Teachers’ Attitudes to Including Indigenous Knowledges in the Australian Science Curriculum

Authors

  • Renee Baynes University of Southern Queensland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2015.29

Keywords:

national curriculum, curriculum implementation, teacher attitudes, Aboriginal knowledge, science education, social justice

Abstract

With the introduction of the Australian National Curriculum containing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures Cross-Curriculum Priority (CCP) and Intercultural Understanding General Capability, there has been a renewed push to embed Indigenous content into secondary school subjects. This paper considers the attitudes and beliefs of a group of secondary school science teachers to the current imperative to include Indigenous knowledges and perspectives in classroom practice. Through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) cycle, teachers contextualised and conceptualised the CCP in terms of social justice, pedagogy, and student engagement. The PAR process allowed them to develop a personal and intellectual engagement prior to attempting to teach Indigenous knowledges in their classrooms. Teacher attitudes and beliefs are identified in terms of their vision of a science education inclusive of Indigenous content, their hopes for the inclusions and the impediments they perceive to implementation in classroom practice. Allowing teachers the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue resulted in the articulation of a path forward for their teaching practice that aligned with their political and social justice concerns.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aikenhead G.S. (1996). Science education: Border crossing into the subculture of science. Studies in Science Education, 27, 1–52.

Aikenhead G.S. (1998). Many students cross cultural borders to learn science: Implications for teaching. Australian Science Teachers’ Journal, 44 (4), 9–12.

Aikenhead G.S. (2001). Integrating western and aboriginal sciences: Cross-cultural science teaching. Research in Science Education, 31, 337–355.

Aikenhead G.S., & Huntley B. (1999). Teachers’ views on Aboriginal students learning western and Aboriginal science. Canadian Journal for Native Education, 23, 159–175.

Aikenhead G.S., & Jegede O.J. (1999). Cross-cultural ccience education: A Cognitive explanation of a cultural phenomenon. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36 (3), 269–287.

Aikenhead G.S., & Michell H. (2011). Bridging cultures Indigenous and scientific ways of knowing nature. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson.

Austin J. (2011). Decentering the WWW (White Western Ways): Enacting a pedagogy of multilogicality. In R. Brock , C.S. Malott & L.E. Villaverde (Eds.), Teaching Joe Kincheloe (pp. 167–184). New York: Peter Lang.

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2011a). Aboriginal and Torres strait islander histories and cultures. Retrieved October, 13, 2011, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/CrossCurriculumPriorities/Aboriginal-and-Torres-Strait-Islander-histories-and-cultures.

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2011b). The Australian curriculum. Retrieved October, 13, 2011, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Home.

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2011c). Science cross-curriculum priorities. Retrieved October, 13, 2011, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Science/Cross-Curriculum-Priorities-Aboriginal-and-Torres-Strait-Islander-histories-and-cultures.

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2012). Australian curriculum implementation survey (2012, August). Retrieved January, 23, 2015, from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Summary_of_implementation_plans_-_updated_August_2012.pdf.

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2014). Australian Curriculum F-10 overview. Retrieved August, 26, 2014, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Curriculum/Overview.

Baynes R., & Austin J. (2012). Indigenous knowledge in the Australian national curriculum for science: From conjecture to classroom practice. Paper presented at the International Indigenous Development Research Conference, Auckland, N.Z.

Burridge N., Chodkiewicz A., & Whalan F. (2012). A study of action learning and Aboriginal cultural education. In N. Burridge , F. Whalan & K. Vaughn (Eds.), Indigenous education: A learning journey for teachers, schools and communities (pp. 33–46). Rotterdam: Sense.

Burridge N., & Evans C. (2012). Carmine School. In N. Burridge , F. Whalan & K. Vaughn (Eds.), Indigenous education: A learning journey for teachers, schools and communities (pp. 77–86). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Burridge N., Whalan F., & Vaughn K. (Eds.) (2012). Indigenous education: A learning journey for teachers, schools and communites. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Chigeza P. (2007). Indigenous students in school science. Teaching Science, 53 (2), 10–15.

Chinn P.W.U. (2007). Decolonizing methodologies and Indigenous knowledge: The role of culture, place and personal experience in professional development. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44 (9), 1247–1268. doi: 10.1002/tea.20192.

Denzin N.K., & Lincoln Y.S. (2011). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 1–19). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Department of Education and the Arts. (2006). Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in schools. Brisbane: Queensland Government Retrieved October 13, 2011, from http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/indigenous/docs/indig-persp.pdf.

Fairclough N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Freire P. (1970). Notes on humanisation and its educational implications. Retrieved July, 19, 2012, from http://acervo.paulofreire.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/7891/1540/FPF_OPF_09_009.pdf.

Freire P. (2008). Pedagogy of hope. London: Continuum.

