This chapter responds to an often-overlooked issue in Australian public schooling’s commitment to equity, that is, ‘religion’, or more precisely, educator’s ‘responsivity’ to the religious identities and knowledges of learners. The shared focus of this book is commitment to equity and pedagogies that transform learning and muster approaches to a more inclusive, responsive and socially just education. We argue for a widening of educational pedagogy. In this chapter, we center Muslim learners as a case study for enabling pedagogies for superdiverse Australian classrooms. We argue for culturally and ‘religiously’ responsive pedagogy (CRRP) as a powerful means of shifting away from established pedagogies that often erase religion from classrooms. This chapter considers the role of enabling pedagogical approaches that are responsive to the lifeworlds of Muslim learners and their religious backgrounds; that view religion as a form of learner diversity and thus assets for learning; that provide equitable opportunities and high expectations for all learners; and that prepare respectful spaces that allow for ‘sensitive’ and controversial dialogue, mediation of difference and criticality so all learners may engage with societal change.

This chapter will show you how traversing the overlapping identities of self (micro), organisation (meso) and system (macro) is an essential skill for educators to be culturally responsive. This includes making decisions informed by broader contexts, organisation/learning environment interpretations of those cultures and, crucially for educators at all stages, what this then looks like in their own educational setting. For pre-service teachers, this calls for a consideration of multiple layers in the development of teacher identity. For all educators, it demands reflection and scrutiny throughout one’s career recognising that some aspects of identity may remain a continuity, while others may change. By examining practitioner examples, research literature, national and global contexts, this chapter will equip you with practical and theoretical examples. We hope this will help you identify and negotiate micro, meso and macro levels of teacher identity as a way to better identify, empathise and implement effective culturally responsive pedagogies for the contexts you work in.

In this chapter, we will inquire into a common definition of constructivism that acknowledges cognition (learning) not as a passive process of receiving information, but as an active process of making meaning, a mental construction that reframes our existing understandings from our different experiences (Olusegun, 2015). In addition, we will explore the historical roots of constructivism to identify common themes in these models through examining insights from key theorists, its strengths and possible limitations. Furthermore we will present a rationale for a ‘flipped PBL’ constructivist pedagogy that provides learners with discourse through authentic problems that enable situational and ongoing cognitive motivation by way of mastery of key concepts and the application of conceptual knowledge to a range of contexts. The uniqueness of this pedagogical approach employs flipped learning experiences to build expertise, depth of learning and problem-solving across a range of contexts to ensure breadth of application. To gain a deeper understanding of this approach, we will also look at some examples of its application in a primary and secondary context and examine the implications for its use.

This chapter will develop your understanding of the role of widening participation in Australia, specifically the pedagogical approaches outlined throughout the chapter which can be enacted to support learners from all backgrounds. These critical teaching approaches have the power to disrupt the reproduction of existing structural inequalities to enhance the educational success of learners from all sectors of Australian society.

In Australia, the educator landscape continues to be dominated by persons who are non-Indigenous, middle-class, speakers of English as their primary language and of European/Anglo cultural heritage (Daniels-Mayes 2016; Perso & Hayward 2015). When working with culturally minoritised learners, educators currently find themselves operating amid educational imperatives that are often complex and contradictory (Unsworth 2013). As foregrounded in chapters 3–5, cultural responsivity is a pedagogical approach that seeks to value, recognise and utilise the intelligence and cultural capacities that students already possess in the classroom (Morrison et al., 2019). This is a practice that requires educators to go beyond the limitations of simply being culturally aware, having cultural understanding or being culturally competent and instead seeks to tailor an educator’s practice according to learners’ unique place-based linguistic and cultural repertoires. In doing so, the eductor acknowledges through their practice that First Nations contexts are not all the same and that learners will often speak a range of differing home languages.

Education continues to primarily focus on educator-directed traditional transactions of pre-determined knowledge and skills not necessarily equally accessible or transformational for all learners (Smith, 2018). In contrast, deeper learning required for transformation requires pedagogies that facilitate contextualised understandings of shared meanings. Optimal transformational learning requires thoughtful development of the self as an educator, deliberate planning of safe learning environments and pedagogical practice that enables critical thinking. A pedagogy of hospitality provides a relational and safe space, but also an intentionally welcoming and critical learning space that holistically nurtures learners. Pohl (1999) identifies that hospitality is not charity but shared humanity as pedagogy; hospitality is a form of justice that facilitates meaningful learning.

