The impact of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers in school communities:  A case study of the RATEP pathway

Peta Salter; Gail Mitchell; Carly  Steele

doi:10.55146/ajie.v54i2.1051

Authors

Peta Salter James Cook University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4643-734X
Gail Mitchell Department of Education, Queensland
Carly Steele Curtin University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4587-1654

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55146/ajie.v54i2.1051

Keywords:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers, teacher workforce

Abstract

In the Australian education system, the call for more First Nations teachers has been central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education policy for at least 50 years and has been re-iterated in the recent National Teacher Workforce Action Plan. In response, there have been several programs over time that have served to train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers. One such pathway is Queensland’s Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP). Despite having been in operation for over 30 years, there have been little published findings about the impact of this pathway. This case study evaluates the impact that graduates of RATEP have had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and the school communities in which they taught. This study used the “most significant change” research method to find that teachers’ critical points of impact were their abilities to act as conduits for building relationships and developing cultural understanding in school communities. Further, the tension between the need to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers and the personal cost to these teachers in carrying this weight of responsibility was evident. We conclude with propositions for the future and ongoing research in this field.

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Author Biographies

Peta Salter, James Cook University

Associate Professor Peta Salter holds the positions of RATEP Academic Coordinator and ITE Accreditation Lead in Education at James Cook University. Her research focuses on education policy and pre-service teachers’ efficacy and understandings of the contexts and communities in which they teach to support and develop classroom and community readiness. She lives and works on Bindal Country.

Gail Mitchell, Department of Education, Queensland

Gail Mitchell identifies as a proud Gudjula woman on her maternal side and acknowledges Karnju on her paternal side. She lives and works on Gimuy Country. Gail is a qualified teacher who has worked for over 30 years for the Department of Education. Gail currently works as the Statewide Coordinator of the Remote Area Teacher Education Program, or RATEP, an award-winning community-based teacher education pathway. RATEP is a joint initiative of the Queensland Department of Education, TAFE Queensland and James Cook University in liaison with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Carly Steele, Curtin University

Dr Carly Steele is a non-Indigenous applied linguist and a qualified teacher. She holds the positions of Senior Lecturer and Master of Education Course Coordinator in the School of Education at Curtin University. Her research focuses on how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, particularly new varieties, are positioned in schools, as well as culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and assessment practices

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