Aboriginal Ways Research Articles

Elizabeth Usher memorial lecture 2024: Speech-language pathology practice in Aboriginal spaces: A journey of learning and unlearning

In this paper I describe learnings gained from 15 years collaboration with Aboriginal colleagues in Australia, in endeavours to improve rehabilitation services for Aboriginal people with brain injury and their families. Colleagues include Aboriginal researchers, clinicians, and people with communication and other disorders associated with brain injury and their families. My research journey in this field has been made possible through the work, mentoring, and support of these colleagues who introduced me to Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing. My journey has involved challenging and un-learning some widely accepted Western tenets of speech-language pathology practice in order to explore culturally acceptable practices. The notion of learning, while at the same time unlearning and relearning is discussed in this paper along with several crucial ingredients of working cross-culturally in an Aboriginal space. These include ongoing relationships, collaboration, and the concept of cultural security. Clinical yarning as a method to be employed in both clinical and research contexts is also discussed as it has been applied to particular projects undertaken to date. The paper encourages the unpacking of aspects related to evidence-based practice, accepted research methodologies, and assessment and treatment processes in brain injury rehabilitation and in speech-language pathology, generally.

Culturally respectful foundations of Noongar school educators’ ways of working

Abstract The Moombaki study team’s key objective is improving the well-being and educational success of Aboriginal children by fostering a deeper connection to their culture, land, and family. The current WA Department of Education Cultural Standards Framework (2015) is outdated and has not resulted in sustainable and audited meaningful changes to ways of working with Aboriginal children and their families. Our findings show that AIEOs provide valuable insights into the practices and values that may be more effective in meeting the needs of Aboriginal children. This article discusses the importance for national and state policy and frameworks to reflect Aboriginal ways of working in schools. Our findings from yarning circles with Aboriginal Indigenous Education Officers (AIEOs) interrogate the values informing and driving Noongar ways of working. Noongar cultural protocols exemplify Noongar ways of working. These protocols are guided by values that shape rules and practices rooted in a rich history passed down through generations of culture and customs. The analysis of the Moombaki yarning circles with AIEOs whose voices are central, revealed they upheld Aboriginal ways of working by emphasising four concentric circles of Aboriginal worldview: connections to kin, country, customs, and culture. Central to these ways of working is the value of trust, which meanders through and strengthens the practices of connection, sharing, and the central focus on children and family.

Decolonial Pathways in Social Work Education

ABSTRACT Concerns about white dominance in social work have led to various scholarly works exploring potential avenues for the decolonisation of the profession. As a contribution to this work, this article presents the various processes that the authors have engaged with to create a space for diverse theories and perspectives to be integrated within the social work curriculum. This work can enable a holistic and decolonising learning experience for social work students. The authors’ journeys in engaging with the praxis of Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing are presented as a critical pathway of learning and growing as educators committed to decolonial work. In this article the authors describe the application of this praxis by challenging the cultural hierarchy of knowledge (ways of knowing), employing a self-discovery and self-transformation approach (ways of being), and adopting pedagogical strategies that facilitate these goals, such as storytelling (ways of doing). Through the sharing of experiences, the authors aimed to provide educators with examples, guidance, and insights into the possibilities of decolonising social work education. IMPLICATIONS Decolonising social work education is the gateway for decolonising social work practice. The Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing can offer a pathway for decolonising the social work teaching and learning experience. Sharing experiences and learning is central to decolonial work that helps promote critical thinking and reflection, fostering new possibilities for education and engagement in social work.

Supervision on Country: Enhancing Culturally Safe Social Work Supervision Through First Nations Knowledges

ABSTRACT There has been limited scholarship on culturally responsive supervision in social work. This article provides a comprehensive review of literature and builds artefacts and conceptual maps encompassing key cultural elements in cultural-clinical supervision to inform social work practice. The visual artefacts present five key areas of Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing, including identity, community, relationality, deep listening, and yarning. This project was Aboriginal-led and developed collaboratively between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal social workers and researchers. This article can assist both First Nations and non-First Nations supervisors to better understand the importance of culturally responsive supervision in all social work settings. IMPLICATIONS It is important for social workers to incorporate Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing in their supervision practices, to create culturally safe supervision. Bringing the cultural-clinical interface together can enhance cultural supervision in all services.

