Embedding Indigenous content in curriculum

All teaching staff are invited to complete the ACU Indigenous Curriculum Staff Survey about levels of confidence in embedding Indigenous content into curricula, teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander information, and accessing the resources and support made available.

The Building Cultural Capacity (BCC) project aims to provide staff with the capacity to design curricula which include vital Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, content and teaching pedagogy as required by their discipline. The inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge will increase the capabilities and employability of all ACU graduates.

The BCC project, which began in 2018, audited and evaluated resources that contained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content. Workshops in 2018 and 2019 were held to:

1. Guide staff on how to successfully embed Indigenous perspectives in the curriculum
2. Guide staff on how to use the evaluation tool for resources.

The Learning and Teaching website contains culturally appropriate Indigenous resources that have been evaluated, as well as video links that support the embedding into curriculum. The ACU Library has also evaluated all the Indigenous content within its site. Both the Learning and Teaching site and Library now contain readily available evaluated resources for teaching staff and students to utilise.

ACU has become a lead in this arena compared to other universities. However, little is known about the confidence of teaching staff when attempting to embed Indigenous content into their curriculum, or when teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander information.

The ACU Indigenous Curriculum Staff Survey is a brief survey to ascertain the confidence of staff so that support and resources can be accessed to assist staff in their teaching performance. The outcome will be better informed staff and students, which in turn will increase the cultural capability of both academics and ACU graduates in the workplace.

As ACU becomes more proficient in teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in a culturally responsive and safe space, we begin to strengthen the work of the institution by demonstrating the power and richness of Indigenous Knowledges.

All teaching staff are invited to complete the short ACU Indigenous Curriculum Staff Survey by Friday 4 December.