| Summary: | Abstract
A strong educator-learner relationship is continually
identified as the most significant form of involvement
affecting the student experience. Yet, within the current
dominant higher-educational context, student-faculty
interactions are also identified as an area in need of
improvement. This paper explores the educator-learner
relationship within a space created by “Indigenous
pedagogy” and epistemology through a case study conducted
with undergraduate students at The University of Western
Australia. Within this context distinctions such as
“inside” and “outside” the classroom are seen to inhibit
interconnectedness within a holistic system of knowing.
Extensive qualitative enquiry in the form of observations,
non-Indigenous and Indigenous student focus groups and
faculty interviews, informed a descriptive case study of
the unit offered through the University of Western
Australia titled “Aboriginal Ways of Knowing”. It was found
that this space, as Indigenised, offered students the
opportunity to connect spiritually and personally with
themselves, one another and their educators. Furthermore,
in reading this space as an “interface” between Western and
Indigenous systems of knowing, a productive tension emerged
in emulation of what Indigenous people experience
throughout their daily lives. This research contributes to
a growing body of literature indicating the potential of
Indigenous pedagogy and epistemologies within the tertiary
context.
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