'Decolonising' the classroom

Despite more than 200 years of struggle by Australia’s Indigenous people, colonialism is alive and well – in our classrooms at least, according to Monash research. DEREK BROWN reports

As a teacher with 25 years’ experience, Ms Faith Irving was used to the difficult task of conveying complex, adult concepts to children in a way they could understand.

But she felt overwhelmed when faced with a government directive four years ago to inform her primary students about the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families during Australia’s recent history.

“I felt ill-equipped in terms of the skills, knowledge and cultural authority needed to interpret these painful issues for children,” Ms Irving said.

Recognising she could not do justice to the topic, Ms Irving asked the grandparent of one of her Indigenous students for help.

“The experience showed me that my lack of skills was shared by most teachers. As a group, we don’t have the knowledge needed to deal appropriately with Indigenous issues, and there is often a tacit understanding among teachers that this cultural area is beyond our scope,” she said.

“As teachers, what we do in our classrooms makes a difference in the lives of young people. I saw that our lack of knowledge limited non-Indigenous students’ understanding of important issues and robbed Indigenous students of their identity.”

Inspired, Ms Irving became a doctorate student in the Faculty of Education at Monash University and began work on her thesis, ‘Walking the shared path: Change management issues for “decolonising” the classroom’.

According to Ms Irving, today’s classrooms still retain many of the misconceptions and stereotypes from Australia’s colonial past.

“We are still in a colonial mindset that classified Indigenous Australians as part of the flora and fauna of the country and now sees them as a marginal group ‘up north’.

So many people, teachers included, fail to see the reality of Indigenous culture and Indigenous people as individuals,” she says.

“With this mindset, reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is going to be a challenge.”

The director for the Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies at Monash’s Gippsland campus, Ms Marlene Drysdale, says the work is an important and constructive step in moving reconciliation forward.

“From an Aboriginal perspective, the thesis is important because it forces teachers to reassess their position,” she says.

“By taking the focus off Indigenous students and forcing teachers to look more closely at their teaching styles, Faith Irving has been able to show how teachers really are a product of their culture and are bringing a whole lot of cultural baggage to the classroom.”

Ms Drysdale says the study could be a true catalyst for change in the way Indigenous and multi-cultural issues are presented to young Victorians.

In her thesis, Ms Irving explores the kinds of support needed for teachers in teaching for and about Indigenous Victorians. Part of the solution, claims Ms Irving, is to listen to Indigenous people as they voice their own concerns and desires.

“Our current system sets the stage for inaccuracies and the formation of unhelpful stereotypes. Once in place, stereotypical views block effective communication – we see what we expect to see,” she says.

“The challenge for some non-Indigenous teachers is the extent to which they can relinquish their perceived control and learn to listen to another viewpoint.”

A lack of accurate information in the classroom has consequences for other areas of our society such as politics, the media and industry, claims Ms Irving.

Last year, Ms Irving worked as a consultant with engineers and geologists, producing a booklet designed to help them deal with issues raised by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage protection legislation and the 1993 Native Title Act.

(In the Native Title Act, the Australian government recognised the rights of Indigenous Australians to claim native title on land.)

As a result of the Act, mining industry representatives need to consult with Indigenous people regarding developments on land available for exploration and mining and covered by the Act.

“In common with the rest of the population, many people in the minerals industry workforce have had scant opportunity at school or university to learn about the true history of Australia – a real problem in view of workplace diversity,” Ms Irving says.

According to Ms Irving, inviting Indigenous people into the classroom to tell their own stories will go a long way towards providing a sound basis on which to build the relationships and effective communication that underpin reconciliation.

“It is time for the wider community to get to know Indigenous Australians, to learn about the shared history, and to plan an inclusive future that respects and values Indigenous culture and heritage,” she says.

Ms Irving hopes to channel aspects of her research to the Office of School Education, the Office of Employment, Training and Tertiary Education, the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association and tertiary providers of teacher professional development.

ACTION: The Elizabeth Eggleston Memorial Library holds more than 4000 items on Indigenous issues. Visit online at www.arts.monash.edu.au/cais/library/

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