Unit rationale, description and aim
This unit responds to the national imperative to embed Indigenous Knowings in education through respectful, relational, and transformative learning. It supports preservice teachers in developing a deep understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, particularly in relation to Country, storying, and Indigenous ontologies. The unit fosters ethical engagement and cultural responsiveness in professional practice.
Learning experiences include a 5-day intensive immersion on Country, guided by local Aboriginal Knowledge Custodians. Preservice teachers will participate in experiential learning through site visits, yarning circles, and reflective journaling. Topics include Aboriginal storying, spiritual understandings, protocols, and experiences of Indigenous Knowings relevant to Australian curriculums. These experiences are designed to support personal reflection and professional application and are aligned with principles of community-engaged learning that build connections and develop understanding, whilst affirming dignity and pursuing justice, as inspired by Catholic Social Teaching.
The aim of this unit is to enable preservice teachers to respectfully engage with Indigenous Knowings, reflect on their own connection to Country, and design curriculum that privileges Indigenous perspectives in meaningful and contextually appropriate ways.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Apply an understanding, respect and contextualisat...
Learning Outcome 01
Apply Indigenous Knowings through engaging with Ab...
Learning Outcome 02
Reflect on personal connection and relatedness to ...
Learning Outcome 03
Design plans and resources that privilege Indigeno...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- Experiential learning through immersion in Country through sites visits
- Understanding connection and relatedness to Country through local Indigenous Knowings
- Aboriginal ontologies
- Aboriginal storying
- Spiritual understandings
- Protocols and terminology
- Medicinal plant uses and bush foods
- Urban Dreamings
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment in this unit is designed to support reflective, experiential, and creative engagement with Indigenous Knowings. It includes two major tasks and one hurdle requirement; each aligned to the unit learning outcomes and designed to scaffold learning from personal reflection to curriculum application.
The Hurdle Task requires active participation in the 5-day immersion on Country, including engagement with Aboriginal educators and activities. Task 1 is a reflective journal created over the five days, using varied media to capture personal responses to the immersion experience. Task 2 involves the creation of a curriculum artefact - such as a digital story, podcast, visual narrative, or interactive resource - that embeds Indigenous Knowings in a meaningful and contextually responsive way. Scaffolded support will be provided to ensure the ethical engagement on Country, and in the use of generative AI with Indigenous Knowings and ontologies.
To pass this unit, preservice teachers must complete all assessment tasks and attain an overall passing grade.
Overview of assessments
Hurdle Task: 'On Country' Community Experience ...
Hurdle Task:
'On Country' Community Experience
You will need to be present and engage in a five-day on Country experience.
Complete/Incomplete
Assessment 1: Indigenous Knowings Curr...
Assessment 1:
Indigenous Knowings Curriculum Resource Kit
Create a curriculum resource kit that embeds Indigenous Knowings in a meaningful and contextually and culturally responsive way. The kit must draw on your immersion experience on Country and demonstrate respectful engagement with Indigenous perspectives. You should include curriculum links at least one teaching area and the cross-curricular priorities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. The kit should be designed to support 3-5 activities with teaching ideas that embed Indigenous pedagogies and ways of working. You may use generative AI tools to support planning, drafting, or media creation, provided their use is ethical and clearly documented and declared. Submit the kit with a rationale explaining your pedagogical choices, particularly with reference to how Indigenous Knowings are privileged.
50%
Assessment 2: Reflective Journal Using a variet...
Assessment 2:
Reflective Journal
Using a variety of media to create a daily journal over 5 days which captures and reflects on the immersion experience on Country. This Journal will be a personal reflection and expression of the feelings you experience, the questions asked and pondered. It should reflect on current readings through journal articles and books on themes/questions that emerge from the Journal.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is grounded in Indigenous pedagogies that privilege experiential, relational, and place-based learning. The 5-day community placement includes immersion in Country, bush settings, and traditional learning environments, guided by local Aboriginal educators. Teaching strategies include yarning, storying, and collaborative inquiry, which support adult learners in engaging deeply and ethically with Indigenous Knowings.
To meet the needs of diverse learners, the unit offers multimodal learning opportunities and scaffolded support. Reflective journaling allows for varied expression, and inclusive teaching practices ensure accessibility for students with disability. The immersive nature of the unit is balanced with structured reflection and academic engagement to support transformative learning. This will scaffold the safe, ethical and responsible use and critique of generative AI in relation to Indigenous Knowings and cultural practices.
