Capability Framework
Take a tour of the Capability Framework
Adriano Truscott discusses the Capability Framework
-
Adriano Truscott:
Across Australia, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students come to school speaking languages other than the Standard Australian English. To successfully teach these students, teachers need to have knowledge and practice in teaching English as an additional language or dialect.
This Capability Framework has been developed to support teachers to do just that, and while also supporting them to meet the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
Developed by a panel of experts from across Australia, the Framework spells out what teachers need to know and be able to do in their practice to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D learners have the maximum opportunity to become proficient in Standard Australian English and to reach their academic potential.
The Capability Framework can be used on its own or alongside the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Let’s take a closer look. Within the introduction, you’ll discover why the Framework was developed and who it’s for. Teachers can use it to inform their practice, self-assess their capabilities and set their professional learning goals. Principals can use it to inform school responses. States and territories can use the Capability Framework to plan and deliver professional learning opportunities. And Australian universities can use it in pre-service teacher and postgraduate courses.
Beyond the introduction, there are insights into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who speak traditional or creole languages or Aboriginal English as their first language. In using the Framework, you can see all seven capabilities listed and how each relates to the Australian Standards across three domains: professional knowledge, professional practice and professional engagement.
For example capability two, ‘Knowing about language, Standard Australian English, and the language demands of the curriculum’ relates to the Standard know the content and how to teach it within the professional knowledge domain and so on.
Each capability within the Framework is broken down into essential elements, and these elements are described at four levels of teacher development: graduate, proficient, highly accomplished and lead. Teachers may be at different levels of development for different essential elements.
Each capability is also cross-referenced to the relevant Australian Standards and focus areas to help guide performance discussions between teachers and the principal or curriculum leader. The Capability Framework for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander English as an additional language or dialect learners is the first of its kind. It provides invaluable support to teachers and other education professionals in delivering a quality education to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D learners.
-
Adriano Truscott:
The advent of the Capability Framework is the first time in Australia that we’ve had, I think, a conscious acknowledgment of the demands of teaching Aboriginal students, the demands on the teacher and what we need from the teacher.
A lot of research has said teachers need to focus on relationships, teachers need to maybe have skills in the EAL/D, but nothing actually plots out a progression of their professional development.
The Capability Framework allows teachers to understand where they are and where they need to get to. It allows them to understand that it’s not just unidimensional. There’s a range of abilities and skills that they need to look at. It’s not only relationships. There’s some technical knowledge I need. And for that technical knowledge I need to go to certain places. It’s not just going to appear without some effort.
I think the Capability Framework when it first came out was mind blowing, the thought that we were actually going to have something like this at last. So the potential of the Capability Framework is second to none, because it can at last really give a distinguishing importance to what the skill of teaching EAL/D, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D students is.
One of the first steps towards a more inclusive system is actually allowing the teachers to develop and awareness about where they need to go and where they are at the moment.
Note: Video content above has a minor delay before loading, which may impact users on a slower connection.
Across Australia many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students come to school speaking languages other than Standard Australian English.
To successfully teach these students, teachers need to have knowledge and practice in teaching English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D).
The Capability Framework – Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D learners (PDF 1.15MB) has been developed to support teachers to do just that while also supporting them to meet the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
Developed by a panel of experts from across Australia, the Framework spells out what teachers need to know and be able to do in their practice to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D Learners have the maximum opportunity to become proficient in Standard Australian English and to reach their academic potential.
The Capability Framework can be used on its own or alongside the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
