About the authors

Jinnat Ali is currently a research analyst at the Centre for Positive Psychology and Education at the University of Western Sydney. He obtained his PhD at UWS and is an expert in achievement motivation and structural equation modelling. His specialisations include self-concept, achievement motivation, measurement and multivariate research.

Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews is an Australian Indigenous Research Fellow funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and is a member of the National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network. He is currently seeking to quantitatively and qualitatively examine the relations between positive psychology constructs, racial discrimination and academic engagement and achievement patterns for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian youth. His past and present projects have led to a strong foundation in developing robust research designs, piloting and developing psychometrically sound instrumentation, administering surveys, conducting interviews across a wide range of age-groups, and undertaking advanced quantitative and qualitative data analysis. His research has also attracted a number of national and international awards (including the AARE Betty-Watts Indigenous Researcher award), and he currently has numerous journal publications, book chapters and peer-reviewed conference publications, all of which have a strong emphasis on Aboriginal Australian affairs.

Bronwyn Carlson is a senior lecturer in the Indigenous Studies Unit, Faculty of Law, Humanities and Arts at the University of Wollongong. Bronwyn’s research focuses on a number of interrelated themes including the politics of Indigenous identity, with particular interest in what it means to identify as an Aboriginal person today focusing on what constitutes and is constitutive of Aboriginal identity in contemporary times. She was the first Indigenous person at UOW to be granted an Australian Research Council, Indigenous Discovery Grant. Her research project focuses on how Aboriginal people represent and negotiate identity issues in the online space, more specifically in Facebook. Bronwyn is also one of the conveners of The Forum for Indigenous Research Excellence (FIRE) at the University of Wollongong.

Rhonda G. Craven is Director of the Centre for Positive Psychology and Education at the University of Western Sydney. She is a highly accomplished researcher having successfully completed numerous externally funded research projects. Her awards include being the recipient of the Meritorious Service to Public Education Award, Betty Watts Award (AARE), and the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence on Postgraduate Research Supervision and Training (UWS). Her expertise includes self-concept theory and research, key psychosocial drivers of potential, Indigenous education, and interventions that make a tangible difference in educational settings.

Anthony Dillon is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Positive Psychology and Education, University of Western Sydney. He has worked as a data analyst, analysing Indigenous health datasets for 10 years, and currently lectures on psychology, and Aboriginal health and well-being at the University of Western Sydney. He is often asked by various media for his views on Aboriginal affairs and has contributed to The Australian and the ABC’s The Drum. His most recent work was as an editor and contributor for a book released in 2013: In Black & White: Australians All at the Crossroads. This book discusses contemporary issues affecting Australia’s Indigenous population.

Jennifer Flood's Aboriginal heritage is from North Western Victoria. She was born in Sydney NSW and has spent all of her life in Western Sydney on the lands of the Darug people. She is married with four children aged 15–30 and the grandmother of one, all of whom were born and raised on Darug land. Jennifer is employed as a Project Officer in the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Engagement at the University of Western Sydney. Since she commenced Higher Education in 2004, Jennifer has completed Undergraduate and Post Graduate levels at the University of Western Sydney and Melbourne University. Currently, Jennifer is involved with local Aboriginal Community Organisations and holds the positions of President, Da Murrytoola Aboriginal Education Advisory Group, and Chairperson, Merana Aboriginal Community Association.

Paul Ginns is Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology at the Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney. His research has two broad foci. The first applies theories from cognitive science and embodied cognition to instructional design. This program of research draws on models of the human cognitive architecture – consisting of a limited working memory which can be circumvented for learning and problem solving by the long-term memory store – to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of learning, through appropriate management of cognitive load. In this program of research, he has published both original research, and meta-analytic reviews of specific instructional design effects. The second research focus seeks to understand the systemic relations between students’ approaches to and engagement in learning, their perceptions of the teaching and learning environment, and subsequent learning outcomes, with the ultimate goal of constructive alignment of the teaching and learning system.

Valerie Harwood is based in the School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong. Valerie’s research focuses on educational access and inclusion, and it includes critical examination of medical and psychiatric categories as these affect children and young people and their schooling. She is currently completing a book with Julie Allan, University of Birmingham, Psychopathology at School: Theorising Mental Disorder in Education (Routledge).

Deirdre Howard-Wagner is a sociologist and socio-legal scholar. She is currently a senior research fellow in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Sydney and holder of an ARC DECRA (2012–2014). Her work on state governmentality and Aboriginal rights is having the greatest impact both internationally and nationally. Her publications are historical and comparative in nature. Her current ARC DECRA project builds on this work, but takes it in new directions via an in-depth case study of Aboriginal service delivery in Newcastle, across the seven COAG Closing the Gap Building Blocks – early childhood, schooling, health, healthy homes, economic participation, community safety and leadership and governance.

