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Nurturing Cultural Identity and Belonging
Professor Melitta Hogarth and Sara Tajima
New position paper
To ensure respectful and inclusive educational communities, students need to see their cultures reflected in the curriculum. By including Indigenous Knowledges, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are strengthened in their cultural identity, creating a sense of pride and fostering belonging.
Beyond these wellbeing benefits, this also translates into better education outcomes and counters deficit narratives. In the latest position paper, Nurturing Cultural Identity and Belonging, we examine inspiring identity and belonging in education, and the obligation to enact inclusive policies and frameworks.
This is the eighth paper in the Weaving our Stories project.
Read the paper here.
Citation
Hogarth, M. & Tajima, S. (2026). Nurturing Identity and Belonging: Position Paper. Ngarrngga. https://doi.org/10.26188/32321919.
Our calls to action
We challenge educators, educational leaders, and educational institutions, from early childhood centres to universities, to critically examine their curricula, teaching practices, and institutional cultures to identify and address any biases, stereotypes, or marginalisation of Indigenous perspectives and knowledges, as well as identify opportunities to strengthen this work.
We urge the Australian government and education authorities to provide adequate funding and resources to support initiatives, which aim to amplify Indigenous Knowledges and perspectives in education.
We call upon governments and educational policymakers to prioritise the meaningful integration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and knowledges into the national curriculum across all subject areas and grade levels.
We encourage all Australians, regardless of their background, to engage with and learn about the histories, cultures, and knowledges of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. This can be achieved through attending cultural events, reading works by Indigenous authors, and seeking out opportunities for respectful dialogue and knowledge-sharing.
About Weaving our Stories
The Weaving our Stories project highlights the significance of incorporating Indigenous Knowledges into Australian education and includes a series of position papers as well as additional materials to support educators and educational leadership to effectively advocate for the integration of Indigenous Knowledges in their teaching and learning.
