ERIC Number: EJ1458997
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1326-0111
EISSN: EISSN-2049-7784
Teaching Australian Indigenous Studies: Non-Indigenous Academics Negotiating Structural Impediments in a Regional Context
Genine Hook; Nikki Jessen
Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, v51 n2 2022
This paper examines the experiences of two non-Indigenous academics in a regional Australian university who taught/coordinated a first-year course, Introduction to Indigenous Australia (SCS130). Drawing on our own experiences, we explore the implications and contentious nature of non-Indigenous academics teaching Indigenous Studies and align this discussion with structural critique. As non-Indigenous academics, some argue that it is culturally disrespectful and pedagogically problematic for us to deliver this course. We consider that the work of embedding Indigenous perspectives should not be relegated solely the responsibility of Indigenous academics, and that our teaching contributes to reconciliation and begins to fill a significant gap in awareness and understanding among Australian students in higher education. The course SCS130 aims to introduce students to Indigenous perspectives through narratives, film, documentaries, academic and nonacademic texts, biography and art. The objective of the course is to engage students with the complexity of colonisation and its ramifications for constructions of individual and national identities. Student survey qualitative data is used to provide an analysis of the course and to illustrate the conflict between our pedagogic practice, student expectations and the structural impediments to our decolonising teaching aims.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Indigenous Populations, Indigenous Knowledge, Ethnic Studies, Higher Education, College Faculty, White Teachers, Racism, College Instruction, Introductory Courses, Cultural Awareness, Culturally Relevant Education, Decolonization, Course Content
University of Queensland. Level 2, Building 4, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia. e-mail: ajie@uq.edu.au; Web site: https://ajie.atsis.uq.edu.au/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A