Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T19:22:08.727Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘Wings to fly’: a case study of supporting Indigenous student success through a whole-of-university approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 May 2019

Bep Uink ,
Braden Hill ,
Andrew Day  and
Gregory Martin
Bep Uink*
Affiliation:
Kulbardi Aboriginal Centre, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia 6150, Australia
Braden Hill
Affiliation:
Kulbardi Aboriginal Centre, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia 6150, Australia
Andrew Day
Affiliation:
Indigenous Education and Research Centre James Cook University, 1 James Cook Drive, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
Gregory Martin
Affiliation:
Teaching, Technologies and Innovation Support Unit, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, 15 Broadway, Ultimo New South Wales 2007, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Bep Uink, E-mail: b.uink@murdoch.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

Although there have been repeated calls for empirical evaluations focused on if and how the activities of Indigenous Education Units contribute to Indigenous student success at university, data demonstrating the outcomes of these activities remain scarce. As a first step in addressing this gap, a case study of the Kulbardi Aboriginal Centre is presented which documents the development and implementation of its student success strategy. Informed by research that identifies a range of different barriers and enablers of Indigenous student success, the strategy was built around a ‘whole-of-university’ approach which focuses on influencing across multiple levels of the university (governance and management, teaching and pedagogy and direct student support). The success of the strategy is described in relation to changes in Indigenous student retention and pass rates. The case study offers insight into the activities of an Indigenous Education Unit, which can inform future models of practice in this area and raise awareness of the need for more comprehensive and nuanced evaluation of Indigenous higher education initiatives.

Keywords

Evaluationhigher educationpass ratesretention ratesstudent successwhole-of-university
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , August 2021 , pp. 10 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019

