Dr Vincent Backhaus ~ Research Fellow, Traditional Owner Engagement in Crown of Thorns Research and Management

Vincent completed his doctoral degree at The University of Cambridge in Psychology & Education with a core focus within Indigenous Research.  He matriculated from Trinity College (2013), as the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to complete a PhD at Cambridge. He has also completed a Master of Philosophy in Psychology and Education at Cambridge prior to his doctorate studies.  He also holds a first class honours (BA) majoring in Anthropology and Psychology from James Cook University. Vincent has held a visiting fellowship to Trinity College, University of Melbourne.   He holds professional associations with the British Psychological Society (BPS), The Australian Psychological Society (APS) as well as The Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA). Vincent’s doctoral research looked at the relationship between Indigenous Stories and Learning through a critical lens of Indigenous Epistemology and the psychological literature on Learning theory. His research informs Indigenous Education, Educational Psychology and broadly Indigenous Research.

Vincent is currently an adjunct researcher with the University of Cambridge faculty of Education working on teacher-student relationships, educational climate and social and emotional mental health.  Vincent held the position of Senior Teaching Fellow Department of Psychology and Human Development - UCL Institute of Education, London.  In this role he supervised MSc students towards completion of their dissertations.  He now holds the role of Senior Lecturer, James Cook University, Cairns within the Indigenous Education and Research Centre where he teaches within the Indigenous Studies program for undergraduate subjects.

Teaching

• IA2023: Indigenous Continuity: Agency, Adaptation and Resistance (Level 2; CNS & TSV)
• IA5119: Empowerment and Change (Level 5; TSV)

Research Disciplines

• Sociology (4410)

Awards

• 2013 to 2018 - Cambridge Australia Scholar
• 2013 to 2018 - Trinity College, Cambridge Scholar
• 2013 to 2014 - Chevening Scholar

Other

• 2013 to 2018 - Charlie Perkins Scholar

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

• Backhaus V, Neuendorf N and Brooksbank L (2020) Storying toward pasin and luksave: permeable relationships between Papua New Guineans as researchers and participants. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19.
• Hurdley R, Biddulph M, Backhaus V, Hipwood T and Hossain R (2017) Drawing as radical multimodality: salvaging Patrick Geddes's material methodology. American Anthropologist, 119 (4). pp. 748-753
• Lowe K, Backhaus V, Yunkaporta T, Brown L and Loynes S (2014) Winanga-y Bagay Gaay: know the river’s story - a conversation on Australian curriculum between five Indigenous scholars. Curriculum Perspectives, 34 (3). pp. 59-91

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

• Exploring and Identifying a Voice to Parliament for Mainland Torres Strait Islanders (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• How Indigenous Learners are Positioned in the Educational Discourse (Masters , Secondary 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 , Secondary Advisor)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competence in legal service delivery; how can it be defined, measured and produced? (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• A Synchronic Study of the Torres Strait Islander Student Achievement levels in Literacy and Numeracy (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• The Larger Implications of a Focus on Indigenous Year 12 Certification (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Reconciliation and Resistance: An Exploration of Resistance towards Reconciliation following Crimes against Humanity. Comparative Case Studies form Northern Ireland and Australia (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• My journey towards language: An Autoethnography of Wakka Wakka Reclamation (Masters , Secondary Advisor)