Abstract:
The power of stories to transform, inform and remove the polite veil of ignorance that surrounds the Aboriginal student in the classroom will be explored through an exploration of Indigenous pedagogies in action at USQ. Respect, reciprocity and relationships are core fundamental philosophies underpinning our Indigenous pedagogy. This presentation positions representation and recognition as important in a university setting. These five R’s underpin the andragogical approach that USQ has taken to the development of a pathways program.
The transformative power of stories theorized in this presentation serves a dual purpose. The ‘R’s’ come to work in the stories connecting to bring forth agency from the spoken utterances of the bearer and the removal of the possessive investment in ignorance on the part of the hearer or receiver. The presentation makes clear that in the process of being invested in your learning, in holding the knowledge needed to achieve success runs counter to dominant stories of Aboriginal peoples as uneducable and not educated enough. In the second part of the presentation the researcher claims the space for First Nations students to have a subject/speaking position tell their truth, if only for a moment and thus borrows from Butler’s technique of moving from subjugation to agency (2010]. Aboriginal student voices speak of the everyday experiences in all institutional interactions.
In centring Aboriginal stories of learning the possessive investment in ignorance, the deliberate ‘not knowing’, is made less and there is affirmation for the Aboriginal student that their knowing has value within higher education.
The transformative power of stories theorized in this presentation serves a dual purpose. The ‘R’s’ come to work in the stories connecting to bring forth agency from the spoken utterances of the bearer and the removal of the possessive investment in ignorance on the part of the hearer or receiver. The presentation makes clear that in the process of being invested in your learning, in holding the knowledge needed to achieve success runs counter to dominant stories of Aboriginal peoples as uneducable and not educated enough. In the second part of the presentation the researcher claims the space for First Nations students to have a subject/speaking position tell their truth, if only for a moment and thus borrows from Butler’s technique of moving from subjugation to agency (2010]. Aboriginal student voices speak of the everyday experiences in all institutional interactions.
In centring Aboriginal stories of learning the possessive investment in ignorance, the deliberate ‘not knowing’, is made less and there is affirmation for the Aboriginal student that their knowing has value within higher education.