The Stronger Smarter Pedagogy, developed by Dr Chris Sarra while principal at Cherbourg State School, is a system of re-evaluating the perception of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Labelled “Strong and Deadly”, the Stronger Smarter Institute suggests the “deficit discourse” regarding Aboriginal students has fostered an environment of toxicity regarding their education that is detrimental to their ability to achieve equal results. “The whole approach of the Stronger Smarter Institute is around Strong and Deadly, and we teach our little ones to be strong and deadly — strong in culture, deadly in performance.” As a result of utilising the Strong and Deadly approach, a forced shift from negativity to support develops, thus encouraging Aboriginal students to participate further in educational settings such as the Higher School Certificate (HSC) and tertiary education. To prove the legitimacy of the Stronger Smarter approach, the Stronger Smarter 2022 Prospectus confirms the pedagogy is being incorporated in over 1,000 schools, allowing an estimated 30% of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to benefit from the program. …show more content…
“You need to be aware of them and you need to go. Yes. I am a naysayer. We do have prejudices and that's OK but what am I gonna do with them while I'm in the workplace?’ You have to put them aside.” With such harmful unconscious biases regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educational competency present in educational systems, the shift in perspective highlighted by the Stronger Smarter Institute is improving the mindset of students and teachers, fostering an environment in which Aboriginal students feel able to complete educational