The Multicultural Classroom: Learning from Australian First Nations Perspectives

ibidem-Press, Stuttgart

This book acknowledges the past and present Traditional Custodians of the Lands across Australia and pays respect to their Culture and Identity which has been bound up with the Land and Sea for generations.

Education can only be successful if students are met where they are,

linguistically and culturally.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Preface

Chapter I Introduction

1. Background and Relevance

2. Approach and Objectives

3. Structure of the Book

Chapter II Foundations of Multicultural Classrooms

1. Language and Multilingualism

2. Culture and Multiculturalism

3. Teaching and Learning in Multicultural Classrooms

3.1 Perspectives on Diversity in Education

3.2 Implementing Bilingual and Bicultural Approaches

3.2.1 Two-Way Education

3.2.2 Immersion Education

3.3 Education Policies

Chapter III Languages and Cultures in Australia

1. Multilingualism and Multiculturalism

2. The Multicultural Australian Classroom

3. Indigenous Australia

3.1 The Bilingual Context

3.1.1 The Significance of Indigenous Languages

3.1.2 The Significance of the English Language

3.2 The Bicultural Context

Chapter IV First Nations Education in Australia

1. A History of First Nations Education

2. Foundations of Indigenous Teaching and Learning

2.1 Relationships

2.2 Storytelling and Yarning

2.3 The Concept of Shame

3. Proposed Frameworks and Pedagogies

3.1 Eight Ways of Aboriginal Learning

3.2 Culturally Nourishing Pedagogy

3.3 Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

4. Adopted Approaches in Australian Schools

4.1 Two-way Schooling

4.1.1 Two-way Bidialectal Education

4.1.2 Worawa Aboriginal College

4.2 The Stronger Smarter Approach

5. Challenges in Indigenous Australian Education

Chapter V Research Study

1. Current Research Directions

2. Objectives and Design of the Study

2.1 Procedure

2.1.1 Constructing the Interview Form

2.1.2 Transcribing the Interview Data

2.1.3 Coding the Transcripts

2.2 Sample

3. Findings

3.1 The Role of Indigenous Languages

3.1.1 Pride vs. Embarrassment

3.1.2 Recognition of Linguistic Heritage

3.1.3 Orality of Indigenous Languages

3.1.4 Code-switching

3.1.5 Language Concepts and Worldview

3.2 The Role of Indigenous Cultures

3.2.1 Pride in Culture

3.2.2 Relationship Building

3.2.3 Family and Community Involvement

3.2.4 Home Values and Worldview

3.2.5 Cultural Concepts and Learning Styles

3.3 Frequency Analyses of Language and Culture Categories

3.4 Challenges in Indigenous Education

3.4.1 Historical Burden

3.4.2 Culture-related Differences

3.4.3 Lack of Awareness and Recognition

3.4.4 Systemic Shortcomings in Education

3.4.5 Lack or Stereotypical Inclusion of Culture

3.4.6 Socio-economic and Health Parameters

3.5 Frequency Analyses of Challenge Categories

3.6 Incorporating Indigenous Perspectives

3.6.1 The Importance of Incorporating Indigenous Language and Culture

3.6.2 Strategies for Incorporating First Nations Perspectives

3.6.3 Analysis of the Honey Ant Readers Textbooks

4.1 Summary of Findings

4.2 Discussion of Findings

5. Implications for Teaching Practice

Chapter VI Conclusion and Outlook

Bibliography

Appendix: Interview Form

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Barbara Hinger, professor of foreign language education at the University of Graz, for her continuous support and for her encouragement to conduct further research in this intriguing field. Moreover, I am thankful for the valuable feedback from Eva Maria Hirzinger-Unterrainer, professor of foreign language education at the University of Innsbruck, in connection with this book.

I am also particularly grateful for the fruitful collaboration with Australian author and linguist Margaret James, who introduced me to her ambitious projects with remote Australian communities and let me use her inspiring language learning materials for my book. Moreover, the research study would not have been possible without the generous support from Prof. Juanita Sherwood, pro-vice-chancellor of Indigenous Engagement at Charles Sturt University. In addition, I would like to thank Larry Hancock, a Gumbaynggirr language teacher in New South Wales, for allowing me to include one of the songs and lyrics he composed in the traditional Indigenous language of Gumbaynggirr in this book.

Naturally, I would like to thank all the dedicated teachers, teaching assistants, principals, and university professors who were willing to share their valuable perspectives, experiences, and time with me and thereby vitally supported the research project.

Finally, a special cheers goes to all my mates in Austria, Australia, and other parts of the world for their continuous encouragement and support. I am particularly grateful for the critical eye from my friends and colleagues Alice, Elena, James, Sandra, Magdalena, Theresa, Benny, Theresa, Veronika, Nicola, Kathrin, Grit, Sofie, Alexandria, Fabian, and Lukas in connection with this book.

Without all of these special human beings, this book would have never evolved the way it did.

