The Invisible Hand of Pedagogy in Australian Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zane Ma Rhea ◽  
Lynette Russell
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Transformative Education ◽  
Invisible Hand ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Funded Project ◽  
Sustained Effort ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

The Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC)-funded project ‘Exploring Problem-Based Learning Pedagogy as Transformative Education in Indigenous Australian Studies’ raised a number of issues that resonated with concerns we have had as professionals engaged in teaching and researching Australian Indigenous studies and Indigenous education. In this discursive paper we air some of the concerns we share which emerge from our collective research and teaching interests. We argue that Australian Indigenous studies and Indigenous education are too frequently collapsed or used interchangeably, and while there is tension between these areas rather than see as a problem we chose to interrogate this and argue for the potential for fruitful intellectual collaboration. This article problematises pedagogy and finds that sustained effort needs to be made to understand how pedagogical approaches to Australian Indigenous studies and Indigenous education are guiding and shaping each cognate area.

Embedding an Indigenous Graduate Attribute into University of Western Sydney's Courses

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (S1) ◽  
pp. 40-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berice Anning
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Competency ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Disciplinary Culture ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Workplace Relations ◽  
The University ◽  
Professional Capacity

AbstractThe paper reports on embedding an Indigenous graduate attribute into courses at the University of Western Sydney (UWS), providing the background to the development and implementation of a holistic and individual Indigenous graduate attribute. It details the approach taken by the Badanami Centre for Indigenous Education in advising the UWS staff on the process for endorsement of the Indigenous graduate attribute. The UWS's recognition of its moral purpose and social responsibility to Indigenous people in Greater Western Sydney has led to the successful re-establishment of Indigenous education at UWS. The paper outlines the unique and innovative approach taken to implement the Indigenous graduate attribute, including: consultation across the Schools at UWS; developing and establishing relationships through the respect of disciplinary culture and tradition; the UWS-wide reform of the traditional discipline approach and the first step towards recognition of the domain of Indigenous knowledge in teaching and research; establishing a team of Indigenous academics; developing a learning and teaching framework for Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous studies; and integrating Indigenous content into curricula at UWS. The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations funded UWS to develop the Indigenous graduate attribute and implement it by embedding cultural competency and professional capacity into UWS courses.

Indigenous Australian Studies, Indigenist Standpoint Pedagogy, and Student Resistance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Student Resistance ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Indigenous Cultures ◽  
Indigenous Learners

“Redressing Aboriginal disadvantage” through Indigenous education policy and studies has been on the policy agenda in Australian institutions for several decades. With notable exceptions, Indigenous studies programs have tended to position Indigenous peoples as objects of study. These objectifications still largely pivot around constructions of Indigenous cultures and peoples through deficit or essentializing discourses. The apprehension of these limiting discourses in Indigenous Australian studies for non-Indigenous learners contribute to the reproduction and reinforcement of contemporary justifications for Indigenous peoples’ colonial disenfranchisement. Often, limited attention is given to examining the relationality of knowledge, people, and ideas in (neo)colonial domains and, subsequently, to the deconstruction of the epistemological conditions under which Indigenous peoples were and are “known.” The Indigenist Standpoint Pedagogical (ISP) framework was designed to develop critical tools for all students to understand the epistemic forces that empower their worldviews and behaviors. The key question for an ISP framed learning space shifts is not, “What do students need to know about Indigenous peoples and experiences?” but rather, “Where does my knowledge come from and what is its purpose and impact on the way I relate to, and form, understandings about Australian history and Indigenous Australian peoples and experiences?” In the latter approach, students are exposed to opportunities to theorize and examine structural privilege. They engage in critical self-enquiry to interrogate the conditions that impact on their interpretations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian experiences throughout history and into the 21st century. In this sense, ISP is an inherently reformative, relational, and critically reflexive framework that supports and facilitates the reintegration of Indigenous knowledge perspectives in ways that interrupt the enduring impact of the colonial narrative.

Introduction: Exploring the Scope of the Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelyn Barney ◽  
Cindy Shannon ◽  
Martin Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
National Network ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Effective Teaching And Learning

The Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network was established in 2011 to develop a focused national network of scholars to engage in key discussions about teaching Indigenous Studies at tertiary level. Funded by the Office for Learning and Teaching (2011–14), the Network combines leaders and early career academics and builds relationships between scholars in the discipline, identifies key issues and explores effective teaching and learning approaches. This introductory essay places this Special Issue of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education (AJIE) in context by exploring the aims and outcomes of the Network along with the positioning of the Network team. It also examines key challenges for the Network and possible future directions.

scholarly journals Editorial

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. iii-iii
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Martin Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
New South ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Teaching And Learning Strategies ◽  
The University

We are very proud to present this timely and significant Special Issue of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, guest edited by Katelyn Barney (The University of Queensland), Cindy Shannon (The University of Queensland) and Martin Nakata (The University of New South Wales). This collection of articles focuses on the activities of the Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network, an initiative funded by the Office for Teaching and Learning. The Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network was formed to bring leaders and early career academics in the field together to build relationships, debate and discuss central issues, and explore and share teaching and learning strategies in the discipline at tertiary level. These discussions at once untangle and re-entangle the processes, pedagogies and politics at play when Indigenous Studies becomes defined as a discipline.

