Embedding First Nations ways of being and knowing into the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching and Research of Higher Education Learning and Teaching

In this webinar, jointly hosted by the Council of Australasian Leaders in Learning and Teaching (CAULLT) and HERDSA/ASRHE, we draw on the wisdom of First Nations leaders in research and the scholarship of learning and teaching from two different disciplines (Allied Health/Social Work and Creative Arts) for their insights on how they infuse First Nations perspectives into their disciplinary research and the potential this holds for SoTL and research in higher education learning and teaching in general.

At the HERDSA Conference in Adelaide in 2024, Paul Callaghan (University of Melbourne) reflected on “the fundamental differences between Western and Aboriginal culture, pedagogy, epistemology, ontology, and axiology” and how universities required a process of “truth telling” “to create improved learning and research environments for Aboriginal students and staff that better support self-determination”. His keynote is published in advancing Scholarship and Research in Higher Education (ASRHE), HERDSA’s second journal: https://asrhe.org/index.php/asrhe/article/view/10483 . This keynote caused the editors of ASRHE to consider how higher education journals can better support and value First Nations scholarship and research to truly transform our higher education scholarship and publishing. This webinar aims to provide guidance on how we can commence this important journey.

Presenters:

Professor Simone Ulalka Tur is the from the Yankunytjatjara community, north-west South Australia and is the Pro-Vice Chancellor Indigenous at Flinders University. A particular focus of her leadership role involves integrating Indigenous Australian perspectives within university topics and promoting a greater understanding between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian peoples and the broader Australian community. Her work also explores new spaces where all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can re-engage and transform their understandings of Australia and what it means to be Australian from an Indigenous perspective. Simone is also part of The Unbound Collective – a collective of four Aboriginal women academics/artists, who enact critical creative responses to colonial archives.

Associate Professor Jessica Russ-Smith is a sovereign Wiradyuri Wambuul woman, Deputy Head of School Allied Health ACT, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Curriculum and Pedagogy Co-ordinator of Social Work and Chair of the Indigenous Research Ethics Advisory Panel at ACU. She is a two-time University Medallist and an elected non-executive Director for the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). Jess is a member of Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) Research Advisory Committee. Throughout her career, she has been committed to creating decolonising, critical learning and practice spaces for students, staff and practitioners which honour and are guided by First Nations sovereign knowledges. Jess’s research and teaching relates to Indigenous sovereignty, decolonising higher education and social work, critical disability justice, ethics and AI. Jessica was awarded the 2024 Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning—the Neville Bonner Award for Indigenous Education, as part of the Universities Australia Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT).