“Because the rules out there are different…”: a case study of pre-service teachers’ experiences in remote Australian Indigenous education

ABSTRACT

Pre-service teachers are required to become reflective practitioners who can adapt their skills to a range of contexts and the diverse needs of learners. Many consider the practicum experience as critical to forming values and dispositions that are essential to a professional teacher identity. This article focuses on the experiences of five White pre-service teachers who volunteered to teach in remote Indigenous communities in South Australia, specifically the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, a desert environment in the far northwest of the state. As these pre-service teachers document their experiences, we draw upon Gee’s work on identity to gain insights into how they understand the “rules” of their context and their own positionality. Our research reveals the ways privilege can foster possibilities and constraints, which afford certain subject positions for these pre-service teachers. We focus specifically on a prominent theme in their narratives – “authenticity” concerning their conception of teaching and learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Pre-service teachers
• practicum experience
• authenticity
• teacher identity
• Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands

Acknowledgments

As researchers, we would like to acknowledge that the lands on which we work are the traditional lands for the Kaurna and Anangu people, and that we respect their spiritual relationships with their country. We also acknowledge the Kaurna and Anangu people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, respectively, and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to living Kaurna and Anangu people today.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Though there continues to be advances in pre-service teacher education, this is not uncommon in many pre-service teacher programmes in Australia.

2. AEW is an acronym for Aboriginal Education Worker.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of South Australia [DRPF].