You are deadly!1

1 Deadly is an expression in Aboriginal English denoting fantastic (Arthur 1996).

Muya Wajaarra1

Muyalu nyanuum-bigamba ngaanya x3

Let your light come down into me (and fill me up)

Let your breath come down into me (and fill me up)

Let your spirit come down into me (and fill me up)

Let your spirit come down into me (miilarramba ngaanya)

Wajaarra nganyu (miilarramba ngaanya)

Gayirri nganyu (miilarramba ngaanya)

(guitar, sticks)

Giidany nginu jalaawa

Giidany bulaamba jalaawa

Giidany ngujaamba jalaawa

Giidany ngaanyu jalaawa (miilarramba ngaanya)

Ngayan-nginu jalaawa

Ngayan-bulaamba jalaawa

Ngayan ngujaamba jalaawa

Ngayan ngaanyu jalaawa (miilarramba ngaanya)

Muyalu-nyanuum-bigaamba ngaanya (miilarramba ngaanya) x3

Let your light come down into me (miilarramba ngaanya)

Let your breath come down into me (miilarramba ngaanya)

Let your spirit come down into me (miilarramba ngaanya)

Muyalu nyanuum-bigaamba ngaanya (miilarramba ngaanya) x3

miilarramba ngaanya x2

Spirit Come Down2

Spirit saturate me fully x3

Let your light come down into me (and fill me up)

Let your breath come down into me (and fill me up)

Let your spirit come down into me (and fill me up)

Let your spirit come down into me (fill me)

Come down to earth into me (fill me)

Pour into me (fill me)

(guitar, sticks)

Moon descend into you (one)

Moon descend into you (two)

Moon descend into you (all)

Moon descend into me (fill me)

Sun descend into you (one)

Sun descend into you (two)

Sun descend into you (all)

Sun descend into me (fill me)

Spirit saturate me fully (fill me) x3

Let your light come down into me (fill me)

Let your breath come down into me (fill me)

Let your spirit come down into me (fill me)

Spirit saturate me (fill me) x3

fill me x2

1 Song in the traditional Indigenous language of Gumbaynggirr, a variety spoken in New South Wales; lyrics and English translation by Larry Hancock, Gumbaynggirr language teacher.

2 Song in the traditional Indigenous language of Gumbaynggirr, a variety spoken in New South Wales; lyrics and English translation by Larry Hancock, Gumbaynggirr language teacher.

List of Abbreviations

ACARA Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority

ACT Australian Capital Territory

AE Aboriginal English

ATSI Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a Second Language

HARs Honey Ant Readers

IA Indigenous Australian

NAPLAN National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy

NSW New South Wales

NT Northern Territory

QLD Queensland

SA South Australia

SAE Standard Australian English

TAS Tasmania

VIC Victoria

WA Western Australia

Preface

Seeing one of your students proceed in research after having finished their diploma studies is always a pleasure for a supervisor. In her very first course on foreign language education at the University of Innsbruck, Jasmin was one of my students. Her interest in the various topics presented and discussed in the sessions was immediately observable. During her studies, Jasmin enrolled as an exchange student at the University of Technology, Sydney, where she was awarded a study abroad excellence grant. Impressed by the cultural richness and Indigenous heritage, Jasmin started to plan a research project investigating the interface of education and Indigenous cultures in Australia and decided to apply for an international research funding offered by the University of Innsbruck. Her application being successful, Jasmin returned to Australia to carry out her diploma thesis project on the very topic she presents in this book. Learning from Australians First Nations Perspectives is what Jasmin embraced to do in her exploratory, small-scale interview study with 11 experts in the field of Australian First Nations education whilst also glancing at two volumes of the Honey Ant Readers textbook series put forward by Margaret James.

All in all, it takes quite some courage and curiousness to open up to a culturally diverse and pretty different background to one’s own. Jasmin successfully stepped into that endeavor due to her goal-orientation as well as her outstandingly open-hearted and communicative qualities which made her pursue a challenging target in a self-paced way. Hence, Jasmin’s contribution offers valuable insights and fresh perspectives, strengthens research on Australian First Nations education and raises the issue of multilingual classrooms in an increasingly diverse world.

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which Jasmin carried out her research. I would also like to pay my respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

Barbara Hinger

July 2021, Graz, Austria

Chapter I

Introduction

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

Nelson Mandela, in a speech at Madison Park High School, Boston,

23 June 1990 (Ratcliffe 2018)

Nelson Mandela, one of the most distinguished activists, politicians, and revolutionaries for freedom and equality, expresses the effectiveness and fundamental importance of education in the above quote. As a result of the possibility and responsibility of equipping learners with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes for citizenship, and thus preparing them for participation in a global society, educators are accorded a highly significant role. As multilingualism and multiculturalism constitute increasing realities in societies and classrooms across the globe, it is of particular importance for educators to learn about the factors connected to students’ home language and culture that can facilitate or impede their learning and to revise teaching materials and methodology accordingly.

Due to my role as a teacher and teacher educator, the aspect of cultural diversity and student heterogeneity inside classrooms has always been of particular interest and relevance to me, something my work with refugee students as well as my research project in Australia certainly amplified. Originally, my genuine interest in approaches to teaching and learning in multicultural classrooms with a specific focus on First Nations education was kindled through a case study I conducted at an Aboriginal school. I explored their methodologies as an assignment during my study-abroad semester in Sydney. Later, my work in a transition class for juvenile refugee students in Austria reinforced this interest and generated the desire to provide the necessary, evidence-based underpinnings for a more equitable education system and effective classroom practice through research. This book presents a research project which investigated the inclusion of First Nations perspectives in the multicultural Australian school setting.

