research design adopting a Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR) model informed by an Aboriginal worldview (Dudgeon et al., 2020; Kickett-Tucker, 2021). Using an interpretive paradigm, the myriad lived experiences of Aboriginal educators, families and individuals were explored and documented (National Health and Medical Research Council and Universities Australia, 2023; National Health & Medical Research, 2018). This article reports on the results of eight yarning circles conducted across three primary schools. Four of these comprised Aboriginal community members and Aboriginal educators, two were conducted with non-Aboriginal educators and executive staff and two were combined, involving both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators in the same meeting.

Yarning is an open, informal and collaborative discussion. The research yarn is semi-structured to incorporate a more relaxed style of communication which enables the researchers and participants to discuss through open dialogue, stories and experiences that are relevant to the research questions (Smith, 2021). Yarning is also a process ‘that is accountable to Indigenous people participating in the research’ (Bessarab & Ng'Andu, 2010, p. 38).

Research team

The Moombaki community research team consisted of ten Indigenous members, including nine Aboriginal and one Māori (Ngāti Kahungunu/Ngāpuhi). Six of the Aboriginal team members share kinship connections to Western Australia: three Wadjuk Noongar (Boorloo Perth), two Ngarluma (Pilbara), one Nyul Nyul/Nyikina/Bardi (Broome) while two have Northern Territory cultural heritage. The team’s connection to Country, community and lived experiences asserts the methodological rigour necessary in Indigenous research. This has ensured that the research was conducted ethically, is methodologically relevant and that the need for the research was determined by Aboriginal people themselves (Kukutai & Taylor, 2016).

As a research team, we were guided by the Aboriginal worldview of the Aboriginal parents, carers and members of the Community and Elders Council and what they deemed necessary for what, when, where, why and how the research activities were conducted at the schools’ sites on Wadjuk Boodjar (Country). In respect of Aboriginal customs and to ensure the cultural diversity of Aboriginal people, Aboriginal Elders and carers from their respective traditional groups were invited to participate to ensure their rightful stories of culture, country and kin were respected.

Participants

There were 26 Aboriginal participants in the study overall. The study explored the experiences of three AIEOs (aged between 28 and 51 years), as well as three Aboriginal teaching staff (aged between 25 and 37 years). Their education experience ranged from a newly graduated teacher to one having more than 5 years of teaching experience, and one participant having previous school leadership responsibilities. All Aboriginal school staff participants have family kin, and community connections within Western Australia. Aboriginal community participants across the three schools comprised 18 women and two men from Aboriginal families who had connections to the schools of two to more than five years duration. Over 55% of the families participating in the wider research program are from Noongar groups (southwest of Western Australia), with other connections to far northwestern Australia and interstate. The non-Aboriginal staff comprised 38 women and seven men. The youngest participant was 25 years old and the oldest participant was 71 years old at the time of the study. Over 75% of the non-Aboriginal participants were from metropolitan Boorloo (Perth) or regional Western Australia. The remaining were either from interstate or international places of birth.

Ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Office, Curtin University (HRE2020-0277) and the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (Ref 984) was granted before recruiting participants. Confirmation to conduct the study at the schools was also required and obtained from the Department of Education WA (D20/0643193). Information sheets and consent forms were distributed at selected school meetings, and initial questions addressed in-person by the research team. Community members were invited to participate by the research team members while AIEOs and Aboriginal teachers were identified by the school principals. All those participants who were approached to participate in the research study agreed to be interviewed.

Procedures

Yarning circles were repeated twice over the year (i.e. two yarning circles for each group). They were organised at the schools and were of 1–2 hours duration. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups were convened as integrated and separate groups, so that their views and discussions about Aboriginal ways of working, worldview, values, goals, ethics and relationships were canvassed in-depth and could be compared depending on context.

A Community and Elders Council was also convened and met monthly to guide the research and ensure the research was accountable to the Aboriginal community.

A focus group guide was created based on existing literature and previous studies as well as the information provided by the Noongar Chief Investigator overseeing the project. A draft of this was piloted with the Moombaki Community and Elders Council at one of the schools resulting in some minor revisions. The focus group guide was developed to facilitate discussion of key topics including Aboriginal worldview, ways of working and importantly how to engage with Aboriginal students, their families, communities and ethics in ways that were culturally safe and effective.

