Truth-Telling Pedagogies

In an era marked by national truth-telling initiatives, from the Uluru Statement from the Heart in Australia to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, education systems remain slow to respond. As educators face mounting pressure to “teach the truth,” they are often left without the frameworks, resources, or institutional support to do so.

Against the backdrop of post-truth politics and curriculum resistance, Truth-Telling Pedagogies makes a compelling case for critical, ethical engagement with history. This collection of international voices shifts the focus from policy reform to the pedagogy of truth-telling. It highlights Indigenous-led educational approaches that centre sovereignty, relationality, and local knowledges, moving beyond tokenistic inclusion toward deeper critiques of colonial structures.

Truth-Telling Pedagogies stands as one of the first volumes to place the pedagogy of truth-telling at its core, moving beyond conventional emphases on policy or curriculum reform. Designed with practitioners in mind, it highlights grounded theory and community-based approaches.

Jessica Gannaway is a non-Indigenous Lecturer and Researcher in the Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, Australia.

Melitta Hogarth is a Kamilaroi woman and Professor of Indigenous Education in the Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, Australia.

Justin Wilkey is a proud Ngarrindjeri man who grew up on Kaurna Country in Adelaide. He completed his PhD in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne, Australia, where he is a Lecturer and Researcher in Indigenous education.

Emily Dobrich is a Canadian non-Indigenous settler scholar with a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto.