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A new survey is asking Aboriginal senior high school students if they would like to become a teacher. So far, the answers are mostly “no”. The challenge now will be to turn some of those responses into “yes”.
Australia is in the grip of a nationwide teacher shortage. As Tracy Woodroffe and Khushi Chauhan write, there is a particular shortage of Aboriginal teachers. In the Northern Territory, where almost 40% of school students are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, this shortage is particularly keenly felt. So Woodroffe, who is a Warumungu Luritja woman, and Chauhan are surveying Aboriginal school students and teachers about how Aboriginal people can inspire each
other to consider a career in teaching.
Students say they want more practical information on “how to be a teacher”. They also emphasise the importance of role models to show them how joining the profession can help “the next generation [to] follow in elders’ footsteps”.
Woodroffe and Chauhan’s research is ongoing and they hope to have materials for universities and schools to use by the end of the year. In the meantime, as we celebrate NAIDOC Week, the research also gives voice to young Aboriginal people and their Aboriginal teachers.
Teachers interviewed in this study want to highlight how passion and culture are integral to helping their students learn. As one teacher said, “I am putting my own perspective on things”. These perspectives can be very powerful. As another teacher explains, their work has a simple purpose – “to combat racism”.
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Judith Ireland
Education Editor
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Tracy Woodroffe, Charles Darwin University; Khushi Chauhan, Charles Darwin University
In a new project, we are talking to Aboriginal high school students and teachers to understand how to encourage more Aboriginal people to become teachers in the Northern Territory.
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