‘Wanim skil en topic yumob leigim?’: Listening to community interests to inform remote Aboriginal higher education curricula in Arnhem Land, northern Australia

Higher education is globally recognised as an enabler of social justice and community development. Remote Australian Aboriginal students are underrepresented in higher education, and there has been little research into the skill and topic interests of this group. To address this knowledge gap and inform curricula development of the recently established community-led Wuyagiba and Garrthalala Bush Universities, we surveyed the skill and topic interests of 221 people across 16 Aboriginal communities of 97,000km² Arnhem Land, northern Australia. Drawing on the Australian Skills Classification and Bourdieu’s Capital Theory, we critically examined the influence of social, cultural and racial capital on the skill and topic interests of prospective Bush Uni students, and perceptions of stakeholders. Results confirmed our hypothesis that strong interests and aspirations exist within these remote communities. Findings confirmed student and stakeholder interest in ‘walking in both worlds’ with favoured topics including local Aboriginal history, knowledge and practices combined with computer, business, leadership and English literacy skills. We found significant divergence between prospective student and local stakeholder groups, geographic region, gender, and differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal stakeholder perceptions of student interests. Notably, non-Aboriginal stakeholders selected several topics that significantly differed from actual student interests. The skill and topic preferences of different regions likely reflected different socio-economic histories, opportunities and resource constraints. These results underscore the need for evidence-based, cross-cultural higher education models in remote Aboriginal Australia that equip students with skills and confidence to break away from their existing habitus.