10 Professional learning with podcasts
Shauna Hart
Podcast: #104 Engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives (with Jessica Staines)
https://www.earlyeducationshow.com/episodes/episode104
“The Early Education Show”
with early childhood professionals and advocates Lisa Bryant, Leanne Gibbs and Liam McNicholas
“Educators have a huge fear of the three words- stereotypical, offensive and tokenistic. They are really scared of doing the wrong thing and offending someone” (Staines in Bryant et al., 2019).
The hosts of this podcast engage in an important discussion with Jessica Staines, a Wiradjuri woman, Early Childhood Teacher and creator of the Aboriginal early childhood consultancy group, Koori Curriculum. They delve into discussions about the importance of educators engaging with, and the barriers educators feel when establishing Indigenous perspectives within their services. Jessica presents valuable ways educators can start to implement cultures and histories, providing a variety of resources and programs to assist educators.
Further Links mentioned in the podcast:
Koori Curriculum: https://kooricurriculum.com/. Offers professional development workshops
Koori Curriculum Educator Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1556220701054644/. Offers an online community where educators can ask questions and share ideas of the Aboriginal culture.
Reconciliation Australia: https://www.reconciliation.org.au/ Provide steps early educators need to develop a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), see strengths and identify where they need to start
Narragunnawali: https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/ Provides an online platform for professional learning and curriculum documents to assist educators to develop environments to provide higher levels of knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.
Aboriginal Early Childhood Collective: https://aboriginalecc.com/ Provides professional development training and resources for embedded Aboriginal culture in early childhood education
NAIDOC: https://www.naidoc.org.au/ Resource for educators to source events happening in the local community, and to begin to connect with local Aboriginal community.
Instructions
The digital resource includes a link to an informative podcast from early childhood experts who interview Jessica, an Aboriginal Early Childhood Teacher and creator of the Koori Curriculum website. During the podcast, the panel discuss issues of addressing and including Indigenous culture in early childhood settings, as well as providing a variety of sources educators can use to grow knowledge of Indigenous culture. The digital resource provides links to websites mentioned in the podcast for educators to access.
Educators can listen to and partake in reflective conversations about the podcast during staff meetings or planning time and access the links to build on their knowledge to confidently include Indigenous culture into their settings. During the podcast, educators can pause and have discussions about comments made by the panel and take notes about interesting and informative facts.
Rationale
This podcast is appropriate to address the educators concern as it provides information from a credible source, an Indigenous educator, about how to start embedding Indigenous culture into their settings. It is important to foster children’s cultural identity through embedding appropriate resources, experiences and discussions, and this podcast provides educators with a variety of online resources to build on their knowledge towards Indigenous cultures and histories (Mason-White, 2012; USQ, 2019). It is promotive of the practical side of Reconciliation as educators are actively researching and implementing appropriate Indigenous histories and cultures within their services (USQ, 2019d).
Links
National Quality Standards (NQS) (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA], 2020c):
- Standard 1.1: The educational program enhances each child’s learning and development:
- Element 1.1.1: Curriculum decision making contributes to each child’s learning and development outcomes in relation to their identity, connection with community, wellbeing, confidence as learners and effectiveness as communicators.
Queensland Kindergarten Guidelines (QKLG) (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority [QCAA], 2018b):
- Connectedness: Showing respect for diversity
- Learning about others’ cultures; developing understanding of Aboriginal peoples’ and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ ways of knowing and being and their connection to Country.
