Colonialism is like Alligator weed

• Main Author: Jayson Cooper
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2025
• Subjects: Higher education; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curriculum and pedagogy; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander early childhood education; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary education; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary education; Cultural responsiveness and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities education; settler-colonialism; decolonisation theory; Southern Theory; Multimodality; Podcasting Education; First Nations
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.26188/26019499.v1; https://figshare.com/articles/media/Colonialism_is_like_Alligator_weed/26019499

This research podcast critically examines the role of educators in addressing the ongoing legacies of colonialism in Australian education. It argues that to be responsive, educators must engage in deep listening—not just to what is convenient, but to the difficult truths of colonial occupation, dispossession, and Indigenous survival. Examining the persistence of colonial narratives in curriculum and pedagogy, this podcast demonstrates how Australian education has historically reinforced a Eurocentric national identity while marginalising First Nations perspectives. Using metaphors such as invasive species to illustrate the self-perpetuating nature of colonialism, it highlights the structural mechanisms that sustain inequity, including policies that continue to disadvantage First Nations peoples. Through reflections on lived experiences, the research underscores the resistance of Indigenous communities and the responsibilities of educators to challenge structural racism, unlearn dominant narratives, and create spaces for Indigenous knowledges. It advocates for slow, relational decolonisation, positioning education as a site of both colonial entrenchment and potential transformation. This podcast calls for a reimagining of Australian education—one that moves beyond tokenistic inclusion to genuine engagement with Indigenous histories, knowledges, and futures.