Self-Concept Research: Driving International Research Agendas

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1 Is the Dawn Breaking? The First Empirical Investigations of the Impact of Mandatory Aboriginal Studies Teacher Education Courses on Teachers Self-concepts and Other Desirable Outcomes Rhonda G. Craven University of Western Sydney Australia Decades of government reports from a variety of education stakeholders have called upon Australian teacher education institutions to introduce mandatory Aboriginal Studies in teacher education courses to help to address Aboriginal educational disadvantage and further the cause of reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australians. Recently, a significant historic change has been unfolding whereby a number of Australian teacher education institutions have introduced such courses as a component of undergraduate teacher education degrees, however, the presumed benefits of mandatory courses have not been demonstrated by empirical research. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of two in progress national studies which are the first empirical investigations designed to elucidate the impact of mandatory Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses on primary preservice and serving teachers self-concepts of their ability to understand and effectively teach Aboriginal Studies. The findings of these studies suggest that the introduction of mandatory Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses offers promise in facilitating a new dawn to break in empowering a nation to understand and address Aboriginal Studies issues. Look up, my people, The dawn is breaking, The world is waking To a bright new day, When none defame us, No restriction tame us, Nor colour shame us, Nor sneer dismay (Noonuccal, 1990, p. 40). This extract from the poem Song of Hope were some of the words the late Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker) one of Australia s foremost Aboriginal poets and Aboriginal educators (for an overview see Cochrane, 1994; Craven, 1994; Shoemaker (ed.), 1994) forged to educate a nation about the need for reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australians. Oodgeroo firmly believed that education was the key to ensuring a new dawn could emerge for her people. Up until her death she was working on what eventually may be considered one of her most lasting legacies to the nation a dream that she had, a dream to ensure that all teachers were taught to understand and teach Aboriginal Studies effectively in schools (see Craven, 1994; Craven (Ed.), 1996a; 1996b; Craven, 1996c; 1996d; 1996e). She believed that requiring all Australian preservice teachers to undertake a mandatory Aboriginal Studies teacher education course could establish a generational shift whereby Aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australians could forge a more socially just Australia based on mutual respect and understanding. Oodgeroo has not been alone in her calls to encourage teacher education institutions to introduce mandatory Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses. In fact decades of reports since the 1970s (see Craven, 1999a; 1999b for an overview) from a wide range of education stakeholders have emphasised the need to reform the teacher education curriculum to adequately prepare student teachers to teach Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal children effectively. For example, in 1998, the Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE) developed National Standards and Guidelines for Initial 1 Teacher Education. Significantly, their very first two guidelines to deal with curriculum content were that: Graduates should have developed the knowledge, understandings, capabilities and dispositions to effectively teach Indigenous students, and to teach all students about Indigenous issues Graduates should be able to incorporate Indigenous perspectives in the curriculum of the content areas they teach; and they should be able to participate in the development and implementation of school-based Indigenous studies programs and related school policies and practices, and to respond effectively to issues related to Indigenous Australians which arise in the course of their professional work (Australian Council of Deans of Education, 1998, p. 10). More recently, the ACDE, has reiterated these concerns in a 2001 submission to the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education References Committee s inquiry into the capacity of public universities to meet Australia s higher education needs. The submission repeated a set of recommendations by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission s National Inquiry into Rural and Remote Education which included: Recommendation 5.9d: All teacher training institutions should require undergraduates to study a module on cross-cultural teaching with a particular emphasis on teaching Indigenous students and teaching in Indigenous communities. More advanced Indigenous education subjects should also be available as electives (p. 7). Here again, the ACDE emphasised a need for mandated units in Indigenous issues in preservice teacher education. Craven (1999a) stressed that "A new day must dawn in teacher education as history will judge us on the actions we take now" (p. 19). She concluded that: The dawn is at hand for social educators. It is time for all of us to be committed to ensuring Aboriginal Studies is a natural component of the teacher education curriculum for both preservice and inservice teacher education. In so doing, we can ensure Australia is a society that we can all be proud of and forge the nation's future together with open hearts and minds committed to Reconciliation based on mutual respect and understanding (Craven, 1999a, p. 26).

