Telling the Land: Aboriginal Educational Narratives and Curriculum Integration in Australian Schools
Abstract
Background. Efforts to meaningfully integrate Aboriginal perspectives into Australian school curricula remain uneven and contested, often constrained by systemic limitations and a lack of culturally informed pedagogical frameworks. Aboriginal narratives, particularly those tied to Country, embody holistic systems of knowledge that challenge Western linear constructions of curriculum and offer alternative modes of understanding land, identity, and education.
Purpose. This study explores how Aboriginal educational narratives are interpreted and integrated into curriculum practice by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators across diverse Australian school settings.
Method. Employing a qualitative, multi-site case study approach, the research involved interviews with 22 educators and curriculum leaders, alongside analysis of classroom materials and reflective teaching journals.
Results. The findings reveal that successful integration depends on deep, relational engagement with community knowledge holders, an ethic of cultural humility, and a willingness to reconfigure disciplinary boundaries. Educators who engaged in collaborative curriculum-making reported greater confidence in embedding Indigenous perspectives in ways that respect narrative sovereignty and pedagogical integrity.
Conclusion. The study concludes that Aboriginal storytelling offers not only content but a method—transforming curriculum into a site of shared responsibility, ethical dialogue, and place-based learning.
Full text article
References
Ananthapavan, V., Peden, A. E., Angell, B., & Macniven, R. (2024). Barriers to preschool aged children’s participation in swimming lessons in New South Wales, Australia. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 35(3), 770–783. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.811
Bedi, S., Strachan, R., & Zehbe, I. (2024). Awareness of human papillomavirus infection among Indigenous males in North America and Oceania: A Scoping Review. Cancer Causes and Control, 35(3), 437–449. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-023-01804-w
Bennett, B., Menzel, K., Prehn, J., & Gates, T. G. (2024). Australian universities, indigenization, whiteness, and settler colonial epistemic violence. Dalam Handb. Of Crit. Whiteness: Deconstructing Domin. Discourses Across Discipl. (Vol. 1, hlm. 229–241). Springer Nature; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5085-6_63
Binks, P., Ross, C., Gurruwiwi, G. G., Wurrawilya, S., Alley, T., Bukulatjpi, S. M., Vintour-Cesar, E., Hosking, K., Davis, J. S., Hefler, M., & Davies, J. (2024). Adapting and translating the ‘Hep B Story’ App the right way: A transferable toolkit to develop health resources with, and for, Aboriginal people. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 35(4), 1244–1254. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.858
Binks, P., Venkatesan, S., Everitt, A., Gurruwiwi, G. G., Dhurrkay, R. G., Bukulatjpi, S. M., Ross, C., Alley, T., Hosking, K., Vintour-Cesar, E., McKinnon, M., Sullivan, R. P., Davis, J. S., Hefler, M., & Davies, J. (2024). An evaluation and refinement of the “Hep B Story” app, tailored to meet the community’s cultural needs. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11149-y
Bowen, A. C., Smith, B., Daveson, K., Eldridge, L., Hempenstall, A., Mylne, T., Szalkowski, R., Van Rooijen, K., Anderson, L., Stephens, M., Tong, S. Y. C., & Yarwood, T. (2024). Capacity building to address antimicrobial resistance in remote Australia: The inaugural HOT NORTH Antimicrobial Academy. Infection, Disease and Health, 29(3), 117–123. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.001
Coombes, J., Möeller, H., Fraser, S., Williams, H., Hunter, K., Ivers, R., Holland, A. J., Mackean, T., Sharpe, P., & Ryder, C. (2024). Administration of Burns First Aid Treatment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in community settings. Burns, 50(9). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2024.07.023
Cormick, A., Graham, A., Stevenson, T., Owen, K., O’Donnell, K., & Kelly, J. (2024). Co-designing a Health Journey Mapping resource for culturally safe health care with and for First Nations people. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 30(3). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1071/PY23172
Daley, L., & Waller, L. (2024). A higher education pedagogy for settler listening with Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2024.2344140