Pearls, not Problems: Exploring Transformative Education in Indigenous Australian Studies

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Katelyn Barney
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Transformative Education ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Learning And Teaching

This article explores the shift in terminology that occurred in a 2-year Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC)-funded curriculum renewal project that set out to broadly explore current teaching and learning practice in Indigenous Australian studies (www.teaching4change.edu.au). While we started with the term ‘Problem-Based Learning’, it became clear as the project progressed that the terminology we were using was not politically or pedagogically appropriate. As the data began to reveal, the research team became increasingly uncomfortable with the colonial underpinnings and associations of the term ‘Problem-Based Learning’ (PBL), and began to explore the possibility of redefining what we do as something else entirely. A key outcome of the project was that PBL became PEARL, to describe the Political, Embodied, Active, and Reflective aspects of this teaching and learning approach in Indigenous Australian studies. The shift from PBL to PEARL was unexpected, but has resulted in exciting possibilities for migrating and extending theories of teaching and learning in Indigenous Australian studies into critical pedagogy, critical race theory and transformative education. Drawing on critical pedagogy, critical race theory and transformative education theory, this article explores the rationale behind the shift in terminology from PBL to PEARL. We also draw on student data from focus groups, questionnaires and lecturer reflection to examine the ways the results from this project hold great potential for the further implementation of PEARL into primary and secondary classrooms, specifically in relation to pedagogical practice in embedding Indigenous perspectives.

PEARLs, Problems and Politics: Exploring Findings From Two Teaching and Learning Projects in Indigenous Australian Studies at The University of Queensland

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Katelyn Barney
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Education Theory ◽  
Curriculum Renewal ◽  
The University

This article explores the implementation of PEARL (Political, Embodied, Active, and Reflective Learning) in two courses at The University of Queensland: a first-year introductory Indigenous Studies course and a second year Indigenous Education course. We draw on findings from a 2-year (2010–2011) Office for Learning and Teaching (then ALTC) funded curriculum renewal project and findings from a pilot project (2013) implementing PEARL in a compulsory Indigenous Education course for all pre-service teacher educators in primary and secondary teacher training at The University of Queensland. Drawing transformative education theory into conversation with critical pedagogy and anti-colonial/racist education, we share student data from focus groups, questionnaires and reflective journals to examine the shift in students’ understanding of Indigenous issues, histories and peoples. Finally, we reflect on the ways the results hold great potential for the further implementation of PEARL into other university level courses, specifically in relation to a ‘pedagogy of solidarity’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

scholarly journals Editorial

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. iii-iii
Author(s):  
Martin Nakata ◽  
Elizabeth Mackinlay
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
New South ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Special Edition ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Curriculum Renewal ◽  
Pedagogical Innovations ◽  
Key Participants ◽  
Renewal Project

The AIJE has an established tradition of publishing special Supplements to highlight papers on a particular topic. This special edition of the AJIE is an outcome of a 2-year curriculum renewal project funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, which focused on teaching and learning practice in Australian Indigenous studies. The project involved collaboration between academics of Australian Indigenous studies in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. The articles in this special edition comprise descriptions of pedagogical innovations and discussions or reflections on the issues engaged in the course of the project by some of the key participants.

Rethinking Majors in Australian Indigenous Studies

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Nakata ◽  
Vicky Nakata ◽  
Sarah Keech ◽  
Reuben Bolt
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Depth Of Knowledge ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Interface Theory ◽  
Course Sequences ◽  
Learning Frameworks ◽  
Indigenous Thought

The challenges of finding more productive ways of teaching and learning in Australian Indigenous Studies have been a key focal point for the Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network. This article contributes to this discussion by drawing attention to new possibilities for teaching and learning practices amid the priority being given to the more practice-oriented educational approaches for future professionals and the cultural competencies of all students and staff. We explore courses sequenced as Indigenous Studies Majors and discuss two different conceptualisations for framing teaching and learning in Indigenous Studies courses — decolonising theory and cultural interface theory — and the implications for some of the teaching and learning practices they facilitate, including the positioning of students and the development of dispositions for future professional practice. We suggest that those academic teams who structure course sequences in Indigenous Studies have a role to play in experimenting with shifts in teaching and learning frameworks and the design of course sequences to encourage approaches that are more focused on developing students’ breadth and depth of knowledge of the field, as well as their capacities for deeper engagements with Indigenous thought and the scholarly disciplines.

A Discussion With Sandy O’Sullivan About Key Issues for the Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-57
Author(s):  
Katelyn Barney
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Future ◽  
Key Issues

This article takes the form of an interview with Sandy O’Sullivan, who is a partner on the Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network, about key issues that have arisen through Network discussions. She is a Wiradjuri woman and a Senior Aboriginal researcher at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. O’Sullivan emphasises the strengths of the Network and difficulties the Network participants have had in defining ‘Indigenous Studies’. She also discusses the important work for the Network to do into the future, to continue to strengthen relationships between educators and improve teaching and learning of Indigenous Studies at tertiary level.

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