Culturally Relevant Pathways Essential for Indigenous Student Success, Study Finds

Even though First Nations student and staff representation in higher education remains below parity there are several relevant and potentially exciting recommendations from the final report of the Australian Universities Accord that could improve the situation.

Measures to build the capacity of First Nations peoples are welcome. The benefits are not just for individuals. They will be felt by Indigenous communities and, by extension, the nation.

The recommendations in question include dedicated scholarships and postdoctoral opportunities (recommendation 26), increased First Nations representation in leadership and governance, and a First Nations research framework (both from recommendation 27).

First though, we await the recommended First Nations-led review of the sector as a way of elevating the voices of First Nations peoples who have expertise in higher education, and prioritising further the challenges that are faced by First Nations communities.

A thorough review such as this into the challenges and opportunities in the sector has the potential to have real impact on outcomes in education and otherwise for First Nations peoples and communities.

Recommendation Three of the Accord is very important to us. It’s about addressing the need to increase Indigenous participation in health professions. The recommendation is that this can be done by uncapping Commonwealth supported places (CSPs) for First Nations people. We are very supportive of this because it will increase the capacity of First Nations peoples and communities to address a real need for our own medical practitioners in communities. It would help speed up the supply of medical graduates in communities experiencing shortages.

While uncapping CSPs is a clear step toward increasing the number of First Nations medical students, and therefore qualified practitioners, this move needs to be paired with measures to ensure universities have the ability to support the extra students, because removing caps on Commonwealth sponsored places means all First Nations students who apply and meet the entry criteria would be able to study.

A significant barrier to higher education access for Indigenous or First Nations students to medical (and other) degrees is adequate preparation for tertiary study by secondary schools. There is a plain need to address some of these structural challenges, before the students get to higher education institutions. In the meantime, bespoke culturally relevant bridging pathways are essential.

Also, increasing student numbers and supporting them to achieve requires educative processes that include Indigenous knowledge and which focus on strengths-based approaches, such as:

• Building meaningful connection with applicants and focusing on study success factors and needs.
• Methods to remove barriers to study, such as costs of living or living arrangements that enable a continued connection to country.
• Cohorting students and alumni to create cultural safety within professions.
• Engaging students with Indigenous health professional bodies, such as the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association
• Connecting students to Aboriginal community-controlled health services

In the last five years, through Monash University’s Gukwonderuk Indigenous Health Unit and the William Cooper Institute, we have assisted 115 health

professionals to graduate including 17 doctors, 18 nurses, four midwives, 37 in psychology and mental health, and 10 physiotherapists. This new First Nations workforce will change the frontline of healthcare.

We’ve also graduated 12 First Nations PhDs, with half of these from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences. These graduates have great capacity to be improving the relevancy of university research providing benefit to First Nations and broader communities. Better access to post-docs will go a long way to foster much needed improvements in research and its translation to health outcomes for First Nations peoples.

The Accord recommends increased support for First Nations students, communities and research. There is of course a great emphasis on participation rates of our students and staff, and Monash University has been committed for some time to increasing Indigenous student and staff participation, making effective use of funding via the Indigenous Student Success Program and the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP). These funding programs build belief in traditionally under-represented cohorts that they can study at any university of their choosing. As an example, HEPPP funding has ensured we can invest in quality and skilled staff to work in schools across the southeast fringe of Melbourne and regional and remote areas to build aspiration, not just to come to Monash, but more broadly to undertake tertiary study.

We will watch and support the broader approach in the sector to self-determination and leadership, as we pledge to continue demonstrating models for and capability in First Nations representation in leadership and governance.