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Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Todd Phillips
Bachelor of Education (Primary)
Student Number: N05367808
Principal Supervisor: Dr Bronwyn Ewing
Associate Supervisor: Professor Tom Cooper
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Education (Research) (ED12)
Centre for Learning Innovation
Faculty of Education
Queensland University of Technology
July 2012
Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men i
Keywords
Bundjalung
Bundjalung Jugun (Bundjalung Country/Nation)
Bundjalung Yanha (Bundjalung Way/Learning)
Deadly
Fella
Gammin
Gumbaynggir
Indigenist
Indigenous
Indigenous knowledges
Indigenous Standpoint Theory
Jarjums
Koori
Mob
Murri
Tribe
Widjabul
Yaegl
Yarn
Yarning
Yugem
Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men iii
Abstract
Despite documented changes to mainstream educational systems, Indigenous
educational achievements are still at critically low levels across all phases of formal
education. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) Indigenous
students are still less likely than non-Indigenous students to complete their final
years of schooling (45% compared with 77% in 2009); tertiary level entry and
outcomes are also significantly lower than non-Indigenous entry and outcomes.
Although significant research has focused on the area of Indigenous education,
in particular, identifying and making recommendations on how to close educational
gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, these studies have failed to
bring about the change needed and to engage successfully with Indigenous
communities and draw on Indigenous communities’ insights for best practice.
This thesis focuses on Indigenous perspectives and takes a closer look at the cultural
factors that impact on tertiary education access for Indigenous young men who come from
a Bundjalung community on the far north coast of northern New South Wales. To date,
this community has not been the focus of serious postgraduate study. Their experiences
and the values and ideas of their community have not been investigated.
To do this, the study uses an Indigenous methodological framework. It draws
on Indigenous Standpoint Theory to analyse data through concepts of the cultural
interface and tensions (Nakata, 2007, pp. 195-217). The study’s framing also draws
on decolonising methods (Porsanger, 2004; Smith, 1999) and Indigenist research
methods (Rigney, 1997). Such methodologies are intended to benefit both the
research participants (community members) and the researcher. In doing so, the
study draws on Creswell’s (2008) methods of restorying and retelling to analyse the
iv Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
participants’ interviews and yarns about their lives and experiences relating to
tertiary educational access.
The research process occurred in multiple stages: (1) selection of research sites,
(2) granting of access which was requested through consultation with local
Aboriginal Elders and through the local Aboriginal Lands Council, (3) conducting of
interviews with participants/ data collection, (4) analysis of data, (5) documentation
of findings, (6) theory development, and (7) reporting back to the nominated
Indigenous community on the progress and findings of the research.
The benefits of this research are numerous. First, this study addresses an issue
that has been identified from within the local Aboriginal community as an issue of
high precedence, looking at the cultural factors surrounding the underrepresentation of
Indigenous people accessing tertiary education. This is not only of local significance
but has been identified in the literature as a local, national and international area of
concern amongst Indigenous peoples (Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
2009; Herbert, 2010; King, 2011). Secondly, the study draws on local Indigenous
knowledges and learning processes from within a Bundjalung community to gain
inside perspectives, namely the cultural factors that are being expressed from a range
of Indigenous community members – young men, community Elders and community
members – and finding out what they perceive inhibit and/or promote tertiary
education participation within their community. Such perspectives are rarely heard.
Finally, recommendations made from this study are aimed at revealing investigative
styles that may be utilised by Western institutions to improve access for Indigenous
young men living in the Narlumdarlum1 region in the tertiary context.
1 A pseudonym has been used for the place name (see ‘Terminology and Protocols’).
Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men v
Table of Contents
Keywords ................................................................................................................................................. i
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. iii
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... v
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................... viii
List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. ix
Statement of Original Authorship .......................................................................................................... xi
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. xiii
Acknowledgement of Country .............................................................................................................. xv
Bundjalung Jugun................................................................................................................................. xvi
Terminology and Protocols ................................................................................................................ xvii
PREAMBLE .................................................................................................................................... 1
Bundjalung Yanha – Bundjalung Way/Learning .................................................................................... 1
Learning Places ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Camp Bundjalung ........................................................................................................................ 4
Learning Practices ................................................................................................................................... 7
Western Learning .................................................................................................................................... 8
High School ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Tertiary Education ................................................................................................................................. 12 Challenges at tertiary education ................................................................................................. 13
Implications for Thesis .......................................................................................................................... 14
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 17
1.1 Background of the Study ........................................................................................................... 17 1.1.1 Current concern .............................................................................................................. 18 1.1.2 Transition ........................................................................................................................ 19 1.1.3 Identity ............................................................................................................................ 20
1.2 Research Questions .................................................................................................................... 21
1.3 Research Design ........................................................................................................................ 22
1.4 Significance ............................................................................................................................... 24
1.5 Thesis Outline ............................................................................................................................ 26
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 29
2.1 Current Issues and Concerns ...................................................................................................... 30 2.1.1 Indigenous men ............................................................................................................... 31 2.1.2 Indigenous people: A great diversity .............................................................................. 32 2.1.3 Educational achievement of Indigenous peoples ............................................................ 33
2.2 Journeying into Tertiary Education: Factors Affecting Indigenous People’s Participation ....... 37 2.2.1 World views of Indigenous peoples ................................................................................ 38 2.2.2 Economic factors affecting transitions to tertiary education ........................................... 39 2.2.3 Cultural isolation and prejudice in universities............................................................... 39 2.2.4 Geographical isolation and access to tertiary education ................................................. 40 2.2.5 Accessing the curriculum ............................................................................................... 41
2.3 History ....................................................................................................................................... 41 2.3.1 Indigenous learning prior to European contact ............................................................... 42
vi Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
2.3.2 Aboriginal peoples and education – post-colonisation/invasion ..................................... 44 2.3.3 Valuing Indigenous peoples, culture and knowledge ..................................................... 45 2.3.4 Aims to achieve equitable educational outcomes ........................................................... 46 2.3.5 Constructing identities .................................................................................................... 47 2.3.6 “Westernising” Indigenous peoples ................................................................................ 47 2.3.7 Improving representation of Indigenous teachers ........................................................... 48 2.3.8 Social justice reforms ..................................................................................................... 49 2.3.9 Curriculum reform .......................................................................................................... 53
2.4 Recommendations Suggested in the Literature .......................................................................... 53 2.4.1 What is best practice for Aboriginal people to improve tertiary education enrolments
and successful outcomes? ............................................................................................... 54
2.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 55 2.5.1 My standpoint ................................................................................................................. 56
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 59
3.1 Fundamental Principles of Indigenist Research ......................................................................... 60 3.1.1 Resistance as the emancipatory imperative .................................................................... 61 3.1.2 Political integrity ............................................................................................................ 62 3.1.3 Privileging Indigenous voices ........................................................................................ 63
3.2 Indigenous Standpoint Theory ................................................................................................... 64 3.2.1 The cultural interface ...................................................................................................... 65 3.2.2 What is my standpoint? .................................................................................................. 67
3.3 Data Analysis: Restorying and Retelling ................................................................................... 72
3.4 Participants ................................................................................................................................ 74
3.5 Data Collection Techniques ....................................................................................................... 75 3.5.1 Semi-structured and unstructured interviews ................................................................. 76 3.5.2 Yarning ........................................................................................................................... 76 3.5.3 Audio recording and transcribing interviews .................................................................. 77
3.6 Procedure ................................................................................................................................... 78 3.6.1 Phase 1: Research site chosen and access sought ........................................................... 81 3.6.2 Phase 2: Contextualisation .............................................................................................. 81 3.6.3 Phase 3: Interviews/data collection ................................................................................ 82 3.6.4 Phase 4: Data analysis .................................................................................................... 82 3.6.5 Phase 5: Findings documented ....................................................................................... 82 3.6.6 Phase 6: Reporting back to community .......................................................................... 82
3.7 Ethics and Limitations ............................................................................................................... 83 3.7.1 Anonymity of participants .............................................................................................. 83 3.7.2 Obtaining consent from community ............................................................................... 84 3.7.3 Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 84
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ................................................................................. 87
4.1 Privileging the Bundjalung Voice .............................................................................................. 88
4.2 Cultural Factors ......................................................................................................................... 92 4.2.1 Identity ............................................................................................................................ 92 4.2.2 Fear and its influence on access to education ............................................................... 101 4.2.3 Role models as mentors: Family, community and peers .............................................. 103
4.3 Chapter Summary .................................................................................................................... 119
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 121
5.1 Summary of Major Findings .................................................................................................... 122 5.1.1 Identity .......................................................................................................................... 122 5.1.2 Fear ............................................................................................................................. 123 5.1.3 Role models .................................................................................................................. 123 5.1.4 Responding to research questions two and three .......................................................... 123 5.1.5 The contribution of the methodological framework to the study .................................. 125
Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men vii
5.2 Addressing Research Question One ......................................................................................... 125 5.2.1 Interaction of factors ..................................................................................................... 126 5.2.2 Role of family and community ..................................................................................... 128 5.2.3 Implications for access to tertiary education ................................................................ 129
5.3 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................................................... 131
5.4 Recommendations for Improving Tertiary Access for Bundjalung Men ................................. 132
5.5 Directions for Further Research ............................................................................................... 133
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................ 135
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................ 149 Appendix A Aboriginal Australia Map .................................................................................... 149 Appendix B Regions of New South Wales .............................................................................. 150 Appendix C Narlumdarlum Local Government Area Fast Facts 2008 .................................... 151 Appendix D Census Data ......................................................................................................... 152 Appendix E Semi-structured Interviews .................................................................................. 153 Appendix F Ethics Forms ........................................................................................................ 155
viii Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
List of Figures
Figure 3.1. Indigenist research principles. ............................................................................................ 61
Figure 3.2. Indigenous Standpoint elements. ........................................................................................ 65
Figure 3.3. Approaches to research with community. .......................................................................... 68
Figure 3.4. Restorying process. ............................................................................................................ 73
Figure 3.5. Phases of research. ............................................................................................................. 79
Figure 3.6. Map of the research study. ................................................................................................. 80
Figure 5.1. Components of effective access-to-tertiary programs. ..................................................... 131
Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men ix
List of Abbreviations
ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics
AIATSIS Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
DEEWR Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
DEST Department of Education, Science and Training
HREOC Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
IHEAC Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council
MCEETYA Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth
Affairs
NAEC National Aboriginal Education Committee
NAIDOC National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee
NATSIEP National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy
SCRGSP Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision
Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men xi
Statement of Original Authorship
The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet
requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the
best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference is made.
