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Tweed River on Learning from Country Tweed River on Learning from Country

From Country to the classroom: building relationships that empower teachers, students and communities

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Photo: Courtesy of Culturally Nourishing Schooling project.

UNSW Media
UNSW Media,

Research finds taking teachers onto Country can improve schooling for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Taking teachers out of the classroom and onto Country is building connections and confidence to imbed cultural knowledges and community understandings in classrooms across the state, says research led by UNSW Sydney.

The (CNS) engages teachers, school leaders, local Aboriginal Cultural Mentors and community members through strategies designed to develop teacher confidence and improve educational engagement of Aboriginal students.

鈥淭his holistic, community-wide approach to education is enabling our CNS schools to boost local connections, build trust between teachers and students, and increase cultural understanding,鈥 says Lead Investigator on the CNS project, Associate Professor Kevin Lowe, Scientia Indigenous Fellow at the School of Education, UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture.

Four years into the project, teachers are reporting increased confidence to engage more fully and authentically with their Indigenous students, to embed Aboriginal perspectives in their teaching, and to build relationships with families and community members.

鈥淭hese changes are transforming students鈥 learning experiences, with teachers reporting increased class attendance rates, noticeably improved student engagement and eagerness to learn, a renewed sense of cultural pride and a heightened sense of belonging,鈥 says A/Prof. Lowe.

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Kevin Lowe
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Kevin Lowe,
Learning from Country is a critical step in the CNS project, which seeks to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students鈥 educational experiences and outcomes by helping teachers deliver culturally responsive curriculum. Photo: Courtesy of Culturally Nourishing Schooling project

Building connection and confidence

Learning from Country, along with the other educationally aligned , encourages teachers to think, act and relate differently in relation to Aboriginal students and the places and histories they are grounded in.

A published in the Australian Educational Researcher shares insights from the CNS project. It documents the impact of learning from Country on teachers' understandings of place and community.

鈥淟earning from Country is about deepening understanding of Country and the local contexts of each community鈥檚 schooling experiences, its histories and lived experiences, important socio-historical events and cultural knowledge,鈥 says Dr David Coombs, lead author of the study from the School of Education. 鈥淚t creates a sense of belonging and inclusivity and positions Aboriginal people as knowledge holders.鈥

According to , teachers can be hesitant to or avoid teaching Aboriginal content for several reasons, including their own lack of education. Learning from Country attempts to resolve this by connecting teachers to their local area through Aboriginal relationships to Country and to local families and communities.

鈥淚t's vital to have a strong relationship within your school and your community so that students feel valued,鈥 says Tracey Kingi, a Cultural Mentor from Tweed River High School. 鈥淲hen we get people coming in from the community, the kids see that and they get a real sense that it's part of their identity.

鈥淭hey see someone in the school that they know 鈥 the Aunties, the Uncles 鈥撀燼nd that sort of builds their confidence to be able to engage with their education.鈥
It creates a sense of belonging and inclusivity and positions Aboriginal people as knowledge holders.
Dr David Coombs
UNSW School of Education

The CNS team is working with eight schools in urban, rural and remote settings across NSW. Each year a cohort of teachers participates in professional learning strategies, starting with two-day Learning from Country activities led by local Elders and CNS Cultural Mentors.

CNS teachers reported an increased understanding of and connection to community and the fundamental importance of Country in learning and teaching.

鈥淭eachers described greater appreciation of the diversity within Aboriginal communities and cultures and developed a more nuanced and localised understanding of place, community and knowledge,鈥 says Dr Coombs.

鈥淭he Culturally Nourishing Schooling project has been invaluable for building a connection with the local community, which I think has been helpful not just as an early career teacher, but for all teachers 鈥 especially teaching within a new community,鈥 says Julia Dimitriadis, a teacher at Matraville Sports High School. 鈥淵ou really do need to build those local connections and Culturally Nourishing Schooling has been fantastic for helping me do that.鈥

The initial trial of the CNS model will conclude at the end of 2024. If the program can secure additional funding, it is anticipated that the trial will be extended to involve new schools from across New South Wales, as well as researchers and schools from Victoria and South Australia.

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