Connection, Challenge, and Change: The Narratives of University Students Mentoring Young Indigenous Australians

Abstract

In this article, we highlighted the stories of university student mentors who are involved in the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME). The AIME program works with young Indigenous school students, at primary and secondary school levels, to encourage continued participation in education and to consider university as a viable life goal. The AIME program is explored from the perspective of the university students who are selected to mentor young Australian Indigenous school students. Adopting a narrative inquiry approach, the article presents richly descriptive insight into the motivations of these mentors and highlights how this experience has impacted upon them. While the research presented focuses on narratives of mentors, the data indicate that the AIME program employs an innovative approach to mentoring that enhances cultural understanding for mentors.

Becoming a Mentor: The Impact of Training and the Experience of Mentoring University Students on the Autism Spectrum

“…Despite the acknowledged importance of training and ongoing support for mentors in peer mentoring programs [ 18 ], there is a paucity of research examining the education of mentors, and none that specifically evaluates the training and support needs of peer mentors for students with an ASD. The current research provides a formative, responsive evaluation of the training received by student mentors working with university students diagnosed with a HFA at Curtin University, Western Australia, during first semester 2014.…”

Pathways to success: AIME’s educational mentoring model

“…Comprising researchers with experience in qualitative and quantitative approaches, this research has grown from a small UOW internally funded project, to a large national project. This collaborative research partnership has already spanned five years and has produced several theorised academic papers, based on both qualitative and quantitative research that describes the AIME program and its merits O'Shea et al 2013;Kervin et al 2014;O'Shea et al 2014;Harwood et al 2015). Findings from the research to date have reported the success of the AIME program in engaging Indigenous young people in education as well as described the novel ways that the AIME program reorients the focus on aspirations to one of 'recognition of aspirations' .…”

The participation of Australian Indigenous students in higher education: a scoping review of empirical research, 2000–2016

“…A student's personal circumstances and motivation can also be imperative (Boulton- Lewis et al 2004;Morgan 2001;Oliver et al 2013;Toombs and Gorman 2010;Usher et al 2005;West et al 2014), as well as personal qualities such as motivation and discipline (Oliver et al 2015). Becoming a role model and mentoring other students has also been seen to inculcate a sense of the enormity of being a university student, as well as instil stability and resilience (Cameron and Robinson 2014;DiGregorio et al 2000;Howlett et al 2008;Kinnane et al 2014;O'Shea et al 2013). …”

“…Specifically, having direct involvement with the higher education environment prior to enrolment, such as through university-based programs that provide students with a connection to higher education, has been identified as an important enabler (Cameron and Robinson 2014;Harwood et al 2015;Kinnane et al 2014;O'Shea et al 2013;Rahman 2010;Shah and Widin 2010;Turnbull 2014). Relatedly, for both Indigenous students in secondary school and those who have entered university, economic forms of support, such as scholarships and industry partnerships, have been identified as incentives, with knowledge of these schemes similarly found to be important (Hossain et al 2008;Kinnane et al 2014).…”

“…There are multiple reasons why Indigenous students might be unfamiliar with university specifically, including a lack of direct experience with the higher education environment or being the first in their family to attend an institution of higher education (Cameron and Robinson 2014;Kinnane et al 2014;O'Shea et al 2013). The articles highlight that this unfamiliarity can also stem from restricted life opportunities and local facilities, with geographic location being identified as a physical barrier to Indigenous young people from rural and remote communities accessing further opportunities (Mission Australia 2014; Senior and Chenhall 2012;Walker et al 2008), and university in particular (Hossain et al 2008;Kinnane et al 2014;Kippen et al 2006).…”