2 Recently a historic change has been taking place in Australian teacher education institutions whereby a dramatic shift has occurred in the number of teacher education institutions requiring student teachers to undertake a core Aboriginal Studies teacher education course. Dunkin (2002) has found that Among the 36 Australian institutions, there are 54 teacher education programs other than those designed specifically for Indigenous students. Twenty six (approximately 48%) of those programs include compulsory units of Indigenous Studies (Dunkin, 2002, p. 21). Given, in 1992, only one University in Australia, required student primary teachers to undertake a core Aboriginal Studies subject, this increase is dramatic. However, it is also important to note that in 2002 some 50% of teacher education programs have not heeded calls for the introduction of core Aboriginal Studies courses, nor has any education system required beginning teachers to have undertaken a core Aboriginal Studies teacher education course. Such statistics may suggest that many of our teacher educators are either continuing to ignore calls for the introduction of core subjects or are not convinced of the value of introducing such subjects. Craven (2000, p. 72) has noted that: Given most core Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses have been introduced only recently, no systematic evaluation of these courses has as yet been undertaken. It seems timely to evaluate the presumed benefits of such courses to: Test the value of introducing mandatory courses as a strategic teacher education policy; elucidate key strengths of existing courses that can be emulated by other institutions; and identify current weaknesses of existing courses to enable institutions to strengthen recently introduced courses. To begin to address these issues, two studies have been commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Technology to evaluate the impact of preservice primary teacher education Aboriginal Studies courses on preservice and practising teachers self-perceived abilities to effectively teach Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students in primary schools. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of key preliminary quantitative results emerging from these in-progress studies. Instrumentation and Data Analysis Procedures The amount of Aboriginal Studies content covered in preservice teacher education courses was measured by teachers ratings of the amount they had been taught about 21 topics (e.g. Contact history, present issues, teaching resources) on a 1-5 Likert scale (1 Nothing, 2 Almost Nothing, 3 A Little, 4 A Fair Amount, or 5 A Lot ). Three scales were derived from the mean of a subset of seven topics to reflect what students had been taught about pedagogy, Aboriginal history and current issues. The mean of these latter three scales was calculated to reflect the total amount of content student teachers had been taught. In addition postgraduate teachers were asked to rate the extent to which they had taught or drawn upon the 21 topics listed. Teachers ability and willingness to teach Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students was measured by teachers ratings of 53 declarative sentences based upon a 1-9 Likert scale that ranged from 1 Definitely false to 8 Definitely true. From this item pool five scales were generated to measure teachers self-concept (see Table 1). The first four scale scores comprised equal numbers of items that reflected cognitive and affective domains of self-concept (see Table 1). Hence, the first four scale scores were further analysed as 8 separate scale scores comprising four cognitive and four affective scales. The average of the first four scale scores was also computed to derive a total Aboriginal Studies self-concept scale. Other outcome variables assessed teachers self-perceptions of the extent that they valued the importance of teaching Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students and their commitment to doing so (see Table 2). Two additional scales measured postgraduate teachers perceptions of their students knowledge or preservice teachers perceptions of what they predict their students will learn from them, and teachers perceptions of their knowledge of departmental requirements in relation to teaching Aboriginal Studies (see Table 3). A series of ANOVAs were undertaken to test for differences in item and scale groups across the three different types of teacher education courses (core, elective and perspectives). Post hoc analyses were undertaken to elucidate significant course type effects. Differences between core and elective courses were further scrutinised by undertaking ANCOVA to control for T1 effects. A series of multiple regressions were computed to illuminate the relations between variables of interest. Study 1: The Impact of Preservice Courses on Student Teachers Perceptions Participants Participants were student teachers (n=797) from 16 universities, 9 with core courses (n=408), 3 offering electives (n=160), 5 offering perspectives across the teacher education curriculum (n=229) from five Australian states. Students participating in core and elective courses were invited to complete the survey on two occasions - before commencing their course and after they had completed their course - whereas students undertaking perspectives across the teacher education curriculum were invited to complete the survey on one occasion. AmountTaught about Topics Results Results based on ANOVAs indicated that for all 21 topics measured statistically significant differences (p<.001) were present for the different types of teacher education courses. Multiple comparisons of the different types of teacher education courses based on post hoc analyses demonstrated that for all 21 topics student teachers who had undertaken a core course had statistically significant higher scores in regards to what they reported learning about each topic compared to students who had 2

