The APSTs, do they include much Indigenous guidance?
A little, but not a lot.
The Australian professional Standards for Teachers (APSTs) let’s have a look at them! What kind and what level of representation of Indigenous knowledge and content does it contain?
The APSTs contain 37 focus areas, underneath 7 standards, of these, only 2 focus areas relate to Indigenous Australia. They are:
“Focus area 1.4
Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students” (AITSL, 2011)
“Focus area 2.4
Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.” (AITSL, 2011)
The domains they are drawn from?
“Domain: Professional Knowledge
Standard 1: Know students and how they learn.
Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it.
Domain: Professional Practice
Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning.
Standard 4: Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments.
Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
Domain: Professional Engagement
Standard 6: Engage in professional learning
Standard 7: Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community” (AITSL, 2011)
So, as 1.4 and 2.4 are drawn from professional knowledge we can assume that knowledge is all that is required - not professional practice and not professional engagement. Though both would seem important.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are clearly outlined here as a group that require specific strategies, and the verbs ‘understand’ and ‘respect’ are expected to lead towards (the verb used is ‘promote’ ) reconciliation. Which seems rather inert and odd.
So this is a super short blog, that is just my quick desk exploration of the APSTs, using a lens of Indigenous knowledge and content, to see what is available and what is missing. The next blog (the next Friday from now) will explore ways that these APSTs replicate settler thinking and ideology and propose ways that ITE might be recrafted to do a better job than what is contained within the graduate versions of the APSTs. So stay tuned for that.
But simply put, 2/37 does that seem like an appropriate level of focus and inclusion?
References
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2011). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. AITSL. From: https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/national-policy-framework/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf
Moodie, N., & Patrick, R. (2017). Settler grammars and the Australian professional standards for teachers. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 45(5), 439-454.
Running Word Count (the second 100,000): 22,320