Dear Koori Curriculum: Aboriginal pedagogies in Early Learning

Dear Koori Curriculum,

My team and I have been embedding Aboriginal perspectives in our curriculum for quite some time however we have little understanding of Aboriginal pedagogies and how/if we should be using them. Could you please offer some advice and point me in the right direction of how to get started.

Kind Regards,

Ella

Hey Ella,

Thanks for your question. Where to begin is probably a little bit contingent on where you are located as there is not one pedagogical approach but many. The first step in my mind would be to approach community or a local Aboriginal org such as your Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) to seek consultation and advise on what is appropriate and endorsed for use in your area.

In the mean time the following resources may be of interest to you:

-          Teaching Indigenous Students https://kooricurriculum.com/products/teaching-indigenous-students-cultural-awareness-and-classroom-strategies-for-improving-learning-outcomes?_pos=1&_psq=teaching+Indigenous+stu&_ss=e&_v=1.0

-          Educator Yarns Season 3 Episode 5: Curriculum and Pedagogies with Angie Camilleri https://kooricurriculum.com/blogs/news/educator-yarns-season-3-episode-5-curriculum-and-pedagogies-with-angie-camilleri?_pos=1&_sid=501eb8921&_ss=r

-          Two well known and readily used approaches are The 8ways of Learning and Possum Skin Pedagogy. I have also provided links here if you wanted to do some further research and reading.

https://www.8ways.online

https://agecs.org.au/possum-skin-pedagogy-a-guide-for-early-childhood-practitioners/

Additionally, we also discuss the use of Aboriginal pedagogies in our “Programming and Planning Seminars” which are available both in person and online. In this session we show educator case studies on how Aboriginal pedagogies are being used to guide and inform practice. You can learn more about these sessions here: https://kooricurriculum.com/pages/programming-and-planning-seminar?_pos=5&_sid=26549e511&_ss=r

I hope that helps. Please let us know how you get on.

Kind Regards,

Jess and Team

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