The Time is Now – Truthfully assessing achievements in Indigenous curriculum while leading for future success

Blurb

The spark of Indigenising curriculum began at least three decades ago, lit by searing criticism from Indigenous scholars within the academy highlighting the dearth of Indigenous disciplinary curricula, and fanned by the recognition that university graduates could contribute to improving Indigenous equity. Today there remains a need to ensure that university graduates can contribute to addressing Indigenous socio-economic outcomes. This is unfinished business requiring considerable institutional commitment. In many disciplines, producing graduates with the capacity to work effectively with and for Indigenous Australians will require reinvigorated curricula

orientations to counteract enduring absences and silences. While the Universities Australia first and second Indigenous Strategies have sharpened institutional focus on Indigenising curriculum, many universities remain ill-equipped to succeed in such curriculum transformation. The complexity of the enterprise arises from factors such as the student resistance, widespread educator under-confidence, poor resourcing, and the scarcity of Indigenous staff. This presentation will range across tips for individual classroom teachers, suggestions for program-focused approaches to curriculum development, and the importance of policy alignment. Along the way the presentation will highlight the value of educators taking risks and show how rewards can be part of the process.