Aboriginal Perspectives for Secondary Education - Assignment Example

Running head: АBОRIGINАL РЕRSРЕСTIVЕS Aboriginal Perspectives for Secondary Education Name Course Information Professor Information Date Due Introduction This paper intends to address three specific sections on Aboriginal education. The first part is a discussion on importance of Aboriginal education. The essay puts forward the following reasons for Aboriginal education: addressing challenges in accessing quality education, equity in education, and poverty scales amongst Aboriginal. The second part revolves around Aboriginal Perspective Activity for secondary students. The outcome of this activity is to enable learners realize the most from learning. Observation and imitation are activities derived from Aboriginal Perspective and work efficiently. The last section explores story telling as one of the eight ways of Learning. Module Activity 1: Reasons why Aboriginal Education is important Aboriginal education is important for several reasons. Some of these reasons were not mentioned in the module. Among them is the fact that Aborigines face many challenges as regards access to education. This has made them to lag behind in many developmental aspects in comparison to other Australians. Consequently, Aborigines have fared badly in terms of getting meaningful employment because of their lack of education. Aborigines are a greatly disadvantaged group of people in Australia socially, politically, economically. Attainment of quality education consequently has been very low. Lack of access to schools and the inability of families to send their children to school are major variables accounting for low attainment of quality education amongst the indigenous population. The most pronounced disadvantages that affect the aboriginal population are the geographical dispersion of the population and their lack of knowledge of Australian English (Harrison, 2011). Over the years, there have been systematic efforts to address issues that have been a hindrance to the Aborigine population. Foremost among this is the introduction and support for Aborigine education programs. The provision of education has thus been central to the economic, social, and cultural development of the Aborigines. Several policy frameworks and strategies have been formulated in a bid to improve the general outcomes of the Aborigine people. The current efforts towards improving education standards are based on the Australian Directions in Indigenous Education 2005-2008 (MCEECDYA, 2011). Aborigine education can serve to reduce the education inequality that is currently prevalent in the Australian society. These inequalities have existed for a long period to the extent that wide sections of the society believe that education equality is not achievable. Blog Activity The idea of inclusion of Aboriginal education in the curricula has been of great benefit to the students, institutions and the learners at large. Currently this type of education is receiving a great deal of attention in the education sector. It has also been made a compulsory aspect of education in all levels of the education system. Aboriginal education has equipped me with diverse knowledge on the Aborigine culture. I am thus able to understand and appreciate the Aborigine culture in a better way. This is in contrast with other students not exposed to the same. Such students may not appreciate the fact that the Aborigine culture has positive aspects, which can be beneficial to them. The Aborigine education is diverse and has several strategies and convention that can be adapted to other settings. Some of these are learning and teaching styles that have been applied to the classroom situation. One particular aspect of aboriginal education is the fact that it allows a child to become a contributor of his/her own learning. This has influenced me in the sense that it has made me an active participant in the quest for knowledge. I am thus able to do further research on what I have learnt in class and generate further content. This is a radical shift from the traditional mode of learning where content was only generated by the teacher. This allows for flexibility consequently making learning an interesting aspect. It is therefore a stimulating experience for me as a learner. As a teacher, it would influence me because I would look for opportunities, which will allow students to come up with their own content. I would therefore give them room to interact among themselves through discussions of selected topics. The other benefit of this is that the knowledge experimented upon and generated by the students will not be easily forgotten. This will inculcate in them the sense of creativity within the students. It nurtures in students the spirit of problem solving. This makes them to be able to adapt and solve day-to-day life problems in an easy way. This is because they are already equipped with the critical abilities right away from the education system that encourages the seeking of practical solutions. Aborigine education creates content that is relevant to both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. It attempts to involve both groups in the development of content. The knowledge in Aborigine education is important to me as a student teacher because it equips me with knowledge on the Aborigine culture and history. This is useful as it would guide me in future interactions with Aborigines and as such, it would eliminate situations of culture shock whereby one does not understand and appreciate aspects of culture of a different culture outside their scope. Aboriginal education is important in the curriculum because it has certain aspects that can be of importance to students. As a student teacher, I would be able to apply some of the pedagogies from this system in the classroom situation. I would then select the teaching style that works best for the students. Module Activity 2: Aboriginal Perspective Activity for secondary students According to the module, it is important to incorporate Aboriginal perspective activity into learning process because it acts as a basis on building knowledge. Moreover, it adds value to the learning process. Warren, Cooper, and Baturo (2004) assessed experiences encountered by indigenous students when learning mathematics. It emerged that indigenous students face numerous challenges including language, assessment, learning styles, and the importance of mathematics to Indigenous Australians (Warren, Cooper, and Baturo, 2004, p. 34). The syllabus outcome is to establish a link between student and community expectation and the results that are realizable from learning mathematics. From Aboriginal perspective, indigenous Australians value learning that is done through observation and imitation as opposed to verbal, oral, or written instructions. While appreciating the fact that Aboriginals prefer holistic learning, which entails linking and integration of subject matter, it is necessary to integrate mathematics into Aboriginal culture and their daily experiences (Morris & Matthews, 2011). In a study by Waller (2012), bilingual programs enhance learning English and Mathematics as well. These programs are forms of differentiation, which plays a critical role of personalising instructions such that students realize their abilities. An assessment of Aboriginal classrooms reveals presence of students and teachers who come from varying cultural background whose values are diverse. Given this diverse background, factors such as culture, race, biases, and prejudice affect learning. The negative impact is through inclusive learning in addition to parents and community involvement in schooling. Learning is made more relevant through participation by local Aboriginal community via teacher aides. Anderson (2010, p. 68) asserts that elders are highly regarded amongst Aboriginals thus the need to accord them necessary support. They are therefore the main stakeholders in learning since they can command respect. Activity that allows these elders to speak to students about language or mathematics enhances learning process. Teacher aides act as a bridge between school and cultural background of students. They also facilitate effective communication with indigenous students since they have a fine understanding of local indigenous language. As a result, teacher aides reduce language barrier that is evident in learning mathematics especially in indigenous communities. Group work with the help of teacher aide, reduces language barriers and eventual lead to achievement of pre-stated objectives. Aboriginal students have certain beliefs about mathematics, which must be matched with expectation by the school (Harrison, 2011). When teachers are not able bring together classroom expectations and student’s beliefs about mathematics, learning leads to confusion and anxiety. There is need therefore to utilise learning activities that highlight daily experience faced by students. These activities should revolve around Aboriginal beliefs, their thinking patterns and processes followed in solving problems. These are the bits, which Aboriginals can easily relate with. To succeed in learning mathematics, a teacher has to present the lesson in a manner that appreciates or upholds Aboriginal way of learning. One of the notable activities is incorporating a dance into mathematics lesson. History shows that Aboriginal community used to disseminate learning through dance and music, narration, and other action-oriented activities. Aboriginal dance serve the purpose of bridging the gap between mathematics and culture in a way that makes student feel part of the lesson or rather take control of mathematics. The other activity is the use of visual arts, which encourage students to be numerate. Teaching mathematics ratios can be executed well by utilizing visual aid. Art works that has close relationship with Aboriginals can be deployed in learning shapes and geometry. Blog Activity: A statement by Professor Lester seeks to enumerate aspect of differentiated learning. Aboriginal students are unique and must be taught while noting their distinct nature. By giving individual students attention or personalized learning that they require, educational goals will be attained. Aboriginal education is beneficial to both Aboriginal and non-aboriginal mainly because of differentiation. Aboriginal education does not focus on a single aspect of life but concentrate on developing a learner from all angles. This holistic approach to learning is correlated to personalising instructions such that students realize their individual full potentials. An assessment of Aboriginal classrooms reveals presence of students and teachers who come from varying cultural background whose values are diverse. Paying attention to these individual units has the long run impact of enhancing learning by all students, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. Module Activity 3: 8 ways of learning Story sharing is one of the eight ways of learning that is utilized in Aborigine education. The approach uses personal narratives to transmit knowledge. This mode is rests on the fact that since time immemorial older members in every society have used stories to pass valuable lessons to the young (Wheaton, 2000). Dreaming in particular is well expressed among Aboriginals. The mantel is passed on to young generation through narratives conducted by elderly population who are highly respected. Story sharing as a way of learning started with the early Greeks. Early scholars, such as Plato, used to disseminate knowledge through dialogues. Aborigines themselves passed on Dreaming and other cultural knowledge though narration. The current Australian education system also makes use of narratives to draw meaning out of past events. Presently, students from all backgrounds are encouraged to share stories on all content in school (Hocking, 2012). Conclusion This writing generally looked at improving Aboriginal education. Compared with the whites, indigenous Australians face numerous challenges socially, politically and economically which has spilled over to educational outcome. Bearing in mind this nature of Aboriginals, the paper outlined some of the reasons for the importance of Aboriginal education. Besides, the paper laid forth activities from Aboriginal Perspective aimed at enhancing educational outcome. Observation and imitation are activities derived from Aboriginal Perspective and work efficiently especially with indigenous communities whose culture is ingrained. Lastly, the essay explored story telling as one of the eight ways of Learning. References Anderson, G (2010). Introducing Wiradjuri Language in Parkes. Retrieved on 8 June 2013 from: http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/6912/1/RAL-chapter-5.pdf Harrison, N. (2011). Teaching and Learning in Aboriginal Education, 2nd Ed. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Hocking, D. (2012). From Gumnuts and Buttons. Practically Primary, 17(2): pp. 16-18. Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs, MCEECDYA (2011). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010-2014. MCEECDYA: South Carlton, Victoria. Morris, C., & Matthews, C. (2011). Numeracy, mathematics, and Indigenous learners: Not the same old thing. Retrieved 8 June, 2013 from http://www.acer.edu.au/documents/RC2011- Numeracy_mathematics_and_Indigenous_learners-_ Not_the_same_old_thing.pdf. Nelson, A. & Hay, P.J. (2010) “I Don’t Want to Grow Up and Not Be Smart”: Urban Indigenous Young People’s Perceptions of School. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education.39(1): pp. 54-64. Waller, L. (2012). All Talk, No Action. Australian Educator, 73(1). pp. 24-26. Warren, E., Cooper, T., & Baturo, A. (2004). Indigenous Students and Mathematics: Teachers’ Perceptions of the Role of Teacher Aides. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 33(1): 37-46. Wheaton, C. (2000). An Aboriginal pedagogical model: Recovering an Aboriginal pedagogy from the Woodlands Cree. In Neil, R. (Ed.) Voice of the Drum. Canada: Kingfisher Publications. Read More