Newly updated Yarning Strong resources are on their way to classrooms around Australia this month, helping primary teachers bring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, histories and contemporary perspectives into their classrooms.
The new edition of Yarning Strong comes as schools around the country marked National Indigenous Literacy Day - September 2 - at a time when research suggests many teachers still want greater support to confidently teach First Nations content.
A 2023 Monash University survey of Australian teachers found 45 per cent felt their initial teacher education had left them unprepared to teach Australian Curriculum priority areas including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.
Published by Oxford University Press, Yarning Strong provides primary school teachers and students with First Nations-authored texts and supporting classroom resources designed to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives across learning.
The newly launched edition has been refreshed to ensure those perspectives extend beyond history and reflect the issues shaping Australia today, with new content addressing significant contemporary events and conversations including the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum and Treaty in Victoria.
The update recognises that teaching First Nations perspectives is not simply about looking to the past, but giving students opportunities to understand contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, experiences and voices.
Teacher Cara Shipp used the first edition of Yarning Strong in her own classrooms and has contributed her teaching expertise to the development of resources supporting the new edition.
"When I brought Yarning Strong into the classroom, I saw students puff up with pride. They could connect with what they were reading and feel proud that their cultures and histories were being reflected in their learning. I could see the impact that had on their sense of belonging and engagement," she said.
"It starts with teachers learning, reading and immersing themselves in First Nations texts. If you're not First Nations yourself, building that knowledge can go a long way towards helping you feel more confident in the classroom."
There is also evidence that embedding First Nations histories and cultures can have benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Australian Government research through the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children found Indigenous children attending schools that incorporated the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority had higher average literacy scores than children attending schools that had not incorporated the priority.
At the heart of Yarning Strong are the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and creators, giving students opportunities to engage directly with stories and perspectives told by First Nations people.
Among the authors whose work features in the series is Jared Thomas, an acclaimed First Nations author whose writing for children and young adults includes stories exploring culture, identity, family and contemporary Aboriginal life.
"If you're an Aboriginal student and you're not seeing yourself reflected in the classroom, that can really impact negatively on your self-esteem and learning. When we see our knowledges in the classroom or our experiences, we feel valued, we feel validated," Dr Thomas said.
"For Aboriginal young people, literacy development can be strengthened when our histories, genealogies and stories are brought into the classroom. Aboriginal-authored texts are central to doing that."
More information about bringing Yarning Strong into the classroom is available on the Oxford University Press website.
