DOCSLIB.ORG

Can’T Be What You Can’T See’: the Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students Into Higher Education

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Can’T Be What You Can’T See’: the Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students Into Higher Education ‘Can’t be what you can’t see’: The Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students into higher education Literature Review 2014 Fremantle Broome Sydney Cover Artwork: ‘Seeing Country’ by Yangkana Laurel Yangkana Laurel is a Walmajarri artist and educator from the Kadjina Community in the Kimberley region of Western Australia on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert - part of Millijidee Station. Along with her sisters, brothers and mothers, Yangkana advocated to set up the remote Wulungarra Community School. Yangkana’s commitment to education in this small community is replicated across the many universities we visited and encapsulated in the innovative models that support more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to transition to higher education. ‘Can’t be what you can’t see’: The Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students into higher education Literature Review 2014 The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) Southern Cross University (SCU) Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE) Project Leaders: Professor Lyn Henderson-Yates (UNDA), Professor Patrick Dodson (UNDA), Professor Marguerite Maher (UNDA), Project Management: Bruce Gorring (UNDA), Sue Thomas (UNDA) Project Team Members: Stephen Kinnane (UNDA), Dr Judith Wilks (SCU), Katie Wilson (SCU), Terri Hughes (BIITE), Sue Thomas (UNDA), Professor Neil Drew (UNDA), Dr Keith McNaught (UNDA), Dr Kevin Watson (UNDA) Report Authors: Dr Judith Wilks (SCU), Katie Wilson (SCU) “Can’t be what you can’t see”: The Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into higher education: Literature Review: 20/12/13 OLT ID SI11-2138 (UNDA; SCU; BIITE) Support for the production of this report/publication has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The views expressed in this report/publication/activity do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and where otherwise noted, all material presented in this document is provided under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website (accessible using the links provided) as is the full legal code for the Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode. Requests and inquiries concerning these rights should be addressed to: Office for Learning and Teaching Department of Education GPO Box 9880, Location code N255EL10 Sydney NSW 2001 <[email protected]> 2014 ISBN 978-1-74361-521-8 “Can’t be what you can’t see”: The Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into higher education: Literature Review: 20/12/13 OLT ID SI11-2138 (UNDA; SCU; BIITE) “Can’t be what you can’t see”: The Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into Higher Education: Literature Review OLT –ID SI11_2138 Contents Summary – Key Findings ......................................................................................................................... 1 Key Themes ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Headline Statistical Trends .................................................................................................................. 1 Key Barriers, Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 1 Successful Practice Models ................................................................................................................. 2 Key Opportunities ............................................................................................................................... 2 Identified knowledge gaps in the literature ....................................................................................... 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Structure of the Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 3 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student Population Statistical Profile .......................................... 4 University students ............................................................................................................................. 5 Vocational Education and Training ..................................................................................................... 7 Apprenticeships and traineeships ................................................................................................... 8 Year 12 students ................................................................................................................................. 8 Indigenous Engagement in Universities .............................................................................................. 9 Indigenous Higher Education Centres............................................................................................... 12 Current Enabling Program Profiles ................................................................................................... 14 Other programs/ support provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students ................... 16 Australian Government ................................................................................................................. 16 Mentoring and partnership programs .......................................................................................... 20 Partnerships with industry ............................................................................................................ 21 Under-represented cohorts within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population ............... 22 Women who are primary carers ................................................................................................... 22 Young men .................................................................................................................................... 22 Young people not making the transition from VET ...................................................................... 23 People with disabilities ................................................................................................................. 24 Health ............................................................................................................................................ 25 People in the prison system seeking higher education outcomes ............................................... 26 Rural and Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students ................................................... 28 “Can’t be what you can’t see”: The Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into higher education: Literature Review: 20/12/13 OLT ID SI11-2138 (UNDA; SCU; BIITE) Discipline Profile for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students across Australia ..................... 29 Universities ................................................................................................................................... 29 Vocational Education and Training ............................................................................................... 30 Entry via VET ................................................................................................................................. 