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Raising Awareness to Transcend Disciplines: Developing Teachers' Critical Awareness Across Disciplines to Increase Indigenous Learner Engagement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2014

Tasha Riley
Tasha Riley*
Affiliation:
Griffith Institute for Higher Research, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Tasha Riley, Griffith Institute for Higher Research, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD 4122, Australia. Email: t.riley@griffith.edu.au
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Abstract

The issue of low graduation rates among Indigenous learners transcends borders. Some argue that racism and discrimination in schools and in wider society impede the success of Indigenous learners. Although teachers may not intend to make discriminatory decisions based on a learner's ascribed characteristics, research has demonstrated that teachers are capable of making biased decisions that deny opportunities to Indigenous learners. After reflecting upon current debates regarding effective educational strategies for diversity and Indigenous learners, the author contends that courses directed towards best practices for Indigenous learners in the classroom may be less beneficial than developing teachers' overall critical consciousness-raising and self-awareness abilities. The author presents what the literature reveals regarding various educational methods, practices, and epistemologies that have been successfully shared across disciplines in order to create more effective teachers and more responsive learners.

Keywords

teacher educationcritical reflectionIndigenous educationengagement
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , December 2014 , pp. 144 - 153
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2014 

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