Indigenous Education Policy: Innovative Approaches and Impactful Strategies

1. An Australian Government, Department of Education and Training, Office for Learning and Teaching Funded Project

2. Turrbul Land We acknowledge the Sovereignty of the local Turrbul People where we gather today and recognise that this land has always been under their custodianship. We pay respect to Elders past and present and to emerging community leaders.

3. Five Moves Five Moves • Policy Logic • Case Study Site • Method • Findings • Recommendations and discussion

4. Policy Logic

5. 2012 Behrendt Review: High Education Reform. • Key sites • university faculties, professional bodies, vice-chancellors ‘leading from the top’ (p. 15), and the development of a national ‘comprehensive framework’ (p. 15) for responding to this issue. • University reform agenda • Indigenous knowledge embedded in teaching and research • Professionals trained in Aboriginal knowledges • Support and develop Aboriginal staff and students (p.15) • ‘Any Aboriginal student is going to make an awesome outcome • […] when they have graduated in their particular careers.’ • U5 t08, p.12 • ‘We want you to stay in there. We want you to make a difference. • We want you to change the profession […] we want you to • come back and contribute to the university.’ U5 t08, p.12

6. Key Policy Logic 1.4 Million students 40 Public Universities (91%of students) 363,000 International Students (26% of all students) 442,000 students in STEM and Health 259,000 students in management and commerce 57,000 PhDs 15,585 Indigenous Students (2015) 1.6% of all students $26 billion High Education income 42% from Government 20% from students through tuition loans 24% other students, of this 20% ($5.3 billon)from international students Total Higher Education exports (2015-2016) including spending in general community - $13.7 billion) (Marginson 2017)

7. Key Policy Logic: Neoliberalising Higher Education Government Funding cuts Privatization Deregulation and productivity Choice Equity hindrance to Profit (Raewyn Connell “Challenging the Privatised University” 2015) ‘Neoliberalism philosophy’ - the existence and operation of a market are valued in themselves, separately from any previous relationship with the production of goods and services . . . and where the operation of a market or market-like structure is seen as an ethic in itself, capable of acting as a guide for all human action (Henry Giroux 2013). "diminished belief in higher education as central to producing critical citizens and a crucial democratic public sphere in its own right. At stake here is not only the meaning and purpose of higher education, but also civil society, politics and the fate of democracy itself (Tony Judt 2013)

8. Case Study Site

9. Case Study Site: University Profile Australian University: with both Regional & Metro Campuses with online courses. Aboriginal staff & student numbers: Not reached 2.2% population parity and remain under 1.5% Values: Scholarship, Engagement, Social Justice, Sustainability, Innovation, Openness Culturally Inclusive Policies & Strategies: University Strategic Plan with Aboriginal targets, Aboriginal Employment Strategy, Stretch RAP, University Mission Based Compact with Commonwealth Government, Dedicated Aboriginal Student Support Centre integrated in Student Services, Inclusive curriculum cultural awareness Teacher PD, Aboriginal Studies and Language degree courses, dedicated Alumni outreach. Leadership: Pro-Vice Chancellor Aboriginal Strategy, Aboriginal International office, Aboriginal Employment Coordinator, Aboriginal Support Centre Director, Urban and Regional outreach staff.

10. Method

11. Participants and Process

12. Participants and Process

13. Key Methodological Challenges • Impact of institutional processes on project timeframes • multi-partner contracts • ethics approval processes • major teaching semesters • Privacy policy interaction with project processes • centralized bulk email recruitment processes did not reach key target cohort • Institutional authorities and procedures impact on benchmarking analysis • limited or prohibited access to corporate datasets • Connecting with missing/stopped students • She deleted her phone number off the system, because she was too shamed to be contacted. I've actually called her emergency contact, got her phone number and I'm trying to make contact with her at the moment to say we can fight this. U5 t05, p.6 • For our students to be faced with this authority, who said you've done the wrong thing, get out. […] the historical trauma associated with that, they cut and run. They don’t come back. U5 t05, p.6

