Current projects
Understanding the experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse teachers in Australian schools
Collaborators: Dr Rachael Jacobs, Professor Dan Harris, Professor Catherine Manathunga, Dr Jing Qi
Teacher attrition is currently high, and there is an increased focus on the drivers of supply and demand in the teaching workforce. Australian Institute for School Leadership (AITSL) identifies “diversity deficits” as one factor in this. AITSL (2021a) draws attention to the “growing recognition of the benefits of a teacher population that more proportionately reflects the Australian population” (p. 19). Further, research also identifies experiences of discrimination and racism as a factor in CALD teachers’ experiences of becoming teachers and working in schools. Barriers to entry and success in teacher education programs are growing as programs become more standardised (Petchauer, Bowe & Wilson, 2018; Singh and Han, 2010). The cultural resources that CALD teachers bring to their school communities are often disregarded (Miller, 2009; Reid, Collins and Singh, 2014).
This research highlights two points: the importance of collecting and analysing appropriate data; and simultaneously gaining a deeper understanding of the experiences of existing teachers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups. The research evidence is clear that increasing teacher diversity will improve outcomes for students, and we need to consider how to attract more diverse teachers to enter and remain in the profession.
Singing Kabi Kabi
Collaborators: Dr Hope O’Chin, Uncle Lance O’Chin, Candace Kruger
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are foundational to culture and identity (National Indigenous Languages Report, 2020). When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and language learning is included in schooling in appropriate and respectful ways, this can improve the level of cultural safety and student achievement (Rahman, 2010). As Kruger (2017) found, singing in language is a particularly powerful way to build cultural knowledge and foster the development of identity.
Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives is now a mandatory component of the Australian Curriculum, as one of the Cross Curricular Priorities (CCP). There is a general sense that more needs to be done to ensure that histories and knowledges of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are valued within the curriculum. However, this presents a number of challenges for teachers and schools. As Yunkaporta (2009) articulates, “There is an injustice in this for non-Aboriginal teachers. They are expected to do something that nobody has shown them how to do. This is because nobody knows how to do it. There is plenty of research and training around what it is, and why it is important, but there is very little out there that deals with the how.” (p. 5)
This research seeks to propose one possible how, and to investigate the perceptions of teachers and preservice teachers who participate. The project seeks to work with Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi elders and community members on the Sunshine Coast to develop resources for primary schools that draw together language, cultural stories and song. The project builds on the work of Candace Kruger and the resources developed by the Yugambeh Youth Aboriginal Corporation. Further, the project will engage participating teachers in a workshop intended to support the use of the resources, and will explore the impact on teachers’ self-efficacy about embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. It is expected that the information gathered through the research will assist in improving and expanding the workshop program and resources, and provide insights into how schools might respectfully embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the curriculum using language and song. The research also seeks to examine the process of working together, as Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers negotiating relationships with community and school stakeholders.