The focus groups were facilitated and guided by senior Aboriginal researchers and Aboriginal research assistants who were from the local communities where schools were located.

The lead investigator is a respected and well-known leader within the community where the schools are located. The lead CI is a traditional owner who has strong personal and professional connections to many of the Aboriginal families and communities in the area. This ensured that where there were integrated groups (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) that these were conducted in ways that facilitated conversations that were open and culturally safe. For the Aboriginal parents and grandparents it was an opportunity to compare their personal learning experiences, while remaining aspirational for their children journeys. For the non-Aboriginal teachers, it opened up a space of listening and reflection. For most it was the first time they had openly yarned about these themes, so cultural safety and relationality through yarning were welcomed (Barlo et al., 2021). The use of Krueger’s (2000) categories of questioning emphasising conversational, open and culturally appropriate communication complemented the yarning method with its open flexible approach (Breen, 2006; Tedmanson, 2016).

To ensure all voices were heard, an iPad (8^th Generation) was used to video record group yarning circles while Community Elders Committee meeting minutes were documented. For accuracy, both sources of data were used to transcribe the discussion verbatim. Transcripts were initially prepared using secure transcription software and then checked manually by the Aboriginal Communities and Family Research Alliance (ACRA) teams. This was essential due to the vast use of Aboriginal language (kinship groups, place names, forms of Noongar dialects and Aboriginal English).

Data analysis

Colaizzi’s (1978) data analysis method was used to uncover emerging themes and connections and to ensure that participant meanings were emphasised (Wirihana et al., 2017). Inductive thematic analysis was used to ensure that yarning circle discussion themes, sub-themes and detail were documented. The transcriptions were read twice by two of the Aboriginal researchers to build a holistic view of the stories gathered. Ideas were then coded, and themes were generated for discussion and comparison with the wider research team. Yarning circle responses and consequent themes were summarised and presented and checked for authenticity and consistency with research participants against the examples uncovered in word search analysis performed in QSR Nvivo (14.232.46). The transcripts were also read and discussed by the wider investigative team (including three non-Aboriginal members) and interpretation of meaning checked with the lead Aboriginal investigator and Indigenous research team members.

Findings

The yarning circles with Aboriginal community members and Aboriginal educator participants consistently showed how they were stereotyped in particular ways and dealt with racism (conscious and unconscious) on a daily basis. While we centre the voices of Aboriginal educators (AIEOs and teachers) in our findings, these quotes are also interwoven with examples from non-Aboriginal educators and school principals for the purpose of demonstrating prevalent attitudes. We will indicate in-text where quotes are by Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal participants.

The lived experiences, knowledge and skills of Aboriginal educators

A key theme across all of the Aboriginal educator yarning circle results was Aboriginal participants’ experience and deep knowledge about their own culture being misunderstood, unheard or not being prioritised by non-Aboriginal educators and school executives. An AIEO described their feelings about not being understood or heard when presenting their ideas about how to teach Aboriginal culture and storytelling, particularly around concepts and beliefs relating to the Dreaming and Dreamtime stories. They related how these concepts and beliefs were ‘core’ to Aboriginal values and not ‘fairytales’ as explained here:

How important it is and how it is real. I find it really frustrating, not teaching, but having conversations with staff members about what it [the Dreaming] is, and especially because like I don’t know everything, but I do have somewhat of an understanding, so I, I get quite sad. When people belittle the ideas and the thoughts and the processes, and the process and um, yeah well. I don’t know it’s, it’s hard to say (Emm, K1,007,4,1, p.3).

Aboriginal educators often shared about the persistent burden of having to educate non-Aboriginal staff when they expressed racist or ignorant views about Aboriginal people or culture. They confided how they needed to work at not feeling angry and to always be the ‘better person’ in these situations. One educator described how they learned how to respond through the guidance of an Elder. These examples show how uninformed attitudes are historic, prevalent and a constant everyday experience for Aboriginal people. They also demonstrate how school environments are not necessarily culturally safe for Aboriginal educators at a very essential and human rights level.