Aboriginal students’ journeys to university – privileging our sovereign voices

Since invasion the trajectory of colonial education in Australia has been linear; most students are expected to complete primary and secondary education, and, if accepted, seamlessly transition to university by 18 years of age. The reality is that many students do not experience continuity in their education, let alone reach university, and this can be particularly problematic for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024; Productivity Commission, 2024). Put simply, Australia’s education system continues to fail many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, further silencing our sovereign voices. Drawing on an Indigenist research paradigm (Rigney, 1999) and Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing (Martin / Mirraboopa, 2003; Moreton-Robinson, 2013), five Aboriginal university students generously shared their journeys to university through a collaborative yarning approach (Shay, 2019). Each journey is narrated through a strengths-based counter-story that generates key teachings for an Indigenous education futurity that is premised on, and responsive to, the voices of Aboriginal students

Efficacy of the Nutrition Education and Screening Tool as a Foundation for Exploring Perinatal Diet and Determinants in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women of Far North Queensland.

Assessing perinatal diet and its determinants in Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women remains challenging, given the paucity of tools that incorporate Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and remembering within a quantitative framework. This study aimed to explore the determinants of perinatal nutrition in this population and to evaluate the efficacy of the Nutrition Education and Screening Tool (NEST) in collecting diet-related data in this population. This study employed a Participatory Action Research approach using the NEST as a foundation for structured research inquiry. Self-reported diet and determinants were collected from a cross-sectional cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women from Far North Queensland. Participants (n = 30) declared excess consumption of meat and alternatives, fruit, vegetables and legumes, and dairy and alternatives. Grain and cereal consumption aligned with recommendations; wild-harvested foods comprised a mean 19.75% of their protein intake. Food frequency data were supported by participants' descriptions of how they eat, combine, rotate, and cook these foods. Standard food frequency questionnaires are challenging for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as their concepts of time and ways of remembering are different from Western understanding. Use of the NEST allowed food frequency items to be explored, clarified, and cross-referenced; yarning provided a degree of support for quantitative data. The results of this study translate to future public health research, practice, and policy. Alternative quantitative measures to determine food frequency should be considered in future studies. These may include the cyclical approach to time that is well understood and integrated by Indigenous cultures.

Aboriginal Practitioners’ Perspectives on Culturally Informed Practice for Trauma Healing in Australia

Colonisation continues to impact Aboriginal children and families through perpetual cycles of transgenerational trauma. To achieve culturally safe and effective healing, practitioners working with Aboriginal people must be culturally competent, yet existing research suggests culturally informed practice (CIP) is often poorly understood and implemented by many practitioners. Centring Indigenous perspectives, the present study explored how Aboriginal practitioners in Australia conceptualise and use CIPs when supporting Aboriginal children and families to heal from trauma. Six Aboriginal women practitioners from mental health and social work settings participated in individual research yarns. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to generate four themes, including centring Aboriginal ways, approaches to healing, creating space for healing, and reflexive and responsive practice. CIPs are embedded within Aboriginal approaches to healing, consider the impacts of trauma and colonisation, and require all practitioners to actively engage with Aboriginal people and their ways of knowing, being, and doing.

