Brief literature review of pedagogy in Indigenous cultural competence
There are many possible definitions of cultural competence. Tracy Westerman, an Aboriginal psychologist from Western Australia who is working to raise awareness about the need to be culturally competent when working with Indigenous Australians, comments that, 'cultural competence is about the ability of practitioners to identify, intervene and treat mental health complaints in ways that recognise the central role that culture plays in mental illness' (Westerman, 2004, p. 2).
The Australian literature on cultural competence and the incorporation of Indigenous Australian content into university degree programs does not have a long history. There was a steady trickle of literature discussing Indigenous content in University courses from the 1970s to the mid-1990s focusing on two linked issues: how to improve the enrolment and retention of Indigenous students in university courses, (e.g. see Schwas, 1995) and the inclusion of Indigenous content in teacher education programs, with the specific intent of developing the awareness and skills to enable teachers to teach Indigenous Studies in primary and secondary schools (Craven, 1997).
In general this earlier literature does not specifically address the inclusion of Indigenous Studies for non-Indigenous students across professional areas. By the mid-1990s the literature began developing, with some identifiable new threads emerging. Staff within a few universities began exploring the position of Indigenous knowledge systems and possible strategies to improve the representation of these knowledge systems across their universities (Anderson, Singh, Stehbens, & Tyerson 1998; Collard, Walker, & Dudgeon 1998; Lampert, 1996; Lampert & Lilley, 1996; Harris & Malin, 1997; Morris, 1999).
At the same time academics began reporting on their experiences of attempting to incorporate Indigenous content within specific disciplines and professions, including education (Craven, 1997); law (Clarke & Orford, 1998; Carpenter, Fields & Barnes, 2004) ; health and nursing (Hardy, Miller, Stewart, & Lewin, 1998; Harkin, Newbury, Henneberg, & Hudson, 2000; Morris, 1999; Phillips, 2004a); and psychology (Altman, 1996; Riggs, 2004; Sonn, 2004; Sonn, Garvey, Bishop, & Smith, 2000).
From 2000 onwards the literature began elaborating, exploring the emergence of a debate around theoretical frameworks concerning relationships between Indigenous and western knowledge systems (Dodson, 2000; Forrest, 2000; McConaghy, 2000; Nakata, 2002, 2004) and the pedagogical difficulties associated with teaching required Indigenous content to non-Indigenous students, particularly exploring issues of resistance and hostility, and strategies to overcome these issues (Altman, 1996; Bin-Sallik, 2003; McConaghy, 2003; Nomikoudis, 2002; Sonn, 2004; papers from Tertiary Aboriginal Studies Conference 2000). The establishment of policy statements by universities, professional bodies and accrediting agencies requiring the inclusion of Indigenous content within professional programs has been a feature of this literature over the last few years.
Within this literature a number of issues are apparent. The ongoing success of initiatives to introduce required Indigenous Studies content in Australian university programs has been significantly reduced by:
- A lack of serious institutional commitment, either at a policy level or to the commitment of adequate resources to achieve the goals established;
- A dependence on the good-will and motivation of individual staff, rather than a commitment to appointing staff with specific expertise in these areas;
- A dependence on Indigenous units within universities to carry responsibility for the development and teaching of this Indigenous content-responsibilities for which Indigenous units may not be adequately resourced or staffed to undertake;
- A lack of commitment by many academic staff (and in some cases resistance from staff) across professions and disciplines to the development and incorporation of Indigenous content; and
- A lack of well-established curriculum and pedagogical guidelines.