Freire P. (2009). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.

Gardner C., & Williamson J. (2006). Having a life outside teaching: The nature and amount of teachers’ out-of-hours work. Paper presented at the Australian Teacher Education Association Conference, Fremantle, Australia.

Giroux H. (2000). Public pedagogy as cultural politics: Stuart Hall and the ‘crisis’ of culture. Cultural Studies, 14 (2), 341–360.

Griffiths M. (2009). Action research for/as/mindful of social justice. In S.E. Noffke & B. Somekh (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of educational action research (pp. 85–98). Los Angeles: SAGE.

Harrison N., & Greenfield M. (2011). Relationship to place: Positioning Aboriginal knowledge and perspectives in classroom pedagogies. Critical Studies in Education, 52 (1), 65–76.

Kanu Y. (2005). Teachers’ perceptions of the integration of Aboriginal culture into the high school curriculum. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 51 (1), 50–68.

Kanu Y. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal perspectives into the school curriculum. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Kincheloe J.L. (2008). Critical pedagogy. New York: Peter Lang.

Kincheloe J.L., & Steinberg S.R. (2008). Indigenous Knowledges in education complexities, dangers, and profound benefits. In N.K. Denzin , Y.S. Lincoln & L.T. Smith (Eds.), Handbook of critical and Indigenous methodologies (pp. 135–156). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Lewis B.F., & Aikenhead G.S. (2001). Introduction: Shifting perspectives from universalism to cross-culturalism. Science Education, 85 (1), 3–5.

Lowe B., & Appleton K. (2014). Surviving the implementation of a new science curriculum. Research in Science Education, 1–26 doi: 10.1007/s11165-014-9445-7.

Maurial M. (1999). Indigenous knowledge and schooling: A continuum between conflict and dialogue. In L.M. Semali & J.L. Kincheloe (Eds.), What is Indigenous Knowledge?: Voices from the academy (pp. 59–77). New York: Falmer Press.

McIntyre A. (2008). Participatory action research. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Michie M. (2002). Why Indigenous science should be included in the school science curriculum. Australian Science Teachers Journal, 48 (2), 36–40.

Mwadime R.K.N. (1999). Indigenous knowledge systems for an alternative culture in science: The role of nutritionists in Africa. In L.M. Semali & J.L. Kincheloe (Eds.), What is Indigenous Knowledge? Voices from the academy (pp. 243–268). New York: Falmer Press.

Nakata M. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and the cultural interface: Underlying issues at the intersection of knowledge and information systems. IFLA Journal, 28 (5–6), 281–291.

Nakata M. (2008). Discipling the savages savaging the disciplines. Canberra, ACT: Aboriginal Studies Press.

Nakata M. (2010). The cultural interface of Islander and scientific knowledge. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39, 53–57.

Nakata M. (2011). Pathways for Indigenous education in the Australian curriculum framework. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 40, 1–8. doi: 10.1375/ajie.40.1.

Ogawa M. (1995). Science education in a multiscience perspective. Science Education, 79 (5), 583–593.

Quince S. (2012). Coral secondary school. In N. Burridge , F. Whalan & K. Vaughn (Eds.), Indigenous education: A learning journey for teachers, schools and communities (pp. 49–62). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Roth W.M. (Ed.) (2009). Science education from people for people: Taking a stand(point). New York: Routledge.

Sefa Dei G.J. (2000). Rethinking the role of Indigenous knowledges in the academy. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 4 (2), 111–132.

Sefa Dei G.J. (2008). Indigenous knowledge studies and the next generation: Pedagogical possibilities for anti-colonial education. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 37 (Suppl.), 5–13.

Sefa Dei G.J. (2011). Introduction. In G.J. Sefa Dei (Ed.), Indigenous philosophies and critical education (pp. 1–13). New York: Peter Lang.

Semali L.M., & Kincheloe J.L. (1999). Introduction: What is Indigenous knowledge and why should we study it? In L.M. Semali & J.L. Kincheloe (Eds.), What is Indigenous Knowledge? Voices from the academy (pp. 3–57). New York: Falmer Press.

Smith L.T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies research and Indigenous peoples. Dunedin: University of OtagoPress.

Timms C., Graham D., & Cotrell D. (2007). ‘I just want to teach’ Queensland independent school teachers and their workload. Journal of Educational Administration, 45 (5), 569–586.

Yunkaporta T.K., & McGinty S. (2009). Reclaiming Aboriginal knowledge at the cultural interface. The Australian Educational Researcher, 36 (2), 55–72.

Downloads

Published

2015-10-21

How to Cite

Baynes, R. (2015). Teachers’ Attitudes to Including Indigenous Knowledges in the Australian Science Curriculum. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 45(1), 80–90. https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2015.29

Issue

Section

Articles