Teacher Education Review - Indigenous Studies for all Teachers

Teacher Education Review - Indigenous Studies for all Teachers

Below is an excerpt from the AEU's submission to the Teacher Education Review. The full submission can be found by clicking here

The AEU believes that all teachers employed in the public education system in Australia should complete a comprehensive sequence of Indigenous studies as a minimum requirement for their employment. To be a teacher in contemporary Australia, one must know about Indigenous students, their communities, their needs, their heritage, appropriate pedagogical approaches to meet the needs of Indigenous students and their communities. This applies to all who would earn the worthy title of teacher and whether they will teach in schools with large Indigenous enrolments or not. Every Australian student should have teachers who are knowledgeable in these essential areas.

The AEU seeks to ensure that all undergraduate teacher education programs, within an agreed time-frame, build in significant and assessable mandatory Indigenous studies units.

In this context, Indigenous Studies are referred to as studies about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures. The AEU believes that teacher education programs should be developed and delivered with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In this manner, Indigenous Studies would include as a base:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, prior and subsequent to invasion;
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teaching and learning processes;
The development of teaching practices which meet the needs of Indigenous students;
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages;
Teaching practices which meet the needs of ESL/EFL speakers.

The AEU recognises that there is ample research which signifies our failure as a nation to provide teachers with the professional skills and knowledge required to work effectively with Indigenous peoples. Further, lack of access to this sort of pre-service training has contributed to the low level of learning outcomes achieved by Indigenous students. We therefore seek your support.

Further information can be found in the Indigenous Education Fact Sheet No.1 - Indigenous Studies for Teachers (September 2002) (in pdf format)

Other information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education issues can be found by clicking here.

This page last updated 17 March 2003

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