3 undertaken either an elective or perspective course and students who had undertaken an elective course reported learning more about each topic compared to students who had undertaken a perspective course (see Table 4). Results based on ANCOVA demonstrated that scores for students who had undertaken a core course in comparison to students who had undertaken an elective course were statistically significant after controlling for T1 scores, which offers further research support for the validity of the findings. Similarly the results of analyses based on the scale scores of learning pedagogical skills to teach Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students, learning about Aboriginal history, and learning about current issues were all statistically significant (p<.001) for ANOVAs testing, for differences between courses and for post hoc comparisons based on both ANOVAs (p<.001) and ANCOVAs (p<.001) (see Figure 1). These results suggest that students undertaking core courses are taught significantly more about 21 Aboriginal Studies topics compared to students who undertake either elective or perspectives courses. These results offer strong support for the value of core courses in ensuring student teachers are taught about a range of key Aboriginal Studies topics that focus on teaching teachers: how to teach Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students; understandings of key themes and events in Aboriginal history, and understandings of key contemporary issues of concern. Hence, these results offer empirical support to calls advocating the introduction of mandatory Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses to ensure preservice teachers are taught a broad coverage of key Aboriginal Studies topics. The higher scores for students who have undertaken a core course in comparison to scores for students who have undertaken elective courses are particularly interesting. It is possible to surmise that elective courses should produce higher content coverage scores given that this is a self-selected and therefore, a positively biased sample in that students are intrinsically motivated to learn more about Aboriginal Studies, choose to do elective courses, and are attracted to such courses by the content they contain. It is also possible to surmise that elective courses may contain content that is more narrowly focused on specific topics (e.g. Teaching Aboriginal children) in comparison to core courses, which may explain why core courses clearly cover more content than elective courses. However, given content coverage scores for elective courses in comparison to perspective courses are higher and that perspective courses are by their very nature espoused to cover a range of topics, the results suggest that elective courses are clearly more successful in content coverage than perspective courses but clearly not nearly as successful as core courses. Impact on Self-Concept Comparison of self-concept scores demonstrated that significant differences (p<.001) were present between groups for all facets of self-concept with the exception of general teaching self-concept. These results are important in offering further support for the validity of the findings in that whilst students from different types of Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses had significantly 3 different scores in relation to all facets of Aboriginal Studies teaching self-concept measured, these groups did not differ in relation to their perceptions of their teaching self-concept in general. Post hoc comparisons demonstrated that students who had undertaken core courses had statistically significant higher knowledge, teaching Aboriginal students, teaching Aboriginal Studies, Aboriginal community consultation, and total Aboriginal Studies teaching self-concepts compared to either students who had undertaken elective or perspective courses and students who had undertaken elective courses had higher self-concepts in all facets compared to students who had undertaken perspective courses (see Table 5 and Figure 2). The results for core versus elective courses were also statistically significant when T1 self-concept scores were controlled for in a series of ANCOVAs. Parallel analyses were conducted separately for cognitive and affective components of self-concept. Significant differences were present between groups for all cognitive and affective self-concept scales with the exception of the general teaching affective scale and the general teaching cognitive scale. Post hoc analyses examining cognitive components of self-concept demonstrated that students who had undertaken a core course had statistically significant higher knowledge, teaching Aboriginal students, teaching Aboriginal Studies, Aboriginal community consultation, and total Aboriginal Studies teaching cognitive self-concepts compared to either students who had undertaken elective or perspective courses. The results for core vs elective courses were also statistically significant when T1 cognitive self-concept scores were controlled for in the ANCOVA, which offers further support for the validity of the findings. In addition, students who had undertaken elective courses had higher self-concepts in all facets compared to students who had undertaken perspective courses (see Table 6). Post hoc analyses examining affective components of self-concept demonstrated that students who had undertaken a core course had statistically significant higher knowledge and total Aboriginal Studies teaching affective self-concepts compared to either students who had undertaken elective or perspective courses and these differences were also statistically significant when T1 scores were controlled for in the ANCOVA (see Table 6). Students who had undertaken a core course did not have statistically significant higher affective self-concept scores in the domains of teaching Aboriginal students or Aboriginal community consultation in comparison to students who had undertaken an elective course. However, after controlling for T1 scores students who had undertaken a core course had significantly higher Aboriginal Studies teaching affective self-concepts in comparison to scores for students who had undertaken an elective course (see Table 6). Students who had undertaken a core course also had statistically significant higher scores (p<.001) on all affective facets of selfconcept in comparison to students who had undertaken perspective courses. Students who had undertaken an elective course had statistically significant higher scores compared to students who had undertaken elective courses for knowledge of content, Aboriginal Studies teaching, Aboriginal community consultation, and total affective