Fisher, S., King, K., Paton, D., Gee, G., & Jobson, L. (2024). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men’s groups and social and emotional wellbeing: A scoping review. AlterNative, 20(1), 146–156. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801241235285
Funk, J., & Woodroffe, T. (2024). A differentiated approach to Indigenous pedagogies: Addressing gaps in teachers’ knowledge. Australian Educational Researcher, 51(2), 631–650. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00616-w
Gibbs, C., Howarth, T., Ticoalu, A., Chen, W., Ford, P. L., Abeyaratne, A., Jayaram, L., McCallum, G., & Heraganahally, S. S. (2024). Bronchiectasis among Indigenous adults in the Top End of the Northern Territory, 2011–2020: A retrospective cohort study. Medical Journal of Australia, 220(4), 188–195. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52204
Giddings, P., O’Sullivan, B. G., McGrail, M. R., Drysdale, M., Trevaskis, T. T., & Mein, J. (2024). Australia’s Remote Vocational Training Scheme: Training and supporting general practitioners in rural, remote and First Nations communities. Medical Journal of Australia, 221(S7), S3–S8. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52449
Harkin, N. (2024). Collective living-legacies of Aunty Gladys Elphick and the Council for Aboriginal Women in South Australia. Dalam Reframing Indigenous Biography (hlm. 282–300). Taylor and Francis; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003351863-22
Hendrick, A., & Young, S. (2024). Ally work, decoloniality, and the problematics of resisting white privilege. Dalam Handb. Of Crit. Whiteness: Deconstructing Domin. Discourses Across Discipl. (Vol. 2, hlm. 1229–1242). Springer Nature; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5085-6_51
Herbert, N. (2024). Breaking Barriers: Overcoming Resistance to Curriculum Indigenisation. SIGCSE Virtual - Proc. ACM Virtual Global Comput. Educ. Conf. V. 1, 53–59. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1145/3649165.3690104
Hindman, E., Hassmén, P., Orchard, A., Radford, K., Delbaere, K., & Garvey, G. (2024). Clinicians’ views on cognitive assessment with Aboriginal Australians. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 58(2), 134–141. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674231183354
Hopcraft, M. S. (2024). Commentary on the senate select committee into the provision of and access to dental services in Australia: An opportunity for reform. Australian Dental Journal, 69(3), 162–174. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/adj.13012
Isaacs-Guthridge, R. (2024). Aboriginal students’ journeys to university – privileging our sovereign voices. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 53(2). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.55146/ajie.v53i2.1101
Kelly, J., Owen, K., Tyrell, K., Clemente, K., Steffens, M., Sinclair, N., Reynolds, S., & Allan, W. (2024). Codesigning culturally safe oral health care with First Nations Kidney Warriors experiencing kidney disease in South Australia. BMC Oral Health, 24(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-024-04617-8
Lalovic, A., Dowden, G., Markey, L., Bynder, M., Yappo, L., Cox, K. L., Mateo-Arriero, I., Flicker, L., Bessarab, D., Thompson, S., Kickett, C., Woods, D., Pestell, C. F., Edgill, P., Hill, K., Etherton-Beer, C., LoGiudice, D., Almeida, O. P., Lin, I., … Smith, K. (2024). Community-based dementia risk management and prevention program for Aboriginal Australians (DAMPAA): A randomised controlled trial study protocol. BMJ Open, 14(9). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-088281
Lopes, C. V. A., Mihrshahi, S., Hunter, J., Ronto, R., & Cawthorne, R. (2024). Co-Designing Research for Sustainable Food Systems and Diets with Aboriginal Communities: A Study Protocol. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(3). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21030298
Mackie, A. S., Gray, M., Chappell, A., Dlusskaya, K., Lightning, R., Listener, L., Crier, A., Dumigan-Jackson, B., Thomas, A., Graham, B., Littlechild, R., Lightning, J., Johnson, A., Rain, P., Cutarm, M., & Oster, R. T. (2024). Barriers and supports for Indigenous youth and young adults with childhood- onset chronic health conditions transitioning from pediatric to adult healthcare: A qualitative study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 23(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-024-02343-9
