Understanding Indigenous Education and Perspectives
Duration
- One Semester or equivalent
Contact hours
- 24 Hours
On-campus unit delivery combines face-to-face and digital learning.
Aims and objectives
This unit focuses on contemporary and historical Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, identities, languages, histories, statuses, challenges, contributions and perspectives. The unit aims to enable pre-service teachers to synthesise perspectives about Indigenous education and consider how these perspectives can enhance their own education practices. An additional aim is to plan and develop authentic curriculum and pedagogy for teaching Indigenous children and young people, and analyse how Indigenous teaching and learning practices can benefit all children and young people. This knowledge and understanding contributes to pre-service teachers’ cultural competence and promotes culturally inclusive teaching practices based on sensitive and informed relationships.
1. Analyse Australian Indigenous education and perspectives.
2. Assess the impact of historical and contemporary events and issues on current educational contexts for Indigenous people.
3. Evaluate how Indigenous education and perspectives aligns with teachers’ professional role as advocates for children and their families.
4. Reflect on their own attitudes and values in relation to Indigenous people and how these may affect their teaching and professional relationships.
5. Articulate the continuous contributions of Indigenous people in Australian society.
6. Plan authentic learning experiences that enable all children and young people to learn about Indigenous people and perspectives.
Unit Learning Outcomes: Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
2. Assess the impact of historical and contemporary events and issues on current educational contexts for Indigenous people.
3. Evaluate how Indigenous education and perspectives aligns with teachers’ professional role as advocates for children and their families.
4. Reflect on their own attitudes and values in relation to Indigenous people and how these may affect their teaching and professional relationships.
5. Articulate the continuous contributions of Indigenous people in Australian society.
6. Plan authentic learning experiences that enable all children and young people to learn about Indigenous people and perspectives.
Unit information in detail
- Teaching methods, assessment and content.
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type (On-campus) | Hours per week | Number of Weeks | Total |
| Face to Face Contact Seminar |
2 |
6 |
12 |
| Online Contact Seminar | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| Specified Learning Activities Prescribed readings Online activities | 6 | 8 | 48 |
| Unspecified Learning Activities Independent study, assignment preparation, readings | 9.75 | 8 | 78 |
| TOTAL | 150 hours |
Assessment
| Types | Individual or Group task | Weighting | Assesses attainment of these ULOs |
| Essay | Individual | 40% | 1, 2, 5 |
| Folio: Task A (20%) Task B (40%) | Individual | 60% | 3, 4, 5, 6 |
Content
• History and culture of Australia’s first nation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• The positioning of Indigenous and traditional education systems within the Nation state.
• The impact of colonisation and issues related to the retaining and maintaining Indigenous and traditional knowledge through education.
• The role of international organisations in protecting, preserving and maintaining Indigenous and traditional education systems.
• Current and past contributions of Indigenous people.
• Contemporary contexts for Indigenous people.
• Reconciliation and its implications for teachers.
• Anti-bias curriculum.
• Contemporary research into cross-curriculum dimension of Indigenous perspectives.
• Integrating authentic Indigenous studies in the curriculum.
• Indigenous perspectives and pedagogy in and Implications for teaching not only Indigenous children but all children.
• Roles of teachers in supporting reconciliation in a post-apology Australia.
• The positioning of Indigenous and traditional education systems within the Nation state.
• The impact of colonisation and issues related to the retaining and maintaining Indigenous and traditional knowledge through education.
• The role of international organisations in protecting, preserving and maintaining Indigenous and traditional education systems.
• Current and past contributions of Indigenous people.
• Contemporary contexts for Indigenous people.
• Reconciliation and its implications for teachers.
• Anti-bias curriculum.
• Contemporary research into cross-curriculum dimension of Indigenous perspectives.
• Integrating authentic Indigenous studies in the curriculum.
• Indigenous perspectives and pedagogy in and Implications for teaching not only Indigenous children but all children.
• Roles of teachers in supporting reconciliation in a post-apology Australia.
Study resources
- Reading materials.
Reading materials
A list of reading materials will be made available in the Unit Outline.