Sharing our account of journeying through Jindaola : an Aboriginal way towards decolonising educators
Abstract
Purpose
This paper illuminates our journey as accounting educators by exploring accounting as a technical, social and moral practice towards decolonising ourselves. It lays the foundations for decolonising the higher education curriculum and the consequences for addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper focuses on the potential to foster a space for praxis by adopting dialogism-in-action to understand our transformative learning through Jindaola [pronounced Jinda-o-la], a university-based Aboriginal knowledge program. A dialogic pedagogy provided the opportunity to create a meaningful space between us as academics, the Aboriginal Knowledge holder and mentor, the other groups in Jindaola and, ultimately, our accounting students. Since Jindaola privileged ‘our way’ as the pedagogical learning process, we adopt autoethnography to share and reflect on our experiences. Making creative artefacts formed the basis for building relationships, reciprocity and respect and represents our shared journey and collective account.
Findings
We reveal our journey of “holding to account” by analysing five aspects of our lives as critical accounting academics – the overarching conceptual framework, teaching, research, governance and our physical landscape. In doing so, we found that Aboriginal perspectives provide a radical positioning to the colonial legacies of accounting practice.
Originality/value
Our journey through Jindaola contemplates how connecting with Country and engaging with Aboriginal ways of knowing can assist educators in meaningfully addressing the SDGs. While not providing a panacea or prescription for what to do, we use ‘our way’ as a story of our commitment to transformative change.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge that the land on which the Faculty of Business and Law and authors live, work and journey always was and always will be Aboriginal land where sovereignty was never ceded. The authors pay their respects to elders past and present for their ongoing connection and custodianship of these lands and extend this respect to the Aboriginal people and colleagues who have taken them on this journey, including Catherine Moyle, Anthony McKnight, Jade Kennedy, Danielle Mangos and Julie Avena. The authors would also like to express their gratitude towards the editors of this special issue and reviewers for their helpful, constructive and comprehensive feedback in developing this paper. In addition, the authors would also like to thank the participants and reviewers at A-CSEAR Conference 2022 and 2023 for their valuable feedback, which was immensely helpful in developing the paper.
Funding: This project was funded by University of Wollongong, Jindaola Program.
Citation
Tanima, F.A., Moerman, L., Twyford, E.J., Pupovac, S. and Nikidehaghani, M. (2024), "Sharing our account of journeying through
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited