Australian classrooms are made up of students from a variety of countries, bringing with them different cultures, backgrounds, and language. Teachers need to be aware of the diversity of languages that children will bring into the classroom (Gardener, 2017c) and make the classroom culturally inclusive for all students. Aboriginal students speak English (Ewing, 2016). However, they also speak Aboriginal English which includes traditional Aboriginal words which are brought into the classroom. Williams (as cited in Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013, p. 51) points out the Aboriginal English can vary across Australia states, therefore, there is no one language amongst Aboriginal people. Harrison and Sellwood (2011) explain that each variety of Aboriginal English has different meanings for words, grammatical rules, and …show more content…
To achieve a culturally inclusive classroom, teachers must look into the backgrounds of their students and educate themselves any language differences. Woolfolk and Margetts (2011) assert the point that teachers must not have any prejudice towards students, they must accept their traditional language and find a balance between their first language and Australian English. Ewing (2016) suggests that incorporating a culturally inclusive pedagogy is crucial to honour classroom diversity and this can be achieved through text. By choosing books that share historical Aboriginal stories not only embraces their cultural background, but it also provides knowledge to all children about “Australia’s rich linguistic” history (Ewing, 2016, p. 84).
Children use language from an early age and they
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA] strongly express that the needs of all students are equally important regardless of their background and the importance of changing lesson plans to suit the needs of every student in their classroom. Green and Campbell (2006)
The first Australian Professional Teaching Standard is ‘Know students and how they learn’(AITSL, 2011). Understanding how students learn is a significant component of effective teaching (1.2 AITSL, 2011). Furthermore, effective teachers require an understanding of students physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics (1.1 AITSL, 2011). In addition, APST Standards require teachers to demonstrate both content and pedagogical knowledge through lesson plans (2.1 AITSL, 2011) with the curriculum content being structured and sequenced to facilitate effective learning (2.2 AITSL, 2011). However, it is also critical to have a repertoire of teaching strategies which are responsive to a diverse range of student backgrounds, including linguistic, cultural, religious, and socioeconomic (1.3 AITSL, 2011). An effective learning, in accordance with The Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority, provides learners with general capabilities (knowledge, skills, behaviours and characteristics) and include understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students learning needs and incorporate differentiated teaching methods to meet the needs of specific
This essay will discuss the Aboriginal Education policies in Victoria and Federally and how these policies impacted upon the children of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. This essay will further analyse the impact these past policies had on the Aboriginal and Torres strait Islanders’ families and children’s education and how current policies were put in place to assist indigenous students’ access to education. Further to this an analysis of how teachers can implement these changes in the curriculum and classroom.
The importance of the acknowledgement between land, language and Aboriginal identity (NSW BOS 2003, p.6) can be seen through past historical events and present Government policies. Keeffe (1992) suggests belonging to the land and possessing cultural traits unifies the Aboriginal people on a whole, language being a major factor in maintaining their cultural identity. Keeffe (1992) found that Aboriginal language is treasured, due to the opinion it was stolen but in a variety of ways identified as being both examples of persistence and resistance, was reclaimed. Language is symbolic of the hardship and strength of the Aboriginal people and culture. The inclusion of AE, within the context of learning languages, improves mental functions due to the concentration on systems and patterns found in linguistics. Therefore AE, with justification on numerous accounts, has been included in government and education policies and programming such as the creation of the AETP (NSW DET 2008) and Working with Aboriginal communities’ consultation and protocol document (NSW BOS
The development of a national curriculum for Australia is not a new endeavour (Marsh, 2010). The ideal is that national curriculum across Australia would mean that students are provided with a quality education that helps to shape the lives of the nations citizens and continue developing the productivity and quality of life within Australia. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA] have the task of developing and implementing a nationwide curriculum. ACARA (n.d.-c) claims have addressed needs of young Australians while considering that changing ways in learning and challenges will continue to shape students education in the future. A look at what the Australian Curriculum is, its purpose, structure and scope, learning theories and teaching processes and whether the curriculum has the capacity to meet the needs of 21st century learners will show that the initial construction of a national curriculum appears to be successful. However, the effectiveness of the Australian Curriculum will only be able to be evaluated in the future after implementation across the country.
Culturally relevant pedagogy uses inclusive practices to meet the needs of all learners. These methods include teaching that integrates students’ backgrounds and experiences into the curriculum and learning experience. In doing so, teachers using culturally responsive pedagogy must: (1) hold high expectations and affirming views of all learners; (2) provide room for all students’ to make meaningful connection to learning content; and (3) create a safe and positive classroom climate fostering respect and care for students. As we review certain approaches of implementing best practices to meet the needs of RCELD students, we must also remember that it takes long-term commitment to inclusive practices in education in order to address the inequitable structures that contribute to issues such as the achievement gap.
These principles include suggestions for dealing with their implications such as the use of multiple methods to convey information, providing explicit instruction in academic language, incorporating primary language supports, making expectations clear, and using testing accommodations when appropriate (2010). Characteristics of culturally responsive instruction include high expectations, positive relationships with families and communities, cultural sensitivity, active teaching methods, student control of portions of the lesson, and instruction around groups and pairs to create low anxiety (2010).
