“Let’s make the change”: addressing the knowledge gaps and building confidence in teaching Aboriginal perspectives for pre-service teachers

Teaching Aboriginal perspectives and Aboriginal students by non-Indigenous teachers can feel daunting; however, this need not be the case. This study focuses on two frameworks that can be used to motivate pre-service teachers to feel more confident in teaching Aboriginal perspectives even when starting with trepidation in this area. To explain further, this study explored the impact an Aboriginal Contexts in Education unit had on pre-service teachers’ readiness to teach Aboriginal students and Aboriginal curriculum. Through two frameworks pre-service teachers were exposed to a range of Aboriginal perspectives through Aboriginal educators, authors, and resources, and spoke of their appreciation of the complexity of lived experiences amongst Aboriginal Australians. Students spoke of the misconceptions they had before the unit and their journey towards a more culturally responsive position. The study found that students developed an intrinsic respect for the value and relevance of Aboriginal knowledges to their Learning Areas. Developed from a cross-section of responses of pre-service teachers, the findings have immediate relevance to educators of all disciplines aiming to authentically engage students with Aboriginal perspectives as part of their professional learning.