4 self-concept domains (see Table 6). No significant differences were present for teaching Aboriginal students affective self-concept scores for students who had undertaken an elective course in comparison to scores for students who had undertaken a perspective course. These results suggest that core courses in comparison to either elective or perspectives courses have a stronger impact overall on preservice teachers self-concepts and specifically in relation to the highly desired educational goals of feeling positive about their abilities to understand Aboriginal Studies content matter, teach Aboriginal Studies, teach Aboriginal students, and consult with Aboriginal communities. A good self-concept has been demonstrated by a respected body of international research to be an important outcome of education in itself and to have a causal impact on a range of desirable educational outcomes. As such, these results offer important empirical evidence supporting the value of mandatory Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses in enhancing preservice teachers Aboriginal Studies self-concepts in facets of teaching self-concept considered as important prerequisites to facilitate successful implementation of Aboriginal Studies in the classroom. The higher selfconcept scores for students undertaking core studies in comparison to students undertaking electives is interesting, in that it might be expected that the self-selected sample of students undertaking elective courses would have both higher course entry and course exit self-concepts in comparison to students required rather than choosing to undertake a core course. As such these results, especially results controlling for T1 scores based on ANCOVA s, offer further support for the validity of the findings and attest to the strength of core courses in being effective in enhancing student teachers self-concepts. courses were demonstrated to have a higher impact than perspectives courses on preservice student teachers selfconcepts. These results suggest that elective courses are more effective than perspectives courses in producing a desirable impact on preservice teachers self-concepts. However, elective courses do not seem as effective as core courses in producing such outcomes. The results based on analyses of cognitive and affective components of self-concept are also interesting. These results demonstrate that core courses in comparison to elective or perspective courses and elective courses in comparison to perspective courses impact more positively on student teachers cognitive facets of Aboriginal Studies self-concept. These results suggest that core Aboriginal Studies in teacher education courses are most effective in enhancing preservice teachers perceptions of their capabilities in understanding and teaching Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students effectively and elective courses achieve more positive outcomes in relation to cognitive domains of self-concept in comparison to perspectives courses. Clearly preservice teachers who have undertaken a core course have higher self-concepts in regards to knowing more about content, more about teaching Aboriginal Studies, more about teaching Aboriginal students, and more about consulting with Aboriginal community groups than preservice teachers who have not undertaken core courses. These results suggest that core courses empower student teachers with 4 the knowledge, skills and attitudes to feel that they will be effective teachers of Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students. In relation to affective domains of self-concept the results suggest that core courses facilitate students appreciation and enjoyment of: learning more about Aboriginal Studies content, and teaching Aboriginal Studies in comparison to elective courses and all affective aspects measured by the study instrumentation in relation to perspectives courses. It would be reasonable to assume that teachers who appreciate and enjoy a specific subject are more likely to be committed to and actually teach such subjects. Hence, these results offer important empirical support for the value of core courses in relation to impacting positively upon affective self-concept domains. Impact on Values Results based on ANOVAs indicated that for all five facets of values measured statistically significant differences (p<.001) were present for the different types of teacher education courses. Multiple comparisons of the different types of teacher education courses based on post hoc analyses demonstrated that student teachers who had undertaken a core course had statistically significant higher scores for all values measured compared to students who had undertaken either an elective or perspective course (see Table 7 and Figure 3). Significant differences between scores for student teachers undertaking core courses compared to scores for student teachers undertaking elective courses were also present for 4 of the 5 value areas measured when T1 scores were controlled. Significant differences between these groups were not present for the importance of teaching Aboriginal Studies when T1 scores were controlled for (see Table 7). Students who had undertaken an elective course also displayed statistically significantly higher scores on all values areas measured with the exception of valuing teaching Aboriginal Studies in comparison to scores for students who had undertaken perspectives courses. These results suggest that core courses have a significant positive impact on preservice teachers values in relation to: Appreciating the rationale for teaching Aboriginal Studies, their commitment to doing so, their appreciation of the value of teaching Aboriginal Studies, high regard for departmental Aboriginal Studies education policies, and the extent to which they feel it is important to teach Aboriginal Studies well. This impact is stronger for core courses in comparison to elective courses for all areas perhaps with the exception of the perceived importance to teach Aboriginal Studies well which both groups hold in high regard. Often arguments against requiring students to undertake core courses are based upon the untested presumption that requiring students to undertake such courses can result in resentment which undermines student receptivity to course content. In contrast these results suggest that core courses can have a positive influence on values that are perhaps greater than what might be expected to result from either elective or perspectives courses.

