Working together to make Indigenous health care curricula everybody’s business: A graduate attribute teaching innovation report

Abstract

Previously there has been commitment to the idea that Indigenous curricula should be taught by Indigenous academic staff, whereas now there is increasing recognition of the need for all academic staff to have confidence in enabling Indigenous cultural competency for nursing and other health professional students. In this way, Indigenous content can be threaded throughout a curriculum and raised in many teaching and learning situations, rather than being siloed into particular subjects and with particular staff. There are many sensitivities around this change, with potential implications for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and staff, and for the quality of teaching and learning experiences. This paper reports on a collaborative process that was used to reconceptualise how Indigenous health care curricula would be positioned throughout a programme and who would or could work with students in this area. Effective leadership, establishing a truly collaborative environment, acknowledging fears and perceived inadequacies, and creating safe spaces for sharing and learning were crucial in effecting this change.

Exploring learning goals and assessment approaches for Indigenous health education: a qualitative study in Australia and New Zealand

“…Participants identified student resistance and a need for more faculty support and professional development to undertake Indigenous health teaching. This aligns with previously identified challenges of teaching Indigenous health (Jackson et al, Gair, 2016;McDermott & Sjoberg, 2012;Ranzijn et al, 2008;Ryder & Edmondson, 2015;Thackrah & Thompson, 2013;Virdun et al, 2013). In addition, even if individual teachers reflected deeply about transformative learning and sequenced their teaching and assessment tasks to scaffold student learning and they aligned their assessment tasks to closely align with and scaffold the learning goals, they may not have the time, the authority or the space within the curriculum to influence the dominant hegemony of a scientific based and biomedical learning focus (AIDA/MDANZ, 2012; Bearman et al, 2016;Brigg, 2016;Delany et al, 2016;Department of Health, 2016).…”

Editorial

“…A national approach to perinatal mental health in support to the ongoing need for further research and practice development towards better maternity care outcome in Aboriginal health (Gausia et al, 2013;Virdun et al, 2013). What are the wider contextual contributing factors to perinatal mental health morbidity?…”

Editorial

“…Through my contributions to the Indigenous Graduate Attribute committee, whose work is discussed in Virdun et al (2013) I believe I am contributing to the cultural competence of large numbers of future registered nurses. Through my contributions to the Indigenous Graduate Attribute committee, whose work is discussed in Virdun et al (2013) I believe I am contributing to the cultural competence of large numbers of future registered nurses.…”