Ronnel B. King is a Research Scientist in the Learning Sciences Laboratory of the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. His research interests are in cross-cultural investigations of student motivation, learning, and well-being. He obtained his PhD in Educational Psychology from The University of Hong Kong. His awards include being the recipient of the Highly Commended PhD Award from the Global Self Research Network (2013), Young Scholar Award from the International Test Commission (2012), and the Park Jung-heun Young Scholar Award from the Asian Association of Social Psychology (2009).

Cat Kutay is a research engineer at the University of New South Wales with qualifications in Electrical and Computer Engineering and has developed software for teaching Aboriginal languages and culture and renewable engineering systems. She focuses on teaching resources appropriate to online and blended learning and her research has included the development of software applications for Computer Supported Collaborative Learning to improve group interactions when learning online.

Steven Larkin is a Kungarakany man from Darwin in the Northern Territory in 2004. He was appointed Principal (CEO) of the AIATSIS. In 2009 Professor Larkin took up the position of Pro Vice-Chancellor – Indigenous Leadership with Charles Darwin University, the first Indigenous person to hold such a position within an Australian university. Professor Larkin is currently a member of the Board with Beyond Blue, the national depression initiative. He has served as Chair of the Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council during 2009–2012, and was a member of the panel for the National Review of Indigenous Higher Education during 2011–2012. He is a member of the First Peoples Education Advisory Group, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Council, the Healing Foundation, and the Bachelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Governing Board.

Bingyi Li is currently a research assistant of the Centre for Positive Psychology and Education at the University of Western Sydney. She received her PhD at UWS in 2011. She is interested in students’ outcomes in terms of social equality and self-concept using mixed methods. She also researches the effect of ICT on teacher education.

Stacey Lighton is a non-Indigenous staff member and currently Indigenous Education Programs Officer in the Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FASS) UTS Sydney. Stacey has a background in counselling and is currently completing a Masters in Indigenous Studies.

Andrew J. Martin is Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Sydney specialising in motivation, engagement, achievement and quantitative research methods. He is also fellow of the American Educational Research Association, Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, Adjunct Professor at the University of New South Wales, and President-Elect, International Association of Applied Psychology – Division 5 Educational, Instructional, and School Psychology. Andrew has written over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters and papers in published conference proceedings; written three books for parents and teachers (published in five languages); won 11 Australian Research Council (and National Health and Medical Research Council) grants as well as international funding (e.g. Spencer Foundation). He is Associate Editor of British Journal of Educational Psychology, immediate-past Associate Editor of Journal of Educational Psychology, and on editorial boards of numerous journals, including international journals (Journal of Educational Psychology; Contemporary Educational Psychology).

Dennis M. McInerney is chair professor of Educational Psychology and co-director of the Assessment Research Centre at The Hong Kong Institute of Education where he has previously served as the Associate Vice-president for Research and Development. Professor McInerney has published over 300 research articles in refereed international journals, books and conferences. He edits two international research series, Research on Sociocultural Influences on Motivation and Learning (Vols. 1–10) and International Advances in Self Research (Vols. 1–4). He has received numerous research grants including seven Australian Research Council grants and two Hong Kong University Grants Committee grants. Professor McInerney is author of the popular educational psychology text “Educational Psychology: Constructing Learning,” 6th ed (Pearson, Australia).

Samantha McMahon is a researcher in the School of Education, Faculty of Sciences at the University of Wollongong. Her research interests include the medicalisation of child behaviour, pre-service teacher epistemology and teacher education. Samantha’s PhD thesis is a study of pre-service teachers’ knowledge of challenging behaviour.

Janet Mooney is an Aboriginal woman from the Yuin nation from the South Coast of New South Wales. She is working for the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Indigenous Strategy and Services; prior to this she was the Director of the Koori Centre at the University of Sydney from 1996-2013. She is a well-respected member of the Aboriginal community who is highly regarded as an academic with specialized knowledge in Aboriginal education. She is currently the holder of the OLT Grant for: Indigenous online cultural teaching and sharing. She is a qualitative researcher, who specializes in: research that makes a difference in educational settings, in particular the effective teaching of Indigenous Australian students and Indigenous Studies.

