Indigenous researcher nabs award

USQ’s Melitta Hogarth has been recognised for her commitment to indigenous education.

Mrs Hogarth was awarded the Australian Association for Research in Education Indigenous Postgraduate Student Researcher Award, a prize given to the best paper given by a postgraduate student who identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person.

“It is a fantastic feeling to be acknowledged by a national professional association for the research I am undertaking,” Mrs Hogarth said, who accepted the award at the AARE Annual Conference in Canberra.

“It makes the struggle in research worthwhile and encourages me to continue.”

AARE is a member-run organisation for people interested in education and education research in Australia and internationally.

Mrs Hogarth’s research paper, Talkin’ Bout a Revolution: The Call for Transformation and Reform in Indigenous Education, is an extension of her PhD thesis Addressing the rights of Indigenous peoples in education: A critical analysis of Indigenous education policy.

Using a methodological approach she is developing, Mrs Hogarth examines how language is used to maintain colonial Australian values and sustaining deficit discourses.

She believes there needs to be a new approach to indigenous education to address the disparities between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.

A lecturer in USQ’s College for Indigenous Studies, Education and Research, Mrs Hogarth is driven to improve opportunities for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in education.

“As an Aboriginal teacher, educator and researcher, Indigenous education is central to my life,” she said.

PHOTO: AARE RECOGNISED: Melitta Hogarth (left) was presented with the AARE Indigenous Postgraduate Student Researcher Award. She is joined by USQ Head of CISER Professor Tracey Bunda.