Ngarrngga’s Framework for Curriculum Interpretation and Enactment

Extending on our introduction to Ngarrngga’s approach for working with curriculum, this blog presents Ngarrngga’s bespoke framework for interpreting and enacting curriculum. We discuss this in relation to our approach for working with Indigenous Knowledge.

We explain the rationale and key features of our framework and demonstrate how we use this to foreground Indigenous Knowledge as the basis for making specific and meaningful connections with curriculum in our education resources.

Educators as curriculum makers, interpreters and enactors

Educators possess a combination of pedagogical expertise, deep understanding of curriculum, and knowledge of their students. This is what uniquely positions educators to design and deliver education experiences that meet the needs and interests of their students.

Despite their deep professional knowledge and expertise, we recognise educators face increasing pressures and concerns that can hinder their ability to fully utilise their skills and know how in the education setting.

Pressures associated with (but not limited to) workload intensification, compliance agendas, reform fatigue and devaluing of educator expertise and professional autonomy (Heffernan et al., 2022) are known inhibitors.

And, while educators bring deep professional knowledge and expertise to their work, they understand the obligation to engage in ongoing professional learning (AITSL, 2021) and how this continues to be vital for their professional growth (Riley et al., 2024).

This is especially important, given some educators indicate feeling underprepared to confidently showcase Indigenous Knowledge in their teaching and learning and remain fearful of making mistakes (Blair, 2015; Hogarth, 2024).

In line with efforts to address these interrelated challenges, it comes as no surprise that ‘educators are increasingly turning to new sources of ready-made curriculum resources to supplement their own’ (Cairns et al., 2024, p.1). With this, the imperative remains for educators to carefully scrutinse the veracity of curriculum resources they elect to use (MacDonald & Beasy, 2024), both those they create as well as those produced by external providers.

Given that curricula frameworks set intentions for what should be known, heard and understood, the ways in which education resources interpret and enact curriculum in respect to Indigenous Knowledge warrants careful consideration.

Ngarrngga Elements and Organising Ideas: A framework for learning

Indigenous Knowledge systems are inherently holistic, dynamic, and relational, emphasising connections between people, land, and history. Ngarrngga’s approach for bringing these key tenets of Indigenous Knowledge into conversation with curriculum is realised through a relational narrative creation process grounded in Ngarrngga’s core principles (Hogarth, 2024; Ngarrngga, 2024).

Building upon the Australian Curriculum's cross-curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, Ngarrngga’s framework for interpreting and enacting curriculum expands upon the Organising Ideas of Country/Place, Culture and People (ACARA, 2024).

To help bring these Organising Ideas into further conversation with Indigenous Knowledge, we collaborate with Indigenous Knowledge Experts to define and articulate how elements such as (but not limited to) Land, Sky, Water and Fire create a variety of pathways into content, capabilities and priorities across the three dimensions of the Australian Curriculum (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Ngarrngga’s Organising Ideas and Elements (Hogarth 2023)

This approach to curriculum interpretation and enactment respects and upholds the holistic, dynamic and interconnected nature of Indigenous Knowledge alongside the needs of educators seeking curriculum-attuned educational resources.

Here, Elements open up the Organising Ideas from within the Australian Curriculum to allow for connections to be made, mediated and mapped between Indigenous Knowledge and curriculum content.

The nature, context and scope of these connections create a range of pathways for coming to know, hear and understand Indigenous Knowledge in relation to subject/discipline knowledge, the cultivation of capabilities and realisation of priorities.

It is through these navigational attributes that the framework allows us to surface a range of teaching and learning opportunities that resonate with the relational, interconnected, and holistic nature of Indigenous Knowledge systems.

As a navigational tool geared towards possibility and discovery, our framework for interpreting and enacting curriculum allows us to articulate multi-faceted pathways for coming to know, hear and understand Indigenous Knowledge.

As educators engaged in a collaborative and consultative process of education resource creation, our framework allows us to account for, revisit and iterate our practices and processes.

The Interplay of Ngarrngga Elements and Organising Ideas: A Narrative Journey

Unlike linear models of learning progression, this narrative process invites ongoing, respectful relationships with knowledge. Each resource within the curriculum is not an isolated activity but part of an interconnected and evolving experience that grows with learners. Through this framework, knowledge is not merely acquired but experienced as part of a relationship—one that invites students and educators to listen, reflect, and co-create in culturally safe ways (Hogarth, 2024; Nakata, 2011).