McGrail, M. R., O’Sullivan, B. G., & Giddings, P. (2024). Continuity of service and longer term retention of doctors training as general practitioners in the Remote Vocational Training Scheme. Medical Journal of Australia, 221(S7), S9–S15. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52448
McIndoe, L., Wilson, E., Ferson, M. J., & Sheppeard, V. (2024). Beyond Averages: Unpacking Disparities in School-Based Vaccination Coverage in Eastern Sydney: An Ecological Analysis. Vaccines, 12(8). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12080888
Mitrou, F., Milroy, H., Coffin, J., Hamilton, S. L., Brennan-Jones, C. G., Schurer, S., Davis, E. A., Richmond, P., Passmore, H. M., Pearson, G., Brown, A., O’Donnell, M., Bowen, A. C., Azzopardi, P., Conigrave, K. M., Downs, J., Cooper, M. M., Ramsey, K. A., Ferrante, A., … Zubrick, S. R. (2024). Cohort profile: Understanding the influence of early life environments and health and social service system contacts over time and across generations through the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey (WAACHS) Linked Data Study. BMJ Open, 14(10). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-087522
Properjohn, C., Grace, R., & Sullivan, C. T. (2024). Colonial dominance and Indigenous resistance in Australian national education declarations. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 56(3), 293–311. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220620.2023.2288563
Sainsbury, C., & Newsome, J. (2024). Approaches to ethical engagement between Australian tertiary music institutions and First Nations peoples. Dalam Decolonising and Indigenising Music Education: First Peoples Leading Research and Practice (hlm. 108–126). Taylor and Francis; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003288923-8
Secombe, P., Lankin, E., Beadle, R., McAnulty, G., Brown, A., Bailey, M., Schultz, R., & Pilcher, D. (2024). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Attitudes to Organ Donation in Central Australia: A Qualitative Pilot Study. Transplantation Direct, 10(9), e1692. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1097/TXD.0000000000001692
Shay, M., Sarra, G., Lampert, J., Jeong, D., Thomson, A., & Miller, J. (2024). Codesign in Indigenous education policy and practice—A systematic literature review. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 59(4), 844–863. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.320
Stanley, L. (2024). Aboriginal-led development–the case of the Warlpiri Education and Training Trust. Development in Practice, 34(3), 325–335. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2023.2294684
Sullivan, C. T., Tran, D., Spurway, K., Briskman, L., Leha, J., Trewlynn, W., & Soldatic, K. (2024). “Absolutely it was not safe”: Indigenous LGBTIQSB+ experiences of education in Australia. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 53(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.55146/ajie.v53i1.664
Taylor, E. V., Dugdale, S., Connors, C. M., Garvey, G., & Thompson, S. C. (2024). “A Huge Gap”: Health Care Provider Perspectives on Cancer Screening for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the Northern Territory. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(2). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21020141
Thomson, A. (2024). Colonial texts on Aboriginal land: The dominance of the canon in Australian English classrooms. Australian Educational Researcher, 51(4), 1357–1372. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00643-7
Tom, V., King, J. C., & McBain-Rigg, K. E. (2024). Canine Support Program: Student perceptions and preferences at a regional university and implications for health, well-being, and student support enhancements. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 35(2), 525–533. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.782
Truby, H., Allman-Farinelli, M., Beck, E. J., Beckett, E. L., Bondonno, C., Dordevic, A. L., Livingstone, K. M., Willcox, J., & Wilkinson, S. A. (2024). Advancing the decadal plan for the science of nutrition: Progressing a framework for implementation. Nutrition and Dietetics, 81(2), 133–148. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12876
Wu, C.-C. (2024). An investigation of pre-service music teachers’ preferences and willingness to teach six ethnic music styles in Taiwan. International Journal of Music Education. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614241300220
Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Oliver Harris, Sarah Taylor, Thomas Mitchell

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.