Signature: _________________________
Date: _________________________
Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men xiii
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following people who have supported, encouraged
and inspired me throughout the writing of this thesis:
My principal supervisor, Dr Bronwyn Ewing, who has given me a tremendous
amount of support, guidance and encouragement. I have learnt so much from you
Bron and will always be grateful.
Professor Tom Cooper, from whom I have learnt so much during my time
working with him. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity.
The YuMi Deadly Centre team for their amazing support and thanks so much
for my gift voucher.
My Elders, my mother, father and my immediate family and extended family
from northern New South Wales. There are too many of you to name individually.
A big thank you to Anthony Mundine who continues to be a huge influence on
my life. Thank you Choc, your journey, achievements and advice continue to
influence me greatly.
A big shout out to the following academic and professional staff who have
been a positive influence on me in one way or another: Dr Chris Sarra, Dr Grace
Sarra, Dr Chris Matthews, Dr Tippawan Nuntrakune, Mr Paul Shields, Dr Sue
Whatman, Dr Malia Villegas, Dr Jean Phillips, Dr Catherine Doherty, Ms Sandra
Phillips, Dr Bronwyn Fredericks, Professor John Lidstone, Professor Allan Luke, Ms
Gaye Winders, Ms Janette Lamb, Ms Kerrie Petersen and Ms Charlotte Cottier.
xiv Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
I would also like to thank the support and encouragement of the Indigenous
Student Research Network (ISRN) team, in particular, Mr Kelly Roberts, Ms Cindy
Prior and Mr Adam James.
Thank you to the staff at the Oodgeroo Unit at Kelvin Grove.
Thank you to the staff at the Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI).
Thank you to the facilitators of the Indigenous Methodologies Masterclass
Program, in particular Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson and Dr Maggie Walters.
This course helped me tremendously.
A big thank you to all of the participants involved in the study and to Aunty
Wendy King who was very supportive of this study. Thank you also to Uncle Phil
Duncan who provided much needed support.
I would also like to thank the following men for providing guidance in various
ways: Mr Gavin Jones, Mr David Vaka, Mr John Hancell and Mr Darren Scheuerle.
This thesis is also dedicated in loving memory of my grandmother Iris (Kelly)
Skinner, Aunty Lenore Phillips, my cousin Andrew Houlahan and Aziz Sergeyevich
Shavershian who are no longer with us.
Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men xv
Acknowledgement of Country
I would like to acknowledge the Bundjalung and Gumbaynggir peoples, my
grandparents’ and my great-grandmother’s people from the far north coast of New
South Wales (see Appendices A and B), through my father’s lineage. In
acknowledging the peoples of these nations I also pay respect to our Elders both past
and present. I would also like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the place
in which parts of this research were undertaken, the Toorbul and Yuggera peoples
from the northern and southern banks of the Brisbane River.
xvi Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Bundjalung Jugun
Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men xvii
Terminology and Protocols
Throughout this thesis, the terms “Indigenous peoples” and “Aboriginal” are
used interchangeably. While recognising that some Aboriginal community groups
throughout Australia do not consider the term “Aboriginal” as an appropriate term to
describe their community members, for uniformity in terminology and as an
Aboriginal researcher, I use the term “Aboriginal” when referring to Australia’s First
Nations Peoples. I would also like to state that as an Aboriginal researcher from the
far north coast of New South Wales, Bundjalung Nation, (see Appendices A and B)
the term “Koori” or “Koorie” is generally more appropriately used and accepted
when referring to the Aboriginal people from within my own community and tribal
regions, where this research was carried out.
It is also important to highlight that this research draws on the perspectives and
experiences of young Aboriginal men, aged from 17–27 years, from a Bundjalung
community. Perspectives and experiences were also sought from Bundjalung
community Elders and community members from the Narlumdarlum area, with the
aim of representing the interests of the greater community. However, the views
expressed by participants may not represent the general viewpoint of all Aboriginal
community members living throughout the target region.
It must also be highlighted that certain information obtained from participants
involved in the study could not be shared in this thesis due to cultural
appropriateness. Nakata (2002) supports this in relation to the sharing of Indigenous
knowledges, stating that when conducting research, there are rules regarding a level
of secrecy and sacredness that must be maintained.
xviii Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
A number of terms are used interchangeably with Indigenous knowledges, such
as: “local knowledge, traditional knowledge, Indigenous knowledge, traditional
environmental or ecological knowledge, or Indigenous technical knowledge”
(Nakata, 2002, p. 3).
Some names of places, venues and people have been replaced with
pseudonyms to maintain a level of privacy and discretion.
Preamble 1
Preamble
My great-grandmother Kathleen Kelly, a Gumbaynggir Nation woman, was
born and raised on Bowraville Aboriginal Mission on the far north coast of New
South Wales. Bowraville, locally known as “Bowra”, derives from the Gumbaynggir
place name Bawrrung. My grandmother, Iris May Kelly, and my grandfather, Earl
Skinner, as well as my parents, were raised in the Bundjalung and Gumbaynggir
regions surrounding the Jadalmany River on the far north coast of northern New
South Wales. Like my grandparents and my parents, I grew up on the far north coast
of New South Wales, and call the Bundjalung region home. I am from the
Bundjalung Nation. It is the place where the majority of my relatives still reside
today and where I continue to frequently visit to reaffirm my identity and learn to be
a Bundjalung man.
As a member of the Bundjalung Nation and as an Aboriginal man living in
Australia, I was taught both Bundjalung and Western knowledges, by the banks of
the Jadalmany River for the former and in public schools, TAFE, and university for
the latter. In this preamble, I will describe these two experiences and how they have
affected me so that I can be known to the reader and my thesis understood. I will also
draw implications for the thesis from the two perspectives that emerge from these
experiences.
BUNDJALUNG YANHA – BUNDJALUNG WAY/LEARNING
Bundjalung Yanha is exceptionally unique and highly complex. It is deeply
embedded within Bundjalung land and the stories of the Bundjalung Nation. It is
built around understanding how the ancestors of the Bundjalung descendants lived
2 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
and their ways of operating. It continues to influence and pave the way for future
generations to live by today because its stories and yarns of the past remain closely
linked and relevant to the lives of present Bundjalung Australians (Mr Lyle Gardner
and Mr Wally Williams, personal communication, July 16, 2010).
As described by Lloyd and Norrie (2004), Bundjalung knowledge derives from
the particular context of the Bundjalung region and focuses on what Bundjalung
people know to be true about the land. It is derived from “practical experience as
well as the scripts generated by their religion and ceremonial training” which is
passed down through the generations (Lloyd & Norrie, 2004, p. 102). As a young
boy, when I was taken to the river at Jadalmany to fish by the older men in my
community, I was always told by them that our ancestors once fished in the same
place. The knowledges that the older men held about fishing and the water systems
had been passed down. When I learnt the Bundjalung meanings of words, I was told
that these were the words that our ancestors used to describe the environment that I
would see around me, and it was this language that was used by our ancestors to
communicate with other members of their tribe which was used widely throughout
the region. When I sat by the river banks of Jadalmany River and listened to the
stories of the past and to teachings, I learnt that our ancestors sat in the exact same
places that I sat and listened to the same stories and teachings. The Indigenous
knowledges that are embedded in these stories are linked to a strong connectivity to
country and are valued because they provide connection to the world for Bundjalung
people.
