First Nations students’ transitions into university are frequently treated as linear and uniform, despite diversity across language groups, communities and life trajectories. This study examines how a dedicated First Nations student centre in a metropolitan Australian university supports students across the “university lifespan”: imagining university, application and enrolment, first year and ongoing study. The paper draws on literature, administrative completion data, and interviews with 16 First Nations students and 8 staff. Thematic analysis identified three interlocking mechanisms through which the Centre strengthened success: pathway translation, place-based belonging, and wraparound scaffolding across academic, housing/financial and wellbeing domains, especially during the first weeks of semester. Students described the Centre as their primary access point to university systems, enabling programs, tutoring, accommodation supports and health services. Findings indicate that improving First Nations participation and completion requires not only expanded entry pathways but sustained investment in culturally safe infrastructures that hold students through transition pressure points and support diverse, non-linear journeys.
Indigenous Australian Elders are key cultural authorities in higher education, with their presence expanding through Elders in Residence programs over the past two decades. While government reports, sector-wide reviews and institutional strategies recognise the value of Elders in Residence roles, research on the scope, efficacy and integration of such roles into institutional governance remains limited. Reporting on findings from an Australian Research Council-funded study, this paper centres the voices of six Elders in Residence through in‑depth qualitative interviews and examines their positioning within complex, nuanced ecosystems of university governance, Indigenous leadership and community engagement. Drawing on Moodie’s (2018) decolonising race theory, we analyse Elders’ contributions across fragmented webs of institutional power and accountability. Conceptually, the paper introduces the Dhurrun model to illuminate the layered, relational and adaptive nature of Elders’ roles within higher education ecosystems. Our findings reveal that Elders’ roles are often misunderstood, inconsistently supported, and at risk of being reduced to symbolic gestures, rather than recognised as vital agents of reform and relational governance. We argue that (re)claiming Eldership within universities is essential to restoring Indigenous authority and embedding relational accountability at the centre of higher education ecosystems.
Engagement with Aboriginal communities is often claimed by governments and their institutions as the panacea for improving the lives of Aboriginal peoples, including Aboriginal student outcomes in education. This paper challenges these claims by examining Aboriginal communities’ perceptions, experiences and enactments of school engagement that provide critical conditions for these improvements. In the Culturally Nourishing Schooling (CNS) project, five local Aboriginal community case studies prioritised community voices through its Aboriginal community-led committee, the Blak Caucus (BC). Community meetings were held and the accompanying research co-designed with the BC to ensure Aboriginal community protocols, accountabilities and data sovereignty featured in the research process. Data was generated from BC facilitated yarns, which were recorded, transcribed and communicated through visual maps to generate discussion within and between community participants. Four themes were constructed through thematic analysis: the importance of understanding local history and context; the criticality of clear, consistent communication; the role of shared spaces in dismantling barriers between schools and communities; and the protocols required to engage with Aboriginal communities. What became clear was that relationships, collective trust and two-way dialogue can provide promising pathways to building power-equal partnerships between New South Wales schools and Aboriginal communities.
This study examines a critical phenomenon in Australian higher education: the disconnect between university leaders’ self-reported confidence and experience in Indigenous contexts. Drawing on data from a national survey and in-depth interviews with 41 university executives, we identify a confidence-competence paradox in which leaders express high confidence in engaging with Indigenous peoples and communities despite limited direct experience. In this study, competence is operationalised through self-reported experience in Indigenous higher education and leadership in Indigenous contexts, rather than through external assessment, enabling examination of the gap between leaders’ confidence and their own acknowledged experience levels. We employed a mixed-method approach, utilising the Senior Leadership Capability Model (SLCM) to investigate the level of confidence and competence of executive university leaders in supporting Indigenous success. While only 22% of participants reported being very experienced in Indigenous higher education, 72% expressed confidence in Indigenous engagement. The model addresses the unrealistic expectations often placed on small numbers of Indigenous leaders who are frequently under-resourced and solely responsible for Indigenous outcomes across institutions. This paper explores the implications of the confidence-competence disconnect for leadership development, cultural competency training and sustainable institutional change.