Sharing our account of journeying through Jindaola: an Aboriginal way towards decolonising educators

PurposeThis paper illuminates our journey as accounting educators by exploring accounting as a technical, social and moral practice towards decolonising ourselves. It lays the foundations for decolonising the higher education curriculum and the consequences for addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper focuses on the potential to foster a space for praxis by adopting dialogism-in-action to understand our transformative learning through Jindaola [pronounced Jinda-o-la], a university-based Aboriginal knowledge program. A dialogic pedagogy provided the opportunity to create a meaningful space between us as academics, the Aboriginal Knowledge holder and mentor, the other groups in Jindaola and, ultimately, our accounting students. Since Jindaola privileged ‘our way’ as the pedagogical learning process, we adopt autoethnography to share and reflect on our experiences. Making creative artefacts formed the basis for building relationships, reciprocity and respect and represents our shared journey and collective account.FindingsWe reveal our journey of “holding to account” by analysing five aspects of our lives as critical accounting academics – the overarching conceptual framework, teaching, research, governance and our physical landscape. In doing so, we found that Aboriginal perspectives provide a radical positioning to the colonial legacies of accounting practice.Originality/valueOur journey through Jindaola contemplates how connecting with Country and engaging with Aboriginal ways of knowing can assist educators in meaningfully addressing the SDGs. While not providing a panacea or prescription for what to do, we use ‘our way’ as a story of our commitment to transformative change.

Reimagining democratic education by positioning Aboriginal Country-centred learning as foundational to curriculum and pedagogy

In settler colonial societies such as Australia, democracy has its origins in colonisation and so this influences educational structures, policies and what is taught every day in classrooms. The current national education vision, the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration (Education Council Secretariat, 2019) states that a purpose of education is to create “a socially cohesive society that values respects and appreciates different points of view and cultural, social linguistic, and religious diversity” (p. 5), framing key democratic principles as central to this work. Paradoxically, as the corporate-style education agenda continues to narrow and limit an already Eurocentric, monocultural curriculum, and performance-manage teachers, democratic approaches such as critical thinking, problem-solving and experiential learning are at risk. In October 2023, the Australian people were asked to vote on altering the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander “Voice” to parliament. The Voice to Parliament would have provided greater representation in parliamentary processes and political decision making on matters impacting Indigenous peoples interests and rights (Fredericks, 2023, p. 125). The divisive debate and vilification of Indigenous Australians that preceded the referendum and resulted in a resounding “No” vote, reflects the historical failure of the education system to prepare students for active and informed citizenship. Learning from Country (LFC), where knowledges shared by Aboriginal peoples and Country are positioned as central to understanding this country, suggests a way in which we might decolonise Australian education and address the social, cultural and environmental issues facing all citizens. This paper discusses Country-centred learning where teacher educators and preservice teachers learn from Country through walking with and listen to Aboriginal community-based educators to develop the pedagogical skills needed to implement a participatory democratic approach in their classrooms. LFC supports opportunities to story Aboriginal ways of being, knowing and doing into curriculum and pedagogy using a framework to guide teachers in ways that respect multiple local community perspectives to build cohesive school communities.

Disrupting STEM Education by Braiding Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Environmental Education

Learning is inherently connected. It is time to disrupt traditional STEM education by meaningfully embracing multiple perspectives such as Indigenous and environmental education learning principles. Through my story as a white non-indigenous science teacher, we explore the importance of acknowledging one’s feelings, the power of storytelling, my journey educating myself and embracing multiple perspectives inside my teaching practice. Because Aboriginal Ways of Being state that the “the deepest learning takes place in lived experience” (BCTF, 2017), I share my process and reflections on designing and implementing a specific unit about clam gardens in a secondary science classroom.

A Two-Eyed Seeing Teaching and Learning Framework for Science Education

Worldwide, education jurisdictions are looking for authentic ways to address First Nations perspectives in the K-12 curriculum, including science education. At the same time, there have been ongoing efforts to integrate authentic and engaging approaches to teaching science, including those that are student-centred, inquiry-based, multimodal, and linked to meaningful contexts. Both goals may be realised through the principle of Two-Eyed Seeing (TES), which seeks to integrate the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing with one eye, and Western ways of knowing with the other eye, for the benefit of all students. This theoretical paper presents a Two-Eyed Seeing for Science Education (TESSE) Framework, which brings together two pedagogical models. One is from a contemporary science perspective, the 5Es representation-rich inquiry approach, which scaffolds authentic student-centred conceptually focused learning experiences. The other is from an Indigenous perspective, the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning, which illustrates different ways of knowing—many of which are familiar with First Peoples across the world (e.g., place-based, visual, holistic). The TESSE Framework aims to act as a strengths-based interface between the two knowledge systems to support a culturally responsive approach to teaching and learning science. It is designed to support meaningful connections through curriculum and pedagogy in ways that are contextually relevant to place. Through empirical investigation and in collaboration with local communities, the Framework has the potential to inform current approaches to science education in schools and universities and provide a pathway towards decolonisation and reconciliation.

