Rate My Professor Cheryl Kickett Tucker

Professor Cheryl Kickett-Tucker AM FAHA is a proud Wadjuk Noongar woman and esteemed academic at Curtin University's School of Education. She holds an Associate Diploma of Applied Science, a Bachelor of Applied Science from Edith Cowan University (1991), a Master of Science from the University of Oregon (1993), and a PhD from Edith Cowan University (2000), with her doctoral thesis titled Urban Aboriginal Children in Sport: Experiences, Perceptions and Sense of Self. Her career spans lecturing and research positions at Edith Cowan University and Murdoch University, adjunct and associate professorial roles at the University of Notre Dame Australia, the University of Western Australia, and Australian Catholic University, and currently as Professor and Research Fellow at Curtin University. Prior to academia, she was a professional basketball player for the WAIS Rockets in the Women’s National Basketball League (1986-1987) and has contributed to community organizations including as Director of Koya Aboriginal Corporation.

Professor Kickett-Tucker's research centers on advancing the wellbeing, resilience, identity, and self-esteem of Aboriginal children and youth through culturally secure approaches. She developed the IRISE_C psychometric toolkit, validated in a 2015 publication in the International Journal for Equity in Health, to measure racial identity and self-esteem in 8-12 year old Aboriginal children. Key publications include her most cited paper, Moorn (Black)? Djardak (White)? How come I don’t fit in Mum? Exploring the racial identity of Australian Aboriginal children and youth (2009, Health Sociology Review, 120 citations); How Aboriginal peer interactions in upper primary school sport support Aboriginal identity (2008, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education); and the edited book Mia Mia Aboriginal Community Development: Fostering Cultural Security (2016, Cambridge University Press). She led the ARC-funded Moombaki Cultural Learnings project, which integrates virtual reality, classroom, and on-country learning to strengthen Aboriginal children’s cultural identity and received the 2024 Curtinnovation Humanities Award. Her influence extends to children's books such as Ninni Yabini (2022) and Barlay (2015), and contributions to national initiatives including the Indigenous Voice to Parliament co-design group. Awards include Member of the Order of Australia (2020), Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (2025), Western Australian Local Hero (2019), and National NAIDOC Scholar of the Year (2001).