Pick my battles, you know, um yeah depends on the environment, depends how bad it is like. Yeah, I've kind of called out a few people, but I try and do it in a way of educating people [non-Aboriginal educators] and say (rather than getting angry) it's not a name that you should use. Do you realise? What you've just said would be quite offensive to Aboriginal people. The way you're describing. You know, just percentage of blood and that type of thing you know they don't realise a lot of people don't realise they haven't grown up with [Aboriginal people].

Learned a lot, from her [Elder] and how she handles that and yeah, rather than just sort of firing up. Not even funny yeah, yeah (Emm, K1,007,4, p.9).

The quote is also illustrative of the cultural load that the Aboriginal educators needed to manage.

The Aboriginal educators described how even considerably basic ways of acknowledging and being respectful of Aboriginal culture was not performed by non-Aboriginal staff.

Even just doing the sorry day, some of the staff had never ever been to a NAIDOC event or an event outside of school (Emm, K1,000,1-3.2A, p. 28).

A quote from a school leader shows a dismissal of the unique skills and knowledge of AIEOs and the importance for Aboriginal educators to be fully included in the teaching of Aboriginal culture and concepts:

AIEOs are uneducated, unprofessional …why can’t white people do it [teach culture] it’s not about colour, (PS1,YC7/Post).

The quote shows how a senior non-Aboriginal school leader feels comfortable about voicing aloud their opinion that AIEOs are not experts in their own lived experience of their culture, nor are they able to communicate their knowledge to Aboriginal students. The quote also demonstrates colour blindness whereby the school leader assumes that if individuals fail to recognise racial difference, they are not being racist (Walton, 2018).

The lack of understanding about cultural diversity and why it is important to be cognisant of difference was a dominant theme in the non-Aboriginal staff yarning circle transcriptions.

We treat all kids the same

A prominent theme across the yarning groups with non-Aboriginal educators was that their response to Aboriginal students was informed by notions of a rights-based approach to ‘equality’ and ‘sameness’, rather than equity in their teaching practice. This is exemplified in the following quote by a non-Aboriginal educator that demonstrates that it is only when an Aboriginal student is considered a ‘problem’ that a different approach to the usual is required:

…I, I, don't believe. Um, I don't know I’m not accustomed to singling them [Aboriginal students] out like that um yeah, I would respond to them the same way I do with all my other students. I don't really see them as the Indigenous or Aboriginal students. They're just the students. Um, the only thing I can really think of is last year I had a student that when he was, um, when he… [knee slap] …flipped his lid, he really hated eye contact, so that was my only one. He was already bigger than me as well... [laughter] …so I was happy to do whatever I needed… (Nat, K1,5,1, p.70).

The quote also demonstrates the deficit assumptions made by the educator – that the student is inherently violent – and that the educator is not using a trauma-informed approach (Howard, L’Estrange, & Brown, 2022). The trauma-informed approach acknowledges that students who have experienced adversity may need educational responses that more effectively support them (Norrish & Brunzell, 2023). The teacher also fails to understand that for Aboriginal children not making eye contact is a way of showing respect to their elders or those in positions of power. This also shows that the teacher does not have basic knowledge about Aboriginal culture and ways of communicating with children (O’Flynn et al., 2022; Kickett-Tucker, 2009).

Several other quotes from non-Aboriginal educator yarning circles similarly describe how all students are the ‘same’ and that whatever cultural background students are they ‘treat them all the same’. These statements show that non-Aboriginal educators do not critically reflect on their own biases. They also suggest that these educators are impervious to reasons why they should be more open to the suggestions and guidance of Aboriginal educators and Aboriginal community members about how to respond appropriately to the needs of Aboriginal students.

The Moombaki study transcripts also showed that Aboriginal educators and AIEOs were seldom consulted about the most effective ways to respond to the needs of Aboriginal students and were rarely mentioned by non-Aboriginal educators. When prompted by the facilitator about the role of AIEOs, non-Aboriginal educators viewed AIEOs as there to ensure the ‘organisation of uniforms, school attendance’ or engagement with ‘problem’ students and their families.