This study investigates the integration of Indigenous perspectives within information and communication technology (ICT) curricula across Australian universities, addressing four research questions relating to the extent of integration, approaches used, influencing factors and characteristics of effective practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight ICT educators and data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Nine themes were identified. Findings indicate that integration remains limited and inconsistent, often driven by individual initiative rather than systematic institutional approaches. While universities demonstrate policy commitments, these are not consistently enacted in curriculum design. Educators employ strategies such as contextualised assignments, interdisciplinary offerings and emerging Indigenous pedagogical frameworks. Key barriers include limited discipline-specific resources, structural curriculum constraints and lack of targeted support. Enablers include collaboration with Indigenous experts and culturally relevant teaching approaches that enhance student engagement. The study offers insights to inform curriculum development, institutional policy and future research in ICT education.
In Colombia, only 6% of Indigenous youth access higher education despite legal protections, facing persistent socio-economic exclusion and statistical invisibility within universities. This mixed-methods study investigates the experience of Indigenous students at Universidad Antonio Nariño (UAN), Colombia, combining longitudinal enrolment data with interviews from 37 students, faculty and staff. Despite growing Indigenous youth enrolment amid declining non-Indigenous participation, 40% drop out within the first three years (24% in the first year). Epistemic frictions between Indigenous and Western knowledge systems emerge, with Health/Social Sciences retaining students better than Engineering/others. Women, comprising 59% of UAN’s Indigenous youth, demonstrate greater persistence despite intersectional oppressions of sex/gender, class, race/ethnicity and sexuality. Specific strategies include first-year retention programs leveraging communal responsibility and curricular integration of Indigenous epistemologies into culturally resonant fields. Far from special treatment, this constitutes structural redress for historical exclusion, yielding graduates who bridge community needs with professional competencies. Future research should track longitudinal graduation rates across Colombian universities.
This paper presents an Aboriginal-led study of higher education with Aboriginal students from remote and very remote communities in the West Kimberley, exploring the experiences of Aboriginal students studying in Australian universities. Drawing on an Indigenist methodology grounded in political integrity, resistance to colonial domination and privileging Aboriginal voice, the research identifies two interconnected gaps: limited cultural understanding within universities, and uneven access to knowledge about university systems and practices among students. Findings from yarning conducted with 20 students living and studying in remote and very remote locations show that these gaps can contribute to feelings of isolation, cultural disconnection and structural barriers, despite students’ strong aspirations grounded in kinship, culture and community. This paper argues that addressing both gaps requires universities to work relationally; embed Aboriginal knowledge systems, values and care; and co-create pathways that support Aboriginal students to flourish on their own terms. The paper concludes by emphasising the importance of Aboriginal leadership in shaping research, and stresses the value of creating culturally secure, two-way educational practices in learning environments in higher education.
The Melbourne School of Population and Global Health (MSPGH) offers postgraduate qualifications that enable a highly skilled public health workforce. Through the university’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program, students gain comprehensive skills and knowledge, with specialist fields that include biostatistics, gerontology, global health, health economics, health policy, Indigenous health, infectious disease epidemiology and sexual health. While Indigenous health is a specialist area that students can choose to study, this evaluation, led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academics, examined the degree to which Indigenous health-related competencies are embedded across the core, capstone and Indigenous Health specialisation units. The review identified strong horizontal integration of teaching Indigenous public health competencies as topics across the core, capstone and Indigenous Health specialisation units. However, inclusion within capstone units was variable and often opportunistic, resulting in inconsistent student exposure to Indigenous public health learning. While it also identified a diversity of learning opportunities to engage with Indigenous knowledges, the evaluation highlighted ongoing gaps in systematic embedding of Indigenous leadership, governance and accountability within curriculum design. Overall, embedding a dedicated Indigenous public health unit as a core subject is recommended to ensure all MPH graduates develop deeper, critically informed competencies.
