non-Indigenous Educators Research Articles

Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations and Bildungsroman literature: a guidebook for journeying home, seeing places anew, and encountering Land-based education

Abstract Guarding against reliance on his own biography and romantic tendencies in Bildungsroman literature, I draw parallels to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s use of the journey trope and place-based inquiry in the Philosophical Investigations, as an exploration of concept development and confusion that exhorts and guides readers in traversing the borderlands of their own cultural–linguistic practices. l recall Wittgenstein’s journey in search of himself: his retreat from Cambridge to a remote hut in Norway, leading him on a philosophical search for meaning. This self-transformative (Bildung) process of writing the Philosophical Investigations offers new ways for thinking the concept of ‘place’: not the bounding limit of things/beings; rather, working through the linguistic turn in philosophy, as potentially meaningful ‘sites’ in conceptually familiar/unfamiliar landscapes of native languages. The Investigations also carries ancient Heraclitian and Homeric tropes of homecoming and authenticity: ‘searching ourselves’ and ‘becoming who we are’, as found in Wittgenstein’s call to ‘know our way about’—rediscovering the grammatical order operating out of view but pervading the world as we see and know it, as well as setting its limits. Awareness of different languages of place is crucial to appreciating Indigenous discourses of Land-based education—a topic central to discussions of incorporating Indigenous knowledge while decolonizing education. Rethinking Bildungsroman literature in postcolonial terms—through the lens of reconciliation, renaissance, and resurgence —I call for careful listening to Indigenous peoples’ storied landscapes instead of fact-checking them: recognizing their sovereign right to self-govern their own education and resources. The goal is not to assess the truths of Land-based education, as in some epistemological inquiries, nor to make them accessible as pedagogical resources or instruments for non-Indigenous educators. The aim rather is to promote respect for its deep, nearly inaccessible context within Indigenous grammars and ways of life.

Unravelling colonial education: from Dazzling White to Deliberately Decolonised and supporting the case for Indigenous universities

ABSTRACT Western universities continue to produce ethnic inequities in educational outcomes within settler colonial contexts. Juxtaposed are Indigenous and tribal universities, producing thousands of graduates despite a challenging environment. This conceptual paper critically examines teaching practices to encourage reflection and action from white and/or racialised teachers. Drawing on the lived experiences of Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers from Aotearoa, Australia, and the United States, this paper articulates a double spiral of teaching practice drawing on anecdotal and research evidence. The spiral spins, forward and back, from Dazzling White to Off-White Aspirations, Culturally Safe, Intentionally Anti-Racist to Deliberately Decolonised. We use the holistic measurement of what one may feel, hear, and see in these classrooms to illustrate the dimensions. To address educational disparities in Western academia, we encourage non-Indigenous educators to develop their racial literacy. Furthermore, we support the recognition and investment in Indigenous universities where Indigenous peoples are more likely to thrive.

Exploring the marking of a reflective assessment task: a collaborative autoethnography by educators navigating Indigenous allyship in higher education

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to closely examine the experiences of non-Indigenous academics in marking a single assessment task designed to promote cultural safety practice in a health professional programme. In recognition of institutional racism and significant health and wellbeing disparity in Indigenous wellbeing, cultural safety is recognised as essential knowledge across professions in tertiary education. An assessment task was designed to support students’ written critical reflection to promote their cultural safety practice. A collaborative autoethnography by four academics critically reflected on the tensions in marking this reflective assignment as non-Indigenous educators. Thematic analysis was conducted on transcriptions of the authors’ discussions and a framework was developed in response to repeating sites of tension. The Indigenous allyship assessment framework: sharing the load was framed around the central theme of Navigating the Unsettling. It specifically draws attention to navigating the Personal (Heightened Responsibility and Partial Knowledge), Pedagogical ( Judge the Meaningful and Feedback Conversations) and Persons and Processes (systems) (Efficiency Culture and Cost of Marking) tensions. Our conclusion was that non-Indigenous educators need to consciously navigate unsettling challenges to do justice to assessment tasks to promote cultural safety.

A Starting Point for Building Awareness for Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Engineering Leadership, Sustainability, and Design

The authors of this paper are non-Indigenous educators who desire to introduce Indigenous Ways of Knowing into the engineering curriculum because they believe it can add value to the impact of engineering in society and positively influence approaches to sustainable engineering design. This is challenging as the authors do not have lived Indigenous experience nor deep foundational knowledge. This paper is a documentation and reflection on the authors’ learning journey and experiences in implementing Indigenous Ways of Knowing in learning resources and activities relating to engineering leadership, sustainability and design. The approach starts with the “work before the work” and describes various ways that Indigenous Knowledge was recognized and acknowledged. Outputs included an online learning resource, and virtual experiential learning workshops. The learning journey has increased our understanding of, and our ability to improve, the positive impact that Indigenous Ways of Knowing can have in the engineering curriculum.

Acting on the TRC Calls to Action through education

In this article, the authors share insights from a project focused on building connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, communities, and schools. As an Indigenous and non-Indigenous educator team, we suggest that there are various entry points into the work of reconciliation and share our Approaches to Reconciliation model along with several other resources we have found foundational in this work. We conclude by asking the reader to consider which entry point they will begin with.

The need for First Nations pedagogical narratives: epistemic inertia and complicity in (re)creating settler-colonial education

ABSTRACT The purpose of this conceptual paper is to posit a possible reason why non-Indigenous educators are seen to be ‘cautious’ in their pedagogic engagement with First Nations perspectives in curriculum, why interventions and programmess around reconciliation and truth-telling have limited traction in affecting change in school culture, and why the Australian education system is constructed to be, and remains, largely hostile to First Nations Peoples and perspectives. Despite several decades of studies exploring these phenomena and concerted efforts to ‘fix the problem’, there has been a systemic failure to shift discourses and practice beyond the completely absent, tokenistic, or superficial inclusion of First Nations narratives in Australian education. We argue that power-knowledge relations of settler-colonial discourses are fundamentally at play and that by examining how disciplinarity and settler-colonial frameworks of knowledge control operate in education, we conceptualize a possible reason to the pedagogical challenges faced in the decision-making and integration of First Nations narratives in curriculum.

Reducing racism in education: embedding Indigenous perspectives in curriculum

This paper begins with a discussion of a program of work to map and embed Indigenous perspectives at RMIT University, outlines issues relating to the uptake of its guiding principles and actions, and then proposes a rethinking of the work. The authors argue that non-Indigenous educators are often ill equipped to undertake curriculum deconstruction or review. They lack a comprehensive understanding of colonial history, truth telling, racism, and the impact of power dynamics, with its institutional privileging of whiteness. It is often only with this foundational knowledge that staff are positioned to undertake curriculum analysis and ensure that their teaching environments are culturally safe. While this paper is case specific, the original project and the reconsideration of behaviours and actions are relevant to all educational institutions facing similar stumbling blocks when it comes to informing educators in the knowledge and capabilities required to include Indigenous perspectives in curricula and to create safe teaching environments.

Teaching mathematics to all learners by tapping into indigenous legends: A pathway towards inclusive education

This study explored the use of Indigenous storytelling in the planning and teaching of mathematical content. In collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, a culturally inclusive mathematical lesson was developed, implemented, and reviewed in an elementary school in Northern Ontario. This study used a culturally authentic approach to address the current educational issue of diversity within the Ontario curriculum and education system. The results of this study suggested that utilizing Indigenous storytelling for teaching mathematical curricular expectations could benefit both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Storytelling can allow students to relate abstract mathematical concepts to their own lived experiences, to be exposed to diverse cultures, and to foster a positive and open learning environment that is conducive to academic and non-academic learning.

Knowing Community through Story: It's Where We Come Together

As PhD students and sessional lecturers, we undertook a collaborative narrative study* to explore our pedagogical and curricular approaches to decolonizing a community development course offered in our College of Education. We gathered our conversations, reflective journals, and notes, then wove together the narratives thematically using a métissage research methodology. We discovered ways we come together in the spaces in-between our different experiences, backgrounds, and worldviews, as Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, decolonizing our curriculum and our students’ classroom experience. This paper shares one of the thematic braids we created, focused on the use of story for research, story as pedagogy and story for building relationships. We encourage educators to consider bridging their worldviews with other ways of seeing and knowing, to work toward decolonizing their teaching practices using story, and to form relationships across differences using story.

'Maybe what I do know is wrong…': Reframing educator roles and professional development for teaching Indigenous health.

Settler colonisation continues to cause much damage across the globe. It has particularly impacted negatively on Indigenous peoples' health and wellbeing causing great inequity. Health professional education is a critical vehicle to assist in addressing this;however, non-Indigenous educators often feel unprepared and lack skill in this regard. In this qualitative study, 20 non-Indigenous nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy educators in Australia were interviewed about their experiences and perspectives of teaching Indigenous health. Findings from the inductive thematic analysis suggest educators require skill development to: identify their discomfort in teaching cultural safety; contextualise the sources of this discomfort and; reflect on how this understanding can improve their teaching. Additionally, educators require professional training to become practitioners of cultural humility and to be facilitators and colearners (rather than experts) of the Aboriginal-led curriculum. Of relevance to this is educator training in how to decentre non-Indigenous needs and perspectives. Educators can also renew their teaching practices by understanding what a dominant settler paradigm is, identifying if this is problematically present in their teaching and knowing how to remedy this. Crucial to improved cultural safety teaching is institutional support, which includes Indigenous leadership, institutional commitment, relevant policies, and well-designed professional development.

