Abstract:
A RECENT REVIEW OF TEACHER EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA REVEALED THAT EARLY CAREER TEACHER BELIEVED THEY HAD NOT BEEN ADEQUATELY PREPARED TO TEACH FOR THE NEEDS OF ABORIGINAL STUDENTS, AND/OR THOSE FROM DIVERSE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC BACKGROUNDS. THEIR CONCERNS WERE INFORMED BY TEACHING EXPERIENCE IN SCHOOLS CATERING FOR STUDENTS FROM DIVERSE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC BACKGROUNDS AS WELL AS THE AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS (AITSL). THESE STANDARDS CAN BE VIEWED AS GOVERNMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH SEEK TO ORIENT TEACHER EDUCATION TOWARDS NARROW CONCEPTIONS OF THE COMPETENT CLASSROOM TEACHER. HOWEVER, THEY CAN ALSO PROMPT TEACHER EDUCATORS TO REFLECT UPON THEIR OWN PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES AND WHETHER THESE ARE DEVELOPING CAPACITIES AND DISPOSITIONS THAT HELP PRE-SERVICE
RESPOND TO THE DIVERSE CULTURAL, LINGUISTIC AND EMBODIED PRACTICES OF STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS. THIS PAPER REPORTS UPON ON A CASE STUDY OF A FOURTH-YEAR COURSE WITHIN A BACHELOR OF EDUCATION (PRIMARY/MIDDLE), WHICH SPECIFICALLY AIMED TO DEVELOP CRITICAL REFLECTION, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AS WELL AS CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE ORIENTATIONS AND PEDAGOGIES. I FIRST PROVIDE A CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEW BEFORE ADDRESSING THEORETICAL ORIENTATIONS AROUND CULTURE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES AS THESE RELATE TO HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION HPE. I THEN REPORT UPON SPECIFIC PRACTICES AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES FROM THE HPE CLASS IN THE COURSE. LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND STRATEGIES THAT SET OUT TO FOSTER AN APPRECIATION OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO ACTUALLY PRACTICE CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES WILL BE PRESENTED. STUDENT WORK SAMPLES, QUESTIONS AND REFLECTIONS WILL BE ANALYSED AND DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO RECOGNISING AND VALUING DIVERSE CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES, DEMONSTRATION OF BROADENED CULTURAL UNDERSTANDINGS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES. THE PARTICULAR CASE STUDY IS SITUATED WITHIN THE AUSTRALIAN CONTEXT, HENCE, NO GENERALISABLE CLAIMS ARE MADE. I DO THOUGH SEEK TO MAKE CONNECTIONS FOR OTHERS PREPARING TEACHERS TO TEACH HPE TO STUDENTS FROM DIVERSE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC BACKGROUNDS. I CONCLUDE IN ARGUING THAT IF HPE PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS ARE TO DEVELOP DEEP AND GENERATIVE PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES THAT CAN BE RESPONSIVE TO THE DIVERSE CULTURAL, LINGUISTIC AND EMBODIED PRACTICES OF STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS, TEACHER EDUCATORS ALSO NEED TO CONFRONT THEIR ASSUMPTIONS, INCLUDING HOW THESE MIGHT BE INFORMED BY A NATION’S COLONIAL PAST. OF CONSEQUENCE IS HOW HPE TEACHER EDUCATORS ORIENT THEIR PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN WAYS THAT PROMOTE AND MODEL CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES.
RESPOND TO THE DIVERSE CULTURAL, LINGUISTIC AND EMBODIED PRACTICES OF STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS. THIS PAPER REPORTS UPON ON A CASE STUDY OF A FOURTH-YEAR COURSE WITHIN A BACHELOR OF EDUCATION (PRIMARY/MIDDLE), WHICH SPECIFICALLY AIMED TO DEVELOP CRITICAL REFLECTION, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AS WELL AS CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE ORIENTATIONS AND PEDAGOGIES. I FIRST PROVIDE A CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEW BEFORE ADDRESSING THEORETICAL ORIENTATIONS AROUND CULTURE AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES AS THESE RELATE TO HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION HPE. I THEN REPORT UPON SPECIFIC PRACTICES AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES FROM THE HPE CLASS IN THE COURSE. LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND STRATEGIES THAT SET OUT TO FOSTER AN APPRECIATION OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO ACTUALLY PRACTICE CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES WILL BE PRESENTED. STUDENT WORK SAMPLES, QUESTIONS AND REFLECTIONS WILL BE ANALYSED AND DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO RECOGNISING AND VALUING DIVERSE CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES, DEMONSTRATION OF BROADENED CULTURAL UNDERSTANDINGS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES. THE PARTICULAR CASE STUDY IS SITUATED WITHIN THE AUSTRALIAN CONTEXT, HENCE, NO GENERALISABLE CLAIMS ARE MADE. I DO THOUGH SEEK TO MAKE CONNECTIONS FOR OTHERS PREPARING TEACHERS TO TEACH HPE TO STUDENTS FROM DIVERSE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC BACKGROUNDS. I CONCLUDE IN ARGUING THAT IF HPE PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS ARE TO DEVELOP DEEP AND GENERATIVE PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES THAT CAN BE RESPONSIVE TO THE DIVERSE CULTURAL, LINGUISTIC AND EMBODIED PRACTICES OF STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS, TEACHER EDUCATORS ALSO NEED TO CONFRONT THEIR ASSUMPTIONS, INCLUDING HOW THESE MIGHT BE INFORMED BY A NATION’S COLONIAL PAST. OF CONSEQUENCE IS HOW HPE TEACHER EDUCATORS ORIENT THEIR PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN WAYS THAT PROMOTE AND MODEL CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES.