Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/51751
Title: Letters from Mungo: A Dialogue on Decolonisation to Improve Academic Engagement with Aboriginal Students
Contributor(s): Ridges, Malcolm  (author)orcid ; Wess, Tim (author)
Publication Date: 2018
Open Access: Yes
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/51751
Open Access Link: https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/CAL/article/view/12613Open Access Link
Abstract: 

A challenge for all universities in Australia is how to engage, and importantly, retain Aboriginal students. It can be tempting to think that addressing that challenge primarily concerns services, support and content. However, that response views the point of adaptation in the student. Academics also need to adapt and evolve if their relationship with Aboriginal students is to be improved and be embracing of how an alternative world view may enhance their own and hence their teaching. Much has been written on what constitutes decolonisation in education and how to achieve it, often involving an Indigenous voice. Less has been written on the personal transition required to realise decolonised practice so that what is experienced by all is inclusive and meaningful. This concerns what the colonisers need to do to bring about change in themselves. To explore this issue, a shared self-reflective dialogue is presented between an academic and a government scientist who have each been transformed by their experience of working with Aboriginal people. Over the structured discussion, a number of threshold concepts come to light that need to be embraced as fundamental elements on the journey to decolonisation. The work is purposefully self-reflective so that others can share the direct feedback we have had from working closely with Aboriginal people in Australia.

Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 26(2), p. 89-98
Publisher: Institute for Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education
Place of Publication: Australia
ISSN: 2200-4270
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 450205 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander higher education
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 210201 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education engagement and attendance outcomes
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Publisher/associated links: https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/CAL/article/view/12613
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

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