Still Thriving: A Case Illustrating How COVID-19 Affected Indigenous Health and Wellness

The myriad of social, financial, material health, and educational inequities that continue to plague Indigenous communities was exacerbated by COVID-19. In order to place on spotlight on them, this case follows Star, an Indigenous Student Success Coordinator, as she navigated the policies and practices couched in the rhetoric of supporting the success, health and wellness of students and families during a global pandemic. The case and teaching notes that follow illustrate the limitations that Westernized models of health and wellness create for Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators when it comes to maintaining their students’ and own well-being. As an alternative to the dominant Westernized models, the teaching notes offer a more holistic and integrated model of Indigenous health and wellness. The elements of the model situate health and wellness as encompassing all aspects of an individual’s life by connecting them relationally to their families and communities, nations, and the land.

“We still have a lot to learn”: non-Indigenous educator perspectives on teaching Indigenous health

ABSTRACT Internationally many health professions courses require the inclusion of Indigenous health curricula and skilled educators are vital to achieving this. In this Australian qualitative study, 20 non-Indigenous nursing and allied health educators teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health were interviewed on perspectives of teaching Indigenous health. Inductive thematic analysis identified three areas relating to perceptions of what to teach, how to teach and student experiences. Educators described teaching mostly novice-level knowledge concepts with a greater focus on Indigenous cultures rather than understanding power, race and settler colonial processes. Teaching was often informed by educators’ personal and professional experiences. However, there was little critical reflexivity about whether these experiences may have modelled culturally unsafe practices or privileged settler colonial paradigms. Hence, despite good intentions of educators, teaching sometimes promoted paternalism, assimilation, stereotyping and ill-informed assumptions about Indigenous labour. Study findings indicate an imperative for theory-informed educator strengthening to understand recommended teaching approaches, impacts of settler colonialism and strategies for disrupting settler colonial cycles in education. Until institutional structures decentre colonial norms and implement cultural safety in learning and teaching practice, efforts to improve Aboriginal health equity will fall short.

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.

Relationship-Based, In-Service Learning for Teachers of Indigenous Students

This article is about heartfelt teacher learning in K-12 publicly funded schools with Indigenous students’ school success at the centre. As part of her dissertation research, Moon (2019), a non-Indigenous educator, asked Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators in two provinces to share stories about their meaningful and productive collegial learning relationships, including how they believed Indigenous students benefited. The diverse stories point to varying interpersonal, institutional, and political dynamics, which indicated that meaningful and productive learning relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators exist in multiple settings and with diverse starting points and outcomes. Some key findings across stories are that students were central to educators’ learning relationships, educators saw each other as genuine and open, and a time commitment—both day-to-day and often over years—was evident. Keywords: Indigenous education, teacher development, cross-cultural learning

“Momma, Today We Were Indian Chiefs!” Pathways to Kan’nikonhrí:io† Through Indigenous Holistic Education

The compartmentalization of knowledge and of mind, body, and spirit to schooling is the antithesis of Indigenous epistemologies and the philosophical and relational aspects of assessment making. For Indigenous students, this contributes to the cultural mismatch between home and school. In the classroom there is continued focus on colonial methods of assessment and little emphasis on children’s natural processes of learning. Assessments highlight what students know, rather than how they know. Assessments impact student’s self-esteem, self-confidence, and influence their future prospects during their educational journey. Public education and its emphasis on grading and standardized tests as measures of learning, neglect to understand the unique and diverse ways of knowing that children come to their classrooms with. Kan’nikonhrí:io (Good Mind) means to move through life with respect, dignity, honor and responsibility and is necessary for becoming fully Kanien’kehá:ka or Onkwehón:we (Original People). Non-Indigenous educators and institutions serving non-Indigenous students can benefit from the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives and epistemologies through raising awareness of Indigenous peoples history and contemporary realities, while enhancing a better understanding of the increasing cultural and learning diversity of student bodies. When children can bring their whole selves to their learning experience, including their spirits, while connecting the larger community, they can feel motivated for self-discovery through their lifelong adventure in learning, and they can be uplifted as they grow to be whole human beings with Kan’nikonhrí:io (Good Minds) and kind hearts. In this article, I offer a reflection on Indigenous holistic education and advocate for Indigenous epistemologies in public education including assessment practices as a way to address the TRC Calls to Action. Adapted from the AFS model, I offer a modified example of Indigenous holistic education here.

