The objective of this paper is to explore the learning challenges of a group of first-year Papuan medical students. Perspectives were obtained from a group of Papuan medical students (attaining high and low grades) and Faculty staff (Papuan and Non-Papuan) at the University of Cenderawasih, Indonesia. This qualitative case study research employed…

Enacting high expectations for all students in the classroom is a complex undertaking. Underlying, out-of-awareness assumptions may lead to actions, behaviours or pedagogic choices that do not support these high expectations beliefs and intentions. For Indigenous education, this is compounded by public and professional discourses around deficit…

Conducted in northern Finland, this study examines Sámi language teachers' professional identities through their narratives of language acquisition. We focus on how teachers' professional identities are shaped by their language acquisition process. The results are based on the narratives of nine North, Inari and Skolt Sámi language teachers. Two…

In 2016, data was collected from eighty-one Indigenous young people in Australia through surveys and focus groups, which provide insight into the experiences of citizenship and democracy by young Indigenous Australians. This paper examines the attitudes of these young Indigenous Australians in relation to conventional political, economic and…

Before the arrival of Europeans in Aotearoa, New Zealand and their subsequent settlement in the 1800s, there was no concept of a Maori identity. Over time, however, as a result of rapid colonisation, Maori became a minority population in New Zealand. Consequently, the term Maori as normal or usual, began to lose its meaning (Webber, 2008), and…

This article addresses identity issues among a specific group of Indigenous youth, young Buriat Mongolian students, born in Russia, who struggled to understand their sense of cultural identity while living and studying in Chinese Inner Mongolia. This qualitative research project employed ethnographic methodology. Sociocultural theory, specifically…

Whilst some improvements to Indigenous education outcomes have occurred in recent years, there remains considerable inequity in the educational experiences and long-term engagement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. One of the factors contributing to the challenging environment for Indigenous students is dissonance of social norms, as a…

The "Early Years Learning Framework for Australia" emphasises that children's own identity is constructed within their given context of family and community. This article presents the findings of a multiple case study project undertaken within five remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Australia. Community Elders were…

The notion of academic disengagement, regardless of its specific conceptualisation (e.g., cognitive, affective, or behavioural) is one that has received considerable attention within the educational and social psychological literature, especially with regard to disadvantaged minority groups. Although such research has done much to identify the…

Aboriginal children appear to be more likely to be involved in bullying than non-Aboriginal children. This paper describes part of the "Solid Kids Solid Schools" research process and discusses some of the results from this three year study involving over 260 Aboriginal children, youth, elders, teachers and Aboriginal Indigenous Education…

This article discusses the development, implementation and impact of a social development program developed by the Holyoake Institute in Western Australia for use in schools. The program DRUMBEAT uses hand drumming to engage young people in social learning that assists them in integrating more fully into mainstream school and community life.…

This research begins with the premise that non-Aboriginal students are challenged by much Aboriginal writing and also challenge its representations as they struggle to re-position themselves in relation to possible meanings within Aboriginal writing. Many non-Aboriginal students come to read an Aboriginal narrative against their understanding of…

This paper addresses understandings and theorising of identity in cyberspace. In particular, it focuses on the construction, maintenance and performance of urban Indigenous identities on the contemporary internet social space, Facebook.

This is a reflective paper that explores Martin Nakata's work as a basis for understanding the possibilities and restrictions of non-Indigenous academics working in Indigenous studies. The paper engages with Nakata's work at the level of praxis. It contends that Nakata's work provides non-Indigenous teachers of Indigenous studies a framework for…

In this paper we report the findings of research that has examined, from first-hand accounts, the career pathways of Indigenous Australians who have studied to become teachers. We focus on one key aspect of the larger study: the nature and experience of initial teacher education for Indigenous student teachers. Elsewhere we have reported on…