For example:

The Sky element in Country/Place may introduce young learners to the cultural significance of the stars in navigation and storytelling. Later, the same element may reappear, offering older students a deeper exploration of the sophisticated astronomical knowledge used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This relational and cyclical approach (Bruner, 1960; Milligan & Wood, 2010; Nakata, 2011) ensures that learning ebbs and flows, with some concepts serving as foundations and transition points, while other concepts can be revisited in greater depth and approached through different elements to reveal the interconnectedness of knowledge.

This structured approach ensures that content builds in depth over time while avoiding repetitive, superficial thematic activities (Bishop, 2020).

By emphasising reciprocal engagement and recognising the ethical responsibility of both educators and students, our framework guides us to articulate opportunities for active participation in a shared learning journey. Through careful attendance and commitment to relationality, Ngarrngga shifts the focus from top-down, prescriptive pedagogies to a model that prioritises collaboration, respect, and cultural safety (Riley & Genner, 2011).

Educators and students are not seen as passive receivers of knowledge, but co-participants in a respectful and evolving engagement with the world's oldest continuous living culture.

In this way, the narrative journey reflects the richness, depth, and interconnectedness of Indigenous Knowledge systems, aligning seamlessly with the holistic principles at the heart of Ngarrngga.

What is distinctive about Ngarrngga’s framework and approach?

1. Intentional Depth and Interconnection

Ngarrngga’s framework and approach for working with [MH1] curriculum ensures that learning is layered, interconnected and developmental. Each educational resource we create sits within an overarching narrative, fostering ongoing relationships with knowledge and guiding students and educators alike through meaningful, contextualised learning experiences.

2. Respect for Indigenous Knowledge Systems

By foregrounding Indigenous Knowledge in context of Organising Ideas and Elements, our approach to interpreting and enacting curriculum maintains the expansive, abstract, and relational nature of Indigenous Knowledge while aligning with educational standards. This ensures that the holistic principles of Indigenous ways of knowing remain central and respected.

3. Empowering Educators

Ngarrngga’s curriculum-aligned educational resources offer far more than isolated lessons or activities; they articulate purposeful and interconnected opportunities to foster deep, relational engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, histories, and cultures. By centring Indigenous Knowledge, we interpret and enact curriculum in ways that account for what is intended and experienced when knowledge systems are brought into conversation.

A complementing framework for showcasing Indigenous Knowledge in education resources

An important dimension of Ngarrngga’s work is the development of educational resources made by educators, for educators, in collaboration with Indigenous Knowledge Experts.

Our approach to interpreting and enacting curriculum into educational resources guides our development of materials that are non-prescriptive in nature and allow us to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’.

This is an important consideration for our resources, as the latter risks denying educators the enjoyment and gratification that comes with coming to know, hear and understand Indigenous Knowledge for yourself.

By providing guidance and tools for embedding Indigenous Knowledge authentically, the resources emphasise educator empowerment and agency, addressing barriers such as fear of “getting it wrong” or revealing a lack of cultural understanding. This intentional support builds confidence and bolsters educators’ sense of preparedness to create culturally safe learning environments.

These provisions strive to recognise, respect and embrace the deep professional knowledge and expertise educators bring to working with Ngarrngga’s educational resources.

As you bring your own approaches into conversation with ours, we encourage you to be creative, confident, and responsive to the unique needs and interests of your students as you tailor the learning experiences you can have and create with Ngarrngga’s resources.

In our next blog piece, we explore how our approach to curriculum interpretation and enactment sits within Ngarrngga’s broader methodology for educational resource creation.

References:

• Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies [AIATSIS] (2022). AIATSIS Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources, https://aiatsis.gov.au/education/guide-evaluating-and-selecting-education-resources

• Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL] (2021). Australian professional standards for teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards

• Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA] (n.d.). The Australian Curriculum Version 9.0. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

• Bishop, M. (2020). " I spoke about dreamtime-I ticked a box": Teachers say they lack confidence to teach indigenous perspectives. Science Education News, 69 (2), 73-74.

• Blair, N. (2015). Aboriginal education: More than adding different perspectives, in N. Weatherby-Fell (Ed), Learning to teach in the secondary school, Cambridge. 189-208.