Dissertation
Does prior knowledge matter? Exploring how prior study and informal learning affects the study of compulsory tertiary Indigenous Studies
University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25907/00714
Abstract
Prior knowledge may influence non-Indigenous students' understanding of knowledge in an Australian Indigenous Studies undergraduate course and this prior knowledge may constitute preconceived notions and misconceptions. Prior knowledge may influence student engagement with and/or resistance to topics in Indigenous Studies courses, and hence their future professions including the classroom practices of pre-service teachers. In Indigenous Studies classes, students frequently learn, unlearn, and relearn so as to improve pedagogy. This study sought to better understand what formal and informal prior knowledge students bring to their university studies and how it influences course resistance. As a result, the research question posed is how does prior knowledge affect student resistance in Indigenous Studies higher education? For effective analysis of the research question, a mixed methods approach was used. It included start-of-semester surveys to explore the prior knowledge of mostly non-Indigenous students at the beginning of their semester and followed these students to the end of their semester in a mandatory tertiary Indigenous Studies course. End of semester surveys focused on quantitatively examining factors and qualitatively exploring understandings around achieving partial or full scores on a developed Acceptance Scale. Survey data were collected from 357 students in the Time 1 (before the course) survey and 93 students in the Time 2 (after the course), and 50 students responded to both time points and were matched. Ten students also agreed to be interviewed at the end of the semester, and classroom observations supplemented these data. Data were collected across four semesters. The start-ofsemester survey findings revealed two separate clusters: those who valued prior formal knowledge (from schooling) and those who valued prior informal knowledge (from personal experience) at the start of the semester.
Details
- Title
- Does prior knowledge matter? Exploring how prior study and informal learning affects the study of compulsory tertiary Indigenous Studies
- Authors
- Justine Grogan - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre - Legacy
- Contributors
- Jennifer Carter Professor of Geography (Supervisor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Awarding institution
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Degree awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Publisher
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- DOI
- 10.25907/00714
- Organisation Unit
- Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99687098802621
- Output Type
- Dissertation
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