Salter, Peta, Mitchell, Gail, and Steele, Carly (2025) The impact of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers in school communities: A case study of the RATEP pathway. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 54 (2).

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Abstract

In the Australian education system, the call for more First Nations teachers has been central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education policy for at least 50 years and has been re-iterated in the recent National Teacher Workforce Action Plan. In response, there have been several programs over time that have served to train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers. One such pathway is Queensland’s Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP). Despite having been in operation for over 30 years, there have been little published findings about the impact of this pathway. This case study evaluates the impact that graduates of RATEP have had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and the school communities in which they taught. This study used the “most significant change” research method to find that teachers’ critical points of impact were their abilities to act as conduits for building relationships and developing cultural understanding in school communities. Further, the tension between the need to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers and the personal cost to these teachers in carrying this weight of responsibility was evident. We conclude with propositions for the future and ongoing research in this field.

Item ID:	90455
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2049-7784
Keywords:	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers, teacher workforce
Copyright Information:	Except where otherwise noted, content in this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. As an open access journal, articles are free to use with proper attribution.
Date Deposited:	11 Feb 2026 01:30
FoR Codes:	45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4502 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education > 450212 Cultural responsiveness and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities education @ 50% 39 EDUCATION > 3903 Education systems > 390307 Teacher education and professional development of educators @ 50%
SEO Codes:	21 INDIGENOUS > 2102 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education > 210299 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education not elsewhere classified @ 50% 16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1602 Schools and learning environments > 160299 Schools and learning environments not elsewhere classified @ 50%
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