Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-pztms Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-03-28T00:41:30.625Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Kinship Online: Engaging ‘Cultural Praxis’ in a Teaching and Learning Framework for Cultural Competence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Lynette Riley ,
Deirdre Howard-Wagner  and
Janet Mooney
Lynette Riley
Affiliation:
National Centre For Cultural Competence, Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services), The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Deirdre Howard-Wagner*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Social Policy, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Janet Mooney
Affiliation:
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Deirdre Howard-Wagner, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, The University of Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. Email: deirdre.howard-wagner@sydney.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

The article describes the teaching and learning framework that underpins a Kinship Online Module aimed at delivering online cross-cultural training at the university level. It is based on an existing workshop designed and presented to non-Aboriginal staff and students by Lynette Riley, a Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman from Dubbo and Moree. In doing so, this article reflects on the pedagogical framework and adopted learning environment, and describes how the project adopts a ‘cultural praxis’ approach that combines a social constructivist, problem-based immersive learning approach with five complementary pedagogical approaches. These principles underpin the designing of a program that embeds diverse Aboriginal knowledge into this online teaching resource.

Keywords

AboriginalIndigenousresearchcommunity developmentkinship

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , August 2015 , pp. 70 - 84
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Andrews, D., Hull, T., & De Meester, K. (2010). Storytelling as an instructional method: Research perspectives. Rotterdam and Taipai: Sense Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Australian Government. (2010). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education: Action Plan 2010–2014. Canberra, Australia: Author.Google Scholar
Australian Government. (2012). Australian Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Act No. 149 of 2003 as amended on 6 September 2012). Canberra, Australia: Author.Google Scholar
Battiste, M. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy in First Nations education a literature review with recommendations. Ottawa, Canada: National Working Group on Education and the Minister of Indian Affairs, Indian and Northern Affairs.Google Scholar
Behrendt, L., Larkin, D., Griew, R., & Kelly, P. (2012). Review of Higher Education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Final report. Canberra, Australia: Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, Australian Government.Google Scholar
Blakesley, S. (2010). Yukon: Storytelling as an insightful tool for understanding educational leadership in Indigenous Yukon contexts. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 111, 1–22.Google Scholar
Bitzer, E. (2001). Understanding co-operative learning: A case study in tracing relationships to social constructivism and South African socio-educational thought. South African Journal of Higher Education, 15, 98–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blodgett, A.T., Schinke, R.J., Smith, B., Peltier, D., & Pheasant, C. (2011). In Indigenous words: Exploring vignettes as a narrative strategy for presenting the research voices of Aboriginal community members. Qualitative Inquiry, 17, 522–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, J. (2010). Singing saltwater country. Sydney, Australia: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Christie, M. (2005). Aboriginal knowledge traditions in digital environments. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 34, 61–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craven, R.G., Halse, C., Marsh, H.W., Mooney, J., & Wilson-Miller, J. (2005a). Teaching the teachers mandatory Aboriginal Studies: Volume I: Recent successful strategies. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
Craven, R.G., Halse, C., Marsh, H.W., Mooney, J., & Wilson-Miller, J. (2005b). Teaching the teachers mandatory Aboriginal Studies: Volume II: Case studies of exemplary practice in pre-service teacher education. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
Craven, R.G., Halse, C., Marsh, H.W., Mooney, J., & Wilson-Miller, J. (2005c). Teaching the teachers Aboriginal Studies: Impact on teaching. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
Diekelmann, J., & Diekelman, N. (2009). School learning teaching: Toward narrative pedagogy. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse Books.Google Scholar
Egan, K. (1998). Teaching as story telling: An alternative approach to teaching and curriculum. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Green, S., Baldry, E., & Sherwood, J. (2008, November). Decolonisation: An essential process for Australian social work education. Paper presented at the Strength in Unity AASW Annual Conference, Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Harrison, N., & Greenfield, M. (2011). Relationship to place: Positioning Aboriginal knowledge and perspectives in classroom pedagogies. Critical Studies in Education, 52, 65–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Healy-Ingram, A. (2011). Teaching Indigenous literature: An ethics of voice. In Doecke, B., McLean Davies, L., & Mead, P. (Eds.), Teaching Australian literature: From classroom conversations to national imaginings (pp. 31–51). Kent Town, South Australia: Wakefield Press.Google Scholar