30 Entry via tertiary entrance ............................................................................................................ 32 Entry via pre-tertiary programs .................................................................................................... 33 Entry via scholarship programs ..................................................................................................... 34 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 35 Government Programs of Relevance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Student Pathways .. 35 Key Enablers and Constraints to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Transition to Tertiary Studies 36 Enablers to Transition to Higher Education within Current Models ................................................. 36 Key Principles Identified in Successful Initiatives Enabling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access to higher education ........................................................................................................... 36 The role of governance ................................................................................................................. 36 The role of mentors ...................................................................................................................... 37 The role of policy and program development .............................................................................. 38 The role of cultural understanding and cultural competency in retaining and supporting students ........................................................................................................................................ 40 Barriers to Success/ Transition within Current Models ...................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Collaborative History of Social Innovation in South Australia
    Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Societies University of South Australia St Bernards Road Magill South Australia 5072 Australia www.unisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute © Rob Manwaring and University of South Australia 2008 A COLLABORATIVE HISTORY OF SOCIAL INNOVATION IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA Rob Manwaring∗ Abstract In this paper I outline a collaborative history of social innovation in South Australia, a state that has a striking record of social innovation. What makes this history so intriguing is that on the face of it, South Australia would seem an unlikely location for such experimentation. This paper outlines the main periods of innovation. Appended to it is the first attempt to collate all these social innovations in one document. This paper is unique in that its account of the history of social innovation has been derived after public consultation in South Australia, and is a key output from Geoff Mulgan’s role as an Adelaide Thinker in Residence.1 The paper analyses why, at times, South Australia appears to have punched above its weight as a leader in social innovation. Drawing on Giddens’ ‘structuration’ model, the paper uses South Australian history as a case study to determine how far structure and/or agency can explain the main periods of social innovation. Introduction South Australia has a great and rich (albeit uneven) history of social innovation, and has at times punched above its weight. What makes this history so intriguing is that on the face of it, South Australia is quite an unlikely place for such innovation. South Australia is a relatively new entity; it has a relatively small but highly urbanised population, and is geographically isolated from other Australian urban centres and other developed nations.
    [Show full text]
  • The Uniqueness of the Blackwords Resource: Memoir of an Indexer
    The Uniqueness of the BlackWords Resource: Memoir of an Indexer IRENE HOWE AustLit, University of Queensland Since its launch in 2007 BlackWords has enjoyed strong Indigenous leadership and a dedicated Indigenous team, allowing Indigenous storytellers, academics and researchers to determine its look, content, and scope. The BlackWords team of researchers and indexers is a community consisting of individuals from across institutions such as the University of Queensland, the University of Western Australia, Flinders University, the University of Sydney, the University of Wollongong and AIATSIS, each of whom has brought their own expertise and specialist interest to the database (BlackWords; Holt; Kilner 62). In a sense, Indigenous control of BlackWords falls within the context of the traditional Aboriginal kinship system. BlackWords has had many mothers, fathers, aunties, uncles, sisters, brothers, cousins and non-Indigenous members, who have nurtured it from its early establishment. Within this relationship, they represent the national team consisting of national coordinators and research assistants. This extended family are those people who are members and/or descendants of diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island groups and communities as distant as Western Australia and the Torres Straits Islands. The non-Indigenous, or those with no blood relations, come in the form of the cross-cultural connection between BlackWords and AustLit. For example, Joan Keating, a Senior Researcher and Content Editor from AustLit, gave valuable help to the BlackWords team. From its establishment in 2006, she contributed her knowledge, guidance, training and skills, providing information on bibliographic protocols, and indexing procedures. Kerry Kilner, in her role as Director of AustLit, has also been instrumental in the establishment and continued development of BlackWords.
    [Show full text]
  • Community Bulletin
    Bird Sanctuary Ecology Summit The Ecology Summit is a two-day event to be held in July/ August 2015. The summit will be aimed at understanding the ecology of the Bird Sanctuary through two streams; using storytelling to evaluate changes in ecology and local community sentiment and exploring current data being gathered to understand how we can best protect shorebirds and other important environmental components throughout the years. To register your interest in attending, or presenting at, the summit contact Arkellah Irving. Community Bulletin The Lakes Hub is an initiative of the Milang and District Community Association Inc. funded by the Australian Government and the South Australian Government's Murray Futures program. Number 222 26 May 2015 Planting season gearing up A lifetime working in the environment, but there is always more to learn. This Lakes Hub contacts fortnight, having never been involved in a tubestock planting as large as the Milang Office CLLMM vegetation works, I leant about how ‘holding stations’ work, helping phone 08 8537 0808 collect up all the plants from the nurseries and redistributing them out to the [email protected] planting sites on a daily basis. Meningie Office This lovely group of blokes are phone 08 8575 1830 the seasonal fire crew from the [email protected] Natural Resources Adelaide and www.lakeshub.com Mount Lofty Ranges Region Fire facebook.com/lakeshub Management Unit. They are Faith Coleman here for the planting season, Interim Lakes Hub Coordinator with a range of tasks, including Andrew Dawes managing the Noonameena Lakes Hub – Info. & Admin. Officer Meningie and Poltalloc hold stations, Robynne Barrett weeding and planting near the Lakes Hub Office Admin assistant (part time) Meningie shacks.