Australian universities are working to include the knowledge and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in their curricula and student experiences. However, only 1.4% of the workforce identifies as Indigenous. There is growing recognition that non-Indigenous staff play a crucial role in this effort. This article reviews strategies used by Australian universities to enhance the confidence and abilities of non-Indigenous staff in integrating Indigenous perspectives. We address challenges and opportunities and urge institutions to move beyond cultural competency training, advocating instead for a rights-based pedagogical framework to improve educational practices.
In the Australian education system, the call for more First Nations teachers has been central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education policy for at least 50 years and has been re-iterated in the recent National Teacher Workforce Action Plan. In response, there have been several programs over time that have served to train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers. One such pathway is Queensland’s Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP). Despite having been in operation for over 30 years, there have been little published findings about the impact of this pathway. This case study evaluates the impact that graduates of RATEP have had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and the school communities in which they taught. This study used the “most significant change” research method to find that teachers’ critical points of impact were their abilities to act as conduits for building relationships and developing cultural understanding in school communities. Further, the tension between the need to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers and the personal cost to these teachers in carrying this weight of responsibility was evident. We conclude with propositions for the future and ongoing research in this field.
This paper presents findings from a three-year, longitudinal qualitative study exploring the experiences of Indigenous early career researchers (ECRs) in Australian universities. It investigates the systemic challenges they face and the strategies they employ to build meaningful academic careers within a sector shaped by settler colonialism and racialised structures. Using complexity theory (CT) as a framework, the study highlights how Indigenous ECRs navigate and influence institutional systems, often acting as agents of reform. Participants demonstrate resilience and leadership, advocating for Indigenous equity, curriculum reform and cultural sovereignty. The concept of Indigenous futurity—imagining and enacting futures grounded in Indigenous values—is central to their efforts. Despite persistent barriers, these scholars are reshaping the academic landscape, challenging White futurity and laying foundations for transformative change in higher education.
Prior to colonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Indigenous Māori population lived within whānau (family) and hapū (sub-tribal groups) community contexts where mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) was passed on from one generation to the next. Community contexts were strengthened by well-developed knowledge systems and effective pedagogical practices. Te reo Māori (the Māori language), reflecting both the cultural and social environments, was key to knowledge transference. Unfortunately for Māori, colonisation soon succeeded in undermining the cultural knowledge and beliefs of indigenous peoples and replacing these beliefs with the colonisers own values and practices. This article begins by considering the destruction of intergenerational transmission of mātauranga Māori due to colonisation. The voices of kaikōrero (speakers) from research with two different tribal groups then consider how the benefits of growing up within whānau have provided opportunities to reconnect with mātauranga and te reo Māori. Acts of revitalising and renormalising their own tribal knowledges and practices have reasserted and affirmed pride in their own cultural identity and ways of being.
This comprehensive bibliometric analysis of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education (AJIE) traces its development and scholarly influence from 1973 to 2023, highlighting its evolution from a focus on Aboriginal education to a broader scope encompassing Indigenous education across Australia and Oceania. Leveraging data from Scopus and Web of Science, this analysis examines AJIE’s publication and citation trends, influential articles, leading authors and institutions, and thematic progressions within the journal. The findings demonstrate AJIE’s significant national influence, supported by substantial contributions from Australian institutions, along with a meaningful, albeit smaller, presence of international research, particularly from New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The shift to open access and inclusion in prominent academic indexes has furthered AJIE’s accessibility and citation reach, solidifying its status as a primary publication in Indigenous education scholarship.
This work represents the second part of a general bibliometric analysis we have prepared for The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education (AJIE), motivated by the first 50 years of the journal. This study develops a graphical analysis of AJIE by using the VOSviewer software, Scopus and the Web of Science database. Utilising bibliometric methods such as co-citation, bibliographic coupling and co-occurrence of keywords in the VOSviewer software, this study reveals AJIE’s impact on key Indigenous education topics, including culturally responsive pedagogy, decolonisation, Indigenous health and teacher education. The analysis highlights AJIE’s strong national presence, supported by substantial contributions from Australian institutions, along with a modest yet notable level of international engagement, particularly from New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The journal’s transition to open access, combined with its inclusion in major academic indexes, has increased its visibility and citation reach, reinforcing its role as a leading publication in the field of Indigenous education.