Preamble 3
LEARNING PLACES
My experiences of Bundjalung learning took place predominantly by the banks
of the Jadalmany River. For my family, my extended family and for many Koori
people who reside along the regions that surround the Jadalmany River, it serves as
much more than a place of recreation, a fishing spot or a place to have a scenic
picnic. For us, and for many of the Koori people that inhabit the regions along the
Jadalmany River, it holds great significance. It is a border where several Aboriginal
Nations meet including the Bundjalung, Gumbaynggir, and Yaegl Nations
(Langford-Gnibi, 1999, p. 7). Several Aboriginal communities are currently situated
along the Jadalmany River such as Ngaru Village, Baryulgil, Malabugilmah, Muli
Muli, Hillcrest, and Jubullum. Many of my family and extended family live in these
places along the Jadalmany River today.
Regions along the Jadalmany River have traditionally been, and still are,
significant places of learning. These regions are enormously significant for sharing,
distributing, and embedding knowledges from one Bundjalung person to another. It
is where our realities are expressed and where we learn about the beliefs, the cultural
factors that shape our lives and the wisdom of our Elders, family and Bundjalung
kin. It is the Elders who are the knowledge holders.
Members of my family and extended family, my father, uncles, brothers,
cousins and my grandfather would take me as a young boy along the banks of the
Jadalmany River to a place where I listened to the stories of my people from the past
and learnt about the ways things were done in the time before me and what was
expected of me as a young man in the future. These stories form part of the identity
4 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
for Bundjalung people as they provide connection to the world. They have shaped
who I am today.
We fished along the river and I learnt about the land and the importance of
respecting the land. It is a great provider for the Bundjalung people. I also learnt that
the waters that run throughout the local region could be a destructive force. For
example, when the Jadalmany River floods in particular places it demolishes
everything in its path, so a respect and a valuing for the lands and waters were
fostered as a deep sense of connection to the land was cultivated.
As a young boy I vividly remember being taught how and where to hunt along
the Jadalmany River. I was shown fishing techniques passed down from previous
generations. I learnt about places along the river and times of the day that were safe
and unsafe to fish and swim. This knowledge was passed down from the older to the
younger men in the community. Certain places along the river are regarded as sacred
places, where members of my community come for deep thinking and reflection and
at certain times are forbidden to visit. These places also serve as meeting points
particularly at times such as funerals. The lands along the Jadalmany River have
been, and always will be, my people’s place of belonging, a place where learning
transpires and is disseminated and where I learn about the practices of the
Bundjalung community and our cultural way of life.
Camp Bundjalung
Camp Bundjalung was a camp where young Koori boys from the far north
coast of New South Wales were brought together and given an opportunity to learn
more about Bundjalung ways of knowing, being, and doing. It was also a platform
for the boys to be empowered and encouraged by Aboriginal Elders and respected
Preamble 5
older men within the local community. The camp originated from local Indigenous
Elders and community members identifying a need to address some of the key issues
that were affecting young Indigenous men in the local community such as an under-
representation of men completing secondary schooling, a lack of men accessing
tertiary education and issues around high unemployment for men living in the local
area. Indigenous Elders and community members used Camp Bundjalung as a means
to address these critical factors that were inhibiting Bundjalung young men.
Up to 60 Koori boys aged between 13 and 18 years could attend the camp at
any one time. Lessons taught on the camp by community Elders focused on what it
means to be an Aboriginal man and emphasised that this should mean that we are
proud, positive, confident and strong. A standout of the camp was the sense of belief
that was instilled and the positive convictions this left within the young Koori boys
as they left the camp. “Camp Bundjalung was not only about providing opportunities
for sharing of cultural knowledges but a major focus was on providing and
encouraging the young Koori youth with direction and opportunities to achieve
success in higher education and careers.” (Mr Paul Duncan, previous facilitator of
Camp Bundjalung, personal communication, July 25, 2010).
Bundjalung Elders and respected men in the community shared how we
Bundjalung people possess an ability to operate successfully in two worlds, both the
Indigenous ways of operating and in the Western world through Western ways of
operating. Elders at the camp also spoke to the young men about some of the things
that are required to be successful in the world and told us that it started with
believing in yourself and not being afraid to tackle new and difficult challenges that
would be set before us. There was a strong emphasis placed on the young men about
knowing who you were and where you came from, and many stories were told about
6 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
how we came from a strong line of descendants who took care of the region and their
families and that is something we should all be very proud of and strive for. The
Elders also told us that to be successful in life we needed to think carefully about
who we surrounded ourselves with and highlighted that just because members of
your family may drink too much or use drugs, that didn’t give us the excuse to do the
same. Finally, they told us to look around at each other, our peers at the camp and
then they told us that we needed to help each other become successful and that we
had a responsibility to each other and not to leave others behind.
It was at the camp that many stereotypes were also challenged and I was first
told that it was possible to gain a great job, study in any educational course you
desired and maintain a strong sense of Aboriginal culture and way of life. This was
the first time that I was ever told, and began to believe, that I could operate
successfully in both worlds as I had grown up not seeing this first hand. The
influence that the Elders and respected men in the community had amongst the
young boys at the camp was very powerful.
Elders would encourage participants to start aiming high in terms of education
and employment. Because of their status in the community, there was a sense of
belief that great achievements were now possible amongst the young men. The
Elders also emphasised that we didn’t need to solely focus all of our energy on our
athletic ability to make it in life. We already all knew that a career as a professional
footballer was possible and our local sporting stars were frequently talked about
amongst my peers and praised, but we were now encouraged to start thinking outside
the box. We were told that we didn’t need more professional footballers, what we
now needed more than ever was more Aboriginal doctors, lawyers, teachers and
other professionals, and this would inspire the next generation of Koori men to
Preamble 7
achieve great things. Our Elders told us that as young Koori men we should start
thinking seriously about the type of jobs and studies we wanted to pursue, and not to
limit ourselves as we now had an abundance of opportunities available to us that they
themselves had never had, but had fought hard for us to have.
After hearing these words from our community Elders there was a real sense of
excitement and enthusiasm amongst my peers. Their words held so much more
weight and reinforced a stronger belief than the advice we had received from our
school teachers or guidance officers. It was also the first time that many of us were
ever told that we were role models in our community and reminded us that our young
brothers and cousins were watching and following us and the expectations that came
with this responsibility. We knew it was important to start taking their advice
seriously. We realised we were in a transitioning space.
LEARNING PRACTICES
Mudrooroo Narogin (1995) describes the education process in Indigenous
communities as being a “system in which knowledge is passed from the experience
and maturity of Elders and adults to young people and children” (p. 116); this was
how I remember knowledges being disseminated throughout my growing up in the
Bundjalung region. This knowledge that is shared by Elders and older men of my
community is highly regarded and is generally valued and embraced by members of
the Indigenous community. It is anticipated that this knowledge will continue to be
passed down in a similar fashion.
Looking back, the Bundjalung learning that I experienced was made up of
multifaceted and multidimensional elements that carry great significance for the
people of the Bundjalung Nation. Some of these elements included dance,
8 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
storytelling, songs, teaching of traditional language, hunting, fishing, sacred rituals
and men’s business to name a few. Through these elements, I learnt about how to be
strong, proud and confident of who I was and who I was becoming.
At the age of thirteen my father accepted a job transfer to a neighbouring town
in Narlumdarlum. I realised then that my learning to date had been unique. I was
born in Narlumdarlum and when I was introduced to my extended family there for
the first time I had to call my new family, mum and dad, aunt and uncle. I soon came
to the realisation that culturally, some things were done differently in Narlumdarlum
than in my hometown of Garnatalon. Narlumdarlum had a larger Aboriginal
community and had many different as well as similar ways of being and knowing.
WESTERN LEARNING
During my growing years, my places of learning were very much in two
contexts. One learning environment was the all too familiar school-based learning
that took place from Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm, the Western school classroom.
The other learning environment, experienced outside the classroom, the Bundjalung
learning, was different in many ways, not confined to a set of key learning areas, a
weekly timetable or assessed according to outcomes.