    [Show full text]
  • Whiteness, Mimicry and Assimilation in David Unaipon's
    Confusing Epistemologies: Whiteness, Mimicry and Assimilation in David Unaipon’s ‘Confusion of Tongue’1 Benjamin Miller, University of New South Wales David Unaipon (1871-1969), Indigenous writer, philosopher, scientist, preacher and musician, was, and is, a figure that defies any attempt to ‘know’ him. The confusion surrounding Unaipon (where did his allegiances lie – with white ‘progress’ or black activism?) is heightened by his mimicry of whiteness. This paper posits that mimicry can be read as an art and a skill, a (second) nature that raises endless questions about identity. For example, is the mimic’s identity consumed by what it models; is mimicry a skill that negotiates a space for hybrid identity; is mimicry another word for that policy which has recently reared its ugly head again – assimilation? This paper focuses on David Unaipon’s relationship to whiteness as read through one of his short ‘legendary tales’, ‘Confusion of Tongue’ (c.1924). It will be shown that Unaipon appropriated and confronted aspects of whiteness in order to use it against itself in a mimetic performance that sought to break the humanist tradition of white universal ‘knowing’ of the Indigenous other. Unaipon provides, even today with his image on the fifty dollar note, a representation of Aboriginality that is hybridised and (to use a phrase that will become clearer as this essay unfolds) that confuses epistemologies. For the purposes of this paper, whiteness theory is combined with discussions of mimicry to provide an example of a reading framework for assimilationist literature that complicates simplistic notions of Aboriginal identity as either ‘traditional’ black or ‘assimilated’ white.
    [Show full text]
  • 55 000 Years and Counting
    55000 years and counting: celebrating our shared history South Australian Education Pack ....Where Aboriginal Australians have been included in the life of Australia they have made remarkable contributions—economic contributions, particularly in the pastoral and agricultural industry. They are there in the frontier and exploration history of Australia. They are there in the wars. In sport to an extraordinary degree. In literature and art and music. In all these things they have shaped our knowledge of this continent and of ourselves. They have shaped our identity. They are there in the Australian legend. We should never forget—they helped build this nation. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating, Redfern Park, Sydney, 10 December 1992. 230409Reco Edu Cov Red 09.B.indd 2 22/4/09 10:19:32 PM FOREWORD The theme for this education pack is 55 000 years and counting: celebrating “ our shared history. The idea of Australia as a young nation continues to be challenged as the country embraces the ancient and ongoing cultures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the traditional custodians of this land. Acknowledging the nexus between this shared history and the fabric of contemporary Australia is critical for us as a society to forge a future, together. As educators, our role as custodians of knowledge is a profound privilege. With this privilege comes an equally profound responsibility to share this knowledge in a responsible way that encourages our students to acquire an understanding of the relevance and a respect for the factual integrity of the knowledge through inquiry. In all that we do we should have at the forefront of our minds the qualities that our students should embody as a result of the knowledge they acquire to empower them to actively participate in society as responsible citizens.
    [Show full text]
  • By David Unaipon
    Reading Australia: 'Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines' by David Unaipon Billy Griffiths Wednesday, 31 August 2016 David Unaipon's Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines is part of the classical culture of Australia. The collection is as varied in subject as it is ambitious in scope, ranging from ethnographic essays on sport, hunting, fishing and witchcraft to the legends of ancestral beings who transformed the landscape in the Dreaming. The stories are unified by the voice of Unaipon, Australia's first Indigenous author, whose familiar face now adorns the fifty dollar note. Unaipon led an exceptional life, spanning ninety-five years, working between cultures and across boundaries as an inventor, scientist, preacher, activist and author. Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines reveals as much about Unaipon, and the context in which he lived, as it does about the myths and legends of Aboriginal Australia. It is one of the great tragedies of Australian literature that the book was not published under Unaipon's name until 2001, three-quarters of a century after it was written. David Unaipon was born of the Ngarrindjeri people in the Coorong region of South Australia on 28 September 1872, at Point McLeay Mission. At seven his parents, James and Nymbulda Ngunaitponi (later anglicised to Unaipon), sent him to mission school. At thirteen he was taken to Adelaide to work as a servant for C.B. Young, a prominent member of the Aborigines' Friends' Association. 'I only wish the majority of white boys were as bright, intelligent, well-instructed and well-mannered, as the little fellow I am now taking charge of,' Young wrote of Unaipon in 1887 (Jenkin, 1979: p.