14. FINDINGS

15. Typically, an Aboriginal Australian student at this University is likely to be: • Registered as having a disability (17% post-graduate,14% undergraduate 2011-16 average) • Female (75% Aboriginal students in 2016) • Older than a non-Aboriginal Australian student • Enrolled in education & nursing faculties (2011-2016 average enrolments = 41% ) • Admitted via access entry scheme. (an average of 24% of Aboriginal students compared to 6% of non-Aboriginal domestic students between 2011 and 2016) • Withdrawn or missing from study (34% on average between 2011-2015, compared with 20% of non-Aboriginal students) • Have outcomes in employment market similar to those of all other Australian graduates.

16. An Aboriginal student is less-likely than their non-Aboriginal counterparts to be: • enrolled in postgraduate courses • studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields • enrolled in Management and Commerce, business and economics • making academic progress • Less likely to be studying on Campus (Online)

17. Students’ Home Locations and Modes of Study

18. Students’ FoE and Attrition Rates

19. Experiences of Disability and Success

20. Completions and Graduate Employment

21. Patterns of Aboriginal Staff Employment

22. Findings: Inhibitive and Supportive Factors

23. Findings: Major Inhibitive Factors

24. Findings: Major Supportive Factors

25. University Policies Alignment to Behrendt Report • Major Findings outside of Behrendt that require further research • Support for Online students • Financial hardship • Disability • Formally or informally withdrawn (Augmented Circulation) • School Transition articulation • Low enrolment in STEM • Low numbers of males • 30% retention rates, low completions • Staff Employment

26. Co-Constructed Augmented Circulation Evidence-based People-centric Information systems support Tailored augmented pedagogies Transitions to work

27. Recommendations These research findings recommend governments, universities and Universities Australia members commit to the following actions: • Improve online support services that compliments face to face student support systems • Urgent need to re-evaluate and strengthen/expand strategies to ameliorate racism • Improve Indigenous financial support • Expand Indigenous access to disability services and on-campus childcare • Develop a system to re-engage Indigenous students who have either formally or informally withdrawn from their studies using a ‘Co-constructed Augmented Circulation’ model. • Develop strategies to improve Indigenous school transition and articulation to University • Develop systems to increase Indigenous enrolment in STEM • Attract more Indigenous males to Universities through improved strategy and marketing • Achieve parity rates in Indigenous student retention and completions rates. • Achieve parity rates in Indigenous staff Employment

28. References • ABS 2017, Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians as at 30 June 2016, cat.no. 3238.0.55.001, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. • Behrendt, L, Larkin, S, Griew, R & Kelly, P 2012, Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Final Report, Department of Education and Training, Australian Government, Canberra. • Bradley, D, Noonan, P, Nugent, H & Scales, B 2008, Review of Australian Higher Education: Final Report, EaWR Department of Education, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. • Commonwealth & University of South Australia 2014, 2014-2016 Mission Based Compact, Minister for Tertiary Education Skills Science and Research, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. • Department of Education and Training 2014, Selected Higher Education Statistics – 2014 Staff data, Australian Government, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. • Department of Education and Training 2015, Selected Higher Education Statistics – 2015 Staff data, Australian Government, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. • Department of Education and Training 2016, Selected Higher Education Statistics – 2016 Staff data, Australian Government, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. • Gray, M (ed.) 1993, Tauondi : a record of the Aboriginal Community College's first 20 years, Tauondi Community College, Port Adelaide. • Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council 2008, 'Ngapartji-Ngapartji yerra: stronger futures', in C Andersen et al (eds), Report of 3rd annual Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council Conference, 21 November 2007, Adelaide, Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council, Canberra, Canberra. • Kinnane, S, Wilks, J, Wilson, K, Hughes, T & Thomas, S 2014, 'Can’t be what you can’t see’: The transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into higher education, Office for Learning and Teaching, Australian Government, Canberra. • Universities Australia 2011, Guiding Principles for the Development of Indigenous Cultural Competency in Australian Universities, Universities Australia, Canberra.