The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) has today released a new First Nations Fellowship report identifying ways to boost the number of Aboriginal teachers in the Northern Territory.
Authored by Charles Darwin University’s Dr Tracy Woodroffe, Increasing the Number of Aboriginal Teachers in the Northern Territory: Planning for the Future presents findings from a study exploring how teaching is perceived as a career by Aboriginal senior secondary students and current Aboriginal teachers.
Drawing on participants’ own words and perspectives, the research examines strategies to promote teaching as a viable and appealing profession among Aboriginal people.
Dr Woodroffe said a central finding of the report was the lack of accessible and culturally relevant information about teaching as a career for Aboriginal people.
“Aboriginal teachers benefit the Australian education system, bring unique cultural knowledge and understandings and show Aboriginal students that anything is possible,” Dr Woodroffe said.
“More Aboriginal teachers should be supported and recognised as role models and there needs to be clear information available on how Aboriginal people could become teachers.”
ACSES Research and Policy Program Director Professor Ian Li said the report’s recommendations will help address the critical shortage of Aboriginal teachers in the Northern Territory.
“These findings can also contribute to promoting teaching as a career for First Nations students at the national level,” Professor Li said.
Key findings
- Teaching should be promoted more proactively as a career choice to Aboriginal people with culturally relevant messages.
- Positive impacts of teaching—such as benefits for Aboriginal students and communities—should be clearly communicated.
- Aboriginal people bring unique cultural knowledge and understandings that are highly conducive to teaching.
- More Aboriginal teachers should be supported and recognised as role models, alongside clear information about training pathways and opportunities.
Key recommendations
The report calls for collaborative action across education systems and training institutions, including:
- Promoting teaching as a career: Aboriginal students should be given culturally relevant information about what teaching involves, its benefits and pathways into teacher training.
- Role models and mentors: More Aboriginal teachers should be supported to share their stories as role models and systems of mentoring should be developed to guide aspiring teachers.
- Clear pathways: Information about pathways—through ATAR, VET in Schools (VETiS) and other routes—should be accessible, alongside clear guidance on requirements such as Year 12 completion and literacy/numeracy proficiency.
- Targeted encouragement: Schools, training providers and universities should apply targeted approaches to encourage more young Aboriginal people to consider teaching as a rewarding career, balancing cultural knowledge with professional teaching expertise.
The project has already delivered a practical outcome: a booklet titled Conversation Starter: Do you want to be a teacher?
The booklet provides a culturally grounded, strengths-based tool to spark classroom discussions about teaching as a career for Aboriginal students.
Copies have been provided to the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training and Catholic Education NT for distribution in schools.
For more information:
- Full report: Increasing the Number of Aboriginal Teachers in the Northern Territory: Planning for the Future
- Conversation Starter: Do you want to be a teacher? (For copies of this, please contact the Educational Leadership, Culture and Care team at the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training on 08 8999 5707.)
Media contacts:
Anna Will, ACSES Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Manager (Interim)
Tel: (08) 9266 3948 Mobile: 0478 373 246 Email: anna.will@curtin.edu.au
Sam Jeremic, Corporate Communications Specialist, Curtin University
Tel: (08) 9266 3529 Mobile: 0407 601 993 Email : s.jeremic@curtin.edu.au
CDU Media
Email: media@cdu.edu.au
About the ACSES Equity Fellowship program
The ACSES Equity Fellowship program provides up to 12 months of funding to support First Nations researchers and/or practitioners to undertake impactful projects that advance equity in Australian universities. The aim is to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers to undertake projects that generate new knowledge, share lived experience, and shape more inclusive higher education systems. Fellowships are designed to build leadership, amplify First Nations voices, and foster collaboration between researchers, communities, and the higher education sector.
