Seeking new paradigms in Aboriginal education research: methodological opportunities, challenges and aspirations

Abstract

It is only relatively recently that Aboriginal peoples in Australia are represented in the academe, creating knowledges that speak for, and not of us. Internationally renowned Maori scholar, Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, was groundbreaking in her use of critical discourses needed for indigenous peoples globally to reclaim our knowledges and experiences through research. The emergence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars in Australia presents hope and opportunities for our communities to utilise the possibilities that ethical, Indigenous-driven research can have in interrogating complex and ongoing issues created by colonialism.Research that theorises Aboriginal epistemic and ontological research paradigms in Australia are still developing. Moreover, discipline-specific theoretical frameworks and methodologies are still emerging. This paper outlines my experience as an Aboriginal researcher in utilising Indigenist theoretical principles and methodological approaches. Using autobiographical reflections from my doctoral research, I present a range of practical implications that arise when the 'researched' shifts to the researcher in Western-dominated spaces such as schools. I will critically analyse the question, are Aboriginal researchers able to conduct research that is motivated by our agendas, ideas and aspirations in a discipline that perpetuates imperialism, racism and exclusion?

Working towards accountability in embedding Indigenous studies: Evidence from an Indigenous Graduate Attribute evaluation instrument

“…(p. 72) Universities, as institutionalised systems of knowledge transmission and production, have historically -and in many cases continually -failed to accurately represent, and be governed by, diverse Indigenous Knowledges, pedagogies, and practices (Andersen & Kukutai, 2016;Bodkin-Andrews & Carlson, 2013;Moodie, 2019;Rigney, 2017). Whilst there has been considerable recognition of the changing landscape of Indigenous Studies within the higher education sector (Nakata, 2013;Shay, 2016;Tallbear, 2016), Narungga scholar Rigney (2017) suggests that this progress has been inconsistent, fragmented, and poorly resourced within and across Australian universities.…”

Transformation from traditional schools to alternative schools: curriculum leadership of the principals of Taiwanese aborigines

“…In summary, through data analysis and the understanding and reflection of the various narratives, the research process was clarified (Shay 2016). The principal curriculum leadership established a practical framework for the alternative schools for Taiwanese aborigines with the two systems of "belief change" and "structural innovation" and then gradually formed the research scheme shown in Fig.…”

The dancing trope of cross-cultural language education policy

“…Historically, Indigenous people in Australia, as elsewhere, have been the subject of disempowering, dehumanising and highly negative research discourse (Shay, 2016). Indeed, Tuck (2009, p. 409) argues that these flawed research approaches have inflicted considerable damage by ensuring Indigenous subjects and communities undergo a subjectivity that "reinforces and re-inscribes a one-dimensional notion of these people as depleted, ruined, and hopeless."…”

“…While the NHMRC guidelines attempt to subvert the worst excesses of colonisation, in many respects they appear to reinforce them. Shay (2016) notes that the guidelines themselves are written from a non-Indigenous perspective. The 'othering' that is apparent in the text and the vague allusions to Indigenous research methodologies as a consequence of the guidelines being framed in a non-Indigenous framework means these guidelines are problematically applied to contexts where Indigenous researchers are conducting research or those who have positionalities within a transdisciplinary or cross-cultural space (Shay, 2016).…”

“…In relation to this state of play, Shay (2016, p. 280) asks, "how are Aboriginal researchers able to conduct research that is motivated by our agendas, ideas and aspirations in a discipline and context that perpetuates imperialism, racism and exclusion?" Given the role of educational institutions in the creation of a unified national polity with policies and practices that echo current Indigenous policy agendas of 'normalising' and mainstreaming Indigenous groups (Howard-Wagner, 2007), Shay (2016) argues their hegemony in terms of gatekeeping makes Indigenous self-determination and the application of Indigenous methodologies near impossible. It would seem that while ethical frameworks and processes associated with organisations such as the NHMRC and government departments were designed to ensure research is ethical and proceeds ethically, the failure to achieve this would suggest that far more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander involvement is required in the creation of ethical frameworks and their implementation through ethics committees, particularly from those communities in which the research is situated.…”