Sue Trinidad

Participation in higher education in Australia among under-represented groups: What can we learn from the Higher Education Participation Program to better support Indigenous learners?

In 1988 the release of the Higher Education: A Policy Statement White Paper focused Australia’s national higher education equity policy on “changing the balance of the student population to reflect more closely the composition of society as a whole” (Dawkins 1990, 2-3). While improvement in access and participation has been noted for women, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, and people with disabilities, the interventions has remained less effective for people from Lower Socio-Economic Status (LSES backgrounds), Indigenous peoples; rural, regional and remote residents; (Gale & Tranter, 2011; Koshy & Seymour 2014). In 2009, in response to the Bradley Review (2008), the Australian government set a new agenda again focused on equitable participation in higher education, along with associated equity targets (which have since been abandoned), and funding to enable this reform as well as increased participation. Funding was delivered through the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP), renamed the Higher Education Participation Program (HEPP) in 2015 (Australian Government Department of Education and Training, 2015). A range of national partnerships, policy initiatives and programs has been used to facilitate improved achievement in schools as well as enable access, participation and achievement in higher education. These actions have included targeted programs through the use of intervention strategies aimed at widening participation in, and improving access to higher education.

Australian Early Childhood Educators: From Government Policy to University Practice

This article provides an overview of the Australian Federal Government initiatives in the area of early childhood with regard to the provision of early childhood education and care. These changes have influenced a Western Australian university to develop an innovative birth to 8 years preservice educator education curriculum. Using an ecological approach, this preservice curriculum reform is designed to address the growing need for teachers who recognize the importance of a childs physical, emotional, and cognitive development from birth to 8 years as significant in preparing young children for entry into “formal learning.”

Understanding the Nexus Between Equity and Indigenous Higher Education Policy Agendas in Australia

In 2008, the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education highlighted the importance of ‘increasing the number of under-represented groups within Australia’s higher education system – including Indigenous people, people with low socio-economic status, and those from regional and remote areas’ (Bradley et al. Review of Higher Education in Australia: final report. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Canberra, 2008). Building on over two decades of equity policy development in higher education in Australia, these ‘equity groups’ were subsequently afforded a more legitimate place in the future national higher education policy arena. One notable example was a greater focus on Indigenous higher education, including the commissioning of the Behrendt Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Behrendt et al. Review of Higher Education access and outcomes for aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: final report. Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, Canberra, 2012). This review, in tandem with incremental investments in Indigenous higher education over the previous decades, has led to dedicated funding streams for Indigenous higher education initiatives. We argue that the parallel policy focus on the broad national equity agenda and the more specific Indigenous higher education agenda can be both complementary and divergent. These contrasting positions are particularly evident in the implementation of respective equity and Indigenous programs in higher education institutions across Australia. In this chapter we discuss the unique theoretical dimensions and principles underpinning each of these higher education policy agendas and explore the synergies and tensions between them. We adopt a strengths-based perspective to explain what the future possibilities and opportunities might be in promoting greater cohesion, integration and interdependence between equity and Indigenous higher education agendas in Australia.

Innovations in a pre-service teacher education programme

Recent graduates of pre-service education completed a written questionnaire on teaching practices in mathematics, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and science; professional development needs; and teaching locations. The graduates were implementing innovations in teaching, including integration of ICT into student learning. Surprising findings that emerged for teachers in metropolitan compared to non-metropolitan locations were the influence of the school on practices, lack of time in non-metropolitan locations for professional development and the degree of diversity in student ages and grade levels being taught. Teacher education, while fostering the development of innovative practices, therefore needs to address broader educational factors involving student diversity and school culture.

The use of enabling programs as a pathway to higher education by disadvantaged students in Australia

This chapter explores the use of enabling programs by Australian universities to improve participation and success for students historically underrepresented in the nation’s higher education system. It draws on empirical evidence from a national research project designed to undertake a review of current enabling programs offered by Australian higher education providers and to examine the effectiveness of these programs in increasing access to, participation in, and subsequent success in undergraduate courses for domestic students from disadvantaged groups. This chapter firstly outlines the rationale for providing enabling programs, their history of use in Australia against the wider context of higher education disadvantage, and a review of previous research. Secondly, it provides a typology of enabling programs in Australia detailing: their design and composition; how they are delivered; their prevalence throughout the sector; how they articulate to tertiary degrees; the types of students targeted; and numbers of students using them. Specific attention is on the representation of disadvantaged students throughout. Thirdly, the chapter provides a statistical analysis of the efficacy of these programs, as defined by retention and success. The fourth section details the findings of a national survey of 980 students who transitioned to higher education studies via an enabling program. This survey explores student perceptions, their experience of the program and their reflections on the extent to which it did or did not prepare them for tertiary studies. Finally, concluding comments are made and suggestions to improve the ongoing tertiary success of disadvantaged students are proposed.

The Impact of Enabling Programs on Indigenous Participation, Success and Retention in Australian Higher Education

This chapter details the findings from a national project that investigated the efficacy of the enabling program pathway into higher education for disadvantaged student groups. Enabling programs are not-for-degree programs designed to provide the necessary academic and cultural scaffolding for students who do not meet the institution’s usual admissions criteria. The brief given to the project team was to undertake a review of current enabling programs offered by Australian higher education providers and report on the extent to which these courses were effective in increasing access and participation to, and subsequent success in, undergraduate courses for domestic students from disadvantaged groups. This chapter focuses specifically on the findings relevant to Indigenous students, who represent one of six officially recognised equity groups of students in Australian higher education policy. In this chapter the authors detail and discuss the nature and design of enabling programs for Indigenous students, and then provide a detailed analysis of the first year retention and success rates for Indigenous students who transitioned to undergraduate studies via these enabling programs. The evidence from the study indicates that Indigenous enabling pathways provide an important and effective environment in which the students develop a sense of belonging in higher education and develop the necessary resilience to persist in their subsequent studies. However, it is less clear whether Indigenous students are receiving the academic skills development necessary to succeed in their studies at rates similar to other students.

What Is Widening Participation and Why Does It Matter

The drivers of social justice, social inclusion, and an investment in human capital within the competitive global economy have led to the massification of higher education in an international context. As universities widen participation of students from more diverse backgrounds, particularly low socioeconomic students, indigenous students, and regional and remote students, they need to consider better tracking of attrition and retention, and providing additional methods of support. The sector is continuing to improve evaluation of widening participation strategies and programs, and increasing opportunities and alternative pathways, building aspirations and community collaborations, and expanding institutional reforms. The context of these reforms, and their criticisms and strengths are considered in light of continuing efforts to solve these complex systemic inequities.