Indigenising the curriculum: Building a more culturally responsive occupational therapy program

Introduction: To improve health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, we need a culturally capable occupational therapy workforce that delivers culturally safe services. This need is reflected in the new Occupational Therapy Competency standards as well as the new Accreditation Standards for Australian Occupational Therapy Education Programs, which highlight that universities need to place greater emphasis on developing occupational therapy students’ cultural responsiveness for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Objective: To describe how an Indigenisation framework is used to review and develop the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, knowledge systems, pedagogies and research methodologies in an occupational therapy curriculum. Approach: This paper will present the Indigenisation framework used in one university and demonstrate the links between learning outcomes in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework and the requirements of the Occupational Therapy Competency standards and Educational Program Accreditation Guidelines. This paper will demonstrate that ongoing collaboration between teaching staff, students, community members, and the university’s Office of Indigenous Engagement is vital to develop a culturally sensitive and responsive curriculum. Specific examples of embedding the Indigenisation framework in units of study will be illustrated. Practice implications: The benefits of underpinning the curriculum with an Indigenisation framework are described, and the need to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives throughout the curriculum is highlighted. Conclusion: Indigenising a curriculum is a complex and ongoing process that requires collaboration between a range of stakeholders. This paper highlights opportunities, challenges and strategies to developing a contemporary occupational therapy curriculum that supports the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.