Decolonizing digital learning design in social work education. A critical analysis of protocol practice for cultural safety and cultural capability

ABSTRACT Many universities situate digital learning and embedding Indigenous perspectives as key dimensions for educational transformation. Internationally, recognition of the rights of Indigenous peoples in relation to education, culture, and knowledge holds universities accountable to social justice goals and educational design can contribute to the realization or failure of this endeavour. Applying protocol is an internationally recognized method for scaffolding cultural safety, building cultural capability, and demonstrating accountability. However, protocol applied specifically to digital learning is not yet widely developed and at the same time, non-Indigenous educators need cultural capability for the codesign with Indigenous people, of digital learning. To scaffold this development of cultural safety practices and capability in codesigning digital learning in social work, this article presents the case that critically reflexive approaches to applying protocol will better support decolonizing practices. A systematic review of research and policy literature generates key considerations for protocol use by non-Indigenous social work educators. Findings provide critical insights to activate practices that realize the transformational potential of protocol for decolonizing digital learning design. This research demonstrates how social work educationalists can provide leadership in the development of critically reflexive approaches to protocol practice to achieve emancipatory digital education.

Ensemble mentorship as a decolonising and relational practice in Canada

Inspired by collaborating on a shared vision of reconciliation, three authors explore ethical relationality and the practical ways in which their heterarchical ensemble mentorship serves to decolonise and advance a shared vision of reconciliation for university teaching and learning. As Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, we are buoyed by those developing decolonising and Indigenising strategies in formerly colonised regions. Seen as a promising interruption to a neoliberal approach to education, the authors embrace the possibilities of imagining and creating an ethical space in universities where relationality is prioritised in service of social justice. While the complex nature of reconciliation within a Canadian context begets tension and highlights what are often conflicting value systems within academe, we maintain that innovations in teaching and learning are possible in what is now a globally disrupted terrain as students, faculty, administrators, and university leadership contend with the unknown, encounter collectivist Indigenous traditions, and tentatively explore decolonisation as an ethical avenue towards inclusive and empowering education. In imagining what is possible, we build upon Indigenous knowledge traditions and the work of leadership studies scholars to propose 'ensemble mentorship' between students and faculty as a collaborative and decolonising teaching and learning practice.

Unfettering discussions about social justice: the role of conversational prompts in discussions about mathematics education for Indigenous students

To increase possibilities for listening respectfully to Indigenous educators, there is a need to identify conversational prompts which are used to raise alternative views of social justice about mathematics education for Indigenous students. Using Nancy Fraser’s description of abnormal social justice, an analysis was made of transcripts from round table sessions, at an Indigenous mathematics education conference. This analysis identified a number of conversational prompts that enabled shifts from normal to abnormal discussions about social justice. Normal discussions exhibited assumptions in which mathematics was valued as a Western domain of knowledge; cultural examples could be used as vehicles to teach mathematics; and decisions about education for Indigenous students should be made by external authorities. In abnormal discussions, these assumptions were queried and alternative possibilities arose. The conversational prompts, which initiated this querying, occurred in a number of ways, including the telling of stories and the asking of questions that either directly or indirectly challenged normal justice discourses about Indigenous students’ learning of mathematics. Identifying conversational prompts can assist non-Indigenous mathematics educators, who wish to be allies, to challenge their own and others’ assumptions about normal social justice issues related to mathematics education for Indigenous students.

Pedagogical Talking Circles: Decolonizing Education through Relational Indigenous Frameworks

This article focuses on pedagogical talking circles as a practice of decolonizing and Indigenizing education. Based upon Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), non-Indigenous educators have a responsibility, while Indigenous educators have an opportunity, to transform normative colonial institutional knowledge structures and practices. Pedagogical talking circles are particularly useful in providing supported spaces for participants/students to engage in reciprocal and relational learning. The pedagogical theories outlined in this article utilize three main Indigenous methodological approaches: situated relatedness, respectful listening, and reflective witnessing. Based upon these underlying approaches, this article speaks to the necessity for decolonizing education (K-12 and post-secondary).

Learning together on Country: reimagining design education in Australia

ABSTRACT Euro-Western perspectives dominate visual communication design education in Australia. This paper examines how the “8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning” pedagogical framework transformed the learning and teaching of design within high school contexts in two Aboriginal communities – Ntaria in the Northern Territory and Warmun in Western Australia. Known as 8 Ways, this model facilitates a culturally safe space for knowledge sharing, encourages teachers to engage with Indigenous pedagogies within the classroom, and emphasizes relational learning. Multiple participatory methods informed our approaches, including the development of place-based design curricula to embed and evaluate 8 Ways. These case studies reveal how Indigenous pedagogical approaches to design education can create value and meaning for Indigenous young people through the enactment and expression of cultural identity, while reinforcing connection to land, family, and community. We argue that non-Indigenous educators can draw upon Indigenous pedagogies to decolonize their teaching strategies and to engage Indigenous students in meaningful culture-centered, intergenerational, and on-Country learning experiences. This research paves the way for participatory and place-based models of design education that reinforce and return the knowledge systems, land stewardship practices, and cultural values of Australia’s First Nations peoples to the classroom.