A mixed methods study of Aboriginal health workers’ and exercise physiologists’ experiences of co-designing chronic lung disease ‘yarning’ education resources

BackgroundDespite the high incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Aboriginal communities in Australia, Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) have limited knowledge about effective management.AimTo evaluate an online education program, co-designed with AHWs and exercise physiologists (EPs) or physiotherapists (PTs), to increase knowledge about COPD and its management.MethodsAHWs and EPs from four Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) were recruited. An Aboriginal researcher and a physiotherapist experienced in COPD management and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) delivered seven online education sessions. These sessions used co-design principles and an Aboriginal pedagogy framework ‘8 Ways of learning’, which incorporates Aboriginal protocols and perspectives to realign teaching techniques and strengthen learning outcomes. Topics covered were: How the lungs work; What is COPD; Medications and how to use inhalers and COPD Action Plans; Why exercise is important; Managing breathlessness; Healthy eating; Managing anxiety and depression. After each session, AHWs with support from EPs, co-designed education ‘yarning’ resources using Aboriginal ways of learning to ensure topics were culturally safe for the local Aboriginal community and practiced delivering this at the following session. At the end of the program participants completed an anonymous online survey (5-point Likert scale) to assess satisfaction, and a semi-structured interview about their experience of the online education.ResultsOf the 12 participants, 11 completed the survey (7 AHWs, 4 EPs). Most (90%) participants strongly agreed or agreed that the online sessions increased knowledge and skills they needed to support Aboriginal patients with COPD. All (100%) participants felt: their cultural perspectives and opinions were valued and that they were encouraged to include cultural knowledge. Most (91%) reported that delivering their own co-designed yarning scripts during the online sessions improved their understanding of the topics. Eleven participants completed semi-structured interviews about participating in online education to co-design Aboriginal ‘yarning’ resources. Themes identified were: revealing the Aboriginal lung health landscape; participating in online learning; structuring the online education sessions; co-designing with the facilitators.ConclusionsOnline education using co-design and 8 Ways of learning was rated highly by AHWs and EPs for improving COPD knowledge and valuing cultural perspectives. The use of co-design principles supported the cultural adaptation of COPD resources for Aboriginal people with COPD.Trial registrationPROSPERO (registration number: CRD42019111405).

CONNECTING IN CAPE YORK: EXPLORING DIGITAL INCLUSION AND ACCESS FOR LOW INCOME INDIGENOUS FAMILIES

Our presentation will discuss how our team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous developed a unique Indigenous research methodology to increase understanding of the digital inclusion challenges faced by low income Indigenous families living on Mornington Island, a remote Aboriginal community in remote Queensland, Australia. We discuss our methodology and findings of how low income Mornington Island Aboriginal families use the internet to access government and social services, education, e-health and e-commerce. This project employs Indigenous methodologies including yarning, participant photography, and co-design workshops to inform policies, practices and programs. Our results are interpreted within the growing body of decolonizing methodologies and Indigenous research, methods and methodologies. Informed by Martin’s (2009) Relatedness Theory, our data is considered through Aboriginal ways of being, doing and knowing, with Aboriginal axiology, epistemology and ontology forming a window through which we observe, analyse and interpret data. In this presentation, we will discuss how we as a blended research team: • facilitated Indigenous involvement in the research (starting with the development of the research concept and design) • engaged strongly with with Indigenous research and literature, both academic and community-based to interpret data and findings • engaged with and developed Indigenous methodologies to ensure the effectiveness and appropriateness of this research and • represented Indigenous authors and voices in analysis and communication of research results

Health services for aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote Australia: A scoping review.

In Australia, there is a significant gap between health outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, which may relate to inequity in health service provision, particularly in remote areas. The aim was to conduct a scoping review to identify publications in the academic and grey literature and describe 1) Existing health services for Indigenous children in remote Australia and service use, 2) Workforce challenges in remote settings, 3) Characteristics of an effective health service, and 4) Models of care and solutions. Electronic databases of medical/health literature were searched (Jan 1990 to May 2021). Grey literature was identified through investigation of websites, including of local, state and national health departments. Identified papers (n = 1775) were screened and duplicates removed. Information was extracted and summarised from 116 papers that met review inclusion criteria (70 from electronic medical databases and 45 from the grey literature). This review identified that existing services struggle to meet demand. Barriers to effective child health service delivery in remote Australia include availability of trained staff, limited services, and difficult access. Aboriginal and Community Controlled Health Organisations are effective and should receive increased support including increased training and remuneration for Aboriginal Health Workers. Continuous quality assessment of existing and future programs will improve quality; as will measures that reflect aboriginal ways of knowing and being, that go beyond traditional Key Performance Indicators. Best practice models for service delivery have community leadership and collaboration. Increased resources with a focus on primary prevention and health promotion are essential.

Health services for aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote Australia: A scoping review

In Australia, there is a significant gap between health outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, which may relate to inequity in health service provision, particularly in remote areas. The aim was to conduct a scoping review to identify publications in the academic and grey literature and describe 1) Existing health services for Indigenous children in remote Australia and service use, 2) Workforce challenges in remote settings, 3) Characteristics of an effective health service, and 4) Models of care and solutions. Electronic databases of medical/health literature were searched (Jan 1990 to May 2021). Grey literature was identified through investigation of websites, including of local, state and national health departments. Identified papers (n = 1775) were screened and duplicates removed. Information was extracted and summarised from 116 papers that met review inclusion criteria (70 from electronic medical databases and 45 from the grey literature). This review identified that existing services struggle to meet demand. Barriers to effective child health service delivery in remote Australia include availability of trained staff, limited services, and difficult access. Aboriginal and Community Controlled Health Organisations are effective and should receive increased support including increased training and remuneration for Aboriginal Health Workers. Continuous quality assessment of existing and future programs will improve quality; as will measures that reflect aboriginal ways of knowing and being, that go beyond traditional Key Performance Indicators. Best practice models for service delivery have community leadership and collaboration. Increased resources with a focus on primary prevention and health promotion are essential.

Debakarn Koorliny Wangkiny: steady walking and talking using first nations-led participatory action research methodologies to build relationships

ABSTRACT Aboriginal participatory action research (APAR) has an ethical focus that corrects the imbalances of colonisation through participation and shared decision-making to position people, place, and intention at the centre of research. APAR supports researchers to respond to the community's local rhythms and culture. APAR supports researchers to respond to the community's local rhythms and culture. First Nations scholars and their allies do this in a way that decolonises mainstream approaches in research to disrupt its cherished ideals and endeavours. How these knowledges are co-created and translated is also critically scrutinised. We are a team of intercultural researchers working with community and mainstream health service providers to improve service access, responsiveness, and Aboriginal client outcomes. Our article begins with an overview of the APAR literature and pays homage to the decolonising scholarship that champions Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing. We present a research program where Aboriginal Elders, as cultural guides, hold the research through storying and cultural experiences that have deepened relationships between services and the local Aboriginal community. We conclude with implications of a community-led engagement framework underpinned by a relational methodology that reflects the nuances of knowledge translation through a co-creation of new knowledge and knowledge exchange.

