This is a short guide to respectfully using Koorie traditions and teaching Indigenous content (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority [VCAA], 2017).

This Padlet is a resource to assist Victorian secondary teachers with inclusive practice. It is split into two main sections:

This terminology guide from Reconciliation Australia's Narragunnawali program (n.d.) provides guidance and consistency in language use for teachers to ensure our work respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural identities, cultures, histories, knowledges, languages, and practices. It also helps us all to avoid offensive and outdated descriptions.  

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/about/k-12-policies/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-perspectives/resources/yarning-circles

Together we must challenge this deficit narrative and work diligently to include Indigenous voices, pedagogy and perspectives into our classrooms and schools, as a way to enhance the learning experience for all of our students. It is also important to understand that as a result of colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have had to assimilate to “non-Indigenous ways of being, knowing and doing” (Coff, 2021, p. 200), which can lead to Indigenous students feeling isolated in the classroom and hinder their achievement and engagement levels (Bodkin-Andrews & Carlson, 2016). ​​Individual schools and teachers (such as ourselves) hold the key to effective social and political change and play a crucial role in attempting to reconcile the lasting impacts of settler colonial violence on modern society. 

Methods of inclusive practice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are mandated through both statewide (VCAA) and nationwide (AITSL) initiatives. There are also governmental policies which aim to formalise and unify initiatives that schools and teachers can take to enhance the learning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. However it is important to acknowledge that it is also our personal responsibility as teachers to promote practices that include Indigenous perspectives and pedagogy as we are living and teaching on Aboriginal land. 

It is important to note that trauma-affected students can enter the classroom presenting unregulated, angry or disengaged behaviours, so we must act cautiously and kindly to ensure that we are supporting our students in the safest possible way. 

Reconciliation Australia's Narragunnawali program (n.d.) has compiled a helpful list of diverse and relevant texts from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and creators, as well as non-Indigenous authors whose work meaningfully explores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. This extensive list includes texts across fiction, biography and non-fiction, picture books, graphic novels, and poetry, and will help you to identify diverse and relevant titles, along with supporting teaching materials (Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education, n.d.). 

Content warning: Materials within the Interactive Numeracies resource contain imagery, voices and representations of people who may be deceased. This may cause distress to some people.

You can use this map to show awareness of, and respect for, the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of the land on which a meeting or event is being held.

Andersen, C & Walter, M. (2013). Indigenous Perspectives and Cultural Identity. In Hyde, M, Carpenter, L & Conway, R (Eds.), Diversity, Inclusion and engagement. (pp. 67-90). Oxford University Press.

Aunio, P., & Niemivirta, M. (2010). Predicting children's mathematical performance in grade one by early numeracy. Learning and individual differences, 20(5), 427-435.

Bacalja, A., & Bliss, L. (2019). Representing Australian Indigenous voices: Text selection in the Senior English Curriculum. English in Australia, 54(1), 43-52.

Belczewski, A. (2009). Decolonizing Science Education and the Science Teacher: A White Teacher's Perspective, Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 9(3), 191-202. https://doi.org/10.1080/14926150903118326.

​​Bodkin-Andrews, G & Carlson, B. (2016). The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian identity within education, Race Ethnicity and Education,19(4), 784-807. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2014.969224

Boon, H. (2021). Why and how to use different teaching methods with Indigenous students - Methods used by successful teachers of Indigenous students. https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=1449

Brown, L. (2019). Indigenous young people, disadvantage and the violence of settler colonial education policy and curriculum. Journal of Sociology, 55(1), 54-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783318794295

Coff, K. (2021). Learning on and from Country: Teaching by incorporating Indigenous relational worldviews. In M. Shay & R. Oliver (Eds.), Indigenous education in Australia: Learning and teaching for deadly futures (pp.190-201). Taylor & Francis Group.

Crackerjack Education. (2021). Exciting Online Australian Resources From Crackerjack Education. https://www.crackerjackeducation.com.au/

Department of Education and Training (Victoria) [DET]. (2021). Individual Education Plans (IEPs). https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/individual-education-plans-ieps/policy

Harris, S. (1984). Aboriginal Learning Styles and Formal Schooling. The Aboriginal Child at School, 12(4), 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0310582200013377

Leane, J. (2016). Other peoples’ stories. Overland, 225, 41–45.

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education. (n.d.). Subject guide: Civics and Citizenship. https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/storage/media/page/civics-and-citizenship-resource-guide-2020_eAzGq.pdf

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education. (n.d.). Subject guide: Economics and Business. https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/storage/media/page/economics-and-business-resource-guide-2020_mznds.pdf

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education. (n.d.). Subject guide: English. https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/storage/media/page/cf7cb91f4e857302c8433bcc0947fbc3.pdf

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education. (n.d.). Subject guide: Geography. https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/storage/media/page/geography-resource-guide-2020_OTaof.pdf

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education. (n.d.). Subject guide: History. https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/storage/media/page/history-resource-guide-2020_0YLQi.pdf

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education. (n.d.). Subject guide: Science. 

Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education. (n.d.). Terminology guide. https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/about/terminology-guide

Patrick, R., & Moodie, N. (2016). Indigenous Education Policy Discourses in Australia: re-thinking the problem. Global Learning in the 21st Century (pp. 165–184). Oxford University Press.

Perso, T. F., & Hayward, C. (2015). Teaching Indigenous students: Cultural awareness and classroom strategies for improving learning outcomes. Allen & Unwin.

Reading Tracks. (2021). Reading Tracks. https://honeyant.com.au/reading-tracks/

Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council. (2020). Victoria’s current Registered Aboriginal Parties [Map]. https://www.aboriginalheritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/victorias-current-registered-aboriginal-parties

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2017). Foundation to Year 10 Curriculum:

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2017). Mathematics: Rationale and Aims. https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/static/docs/Koorie%20Cross-Curricular%20Protocols.pdf

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

As an inclusive teacher, viewing your students’ IEP helps you to plan and monitor their unique learning needs (DET, 2021). It also has broader benefits as research has shown that when schools use a planning approach that supports personalised learning, the academic achievement of all students improves (DET, 2021).