Dr Ailie McDowall ~ Lecturer

Dr Ailie McDowall is a Lecturer in Indigenous Studies in the Indigenous Education and Research Centre. She completed her PhD at the University of Queensland in 2018, focusing on pre-service teachers' experiences of compulsory coursework in Indigenous education and the types of ethical responsibilities encountered throughout their learning. Ailie's research looks at the experiences of pre-service teachers throughout a semester and the types of desires which manifest through their writing of reflective learning journals. She is also involved in an inter-institutional research project examining the concept of positive impact on student learning and the accountability measures that govern such concepts.

Ailie is interested in feminist and post-qualitative methodologies, as well as alternative approaches to academic writing. In addition to qualitative training, Ailie also has a strong quantitative background through her psychology training. 

Passionate about teaching, Ailie's research to date has focused on reflexive praxis as an educator. In her subjects, she is committed to trialling different techniques to support students as they engage with critical concepts and challenging ideas in the Indigenous Studies space. 

Ailie is currently focusing on developing the new Master of Philosophy (Indigenous) and will be guiding the inaugral cohort through the research program. She also works informally with several higher degree by research students in weekly writing sessions. Ailie is supervising a Master of Social Science student. 

Teaching

• IA2030: Comparative Indigenous Studies (Level 2; CNS & TSV)
• IA3024: Indigenous Narratives in the Contemporary Era (Level 3; CNS & TSV)
• IA3030: Navigating the Cultural Interface (Level 3; CNS & TSV)
• IA5030: Navigating the Cultural Interface (Level 5; CNS & TSV)

Interests

Research

• Indigenous Studies
• Decoloniality
• Post-structural approaches
• Feminism
• Student learning in higher education

Teaching

• Indigenous Studies
• The philosophy of knowledge and intersections of Western and Indigenous knowledges
• Indigenous policy
• Support of Higher Degree by Research students
• Critical thinking

Experience

• 2018 - Senior Research Assistant, The University of Queensland
• 2015 to 2016 - HDR Student Representative, The University of Queensland
• 2015 to 2016 - Postgraduate Research Community Conference Committee Chair, School of Education, The University of Queensland

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• McDowall A, Mills C, Cawte K and Miller J (in press) Data use as the heart of data literacy: an exploration of pre-service teachers' data literacy practices in a teaching performance assessment. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, , DOI:10.1080/1359866X.2020.1777529.
• McDowall A (in press) Layered spaces: a pedagogy of uncomfortable reflexivity in Indigenous education. Higher Education Research & Development, , DOI:10.1080/07294360.2020.1756751.
• McDowall A (2020) You are not alone: pre-service teachers' exploration of ethics and responsibility in a compulsory Indigenous education subject. M/C Journal, 23 (2).
• McDowall A and Ramos F (2018) Doing decoloniality in the Writing Borderlands of the PhD. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 47 (1), pp. 54-63, DOI:10.1017/jie.2017.23.
• McDowall A (2018) (Not)knowing: walking the terrain of Indigenous education with preservice teachers. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 47 (2), pp. 100-108, DOI:10.1017/jie.2017.10.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• A sociological examination of children’s experience and effectiveness when participating in activism. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The Larger Implications of a Focus on Indigenous Year 12 Certification (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• Using online and mobile gamification to orient Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to Library services and resources. (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• Indigenous Student Perceptions and Assumprions about Digital Technology Curriculum and Opportunities (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• An Inquiry into developing Teacher Capacity in the Torres Straits (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Equity for First Nation Peoples: Why do Educational Programs Designed to Enggae Non-Indigenous Educators fail to gain Traction or Contribute to Longterm Systemic change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples? (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Exploration of Resilience of Indigenous Students in Remote Contexts (Masters , Primary Advisor)