Evaluating the Effects of Embedding Indigenous Content: Evidence Versus Assumptions

Universities in Australia and around the world have been incorporating Indigenous graduate attributes as part of their students’ learning outcomes. To address the learning outcomes universities embed Indigenous content. This paper looks at the development of an evaluation model to gauge the effectiveness of embedding Indigenous knowledges in higher education courses. It may be assumed that this inclusion of Indigenous content in higher education courses leads to positive benefits such as cultural competence. The evaluation process discussed in this paper is designed to determine the social and educational implications arising from inclusion of Indigenous graduate attributes and Indigenous content in higher education courses. The evaluative question is; ‘how do we know with certainty that embedding Indigenous content builds cultural competence within the institution and its graduating students?’ From a robust framework using both quantitative and qualitative data the evaluative process provides evidence rather than what are presently the assumed outcomes of a more culturally competent student base and workforce.