What do teachers think about their Aboriginal students’ motivation and engagement?

The current study examined the ways teachers in Australia think about their Aboriginal students’ motivation and engagement. In collaboration with the Blak Caucus – a group of Aboriginal education experts and leaders – we investigated the extent to which there were different profiles of teachers and the implications of these profiles for other teaching beliefs. With data from Australian teachers ( N = 505) corroborated with the experience and expertise of the Blak Caucus, we found evidence of four profiles (Positive, Deficit, Complacent, and Mixed profiles) that were associated with different teaching beliefs. Alongside teaching implications, this article contributes an approach to the integration of quantitative analyses and the expertise of Aboriginal community leaders.