One of the clear distinctions that I faced between Bundjalung and Western
learning was a sense of belonging, contextualisation and relatedness within the
educational content that was in Bundjalung learning. Further, there was often conflict
between what I knew of Aboriginal culture and knowledges that was being taught
outside the classroom and what was being taught in the classroom. Nakata (2002)
describes the issues surrounding the teaching of Indigenous knowledges as a
controversial one because it can mean “different things in different places to different
Preamble 9
people” (p. 3). Nakata (2002) further adds that when it comes to Indigenous
knowledges, contradictions may follow due to a number of varying factors such as
what constitutes as “Indigenous knowledge, whose interests are really being served
in the dissemination of this knowledge and because of the disjointedness and
specialisation of Indigenous knowledge, segments of this knowledge may be used
inappropriately” (p. 3) to best fit with a particular interest or discipline. Moreton-
Robinson and Walter (2010, p. 1) support the problematic area that often surrounds
Indigenous knowledges by highlighting that this is largely due to Indigenous
knowledges usually being misrepresented and informed by “Western traditions” and
conceived and interpreted by “non-Indigenous researchers” as Indigenous history,
culture and development that is usually informed by non-Indigenous interpretative
frameworks.
The learning I experienced in the classroom that focused on Aboriginal culture
and knowledges was predominantly from a Western framing. It was always taught by
non-Indigenous teachers who used a textbook to relay a message that Aboriginal
culture and knowledge was something that existed long ago as a somewhat ancient,
foreign way of life that was long gone. Nakata (2007) highlights that Indigenous
culture and way of living has always been something of the present, although this
knowledge, thinking and understanding is often described as an artefact of the past
which has often been dominated by Western accounts. The knowledges that have
been passed down through stories, dance and contemporary cultural practices speak
in ways that may not be understood or are told in ways that may not satisfy the
discipline of dominant understandings and practices or meet the standards of
historical ‘truth’ imposed by Western historians. Nakata (2007) further adds that
Indigenous culture and knowledge is continuing and the untold side of Indigenous
10 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
history and culture tells a perspective of history that does not coincide with the
discipline of history.
Clearly this learning experience was at odds with the relevant and alive
learning I had experienced as a young Bundjalung person. Outside the classroom my
peers and I were experiencing the richness of a present, active and living culture.
Our experiences of both worlds presented a confusing intersection of ideas.
This confusion led to many of my Koori classmates and me questioning our identity
because it didn’t ‘fit’ with the world that was taught from books in the classroom.
Who were we and how were we to live and exist in both worlds when one was taught
from a book and not a living person?
HIGH SCHOOL
During my senior years of high school, I was fortunate to be awarded an
education bursary to attend a prominent catholic all-boys college in south-eastern
Sydney. I was one of three Aboriginal students who were also from the country, out
of a total school population of almost one thousand male students. Moving from the
country to the ‘big smoke’ was certainly a major culture shock and being away from
family, my home community and way of life was extremely challenging. To get
through my final years at high school in this foreign place I had to quickly learn to
adjust and adapt to my new surroundings. I do not believe this would have been
possible if it were not for the experiences I had received at Camp Bundjalung and the
support and belief from my community to take on and achieve new challenges.
It became quite clear early on that the Indigenous ways of learning and the
knowledges that encompassed such a major part of my growing up in the country
Preamble 11
held little value in my new homogeneous education environment. With no cultural
celebrations outside of the school’s traditions, there was almost an unwritten rule that
spoke to students to conform to the school’s culture and catholic ethos and that our
own cultural practices and ways of operating were best left for when we ventured
outside the school gates at 3pm, when students returned home for the day or in my
case when I travelled on a train, on a 10-hour journey back to the country in the
school holidays.
As I looked forward to NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day
Observance Committee) Week, a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
cultures which was widely popular in my former schools and throughout my home
community in the country, I was left disappointed when the only mention of this
cultural festivity was a minor reference in small print on the back page of the
school’s newsletter. Where did I belong?
Numerous times I contemplated leaving high school to go back and live in the
country, something that I had witnessed many times before with other members of
my family when given an opportunity outside of my community, but I continued
living in Sydney and completed Year 11 and 12. One of the major factors that drove
me to complete high school were the words of encouragement from my family and
wisdom passed on from my community Elders, both at Camp Bundjalung and during
visits back to my home community in school holidays. I remember telling them that
nobody at my new school knew of anything about Bundjalung Yanha (Bundjalung
Way) and they would tell me to remain steadfast, that I should stand proud, that it
was my job to inform members of my new school about our unique culture and that I
should always remember that the knowledges I possessed would be my strength and
not an impediment. I also remember telling them that my new school did not
12 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
celebrate NAIDOC Week; there were only three of us Koori boys at the school and I
was finding living in Sydney and being away from home very difficult. They
reminded me that all of this did not change who I was and as a Bundjalung man we
were by nature survivors and had an innate ability to adapt, persevere and operate in
both worlds. Their words of encouragement and insight through the challenging
times were a major factor in my decision to stay on and complete high school.
After completing high school in Sydney, I returned to my home community on
the far north coast of New South Wales to mixed responses. Many of my community
members were extremely happy that I was back home after being away for such a
long time and proud that I had graduated from a prominent high school, while others
could not understand or see the significance of my achievement and suggested
educational attainment was a waste of time. While it was a great feeling being
acknowledged by family and peers for what I had achieved, I couldn’t help but notice
that members of my family and my community returning home from jail or from
playing rugby league in various competitions in Brisbane and Sydney at a similar
time were receiving a warmer welcome than the ones returning home with
educational accomplishments.
TERTIARY EDUCATION
In order to partake in tertiary education I made a decision to relocate. Like
other Koori people living throughout the region, I moved to an area where there was
better access to, and support for, tertiary education. I moved to Brisbane to
commence tertiary studies, first at TAFE and then at university. At both of these
educational places of learning I experienced both support and challenges as an
Indigenous tertiary student. The support that I received came in various forms that I
Preamble 13
am extremely appreciative of. These included tutorial assistance, support through the
Indigenous support centres at TAFE and at the university I attended, financial aid for
textbooks and, most of all, witnessing, for the first time in my life, Indigenous
academics and staff. Although there have only been a few in the sea of university
life, the support of these people has been immense. Having the opportunity to access
and hear from them personally has proved to be extremely encouraging and added a
realisation that success in tertiary studies is attainable. The support mechanisms that
have been provided through these institutions have been a contributing factor in my
educational success. My tertiary educational journey is still continuing.
Challenges at tertiary education
Within these places of learning a dominant culture is evident. There is a lack of
visibility of Indigenous culture on campus and a lack of Indigenous knowledges.
Whilst studying internally at both of these educational institutions as a student, the
dominant culture has contributed to numerous challenges that I and others from my
community have faced as a student and as an Aboriginal person. Some of these
challenges have left feelings of isolation, confrontation with having to engage with a
range of cultural differences, and being overwhelmed by unfamiliar educational
approaches and practices with little room for negotiation on learning and teaching
methods. Indigenous tertiary students are automatically expected to adopt and
comply with all of the institution’s expectations and requirements regardless of the
cultural differences that may be present. Hong and Cousins (2003, p. 1302) support
this, stating that while Indigenous students may feel “culturally isolated and treated
differently on the basis of their cultural background” it is expected that these students
meet “university culture” as opposed to some middle ground being reached.
14 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Whilst I have read and am familiar with the institution’s aims and objectives to
broaden access, retention and successful outcomes for Indigenous students, develop
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources and curricula, and make Indigenous
people welcome, outside of the Indigenous support centres and NAIDOC Week
celebrations, little has been experienced to suggest that the aims and objectives are
being widely implemented and achieved.
Nakata (1998, p. 24) points out that educating oneself in Western knowledge
for Indigenous people has also meant “running the risk of blindly taking on the
knowledges and practices that have been served to us in a subjugated position”.
Nakata says that educating ourselves through tertiary education to overcome the
lesser position brings the risk of submerging or erasing those elements of the
lifeworlds that define Indigenous people as a distinct group.
My experiences at university have confirmed for me that I am able to achieve
as my Elders taught me during my earlier years at Camp Bundjalung. My task then is
not simply to pass through university to “get” another degree. It is to learn and know
my position as a Bundjalung person as well as learn and know how I am positioned
by the knowledges and practices of a Western institution. Only then can I argue my
position as I understand it in its totality, and not from the confines of a Western
knowledge system.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THESIS
I am a product of two learnings, Bundjalung and Western. Therefore my thesis
has two perspectives, the Bundjalung approach to Indigenous knowledges, and the
traditional Western academic approach for a university thesis. This has the following
implications:
Preamble 15
The thesis comprises two journeys: through the study as in a typical thesis;
and through my reflections on the study from Bundjalung knowledges.
The thesis necessarily represents a period of growth in my understanding
of how to relate the two perspectives. Therefore my ideas change
throughout the thesis as I reflect on what I am doing from both
perspectives.
The thesis references ideas and perspectives from Bundjalung Elders and
community members that are orally disseminated and assume equal
respect and credibility as with written work from published sources.