    [Show full text]
  • Summary of State Heritage Place
    South Australian HERITAGE COUNCIL SUMMARY OF STATE HERITAGE PLACE Description and notes with respect to a place entered in the South Australian Heritage Register in accordance with the Heritage Places Act 1993 NAME: Kanmantoo Homestead and Winery Complex PLACE NO: 22796 Including Homestead, Outbuildings, David Unaipon’s Cottage and Stone Winery Buildings ADDRESS: 25-30 Vineyard Road, Kanmantoo SA 5252 Physical Description Farm complex including a large stone house (incorporating an earlier 1850s cottage), numerous domestic and agricultural outbuildiings, small stone cottage (once occupied by David Unaipon) and stone winery buildings. Statement of Heritage Significance This homestead and winery complex has an outstanding quality and integrity and is closely associated with the development of the Kanmantoo area, the viticultural development of the State, with pioneer land agent, pastoralist and vigneron Charles Burney Young, and prominent indigenous Australian David Unaipon. Relevant Criteria under section 16 of the Heritage Places Act 1993 (a) Kanmantoo Homestead and Winery demonstrates important aspects of the evolution or pattern of the State’s history. The history and development of this complex and the people associated with it (especially the Young family and David Unaipon) are closely involved with the agricultural and industrial development of the greater Kanmantoo area, and with the themes of pioneering, surveying, viticultural development and political service in South Australia. Charles Burney Young contributed significantly to the establishment of South Australia’s reputation for producing fine wines, with Kanmantoo’s St George Claret winning a gold medal at the 1889 Great Paris Exposition in 1889, alongside wines from Penfolds & Co at Magill and T Hardy and Sons of Bankside.
    [Show full text]
  • Shifting from One to the Other Brings on Pneumonia"
    "Shifting from one to the other brings on pneumonia" a Goonya first reader about the notable David Unaipon Martin Bush A sub -thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Award of Master of Science (Scientific Communication) May 2000 Centre for the Public Awareness of Science Faculty of Science Australian National University Declaration I certify that this thesis does not incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university; and that to the best of my knowledge and belief it does not contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. Marlin Bush 2 Acknowledgments This thesis was begun on Ngunnuwal land and completed on Wurundjeri land; the writer was born and raised on Jagera land. It is difficult to adequately express my gratitude to the indigenous peoples of this continent for the generosity they have shown in sharing their country with my families. Chris Bryant and Sue Stocklmayer saw me through ANU. Thank you for your unquestioning support and for having established such a diverse and stimulating environment in CPAS. So many more ANU staff support the Centre: thank you all. Thank you to Linda Cooper for offering me the opportunity for this research, for advice and for welcoming me into a (very) extended Investigator family. Fellow students at CPAS provided comradeship, inspiration and support. A list of ihdivduals cannot do justice but I would like to particularly thank Sharon for her organisation and sense of humour, Jan for much neighbourly support, Julian for fun, Julie for parties and David for enigmatic critiques and being even less practically- focussed than I was.
    [Show full text]
  • David Unaipon's Style of Subversion: Performativity and Becoming In
    DAVID UNAIPON’S STYLE OF SUBVERSION 77 David Unaipon’s Style of Subversion: Performativity and Becoming in “Gool Lun Naga (Green Frog)” BENJAMIN MILLER The University of New South Wales Metaphors of performance proliferate, unsurprisingly, in those discourses that, however derivative of Enlightenment, begin by questioning its hierarchical relation between the observer and the scene of knowledge. (Benston 20) To talk of the colonial present is perhaps to talk of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s website, where there is a picture of Aboriginal author, activist, inventor and public speaker David Unaipon on the fifty dollar note. Stamped across this picture (as it is across all images of notes on the website) is the word, in capitals: SPECIMEN. The word resonates uncomfortably with Australia’s colonial history of collecting Aboriginal people and things for scientific observation. But the word is perhaps even more disturbing to those of us who study Unaipon; as he becomes an object under discussion in academic work, his own words challenge any discourse that attempts to pin him down as a specimen for study. Writing in the Age against segregationist policies of the late 1930s, Unaipon urged: There have been enough scientific investigations already, and no new facts have come to light, and yet there is still a plea to segregate the natives, keeping them practically in bush museums for scientific purposes. (qtd in Markus 79) Despite this protest, there is evidence to suggest that Unaipon was complicit with colonial practices such as the collection of sacred stories, items and Indigenous remains.1 Further, Unaipon has been seen as a supporter of assimilation, Aboriginal child removal and boarding schools for Aboriginal children.2 Any discussion of Unaipon’s life and writing must either be filled with contradictions or omit certain parts of the story.