Inclusion in classrooms is defined as combining students with disabilities and students without disabilities together in an educational environment. It provides all students with a better sense of belonging. They will enable friendships and evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion benefits students without disabilities by developing a sense of helping others and respecting other diverse people. By this, the students will build up an appreciation that everyone has unique yet wonderful abilities and personalities (Bronson, 1999). This will enhance their communication skills later in life. Inclusive classrooms provide students with disabilities a better education on the same level as their peers. Since all students would be in the same educational environment, they would follow the same curriculum and not separate ones based on their disability. The main element to a successful inclusive classroom, is the teachers effort to plan the curriculum to fit all students needs. Teachers must make sure that they are making the material challenging enough for students without special needs and understandable to students with special needs. Inclusive classrooms are beneficial to students with and without special needs.
Our schools today contains a diverse population of students from different ethnic backgrounds. As educators we need to make sure we are applying culturally responsive teaching. Katie Toppel describes “applying culturally responsive teaching practices in a classroom benefits students along with having a positive effect on students coming from a diverse background. “Gay (2 010) defines culturally responsive instruction as “using cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them” (p. 31). Toppel explains there are three different themes which pertains to culturally responsive teaching method. Those three themes are “culturally appropriate texts, (2) engaging students’ voices, and (3) incorporating students’ funds of knowledge (Bell & Clark, 1 998; Hefflin, 002; Howard, 2 001; Ladson-Billings, 1 992; Morrison, Robinson, & Gregory Rose, 2008 ; Powell, 1997 ; Toppel, 2013 ). According to (Toppel), As educators teaching students who come from a culturally and linguistically diverse background we as educators need to remember to care for the students along with building some form of relationship. Other
The world is filled with diverse people that have many different cultures. Throughout the years, culture along with many other factors changed the way linguistics evolved. This created evolved versions of how we understand language today. English changed to Englishes, literacy changed to multiliteracies and variation in languages is major. It’s important to note that the evolution of language was important for teachers to understand and connect with their students. Creating pedagogies that suit specific children and show students the importance of learning Australian standard English to be able to function well in Australia but also to keep any cultural English they may have and make sure they feel comfortable with their culture.
Today, cultural diversity is omnipresent in Australian schools. Despite extensive research into this area and suggestions made by many researchers, the teacher education programs in Australia have not responded well enough to accommodate the need of our CALD pupils, by updating the contents of teacher education programs. Premier and Miller (2010) emphasised the relevance of the positive flow-on effect of change in teacher education programmes that would lead to changes in school curriculum to develop support for the increasing participation of CALD learners in Australian school
This essay will explore a range of topics in relation to talking about Englishes rather than English and multi-literacies rather than literacy. Firstly the evolution of English; the origins, influences and current English that we use. Then focusing on social class and the effects of an individual’s social class on education; through the exploration in particular of Bernstein’s theory of language codes. Then discussing Englishes and how there can be many Englishes rather than one English language, and how this occurs when English is used as a global language. (Crystal REFERENCE) Aboriginal English is discussed, as it is relevant to teaching in Australia. Recognising the differences in learning and language between Aboriginal Children and non-aboriginal
With this in mind, it is important to view the role of language in a child’s life as a socio-cultural practise. Green (2006, p.2) explains, how written, oral and visual language all derive from social and cultural contexts, in which children participate and comprehend, based on their own social and cultural backgrounds. Through exposure to language, children become aware of the many varieties within a language, such as dialects, registers, styles, accents and other forms of language including a standard variety (Meecham & Rees-Miller, 2001). Standard Australian English is the official language of Australia, and is in itself a variety of English. However, several varieties of English are spoken in Australia by children with different cultural backgrounds, for example, Aboriginal English, Italian English, and many more. According to Emmitt (2010, p.61), a child who speaks a non-standard variety is not deficient in or deviating from the standard variety, but is speaking a different language variety with its own rules, grammar and
When dealing with a culturally diverse classroom it is important that you treat each child equally and “throw your personal beliefs out the window”. Teachers can sometimes accidentally be culturally biased with no intent to be but they have an unconscious biased towards certain students. This may because of his or her race, religion, parents but every child has potential and should be given an equal education and opportunity to succeed. Teachers need to be aware of where they stand on certain issues because everyone has their own beliefs and opinions and it is important to not criticize a student beliefs/cultural identity. As a person of authority, always be mindful of what is said in class; criticizing based on your personal beliefs can lead to damaging a student's perception on a certain group of people which in turn can ruin your image as a role model/ mentor to them. Teachers need to understand the individuality of each student and not to treat them differently based on stereotypes perceived about them.
In conducting her research, the author understood that she needed to describe key issues of culturally diverse students, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In reading Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Issues in Education (2010), s...
No matter where an Aboriginal child lives it is likely he/she will identify with aspects of Aboriginal culture (Gibson, 1993; Guider 1991)...Aboriginal students’ learning is often based on observation and imitation rather than verbal and written approaches (Harris & Malin 1994). Traditionally, Aboriginal learning is informal and non-verbal, while school learning is largely focused on two-way verbal interactions (Harris & Harris 1988). Aboriginal students need to learn how to use language to learn at school (Graham 1988a, 1988b) and they may feel shame if they are focused on to answer questions (Malin 1990)". ( Matthews, Howard & Perry,