Teaching Gifted Aboriginal Students

Measures of academic attainment at school tell the story that, on average, Aboriginal children perform significantly below the rest of the Australian population (Lyons et al. 2006). Considerable support is provided by various government funding regimes (for example, the National Smarter Schools Partnerships program) to assist Aboriginal children with learning difficulties. However, little attention has been given to the identification of high learning potential and the development of high academic abilities in Aboriginal children. This is reflected in the very low representation of Aboriginal children in programs for gifted and talented students. All too often, gifted Aboriginal children are underachieving and are 'invisible' in our schools. The problem appears to arise partly from the methods used by schools and teachers it identify giftedness. Achievement and tests, teacher rating scales and IQ tests are typically underpinned by complex cultural layers, and can fall far short of identifying the potential of gifted Aboriginal students. The problem also appears to arise partly because teachers usually perceive their gifted Aboriginal students to be average in ability and therefore do not enable them to meet their potential. One major reason why this underachievement has persisted for so long is that Aboriginal children are subjected to performance inhibitors such as low self-efficacy towards education, fear of failure, trust issues and the forced choice dilemma. These can be powerful motivators for not engaging in learning and for not excelling in areas of academic talent. Effective strategies to reverse underachievement, in particular underachievement by gifted Aboriginal children, have been difficult to find.