Australian universities are working to include the knowledge and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in their curricula and student experiences. However, only 1.4% of the workforce identifies as Indigenous. There is growing recognition that non-Indigenous staff play a crucial role in this effort. This article reviews strategies used by Australian universities to enhance non-Indigenous staff’s confidence and abilities in integrating Indigenous perspectives. We address challenges and opportunities and urge institutions to move beyond cultural competency training, advocating instead for a rights-based pedagogical framework to improve educational practices.
This study investigated the role of Indigenous teachers in preserving and teaching the Chakma language in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts region. Through interviews with 14 Chakma-speaking primary school teachers, the research examined their dual roles in (a) teaching the Chakma language as a subject and (b) using it as a medium of instruction for other curriculum content. The findings show that, while teachers are committed to promoting the language, shortages of trained, fluent educators and limited instructional resources constrain effectiveness. Participants also emphasised the need for stronger language specialists who can teach directly in Chakma and mentor other teachers to strengthen their first-language proficiency. The study highlights that comprehensive, continuous training, dedicated Indigenous language instructors, and expanded classroom time are critical to sustaining Indigenous languages and fostering cultural identity among students.
The gap in higher education outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians remains one of the nation's most persistent educational challenges. This paper reports findings from a decade-long research program comprising two phases. The first (2012–2016) identified 19 psychosocial and socio-emotional factors associated with academic persistence, revealing that the capabilities required for formal learning are acquired rather than innate. The second (2017–2022) tested an intervention model centred on building these capabilities. Longitudinal tracking of over 750 undergraduate students at a regional Australian university demonstrated significant improvements: subject pass rates increased from 64% to 82%, course completions doubled, and outcomes were sustained beyond the project period. Analysis revealed that tutoring effectiveness was conditional upon students having developed sufficient underlying capacity—a finding with implications for how institutions design support services.
We present new findings from a Western Australian mixed-methods study exploring a sample of Indigenous and non-Indigenous secondary school students’ (N = 536) experiences and perceptions of school. Respondents hailed largely from remote or regional Western Australia, although approximately half attended boarding school. This article presents findings of multivariate analysis of responses to the Multi-Dimensional Student Perceptions of School Questionnaire (MSPSQ) and identifies that Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in this study were found to be equally likely to report a positive perception of the benefit of education and the importance of attending and completing year 12, and equally likely to experience family support for education. Yet, student experience of positive school culture, career development opportunities and access to study environment significantly differed across schools. Despite equivalencies across groups regarding perceived importance of completing school, Indigenous students were significantly less likely than non-Indigenous students to express an intention to go on to further education beyond year 12.
Anti-Indigenous racism education is often framed as a way to improve non-discriminatory care for Indigenous peoples. This study asked: What happens when anti-Indigenous racism is taken up by educators? What makes it challenging to manage in an adult classroom? What strategies are (un)successful? Ten adult educators participated—Indigenous (n = 4), White (n = 3) and non-Indigenous People of Colour (n = 3)—in either an interview or focus group. A phenomenological approach guided interpretation of participant narratives. Findings revealed persistent anti-Indigenous racist violence in adult educational settings. Successfully challenging anti-Indigenous racism required deep educator knowledge, self-awareness, cultural humility and strong facilitation skills. The traumatic toll on Indigenous educators and differing responses to resistance highlighted how racism is experienced and addressed differently by Indigenous, non-Indigenous People of Colour and White educators. This study provides empirical evidence for the need for pedagogical strategies that improve cultural safety, support educators and meaningfully confront anti-Indigenous racism in adult education classrooms.
In this paper we document the various strategies universities have undertaken or are currently undertaking in their Indigenising practices across the Australian higher education sector by screening university websites for their strategies, principles and initiatives. It serves as a vital stocktake, audited in November 2023, for institutions aiming to forge a path towards an inclusive and culturally diverse academic environment. While such benchmarks should be tempered with caution due to the diversity of First Nations communities in which universities operate, it offers a spectrum of current practices for further development and growth. At the same time, it reinforces the current transition, from the perspective of Western science, of the value of Indigenous knowledges, epistemologies and approaches within the curriculum.
