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A profile of an effective teacher of Aboriginal Australian students was constructed based on research on the teaching of Aboriginal students. Using the profile as a framework, this paper reports on an ethnographic study of an effective teacher in action with Aboriginal students. The study consisted of semi-participative observation of a teacher of grades 6-7 in a Perth (Australia) metropolitan school in which 45 percent of the students were Aboriginal. Data were gathered via observation, conversation, and recorded interviews with the teacher, principal, and students. Elements identified as critical to effective teaching of Aboriginal students were: an understanding of Aboriginal culture and family background; the teacher's capacity to develop relationships based on openness, flexibility, empathy, and a collegial rather than authoritarian stance; a student-centered, relationship-based pedagogy featuring peer tutoring, small-group work, cooperative learning, and self-responsibility for learning and assessment; and the negotiation of curriculum and other educational processes with students. Behavioral boundaries were set in consultation with students. It is important to Aboriginal students that the behavior, not the student, be rewarded or sanctioned in private. Self-esteem, confidence, and social skills were enhanced in the classroom, although it seemed at times that academic teaching and learning were less intense than expected from a traditional Anglo perspective. (Contains 16 references.) (TD)

This study of the classroom practice of an elementary school teacher of Aboriginal students in Western Australia demonstrates the way in which teacher intentions are hindered by the sociopolitical context of the school. The teacher had been identified by the school as a successful teacher of Indigenous students and was accepted by Aboriginal parents as such. The situation in which he worked, however, was not conducive to the establishment of effective strategies for communication or better relationships with parents and the community. Findings from observations of classroom events and interviews with the teacher, students, and other key participants indicated that the teacher was unable to translate good intentions into satisfactory outcomes for Aboriginal students because the teacher's own value system differed markedly from those of his students; the principal constructed an environment that reflected the dominant culture and did not welcome Indigenous students and parents; the teacher was also deputy principal, and was identified with the administration by the parents, resulting in parent alienation; the school did not have the infrastructure to support teachers' efforts to provide appropriate schooling for Indigenous students; and conflict among students that arose from outside factors inhibited the teacher's efforts to provide quality schooling for the Aboriginal students. For better education of Indigenous students, change must start at the top; teachers and parents need to cooperate to satisfy student needs, not bureaucratic or parent wishes; and parents must be welcomed as collaborators. (TD)

A study examined the attitudes of Aboriginal students concerning their education and their perceptions of their parents' views of education. Questionnaires completed by 473 Aboriginal students in grades 6-10 from 22 urban and rural schools in Western Australia indicated that Aboriginal children had a positive attitude toward their schools and their education. They enjoyed their schooling, did not wish to absent themselves from school, and wished to continue their schooling through high school and beyond. The majority reported that they knew what they wanted to do when they left school and had the ability to stay on at school, but did not feel that their teachers encouraged them to stay on at school. They also believed their parents were supportive of their present and future educational aspirations. Although 82 percent of students reported respecting their teachers, a significant percentage reported that their teachers picked on them at school, did not always help them, and did not understand them. The percentage of students who experienced relationship problems with their teachers indicates that many teachers of Aboriginal students are unfamiliar with or ignore the characteristics of effective teachers of Aboriginal children that have been recognized for two decades. It is suggested that classroom practices informed by deficit logic result in lower teacher expectations, and that the development of close teacher-student relationships is necessary for the transmission of knowledge. Appendices present age of respondents, parent attitudes toward education, student attitudes toward absenteeism, and student perceptions of teacher attitudes. (Contains 14 references.) (TD)