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Analysing
the issues: Some checkpoints for improving the level of student
success
This checklist has been found a useful way to assess the state
of your practice. Aspects of it will recur and be explained
elsewhere in these materials.
Check
for areas of strength and weakness.
If
you can answer most of these questions positively, you're
doing well.
General
- Have you specifically (and sensitively)
investigated the backgrounds, aspirations and needs of your
Indigenous students?
- Do you know their families and carers
on a friendly basis?
- Are processes in place for liaising
and maintaining regular contact with members of local communities?
- Do you have specific targets in place
for students’ success and have you implemented means
for their achievement?
Acknowledgment, recognition and
support of Indigenous cultures
- Are provisions in place for non-Indigenous
staff to learn about Indigenous cultures in general and
local Indigenous cultures in particular?
- Is there a recognisable Indigenous
‘presence’ in the school in terms of teaching
and employed support staff, guests to the school and other
support personnel?
- Does the school recognise and express
its respect for the cultures of its Indigenous students
in ways that are acceptable to and appreciated by students
and other members of local communities?
Developing skills
- Do you have procedures in place for
testing and, where they exist, responding to any problems
of hearing or vision impairment?
- Is intensive support available for
students whose skills in reading and writing Standard Australian
English (SAE) and numeracy are below conventional levels?
- Is regular use made of the life experiences
and knowledge of students to make connections with other
curricular content?
- Are teaching materials that deal with
Indigenous cultures in an accurate and relevant way a conventional
part of the content of the curriculum?
- Are there consistent opportunities
available for students to work cooperatively?
- Are learning activities varied (for
example, via the use of ICTs)?
- Are learning activities related to
students’ learning preferences?
Attendance and participation
Where regular attendance and consistent participation are
problems,
- do you have an individual ‘case
management’ process that has been developed with the
help of the student, his or her parents/caregivers and the
teachers concerned?
- are Indigenous peers, mentors or members
of staff used to support individual students?
- have you worked with key members
of the local community to discuss possible strategies that
might change the situation?
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