Critical Reflection on Cultural Competence: The Teacher as an Autoethnographic Researcher

Abstract

In this paper, I explore the importance of incorporating principles of social justice and cultural awareness in 21st century education. Specifically, I explore the utilization of autoethnographic research as a powerful tool for non-Indigenous teachers to enhance their cultural awareness. To illustrate this, I present a vignette featuring an Australian Indigenous child deeply connected to his culture to describe how a culturally insensitive school counsellor misdiagnosed him with a global developmental delay. In contrast, the child’s teachers strived to avoid cultural insensitivity and challenge institutional racism by assessing the child and taking into account local funds of knowledge. To enrich the understanding of cultural competence, I integrate Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) social ecological model, a global framework, with the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). The EYLF, developed based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, reinforces the importance of international children’s rights and may support non-Indigenous teachers’ understanding of Indigenous children. By combining these approaches, educators can foster a culturally aware and inclusive environment for their students.