The thesis is also unique in that it has an Indigenous perspective that is
Bundjalung.
Chapter 1: Introduction 17
Chapter 1: Introduction
Indigenous young men are significantly underrepresented at all levels of
education particularly in the tertiary context (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS],
2011). This study examines the cultural factors that impact on young Bundjalung
men’s opportunities to transition into tertiary education. Its central concern is to
explicate, from their accounts of their experiences, the cultural factors they have
expressed that facilitate or hinder effective transitions into the tertiary education
context. To do this, the study draws on the accounts of nine young men, aged
between 17 and 27 years, who describe their experiences in formal education, along
with the accounts of two community Elders and three community members. The
accounts illustrate the ways in which the young people identify themselves as
participants in the experience of transitioning.
This chapter outlines the background and context of the research (section 1.1)
and the research questions (section 1.2). Section 1.3 briefly describes the research
design and section 1.4 outlines the significance and scope of this research. Finally,
section 1.5 includes an outline of the remaining chapters of the thesis.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
This study sought the perspectives of a range of Bundjalung community
members from a range of ages, and social positions to gain their insights about
Bundjalung Yanha (Bundjalung Way). Bundjalung Elders were consulted regarding
the intentions and practices of the study before the research commenced and they
will be informed of the project findings once the study is complete. As the project is
community based it relies upon and validates the community’s own definitions. As
18 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
such, it is informed by the society at a community level, and seeks to demonstrate
benefit to the community, making a positive difference in the lives of the Bundjalung
young people, in particular, Bundjalung young men.
1.1.1 Current concern
The overall aim of this thesis is to reflect critically on the cultural factors
expressed by participants as affecting tertiary education access for young Bundjalung
men in the town of Narlumdarlum and surrounding area. It seeks to use the young
men’s accounts of their experiences, as well as the accounts of Indigenous Elders and
community members, to explain the cultural factors that assist or impede effective
transition into the tertiary context. By exploring local Indigenous knowledges and
learning – Bundjalung Way/Learning – from the Bundjalung region and its
community members, recommendations can be made that highlight the cultural
factors impacting on opportunities to transition into tertiary education for young
Bundjalung men.
There is limited literature and research focusing on the Bundjalung region of
the far north coast of New South Wales that centres around Indigenous community
members’ perspectives and insights, in particular, Indigenous men’s views on best
practice for better supporting, equipping and encouraging their community members
to transition into tertiary education. This study provides understandings of the
cultural factors that impact on young men’s educational opportunities to transition
into tertiary education.
While this study is framed within this debate, it cannot resolve the broader
issues involved. Rather, this study seeks to illuminate some of the cultural factors
through the accounts of the participants and their experiences of what impacts on
Chapter 1: Introduction 19
their transitions from secondary school and unemployment into tertiary education. A
brief discussion of transition follows.
1.1.2 Transition
In this study, transition is referred to as the journey of Indigenous young men
from high school and/or unemployment or work to taking on and adapting to tertiary
expectations (Shu-Hui & Nguyen, 2011). Brick (2009) emphasises that tertiary
institutions are complex places of learning with a distinctive culture, where new
students face several challenges at the early stages to acclimatise themselves with a
new ethnicity. Woodin and Burke (2007) further highlight concerns to new students
from “non-traditional” backgrounds such as students from lower socio-economic
groups and Indigenous men, who have been identified as those “least likely to enter
higher education” (p. 119). Devlin (2009) highlights some of the factors new
students are confronted with in the transition, including adapting to tertiary learning
systems which are disparate to those of high school, learning in an independent
manner and familiarising themselves with the supportive mediums used by
institutions such as online lecture notes and computer programs. Chester et al. (2009,
p. 26) suggest that a “dominant discourse constructs Indigenous secondary school
students” as more likely to leave school prematurely and unlikely to take up higher
education, thereby shaping “tertiary transition experiences for the majority of
Indigenous students, regardless of their capabilities and aspirations”. As the
Australian Government Review of Australian Higher Education – Final Report
(Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations [DEEWR], 2008,
p. 32) states, Indigenous students suffer high levels of social exclusion from
transitioning into higher education. Such exclusion impacts on how they identify
20 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
themselves as learners who have the capacity for achievement in higher education. A
discussion of identity and how it is understood in this study follows.
1.1.3 Identity
Identity is described in this study as who and what individuals believe they are
in a particular social context, or in this case in relation to their community, what they
do as a consequence and how they construe what they do (Ellemers, Spears &
Droosje, 2002). Identity has been described as key to one’s sense of self and is
imperative to an individual’s self-esteem which directly relates to what an individual
views as possible to achieve (Kickett-Tucker & Coffin, 2011). Identity in this study
is largely centred on how the young Indigenous men from the Bundjalung region
perceive themselves in relation to their own identity constructs, and how this affects
attitudes and beliefs concerning their perceived ability and limitations towards
tertiary education attainment. Taylor (2003, pp. 89-90) states that historically, the
construction of Aboriginal identity has been largely framed by non-Indigenous
people and associated with a discourse “packed with colonial stereotypes, urban
myths, redneck attitudes and romantic traditionalisms” which has left modern
attitudes relating to Aboriginality and Aboriginal identity resonating strong
sentiments of the past. This may have negative connotations for Indigenous peoples
and educational achievements. As Sarra (2003) points out, it is imperative that in
order for Indigenous students to achieve educational success they must believe they
can achieve success as well as any other student.
Understandings of identity and transition allow for an examination of the
cultural factors that impact on the educational opportunities of young Indigenous
men. Together, these understandings provide a way to investigate how young
Chapter 1: Introduction 21
Indigenous men locate themselves in discourses relating to their life and educational
experiences. The research questions guiding the study follow.
1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study seeks to examine the cultural factors that impact on the transitional
experiences of young Bundjalung men into tertiary education. Its central concern is
to identify those factors that promote and/or inhibit effective access and transitions
into that context. To do this, the following research questions guided the research:
1. How can this study contribute to understandings of the cultural factors that
impact on the transitional experiences and access to tertiary education for
young Bundjalung men?
2. What cultural factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective transitions can
be traced in the literature relating to young Indigenous men?
3. What cultural factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective transitions can
be traced in the accounts of young Bundjalung men and how do they relate
to those previously traced in the literature?
These questions are addressed in the following chapters. The first question
focuses on how understandings of the cultural factors may contribute to
understandings of the issues for young Indigenous men transitioning into tertiary
education. The second question examines the cultural factors facilitating or hindering
transitional experiences of Indigenous men that can be identified in the literature.
This examination leads to the third question which investigates the cultural factors as
traced in the accounts of the young men and considers how they relate to those
practices identified in the literature and research.
22 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
From these insights, an alternative and more effective understanding of the
cultural factors impacting on the transitional experiences for young Indigenous men,
such as those in this study, can be developed.
Thus far, the background and research problem of this thesis have been
presented. The importance of understanding the cultural factors that impact on the
transitional experiences of young Indigenous men has been demonstrated and the
research questions that were developed because of these concerns have been stated.
Next, how the research questions were addressed is outlined, and a brief overview of
the design of the study is presented.
1.3 RESEARCH DESIGN
Nine young Bundjalung men who were transitioning from secondary school
and/or unemployment into tertiary education were invited to participate in yarning
circles and semi-structured interviews. Through yarning and interviews they were
invited to talk about their experiences to gain their perspectives of, and insights into,
these transition processes. The study also draws on the insights and perspectives of
two Indigenous community Elders and three community members. They were invited
to participate in semi-structured interviews to provide their interpretations and
perspectives of the cultural factors that they perceive inhibit or facilitate tertiary
access for the young men living in their community. The location was the far north
coast of New South Wales where there are high populations of Indigenous people.
According to the Narlumdarlum City Council (2008), Narlumdarlum’s Indigenous
population in 2008 was 3.9% (see appendix C), which is significantly higher than the
New South Wales state average of 2.2% Indigenous people (Australian Bureau of
Statistics [ABS], 2010a).
Chapter 1: Introduction 23
Numerous moral, epistemological and methodological problematic
implications are associated with research undertaken within the Indigenous field
(Smith, 1999). The research methods used in this research were intended to allow the
voices, perspectives and insights of the Indigenous young men, Indigenous Elders
and community members from the Bundjalung region to be heard and valued.
As an Indigenous researcher from the Bundjalung Nation, the researcher has
wide access to the area as well as direct access to Indigenous Elders, community
members and the local Aboriginal Lands Council where the research took place. The
researcher was able to gain an inside perspective and draw participants’ viewpoints
and perspectives that would not otherwise have been possible (Deyhle & McKinley-
Brayboy, 2000). This ensured that this research on Indigenous issues and involving
Indigenous peoples was carried out in a respectful, ethical, correct, sympathetic,
useful and beneficial manner, seeking the view and benefits for the Indigenous
peoples involved (Porsanger, 2004; Rigney, 1997; Smith, 1999).
