Indigenous Perspectives in Learning and Teaching

This unit (AEK7001) connects with the unit learning outcomes of articulating and embodying the ideologies, epistemologies and cosmologies of socially-just education through critically reflective and reflexive teaching, Indigenous-led learning, equity and access, as well as critically applying knowledge of educational issues to improve classroom practice and strengthen students' relations with their local community. The overall goal of this unit is to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, places, and positionalities in compulsory school curriculum content and pedagogy through the acknowledgement of the past and present and future aspirations held by Indigenous peoples, particularly the First Nations people of Australia, and their communities of belonging, in order to value the wealth and diversity of our shared future. This unit aims to develop critical understandings of curriculum design and content; ongoing connections of people to place and space; theoretical constructs including post-colonialism and decolonisation; engagement beyond dominant culture discourses, descriptions and solutions; key issues of self-determination and sovereignty; culturally appropriate pedagogical and curriculum materials; privileging of Indigenous and post-colonial ways of knowing, being and doing education in the 21st Century; challenges in addressing systemic change required to meet the needs of Indigenous students and Indigenous educators; strategies for inclusion that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in school; and understanding how to challenge the colonial standpoints that hinder equitable outcomes for Indigenous students.