Dr Michelle Bishop

I’m a Gamilaroi woman, grown up on Dharawal Country in South-West Sydney. Currently, I am a Scientia Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the School of Education. I am a former primary school teacher and am motivated to ensure education brings joy, connection and balance to human and more-than-human kin.

My teaching and research advocates for emancipatory change in schooling for Indigenous students which includes a focus on teacher education and teacher ontology, school-community relationships, inclusion of Indigenous perspectives, and Indigenous research methodologies.

My current research focuses on navigating colonial systems and structures to envision and enact Indigenous education sovereignty, or in other words, education on our own terms. I’m interested in Indigenous theories and approaches to education as they have been practised here in so-called Australia forever. I enjoy utilising Country-centred Indigenous research methodologies as innovative and rigorous processes to disrupt and transform dominant research conventions.

I completed my doctoral studies at Macquarie University – thesis entitled ‘Envisioning Indigenous Education Sovereignty’ – which was awarded without corrections and received the Vice Chancellor’s Commendation for Research Excellence.