RMIT University has committed to several initiatives on embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in teaching. These include:
Each college has an Indigenous Curriculum Specialist who can advise on embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in teaching. Contact your college learning and teaching support team to find out who your Indigenous Curriculum Specialist is.
While the term decolonisation is not preferred at RMIT, it is commonly used elsewhere. There is useful discussion which describes it as a reflective practice that addresses legacies of colonisation, including 'privileged knowledge and ways of knowing.'
The Campus Webinar: decolonising the curriculum (58:57 mins) by Times Higher Education (YouTube)
Decolonising higher education: First Nations student perspectives in Australia (23:41 mins) by RMIT Europe (YouTube)
RMIT University strongly values diversity and inclusion and has created the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Framework as a guiding blueprint by which it operates.
One of the priority action areas of this framework is "education and research that demonstrate best practice in inclusion, diversity, equity and access."
RMIT University Library encourages academic staff to embrace a similar sentiment by diversifying their Reading Lists where possible to include disability and LGBQTI+ voices, as well as a variety of cultural histories and narratives and not just Euro-centric or Western-centric views.
There are several terms that are used worldwide regarding Indigenous perspectives in education.
At RMIT, the preferred terminology is the language of diversification and inclusivity. However, other terminology such as decolonisation and indigenisation is widely used, particularly outside of Australia. Resources that use these terms may still be useful as you explore embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in your teaching.
Frawley, J., Russell, G., & Sherwood, J. (Eds.). (2020). Cultural competence and the higher education sector: Australian perspectives, policies and practice Springer. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Hill, B., Harris, J., & Bacchus, R. (Eds.). (2020). Teaching Aboriginal cultural competence: authentic approaches Springer.
Larkin, S., Frawley, J., & Smith, J. A. (Eds.). (2017). Indigenous pathways, transitions and participation in higher education from policy to practice Springer Nature. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Trimmer, K., Hoven, D., & Keskitalo, P. (Eds.). (2020). Indigenous postgraduate education: intercultural perspectives Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Note: The use of all aspects of 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning is cautioned in Vocational Education as it was designed for school students, and doesn’t take the two-way learning, deep listening, and other adult Indigenous education processes. Contact the VE Indigenous Curriculum Specialist for further information.
Searching for Indigenous content (5:53 min) by RMIT University Library (YouTube)
The Library collections include many resources about and by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as other First Nations people. It's important to recognise that these reflect many perspectives and attitudes, some of which may be harmful. Nonetheless, they can be scrutinised and critically analysed for pedagogical and research purposes. Consider when you need to include a content warning.
However, when embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in your curriculum, you will want to choose resources which respectfully represent contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, understandings, and ways of knowing.
Indigenising curriculum is the embedding of Indigenous histories, voices, experiences, knowledges and ways of learning into our teaching. These are ‘too often unknown, hidden and silenced’ (Page et al., as cited in Kamp, 2022, para. 4) due to ongoing settler colonialism.
Kamp, E. (2022, May 26). Be brave: how to Indigenise the curriculum https://blog.aare.edu.au/be-brave-how-to-indigenise-the-curriculum/
Use these questions to guide resource selection. Some of the questions may not be relevant in your context, but it is good to consider all of them.
Adapted from Australian Catholic University Library evaluation tool for Indigenous resources [Word short version], with permission.
Principles for including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in learning and teaching (43 mins) by RMIT University Library, Microsoft Stream (RMIT login required)
Embedding Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives in your Teaching (1hr 22 mins) by RMIT University Library, Microsoft Stream (RMIT login required)
Ways to embed Indigenous perspectives in curriculum (1hr 54 mins) by RMIT University STEM College, Microsoft Stream (RMIT login required)
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