Relationships with non-Aboriginal school staff

Aboriginal educators described how comfortable or confident they felt sharing their views, knowledge about culture or ways of teaching in the yarning circles with all expressing reservations. This sometimes related to fears about job security but was more frequently expressed as not wanting to contribute further to the discomfort of non-Aboriginal colleagues. One Aboriginal educator who had relief teaching experience described how they did feel apprehensive about sharing their Aboriginal identity and that it depended on how culturally safe they felt about the school and the staff who worked there. While another Aboriginal teacher described when participating in Professional Development, they became exposed to the discomfort of non-Aboriginal colleagues:

[Divulging they are Aboriginal or discussing culture]… is very dependent on the school. I've been to lots of PD’s [Professional Development sessions] where the conversation [about Aboriginal people] is uncomfortable and they're my colleagues, not that, I don’t work directly with them, but yeah (Fol, K1,007,4, p. 8).

This quote demonstrates how the ignorance and discomfort of non-Aboriginal educators are detrimental to the collegial and personal relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators. The quote also demonstrates the cultural load that Aboriginal people must habitually bear.

Other Aboriginal educators described their exhaustion with always having to explain to non-Aboriginal educators why ‘kids might be late’ [for school] or ‘sharing a mattress at Auntie’s house’. This was in relation to responsibilities that children may have, such as looking after other children, which may contribute occasionally to their absenteeism or lateness. Reflecting on their own experience as an older sibling in an Aboriginal family, the AIEO described an example:

Sometimes I didn’t get time to do homework and my mum wasn’t like, do your homework kinda thing cause at school my teachers were always like why don’t, when you get home do your homework, they don’t realise…I was coming home cooking for like eight people and then you got dishes to do. I’ve been at school all day, I’ve come home, I’ve cooked, I’ve done the dishes I don’t want to do my homework (Mag, K1,007,4,1, p.3).

This is contrasted with the comment of a school leader describing a lack of engagement with mainstream education as:

[Aboriginal] parents don’t understand. They don’t have aspirations (PS1, YC7/Post).

The quote demonstrates a dismissive view and no acknowledgement of the social, economic and health determinants that may adversely affect some Aboriginal families. The lack of engagement is viewed as an innate and inevitable consequence of being Aboriginal rather than the school systems and practices being unfit for purpose.

Western Australia Department of Education Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework and cultural responsiveness professional development

The Western Australia Department of Education Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework (2015) was not emphasised in either Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal educator responses when reflecting on the extent to which schools were culturally safe. In response to prompts about how schools implemented the Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework and Professional Development related to cultural responsiveness, Aboriginal educators described these as being fleeting, partial and ad hoc:

Some of the teachers here had a little bit of an idea but lots of the teachers here had absolutely no idea, I think that was a pretty big thing … yeah, but I mean touch on it for a day and a half and then [tongue click] it disappears in with all the other crap, so you know, it just kinda stopped (Max, E1, 001, 4, 1, p. 44).

Furthermore, the responses from Aboriginal educators demonstrated how they needed to once again take on the ‘cultural load’ and ‘manage’ the fragility of non-Aboriginal staff. They also emphasised that the non-Aboriginal educators needed to have some basic self-awareness and knowledge about Aboriginal culture, values and ways of doing as a basic pre-requisite. In the following quote, two Aboriginal educators explain how culturally responsive education could be implemented. Max was a former deputy principal at another school while Mag was the designated AIEO.

Max: but as a ten-week program which was like spoon fed to the teachers, yeah I think it would work but then you need your teachers to have the background knowledge and the…an the…the [ confidence] I suppose, to deliver it and not be, like am I being racist am I saying [Gentle hand clap]

Mag: create a safe space for them as well.

Max: correct, you need them [non-Aboriginal educators] to be brave enough to be able [to be more culturally responsive].

(Mag and Max,E 1, 001, 4, 1, p. 44, 46, 47).

Two Aboriginal educators also described how when they had tried to support non-Aboriginal educators teaching about Aboriginal culture, they experienced resistance and territorialism and were not invited to work in collaboration.

So, but like I really want to have more involvement in [teaching about Aboriginal culture] that kinda doesn’t sit right with me sometimes that I’m sitting in the class watching somebody teach [Aboriginal concepts or culture] [Other AIEO concurs] ah yeah [Chuckling] that really doesn’t sit right with me yeah and some of the times like obviously this is confidential but sometimes [gentle hand clap] I just cringe a little bit like, but let me come in an … an work with you (Mag and Aby, E1,000, 4, 2 p. 50).