The study draws on Rigney’s (1997) Indigenist research methods and Nakata’s
(2007) version of Indigenous Standpoint Theory and notion of the cultural interface
with which to undertake the research task. This framework provides a lens through
which powerful insights into the participants’ experiences of cultural factors
impacting on transitioning can be gained. As far as can be ascertained, this
application has not previously been applied to the perspectives of the Bundjalung
Nation. Insofar as it opens up understandings of the processes underlying young
people’s success or failure with transitioning into tertiary education, it provides a
further justification for this study. It also provides the conceptual basis for the
research questions around which this study is framed. Chapter 3 describes this
application in detail; however, an initial overview is provided below.
24 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Indigenous Standpoint Theory is described as a form of analysis that is both a
“discursive construction and an intellectual device to persuade others and evaluate
what might not have been a focus of attention by others” (Nakata, 2007, p. 214). As a
research stance, Indigenous Standpoint Theory emphasises the importance of
considering the everyday experiences of Indigenous peoples when conducting
research and highlighting the position of Indigenous peoples in order to contribute
meaningful knowledge on the focus area – in this case, the cultural factors impacting
on transitional experiences of young Bundjalung men, where the standpoint/position
refers to “locatedness with respect to social relations” (Day, Nakata, & Howells,
2008, p. 127). The application of Indigenous Standpoint Theory in this study is
significant because it provides a way to investigate how the participants locate
themselves in their discourses, relating to their participating in such experiences.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE
This study’s significance is twofold. It lies in the critical importance of the
issue it addresses, young Bundjalung men transitioning into tertiary education, and
the application of Indigenous Standpoint Theory to enable a different and more
effective understanding of the significance of the cultural factors that impact on the
transitioning process. The study cannot claim generalisability across other
populations of young Indigenous men because of the small, select sample of young
men drawn upon. However, by highlighting these accounts of their experiences, it
draws attention to a different perspective on transitioning.
Research that centres on Indigenous students transitioning into tertiary
education is significant because the number of Indigenous people, in particular
Indigenous men, participating in education at this level remains significantly lower
Chapter 1: Introduction 25
than their non-Indigenous counterparts (ABS, 2011; Bain, 2011). According to the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010b), Indigenous people are much less likely to
have a non-school qualification (a non-school qualification referring to a
qualification obtained through the successful completion of vocational education and
training and/or higher education at universities), compared with non-Indigenous
people (26% compared to 47% respectively).
The underrepresentation of Indigenous people in tertiary education is a national
issue (Trudgett, 2009). As highlighted in the Preamble, this underrepresentation has
been identified as an area of concern amongst members of the Bundjalung
community, in particular by Indigenous community Elders, which has been regularly
voiced at meetings, held at the Narlumdarlum local Aboriginal Lands Council (Mrs
Tina King, personal communication, n.d.). Building capacity within Aboriginal
people can be achieved if tertiary institutions recognise and implement more
culturally appropriate pathways, by having a greater understanding of the cultural
factors that promote and/or inhibit tertiary access for Indigenous people, which may
generate improved attendance and outcomes. According to the report Overcoming
Indigenous Disadvantage (Steering Committee for the Review of Government
Service Provision [SCRGSP], 2009) increased numbers of Indigenous students
within tertiary courses can facilitate greater life chances for Aboriginal people,
reduce welfare dependence and have positive impacts on Australia’s social and
economic fabric. These aspects may have trans-generational and emancipatory
effects. That is, individuals who complete tertiary education are more likely to have
increased opportunities as well as to encourage their own children and peers to do the
same so that the benefits flow from one generation to another (SCRGSP, 2009). Such
opportunities may work to eliminate some of the present circumstances affecting
26 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
some Indigenous youth, including incidents of domestic violence and non-domestic
related violence, break and enter, drug trafficking and dealing and drug possession,
where high numbers of incidences have been reported on the far north coast of New
South Wales from Tweed Heads to Coffs Harbour (Narlumdarlum City Council,
2010; New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2010).
As mentioned previously, there has been a scarcity of literature and research
found which examines the transition of Indigenous men into the tertiary context. This
research addresses gaps in this literature by focusing on the transitioning experiences
of young Bundjalung men from the Bundjalung region, with a focus on the cultural
factors that inhibit and/or promote access to tertiary education. This study offers a
greater insight for community members and tertiary institutions located throughout
the focused region to challenge current approaches for improved tertiary access and
outcomes in the future for Indigenous men.
1.5 THESIS OUTLINE
As noted previously, this study examines nine young men’s accounts of their
lived experiences and the accounts of three community members and two community
Elders from the Bundjalung Nation. Their accounts of their experiences related to
education are of particular interest in this study. This chapter has discussed the
background to the research and identified the research context. A brief section on
transition and identity has been included to indicate the central concern of the study.
The purposes and research questions of the study have been stated, a brief summary
of the research design has been included, and the significance and scope of the
research have been outlined.
Chapter 1: Introduction 27
Chapter 2 reviews the pertinent literature relevant to the Australian Indigenous
context and education. It attempts to gain a greater insight from both Indigenous and
non-Indigenous voices that emerge from the literature. Literature relating to the
historical background of education and Australia’s Indigenous peoples, both pre- and
post-colonisation, will be critically reviewed. This chapter also highlights how the
recent positioning of Indigenous tertiary achievement outcomes have been and
continue to be affected by past events. It reviews factors suggested in the literature
that inhibit and/or promote participation of Indigenous people in tertiary education.
Further, it concludes by documenting effective practices suggested in the literature to
improve tertiary education transitions for Indigenous people to allow for improved
outcomes.
Chapter 3 outlines the conceptual design of the study. It highlights the
Indigenous research methods that will be drawn upon to support the research. This
research uses an Indigenous research framework drawing on Rigney’s Indigenist
research design and using Rigney’s (1997) three fundamental and interrelated
principles: resistance, political integrity and privileging Indigenous voices; and
Nakata’s (2007) Indigenous Standpoint Theory and the cultural interface. This
chapter illustrates the research methods used for analysis, drawing on the use of
restorying and retelling (Creswell, 2005). It also highlights the stages for the research
process in further detail and details the data instruments, participants and questions
that were used to guide the research.
Chapter 4 interprets participants’ interview responses and responds to the third
research question. It applies the literature and methodological framework developed
in Chapter 3 to the participants’ interview responses and describes the cultural
factors related to the transitioning experiences of young Bundjalung men.
28 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Chapter 5 addresses the first, overarching research question. It brings together
the findings from the accounts to describe the cultural factors and their impact or
otherwise on the transitional experiences of young Indigenous men. Limitations to
the study are also considered. Finally, recommendations are provided and directions
for future research are offered.
In the next chapter, the literature is critically reviewed as it relates to the study.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 29
Chapter 2: Literature Review
This study argues that Indigenous young men are significantly under-represented at
all levels of education, particularly in tertiary education. It focuses on the
transitioning experiences of young Bundjalung men from one community on the
north coast of northern New South Wales into the tertiary context, drawing on nine
young men’s accounts of their transitioning experiences to formal education. They
are aged between 17 and 27 years and are at various stages of accessing and
transitioning; that is, from expressing a desire and want to study but unsure of the
process on how to get started, to recently completing a bachelor degree at university.
Their accounts, along with supporting accounts from Indigenous Elders and
Indigenous community members, are examined in an attempt to give voice to
previously voiceless, young Indigenous men from a Bundjalung community. The
study seeks to highlight and explore the cultural factors that are barriers or enablers
to effectively transitioning into the tertiary education context by drawing on the real
life experiences and the perspectives of the young Indigenous men. This chapter
looks critically at relevant literature and research to address the first and second
research questions:
1. How can this study contribute to understandings of the cultural factors that
impact on the transitional experiences and access to tertiary education for
young Bundjalung men?
2. What cultural factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective transitions can be
traced in the literature relating to young Indigenous men?
30 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
The chapter examines and critically assesses the assumptions and practices of
tertiary education with particular attention to their consequences for Australia’s
Indigenous peoples. These assumptions and practices are reviewed and compared
and the arguments and evidence for and against them are considered. This chapter
also examines Australia’s historical events that have taken place since colonisation,
and which have greatly impacted on the educational circumstances for Indigenous
peoples and their current educational positioning. The chapter concludes by
identifying some of the recommendations and gaps in the research literature.
Whilst this chapter provides this review, certain caveats are appropriate, within
the compass of this study. It is not possible to provide a comprehensive review of all
the assumptions and cultural factors underpinning Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples’ experiences in tertiary education. Therefore, this review
acknowledges a range of assumptions and cultural factors that may be comprehended
in varying degrees.
