Rate My Professor Neil Harrison

Neil Harrison serves as Associate Professor at Macquarie University and Honorary Associate Professor in the Macquarie School of Education, part of the Faculty of Arts. He possesses over 30 years of teaching experience in Indigenous education across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, commencing his career in a remote Arnhem Land community. Harrison's academic interests encompass trauma-informed education, Indigenous education, curriculum, and pedagogy. His methodological expertise lies in negotiated research approaches developed collaboratively in the field. Current research emphasizes developing a Trauma-Informed Pedagogy for schools and universities, including the project TIE: Addressing trauma in remote NSW schools (2022-2025). Earlier investigations focused on Learning from Country, revealing how Indigenous knowledge of Country fosters greater engagement, belonging, wellbeing, and reduced suspensions among Indigenous students in urban areas like Sydney, as explored in works such as Harrison and Greenfield (2011).

Harrison has earned notable recognition, including the Australian Awards for University Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2017) and the Macquarie University Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2015). His influential publications feature 'Risky teaching: developing a trauma-informed pedagogy for higher education' (Harrison, Burke, & Clarke, 2023, Teaching in Higher Education); 'Country as pedagogical: enacting an Australian foundation for culturally responsive pedagogy' (Harrison & Skrebneva, 2020, Journal of Curriculum Studies); 'Unleashing cultural diversity knowledge for improved knowledge sharing and integration' (Latif et al., 2025, Journal of Knowledge Management); and books including 'Learning and teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education' (Harrison & Sellwood, 2021, Oxford University Press), 'Teaching and learning in Indigenous education' (Harrison, 2008, Oxford University Press), and 'Teaching and learning in Aboriginal education' (Harrison, 2011). He has directed significant projects such as Aboriginal Voices: Insights for Aboriginal Education (2016-2021), Developing teachers'/students' science capital via STEAM education (2018-2023), and Enhancing the quality of academic supervision for Indigenous Australian doctoral students (2012-2015). These contributions advance culturally responsive pedagogies and trauma-informed practices within the education field.