5 Impact on other Outcomes Results based on ANOVAs indicated that for teachers self-perceptions of their ability to implement departmental requirements and perceptions of predicted student knowledge statistically significant differences were present for the different types of teacher education courses. Multiple comparisons of the different types of teacher education courses based on post hoc analyses demonstrated that student teachers who had undertaken a core course had statistically significant higher scores for predicted student knowledge compared to students who had undertaken either an elective (p<.018) or perspective (p<.001) course. Results based on ANCOVA also demonstrated that students who had undertaken core courses had higher predicted student knowledge scores (p<.030) compared to students undertaking elective courses after controlling for T1 scores. Students who had undertaken an elective course also had significantly, higher predicted student knowledge scores (p<.001) compared to students who had undertaken perspectives courses. Students who had undertaken core courses also displayed higher implementation of departmental requirements scores compared to both elective (p<.001) and perspective (p<.001) groups and the result for comparisons to elective courses was significant (p<.001) after controlling for T1 differences. Students who had undertaken elective courses also had higher implementation of departmental requirement scores (p<.001) compared to students who had undertaken perspective courses (see Figure 4). These results suggest that core courses impact more positively than elective or perspective courses on student teachers determination to ensure their future students are taught Aboriginal Studies and their perceived ability to implement departmental requirements. These results offer strong support for the value of introducing core Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses to ensure preservice teachers are committed to both implementing departmental requirements and teaching Aboriginal Studies. Relations between Variables Path analyses based on a series of multiple regressions was undertaken to explore the relationship between variables for students who had undertaken core courses. For students who had undertaken a core course and had both T1 and T2 scores (n=183), T1 values impacted on T2 values (.47***) and T1 self-concept impacted upon T2 self-concept (.32***) and T2 scores for implementing departmental requirements (.21**) (see Figure 5). The content students learnt at T2 shared important relations with how important they perceived such content was for inclusion in teacher education courses (.22**), T2 Values (.29***), T2 self-concept (.21***), and T2 scores for implementing departmental requirements (.16***). T2 values shared strong relations with how important student teachers saw it to include the content they had experienced in future education courses (.32**), T2 self-concept (.58***), and T2 predicted student knowledge (.52***). T2 self-concept shared relations with how important student teachers saw it to include the content they had 5 experienced in future education courses (.21**), T2 predicted student knowledge (.43***), and T2 scores for implementing departmental requirements (.53**). These results suggest that student teachers self-concepts have an important relation to what they value teaching, what they actually intend to teach, what student knowledge outcomes they predict they will produce, and their perceived ability to implement departmental policy. These results attest to the critical importance of teachers Aboriginal Studies self-concepts in relating to desirable educational outcomes. A separate series of multiple regressions was undertaken to elucidate the relations between affective and cognitive components of self-concept and desirable educational outcomes for students who had undertaken core courses and had T2 data (n=236). Affective components of self-concept shared a relation with student teachers perceptions of the importance of including studies of pedagogy (.39***), current issues (.51***), and history (.41***) in future teacher education courses (see Figure 6). These results suggest, that if students appreciate what they have been taught and like learning about Aboriginal Studies they are more likely to advocate that such content be taught in future teacher education courses. Affective self-concept also shared a relation with predicted student knowledge (.11*) and scores for implementing departmental requirements (.68***). Cognitive components of self-concept shared relations with predicted student knowledge (.11*) and student teachers perceptions of their ability to implement departmental requirements (.68***)(see Figure 6). These results suggest that the extent, to which student teachers intend to teach Aboriginal Studies effectively, seems to be determined by what teachers enjoy and value teaching, as well as their knowledge of Aboriginal Studies content and appropriate pedagogy. Study 2: The Impact of Courses on Postgraduate Teachers Perceptions Participants Experimental participants for study 2 were primary teachers who had undertaken a core or elective Aboriginal Studies subject as a component of their initial teacher education course. Control participants were primary teachers who had not undertaken either a core or elective course as a component of their initial teacher education course. Experimental participants were invited to participate by way of a written invitation and asked to give an envelope containing another copy of the survey and information about the study to a colleague who taught in the same school but did not complete either a compulsory or elective Aboriginal Studies course as a component of their initial teacher education degree. Participants were asked to ensure, if at all possible, that the colleague chosen was the same sex and had similar teaching experience. This resulted in 392 teachers from 201 primary schools agreeing to participate in the study. Participants included: 129 teachers who had undertaken a core course, 69 teachers who had undertaken an elective course, and 190 teachers who had been taught little about Aboriginal

6 Studies in their initial teacher education degree. This resulted in a total of 198 teachers comprising the experimental group (teachers who had undertaken a core or an elective course) and 190 teachers comprising the control group (teachers who had not undertaken a core or an elective course). Amount Taught about Topics Results The results demonstrated that teachers who had undertaken an Aboriginal Studies teacher education course compared to teachers who had not undertaken such a course reported statistically significant, higher scores in relation to 21 Aboriginal Studies content areas included in the survey (see Table 8) covering pedagogy, history and current issues (see Figure 7). These results suggest, that teachers who undertake Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses are more likely to have learnt appropriate content and strategies to assist them to teach Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students in relation to pedagogy, history and current issues compared to teachers who have not undertaken such courses. Impact on Self-Concept Teachers who had undertaken Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses also had statistically significant higher self-concept scores compared to control teachers in regards to: their knowledge of Aboriginal Studies subject matter, teaching Aboriginal students, and their selfconcept of their overall ability to teach Aboriginal Studies and teach Aboriginal students effectively (see Table 9 and Figure 8). No significant differences were present for teachers self-concepts in relation to their overall ability to teach Aboriginal Studies and to consult with Aboriginal community members (see Table 9). Examination of the differential impact of teacher education courses on cognitive and affective self-concept components reveals an interesting pattern of results that further elucidates the results. Cognitive self-concept facets for knowledge of subject matter, teaching Aboriginal Studies, teaching Aboriginal students, and Aboriginal Studies total self-concepts are significantly higher for the experimental group compared to the control group (see Table 10 and Figure 9). No significant differences between the groups are present for cognitive elements of community consultation self-concept. Significant differences between the experimental and the control group are also present for the affective component of teaching Aboriginal students whereby scores for the experimental group were significantly higher on this variable compared to the control group (see Table 10). No significant effects are present for other affective domains. These results suggest that teachers who have undertaken Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses compared to teachers who have not undertaken such courses are more likely to understand Aboriginal Studies content matter, more likely to feel competent in regard to teaching Aboriginal Studies, and are more likely to feel competent in regard to understanding and being able to 6 teach Aboriginal students well. In addition, teachers who have undertaken Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses are also more likely to enjoy teaching Aboriginal students compared to teachers who have not undertaken such courses. These results attest to the power of teacher education courses to impact positively on teachers selfconcepts in regard to both teaching Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students. The results in relation to affective components of self-concept in relation to knowledge and teaching Aboriginal Studies are of concern. These results suggest teacher education courses may not be fostering teachers enjoyment of learning about and teaching Aboriginal Studies. Similarly, the non-significant results for both cognitive and affective components of community consultation self-concept suggest that this is an area of self-concept that teacher education courses are not having a significant impact on. Given community consultation takes place at the school level, and given the diversity of Aboriginal communities perhaps it is difficult for teacher education institutions to educate students on all aspects of the complexity of this task. Impact on Values Significant differences between groups were present for any of the scales measuring valuing dimensions. Teachers in both the experimental and control groups rated the extent to which they valued teaching Aboriginal Studies similarly (see Table 11 and Figure 10). Mean scores suggest that teachers ratings reflecting valuing the rationale and importance of Aboriginal Studies ranged from a response of mostly true to true. Ratings for valuing departmental policy and the need to teach Aboriginal Studies were somewhat lower for both groups ranging from more true than false to mostly true. Of particular concern was the lowest rating assigned by both groups to the variable commitment (see Table 11). These results suggest that both teachers who have experienced Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses and those who have not experienced such courses equally value the importance of teaching Aboriginal Studies, however some important areas of teachers values did not seem to be optimal. As such these results also suggest that teacher education courses may not be assisting preservice teachers to develop appropriate values. Impact on other Variables Teachers evaluations of the extent of their students knowledge in relation to Aboriginal Studies subject matter and the extent to which students enjoy learning about Aboriginal Studies subject matter were not significantly different for the experimental and control groups. Teachers scores in relation to their knowledge of departmental requirements were also not significantly different for the participating groups. The Relation among Variables Path analysis was undertaken to explore the relation between variables for both the control and experimental groups. Path analysis is a reasonable test of the relation

7 between variables, however given the data collected is not longitudinal in nature, causality cannot be inferred. Path analyses were conducted separately for the experimental (see Figure 11) and control groups of teachers. Self-concept shared a strong relation with teaching pedagogy (.57***), teaching history (.52***), teaching current issues (.54***), students knowledge (.86***), and the implementation and appreciation of departmental requirements (.76***). This pattern of results was similar for the control group. These results suggest that teachers self-concepts have an important relation to what they actually teach, student knowledge outcomes produced and their ability to implement and appreciate departmental policy. These results reaffirm the critical importance of teachers self-concept in relating to desirable educational outcomes. Teachers values shared a very strong relation with self-concept for both the experimental (.87***) and the control group (.80***). This variable was also related to teaching current issues (.30**) for the experimental group, and to students knowledge (.57***,.34***) and teachers ability to implement departmental policy (.33***,.27**) for both the experimental and control groups respectively. These results suggest that teachers values have an important relation to aspects of teaching, students knowledge outcomes, and implementing departmental policy. Teachers values also shared a positive relation with what teachers had been taught in teacher education courses about pedagogy for the experimental (.26***) group. This result suggests that learning about how to teach Aboriginal Studies can assist teachers to develop positive values towards teaching Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students. The relation of what teachers learn in their initial teacher education courses with other variables is illuminating. For experimental teachers what they are taught in their preservice course about history relates to the extent to which they teach history (.24*). Likewise learning pedagogy relates to the extent experimental teachers draw upon pedagogical content (.17*). Strangely what students have been taught about current issues impacts negatively on utilising pedagogy (-.24*) and teaching history (-.25*). In addition, only learning pedagogy as discussed above relates to values. Results for the control group are of even more concern as the little they may have learnt in their preservice teacher education courses has no impact on teachers values, self-concepts and with the exception of the relation between learning pedagogy and teaching pedagogy (.16*) no relationship with important outcomes. These results suggest that what preservice teachers learn in teacher education courses has at least some relation to what they actually teach although this relation seems moderate. The results also suggest that preservice courses may not be maximising teachers development of either positive values or self-concept in relation to teaching Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students. To further explore the differential relation of affective and cognitive components of self-concept to desirable outcome a path analysis was conducted based on the experimental group (see Figure 12). Cognitive components 7 of self-concept shared a strong positive relationship with teaching pedagogy, teaching history, teaching current issues, students knowledge, and implementing departmental requirements (see Figure 12). These results suggest that teachers self-concept in regard to feeling capable are strongly related to desirable outcomes. Affective components of self-concept are strongly related to students knowledge and to a lesser extent teachers ability to implement departmental requirements. These results suggest that affective components of selfconcept also may have an important relation to desirable outcomes. Teacher education courses whilst they impact on affective components of teachers self-concepts to teach Aboriginal students do not have a significant impact on teachers affective components of self-concept in other domains. Whilst teacher education courses impact positively on cognitive components of teachers selfconcepts, the limited impact in comparison to what teachers teach, may be attributed to the lack of effect of such courses on teachers affective self-concepts. These results may imply that what determines the extent to which teachers teach Aboriginal Studies may also largely be determined by what they enjoy and value teaching as well as their Aboriginal Studies knowledge. Summary In 2000 a review of teacher education in New South Wales was undertaken which resulted in the report Quality Matters Revitalising teaching: Critical times, critical choices (Ramsey, 2000). This report acknowledged the critical importance of the process of societal change in regard to Reconciliation: Australia has charted a course to create a democratic, socially cohesive, ethnically diverse civil society based on the rule of law Overlaying this is the imperative to achieve Reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (p. 19). Surprisingly, whilst Reconciliation was advocated as critical and the report noted that the national Aboriginal Studies Association had made a submission to the review, the review contains little directions for addressing teacher education in regard to preparing teachers to teach Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal students. In fact, in discussing initial teacher education, Ramsey considered the question of mandated course components and argued that rather than compelling courses in such areas as special education, gifted and talented education, Aboriginal education and information technology, a properly developed and applied standards-based endorsement process in teacher education would require students to demonstrate explicit outcomes in such areas. Such a conclusion in relation to Aboriginal Studies may be premature based on the preliminary findings of the studies described above, in fact standards-based endorsement may need to be underpinned by mandatory courses to ensure teachers realise set standards. As Ramsey noted: The times are such that we cannot continue, as has been the case over at least two decades, to accumulate through reviews and research, understandings about teacher education and teaching, but irrespective of these findings make no response. By failing to adequately support teachers whose work is so critical, we fail students, parents and the society which schools serve (Ramsey 2000, p. 18). Clearly, it seems time for all Australian teacher education institutions to heed the decades of reports calling for the introduction of core Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses.

8 The results of the studies described above are important, in that these studies are the first national studies to begin to elucidate the impact of Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses on preservice and postgraduate teachers ability, to understand and teach Aboriginal Studies. These preliminary results clearly demonstrate that mandatory Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses do make a positive difference to desirable educational outcomes for both preservice and inservice teachers. As such, the study findings support the validity of calls for Australian teacher education institutions to introduce mandatory Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses. The results also suggest, that existing core Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses could benefit from refinement and core courses in the process of being developed, could avoid potential pitfalls in course design by addressing potential weaknesses in existing courses identified by the results of this study. There also remains much to be done. A number of Australian teacher education institutions still need to appreciate the rationale for introducing core Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses. Existing core courses also need to be critically examined and refined to