    [Show full text]
  • A Needs-Based Review of the Status of Indigenous Languages in South Australia
    “KEEP THAT LANGUAGE GOING!” A Needs-Based Review of the Status of Indigenous Languages in South Australia A consultancy carried out by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, South Australia by Patrick McConvell, Rob Amery, Mary-Anne Gale, Christine Nicholls, Jonathan Nicholls, Lester Irabinna Rigney and Simone Ulalka Tur May 2002 Declaration The authors of this report wish to acknowledge that South Australia’s Indigenous communities remain the custodians for all of the Indigenous languages spoken across the length and breadth of this state. Despite enormous pressures and institutionalised opposition, Indigenous communities have refused to abandon their culture and languages. As a result, South Australia is not a storehouse for linguistic relics but remains the home of vital, living languages. The wisdom of South Australia’s Indigenous communities has been and continues to be foundational for all language programs and projects. In carrying out this project, the Research Team has been strengthened and encouraged by the commitment, insight and linguistic pride of South Australia’s Indigenous communities. All of the recommendations contained in this report are premised on the fundamental right of Indigenous Australians to speak, protect, strengthen and reclaim their traditional languages and to pass them on to future generations. * Within this report, the voices of Indigenous respondents appear in italics. In some places, these voices stand apart from the main body of the report, in other places, they are embedded within sentences. The decision to incorporate direct quotations or close paraphrases of Indigenous respondent’s view is recognition of the importance of foregrounding the perspectives and aspirations of Indigenous communities across the state.
    [Show full text]
  • 30Years Studyguide.Pdf
    BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE STUDY GUIDE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Bangarra Dance Theatre pays respect and acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, create, and perform. We also wish to acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples whose customs and cultures inspire our work. INDIGENOUS CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (ICIP) Bangarra acknowledges the industry standards and protocols set by the Australia Council for the Arts Protocols for Working with Indigenous Artists (2007). Those protocols have been widely adopted in the Australian arts to respect ICIP and to develop practices and processes for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and cultural heritage. Bangarra incorporates ICIP into the very heart of our projects, from storytelling, to dance, to set design, language and music. © Bangarra Dance Theatre 2019 Last updated September 2019 WARNING Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this Study Guide contains images, names, and writings of deceased persons. Photo Credits Front Cover: Rika Hamaguchi and Tyrel Dulvarie, photo by Daniel Boud Back Cover: Rika Hamaguchi, photo by Daniel Boud 2 INTRODUCTION CONTENTS The purpose of this Study Guide is to provide information and contextual background about the works presented 03 in Bangarra Dance Theatre’s 30th anniversary season, Introduction/Contents Bangarra: 30 years of sixty five thousand. Reading the Guide, discussing the themes, and responding to the questions proposed, will assist teachers and students in thinking critically about the works, and form 04 Using this Study Guide personal responses. We encourage students and teachers to engage emotionally and imaginatively with the performance 05 Contemporary Indigenous Dance Theatre and to be curious about how these works were inspired and how they impact audiences.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Sydney Benjamin Miller David Unaipon's Life Stories
    University of Sydney Benjamin Miller David Unaipon’s life stories: Aboriginal writing and rhetoric Abstract: David Unaipon (1872-1967) has been described as a scientist, author, anthropologist, preacher, inventor and public speaker. To these descriptions can be added musician, lecturer, curator, political activist, guide, and door-to-door salesman. A master of many trades, descriptions of Unaipon have struggled to merge the various aspects of his life into a single, coherent narrative. This paper focuses on Unaipon’s life stories – the stories told about him and his family and the stories he told about himself. A central argument of this paper is that, rather than describing Unaipon as a jack of all trades (or, worse, a master of none), Unaipon can accurately and productively be described as a ‘rhetor,’ a person using various forms of media (and various forms of life writing) to present arguments across different social, political and cultural contexts to change beliefs about Aboriginality. Further, Unaipon’s rhetoric was fashioned from indigenous and western traditions. To describe Unaipon as a rhetor can re-energise the arguments he put forward during his lifetime, can reveal the consistency and relationship between arguments he made in various fields or disciplines, and, most importantly, can provoke debate and discussion about Unaipon’s life and writing at a time when, despite his prominence as one face on Australia’s $50 note, as the namesake of Australia’s most prestigious award for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writing, and as an author anthologised in collections of Australian and Aboriginal writing, his writing is all but ignored in Australian culture and literary criticism.
    [Show full text]