Paper Title
Exploring Aboriginal Australian Men‟s Traditional Pedagogy and Notions of Capital for Education Parity

Abstract
Despite a growing number of Australian national reports, plans and strategies, and subsequently, an increase in suggested approaches for what is being forecast to be ‘best practice’ for Indigenous Australians, they continue to be considerably underrepresented and educational attainment remains at discouragingly low levels across all levels of formal education, particularly evident at the tertiary level. Several key policy documents relating to Indigenous education have emerged in recent years, all strongly emphasise the importance of taking alternative approaches and to include Indigenous voices to addressing parity for Indigenous Australians in educational outcomes and attainment. This paper derives from doctoral research undertaken at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia which included the accounts of twenty-four Indigenous men from two specific Indigenous Nation Groups on the East Coast of Australia where the researcher originates. The research participant groups insights are complemented with the accounts of several prominent Indigenous community Elders who advocate for stronger education within their local community. These accounts were used to illustrate the perspectives of Indigenous men from the focus nation groups and their reasons for engagement and/or disengagement with tertiary studies. In addition, the accounts are used to identify what Indigenous approaches and knowledges they consider can be used to increase academic success for Indigenous Australians, primarily Indigenous men. Keywords - Aboriginal, Indigenous, Aboriginal education, pedagogy, Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr Nations