Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom

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deliberate and explicit measures exist within each school to
provide mentoring and leadership for teachers with respect
to incorporating Aboriginal perspectives into their practice
••
teachers reach out to our [Aboriginal] communities and
community organizations to help us provide cultural learning
opportunities for students and learn with the students
••
there is a comfort level among teachers who are reaching out
and receiving support from the local communities
••
natural and authentic conversations are happening in
schools about Aboriginal knowledge and content — involving
all members of the school community, not just teachers
••
teachers truly believe in success for all students (if you move
the bar up and believe that every student can achieve that
then you will see students and educators strive to do so)
••
we have teachers and administrators taking risks to change
their practice in attempting to promote better Aboriginal
education
••
teaching practice is open to a diversity of perspectives,
including Aboriginal & student views when building learning
opportunities
••
students’ own ideas of success are taken into account
(teachers communicate with individual students about how
they feel about their learning and their achievements)
••
culturally sensitive instruments and processes are used to
gather student and community satisfaction information,
and this information is used to inform schooling decisions (e.g.,
processes would include qual itative questions such as, “Do you
feel a stronger connection to your school? Do you feel stronger
connection to your culture and language?” — questions such as
are already included in many school satisfaction surveys)
••
teachers use encouraging language, practices, and actions, and
provide frequent recognition for achievements of various kinds
••
teachers nurture and foster curiosity, regardless of time
restraints, transitions, developmental age, and the constant
barrage of stimulation (including the overabundance of
information)
••
teachers are finding new ways for students to express
knowledge (as opposed to paper and pen examinations)
66 Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom: Moving Forward