This approach fosters critical thinking, cultural competence, and ethical practice. It enables preservice teachers to engage with Indigenous perspectives not only intellectually but also personally and relationally, preparing them to design curriculum that honours Indigenous Knowings.
Representative texts and references
Recommended texts and documents
Yunkaporta, T. (2019). Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. Text Publishing.
Recommended references
Arbon, V. (2008). Arlthirnda ngurkarnda ityirnda: Beingknowingdoing: Decolonising Indigenous tertiary education. Post Pressed.
Bawaka Country, Wright, S., SuchetPearson, S., Lloyd, K., Burarrwanga, L., Ganambarr, R., GanambarrStubbs, M., & Sweeney, J. (2016). Working with and learning from Country: Decentring human authority. Cultural Geographies, 23(3), 389–414. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474015611702
Bird Rose, D. (1996). Nourishing terrains: Australian Aboriginal views of landscape and wilderness. Australian Heritage Commission.
Bird Rose, D. (2024). Dreaming ecology: Nomadics and Indigenous ecological knowledge, Victoria River, Northern Australia. ANU Press.
Boon, H. J., & Lewthwaite, B. (2015). Transforming pedagogy: Indigenous perspectives. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(5), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2015v40n5.1
Burgess, C., Thorpe, K., Egan, S., & Harwood, V. (2022). Learning from Country to conceptualise what an Aboriginal curriculum narrative might look like in education. Curriculum Perspectives, 42, 157–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41297-022-00164-w
Burgess, C., Thorpe, K., Egan, S., & Harwood, V. (2022). Towards a conceptual framework for Countrycentred teaching and learning. Teachers and Teaching, 28(8), 925–942. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2022.2137132
Dudgeon, P., Milroy, H., & Walker, R. (Eds.). (2014). Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Dudgeon, P., Bray, A., D’Costa, B., & Walker, R. (2021). Decolonising psychology: Validating social and emotional wellbeing. Australian Psychologist, 56(2), 136–148.
Harrison, N., & Skrebneva, I. (2020). Country as pedagogical: Enacting an Australian foundation for culturally responsive pedagogy. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 52(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2019.1641843
Heiss, A. (Ed.). (2018). Growing up Aboriginal in Australia. Black Inc.
Hokari, M. (2000). History happening in/between body and place: Journey to the Aboriginal way of historical practice. In Habitus: A sense of place (pp. 1–17). Curtin University.
JacksonBarrett, E. M. (2021). On Country learning: Towards a culturally responsive pedagogy for Aboriginal education (Doctoral thesis). Murdoch University.
Martin, K. (2008). Please knock before you enter: Aboriginal regulation of outsiders and the implications for researchers. Post Pressed.
Martin, K. (2016). Voices from the ‘gaps’: Exploring the usefulness of Aboriginal worldviews for education. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 45(1), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2015.19
McKnight, A. (2016). Presencing Aboriginal knowledge in the classroom. The Australian Educational Researcher, 43(3), 327–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-016-0213-7
Neidjie, B. (1998). Story about feeling (K. Taylor, Ed.). Magabala Books.
Phillips, J., & Lampert, J. (2012). Introductory Indigenous studies in education. Pearson.
Rose, D. B. (2013). Country of the heart: An Indigenous Australian homeland. Aboriginal Studies Press.
Sarra, C. (2011). Strong and smart: Towards a pedagogy for emancipation. Routledge.
Shay, M., Sarra, G., & Lampert, J. (2022). Indigenous education policy, practice and research: Unravelling the tangled web. The Australian Educational Researcher, 50, 73–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-022-00581-w
Smith, L. T., Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (Eds.). (2019). Indigenous and decolonizing studies in education: Mapping the long view. Routledge.
Thorpe, K. (2022). Learning from Country: Aboriginalled Countrycentred learning for preservice teachers. In W. O. Lee, P. Brown, A. L. Goodwin, & A. Green (Eds.), International handbook on education development in AsiaPacific. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2327-1_77-1
UngunmerrBaumann, M.R., Groom, R. A., Schuberg, E. L., Atkinson, J., Atkinson, C., Wallace, R., & Morris, G. (2022). Dadirri: An Indigenous placebased research methodology. AlterNative, 18(1), 94–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801221085353
Williamson, B., Bunda, T., & Moodie, N. (2020). Decolonising and Indigenising the curriculum. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 49(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2020.6
Yunkaporta, T. (2019). Sand talk: How Indigenous thinking can save the world. Text Publishing.
Yunupingu, M. (1994). Voices from the land. ABC Books.