The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education

Advice from Indigenous early career researchers: Indigenous futurity in Australian universities

Rhonda Povey — 2025-12-14

This paper presents findings from a three-year, longitudinal qualitative study exploring the experiences of Indigenous early career researchers (ECRs) in Australian universities. It investigates the systemic challenges they face and the strategies they employ to build meaningful academic careers within a sector shaped by settler colonialism and racialised structures. Using complexity theory (CT) as a framework, the study highlights how Indigenous ECRs navigate and influence institutional systems, often acting as agents of reform. Participants demonstrate resilience and leadership, advocating for Indigenous equity, curriculum reform and cultural sovereignty. The concept of Indigenous futurity—imagining and enacting futures grounded in Indigenous values—is central to their efforts. Despite persistent barriers, these scholars are reshaping the academic landscape, challenging White futurity and laying foundations for transformative change in higher education.

Beyond cultural competency: A rights-based pedagogical approach for Indigenous integration in Australian university curricula

Peter Anderson — 2025-12-14

Australian universities are working to include the knowledge and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in their curricula and student experiences. However, only 1.4% of the workforce identifies as Indigenous. There is growing recognition that non-Indigenous staff play a crucial role in this effort. This article reviews strategies used by Australian universities to enhance non-Indigenous staff’s confidence and abilities in integrating Indigenous perspectives. We address challenges and opportunities and urge institutions to move beyond cultural competency training, advocating instead for a rights-based pedagogical framework to improve educational practices.

From access and participation to student success: A decade of research on building Indigenous academic self-efficacy to close the gap in higher education

Martin Nakata — 2025-12-14

The gap in higher education outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians remains one of the nation's most persistent educational challenges. This paper reports findings from a decade-long research program comprising two phases. The first (2012–2016) identified 19 psychosocial and socio-emotional factors associated with academic persistence, revealing that the capabilities required for formal learning are acquired rather than innate. The second (2017–2022) tested an intervention model centred on building these capabilities. Longitudinal tracking of over 750 undergraduate students at a regional Australian university demonstrated significant improvements: subject pass rates increased from 64% to 82%, course completions doubled, and outcomes were sustained beyond the project period. Analysis revealed that tutoring effectiveness was conditional upon students having developed sufficient underlying capacity—a finding with implications for how institutions design support services.

The impact of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers in school communities: A case study of the RATEP pathway

Peta Salter — 2025-12-14

In the Australian education system, the call for more First Nations teachers has been central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education policy for at least 50 years and has been re-iterated in the recent National Teacher Workforce Action Plan. In response, there have been several programs over time that have served to train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers. One such pathway is Queensland’s Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP). Despite having been in operation for over 30 years, there have been little published findings about the impact of this pathway. This case study evaluates the impact that graduates of RATEP have had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and the school communities in which they taught. This study used the “most significant change” research method to find that teachers’ critical points of impact were their abilities to act as conduits for building relationships and developing cultural understanding in school communities. Further, the tension between the need to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers and the personal cost to these teachers in carrying this weight of responsibility was evident. We conclude with propositions for the future and ongoing research in this field.

Whānau voices: Contributing to the revitalisation and transmission of mātauranga and te reo Māori for the next generation

Lesley Rameka — 2025-12-14

Prior to colonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Indigenous Māori population lived within whānau (family) and hapū (sub-tribal groups) community contexts where mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) was passed on from one generation to the next. Community contexts were strengthened by well-developed knowledge systems and effective pedagogical practices. Te reo Māori (the Māori language), reflecting both the cultural and social environments, was key to knowledge transference. Unfortunately for Māori, colonisation soon succeeded in undermining the cultural knowledge and beliefs of indigenous peoples and replacing these beliefs with the colonisers own values and practices.

This article begins by considering the destruction of intergenerational transmission of mātauranga Māori due to colonisation. The voices of kaikōrero (speakers) from research with two different tribal groups then consider how the benefits of growing up within whānau have provided opportunities to reconnect with mātauranga and te reo Māori. Acts of revitalising and renormalising their own tribal knowledges and practices have reasserted and affirmed pride in their own cultural identity and ways of being.

Strengthening Indigenous language education: Teacher perspectives from the Chittagong Hill Tracts

Abdullah Al Mamun Bhuiyan — 2025-12-14

This study investigated the role of Indigenous teachers in preserving and teaching the Chakma language in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts region. Through interviews with 14 Chakma-speaking primary school teachers, the research examined their dual roles in (a) teaching the Chakma language as a subject and (b) using it as a medium of instruction for other curriculum content. The findings show that, while teachers are committed to promoting the language, shortages of trained, fluent educators and limited instructional resources constrain effectiveness. Participants also emphasised the need for stronger language specialists who can teach directly in Chakma and mentor other teachers to strengthen their first-language proficiency. The study highlights that comprehensive, continuous training, dedicated Indigenous language instructors, and expanded classroom time are critical to sustaining Indigenous languages and fostering cultural identity among students.

50 years of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education: A bibliometric retrospective

Amara Atif — 2025-12-14

This comprehensive bibliometric analysis of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education (AJIE) traces its development and scholarly influence from 1973 to 2023, highlighting its evolution from a focus on Aboriginal education to a broader scope encompassing Indigenous education across Australia and Oceania. Leveraging data from Scopus and Web of Science, this analysis examines AJIE’s publication and citation trends, influential articles, leading authors and institutions, and thematic progressions within the journal. The findings demonstrate AJIE’s significant national influence, supported by substantial contributions from Australian institutions, along with a meaningful, albeit smaller, presence of international research, particularly from New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The shift to open access and inclusion in prominent academic indexes has furthered AJIE’s accessibility and citation reach, solidifying its status as a primary publication in Indigenous education scholarship.

A graphical analysis of the intellectual structure of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education

Amara Atif — 2025-12-14

This work represents the second part of a general bibliometric analysis we have prepared for The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education (AJIE), motivated by the first 50 years of the journal. This study develops a graphical analysis of AJIE by using the VOSviewer software, Scopus and the Web of Science database. Utilising bibliometric methods such as co-citation, bibliographic coupling and co-occurrence of keywords in the VOSviewer software, this study reveals AJIE’s impact on key Indigenous education topics, including culturally responsive pedagogy, decolonisation, Indigenous health and teacher education. The analysis highlights AJIE’s strong national presence, supported by substantial contributions from Australian institutions, along with a modest yet notable level of international engagement, particularly from New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The journal’s transition to open access, combined with its inclusion in major academic indexes, has increased its visibility and citation reach, reinforcing its role as a leading publication in the field of Indigenous education.

Editorial

Bronwyn Fredericks — 2025-12-14

We are pleased to bring you Volume 54 Issue 2 of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. This volume begins with a focus on the Australian higher education context and then moves to the international context. The final two papers are a two-part bibliometric analysis of AJIE.