Indigenous Early Career Researcher’s perspectives of ‘safe spaces’ in higher education
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The Developing Indigenous Early Career Researchers Project is a three-year longitudinal study funded by the Australian Research Council that ran from January 2020 to December 2022. Its main focus was to investigate the experiences and perspectives of Indigenous Early Career Researchers working in universities across Australia. This article presents four main attributes identified by Indigenous Early Career Researchers as necessary to creating culturally safe spaces in Australian universities. These attributes include, safe to: (a) be Indigenous; (b) seek advice and make mistakes; (c) speak openly; and (d) trust. The successful implementation of these attributes requires institutional support and commitment in the form of relevant higher education policies and practices. Importantly, an overarching perspective of this article is that effective implementation of culturally safe spaces for Indigenous Early Career Researchers requires a significant shift in institutional discourse from the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and Knowledges to recognising Indigenous Peoples as sovereign.
Source: Australian Journal of Education
Authors: Michelle Locke, Michelle Trudgett, Susan Page
Institution: Western Sydney University
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,450
Funder: Australian Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W4401726155