Wili Suluma

Dr Wili Suluma, BEd(Prim), PGDE, GC(Tertiary Tchg), PGDE(Tertiary Tchg), MEd(Research), MSc(Science Ed), PhD., has extensive teaching experience in Australia and the Pacific. During his 25+ years of teaching, he has taught in schools, teacher's colleges, and universities. One of the highlights of his career was serving as a principal and teacher in some of the most remote schools in isolated Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory of Australia. This was where his interest in Indigenous education started. His PhD thesis examined the purpose of education for remote Aboriginal students in the Northern Territory of Australia, drawing on the Internal Colonisation Theory and Human Capital Theory. Before joining James Cook University, Wili was involved in a teacher education project run by the University of New England on Nauru Island. The purpose of the DFAT and NZAID-funded project was to train local teachers to address Nauru’s reliance on expatriate teachers.

Wili is a lecturer in Indigenous education and is involved in preservice teacher education in the College of Arts, Society and Education at James Cook University. His research interests include Indigenous education, society and education, inclusive education, equity in education, and rural and remote education.