Prior to the composition of this book, which is based on a Diploma Thesis at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, some insights into the research findings were presented at international conferences and published as proceedings papers (refer to Peskoller [2019] for a publication in English and Peskoller [2018] for a publication in German). However, this book presents and discusses the research project in its entirety and grants full access to the data obtained from the Australian educational context.

The inclusive term Indigenous Australian is used throughout the book to pay respect to people past and present who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, the two Indigenous groups in Australia. Moreover, as “[o]ne of the great mythologies of Indigenous education and educational research is that there is one singular, homogeneous entity of the ‘Indigenous Community’” (Philips & Luke 2017, 960), the denotation First Nations Australians proves beneficial as a way of acknowledging them as the traditional inhabitants, owners, and custodians of the land and sea, while simultaneously alluding to the great diversity within Indigenous Australia. If not specifically annotated, the term Aboriginal is also used with the same inclusive and appreciative reference.

In this introductory chapter, the background and relevance of the study is discussed and its approach and objectives are briefly illustrated through a presentation of the underlying research questions. Finally, a structure of the book is provided.

1. Background and Relevance

In this day and age, numerous individuals with increasingly diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds meet and negotiate meaning on a regular basis. As the scope of multilingualism and multiculturalism within societies is increasing on a global scale, schools have developed into meeting places for a growing number of languages and cultures (Bierwirth et al. 2017). Consequently, discussions on the significance of including a variety of perspectives in classroom discourse and the imperative of ridding the latter of a prevailing monocultural straitjacket have emerged. Against the backdrop of these changing realities, authors have advocated for revisions and adaptions of current teaching methodologies and classroom materials in order to do greater justice to an increasingly diverse student population.

While certain areas of the world might have only recently experienced this global phenomenon, Australia’s society has always been characterized by multiculturalism. This reality derives from the fact that the country was initially inhabited by the already multilingual and multicultural First Nations peoples, constituting the oldest living culture in the world (ACARA, n.d.b), and evolved into an immigrant nation as a result of colonialization (Ellis, Gogolin & Clyne 2010, 441). More specifically, before European settlement started in 1788, at least 200 Indigenous languages were spoken throughout the country. Since many of these had regional dialects and varieties, an estimated 500 ways of speaking existed in Indigenous Australia. Unfortunately, due to processes of colonialization and atrocious policies of assimilation, fewer than 80 of these varieties have survived into the 21st century (Arthur 1996, 1). In 1978, Australia officially declared itself to be a multicultural nation (Liddicoat 2009, 190).

Today, First Nations Australians find themselves living a multilingual and multicultural life. On the one hand, traditional ways of knowing, being, and doing are still important for the maintenance of a strong sense of identity. On the other hand, showing an understanding of the dominant, non-Indigenous culture and being proficient English language speakers are essential requirements for Indigenous Australians to achieve success in society. For many Indigenous students, school education constitutes the main medium for becoming acquainted with the non-Indigenous language and culture.

As the development of high-quality materials and valuable approaches to teaching and learning constitutes a core endeavor in educational research, and due to the fact that multilingualism and multiculturalism have evolved into central characteristics of global societies and classrooms, this research study aims at providing insights from the learning context of Indigenous students in Australia, a country acclaimed for its linguistic and cultural diversity. Specifically, the project investigates factors connected with Indigenous Australian students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds that are essential for their learning in school, identifies related challenges for everyday schooling, and sheds light on educational approaches which experienced educators in the field propose for multicultural classrooms. At the interface of the increasingly multicultural nature of classrooms across the globe and the insights from First Nations education in Australia, the findings should be relevant to all educators striving to support their diverse students’ learning as best as possible.

2. Approach and Objectives

The research project aimed at identifying language- and culture-related factors that experienced educators in Indigenous education perceive as relevant for Indigenous learners. The study also attempted to identify existing challenges in First Nations education and to collect effective strategies for considering First Nations perspectives in teaching materials and methodology. In order to obtain the desired insights, semi-guided interviews were conducted with experts in Indigenous education. Specifically, the questions guiding the qualitative study read as follows:

 Which language- and culture-related factors do experienced educators perceive to impact Indigenous Australian students’ learning at school?

 Which challenges exist in teaching and learning with Indigenous Australian students and how can Indigenous perspectives be incorporated in teaching materials and methodology?

Multiple perspectives were collated in the study as Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers, teaching assistants, principals, and university lecturers shared their perspectives and experiences. Substantiated insights into the multilingual and multicultural learning context of Australian First Nations students were obtained. Based on the findings from this explorative study focusing on Indigenous Australia, strategies for teaching practice in multicultural classrooms in Australia and beyond can be derived. Hence, the outcomes and implications of the study should provide assistance to all educators in a day and age where linguistic and cultural diversity has become the global norm.