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Reaching Across the Divide (RAD): Aboriginal Elders and Academics working together to improve student and staff cultural capability outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

Louise Hansen ,
Percy Hansen ,
Joanna Corbett ,
Antonia Hendrick Open the ORCID record for Antonia Hendrick [Opens in a new window]  and
Trudi Marchant
Louise Hansen
Affiliation:
School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia6845, Australia
Percy Hansen
Affiliation:
School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia6845, Australia
Joanna Corbett
Affiliation:
School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia6845, Australia
Antonia Hendrick*
Affiliation:
School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia6845, Australia
Trudi Marchant
Affiliation:
School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia6845, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Antonia Hendrick, E-mail: a.hendrick@curtin.edu.au
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Abstract

This article, written by Aboriginal Nyoongar Elders, Louise and Percy Hansen and Joanna Corbett in collaboration with two Wadjella (white) academics, details the design and delivery of The Reaching Across the Divide: Aboriginal Elders and Academics working together project (RAD) which aimed to develop student cultural capabilities. It is encouraging that many Australian universities aim at embedding Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing yet there remains little information on how to do this. RAD, guided by a Nyoongar framework for engagement, the Minditj Kaart-Moorditj Kaart Framework, provides one example. RAD developed student and staff capabilities, through building trusting, committed relationships, and promoting systems change. The results highlight how co-creating to embed Indigenous pedagogy through yarning and oral storying (Hansen & Corbett, 2017; Hansen, 2017) produces transformative learning outcomes which also meet key national, local and professional directives.

Keywords

Aboriginal Elderscultural responsivenessdecolonising curriculumIndigenous pedagogytransformative practiceyarning
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , December 2021 , pp. 284 - 292
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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