Introduction
Indigenous education involves teachings about indigenous methods, models, and knowledge. In the recent past, the outcomes of indigenous education in Australia have greatly improved. The improvement is as a result of enhanced enrolment and participation of indigenous students in education. The enrolment of indigenous students in vocational education and training and tertiary sectors has increased considerably (Friesen & Krauth, 2010).
Indigenous Education and Bush School Practice
The culture of most aboriginal communities is closely aligned to their environment. The aboriginal’s perspective on land, language, and culture varies from the perspectives of other communities. It is important to identify the needs of students from these communities to provide them with an effective education (Guevremont & Kohen, 2012). Identifying a supportive education system for the aboriginal students becomes easy as a result. According to the video, Bush School is one of the educational systems used in indigenous education. It is a school environment that integrates aboriginal content and culture, such as teaching students how to ride horses, into regular curriculum (Bryan, 2009).
Indigenous students use learning styles similar to those used in their community. Examples of such styles include observation, imitation, collaboration, cooperation, and use of narratives and storytelling (Guevremont & Kohen, 2012). Such methods of learning require direct experience and learning through inclusion. The student is regarded as an important part of the community. The Bush School video highlights how aboriginal students use these styles to learn useful skills within an informal setting (Bryan, 2009).
Assessment and reporting are very essential in providing effective education. The video highlights the various aspects of assessing and reporting the achievements of aboriginal students. Other education systems, such as those adopted in western nations, emphasise on explicit instructions and testing. Such techniques may prove ineffective to indigenous students since they retain knowledge more easily when learning through methods that have succeeded in the past as opposed to other methods. The western education format is not consistent with the upbringing of the aboriginal students (Friesen & Krauth, 2010).
Indigenous students reflect the cultural, social, and economic diversity of the communities they come from (Higney, 2012). They are spread across schools in the rural, regional, and urban Australia. Majority of these students speak aboriginal English, Creole, other indigenous languages or a combination of these as their first language. As highlighted by the Bush School video, Bush Schools can integrate all these disparities, making it ‘best practice’ for indigenous students to enrol (Bryan, 2009).
Bush Schools provide specific intervention programs to meet the specific learning needs of students. The programs include strategies and trials designed to increase the enrolment of indigenous students in schools. In addition, the programs are aimed at ensuring that indigenous students meet national benchmarks in literacy and numeracy tests (Harrison, 2011). The programs encourage indigenous students to remain in school and to attend regularly. Such interventions have increased the number of indigenous students completing year 12. Consequently, the number of indigenous students proceeding to tertiary education has also increased (Guevremont & Kohen, 2012).
Engaging indigenous students in the teaching process is very essential to academic success. It provides the students with the knowledge, understanding, skills, and confidence needed to succeed in employment and higher education. Bush Schools engage indigenous students by using the community in their learning. The Bush School video shows how students are engaged in learning through horse riding and other applications. Engagement is critical for it encourages a sense of belonging and self-worth among the students (Friesen & Krauth, 2010).
For indigenous education to be successful, teaching professionals must be accountable when including aboriginal perspectives in their practice. In the Bush School video, the principal agrees to offer horse riding classes. By doing this, more aboriginal students are encouraged to continue with their education (Bryan, 2009). School leadership must ensure that aboriginal culture is made part of the school environment. Professionals must adjust their attitudes and perceptions about aboriginal communities. The school leadership must enhance the relationship between staff and the aboriginal community. Most employees working in Bush Schools have acquired knowledge on aboriginal communities. The acquisition of such knowledge has significant impacts on the way the employees interact with their colleagues, their students, and the community (Harrison, 2011).
For indigenous education to succeed, a carefully planned curriculum should be developed. The curriculum should contain a syllabus outlining what is to be taught and the teaching approaches and strategies to be adopted (Harrison, 2011). By understanding aboriginal cultures, perspectives, and disparities, Bush Schools produce a curriculum that values aboriginal history, language, and culture (Battiste, 2000).
Applications of Bush School Experience
Engaging Parents and the Larger Community
Improving the relationship between the school and the community is the launch pad to a successful and highly effective education system. The partnership should be built on the principle of cross-cultural respect between the school and the community. There are various national and state policies and programs that emphasise on this relationship (Harrison, 2011).
In addition to the process of developing partnerships between the school and the community, I have a duty of encouraging this relationship as a teacher and making it part of my professional and personal accountability. I will involve the community in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of the curriculum. I will also lobby the school administrators to enhance the inclusion of the community’s perspectives in the curriculum. The inclusion is an opportunity for cultural exchange between the teachers and the community. Such an exchange exposes the school employees to a wide range of perspectives on education (R.A. Malatest & Associates, 2002).
As a teacher, I will make efforts to attend community events and functions. My attendance will help strengthen the partnership and relationship between schools and communities, which is based on mutual trust. The experience derived from such interactions will eventually have an impact on my life as a teacher and on the curriculum. In turn, this will have an impact on the students and their overall performance (Friesen & Krauth, 2010).
There are various strategies used to strengthen the community-school partnership. One of the strategies involves keeping up with important events hosted by the local community and advertising such events using notices and newsletters. I will lobby the administration to include important community events on the school calendar (Harrison, 2011). In addition, I will create units of school work and programs that conform to the needs of the community (Ktunaxa, 2011).
Teaching Strategies
Overview
Indigenous education embeds the community’s perspectives, experiences, language, and culture in the schools’ curriculum. The inclusion of these aspects enhances the effectiveness and success of education by providing a learning environment that adheres to the students’ way of life. Such adherence makes it easy for the student to transition into adulthood. As a non-indigenous teacher, my exposure to Bush School will create awareness and increase my knowledge on the culture and traditions of indigenous communities (Harrison, 2011).
Indigenous knowledge is of great importance in the management of environment in contemporary world. The methods traditionally used in environment and land management are still very important to the society today (Ktunaxa, 2011). Indigenous communities have learnt to live sustainably in their regions and have passed the knowledge to their future generations (Downey & Pribesh, 2004). The sustainability is very important to the community. It helps them understand their surroundings better. However, I cannot say the same about indigenous communities that have been eroded through displacement (Desforges & Abouchaar, 2003).
There is value in incorporating indigenous knowledge into mainstream education. Learners from diverse backgrounds benefit when they interact with such knowledge. As a teacher, I can improve the exposure by working with elders from indigenous communities in developing a curriculum that includes authentic indigenous experiences (Nechyba, McEwan, Patric & Older-Aguilar, 1999). I will make efforts to introduce controversial topics in classrooms. I will introduce the topics through various methods tailored for particular age groups (Ktunaxa, 2011).
Classroom structure
The Bush School’s classroom structure creates a link between the community and the classroom, making it easier for students to relate to material. The figure below illustrates the classroom structure adopted by the bush school:
I will adopt a similar structure in my classroom. In such a structure, the school emphasises on group or cooperative learning characterised by an inclusive environment. The students are encouraged to learn by watching each other and observing the environment. I will avoid assuming an authoritative role and encourage regulating the learning with my students.
Conclusion
In this paper, I discussed Bush School as an example of best-practice in indigenous education. I discussed the application of Bush School experience into future teaching practice. In addition, I analyzed the involvement of community members in developing school curriculum. Finally, I discussed teaching practices that can be embedded in mainstream education.
References
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