Calling out Racism in University Classrooms: The Ongoing Need for Indigenisation of the Curriculum to Support Indigenous Student Completion Rates
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The University of Queensland
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The University of Queensland Australia
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The University of Queensland Australia
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The University of Melbourne Australia
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The Australian National University Australia
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Monash University Australia
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The University of Queensland Australia
Abstract
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students continue to experience racism in Australian university classrooms. The Reconciliation Australia Barometer report (2022, p. 5) recently noted that experiences of racial prejudice have increased for Indigenous people with 60% of Indigenous people who responded to the survey experiencing at least one form of racial prejudice in the past six months. Many universities are attempting to implement action against racism and there have been concerted efforts to Indigenise curriculum across numerous universities. But there are many challenges and complexities to this process and more work is needed to increase cultural competency of university staff and students. This article explores findings from a National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) funded project that focused on “what works” to support Indigenous students to complete their degrees. This article draws on data from interviews with graduates that highlight the perceived experiences of racism in the classroom from peers and staff and the need for further Indigenisation of the curriculum to improve Indigenous student completion rates. The article concludes by discussing recommendations for universities to create a safer environment for Indigenous students. These recommendations echo previous ones (e.g., Behrendt et al., 2012) yet they have not yet been adequately addressed by universities.
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Author Biographies
Professor Bronwyn Fredericks is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) at The University of Queensland. Her research is based in the fields of education and health and grounded within the political reality of Indigenous peoples’ daily lives which exemplifies her commitment to social justice and improving Indigenous education and health outcomes.
Dr Katelyn Barney is a Senior Lecturer in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at The University of Queensland. Her research focuses on improving pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into and through higher education and advancing understanding about the role of collaborative research and music making between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people. Katelyn is also Managing Editor of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education.
Professor Tracey Bunda is a Ngugi/Wakka Wakka woman and currently Professor of Indigenous Education at The University of Queensland. Tracey’s research interests are informed by critical theoretical approaches for understanding how race and power ideologically manifest in white institutions, storying as methodology and the agentic role of Indigenous women in Indigenous community uplift.
Kirsten Hausia is an Aboriginal woman whose mother is Yamatji from Perth, Western Australia, and has research skills in educational leadership and guidance/counselling. She is currently Strategic Program Engagement Coordinator at Murrup Barak, The University of Melbourne.
Dr Anne Martin AM is a Yuin woman of the New South Wales South Coast who was born and raised in La Perouse, Sydney. She is the Director of the Tjabal Centre at Australian National University (ANU).
Professor Jacinta Elston is an Aboriginal woman from Townsville, North Queensland who lives in Naarm (Melbourne), Victoria on the lands of the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. She currently undertakes consultancy work with Cancer Australia, and Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand.
Brenna Bernardino is Timorese, Portuguese and Torres Strait Islander. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Public Health from The University of Queensland. Brenna has conducted research in education, sexual health promotion and Indigenous health in both Australia and the United States.
