Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T11:29:34.939Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The ‘Within’ Journey: Assessment of the Online Indigenous Australian Cultural Competence Training Programme at Charles Sturt University

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2018

Barbara Hill ,
Marian Tulloch ,
Susan Mlcek  and
Melinda Lewis
Barbara Hill*
Affiliation:
Division of Learning and Teaching, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst 2795, New South Wales, Australia
Marian Tulloch
Affiliation:
Division of Learning and Teaching, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst 2795, New South Wales, Australia
Susan Mlcek
Affiliation:
Faculty of Arts and Education, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst 2795, New South Wales, Australia
Melinda Lewis
Affiliation:
Division of Learning and Teaching, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst 2795, New South Wales, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Barbara Hill, Division of Learning and Teaching, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst 2795, New South Wales, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of self-reflective processes of staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) while undertaking an online Indigenous Cultural Competency Program (ICCP). The ICCP was designed for completion by all university staff to enhance their knowledge and understanding of Indigenous cultures, histories and contemporary realities. Staff were requirement to complete and submit answers to an online quiz, and a written reflection on their learning. This paper reflects on the responses of 64 volunteers and indicates large positive shifts are self-reported knowledge and understanding. The reflective texts of staff provide a rich source of information on the ‘journey within’. In-depth thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) identified three key themes: evaluation, the mapped learning journey and the personal learning journey. The participant feedback, not only pointed to the cognitive, attitudinal and emotional impact of the content and pedagogical approach of the programme, but also identified barriers and issues for programmes aimed at complex change in a contested space. Our programme assessment relied on self-reported individual perception that surfaced hidden assumptions about Indigenous cultural competency (Kumas-Tan¸ Beagan, Loppie, MacLeod, & Frank, 2007). We acknowledge in the longer term a range of comprehensive outcome measures are needed.

Keywords

Indigenous studiesIndigenous cultural competence trainingstaff developmentprogramme assessment
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 49 , Issue 1 , August 2020 , pp. 14 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bluic, A.-M., Goodyear, P.G., & Ellis, R. (2007). Research focus and methodological choices in studies into students' experiences of blended learning in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 10(4), 231–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boler, M. (2008). Feeling power: Emotions and education. New York and London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(3), 297–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freire, P.F., & Freire, A.M.A. (2004). EPZ pedagogy of hope: Reliving pedagogy of the oppressed. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Hill, B., Bacchus, R., Phillip, J., Harris, J., Biles, J., Rose, K., & Hull, E. (2016). Stories on the journey to Indigenous Australian cultural competency: An evaluation of the pedagogical efficacy of the digital resource, Cassie's Story: Dyan Ngal. In INTED2016: 10 Years Together for Education (pp. 6918–6927). Spain: IATED. doi:10.21125/inted.2016.0636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kumas-Tan, Z., Beagan, B., Loppie, C., MacLeod, A., & Frank, F. (2007). Measures of cultural competence: Examining hidden assumptions. Academic Medicine, 82(6), 548–s557.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Qualley, D. J. (1997). Turns of thought: Teaching composition as reflexive inquiry. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Heinemann.Google Scholar
Ranzijn, R., McConnochie, K., Day, A., & Nolan, W. (2006). Benchmarking the teaching of Australian Indigenous content in undergraduate psychology. Australian Community Psychologist, 18(1), 23–27.Google Scholar
Ranzijn, R., McConnochie, K., Day, A., Nolan, W., & Wharton, M. (2008). Towards cultural competence: Australian Indigenous content in undergraduate psychology. Australian Psychologist, 43(2), 132–139.Google Scholar
Robinson, K. (2013). The interrelationship of emotion and cognition when students undertake collaborative group work online: An interdisciplinary approach. Computers & Education, 62, 298–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Universities Australia. (2011). National best practice framework for Indigenous cultural competency in Australian Universities Australia. Retrieved October 10, 2017 from http://www.indigenousculturalcompetency.edu.au.Google Scholar
Universities Australia. (2017). The universities Australia's Indigenous strategy 2017–2020. Retrieved August 26, 2017 from https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/media-releases/Universities-unveil-indigenous-participation-targets#.WNGvbmf-uUk.Google Scholar
Willig, C. (1999). Beyond appearances: A critical realist approach to social constructionism. In Nightingale, D. J. & Cromby, J. (Eds.), Social constructionist psychology: A critical analysis of theory and practice (pp. 37–51). Philadelphia: Open University Press.Google Scholar