AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
Standard 1: Know students and how they learn
Knowing how students learn in a low socio-economic school is an ongoing process of trial, error and reflection. Furthermore, teaching in low socio-economic schools means that teachers are more likely to come across diversity in linguistic, cultural and religious backgrounds. This chapter provides theoretical grounding to help pre-service and graduate teachers reflect on their own practice when learning how their students learn. In particular, it is critical that teachers understand that white privilege is often a barrier to the learning of all students, particularly in low socio-economic schools.
I found myself standing in my second prac in front of a very different class that included mostly Indigenous and Polynesian kids. They were just so different from me: they walked with a swagger, dressed in baggy jumpers despite sweat dripping down their faces, and spoke to me with edgy attitude. Throughout this four-week placement, I never saw a single parent in any of my classes. ‘Most of them just don't care’ was the response from my supervising teacher. How was I supposed to make this group of kids excited about colonial-Australian bush poetry with so many of the other teachers’ suggestions along the lines of: ‘Don't try group work with that class – they don't have the social skills’ … ‘Just get them to sit and write a lot – it keeps them quiet’?
Introduction
The preceding vignette was Kristie's written response to an early professional placement experience in a school located in a low socio-economic area on the outskirts of Brisbane, Queensland. At that time, Kristie was a high-achieving student in her third year of a four-year Bachelor of Education degree. Because of her high academic achievement, she was invited at the end of her second year of study to participate in the National Exceptional Teaching for Disadvantaged Schools (NETDS) program, an Initial Teacher Education program targeting high-poverty schooling, a sector that historically has difficulty employing and retaining teachers.
This chapter examines the personal reflections and experiences of several pre-service and newly graduated teachers who were involved in the NETDS program.