Reading Australia introduced Maya Mulhall, an English teacher at Blackburn High School in Victoria, as the 2024 Reading Australia Fellow. This prestigious fellowship, awarded by the Copyright Agency, offers $15,000 each year to an outstanding educator to support a career-enhancing research project that benefits the wider education sector.
Launched in 2013, Reading Australia provides valuable resources for Australian teachers, now boasting nearly 300 curriculum-mapped materials for students from Foundation to Year 12. Mulhall’s project is focused on developing a culturally respectful and responsive approach to First Nations literature. Her research aims to address how educators can analyse First Nations texts without imposing colonial frameworks.
Using the anthology Guwayu – For All Times as a foundation, Mulhall plans to create shareable resources and pedagogical strategies. Her goal is to assist educators in integrating First Nations perspectives authentically and respectfully into their teaching practices.
“As a woman of Irish and white Australian heritage, I have been investigating how to approach this area of study without imposing my voice and running the risk of imposing white schema,” Mulhall said. “The 2023 Australian Teacher’s survey reflects my concerns, with more than half of respondents aged 35 years and over feeling unprepared to approach First Nations knowledges and cultures.”
Mulhall highlighted her aim to develop strategies and resources that could help fellow educators in teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures in “an authentic, culturally sensitive and respectful manner.”
Josephine Johnston, CEO of Copyright Agency, praised Mulhall’s approach, highlighting it opens a path towards creating a culturally appropriate resource for educators. “The Reading Australia Fellowship is a significant opportunity for Maya and will raise awareness of the importance of studying and teaching First Nations literature in our classrooms,” she said.
Mulhall will share her research and findings with fellow educators next year, furthering her mission to integrate First Nations perspectives into the educational framework effectively and respectfully.