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

ABS (2016) 2016 Census data summary: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population. Retrieved from http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.auGoogle Scholar
Asmar, C and Page, S (2017) Pigeonholed, peripheral or pioneering? Findings from a national study of Indigenous Australian academics in the disciplines. Studies in Higher Education 43, 1679–1691. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1281240CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asmar, C, Page, S and Radloff, A (2015) Exploring anomalies in Indigenous student engagement: findings from a national Australian survey of undergraduates. Higher Education Research & Development 34, 15–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Behrendt, L, Larkin, S, Griew, R and Kelly, P (2012) Review of higher education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people final report. Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, retrieved from http://www.innovation.gov.au/IHER.Google Scholar
Biddle, N, Gray, M and Schwab, J (2017) Measuring and analysing success for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. CEAPR Working Paper No. 122/2017. Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research: Australian National University: Canberra. Retrieved from http://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/Working_Paper_122_2017.pdf; www.innovation.gov.au/IHER.Google Scholar
Bodkin-Andrews, G and Carlson, B (2014) The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian identity within education. Race Ethnicity and Education 19, 784–807.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, J, Hollinsworth, D, Raciti, M and Gilbey, K (2018) Academic ‘place-making’: fostering attachment, belonging and identity for Indigenous students in Australian universities. Teaching in Higher Education 23, 243–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (2014) Indigenous tutorial support more flexible under Indigenous Advancement Strategy. Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved from https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/scullion/2014/indigenous-tutorial-support-more-flexible-under-indigenous-advancement-strategyGoogle Scholar
DET (2016) Selected higher education statistics: 2016 student summary. Retrieved from http://education.gov.auGoogle Scholar
Devlin, M (2009) Indigenous higher education student equity: focusing on what works. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 38, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, D and McMillan, J (2015) Completing university in Australia: A cohort analysis exploring equity group outcomes. Australian Council for Educational Research. Retrieved from https://www.acer.org/publications-and-resourcesGoogle Scholar
Ellender, I, Drysdale, M, Chesters, J, Faulkner, S, Kelly, H and Turnbull, L (2008) When a dream becomes a nightmare: why do Indigenous Australian medical students withdraw from their courses? The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 37, 40–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engstrom, C and Tinto, V (2008) Access without support is not opportunity. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 40, 46–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fogarty, W, Bulloch, H, McDonnell, S and Davis, M (2018 a) Deficit Discourse and Indigenous Health. How Narrative Framings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People are Reproduced in Policy. Melbourne: The Lowitja Institute. Retrieved from https://www.lowitja.org.au/sites/default/files/docs/deficit-discourse.pdf.Google Scholar
Fogarty, W, Lovell, M, Langenberg, J and Heron, M (2018 b) Deficit Discourse and Strength-Based Approaches: Changing the Narrative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing. Melbourne: The Lowitja Institute. Retrieved from https://www.lowitja.org.au/sites/default/files/docs/deficit-discourse-strengths-based.pdfGoogle Scholar
Frawley, J, Smith, JA and Larkin, S (2015) Beyond Bradley and Behrendt: building a stronger evidence-base about Indigenous pathways and transitions into higher education. Learning Communities 17, 8–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giroux, H (1992) Border Crossings: Cultural Workers and the Politics of Education. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Guillory, RM and Wolverton, M (2008) It's about family: native American student persistence in higher education. The Journal of Higher Education 79, 58–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gore, J, Holmes, K, Smith, M, Fray, L, McElduff, P, Weaver, N and Wallington, C (2017) Unpacking the career aspirations of Australian school students: towards and evidence base for university equity initiatives in schools. Higher Education Research and Development 36, 1383–1400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herbert, H (2003) Is success a matter of choice? Exploring indigenous Australian notions of success within the context of the Australian university Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Education, RMIT University. Retrieved from https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:11437Google Scholar
Johnston-Goodstar, K (2012) Decolonizing evaluation: the necessity of evaluation advisory groups in Indigenous evaluation. New Directions for Evaluation 136, 109–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maldonado, D, Rhoads, R and Buenavista, T (2005) The student-initiated retention project: theoretical contributions and the role of self-empowerment. American Educational Research Journal 42, 605–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merriam, SB (1988) Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.Google Scholar
Moreton-Robinson, A, Walter, M, Singh, D and Kimber, M (2011) On Stony Ground: Governance and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Participation in Australian Universities. Report to the Review of the Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Canberra: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.Google Scholar
Morgan, D (2001) Indigenous education: factors affecting students’ decisions to continue or withdraw from tertiary studies at Flinders University. International Education Journal 2, 233–239.Google Scholar
Nakata, M (2013) The rights and blights of the politics of Indigenous higher education. Anthropological Forum 23, 289–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakata, M, Nakata, V and Chin, M (2008) Approaches to the academic support of Australian Indigenous students for tertiary studies. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 37(Suppl.), 137–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pechenkina, E and Anderson, I (2011) Background paper on Indigenous Australian Higher Education: Trends, Initiatives and Policy Implications. Report prepared for the Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from https://docs.education.gov.au.Google Scholar
Pechenkina, E, Kowal, E and Paradies, Y (2011) Indigenous Australian students’ participation rates in higher education: exploring the role of universities. Australian Journal of Indigenous Higher Education 40, 59–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pidgeon, M (2008) Pushing against the margins: Indigenous theorizing of ‘success’ and retention in higher education. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice 10, 339–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitman, T, Harvey, A, McKay, J, Devlin, M, Trinidad, S and Brett, M (2017) The impact of enabling programs on Indigenous participation, success and retention in Australian higher education. In Frawley, J, Larkin, S and Smith, J (eds), Indigenous Pathways, Transitions and Participation in Higher Education. Singapore: Springer, pp. 235–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rigney, L (2011) Indigenous education and tomorrow's classroom: Three questions, three answers. In Nola, P, Gina, M and Hannah, RB (eds), Two way Teaching and Learning: Toward Culturally Reflective and Relevant Education. Camberwell, VIC: ACER Press, pp. 35–48. https://research.acer.edu.au/indigenous_education/38.Google Scholar
Rigney, L-I (2017) A design and evaluation framework for Indigenisation of Australian universities. In Frawley, J, Larkin, S and Smith, J (eds), Indigenous Pathways, Transitions and Participation in Higher Education, Singapore, Springer, pp. 45–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, JA, Pollard, K, Robertson, K and Trinidad, S (2017 a) What do we know about evaluation in Indigenous higher education contexts in Australian? International Studies in Widening Participation 4, 18–31.Google Scholar
Smith, J, Trinidad, S and Larkin, S (2017 b) Understanding the nexus between equity and Indigenous higher education policy agendas in Australia in Indigenous pathways, transitions and participation in higher education. In Frawley, J, Larkin, S and Smith, J (eds), Indigenous Pathways, Transitions and Participation in Higher Education. Singapore: Springer, pp. 15–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, J, Pollard, K, Robertson, K and Shalley, F (2018) Strengthening Evaluation in Indigenous Higher Education Contexts in Australia: 2017 Equity Fellowship Report. Perth: National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education.Google Scholar
Universities Australia (2017) Indigenous Education Strategy 2017–2020. Retrieved from https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Google Scholar
VanWynsberghe, R and Khan, S (2007) Redefining case study. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 6, 80–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walter, M (2016) Data politics and Indigenous representation in Australian statistics. In Kukutai, T and Taylor, J (eds), Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Towards an Agenda CAEPR Research Monograph. Canberra, ACT: ANU Press, pp. 79–98.Google Scholar
Whatman, S, McLaughlin, J, Willstead, S, Tyhuis, A and Besston, S (2008) Quality and efficacy of the Indigenous tutorial assistance scheme (ITAS) for university students. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 37, 118–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilks, J and Wilson, K (2015) A profile of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander higher education student population. Australian Universities Review 57, 17–29.Google Scholar
Wilks, J, Fleeton, ER and Wilson, K (2017) Indigenous tutorial assistance scheme. Tertiary tuition and beyond: transitioning with strength and promoting opportunities. Australian Universities Review 59, 14–23.Google Scholar
Zainal, Z (2007) Case study as a research methodology. Journal Kemanusiaan 9, 1–6.Google Scholar