Spending for success: identifying ‘what works?’ for Indigenous student outcomes in Australian Universities

Abstract

Despite the continued investment in Indigenous support networks and dedicated education units within universities, levels of key performance indicators for Indigenous students—access, participation, success and completion (attainment)—remain below that of the overall domestic student population in most institutions. It remains important to determine what works to achieve Indigenous student success in higher education. This paper proposes that such methods have an integral role to play in providing a holistic view of Indigenous participation and success at university, and are particularly useful in the development and evaluation of strategies and programs. This project found no quantitative correlation between financial investment and success rate for Indigenous students. A negative correlation between access rate and success rate suggests that factors other than those that encourage participation are important in supporting successful outcomes. Those universities that have high success rates have a suite of programs to support Indigenous students, but it is not immediately clear which of these strategies and programs may be most effective to facilitate Indigenous student success rates. In this discussion, we suggest that a multi-layered determinants model is a useful way to conceptualise the many factors that may impact on student success, and how they might intersect.

Higher Education Success Factor Model: A Means to Explore Factors Influencing Indigenous Australian Completion Rates

“…Factors that may impact Indigenous student success differ depending on the degree being completed and may also reflect personal and educational experiences that influence students' abilities to devote themselves to their studies (Anderson & Reich, 2017;Barney, 2016;Devlin, 2009;Hearn & Kenna, 2021). For instance, several determinants of attraction, retention, and completion for Indigenous higher degree by research (HDR) students have been identified by Hutchings et al (2019) and include the role of Indigenous departments and units, cultural awareness and safety and support from family and community.…”

“…Universities Australia's Indigenous Strategy 2022-2025 (Universities Australia, 2022) highlights the way in which supporting Indigenous student success is required. Hearn and Kenna (2021) reported that there was no measurable connection observed between financial investment and success rates for Indigenous students. However, a negative correlation was discovered between access rates and success rates.…”

Australian Aboriginal education: The impacts of Riawunna’s Murina program pedagogy during Covid-19

“…Andersen et al (2017), Biermann and Townsend-Cross (2008), Hall (2015) and Leroy-Dyer (2018) maintain that adopting decolonising methodologies and Indigenous pedagogy in higher education and enabling programs prioritises Indigenous values and worldviews and contributes to positive change. As reported by Hearn and Kenna (2020) "levels of key performance indicators for Indigenous students -access, participation, success and completion (attainment) -remain below that of the overall domestic student population in most institutions" (p. 1). Early activism brought about government policies to strengthen participation in and educational outcomes for Indigenous peoples in higher education (Coates et al, 2020).…”

First Peoples' perspectives on successful engagement at university: What keeps students coming back to Indigenous education units?

“…Recent studies continue to report an under-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (hereafter "First Peoples") at university, and lower participation and higher attrition rates than non-Indigenous students (Benton et al, 2021;Coates et al, 2021;Hearn & Kenna, 2021). Past research has established that this disparity stems from current and historical injustices towards First Peoples and exclusion from schooling (Bin-Sallik, 2003;K.…”