Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T15:10:27.048Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Build it and They Will Come: Building the Capacity of Indigenous Units in Universities to Provide Better Support for Indigenous Australian Postgraduate Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2015

Michelle Trudgett
Michelle Trudgett*
Affiliation:
Warawara Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2109, Australia
Get access

Abstract

Indigenous participation rates in higher education are significantly lower than the rates reported for non-Indigenous people in Australia – with the greatest disparity evident in the area of postgraduate studies. This problem needs to be addressed by providing culturally appropriate support mechanisms to Indigenous postgraduate students. This article draws on the findings of a doctoral thesis in which the support provided to Indigenous postgraduate students in Australia was investigated (Trudgett, 2008). Several issues and problems emerged from the data surrounding the support, or lack thereof, provided to this cohort by the Indigenous Units or centres in universities today. Nine recommendations for consideration and implementation by the Indigenous Units within Australian universities are provided. These recommendations have the potential to reduce this disparity by helping to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous participation and, most importantly, completion rates in postgraduate studies.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 38 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 9 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2006). 4705.0–Population Distribution, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Canberra, ACT: ABS.Google Scholar
Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC). (2006). AVCC Response on Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council Conference Report. Retrieved 3 June, 2009, from http://www.avcc.edu.au/documents/publications/policy/submissions/AVCC-Response-on-IHEAC-Report-Sept2006.pdf.Google Scholar
Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC). (2007). Indigenous student finances and welfare in 2006 – Fact sheet. Retrieved 3 June, 2009, from http://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/documents/publications/policy/survey/AUSF-Fact-Sheet-C-Indigenous%20students.pdf.Google Scholar
Bin-Sallik, M. A. (1989). Aboriginal tertiary education in Australia: How well is it serving the needs of Aborigines? EdD thesis, South Australian College of Advance Education, Adelaide.Google Scholar
Bin-Sallik, M. A. (2003). Cultural safety: Let's name it!. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 32, 21–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourke, C.J., Burden, J. K., & Moore, S. (1996). Factors affecting performance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at Australian universities: A case study. Canberra, ACT: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs.Google Scholar
Bradley, D., Noonan, P., Nugent, H., & Scales, B. (2008). Review of Australian Higher Education: Final report. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). (2002). Achieving equitable and appropriate outcomes: Indigenous Australians in higher education. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
Departments of Education, Science and Training (DEST). (2007). National Report to Parliament on Indigenous Education and Training 2005. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council (IHEAC). (2008). Submission to the Review of Australian Higher Education. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
McConville, G. (2002). Regional agreements, higher education and representations of Indigenous Australian reality: Why wasn't I taught that in school? Australian Universities Review, 45(1), 15–24.Google Scholar
National Indigenous Postgraduate Association Aboriginal Corporation (NIPAAC). (2002). A submission by the National Indigenous Postgraduate Association Aboriginal Corporation (NIPAAC) to the 2002 Ministerial Review of Higher Education. Retrieved 3 June, 2009, from http://www.capa.edu.au/committees/nipaac/new/index.html.Google Scholar
Rigney, L-I. (2001). A first perspective of Indigenous Australian participation in science: Framing Indigenous research towards Indigenous Australian intellectual sovereignty. Kaurna Higher Education, 7, 1–13.Google Scholar
Sue, V. M., & Ritter, L. A. (2007). Conducting online surveys. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trudgett, M. (2008). An investigation into the support provided to Indigenous postgraduate students in Australia. Unpublished EdD thesis, University of New England, Armidale.Google Scholar
Universities Australia. (2008). Participation and equity: A review of the participation in higher education of people from low socio economic backgrounds and Indigenous people. Retrieved 2 May, 2009, from www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/documents/publications/policy/equity/0308_Particip_Equity_CSHE_Final_Report.pdf.Google Scholar
Weir, M. R. (2000). Indigenous Australians and Universities: A Study of Postgraduate Students Experiences in Learning Research. Armidale, NSW: University of New England.Google Scholar