Getting to the heart of the matter: a research partnership with Aboriginal women in South and Central Australia

ABSTRACT Within the vast majority of qualitative health research involving Indigenous populations, Indigenous people have been marginalised from research conceptualisation and conduct. This reflects a lack of regard for Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing, has served to perpetuate deficit narratives of Indigenous peoples’ health and wellbeing, and contributes to failure in addressing inequities as a result of ongoing colonisation and institutionalised oppression and racism. There is a need to place Indigenous voices and ways of doing at the centre of research by working in intercultural partnership, bringing together Indigenous and Western knowledges. This paper explores how such an approach can be applied, demonstrating a reflective process of conceptualisation and conduct that brings together Indigenous ways of working with grounded theory with Aboriginal communities in Australia. Furthermore, it supported a non-Indigenous researcher to learn ways of working respectfully, guided by community protocols. A six-stage research process was developed, overseen by an Aboriginal Women’s Advisory Group. Research conceptualisation and conduct centred on three principles: bringing together Aboriginal ways of working with Western research methodology; using women’s own voices to develop a narrative of cardiovascular health and wellbeing; and ensuring that tangible outcomes were delivered to women and communities in the spirit of partnership and reciprocity. This approach, guided at all steps by Indigenous women, demonstrates a way of adapting qualitative Western methodology to ensure values and principles of ethical guidelines of conduct are upheld to unravel constructs of colonisation, redress past wrongdoing, and reverse deficit narratives.

‘That's the bloodline’: Does Kinship and care translate to Kinship care?

Abstract Kinship for First Nations people is a fundamental, yet complex, element of one's culture, enabling both belonging and relationality, and extending beyond blood family and relations. Kinship is also recognized as important within out‐of‐home care (OOHC) systems, with kinship care being the predominant OOHC placement type in Australia (AIHW, 2021). However, when First Nations children and young people are removed by the state, and placed into OOHC, it is important to interrogate whether kinship placements enable cultural connection and continuity with First Nations ways of understanding Kinship. This article begins by contextualising current OOHC policy and practice in Australia where a westernised and homogenised concept of kinship care is touted as similar to First Nations notions of Kinship. Here, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP) has become oversimplified by equating kinship care with relative care, thus creating ambiguity in care and placements in OOHC, voiding First Nations traditions and ways of understanding Kinship while a young person is in care. This article then reports the findings of qualitative interviews with 37 First Nations and non‐Indigenous people concerning the use of the term ‘Kinship’ in OOHC in New South Wales (NSW), how it is operationalised and how it is understood. Wide‐ranging experiences by participants concerning Kinship within OOHC were evident, thus demonstrating the imperative for a broader understanding of Kinship. This understanding needs to be applied within OOHC in ways that are consistent with First Nations notions of Kinship, as kinship care placements on their own are not enough to keep children connected in culture. The findings from this study show that the term Kinship is applied problematically within OOHC in NSW by equating legal and policy definitions of kinship care with Aboriginal ways of understanding Kinship. Ensuring First Nations traditions, practices and notions of Kinship are applied for First Nations children and young people in OOHC contexts is paramount.

The Non-Indigenous Educator Teaching Australian Aboriginal Content in Social Work Education

ABSTRACT Social work in Australia requires educators to teach skills, knowledge, and Aboriginal ways of knowing, doing, and being to ensure graduates are culturally responsive and potential allies when working with Aboriginal peoples and communities. This education should include an accurate teaching of Australian Aboriginal history and sharing of Aboriginal knowledge. Currently, non-Aboriginal educators are more likely to teach Aboriginal content, which can foreclose opportunities for Aboriginal educators. On the surface this appears to be a continuation of colonialism where white privileged groups speak for, speak about, and occupy, in this instance, the educational spaces related to Australian Aboriginal peoples and other minority racial groups. This occupation of the educational space in social work is an interesting predicament when considering whether social work educators are allies to the processes of decolonisation. This article explores the experiences of non-Aboriginal educators and asks the question—how do we decolonise social work to create culturally responsive practitioners? IMPLICATIONS Universities need to be aware of and address the continuation of colonising practices in teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content. There is the potential to create a transformative future in social work education with the sharing of two world views.

Building cultural responsiveness in a mainstream health organisation with ‘8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning’: a participatory action research study

Building cultural responsiveness in a mainstream health organisation with ‘8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning’: a participatory action research study