When educators begin their journey of embedding Aboriginal perspectives, one of the biggest challenges is knowing where to start, and how to sequence the work meaningfully.
Too often, I see services rushing ahead to “do something cultural” before they’ve built the understanding, relationships, and readiness needed to do it safely. This can lead to tokenism, confusion, or even unintentional harm.
That’s why at Koori Curriculum, we encourage what I call The Sandwich Approach, a layered, thoughtful process that helps teams build strong foundations before inviting community in and embedding culture across their curriculum.
Why a Step-by-Step Approach Matters
Embedding Aboriginal perspectives is not a one-off event or a single training day. It’s a long-term commitment that requires reflection, structure, and integrity.
When services skip the early groundwork, they often end up chasing their tails, unsure who to connect with, what’s appropriate to share, or how to align their practice with cultural protocols.
The Sandwich Approach provides a clear roadmap to prevent that. It helps educators move from “wanting to do something” to actually doing it well, with confidence, respect, and purpose.
Step One: Build Understanding
The first step is always understanding the ‘why.’
Before educators can meaningfully embed Aboriginal perspectives, they need to reflect on why it’s important. This involves exploring ideas such as belonging, identity, equity, social justice, and reconciliation, and considering how these connect to the children and families within their service.
At this stage, many services work with me to complete an Embedding Aboriginal Perspectives workshop, which helps staff examine their values, unpack biases, and set shared goals for moving forward together.
Step Two: Develop a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
Once a shared understanding exists, services can begin formalising their goals through a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
This is where teams translate intent into action, identifying tangible commitments, clarifying who’s responsible for what, and developing a Community Connections List that maps out local Elders, language holders, and organisations.
The RAP becomes a living document that keeps the service accountable, grounded, and forward-focused.
Step Three: Connect with Community
After educators have reflected and planned, it’s time to connect locally.
This might mean developing an Elder, Artist or Storyteller in Residence program, where community members visit regularly to share knowledge and build genuine relationships with children and educators.
It’s crucial that this step doesn’t happen prematurely. When educators invite community in without first preparing their environment or clarifying their purpose, it can feel tokenistic. But when done well, it creates powerful, lasting relationships based on reciprocity and trust.
Step Four: Deepen Practice Through Pedagogy
Once your service has begun connecting with community, the next layer is strengthening practice through pedagogy.
This is where frameworks such as the 8 Ways of Learning come in, helping educators translate cultural values into programming, observation, and curriculum design.
Through Koori Curriculum’s Programming, Planning and Pedagogy Workshop, we explore how Aboriginal ways of knowing and being can sit alongside existing frameworks like the EYLF or MTOP, creating an intercultural program that’s inclusive and responsive to all children.
This step moves educators from understanding why culture matters to embedding it into how they teach every day.
The Result: Confidence, Clarity, and Cultural Safety
When services follow this layered approach, they no longer scramble for activities or feel uncertain about what’s appropriate. Instead, they have:
✅ A clear framework for ongoing reflection.
✅ A living RAP that guides action and accountability.
✅ Strong, genuine relationships with community.
✅ A culturally grounded pedagogy that informs daily practice.
That’s what cultural capacity looks like in action, steady, relational, and built from the inside out.
Building the Whole Sandwich
At Koori Curriculum, we believe cultural inclusion isn’t about ticking boxes, it’s about transformation.
The Sandwich Approach allows educators to move through the work step by step, ensuring every layer supports the next. Because when educators understand why, plan how, and connect who, they’re ready to embed culture with care, confidence, and authenticity.
After all, reconciliation isn’t a side dish, it’s the whole sandwich.
Ready to start building your service’s sandwich?
Begin with our Embedding Aboriginal Perspectives workshop, then continue your journey through our Reconciliation Action Plan support and Programming, Planning & Pedagogy series to create meaningful, lasting change in your curriculum.
To learn more about how we can work shoulder to shoulder with your team email us to set up a call to yarn about your teams specific goals and needs
