Living, learning and working on Country
L to R: Professor Harlene Hayne, Professor Rhonda Oliver, Associate Professor Graeme Gower, Ronita Bradshaw, Tara-Anne Rangi, Brianna Taylor-Ellison, Samantha Little, Leanne Eades, Jacqueline Hunter, Sophie Benson, Emeritus Professor Simon Forrest. Picture: GFP Events
Through the On Country Education Teaching Initiative, Curtin University has responded to the need for more Indigenous teachers to be working in public schools – particularly important in regional and remote areas.
The program is a partnership between Curtin and the WA Department of Education that helps Indigenous teaching-support staff in regional and remote schools to complete the degree needed for a career as a primary school teacher.
Curtin’s School of Education developed various ways to address some of the challenges that Indigenous university students living in rural and remote areas face. To start with, the students’ learning materials include culturally appropriate examples, and the course delivery is modelled on the Aboriginal Ways of Learning framework. Classes are delivered online in trimesters, so that the students can study part-time while continuing to work and live on Country. Plus, they can complete their practical placements in the schools where they currently work.
Students can attend workshops at Curtin Perth at the start of each trimester, to meet their teaching staff and personal support staff, and familiarise themselves with the units they’ll be studying. Curtin staff also visit the students on Country to provide face-to-face academic support.
“The program has been acknowledged internationally as an exemplary culturally appropriate model to support Indigenous persons wanting to be teachers,” said program leader Associate Professor Graeme Gower.
He also pointed out that just 1.2 per cent of WA teachers are Indigenous. “So not only is there a need for more Indigenous teachers, but there’s also significant scope to help address the overall teacher shortage.”
This year, six Indigenous students graduated with a Curtin Bachelor of Education (Primary Education) degree, including Leanne Eades. Leanne was working full-time as an Aboriginal and Islander Education Officer in Katanning when she began her studies at Curtin.
“It was an honour to graduate, and such a proud moment for me and my family. I also received the Humanities and Social Science Award, from Curtin’s School of Education,” she said. “I now have the opportunity to teach and share my culture within my Year 5/6 class on my country at Braeside Primary School in Katanning.”
Embodying this year’s NAIDOC Week theme – The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy – the On Country Education Teaching Initiativeis sure to have a positive impact, with the Curtin students and graduates becoming role models for Indigenous students in their classrooms and communities, and inspiring future generations.
To apply, or learn more about the On Country Education Teacher Initiative, visit curtin.edu/oncountry-teaching.
This article was originally published here by The West on 7 July 2025.
Learn more about the first graduating class of the On Country teaching program here.
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