A fresh approach to indigenous business education

Abstract

Purpose -The social and economic disadvantages confronted by many Indigenous Australians are well known. A close look at Indigenous employment highlights that Indigenous Australians are substantially under-represented in the technical and professional areas of business and management. Closing the gap and improving the social and economic outcomes requires a greater focus in these areas. The purpose of this paper is to outline the design of an innovative undergraduate business degree for Indigenous students that: meets the targets set by government, produces the "T-shaped" graduate expected by business (disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge and soft skills), addresses the employment needs of the Indigenous community and provides the building blocks for Indigenous students to enrol in post-graduate business courses. Australians is well known. A close look at Indigenous employment highlights that Indigenous Australians are substantially under-represented in the technical and professional areas of business and management. Closing the gap and improving the social and economic outcomes requires a greater focus in these areas. This paper outlines the design of an innovative undergraduate business degree for Indigenous students that: (i) meets the targets set by government; (ii) produces the "T-shaped" graduate expected by business (disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge and soft skills); (iii) addresses the employment needs of the Indigenous community; and (iv) provides the building blocks for Indigenous students to enrol in postgraduate business courses. Design/methodology/approach -The development of the Bachelor of Business Administration (Indigenous) provided an opportunity to address the needs of Indigenous Australians in a curriculum that is not only interdisciplinary but also taught by indigenous and non-Indigenous academics. The paper outlines how the review was shaped, the innovative mode of delivery and the interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum. Administration (Indigenous) provided an opportunity to address the needs of Indigenous Australians in a curriculum that is not only interdisciplinary but also taught by indigenous and non-Indigenous academics. Findings -This course provides an integrated approach to business education focusing on the professional, technical and managerial roles in business that is in such short supply in Indigenous communities. The course contextualises the study of business within an Indigenous perspective to demonstrate how Indigenous studies not only contributes to empowering the individual but also how business education plays a critical role in repositioning Indigenous people in their local communities and society more broadly empowering the individual but also how business education plays a critical role in repositioning Indigenous people in their local communities and society more broadly. Originality/value -This paper demonstrates an integrated approach to business education focusing on the professional, technical and managerial roles in business that are in s...

O que é ser um acadêmico indígena de administração?

“…Raoni and Ubirajara cite the need for knowledge about public administration and project management as skills learned in the course that can be used in indigenous lands. All of this resumes what was presented by Bajada and Trayler (2014) and Cassandre, Amaral and Silva (2016) regarding the importance of the emergence of the profession of administrator in indigenous lands. However, as well as in communities and non-indigenous groups, it has been reported that, in indigenous lands, there are internal conflicts and factionalisms between family groups that can impede the performance of these new professionals or reduce the use of this knowledge.…”

“…The research by Amaral (2010) and other authors (NOVAK, 2007;PAULINO, 2008;CASSANDRE, AMARAL and SILVA, 2016;ANGNES, FREITAS, KLOZOVSKI et al, 2017;AMARAL, FRAGA and RODRIGUES, 2016) demonstrated how complex the indigenous educational path within universities can be. The reflections of Bajada and Trayler (2014) include the training of administrators as an emergency for the experience of indigenous peoples, as also presented in the study by Cassandre, Amaral and Silva (2016). It is necessary to highlight here that, based on the indemnification processes of hydroelectric and railroad undertakings, among others, the indigenous communities start to develop their own productive projects, requiring trained people to manage these businesses that belong to their communities.…”

Economic Attitudes and Perceptions of Poverty in Indigenous College Students in Mexico From the Intercultural Approach

“…In other words, it seeks to provide empirical evidence that allows the understanding of how behavioral economics could be used to understand the economic behavior of indigenous peoples, not only in Mexico but in other countries with indigenous populations. Considering that this issue has not been studied in depth within the indigenous context (Bajada & Trayler, 2014;Blue et al, 2015;Wagland &Taylor, 2015), there is the need to improve its understanding, even more so in the Latin American context, a region with a large indigenous population living in vulnerable situations. Furthermore, from the theoretical point of view, if there are approaches to indigenous entrepreneurship (e.g., Peredo, 2014), why could there not be approaches to behavioral economics applied to the indigenous context?…”

Using Public Private Partnerships to Accelerate Student Success

“…To develop new curricula, faculty have worked iteratively with industry leadersprior to building facilities and publishing catalog copy -to ensure industry needs are met. In each case, these conversations have confirmed the need for "T-shaped professionals" in the workforce -people who can solve increasingly complex problems in various work environments (AAC&U, 2007;Bajada & Trayler, 2013;Eisenbach et. al., 1998).…”