Sarah Jane Moore has worked as a professional musician, performance artist and theatre practitioner for many years. She is a teacher specialising in art, music and drama. She has worked in primary schools, high schools and early learning centres in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. She has also worked in cultural planning and community development and the youth arts sector. Sarah has a Bachelor of Creative Arts with honours, a Master of Creative Arts and a Master of Education. She has been employed on projects and research with the University of Sydney since 2008, where she is currently enrolled in a PhD.

Harry Nejad is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, with a research interest and focus on adaptability, resilience, buoyancy, motivation, positive psychology and evolutionary psychology. Harry has authored and co-authored conference, peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. He is a registered counselling psychologist as well as registered hypnotherapist, mental health investigator and lecturer. Harry brings 10 years of laboratory and experimental experience to his research, lectures, counselling practice, talks and training. He is a quantitative researcher who employs the latest statistical instruments and methodology in his work. He is a program coordinator and lecturer at the University of Sydney as well as Notre Dame University in Sydney. Harry also was a high school teacher in Toronto, Canada; school counsellor in Sydney; and a member of Teachers Without Borders, Canada division. Harry received his master’s degree in counselling psychology from Yorkville University, New Brunswick, Canada.

Brad Papworth is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney and also a secondary school teacher with over 15 years of experience in a number of schools. Brad has been a national director (2005–2012) on the Australian Boarding School Association (ABSA), the peak body for the sector. His doctoral thesis is part of a larger Australian Research Council-funded project, examining the effects of attending boarding school on academic and non-academic outcomes. This longitudinal study is the largest and most comprehensive study comparing the outcomes of schooling on day students, boarding students and disadvantaged youth (e.g. Indigenous, rural, low socio-economic). He is well-respected for his innovation and research in education which has provided him with a unique understanding of and access to schools across a diverse range of institutions, both public and private, in Australia. His research interests also include science motivation and engagement.

Amy Priestly is the director of research and reporting at the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME). AIME is a unique, for purpose business that has proven to dramatically improve the chances of Indigenous children finishing school for four years running. Amy first participated in the AIME Program as a volunteer mentor while studying as an undergraduate at the University of Wollongong. Motivated by personal experiences of Indigenous Australia and a passion for educational equality, Amy decided to complete her honours in education, basing her research around the impact the AIME Program has on its volunteer mentors. Amy was awarded an Honours Class 1 for her thesis and is continuing to investigate the impact of the AIME Program on the thousands of mentees and mentors who are involved in the program.

Lynette Riley is an Aboriginal woman from the Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi nations; she is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, in the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Indigenous Strategy and Services establishing a National Centre for Cultural Competence. In prior roles Lynette was an academic coordinator for the Koori Centre, at the University of Sydney; the state director of Aboriginal education within NSW DET; worked in Western Institute of TAFE as an Aboriginal development manager and Dubbo TAFE campus manager; established the Oorala Centre at UNE; and was a teacher in primary and high schools. Her focus has been in creating change within systems to improve Aboriginal education in delivery and outcomes for students; understanding the impact of racism; and developing cultural education ensuring people working in Aboriginal affairs have improved knowledge.

Juanita Sherwood is a member of the Wiradjuri Nation. She is currently the professor of Australian indigenous education within the Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FASS) UTS, Sydney. Juanita has been working in the area of Indigenous education, research and health over the last 25 years, across Australia. Juanita, Nicole and Stacey are working together in building an Indigenous studies sub-major.

Michelle Trudgett is an Indigenous scholar from the Wiradjuri Nation in New South Wales. She is the head of Warawara – Department of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University, Sydney. Michelle is developing an international reputation as a leading Indigenous Australian scholar whose research provides considerable insight into the area of Indigenous participation in higher education, with a specific focus on the postgraduate sector. Michelle is passionate about developing strategies to ensure Indigenous higher education students receive culturally appropriate support throughout their academic journeys.

Nicole Watson is a member of the Birri-Gubba People and the Yugambeh language group. Nicole is a solicitor and author and prize winner of the David Unaipon Award. Nicole is currently senior research fellow at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning and lecturer within the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, University of Technology, Sydney.

Ian Wilson is associate dean (learning and teaching) at the University of Wollongong. At the time of this research he was professor of medical education at the University of Western Sydney. He has a background as a medical practitioner. His research interests include student selection and development.

Alexander Seeshing Yeung is deputy director of the Centre for Positive Psychology and Education at the University of Western Sydney. He is a registered teacher, a psychologist, a professional translator, a linguist and an educational researcher. He has taught in various educational settings from preschool to tertiary levels, and has been a teacher educator for 40 years. His expertise includes self-concept, motivation, measurement and evaluation, cognition and instruction, and language and psychological studies. He has special interests in the research on higher education and the well-being of Indigenous people.