Teaching Indigenous Students: Cultural awareness and classroom strategies for improving learning outcomes

Indigenous children, like all children, deserve a future they choose for themselves. This book aims to empower teachers to help halt the cycle of disadvantage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and make a real difference to their relationships, learning outcomes and opportunities in the short and long term.

Based on their many years of experience in teaching and research, the authors provide approaches that have been proven to be effective. There are strategies for developing sensitivity to a student's cultural background, creating a tone in the classroom conducive to learning, building strong teacher-student relationships and effectively managing student behaviour. The authors show how to bridge the demands of the curriculum with the learning Indigenous students bring with them to the classroom and how to work with the learning styles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. There is a focus on the best approaches for assessment and an exploration of the particular challenges for teachers of students in remote locations.

Both practical and inspiring, this is an essential reference for all teachers working with Indigenous students, whether they be in the city or rural areas, in a class of twenty-five or just one student.

'Teaching Indigenous Students should be essential reading for all educators. This book will challenge the mind and stir the spirit of the practitioner and will help forge a new future for the teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. A seminal piece of work.' - Professor Mark Rose, Executive Director of Indigenous Strategy and Education, La Trobe University

'Hayward and Perso provide the knowledge, wisdom and insights that guarantee success to any teacher who is prepared to embrace their messages, and work hard to make Indigenous students stronger and smarter.' - Dr Chris Sarra, Chairman, Stronger Smarter Institute

'This is a quality piece of work that will contribute to a more informed Australian teaching workforce and more happier and successful Indigenous learners.' - Professor Peter Buckskin PSM FACE, Dean, Indigenous Scholarship, Engagement and Research, University of South Australia

Teaching Indigenous Students has been shortlisted for the 2016 Educational Publishing Awards in the category Tertiary (Wholly Australian) Student Resource.

About the Author

THELMA PERSO is an honorary fellow with the Menzies School of Health Research. She has over 30 years' experience as both a classroom teacher and in educational positions and has worked extensively in the area of culturally responsive frameworks and pedagogies. PROFESSOR COLLEEN HAYWARD is head of Kurongkurl Katitjin, Edith Cowan University's Centre for Indigenous Education and Research and is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Equity and Indigenous). She has many years' experience in health, education and training and is a senior Noongar woman with extensive family links throughout the south-west of Western Australia.