Introduction: Indigenous futurities in education

Marnee Shay; Maria Raciti; Bronwyn Fredericks; Tracey Bunda

doi:10.55146/ajie.v53i2.1096

Authors

Marnee Shay The University of Queensland
Maria Raciti University of the Sunshine Coast https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0548-3702
Bronwyn Fredericks The University of Queensland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8120-6470
Tracey Bunda The University of Queensland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55146/ajie.v53i2.1096

Keywords:

Indigenous futurities, Indigenous-based evidence, Indigenous voices, sovereignty

Abstract

Indigenous education is multidimensional and multifaceted. When the term “Indigenous education” is used, it could reference schooling practices, including embedding Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in the curriculum; connecting with Indigenous communities; supporting Indigenous students; employing Indigenous staff; and more (Shay et al., 2023). The enactment or inaction of these activities is underpinned by ideological dissonance between Western theories and ideals and Indigenous knowledge paradigms and values.

In this special issue of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, we draw on the concept of Indigenous futurity, particularly regarding Indigenous education, unpack discourses that differentiate the notion of inclusion in the discipline and our autonomy in the production and reproduction of our knowledges within the discipline of education and explore the concept of Indigenous futurity through understanding the role of Indigenous education scholars in (re)conceptualising the field of Indigenous education.

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Author Biographies

Marnee Shay, The University of Queensland

Marnee Shay is a Principal Research Fellow in the School of Education at The University of Queensland. She is an Aboriginal woman whose maternal family is from the Ngen’giwumirri language group (Daly River, Northern Territory), born in Brisbane, with strong connections to Indigenous communities in South East Queensland. Dr Shay is an experienced and qualified secondary teacher. Associate Professor Shay has an extensive, externally funded research program that spans the fields of Indigenous education, policy studies, flexi schooling and youth studies. She has published in many journals, books and scholarly media outlets. Associate Professor Shay advocates for strengths approaches in Indigenous education and Indigenous-based evidence to inform policy futures.

Maria Raciti, University of the Sunshine Coast

Maria Raciti (Kalkadoon-Thaniquith/Bwgcolman) is a social marketer who uses marketing tools and techniques to bring about social justice and behaviour change. Professor Raciti is Co-Director of the UniSC Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre, co-leader of the education and economies theme in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures, a member of the executive of the Australian Association of Social Marketing, the 2018 Research Fellow with the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, and was part of an Australian Government departmental task force assisting with the 2019 National Regional, Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy. Professor Raciti is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), a QUT Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology Fellow, a member of the International Social Marketing Association’s Board of Directors, and has long been affiliated with the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success.

Bronwyn Fredericks, The University of Queensland

Bronwyn Fredericks is an Aboriginal woman living in Central Queensland. She has spent over 30 years directly involved in organisations working to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, especially in regional and remote Australia. Professor Fredericks’s multidisciplinary research has a strong practice-based commitment to social justice and improving health, education and life outcomes for Indigenous peoples. As The University of Queensland’s Deputy-Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement), Professor Fredericks is responsible for leading the implementation of the Indigenous strategy and strengthening leadership within the university in relation to Indigenous engagement. She is also leading the implementation of The University of Queensland’s first Reconciliation Action Plan and building strong links with the community.

Tracey Bunda, The University of Queensland

Tracey Bunda is a Ngugi/Wakka Wakka woman and grew up on the lands of the Jagera/Jugera/ Yuggerapul peoples. Tracey is The University of Queensland Professor of Indigenous Education. During the course of her extensive three-decade career, she has held senior Indigenous leadership roles in each of the universities in which she worked. Professor Bunda’s research interests are informed by critical theoretical approaches for understanding how race and power ideologically manifest in white institutions, storying as methodology and the agentic role of Aboriginal women in Aboriginal community uplift.

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