maximise their potency. Further research needs to be undertaken to evaluate current courses and elucidate key features of successful Aboriginal Studies teacher education courses that can be emulated by other institutions. Despite the fact that Australian core courses are not as yet ideal, Australia s recent progress is testimony that teacher education can be responsive to and make a difference in tackling the big educational issues. The results of the studies described above attest to the benefits of core Aboriginal Studies courses and demonstrate that in at least half of Australian primary teacher education courses a new dawn is breaking which may yet achieve Oodgeroo s vision for a new beginning. See plain the promise, Dark freedom-lover! Night s nearly over, And though long the climb, New rights will greet us, New mateship meet us, And joy complete us In our new Dream Time (Noonuccal, 1990, p. 41). Author Note Correspondence in relation to this article should be sent to Associate Professor Rhonda G. Craven, Deputy Director, SELF Research Centre, University of Western Sydney, Bankstown Campus, Locked Bag 1797 Penrith South DC NSW 1797, Phone:: Fax: , r.craven@uws.edu.au References Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE). (1998). Preparing a profession: Report of the national standards and guidelines for initial teacher education project. Canberra: ACDE. Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE). (2001). Submission to Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Employment References Committee inquiry into the capacity of public universities to meet Australia s education needs. Canberra: ACDE. Cochrane, K. (1994). Oodgeroo. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press. Craven, R.G. (1994). Oodgeroo An educator who proved one person could make a difference. In Shoemaker, A. (Ed.), (pp ). Oodgeroo: A tribute. Special issue of Australian Literacy Studies, 16. Craven R. G. (Ed.) (1996a). Teaching the teachers: Indigenous Australian Studies for primary pre-service teacher education. Model core subject manual for teacher educators. Vol. 1. Sydney: School of Teacher Education, University of New South Wales in association with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. Craven, R. G. (Ed.) (1996b). Teaching the teachers: Indigenous Australian Studies for primary pre-service teacher education. Model core subject manual for teacher educators. Vol. 2. Sydney: School of Teacher Education, University of New South Wales in association with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. Craven, R. G. (1996c). Teaching the teachers Indigenous Australian Studies: Framework Statement. Sydney: School of Teacher Education, University of New South Wales in association with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. Craven, R. G. (1996d). Using the right words in the Indigenous Australian Studies classroom. Sydney: School of Teacher Education, University of New South Wales in association with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. Craven, R. G. (1996e). The Teaching the Teachers Indigenous Australian Studies Project of National Significance: Rationale and an overview of resources. The Social Educator, 14, Craven, R. G. (1999a). Ground Control to Major Tom. Is the Dawn is at Hand?: It Is Time to Empower All Teachers to Understand and Teach Aboriginal Studies. The Social Educator, 17, Craven, R.G. (1999b). Aboriginal Studies: A national priority! In R. G. Craven, (Ed.), Teaching Aboriginal Studies (pp ). Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Craven, R. G. (2000). New Initiatives and Suggested Directions to Facilitate the Dawn to Break in Teacher Education: Empowering Social Educators to Teach the Teachers Aboriginal Studies. The Social Educator, 18, Craven, R. G. Halse, C., Marsh, H. W., Mooney, J., and Wilson-Miller, J. (in review). Teaching the Teachers Aboriginal Studies: Impact on Postgraduate Teacher s Ability and Commitment to Teaching Aboriginal Studies in Australian Schools. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Dunkin, Michael, J.. (2002). The place of Indigenous Studies in preservice primary teacher education in 8

9 Australia. Unpublished report to the SELF Research Centre, University of Western Sydney. Noonuccal, Oodgeroo. (1990). My People: Queensland: Jacaranda Press. Ramsey, G. (2000). Quality matters. Revitalising teaching: Critical times, critical choices. (Report of the review of teacher education). Sydney: NSW Dept. of Education. Shoemaker, A. (Ed.). (1994). Oodgeroo: A tribute. Special issue of Australian Literacy Studies, 1 Table 1 Example Items for Each Self-Concept Scale Self-Concept Scale Example Cognitive Item Example Affective Item Aboriginal Studies Knowledge Self-Concept 2. I have a good knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal Studies subject matter as a basis for teaching Aboriginal Studies and perspectives. 40. Learning Aboriginal Studies subject matter and about Aboriginal perspectives that can be incorporated across the curriculum is interesting for me. Aboriginal Studies and Perspectives Teaching Self-Concept Teaching Aboriginal Students Self-Concept Community Consultation Self-Concept 14. I can readily teach Aboriginal Studies and perspectives across the curriculum. 26. I am capable of teaching Aboriginal students in a culturally appropriate manner. 17. I understand why it is important to consult with Aboriginal community members. 41. I enjoy teaching Aboriginal Studies and perspectives across the curriculum. 51. I am interested in teaching Aboriginal students. 52. I find it stimulating to gain more knowledge and understanding about consulting with Aboriginal community members. General Teaching Self- Concept 37. I can teach well. 39. I look forward to teaching most subjects. Table 2 Example Values Items for Each Values Scale Values Scale Example Item Valuing teaching of Aboriginal Studies 30. I feel both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous students get a lot out of learning about Aboriginal Studies and perspectives. Importance of teaching Aboriginal Studies well 11. It is important to me to teach Aboriginal Studies well. Valuing Departmental Policy 12. I feel my education department's policy in relation to the teaching of Aboriginal Studies and perspectives is a vital educational policy. Willingness and Commitment to teaching 4. I will ensure my future students are taught Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal Studies perspectives across the curriculum. Valuing the rationale for teaching Aboriginal Studies 1. I appreciate the educational rationale for teaching Aboriginal Studies and perspectives across the curriculum to my students. 9

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