The University of Queensland has launched a second podcast series in the Indigenous education space.
Indigenising Curriculum in Practice will feature an interview each month with Indigenous and non-Indigenous UQ academics across different faculties.
The eight-episode series is being developed by Professor Tracey Bunda and Dr Katelyn Barney from UQ’s Indigenous Engagement division.
“The aim is to provide academics with practical advice on how to start the process of Indigenising the curriculum, through exploring case studies across the academic disciplines,” Professor Bunda said.
“This is important because we often find non-Indigenous academics are open to Indigenising curriculum but have concerns about finding resources, not knowing how to reach out to Indigenous community members or fears of simply getting it wrong.”
The podcast follows the success of Indigenous Success: Doing it, Thinking it, Being it which launched in 2021.
Designed for university outreach practitioners working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, the nine-part series includes examples of how to embed cultural aspects in outreach programs as early as primary school.
“A number of universities now have pilot outreach activities for Indigenous students in primary school and early years of high school,” Dr Barney said.
“This is significant because there is growing recognition that the current major investment in outreach activities in the later secondary years may begin too late.”
The podcast has considerable international reach, with listeners in New Zealand, Canada and the USA.
Professor Bunda said the podcasters were modelling how Indigenous and non-Indigenous people could work closely and respectfully together.
“In this way, the University can shift to a site defined by two knowledge systems rather than one,” she said.
The podcasts were produced and edited by broadcaster Anthony Frangi from the School of Communications and Arts. His work won a UQ 2022 Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning as part of the Higher Ed Heroes podcast team.
Indigenous Success: Doing it, Thinking it, Being it is part of Dr Barney’s Equity Fellowship under the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) Equity Fellows Program, funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment.
