Indigenous Cultural Competency in Australian Universities Project

The Indigenous Cultural Competency in Australian Universities Project has been developed by Universities Australia and the Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council (IHEAC), with support from the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

Indigenous cultural competency refers to the ability to understand and value Indigenous perspectives and provides the basis upon which Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians may engage positively in a spirit of mutual respect and reconciliation.

The objective of this project is to provide Australian universities with the tools to embed cultural competency at the institutional level so that they are encouraging and supportive environments for Indigenous students and staff, and so that they produce well-rounded graduates with the skills necessary for providing genuinely competent services to the Australian Indigenous community.

The Project will run from July 2009 to April 2011. It will involve a number of pilots of Indigenous cultural competency activities in Australian universities, leading to the production and endorsement of a national best practice framework for implementing Indigenous cultural competency across the university sector. Four universities have been funded to undertake pilot activities in 2010:

1. Edith Cowan University: A project to develop a culturally competent university curriculum for law, physiotherapy and public health
2. The University of Newcastle: A project to implement a culturally competent curriculum in the Faculty of Business and Law, and to develop business partnerships to promote the value of culturally competent university graduates
3. The University of Western Australia: A project to produce an Indigenous cultural competency resource kit supported by workshops for four target groups (one faculty, the Bunbury campus, the Foundations of Teaching and Learning Group and a cross-sectional group)
4. University of Wollongong: A project to incorporate Indigenous storytelling techniques in early childhood and primary education courses through the use of ground-breaking 'Slowmation' technology

An Indigenous Cultural Competency Pilot Activity

University:University of Wollongong

Project  Leader:Associate Professor Garry Hoban, Faculty of Education

Project Summary:This project will use an innovative approach to storytelling, which has been called a ‘Relational Knowledge Approach’, to encourage pre-service primary and early childhood teachers to use Indigenous ways of knowing and learning to develop their own stories of ‘country’. These will be represented in the form of narrated ‘Slowmation’ animations. The process of Slowmation (2 frames per second animation) has evolved over the last 4 years from a $240,000 ARC Discovery Grant that focused on teacher education students learning, designing and making their own animations to demonstrate scientific concepts.                                      

Website:http://slowmation.uow.edu.au

Funding Provided:$40,000

Indigenous Dialogues - Towards Cultural Competence

An Indigenous Cultural Competency Pilot Activity

University:University of Western Australia

Project Leader:Professor Jill Milroy, School of Indigenous Studies

Project Summary:The University of Western Australia has identified cultural competency, with a strong emphasis on Indigenous issues, as a critical attribute for a global university striving for international excellence. Indigenous Dialogues will develop an cultural competency ‘kit’ including teaching and learning protocols, cultural policy and a curriculum development framework. Use of the kit will be piloted across four university sites: one faculty, the Albany combined universities site, an early-career academics group and a group of broader staff. Each of these groups will participate in two workshops and an experiential exercise delivered in partnership with local Aboriginal communities. The project includes a comprehensive evaluation and dissemination of learnings across the higher education sector.                                                                                                                                           

Website:http://www.sis.uwa.edu.au

Funding Provided:$90,000

Cultural Competency Model

An Indigenous Cultural Competency Pilot Activity

University:University of Newcastle

Project Leader:Ms Leanne Holt, The Wollotuka Institute

Project Summary:Building on the University of Newcastle’s long history of cultural competency initiatives in health and other fields, the Cultural Competency Model will provide a framework through which resources can be developed and rolled out widely across the university. The project will pilot embedding of cultural competency in the Faculty of Business and Law curriculum, promote the value of culturally competent graduates to the business community and introduce standards for acknowledgement as a ‘Recognised Employer in Indigenous Collaboration’. Deliverables will include a CD-ROM, website and a business package to help promote cultural competency as a graduate attribute for the workplace.

Website:http://www.newcastle.edu.au/institute/wollotuka/

Funding Provided:$90,000

Teaching & Learning Framework

An Indigenous Cultural Competency Pilot Activity

University:Edith Cowan University

Project Leader:Mr Graeme Gower, Centre for Indigenous Australian Education & Research

Project Summary:This project will continue Edith Cowan University’s commitment to cultural competency through the following activities: (1) deliver cultural competency workshops to university staff; (2) offer a cultural competency unit to law & physiotherapy students during 2010, together with negotiating to include cultural competency in public health courses; (3) include cultural competency in university corporate statements, core values, student attributes, procedures and practices; (4) make cultural competency a standing item in all university reporting mechanisms; and (5) establish guidelines for curriculum writers on culturally competent pedagogy, content and assessment.

Website:http://www.kk.ecu.edu.au

Funding Provided:$90,000

Indigenous Centres at Australian Universties