Decolonising tertiary psychology programs in Australia: privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' voices
Date
2025
Authors
Gibson, C.
Alexi, J.
Dudgeon, P.
Murrup-Stewart, C.
McMullen, S.
Decke, D.
Ohan, J.
Taylor, A.
Gill, P.
Thielking, M.
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Journal article
Citation
Australian Journal of Psychology, 2025; 77(1):e2544928-1-e2544928-14
Statement of Responsibility
Chontel Gibson, Joanna Alexi, Pat Dudgeon, Cammi Murrup-Stewart, Stacey McMullen, Darcey Decke, Jeneva Ohan, Amanda Taylor, Peter Gill, Monica Thielking, Belle Selkirk
Conference Name
Abstract
Objective: The Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Program has paved the way for Indigenising and decolonising psychology programs. While Indigenisation and decolonisation of psychology programs are not yet consistent, exemplar initiatives have emerged within recent times. This paper showcases these exemplars, providing details about the “how to” privilege Indigenous knowledges and decolonising practices. Method: A qualitative research paradigm was used to highlight multiple descriptive case studies. An Aboriginal Participatory Action Research approach honoured Indigenous leadership and governance throughout the process, which supported the use of yarning as the data collection method. The methodological approach illustrated the importance of the psychology discipline supporting epistemological justice via the inclusion of Indigenous research methodologies. Results: The five case studies provided practical strategies and actions that other psychology education providers, and indeed other higher education providers, can use to decolonise discipline programs. Examples of enablers included Indigenous leadership in curricula design and student support within the psychology discipline challenges. Examples of challenges included a lack of resources and epistemological racism. Conclusions: This work reaffirms the call for urgent prioritisation to support, embed, and expand Indigenous knowledges and decolonising praxis within psychology and indeed, across broader health disciplines, in Australia and around the world.
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© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.