Two of the Aboriginal educators also described fears about not getting their own culture ‘right’ or fears at being perceived as too strident in their views or suggestions. While another referred to outdated resources in the school library, many of which included racist stereotypes of Aboriginal society. The AIEO proactively removed these items and sought funding to purchase new books by Aboriginal authors and creators.

In one of the combined yarning circles, an AIEO shared her experience (in a big school) of sending follow-up emails to all teachers about Aboriginal students. In a three-way discussion between two Aboriginal educators and a non-Aboriginal educator, the importance of working together was emphasised. The quote also shows that this open communication and positive response by a non-Aboriginal educator set the groundwork for AIEOs to feel more confident and be ‘seen’ in their roles as the experts in their own culture and about their own people. This is exemplified by the following showing how to support an Aboriginal student with their reading.

Mag: I’m here, is there anything I can do? [Then Nat replying]: That sat with me for like a week, and then all of a sudden, I was like yeah actually there is Mag. So, then I came to you, and I was like hey what about this idea Mag? [to encourage an Aboriginal student with their reading] Mag: Cool let’s do that [Nat’s idea]. Nat: let’s do that. Mag: plant a little seed…yeah, because I think…sometimes you can forget who is here, who can help and that. Nat: yeah Mag: Tay: that’s reassuring you know you’ve got that little voice in your head so say yep, I’m here. It you know, builds that confidence for me [to have some input and put forward suggestions] (Mag, Nat, Tay, E6,1).

This is also an example of how straightforward and uncomplicated the working relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators can be. As simple as responding to an email, seeking guidance, acknowledging and accessing the expertise, and learning more about the role of the AIEO.

School leaders and leadership

The study findings that relate to principals and other school leaders show that there is resistance and defensiveness about enabling the conditions for culturally responsive education. They also show the significant challenges for non-Aboriginal teachers and Aboriginal educators who want to advocate for change. The following quote exemplifies these resistant, defensive (and deficit) attitudes that are ‘led’ from the top.

Aboriginal kids don’t have the neural capacity, the cognitive skills...that’s why they are failing...they are never going to catch up...they fall asleep, can’t speak. Parent accountability is an issue. We provide everything possible for the…[they] look to schools to be the solution. We don’t have the resources. We aren’t the answer to society’s ills (PS1, YC7/Post).

The quote demonstrates the lack of accountability and deficit attitude of the principal toward Aboriginal children and their families. They also show that the underfunding and resourcing of the public school system is used as a reason for not acting. The quote also demonstrates how racism is experienced by Aboriginal children at systemic and individual levels.

Discussion

The strengths of the Moombaki research are the prioritising of the rich contributions of Aboriginal community members and Aboriginal educators that can inform culturally responsive education for Aboriginal children. The intention of the Moombaki Research team was to focus on the cultural and personal strengths in ways of being, knowing and doing as demonstrated by the AIEOs and Aboriginal educators who participated in the study.

The findings show the need to ‘speak back’ to deficit discourses and the need to acknowledge how language can negatively position Aboriginal peoples (Hogarth, 2017; Rigney, 2023; Watgeo, 2021). Our findings have shown that for the non-Aboriginal teacher participants (including well-intentioned ones) this personal self-reflection and shift in attitudes towards Aboriginal children (and Aboriginal people generally) has not always occurred and is a necessary first step (Hogarth, 2022; Walton et al., 2014). The participant sample is localised and relatively small; nonetheless, the findings provide an in-depth interrogation of the challenges and opportunities at the grass roots for educators in this community.

