This paper examines the marginalisation of non-Western epistemologies in Australian higher education, drawing on Indian philosophical traditions through the lived experience and Sanskrit-textual knowledge of an Indian-Australian academic, and engaging in complementary ways with Persian philosophical and poetic thought through the cultural inheritance of a Persian-Australian academic. The study employs collaborative autoethnography (Chang et al., 2013) across ten structured fortnightly dialogic sessions in late 2024 and early 2025. We identify several epistemological resources that offer substantive alternatives to the individualist, instrumentalist orientations dominant in Australian universities: holistic knowledge integration, ethical-relational frameworks, communal learning, and the rigorous distinction between conception (taṣawwur) and assent (taṣdīq) in the Persian-Islamic tradition of al-Fārābī and Ibn Sīnā. Drawing on epistemological pluralism (Harding, 2015; Mignolo & Walsh, 2018; Smith, 2021), Gramscian hegemony theory (Mayo, 2015), and contemporary cross-cultural epistemology (Beaney & Lai, 2025), we propose five design principles for curriculum transformation grounded in critical epistemological pluralism rather than assimilative integration.
The Indigenous education movements in Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) have demonstrated decades of advancement and success, yet we are still confronted with a predominantly Western-centric teaching and learning context that resists recognising Indigenous education as an essential foundation for all educators (Hutchings & Lee-Morgan, 2016; Wilson-Hokowhitu & Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, 2019). This article draws from a larger PhD research study, Decolonizing the colonizer: Indigenous education as the foundation of teacher education in Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa, offering specific guidance to transform mainstream teacher education. The research grounds in Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa as their Indigenous peoples have shared colonial experiences and their Indigenous resurgence movements have evolved together and strengthened one another (Asensio, 2019; Walker, 2004; Wilson & Kamanā, 2001). They hold a strong connection stemming not only from their geographic proximity but also shared histories reflected in their cosmogony, ancestors, language, and cultural practices. These connections ignited an Indigenous education movement that has grown and evolved over the past 50 years, leading to the revitalisation of Hawaiian and Māori languages and cultural practices, and the creation of a robust Indigenous education pipeline. The study applies oral storytelling and semi-structured interview methods to gather moʻolelo/pūrākau (stories, narratives, history), ʻike/mātauranga (knowledge, wisdom), and manaʻo/whakaaro (thoughts, opinions, ideas) from 20 Hawaiian and Māori Indigenous education leaders who have dedicated their personal and professional lives to their respective Cultural Renaissances. The leaders offered guidance for mainstream teacher education on how to ground in Indigenous knowledge systems and practices. Through the study, the metaphor of a three-whiri wahakura (flax bassinet with three foundational braids) emerged, depicting that for transformative and restorative shifts in teacher education to occur, there must be change at the system, programmatic, and individual level. This article will focus on the programmatic level by proposing a framework for decolonising and indigenising teacher education based on eight themes detailing how Indigenous Pacific epistemologies, pedagogies, and philosophies can be employed in university teaching and learning practices.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly being used within higher education to enhance curriculum design, automate academic tasks, and personalise learning. Despite this, little is known about teaching academics’ attitudes, intentions and behaviours and in turn, how they use and plan to use GenAI in practice. This qualitative study explored teaching academic staff attitudes, intentions and behaviours regarding their use and future use of GenAI. Data was collected via five open ended questions focusing on current teaching practices. The Theory of Planned Behaviour informed the analytical process. Academic staff were drawn from 20 different disciplines across 24 countries. Six main themes were identified: Efficiency and Automation, Ethics and Authenticity, Quality, Customised Learning, Institutional Policy-Practice and Sociocultural Implications. Overall, there was a dichotomy in responses. Participants noted that while GenAI could streamline teaching and enhance resource quality, it might also increase short-term workload and reduce the role of human judgement, risking unreliable outputs. They also highlighted limited institutional policies, strategies, and training. These attitudes have implications for updating policies, practical strategies, and meaningful training in higher education institutions.
University students are experiencing increasingly high levels of psychological distress globally, presenting a significant concern for students as well as universities. Numerous stressors contribute to psychological distress, including impostor phenomenon (IP). The extent, impact and management strategies of IP in university students are less explored in the literature. This study measures the prevalence of IP in graduate health science students, its association with self-efficacy, and evaluates the impact of an educational workshop designed to address it at an Australian university. First, anonymous surveys assessing IP, self-efficacy and demographic information were collected from 115 graduate health science students. Subsequently, a 90-minute workshop on IP awareness and coping strategies was delivered to Master of Clinical Audiology students, with a post-workshop assessment. Our findings showed 77% of graduate health science students had high levels of IP, and students with higher levels of IP had lower levels of self-perceived efficacy. A significant reduction in levels of IP was observed immediately following workshop participation. The findings of this study highlight the pervasiveness of IP among graduate health science students and demonstrate the potential of educational workshops as an effective short-term management strategy.
This editorial examines the use and reporting of interviews and focus groups as methods in higher education research. Such an editorial is helpful in addressing reviewer concerns that many studies lack clarity and transparency in the reporting of their qualitative methods adopted. Drawing on our editorial experience, and the scholarly literature, we identify common issues, including weak alignment between research questions and methods, limited transparency in design and analysis, and underdeveloped interpretation of findings. This paper positions methodological rigour as a relational concept and explores four key dimensions: alignment of methods to research purpose, design and conduct, analysis, and the presentation of findings. Practitioner principles are shared at the end of the editorial to guide the design and reporting of interview and focus group studies, emphasising coherence across the research process, interpretation, and evidentiary grounding. These principles aim to help writers produce more methodologically rigorous reports of interview and focus group studies.
