Equity for high potential and gifted Aboriginal students in academic selective schools in NSW schools: Pedagogy and partnerships

The Review of Selective Education Access (New South Wales Department of Education, 2018) found that 3-4% of Aboriginal students in NSW apply for selective High School positions compared to 19% of their public school counterparts, and 2-3% of Aboriginal students seek entry to primary school opportunity classes compared to 15% of their non-Aboriginal peers. In response to the review, the New South Wales Department of Education have partnered with the University of New England to initiate ‘The Early identification of high potential and gifted Aboriginal students program’. This program adopts a social-justice approach, and aims to create more equitable access to selective entry settings through early identification of Aboriginal students with high learning potential. Once identified, these students can be provided provision that has been specifically developed for high potential and gifted Aboriginal learners. Additionally, the program is built around partnerships, and, as such, it also aims to foster connections between local schools and their Aboriginal students’ families and communities. There is also an emphasis on valuing the ‘funds of knowledge’ that students bring with them to the classroom, and ensuring that the learning experiences provided to students celebrate and respond to each student’s cultural background. This presentation will report the work that has been achieved to date in the program, with a focus on explaining how the Coolabah Dynamic Assessment protocol used for early identification and Aboriginal students with high learning potential, and the Coolabah pedagogy used within the program, can create more equitable academic outcomes for high potential and gifted Aboriginal students. The presentation will describe the Coolabah Dynamic Assessment protocol's pre-test, intervention, post-test format, and the intervention's focus on addressing known achievment barriers of gifted Aboriginal students. Building on the features of the protocol's metacognitive intervention, the Coolabah pedagogy's aim for greater educational equity through improved self-efficacy will also be canvassed.