Building indigenously culturally competent teacher education programs

Through its predecessor institutions, Charles Sturt University (CSU) has a history dating back to the establishment of experimental farms in Bathurst (1896) and Wagga Wagga (1895). Both of these locations are inland regional cities in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. When proclaimed a university through the passage of the Charles Sturt University Act (New South Wales Government, 1989), its major campuses were located at Wagga Wagga, Bathurst and Albury, all on Wiradjuri lands. More recently, the institution has established what is envisaged to become a major campus at Port Macquarie, a coastal city in NSW, on the traditional lands of the Biripi people of that region. Other, smaller sites exist on the lands of other Indigenous peoples, including the Ngunnawal, Gundungurra, Eora/Darug, Kulin and Panderang people. Given this background and diversity, it might be expected that the institution would show a clear recognition of its responsibility to promoting the advancement of Indigenous people, in particular educational opportunities,at both an institutional and Faculty level.