Lester, J.C., Stone, B.A., & Stelling, G.D. (1999). Lifelike pedagogical agents for mixed-initiative problem solving in constructivist learning environments. User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction, 9, 1–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaughlin, J., & Whatman, S. (2007, July). Embedding Indigenous perspectives in university teaching and learning: Lessons learnt and possibilities of reforming/decolonizing curriculum. Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on Indigenous Education Proceedings: Asia/Pacific, Vancouver, Canada.Google Scholar
Martin, D. (2005). Rethinking Aboriginal community governance. In Smyth, P., Reddel, T., & Jones, A. (Eds.), Community and local governance in Australia (pp. 108–127). Sydney, Australia: New South Publishing.Google Scholar
Minniecon, D., Franks, N., & Heffernan, M. (2007). Indigenous research: Three researchers reflect on their experiences at the interface. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36, 23–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mooney, J., & Craven, R. (2006). A case study: Introducing and teaching core Aboriginal studies. Paper presented at the Association for Active Educational Researchers Conference, Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Moreton-Robinson, A. (Ed.): 2004. Whiteness, epistemology and Indigenous representation. In Whitening race essays in social and cultural criticism (pp. 75–88). Canberra, Australia: Australian Studies Press.Google Scholar
National Aboriginal Education Committee (NAEC). (1985). Philosophy, aims and policy guidelines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education. Canberra, Australia: National Aboriginal Education Committee.Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and the cultural interface: Underlying issues at the intersection of knowledge and information systems. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Journal, 28, 281–291.Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2006). Australian Indigenous studies: A question of discipline. The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 17, 265–275.Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2007). The cultural interface. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36, 7–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakata, M. (2011). Pathways for Indigenous education in the Australian Curriculum framework. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 40, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parson, R. (2008). We are all stakeholders now: The influence of western discourses of ‘community engagement’ in an Australian Aboriginal community. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 4, 99–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, J., & Lambert, J. (Eds.). (2005). Introducing Indigenous studies education. Sydney, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.Google Scholar
Phillips, J., & Whatman, S. (2007). Decolonising pre-service teacher education — Reform at many cultural interfaces. In E.L. Baker & D.M. Koretz (Eds.), Proceedings of the American Educational Research Association World of Educational Quality Annual Meeting, Chicago, USA.Google Scholar
Price, K. (2012) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies in the classroom. In Price, K. (Ed.), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education (pp. 151–163). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramsay, R., & Walker, D. (2010). Translating hybridity: The curious case of the first Kanak novel (Déwé Gorodé's L’épave). The AALITRA Review, 1, 44–57.Google Scholar
Riley, L., Howard-Wagner, D., Mooney, J., & Kutay, C. (2013). Embedding Aboriginal cultural knowledge in curriculum at university level through Aboriginal community engagement. In Craven, R.G. & Mooney, J., Seeding success in Indigenous Australian higher education (Diversity in Higher Education, vol. 14, pp. 251–276). Bradford, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rose, M. (2012) The ‘Silent Apartheid’ as the practitioner's blindspot. In Price, K. (Ed.), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education (pp. 64–80). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sefa Dei, G.J. (2008). Indigenous knowledge studies and the next generation: Pedagogical possibilities for anti-colonial education. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 37, 5–13.Google Scholar
Universities Australia. (2011). National Best Practice Framework for Indigenous Cultural Competence in Australian Universities. Canberra, Australia: Universities Australia.Google Scholar
University of Sydney, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor — Indigenous Strategy and Services. (2012). Wingara Mura–Bunga Barrabugu. The University of Sydney, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Integrated Strategy. Sydney, Australia: Author.Google Scholar
Williamson, J., & Dalal, P. (2007). Indigenising the curriculum or negotiating the tensions at the cultural interface? Embedding Indigenous perspectives and pedagogies in a university curriculum. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36, 51–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willmot, E. (2010). A small apocrypha of Indigenous education (Prepared for ‘Bridging the Gap’ workshop held at Sydney University, August 27, 2010).Google Scholar
Yunkaporta, T. (2009). Aboriginal pedagogies at the cultural interface (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Townsville, Australia: James Cook University.Google Scholar