Associate Professor Levon Blue
Affiliate Senior Lecturer of School of Education
School of Education
Affiliate Associate Professor of UQ Business School
School of Business
Associate Professor & Indigenous Researcher Development Coordinator
Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement)
+61 7 344 38287
Researcher biography
Associate Professor Levon Blue is a member of Beausoleil First Nation in Canada and lives in Queensland, Australia. She is the HDR Coordinator at The University of Queensland in the Office of the Deputy-Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Engagement and coordinates courses within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Major. Levon was awarded a PhD in 2016 that focused on financial literacy education practices in a First Nation community in Canada. Her research area includes financial literacy education and higher education with Indigenous peoples.
Publications
Books
Whatman, Susan, Wilkinson, Jane, Kaukko, Mervi, Vedeler, Gørill Warvik, Blue, Levon Ellen and Reimer, Kristin Elaine (2024). Researching practices across and within diverse educational sites: onto-epistemological considerations. Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing. doi: 10.1108/9781800718715
Anderson, Peter, Blue, Levon, Pham, Thu and Saward, Melanie (2022). Higher degree by research: Factors for Indigenous student success. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-19-5178-7
Book Chapters
Blue, Levon, Barney, Katelyn and Bunda, Tracey (2025). Centring Country and relationships: reflections on co-teaching critical Indigenous studies. Indigenising curriculum at The University of Queensland: a handbook. (pp. 228-238) edited by Tracey Bunda, Katelyn Barney, Levon Blue and Laura Deane. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Bodle, Kerry, Frazer, Lorelle, Blue, Levon, Hunt, Douglas, Brimble, Mark and Weaven, Scott (2024). Methodologies for Conducting Academic Business Research with Indigenous Communities in Australia. Managing the Post-Colony. (pp. 209-228) Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-97-0319-7_13
Blue, Levon Ellen (2024). Trust settlement agreement practices in first nation communities. Researching practices across and within diverse educational sites: onto-epistemological considerations. (pp. 113-140) edited by Susan Whatman, Jane Wilkinson, Mervi Kaukko, Gørill Warvik Vedeler, Levon Ellen Blue and Kristin Reimer. Leeds, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing. doi: 10.1108/978-1-80071-871-520231006
Blue, Levon Ellen, Hunt, Doug, Bodle, Kerry, Frazer, Lorelle, Brimble, Mark and Weaven, Scott (2024). Indigenous small business owners: exploring the practice of support. Researching practices across and within diverse educational sites: onto-epistemological considerations. (pp. 141-162) edited by Susan Whatman, Jane Wilkinson, Mervi Kaukko, Gørill Warvik Vedeler, Levon Ellen Blue and Kristin Elaine Reimer. Leeds, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing. doi: 10.1108/978-1-80071-871-520231007
Whatman, Susan, Wilkinson, Jane, Kaukko, Mervi, Vedeler, Gørill Warvik, Blue, Levon Ellen and Reimer, Kristin Elaine (2023). Onto-epistemological and axiological considerations for researching practices. Researching practices across and within diverse educational sites: onto-epistemological considerations. (pp. 1-21) edited by Susan Whatman, Jane Wilkinson, Mervi Kaukko, Gørill Warvik Vedeler, Levon Ellen Blue and Kristin Elaine Reimer. Leeds, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing. doi: 10.1108/978-1-80071-871-520231001
Whatman, Susan, Wilkinson, Jane, Kaukko, Mervi, Vedeler, Gørill Warvik, Blue, Levon Ellen and Reimer, Kristin Elaine (2023). Concluding thoughts on methodological resources and research challenges in diverse educational sites. Researching practices across and within diverse educational sites: Onto-epistemological considerations. (pp. 163-167) edited by Susan Whatman, Jane Wilkinson, Mervi Kaukko, Gørill Warvik Vedeler, Levon Ellen Blue and Kristin Elaine Reimer. Leeds, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing. doi: 10.1108/978-1-80071-871-520231008
Blue, Levon E. and Pinto, Laura E. (2022). Disrupting the alibi: toward a postcolonial financial literacy and entrepreneurship ideal. Financialization, financial literacy, and social education. (pp. 5-22) edited by Thomas A. Lucey. Oxford, United Kingdom: Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9781003020264-2
Anderson, Peter, Pham, Thu, Blue, Levon and Fox, Ashley (2021). Supporting Indigenous higher degree by research students in higher education. Student support services. (pp. 1-14) edited by Henk Huijser, Megan Yih Chyn A Kek and Fernando F. Padró. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-3364-4_39-1
Bodle, Kerry and Blue, Levon (2020). Indigenizing the business curriculum at an Australian university. Indigenizing education. (pp. 181-192) edited by Alison Sammel, Susan Whatman and Levon Blue. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-4835-2_9
Blue, Levon (2020). Financial literacy education in a First Nation community in Canada: Educating for agency. Indigenizing education. (pp. 31-45) edited by Alison Sammel, Susan Whatman and Levon Blue. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-4835-2_2
Sammel, Alison, Whatman, Susan and Blue, Levon (2020). Indigenizing education: lessons learned, pathways forward. Indigenizing education. (pp. 193-210) edited by Alison Sammel, Susan Whatman and Levon Blue. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-4835-2_10
Blue, Levon Ellen and Grootenboer, Peter (2017). Learning practices: Financial literacy in an Aboriginal community. Practice theory perspectives on pedagogy and education. (pp. 175-189) edited by Peter Grootenboer, Christine Edwards-Groves and Sarojni Choy. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-3130-4_9