Our Moombaki research activities report how Aboriginal educators including AIEOs currently have the expertise, knowledge and skills to lead culturally responsive education strategies and practices. The AIEOs describe not feeling confident about doing this, often because they need to manage the stereotyping, resistance and discomfort of non-Aboriginal educators and school principals. These experiences have been reported in other educational workspaces by Aboriginal people (Diversity Council of Australia, 2020; Thunig & Jones, 2021). For Aboriginal educators to be authentically involved in the development and practice of culturally responsive education, the schools where they work need to be culturally safe spaces as an essential and non-negotiable pre-requisite (AITSL, 2022; Domaille, 2024; McKenzie & Toia, 2022; Morrison et al., 2019). The findings show that there are opportunities for improvement at multiple levels of the school system through policies, adequate resourcing and the individual accountability of school leaders and educators. Most importantly, they show that when AIEOs feel ‘seen’ and can work alongside non-Aboriginal educators who respect their expertise there are opportunities for responding to Aboriginal students in ways that are safe, responsive and inclusive.

AIEOs must be given more opportunities to lead the school in working with Aboriginal children and their families. They can provide insights into children and community perspectives to change the school environment for Aboriginal children. Inclusive experiences that all children can enjoy and activities that expose the school at large to key aspects of Aboriginal culture can be developed by AIEOs. Seeing themselves and their identities within the school walls is a powerful change agent for children who have been culturally excluded and promotes pathways to success for all children.

Conclusion

A major obstacle to embedding culturally responsive education in schools is the persistent and ongoing individual and systemic racism experienced by Aboriginal educators. Governments and Education Departments must resource and fund school systems to enable the implementation of culturally responsiveness policy. This needs to incorporate individual and collective responsibility of all educators, school leaders and education departmental policy makers.

(1) Education and awareness – All school staff to seek education and increase awareness of wider and local Aboriginal kin, history, culture and country in collaboration with local Aboriginal community groups, Aboriginal families and Elders. There needs to be an ongoing process whereby school leaders, teachers and teacher assistants interrogate, self-reflect and evaluate the effects of biases, privileges, stereotypes and their own behaviours when working with Aboriginal students, AIEOs, Aboriginal teachers and their families (Anderson et al., 2024; Australian Education Research Organisation, 2024; Comstock et al., 2023; Kickett-Tucker, 2009, 2021; Ladson-Billings, 2021; Lewthwaite et al., 2015; Rigney, 2023).

(2) Structural and Institutional Change – All educators including school leaders walk and work alongside the AIEO and other Aboriginal educators including community and Elders to pro-actively ensure change occurs within the school, the wider education system and its people and policies. The Department of Education develop Aboriginal teaching methodologies for every teacher, including elements of immersion and fund positions for cultural mentors (including AIEOs) which are attached to promotion and pay scale increases. This should occur whether there is one or hundreds of Aboriginal students at the school (Bishop et al., 2019; Burgess & Harwood, 2023; Gillan et al., 2017; Hogarth, 2022; Jones et al., 2018; United Nations, 2007; Vass, 2017; Walton et al., 2014; Yunkaporta & McGinty, 2009).

(3) Teacher education system policy change – including mandated pre-service training and requirements that to maintain teacher registration teachers demonstrate their ability to be culturally competent and responsive. This evaluation needs to occur periodically and in ways that are sustainable and supported by school executives and state education departments as well as the universities where pre-service teachers learn how to teach (Bodkin-Andrews et al., 2019; MacDonald et al., 2023; Morrison et al., 2019).

Unless schools are culturally safe for all, culturally responsive education policies and strategies will continue to fail Aboriginal students and their families and the gap in educational attainment will continue to widen.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the invaluable contributions to this research and article of the Aboriginal educators and Aboriginal families, including those who live and call home the Weeip Wadjuk Noongar Boodja territory, who shared their insights and lived experiences of navigating school systems and how to be responsive to Aboriginal student needs. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Ms Ashleigh Dhu and the community research members.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Indigenous.

Ethical statement

ORCID iD

Jennifer Dodd

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Educating the educated: Embracing respectful responsibility

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Australian education policy context

Culturally responsive education

Method

The Moombaki (where the river meets the sky) cultural learnings study

Research team

Participants

Procedures

Data analysis

Findings

The lived experiences, knowledge and skills of Aboriginal educators

We treat all kids the same

Relationships with non-Aboriginal school staff

Western Australia Department of Education Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework and cultural responsiveness professional development

School leaders and leadership

Discussion

Conclusion

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Declaration of conflicting interests

Funding

Ethical statement

ORCID iD

References