Five key outcomes of pedagogy as hospitality are discussed in this chapter: love; formation and transformation; intentional nurture; critical empowerment; and hope and justice.

This introduction sets the scene by exploring the richness of the diversity of learners and critically examines the imperative for educators within the current educational climate to employ pedagogies that transform learning experiences, particularly for those who continue to be marginalised and are increasingly disengaged from education. The aim of the introduction is to lay the foundation for the significance of supporting educators in pedagogical decisions that prioritise and are socially just and responsive to the inclusion of all learners, thereby engaging and empowering learners as active co-designers and self-regulators of respectful, meaningful and impactful learning. In scaffolding educator efficacy, the introduction encourages self-reflective strategies for sustained critique of applying inclusive, responsive, enabling and socially just pedagogical approaches within their educational practice.

Educational settings are becoming increasingly diverse including culture, gender, ability and religious beliefs. Yet, a mono-cultural approach to teaching that prioritises some learners while excluding others continues to be adopted (Morrison et al., 2019). Building on past education declarations, the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration (Education Council, 2019) has a strong focus on equity and social justice with goal 1 calling for ‘The Australian education system [to] promote[s] excellence and equity’. Building on this, goal 2 seeks to develop ‘confident and creative individuals; successful lifelong learners; active and informed members of the community’. If we are to meet these goals, educators need to recognise and embrace the lifeworlds of all learners and use these as platforms from which new learning can build; something that is at the heart of culturally responsive pedagogies (CRP). This chapter argues that educational approaches founded on pedagogies that draw on learner’s lifeworlds, lived experiences and funds of knowledge (Zipin, 2009), foster enhanced educational engagement, achievement and wellbeing.

Early childhood education as a field has heavily relied on theories from developmental psychology since the 19th century to inform pedagogy and practice. The use of developmental theories has been significant in assisting the field to raise its professional status, however, an over-reliance on these theories alone has contributed to marginalising children with rich cultural, linguistic and religious diversities. This chapter will focus on exploring co-constructed pedagogies as creating inclusivity in early childhood education (birth to age 8). In particular, co-constructed pedagogies engage children, educators/teachers, families and community in dialogue to inform curriculum and practices that reflect diverse learning communities. It is argued that co-constructed pedagogies are not only important in early childhood education but also offer insights that can support inclusivity in primary and secondary education.

This chapter will examine how a transdisciplinary approach to curriculum design provides a context for the development of intercultural awareness, fosters conceptual understanding and places the learner at the heart of the educational experience. A theoretical basis for transdisciplinary learning will first be presented. This will be followed by an analysis of the nature of the individual in the learning process and how this relates to the development of a global mindset. The chapter will conclude by offering practical considerations for the planning, teaching and assessing of learning through a transdisciplinary approach.

This chapter outlines creative and body-based learning (CBL) as a pedagogical approach that puts principles of transformative pedagogy into action. CBL provides a provocation to engage with the body and creativity as instruments for learning and modes of representation. In highlighting the liberatory impact for both learners and educators, we explore how such approaches disrupt power imbalances and allow young people agency, higher-order thinking and a sense of belonging to a community of learners. In developing a theoretical base for our work, we are drawn to theories of embodiment, arts and affect.

In today’s complex world, we know as educators that learning is most meaningful when established through experience – learning by doing rather than by simply listening or observing. Our learners need to be supported in nurturing their creativity, developing as critical thinkers and flexible problem solvers, to apply skills and understanding in new domains and different situations creating solutions to problems encountered. Education and life should not be isolated from each other. By providing opportunities for learners to engage and learn through authentic, real-life, relevant experiences, we are scaffolding their application of skills to learning including adapting and changing their ideas and forming habits of lifelong learners. This chapter provides educators with a guide for embedding cross-curricular exploratory learning experiences as an integral part of planning, teaching and assessment responsive to all learners; and inclusive of the theoretical foundations and instructional strategies that inform their approaches. Authentic studies will be utilised, and practical tools outlined, to demonstrate how to bring these concepts to life within a constructivist framework.