Journal Articles
Anderson, Peter, Diamond, Zane M., Pham, Thu, Baeza Peña, Angela, Tapia, Carla, Blue, Levon, Saward, Melanie, Hurley, Angelina, Pecar, Kate, Kelly, Amanda, Forbes, Owen, Goerke, Veronica, Diamond, Jeane, Cathcart, Abby, Sato, Chizu, Maeda, Koji, Fox, Russell and Howe, Wren D. W. (2025). Indigenous rights-based approaches to decolonising research methodologies in settler colonial contexts. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, 10 1553208, 10. doi: 10.3389/frma.2025.1553208
Pham, Thu D., Baeza Penã, Angela, Xing, Congcong, Blue, Levon E., Anderson, Peter J. and Chappell, Rhetta (2025). Measuring social determinants influencing Australian university students’ completion: confirmatory factor analysis. Frontiers in Education, 10 1568521. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1568521
Blue, Levon, Xing, Congcong and Pham, Thu (2025). Cryptocurrencies: who is vulnerable and what are the vulnerabilities?. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 60 (1), 143-175. doi: 10.1002/ajs4.351
Blue, Levon, Brimble, Mark, Bodle, Kerry, Frazer, Lorelle, Weaven, Scott and Hunt, Douglas (2025). Navigating Unreasonable, Unsustainable and Unjust Financial Practices: Experiences of Indigenous Small Business Owners. Sustainability, 17 (5) 2103, 2103-5. doi: 10.3390/su17052103
Blue, Levon Ellen (2025). Cryptocurrencies are here to Stay! Think you aren’t Vulnerable, Think Again. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 14, 56-67. doi: 10.6000/1929-4409.2025.14.06
Blue, Levon Ellen, Xing, Congcong and Pham, Thu (2024). Cryptocurrency purchases among young adults: behaviors and educational opportunities. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 35 (3), 352-365. doi: 10.1891/jfcp-2022-0084
Baeza Pena, Angela, Xing, Congcong, Blue, Levon, Pham, Thu, Saward, Melanie and Anderson, Peter (2024). Indigenous higher degree by research students’ retention and completion: a scoping review. The Australian Educational Researcher, 52 (2), 1-24. doi: 10.1007/s13384-024-00777-2
Brimble, Mark, Weaven, Scott, Wildman, Karen L., Blue, Levon, Bodle, Kerry and Frazer, Lorelle (2024). Examining the financial and commercial literacy of Australian Indigenous small business owners. Accounting and Finance, 65 (1), 667-690. doi: 10.1111/acfi.13343
Pham, Thu D., Blue, Levon E. and Anderson, Peter J. (2024). Supporting Indigenous success through quality supervision in research degrees. The Australian Educational Researcher, 52 (2), 1199-1219. doi: 10.1007/s13384-024-00759-4
Pham, Thu, Blue, Levon E., Baeza, Angela, Anderson, Peter and Saward, Melanie (2024). Want Indigenous university students to succeed? Here's how. EduResearch Matters.
Pham, Thu Dinh Xuan, Blue, Levon E., Baeza, Angela, Anderson, Peter J., Xing, Congcong and Saward, Melanie (2024). Higher education success factor model: a means to explore factors influencing Indigenous Australian completion rates. Student Success, 16 (1), 1-16. doi: 10.5204/ssj.3154
Blue, Levon Ellen and Pinto, Laura Elizabeth (2023). Towards Indigenous feminist financial literacy education. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 20 (2-3), 120-138. doi: 10.25071/1916-4467.40741
Blue, Levon, Coglan, Louise, Pham, Thu, Lammers, Imke, Menner, Ryan and Lee, Chrisann (2023). Spend and repeat! Young adult's experiences with buy now pay later services. Financial Planning Research Journal, 9 (1), 1-19. doi: 10.2478/fprj-2023-0002
Blue, Levon, Xing, Congcong, Pham, Thu and Bodle, Kerry (2023). Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Alternative Finance Products with Indigenous Peoples. Financial Planning Research Journal, 9 (1), 1-25. doi: 10.2478/fprj-2023-0003
Pinto, Laura and Blue, Levon (2021). The heist: Neoliberal education and the theft of time. Encounters in Theory and History of Education, 22, 117-136. doi: 10.24908/encounters.v22i0.14802
Pinto, Laura and Blue, Levon (2021). Critical making takes a holiday. Encounters in Theory and History of Education, 22, 187-204. doi: 10.24908/encounters.v22i0.14801
Blue, Levon Ellen and Grootenboer, Peter (2019). A praxis approach to financial literacy education. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 51 (5), 755-770. doi: 10.1080/00220272.2019.1650115
Blue, Levon Ellen (2019). Financial literacy education with an aboriginal community: identifying critical moments for enabling praxis. Education Sciences, 9 (1) 12, 1-13. doi: 10.3390/educsci9010012
Blue, Levon and O'Faircheallaigh, Ciaran (2018). Indigenous autonomy and financial decision-making in communities. Financial Planning Research Journal, 4 (2), 39-50. doi: 10.2478/fprj-2018-0006
Blue, Levon, O'Brien, Mia and Makar, Katie (2018). Exploring the classroom practices that may enable a compassionate approach to financial literacy education. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 30 (2), 143-164. doi: 10.1007/s13394-017-0223-5
O’Brien, Mia and Blue, Levon (2018). Towards a positive pedagogy: designing pedagogical practices that facilitate positivity within the classroom. Educational Action Research, 26 (3), 365-384. doi: 10.1080/09650792.2017.1339620
Bodle, Kerry, Brimble, Mark, Weaven, Scott, Frazer, Lorelle and Blue, Levon (2018). Critical success factors in managing sustainable indigenous businesses in Australia. Pacific Accounting Review, 30 (1), 35-51. doi: 10.1108/PAR-02-2016-0017
Mia O'Brien, Levon Blue and Dagmar Rowlands (2017). My best possible learning self: Primary school children's perspectives on happiness and success in the classroom. International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 12 (1), 1-16.
