Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T12:08:53.379Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Beneath the Teaching Iceberg: Exposing the Hidden Support Dimensions of Indigenous Academic Work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2015

Susan Page  and
Christine Asmar
Susan Page
Affiliation:
Warawara Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia
Christine Asmar
Affiliation:
Institute for Teaching & Learning, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
Get access

Abstract

Indigenous students everywhere are known to require particular types and levels of support as they enter, and continue their studies within universities. Such support is often provided by designated support workers employed for that purpose. Our study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academic staff around Australia, however, found that teaching staff also spend considerable time and effort supporting their students' learning experiences both in and out of the classroom. Our findings suggest that this issue is multi-dimensional and complex. Outwardly, visible dimensions of Indigenous academic support roles, we found, are often just the tip of an iceberg. We argue that, while students' need for support is increasingly well documented, the informal support roles played by the few Indigenous academics have been under-reported and may not be visible, or recognised. Going further, we propose a new conceptual framework for analysing the unique context in which Indigenous academic work occurs.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 37 , supplement S1: Indigenous Studies - Indigenous Knowledge: Navigating the Interface , 2008 , pp. 109 - 117
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Benseman, J., Coxon, E., Anderson, H., & Anae, M. (2006). Retaining non-traditional students: Lessons learnt from Pasifika students in New Zealand. Higher Education Research & Development, 25(2), 147–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cass, A., Lowell, A., Christie, M., Snelling, P., Flack, M., Marrnganyin, B., & Brown, I. (2002). Sharing the true stories: Improving communication between Aboriginal patients and healthcare workers. Medical Journal of Australia, 17(10), 466–470.Google Scholar
de Vaus, D. A. (1991). Surveys in social research (3rd ed.). London: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). (2005, 2003). Higher Education statistics collection. Retrieved 16 August, 2007, from http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/higher_education/publications_resources/statistics/publications_higher_education_statistics_collections.htm#staffpubs.Google Scholar
Devlin, M., & James, R. (2006). Partnerships, pathways and policies - Improving Indigenous education outcomes: Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council (IHEAC) Report on Second Annual Indigenous Higher Education Conference (December). Retrieved 3 August, 2007, from http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/indigenous_education/publications_resources/profiles/improving_indigenous_education_outcomes.htm.Google Scholar
Falk, P. (2007). The pathways model: Pathways to Indigenous inclusive teaching and learning practices (Report). Brisbane, QLD: Griffith University Press.Google Scholar
Farrington, S., Digregorio, K., & Page, S. (1999). Yooroang Garang issues in Aboriginal health worker training: Listening to students. Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal, 23(1), 17–20.Google Scholar
Gillespie, N. A., Walsh, M., Winefield, A. H., Dua, J., & Stough, C. (2001). Occupational stress in universities: Staff perceptions of the causes, consequences and moderators of stress. Work & Stress, 15(1), 53–72.Google Scholar
Goodman, L. (1961). Snowball sampling. Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 32(1), 148–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kippen, S., Ward, B., & Warren, L. (2006). Enhancing Indigenous participation in Higher education health courses in rural Victoria. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 35, 1–9.Google Scholar
McDaniel, M., & Flowers, R. (2000). Adult education and Indigenous Australians. In Foley, G. (Ed.), Understanding adult training and education (pp. 253–266). St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
McInnis, C. (1999). The work roles of academics in Australian universities. Canberra, ACT: Department of Education, Training & Youth Affairs Retrieved 27 June, 2007, from http://www.dest.gov.au/archive/highered/eippubs/eip00_5/fullcopy.pdf.Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2004a). Indigenous Australian studies and higher education: 2004 Biennial AIATSIS Wentworth Lecture. Retrieved 25 July, 2007, from http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/exhibitions/wentworth/a352185_a.pdf.Google Scholar
Nakata, M. (2004b). Ongoing conversations about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research agendas and directions. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 33, 1–6.Google Scholar
Page, S., & Asmar, C. (2004). Indigenous academic voices: Stories from the tertiary education frontline. Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) News, 26(1) (April), 13–15.Google Scholar
QSR International. (2007). Overview of NVivo software. Retrieved 27 June, 2007, from http://download.qsrinternational.com/Document/NVivo7/NVivo%207%20Overview.pdf.Google Scholar
Richards, T., & Richards, L. (1994). Using computers in qualitative research. In Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 445–462). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Rigney, L-I. (1997). Internationalisation of an Indigenous anti-colonial cultural critique of research methodologies: A guide to Indigenist research methodology and its principles. Journal for Native American Studies, WICAZOsa Review, 14(2), 109–121.Google Scholar
Robson, C. (2002). Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers (2nd ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Smith, L. (1999). Decolonising methodologies: Research and Indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Suarez, A. (2003). Forward transfer: Strengthening the educational pipeline for Latino community college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 27(2), 95–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, C., & Dey, E. (1998). Pushed to the margins: Sources of stress for African American college and University faculty. The Journal of Higher Education, 69(3), 324–345.Google Scholar
Tytherleigh, M., Webb, C., Cooper, C., & Ricketts, C. (2005). Occupational stress in UK higher education institutions: A comparative study of all staff categories. Higher Education Research & Development, 24(1), 41–6l.Google Scholar