This chapter outlines the theoretical and practical processes of teaching arts integrated curriculum through a transformational learning framework (Mezinow, 2009). A key aim is to highlight how relational knowledge built through dialogic meaning making strategies in visual art provides an approach to curriculum design where students can interrogate their standpoint. We outline pedagogical approaches under the banner of creative and body-based learning (CBL) that focus on transformational learning underpinned by standpoint theory and illustrated by vignettes of three visual art strategies.

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the centrality of children and young people in the learning process and identify educational approaches that emphasise the importance of ‘learner voice’. Opening avenues for consultation, participation and collaboration with learners in the design of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment can be significant in enhancing their engagement, achievement and wellbeing. That is, attention to the humanistic, agentic and cognitive attributes of learners, understanding their culture and lifeworlds, empowering learners to exercise agency and valuing their knowledge and skills contributes to the co-creation of meaningful learning experiences (Morrison et al., 2019; Price et al., 2020).

For thousands of years Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people nurtured their young, allowing natural skills to develop. Education using the powers of observation and listening was the most important process used with information being delivered to the child when they were ready to receive it. Most times this information was delivered by several members of the community. Prominent Australian Aboriginal scholar Kaye Price (2012) affirms that ‘right from the beginning there was a specialised education and for each child there was a teacher, a mentor and a peer with whom to learn … who ensured that history and the essentials of life were taught’ (p. 4). Aboriginal society was based on an egalitarian system that was holistic and emphasised belonging, spirituality, and relatedness. Learning was viewed as a natural holistic process where education was centred on the land and children learned alongside adults (Martin, 2005). The traditional epistemological system that maintained Aboriginal Nations in Australia for millennia was disrupted upon colonisation in 1788 resulting in discrimination towards Aboriginal culture and traditions (Morgan, 2019).

While there are many different interpretations of critical pedagogy (Wink, 2011), at its heart is a genuine connection with learner lives and lifeworlds. In an era of increased standardisation, and calls for ‘back to basics’ education, critical pedagogy engages both learners and educators in working together as powerful creators of knowledge. In the process, the constructed nature of knowledge is made explicit (Lankshear, 1997). Learners whose ‘virtual schoolbags’ (Thomson, 2002), which are the rich knowledge and experience gained through social and cultural lifeworlds, are typically not invited into the classroom and therefore risk a life of disengagement from formal schooling. It is these learners who are most clearly poised to benefit from a critical pedagogic approach.

This chapter introduces you to a relational approach to citizenship education, one that is grounded in how educators can and do engage children in coming together to interact with and learn from others in their communities. In this chapter, we are interested in a broad understanding of citizenship education, one which might be better understood as education for citizenship. While commonly understood as either a ‘status’ or a ‘practice’, this chapter argues that citizenship, above all else, concerns relationships. Recognising this fact requires us as educators to consider how civic relationships have been and are (often problematically) framed and how relational pedagogies can recognise and draw upon learners’ existing civic dispositions, might develop those civic dispositions further, and can build civically responsive educational settings. The chapter will provide a critical overview of relevant existing research on citizenship education before developing key features, including key pedagogical features, of a relational approach to citizenship education.

This chapter presents a synthesis of two key constructs: nature-based approaches and experiential learning. The first part of this chapter presents an overview of nature-based approaches. Research perspectives are presented to outline the importance of natural spaces in nurturing children and young people’s wellbeing, connection with nature, development of ecological awareness and holistic engagement with learning. Experiential learning theory is defined and described to examine the transformational potential of learning experienced outdoors. The interactive relationship and theoretical perspectives underlying experiential approaches are presented.

The second part of this chapter presents discussion on nature-based programs such as Forest Schools, Bush Kinders and Schools, and Nature/Environmental Kindergartens and Schools. Case studies will provide authentic contexts to highlight key aspects of intentional practice that enhance experiential learning and inquiry in nature-based settings. Finally, a synthesis of enabling practice is presented to further consider specific pedagogical implications underlying nature based approaches.

Chapter 7 presents an introduction and overview of inclusive teaching within the context of science in the early years. Inclusive teaching is about proactive, intentional and purposeful decisions being made by the EC professional to allow all students to reach their full potential. Inclusive practices, such as differentiation and the Universal Design for Learning framework, are described. Case studies are presented that provide opportunities to identify inclusive practices in science teaching and learning.