Submission to The Social Lens: A Social Work Action Blog by Dr. Bindi Bennett, Gamilaraay woman and social worker
This blog is part of an upcoming publication on the experiences of Aboriginal academics in Australia.
Australian universities unanimously boast various cultural engagement strategies and offer public support and approval for attracting Aboriginal students across disciplines as well as developing the next generation of Aboriginal researchers (Universities Australia, 2018). Aboriginal students account for 1.1% of higher degree (HDR) enrolments and 0.8% completions (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Advisory Council, 2015). Although “the number of HDR enrolments as proportion has grown, when comparing them to non-Indigenous enrolments there is a 2.2% parity rate. This would mean that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Degree by Research student enrolments would need to double to achieve population parity (Universities Australia, 2018).” This means that, although universities have promised to enhance the employment outcomes of their Aboriginal graduands (Universities Australia, 2017), graduands are not progressing into academic careers (Anderson & McKinley, 2016).
There are approximately 430 Indigenous academics in the 39 universities in Australia (Thunig and Jones, 2020). There are small numbers (under 20) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social work academics employed across the (30) secondary schools offering social work programs within Australia.
For me I have recently been comparing being an Aboriginal academic to being a member of the contestants in The Hunger Games. Somewhat akin to The Hunger Games, as a “successful” contestant, I am supposed to have already received a free car and house and certainly several ‘easy Aboriginal’ grants by now but that hasn’t been my personal experience. Our numbers in the academic space might be small but the competition is fierce and deadly (as in it might kill you).
It can be like the fighting ring
After being forced into the Western academic model we then must start fighting Western curriculum, Western majorities at all areas and Western privileges everywhere. Fighting tokenistic weeks about us without us, being contacted endlessly to help (for free) to give resources, time and energy as well as failing to normalise Aboriginal worldviews often makes curriculum seem inappropriate. Presently, there are no formal or informal governance processes established to ensure that the development of Aboriginal curriculum is a continuous process and that there are established pedagogies, protocols, and systems in place.
In addition, there is still no Australia-wide, comprehensive agreement as to the appropriate curriculum content. There also seems to be a lack of social worker interest in developing this curriculum. If there are no protagonists enthusiastically and actively supporting and promoting this agenda, then it risks not being a sustainable presence. It cannot be over-emphasised that Aboriginal peoples must remain central to design, development and teaching of the curriculum. Currently ‘Indigenisation’ remains a bottom-up push for change and does not receive adequate top-down support.
And although we are all emancipated we will also kill you
Prior to entering academia, I naively expected the social work academic space to be committed to core social work ethics and values such as the tenets of human rights, upholding social justice, and respect for all persons. Instead, I found many social work academics were racist and exclusionary. Being a single Aboriginal academic on a team, within a discipline or even at a School meant it became difficult to have control and influence and many academics were hostile to change and would not be held unaccountable for their actions, their content, and teaching. As well as this, should I speak out, say no or set reasonable work/life/personal boundaries I was often then labelled as ‘angry,’ ‘difficult,’ or ‘trouble’ which made me both uncomfortable but also voiceless. Academia was then seen to be protecting its own positioning which is conservative and traditional.
Is today our new beginning?
Supporting initiatives that attract and retain Aboriginal social work academics requires more than mere rhetoric and the seemingly endless procession of strategic plans and engagement agendas (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2020). Social workers can start by working on their cultural responsiveness and advocating for an Aboriginal academic workforce. The reality is that there are many future frontline social workers who will need to work alongside Aboriginal peoples and thus, Indigenisation and decolonisation of social work are imperative and necessary. In order to make change we need to have a relationship with the neo-liberal institutions we work for and with.
Good social work practice within academia would be to encourage students to be self-directive in their learning and to research Indigenous knowledges and authors accounting for ancestral knowledge or instinctual practice. Although it is acceptable as a non-Indigenous person to seek cultural guidance as to how to embed knowledge respectfully, it is important to include self-exploration within their learning and building up our Aboriginal academics.
References
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Advisory Council. (2015). Growing the Indigenous Academic workforce paper. Retrieved from https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Indigenous-Strategy-2019.pdf
Anderson, I. & McKinley, M. (2016).Three ways to increase the number of Indigenous academics in Australian universities. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/three-ways-to-increase-the-number-of-indigenous-academics-in-australian-universities-55655
Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2020). Closing the Gap Report [online] Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from https://ctgreport.niaa.gov.au/
Thunig, A., Jones, T. (2020). ‘Don’t make me play house-n***er’: Indigenous academic women treated as ‘black performer’ within higher education. Aust. Educ. Res. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-020-00405-9.
Universities Australia. (2017). Indigenous Strategy 2017-2020. Retrieved from https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Indigenous-Strategy-2019.pdf
Universities Australia. (2018). Developing the next generation for Indigenous researchers (media release). Retrieved from https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/developing-the-next-generation-of-indigenous-researchers/
The Social Lens: A Social Work Action Blog - the views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the original author(s) and do not express the views of the UBC School of Social Work and/or the other contributors to the blog. The blog aims to uphold the School's values and mission.
