Academic Governance of the Incorporation of Indigenous Australian content
The mechanism for enabling an integrated governance mechanism is the Indigenous Board of Studies (IBS).
The Head of the School of Indigenous Australian Studies chairs the Indigenous Board of Studies. This Board is responsible for monitoring the development and implementation of the Indigenous Australian content in undergraduate programs policy at Charles Sturt and is the approval body for all Indigenous Australian Studies subjects.
Charles Sturt Academic Manual (B3.2.1 Indigenous Board of Studies) Attestation of approval for Hybrid and Discipline-specific subjects need to be documented before these subjects can be approved by relevant Faculty Courses Committees or the Academic Program Committee. The membership of the Board includes the entire School of Indigenous Australian Studies academic staff at Level B or above, and two Indigenous Australian academic staff from each of the Faculties, the Executive Officer from the Faculty of Arts and Education. All Level A Indigenous Academics and the Academic Lead (First Nations Curriculum) have Right of Audience and Debate.
Please see the current contact for the Academic Governance listed here: Academic Governance Indigenous Board of Studies
Developing Content in Indigenous Australian Studies
When developing the curriculum for inclusion in Charles Sturt degrees, the following aspects need to be considered. These aspects relate to the design of courses and subjects, student experiences such as field trips, cultural experiences, and Institutional support such as cultural awareness and competency of staff, sustainability and succession planning.
- Course and subject design
- Student experience
- Institutional factors
Course and Subject Design
The development of relevant skills and understanding will only be possible if it is based on a sound understanding of the cultural, historical and contemporary frameworks which have shaped and continue to shape the lives of First Nations peoples. This background understanding should include (at least):
- The basis of Indigenous spirituality and belief systems;
- The sources and contemporary characteristics of families and family structures;
- Relationships with land, the interconnectedness of land, family and spirituality; and the diversity of concepts of identity;
- Understanding the impact of historical processes (such as colonisation and dispossession, institutionalization, discrimination, and the Stolen Generations) is crucial, and
- The relationships between broader contemporary contexts and social issues (such as housing, dependency, poverty, and unemployment) also need to be examined and understood.
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First Nations cultures and individuals should not be the only focus. Many of the difficulties concerning relationships between First Nations peoples and professions derive as much from the nature of the profession as from the lack of understanding about First Nations cultures and people. It is essential that students are provided with the tools and opportunities to critically explore the major paradigms of their discipline and how these paradigms influence the impact of the profession on clients from diverse backgrounds.
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The teaching of knowledge, skills and values can occur simultaneously, especially the interlinking of values with the other components. Knowledge and skills can be taught in such a way that it requires the students to examine their own values at every point. This is important because the historical events that occurred (for instance, colonisation, dispossession and the Stolen Generation) were based on cultural value assumptions (such as that the First Nations peoples were/are primitive or sub-human), and the mere presentation of the historical facts requires the students to assess whether they agree with these values. With regards to skills, it can be made explicit that effective interaction with First Nations peoples cannot occur without an examination of the values that professionals hold in relation to their own or First Nations culture.
There are specific issues which need to be understood by students as future professionals. These include, for example:
- Understanding cultural diversity in child development and learning styles;
- Understanding loss and grief and trauma issues within First Nations communities and related counselling options;
- The need to challenge stereotypes and to understand the psychology of stereotyping and racism;
- The danger of pathologising the behaviour of people who don't fit into dominant cultural paradigms;
- Problems of 'deficit' models, and
- Concepts of cultural safety (Cieurzo & Keitel, 1999; Glover, Dudgeon, & Huygens, 2005; Phillips, 2004b; Sonn, Garvey, Bishop, & Smith, 2000) and cultural competence (Sonn, 2004; Sutton, 2000)
It is important to try to integrate First Nations content from Year 1, not just in separate subjects, but across the whole study program. This integration needs to be planned carefully, since there is a danger that fully-integrated content may lose coherence, and some academics may not possess the required skills, understanding, or value systems to teach this material in a culturally appropriate way. A mixture of 'stand-alone' content and integrated material is probably the best option where this is possible. However, stand-alone subjects also need to be taught carefully, since they run the risk of reinforcing concepts of 'them and us' and if taught badly can worsen existing stereotypes and attitudes rather than improving them.
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It is important to try to integrate First Nations content from Year 1, not just in separate subjects, but across the whole study program. This integration needs to be planned carefully, since there is a danger that fully-integrated content may lose coherence, and some academics may not possess the required skills, understanding, or value systems to teach this material in a culturally appropriate way. A mixture of 'stand-alone' content and integrated material is probably the best option where this is possible. However, stand-alone subjects also need to be respectfully taught and carefully planned, since they run the risk of reinforcing concepts of 'them and us' and if taught badly can worsen existing stereotypes and attitudes rather than improving them.
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It is important to have research based learning experiences, supported by a sound, culturally responsive pedagogical rationale, so that the Indigenous-related material is seen as an essential and integral component of the program rather than standing alone as some kind of curiosity. For instance, a discussion of the impact of colonisation in Australia can be related to colonisation or other modes of oppression in other countries or other contexts, with often similar consequences (such as trans-generational trauma or cultural trauma) to other groups of people as well as First Nations peoples. This can be especially useful, for instance, in understanding and working with refugees and other migrant groups
Indigenous Australian Studies at Charles Sturt: Some Policy Considerations
Defining 'Indigenous Australian Studies'
Please refer to the current Indigenous Australian Content in Courses and Subjects Policy for further information.
This policy outlines the responsibilities of the Indigenous Board of Studies, the Faculties, the School of Indigenous Australian Studies and the Division of Learning and Teaching, and in particular its Gulaay team for incorporating of Indigenous Australian content into undergraduate programs.
Also see School of Indigenous Australian Studies Courses and subjects for further information.
The question of 'Who should teach Indigenous Studies'?
The inclusion of Indigenous Australian Studies or content in University curriculum has a relatively short history and until recently has predominately been taught by non-Indigenous academic staff from disciplines such as anthropology, archaeology and the social sciences. The question of 'who should teach Indigenous Studies?' has been the subject of much discussion and debate, particularly as more Indigenous academics take their place in Australian Universities.
It was not until the late 1960s, the decade in which the United Nations made colonialism a crime against humanity, that any academic interest was shown toward Indigenous issues and/or interests or that Indigenous Studies became available as an area of study in Australian Universities. At this time in history, Australia, like other signatory countries to that UN Convention, theoretically moved into an era of post-colonisation and self-determination in which the voices of the former colonised Indigenous minority became empowered to challenge the institutional racism and exclusivity of dominant ways of knowing and doing, both generally and within academia. More recently, the process of Reconciliation, along with the findings of national inquiries such as the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1991) and the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families (1997), brought Indigenous issues to the Centre, providing further space for the growing voices of Indigenous peoples challenging and deconstructing colonising practices and articulating epistemologies and histories counter to that of the coloniser as a part of the process of self-determination.
Over the past decade there has been an increase in the number of Indigenous students graduating from higher education institutions and subsequently of Indigenous academics employed within Australian universities. There has followed a challenge to the dominance of non-Indigenous academics and their role in constructing and teaching knowledge about Indigenous Australian cultures, histories and contemporary realities. The question of 'who should teach Indigenous Studies?' was addressed at the March 2008 meeting of the National Indigenous Higher Education Network (NIHEN) held at the Dubbo campus of Charles Sturt University.
The NIHEN made five major determinations in relation to this question.
The five major NIHEN determinations:
- It is no longer acceptable that non-Indigenous academics teach Indigenous Studies content if there is a qualified Indigenous academic that can do so.
- Non-Indigenous academic staff teaching Indigenous content should have extensive knowledge of Indigenous cultures, histories and contemporary realities, both generally and discipline specific as a requirement for teaching within this area of inquiry.
- In keeping with recommendations of the AUQA Report (2000:vii), the NIHEN argued for professional development activities for non-Indigenous teaching staff such as cultural competency programs and Indigenous Studies seminars as an important step in the process of developing knowledge and understanding, providing a valuable opportunity for integrating aspects of cultural diversity generally, and of Indigenous Australian discipline specific content into a wider range of subjects within various programs.
- In recognition of the traumatisation that has occurred to Indigenous family structures and the transmission of culture as a direct result of past Government policies and practices, Indigenous academic staff teaching Indigenous Studies outside of their discipline specific knowledge area should have undertaken Indigenous Studies as a part of their higher education degree.
- A partnership between Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics in the teaching of 'hybrid' and/or discipline-specific Indigenous Studies subjects is desirable to model to students effective and respectful working partnerships.
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Indigenous Australian Studies subjects should be the responsibility of the School of Indigenous Australian Studies. Indigenous academic staff employed within Faculties and Schools across Charles Sturt but not within the School of Indigenous Australian Studies may be assigned to teach Indigenous Australian studies with the approval of the Director of the School of Indigenous Australian Studies and relevant Dean. In such cases responsibility for academic management of the subject will remain with the School of Indigenous Australian Studies but the funding for the subject will be assigned to the School in which the staff member is employed to recognise the proportion of their teaching load contribution.
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Discipline-specific Indigenous Australian Studies will be managed and taught by the relevant Schools, unless otherwise negotiated between the relevant Dean and Director of the School of Indigenous Australian Studies. It is expected that Faculties and Schools will employ Indigenous Academics in the professions to teach discipline-specific Indigenous Australian Studies wherever possible.
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All hybrid Indigenous Australian Studies subjects should be team taught by academic staff from the School of Indigenous Australian Studies and relevant Schools. The School of Indigenous Australian Studies should have responsibility for teaching Indigenous Australian Studies content while the relevant Schools have responsibility for the discipline-specific Indigenous Australian Studies component. The management of such subjects will remain the responsibilities of the relevant Schools, unless otherwise negotiated between the relevant Dean and the Director of the School of Indigenous Australian Studies. The Relevant Head of School and Director of the School of Indigenous Australian Studies will jointly oversee the teaching of the subject. Funding for the teaching of hybrid Indigenous Australian subjects will be assigned proportionally to the Centre/Schools based on teaching load contribution.
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Sustainability
As mentioned earlier, many of the attempts in the recent past to include relevant Indigenous content and understanding in undergraduate programs have faltered because they have relied on a few relatively isolated individual academics. Hence, it is important to put in place the factors to ensure that Indigenous Australian Studies subjects and programs are sustainable in the long term.
Succession planning
Long-term sustainability requires the appointment of new staff from time to time. Having more than one person from your school involved in course and subject development and teaching, even if others may only have a relatively minor role (for instance, delivering a few lectures, or doing some tutoring), is a good strategy since it shares the load and enables other people to continue with teaching if the initiator retires or takes leave. It also helps to create a positive culture within the school and sets the scene for inter-generational continuity. Having a small team of tutors rather than only one or two can be a good training ground for potential future lecturers and subject coordinators. In the longer term, the students themselves may be your future educators. From experience, a substantial proportion of students become very engaged with the area and want to do work with Indigenous people when they graduate. Some of them may wish to pursue an academic career in this area.
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