Exploring Queensland secondary teacher induction training undertaken prior to working with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Abstract

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that are considered remote to metropolitan-dwelling, non-Indigenous Australians experience challenges attracting and retaining qualified teachers. Initial teacher education (ITE) is known to inadequately prepare teachers to engage Indigenous Australian students, however, we understand little about the induction training received by postgraduate secondary teachers prior to commencing work in remote schools with high enrolments of Indigenous students. This exploratory study investigated the relevance of the information provided in pre-service induction training and how this translated into classroom practice. Thirty-four Queensland secondary teachers with experience educating remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students responded to an online questionnaire investigating four different types of pre-service induction training: cross-cultural awareness, culturally appropriate pedagogy, classroom management, and student social and emotional wellbeing. Thematic analysis of their open-text responses identified three themes: training content, application of training and applicability to Indigenous students. Findings indicated inconstancies in completion rates, content significance and conversion of material into effectual classroom practices. It is suggested that providing community-specific pre-service induction training for Queensland secondary teachers could support them to engage remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in learning and may reduce the high frequency of teacher transfers and increase attendance rates of students.