Brief Biography

John Binda Reid is an Aboriginal male who is a member of the Kokotha nation, whose traditional country lies in the north west of the state of South Australia. During the last 25 years, he has been intimately involved in the education and training of Indigenous peoples in a variety of employment roles and contexts. In that time, he has become increasingly interested in the nexus between education outcomes, equating to improved health outcomes for Indigenous Australians; particularly the diverse linguistic and cultural groups of the Central Australian regions. A place he has called home for the last 21 years.

Being an adult educator for almost 24 years, he has had the opportunity to analyze policy developed specifically for implementation by government, and their agents for the so called betterment of Indigenous Australians. This process has enabled him to see the historic role that research had played in informing the development of social/public policy, for use by government bureaucracies and service agencies to improve the living conditions of his people. What he discovered was how research could be used as a double edged sword, which can work for you, or it can be used against you. He maintains that education and health policy has not improved equitable or positive outcomes for Indigenous Australians in these fields. Policy failure in these areas became the inspiration for him to enroll in the Masters of Arts in Indigenous Social Policy (MAISP) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). It was while studying this course that he became familiar with a number of different research methodologies, which he believed could be applied to many Indigenous social and cultural contexts. However the ethical and moral dimensions that informed the application of these methodologies in the research process, he believes, needs to be constructed, monitored and evaluated by Indigenous communities. This is the type of philosophy, psychology and practice, he hopes to instill into the work he does as the Indigenous Research Fellow working within PHC RED.

Education

1st Year PhD Program Student, University of Technology Sydney, 2008
Master of Arts, Indigenous Social Policy, University of Technology Sydney, 2006
Diplomacy Training Program, Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights and Advocacy, UNSW, 2005
Certificate IV, Workplace & Assessment Training, Institute for Aboriginal Development, 2000
Bachelor of Education, Uni SA, 1998
Certificate I & II, CSWE Teaching and Assessing Training, AMES, 1998
Diploma of Teaching, Middle Primary, 1985
Associate Diploma, Aboriginal Studies, 1981
Certificate, Aboriginal Pre-Vocational Program, Davenport Adult Education Centre, 1977

Teaching areas

John contributes to teaching in the CRH remote health postgraduate programs: Indigenous research methods and Indigenous Pedagogies. 

Research Interests

Indigenous Research methodologies; De-Colonising methodologies; ‘Indigenous Minds’.

Industry / community / professional activities / interests and affiliations

• Indigenous representative on the NTEU Research Committee (2006)
• NTEU – Indigenous Tertiary Education Policy Committee (ITEPC) (Active member for 10 years – workplace delegate and organiser)
• Previous board membership of a range of Indigenous organisations and industry groups:
  
  • Northern Territory Indigenous Education Council (previous FEPPI)
  • Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (NT Representative)
  • Institute for Aboriginal Development (IAD)
  • Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA)

Publications

Non refereed papers

• Lindeman, M.A., J.B. Reid, K.A. Taylor., (in press). "Changing the thinking about priorities in Indigenous health research". Australian Journal of Rural Health.
• Reid, J. 2004. "Indigenous Minds" BIITE’n (staff/students journal).
• Reid, J. 2004. "Indigenous Minds", Ngoonjook.
• Reid, J. 1998. "Men's Sculpture" Koori Mail, Batchelor College.

Conferences

• Reid, J. "'Indigenous Minds' - Decolonising Methodologies". Batchelor Institute 30 year Celebration Conference, 2004.
• Reid, J. "Men's General Multi-Literacy's Program" LERN Conference in Alice Springs, 1997.