The power of the coloniser within colonial Australia is clear when we consider how central to the teaching and learning and schooling in Australia is the privileging of Standard Australian English. Prior to 1788, the peoples and the lands of this country were abound with languages. That was until the coloniser exerted their power and insisted on a…

In this article, we argue that current assessment practices in higher education require urgent examination and should be re-imagined in culturally responsive ways to ensure fairness for all. From sociocultural and social justice perspectives, we highlight examples of cultural and linguistic bias in assessment that disadvantages many First Nations…

The paper begins by drawing upon research to understand the genealogical position of dance within the school curriculum as a new 'entitlement' for all young Australians. Whilst dance is included within the Australian curriculum it has been historically marginalised as a 'soft' subject within curriculum hierarchy. This low position in the…

Indigenous people in Australia experience considerably more dental and medical ill-health than non-Indigenous people. Cultural competence of dental and medical teams is crucial in the delivery of services to address these health disparities. Traditionally, cultural training has been incorporated later in health education curricula, resulting in…

Few would dispute the importance of equity, inclusion and belonging in early childhood education and care, yet translation into meaningful practice rarely centres the priorities of historically divested communities. The national learning framework for early childhood in Australia is the Early Years Learning Framework, positioning the child as a…

Since Universities Australia's Indigenous Strategy recommended a sector-wide approach to 'closing the gap' between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, universities have grappled with how to do this. Resisting mainstream approaches to curriculum development that eschew any kind of relational accountability (Wilson, Shawn. 2008.…

This paper reports on a qualitative research study that examined how 10 literacy teacher educators (LTEs) utilized children's literature to invite teacher trainees to critically engage with social issues, challenge their assumptions about literacy, and begin to develop the knowledge and dispositions to work alongside diverse learners (e.g.,…

In 2018, Australians Together, an organisation committed to promoting reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Australia, commissioned research on a trial programme designed to improve teachers' confidence teaching the Australian Curriculum's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum…

This article explores the possible relationships between geography, literacy, pedagogy, and poverty. It characterizes poverty as a wicked problem, which sees economic inequality escalating in a number of neoliberal democracies. Key insights from theorists of economic inequality are summarized. The enduring nature of poverty in particular places is…

Australian schools are now under constant pressure to improve student achievement, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Successful school-community interrelationships are considered an important contributing factor to this improvement as is the school's educational leadership. This paper reports on a four year research…

A policy problem is a discursive construction, and the way in which the problem is framed determines both the nature of the policy responses and the possibility of resolving it. In this paper, drawing on critical frame analysis, we examined three major equity policies in the Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. In mapping…

Remote Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander schools and communities are diverse and complex sites shaped by contrasting geographies, languages, histories and cultures, including historical and ongoing relationships with colonialism, and connected yet contextually unique epistemologies, ontologies and cosmologies. This paper explores…

In Australia, schools are experiencing increasing cultural diversity, alongside of nationalizing assessment and curricular and professional standards. It is raising concerns regarding the pace of systemic reform and sector wide professional renewal. Culturally responsive schooling practices may be helpful at this time because it locates the…

It has long been a matter of concern that Indigenous students, as a group, do less well educationally than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Despite the evidence to support the fact that if students and their cultures are not acknowledged, they tend to be less engaged in schooling than those students whose cultures are presented as the norm.…

This research is located within the call for schools to raise the achievement of students from culturally, linguistically and economically diverse (CLED) backgrounds. It combines quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to compare and contrast preservice teachers' (PSTs) responses to "scenarios" that explore beliefs regarding…