Pinto, Laura Elizabeth and Blue, Levon Ellen (2017). Aboriginal entrepreneurship financing in Canada: walking the fine line between self-determination and colonization. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 9 (1), 2-20. doi: 10.1108/jeee-10-2015-0059
Blue, Levon Ellen and Pinto, Laura Elizabeth (2017). Other ways of being: challenging dominant financial literacy discourses in Aboriginal Context. Australian Educational Researcher, 44 (1), 55-70. doi: 10.1007/s13384-017-0226-y
Levon Blue (2016). Financial literacy education with aboriginal people: The importance of culture and context. Financial Planning Research Journal, 2 (2), 91-105. doi: 10.2478/fprj-2016-0006
Pinto, Laura Elizabeth and Blue, Levon Ellen (2016). Pushing the entrepreneurial prodigy: Canadian Aboriginal entrepreneurship education initiatives. Critical Studies in Education, 57 (3), 358-375. doi: 10.1080/17508487.2015.1096291
Brimble, Mark and Blue, Levon (2015). A holistic approach to financial literacy education. ACRN Journal of Finance and Risk Perspectives, 4 (3), 34-47.
Blue, Levon, Grootenboer, Peter and Brimble, Mark (2014). Financial literacy education in the curriculum: Making the grade or missing the mark?. International Review of Economics Education, 16 (PA), 51-62. doi: 10.1016/j.iree.2014.07.005
Vyvyan, Victoria, Blue, Levon and Brimble, Mark (2014). Factors that influence financial capability and effectiveness: Exploring financial counsellors’ perspectives. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 8 (4) 2, 3-22. doi: 10.14453/aabfj.v8i4.2
Blue, Levon and Brimble, Mark (2014). Reframing the expectations of financial literacy education: bringing back the reality. AJAF (1), 37-41.
Brimble, Mark and Blue, Levon (2013). Tailored financial literacy education: An indigenous perspective. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 18 (3), 207-219. doi: 10.1057/fsm.2013.16
Conference Papers
Blue, Levon, Grootenboer, Peter and Brimble, Mark (2015). The importance of praxis in financial literacy education: An Indigenous perspective. Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Sunshine Coast, QLD Australia, 15 July 2015.
Blue, Levon, Brimble, Mark and Grootenboer, Peter (2014). Exploring the relevance of financial literacy education in a First Nation Community. ICET 2014 58th World Assembly Conference, Toronto, Canada, 16-19 June 2014. Washington, DC United States: International Council on Education for Teaching.
Research Report
Aileen Moreton-Robinson, Peter Anderson, Levon Blue, Lan Nguyen and Thu Pham (2020). Report on Indigenous Success in Higher Degree by Research. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Department of Education and Training.
Thesis
Levon Blue (2016). Exploring the financial literacy education practices in a Canadian Aboriginal community: A case study. PhD Thesis, School of Education, Griffith University. doi: 10.25904/1912/2818
Newspaper Articles
Blue, Levon Ellen, Xing, Congcong and Pham, Thu D. (2024, 07 31). Think you’re immune to crypto scams? You might be more at risk than you realise The Conversation
Blue, Levon (2024, 07 22). Crypto scams claim victims across the socioeconomic spectrum UQ News
Blue, Levon Ellen (2018, 07 05). Royal commission scandals the result of poor regulation, not literacy The Conversation
Sawatzki, Carly and Blue, Levon (2018, 03 21). Consumers need critical thinking to fend off banks’ bad behaviour The Conversation
Blue, Levon (2017, 10 25). There are serious problems with the concept of ‘financial literacy’ The Conversation
Sawatzki, Carly and Blue, Levon (2016, 11 01). Should banks play a role in teaching kids about how to manage money effectively? The Conversation