2.1 CURRENT ISSUES AND CONCERNS
Educational achievement and performance for Indigenous Australians remains
below that of their non-Indigenous counterparts at all levels of education in Australia
and remains one of the country’s most perplex and intractable problems in real need
of addressing (ABS, 2010a; Buckskin, 2008; Lowe, 2011). At a tertiary level
Indigenous people are greatly underrepresented compared to their occurrence in the
general population, participating at considerably lower levels of education than that
of non-Indigenous people (Anderson, 2011; ABS, 2010a; Trudgett, 2009).
Chapter 2: Literature Review 31
2.1.1 Indigenous men
Underrepresentation is particularly evident for Indigenous young men
participating in tertiary education. Woodin and Burke (2007) identify this group as
“least likely to enter higher education” (p. 119). The Australian Bureau of Statistics
(2011) further states that among those with a non-school qualification, Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander women are more likely than men to hold a Bachelor degree
or above (19% compared with 14%) or an Advanced Diploma/Diploma (17%
compared with 11%). As this particular gender sub-group, men have been identified
in the literature as having associated issues attached to it and limited literature has
emerged that focuses on Indigenous men and tertiary educational achievement from
the focus region of the study, it seems fitting that this group be a focus of this study.
Tsey, Patterson, Whiteside, Baird, and Baird (2002) further highlight that when
Indigenous men are involved in a research context it may be appropriate for men to
participate in the developing of interviewing techniques and the interviewing process
in order to maintain culturally appropriate and respectful dialogue, as they will be
more inclined to share more openly with other males.
The Review of Australian Higher Education (DEEWR, 2008, p. 27) indicates
that the most underrepresented groups in tertiary education are those from “remote
parts of Australia, Indigenous students, those from low-socio economic backgrounds
and those from regional locations.” Some Indigenous young people may belong to
multiple groupings thus disadvantaging them further (Bradley et al., 2008, as cited in
Trudgett, 2009). However, if geographical location, as commonly claimed, is the
cause of low participation rates of Indigenous people in tertiary education, non-
Indigenous people in remote areas would be expected to experience similar
disadvantage (Norris, 2011). In fact, non-Indigenous Australians in remote and
32 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
regional locations have higher participation rates, indicating that they are more able
to access tertiary education when compared to their Indigenous counterparts. This
explanation might be consistent with beliefs about Aboriginal inferiority and lack of
capacity without indicating any understandings of Indigenous “attachment to land as
a reason for preference for remaining in a particular area, compatible with the
disregard of Indigenous understandings, values and choices” (Norris, 2011, p. 179-
180).
The Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council (IHEAC, 2008) highlights
that the gap widens as the level of education increases, with 0.6% of Indigenous
Australians completing Masters research, and 0.3% forming doctorate completions, a
relatively small number compared to the completion rates of non-Indigenous
Australians (ABS, 2008b; Trudgett, 2009). Anderson (2011) reiterates this gap,
stating that there were a total of 12 Indigenous postgraduate students completing
doctorates in 2003 and 2004 and a total of 16 completions in 2005. Howlett, Seini,
Matthews, Dillon, and Hauser (2008) depict Indigenous students’ low retention and
completion as a “problematic area” for all Australian universities and suggest this
trend is in need of immediate attention. Further, the retention of Indigenous students
in higher education is reported as being between 19% and 26% below the rate of
non-Indigenous students and the proportion of the Indigenous population
participating in higher education is less than half that for the non-Indigenous
population (Anderson, 2011; ABS, 2008b).
2.1.2 Indigenous people: A great diversity
The current (2011) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is
estimated to be 576 000, with approximately 10% claiming to be of Torres Strait
Chapter 2: Literature Review 33
Islander origins (ABS, 2009; Taylor 2011). Portrayals and media representations
may give the impression that Indigenous people are a monolithic group who are
similar in most respects; however, socially and culturally there is great diversity
amongst them (Due & Riggs, 2011; Patterson, Jackson, & Edwards, 2005). Martin
(2005) points out that there is no pan-Aboriginality, therefore regional, group, and
individual differences occur. There are two distinct groups of Indigenous peoples of
Australia: Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people. It is estimated “700-
plus Aboriginal languages were in use in Australia in 1788 and only a mere handful
could be said to constitute the living language of any Aboriginal clan today”
(Herbert, 2006, p. 73). However, there are many differences between the cultures,
languages and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner 2008; Taylor 2011).
Accordingly, this diversity needs to be acknowledged and understood when working
with Indigenous peoples and communities to provide more effective development
and understanding. To know Indigenous people, those seeking knowledge must
interact with Indigenous communities, in all of their past and present complexities;
this interaction cannot be replicated or properly expressed by a single person
“objectively” studying isolated parts of the reality (Alfred, 1999, pp. 16-17).
2.1.3 Educational achievement of Indigenous peoples
There have been gradual improvements in educational achievements for
Indigenous Australians in recent years with increases in participation (ABS, 2011;
SCRGSP, 2009). However, these achievements continue to remain below those of
non-Indigenous people in all levels of education as previously stated (Anderson,
2011; ABS, 2008a; Hauser, Howlett, & Matthews, 2009; SCRGSP, 2009). Non-
Indigenous people were twice as likely as Indigenous Australians to attain a tertiary
34 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
qualification and, in 2006, more than four times as likely to attain a Bachelor degree
(21% compared with 5%) (ABS, 2008a). This gap widens between Indigenous and
non-Indigenous students participating in higher education as the level of study
increases. Although much has been done to close educational gaps between
Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples (Myers, 2007; Sarra, 2011; see also Council
of Australia Governments, 2008, July; Council of Australia Governments, 2009), a
significant reduction in the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous educational
attainment has not occurred (Reconciliation Australia & Dusseldorp Skills Forum,
2009).
The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) Report Achieving
Equitable and Appropriate Outcomes (as cited in Hong & Cousins, 2003, p. 1297)
focuses on the issues of access, retention and successful outcomes, stating “there is
no more important an issue facing Australian higher education than the participation
and whole-hearted involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and
staff within the sector”. There is a need to address the continued underrepresentation
of Indigenous people in higher education and low rates of success, retention and
completion for Indigenous students (IHEAC, 2006; Trudgett, 2009). Burgess (2009)
refers to Australia facing a “crisis” in its failure to improve education outcomes for
many Indigenous Australians and further suggests that addressing this educational
gap “must be our most important priority over the next decade” (pp. 2-3).
The report Australian Directions in Indigenous Education 2005–2008
(Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs
[MCEETYA], 2006) indicates that far too many Indigenous students continue to
“drop out” at or before Year 10 and far too few remain at school to complete Year 11
and Year 12, or its vocational equivalent. Of the students who do complete Year 12,
Chapter 2: Literature Review 35
few obtain the scores needed to gain entry into university. The report also highlights
that most Indigenous students, regardless of their completion year, leave school
poorly prepared for tertiary study relative to their non-Indigenous counterparts. An
explanation for this may be that there has been a shift in education, increasingly
narrowing education to an employment-orientated outcome “which has limited
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s access to their own Indigenous
knowledges and philosophies” (Arbon, 2008, p. 61). Put another way, education and
training has narrowed to respond to “employment for economic imperatives alone”
with Indigenous people increasingly subjected to training for employment through
national uniform training courses (Arbon, 2008, p. 131). Chester et al. (2009)
indicate that descriptors of Indigenous secondary school students as likely to leave
school early and unlikely to pursue tertiary education have a negative impact on how
students identity themselves and their future opportunities. This aspect is further
played out in the media with descriptors provided for Indigenous Australians
generally concerning violence, abuse and dysfunction (Due & Riggs, 2011). It
follows from these descriptors then, that Aboriginal young people belong to such a
culture and therefore need to be “uplifted” to education to eradicate the deficiencies
associated with their poor quality environments (Ford, 2010). Such descriptors
continue “perpetuating intergenerational cycles of social and economic
disadvantage” (IHEAC, 2006, p. 4) with poor educational outcomes limiting the
post-school options and life choices of Indigenous young people.
Improving employment prospects increases wellbeing, long-term economic
security and access to tertiary education. The Reconciliation Action Plan 2011-2014,
National Goals for Indigenous Education (DEEWR, 2011) indicates a series of long-
term goals including:
36 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
9. To ensure equitable access of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
to post-compulsory secondary schooling, to technical and further education,
and to higher education.
16. To enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to attain the
same graduation rates from award courses in technical and further education,
and in higher education, as for other Australians.
20. To enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at all levels of
education to have an appreciation of their history, cultures and identity.
Whilst these goals are critical to Indigenous young people’s participation in
tertiary education, there are a number of factors that influence their access and
transition to universities. Access to tertiary education has been affected by a variety
of historical, social and political factors as is evident in national statistics of
educational achievement and participation levels (MCEETYA, 2006). Buckskin
(2008) argues that these effects cannot be addressed as “business as usual” within
mainstream educational institutions, and states that in order for a major turnaround in
the achievement of educational equality for Indigenous Australians, a focus on
strengths and riches that support and inspire Indigenous communities needs to
become central, as opposed to a focus on weaknesses and poverty.
Atweh and Bland (2007) highlight limitations centred around two main types
of barriers to access to university for underrepresented groups such as Indigenous
students. The first type are systemic barriers which may include: monetary costs
involved in enrolling at a university, a possible loss of income in order to undertake
study, travel costs and/or enrolment requirements that do not take into account the
possible special conditions that students from disadvantaged backgrounds may face.
The second type of barrier outlined is cultural or symbolic which relates to the gap
between the habitus of marginalised students and the institution’s habitus which can
Chapter 2: Literature Review 37
either prevent or promote student participation in tertiary education. Briefly, habitus
refers to how individuals “act and respond in the course of their daily lives”
(Bourdieu, 1977, p. 13). Atweh and Bland (2007) argue that a lack of knowledge
about university life and requirements and a lack of role models of people who have
successfully completed tertiary education amongst underrepresented groups impact
on students’ access.
2.2 JOURNEYING INTO TERTIARY EDUCATION: FACTORS
AFFECTING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION
When looking at the journey that Indigenous students take when embarking on
tertiary studies, Hong and Cousins (2003) highlight that most Indigenous Australians
do not follow the “normal route” from primary and secondary school into higher
education (p. 1298). Generally an Indigenous Australian higher education student is
likely to be “older than a non-Indigenous student” (meaning it is quite possible that
older students have families to support and undertake a form of employment while
participating in their studies which may add further pressure) and is also less likely to
have “previous relevant qualifications” (Encel, 2000, p. 9). Many Indigenous adults
feel underprepared to provide the much-needed support to their younger community
members because of negative experiences associated with their own education
(Schwab & Sutherland, 2001; Sarra, 2011). Approximately 70% of all beginning
Indigenous tertiary students gain entry through alternative arrangements rather than
through formally recognised qualifications and are more likely to be admitted to
tertiary education through a special entry scheme (DEST, 2002; Hong & Cousins,
2003). This is compared to 24% of non-Indigenous students. Other factors impact on
making the transition to tertiary education. These include differences in world views
of Indigenous peoples and their economic status.
38 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
2.2.1 World views of Indigenous peoples
Differences in the world view of Indigenous peoples and that of non-
Indigenous peoples exist. Lloyd and Norrie (2004) state that when different world
views collide there is often a conflict of interest, which can lead to a series of
problems on both sides. Spark (1999) and Martin (2008) further point out that it is
important to understand that Aboriginal people are situated between two quite
different worlds; one as a sub-group of mainstream Australian society, the other
belonging to a traditional world of Aboriginal culture, with each of these worlds
having different educational practices, operations and values. Achieving success and
transitioning from one to the other can be a challenging process. The DEST Report
(2002, as cited in Hong & Cousins, 2003, p. 1298) states that “mainstream
educational provision in Australia does not naturally support traditional Indigenous
approaches to learning”, reinforcing the comparatively subordinate participation and
completion rates of Indigenous students at all levels of education, particularly tertiary
education. Although there is recent recognition of the value of traditional knowledge
systems and increasing attempts at co-management, there persists a lack of
acceptance and integration of traditional and non-traditional Indigenous information
into current decision making (Lloyd & Norrie, 2004). Consequently, the cultures and
knowledges of Indigenous peoples are often disregarded, disrespected and devalued
(Moreton-Robinson, 2009). Walker (2002, as cited in Lloyd & Norrie, 2004, p. 103)
supports this notion by reinforcing that Indigenous knowledges are often
undervalued due to differing world views which can impact on communication and
negotiation success with various government and non-government organisations.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 39
2.2.2 Economic factors affecting transitions to tertiary education
Indigenous tertiary students are more likely to be disadvantaged by low
economic status with an estimated 32% of all Indigenous students identified as
having low socio-economic status. It is little wonder that Thomas (2002, as cited in
Zepke & Leach, 2007) describes Indigenous students who have arrived at tertiary
institutions where their cultural practices are deemed inappropriate or incongruent as
likely to experience “acculturative stress”, or to feel like a “fish out of water”, which
further reinforces why a majority of Indigenous students enter tertiary education with
values and skills that fail to prepare them smoothly to succeed at tertiary level.
2.2.3 Cultural isolation and prejudice in universities
Cultural isolation and prejudice have inhibited Indigenous tertiary students. In
some cases, Indigenous tertiary students are automatically expected to adopt and
comply with all of the institution’s expectations and requirements regardless of the
cultural differences that may be present (Zepke & Leach, 2007). Hong and Cousins
(2003, p. 1302) explain that such students may feel “culturally isolated and treated
differently on the basis of their cultural background” because it is expected that
students meet university culture as opposed to some middle ground being reached.
Although education systems have implemented policies to promote greater
levels of commitment to equity and diversity with regard to employment and
education, discriminatory practices still remain. Such practices give legitimacy to the
dominant culture and language group at the expense of others (Burnett, Meadmore,
& Tait, 2000). Educational institutions may not only mirror discriminatory practices
embedded within their curriculum, but also within the behaviour by which their
40 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
“teachers and students marginalise those who demonstrate difference” (Burnett et al.,
2000, p. 78).
Educational achievement has been shown to be influential to health and to
creating and making informed life decisions and opportunities. Poor education is
generally associated with poor employment outcomes, and both are closely
connected with low income. However, disadvantage in one area does not necessarily
cause poor outcomes (SCRGSP, 2009). Building community pride and self-esteem,
being culturally appropriate and promoting success appear to be positive steps in
improving Indigenous students’ attendance, engagement and life opportunities
(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner 2008; AIATSIS
2008; Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian, 2008;
Indigenous Education Leadership Institute 2008; Lamb, 2009; Sanderson &
Thomson, 2003; Sarra 2007, 2009).
2.2.4 Geographical isolation and access to tertiary education
Geographical isolation and lack of access to tertiary institutions for Aboriginal
communities impacts on successful participation and access for Indigenous students,
who are more likely to come from rural and isolated areas (ABS2011; ABS, 2007)
(see Appendix D). Thirty-one per cent of Indigenous Australians are reported as
residing in a major Australian city, and the remaining 69% reside in regional and
remote areas of Australia (ABS, 2007; Trudgett, 2009). In 2006 it was reported that
approximately 30% of all enrolled Indigenous higher education students were from a
rural area and a further 15% were from isolated areas (ABS, 2007). The geographical
gap between Indigenous people and educational facilities means Indigenous young
people are disadvantaged due to the lack of access to quality educational services
Chapter 2: Literature Review 41
(Reconciliation Australia & Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 2009). Biddle, Hunter, and
Schwab (2004) argue that individuals who live in the urban south-east of Australia
are more likely to “undertake and ultimately succeed in school and adult and tertiary
education than their counterparts in rural and particularly in remote areas” (p. 36). As
this study focuses on a Bundjalung community located on the far north coast of New
South Wales, geographical isolation could be a factor that impacts on their access to
tertiary education.
2.2.5 Accessing the curriculum
Another major factor impacting on educational success for Indigenous
Australians is the curriculum. Howard (1997) suggests that in the past, little effort
has been made to appreciate Aboriginal people’s views and the nature of learning
from mainstream education. Parbury (2005) explains that unless there is a change in
the curriculum that addresses issues of appropriateness and relevance, Indigenous
people’s educational needs will not be addressed. Furthermore, non-Indigenous
students will be excluded from learning about Indigenous perspectives and the truth
of our shared history.
2.3 HISTORY
The previous sections focused on the current situation; however, understanding
of the present is strengthened by an understanding of history. In what follows
Indigenous learning prior to European contact is discussed along with the period of
post-colonisation/invasion, to provide an understanding of how the present
positioning and views of mainstream education for Aboriginal Australians has been,
and continues to be, affected by the past, and how this has impacted current tertiary
educational outcomes.
42 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Bin-Sallik (1989) and McConaghy (2000) suggest that Aboriginal tertiary
education has only really developed since the mid-1970s. Prior to this period, there
was a scarcity of Indigenous people studying in tertiary education and only a few
Aboriginal students had been awarded undergraduate degrees, the first in 1966 (Bin-
Sallik, 1989; Rigney, 2003). Bourke (1994) argues that Indigenous Australians
rarely, if ever, participated in higher education courses in the first 175 years of
European settlement and, historically, poor relationships have existed between
Indigenous peoples and universities (Quartermaine, 2003, as cited in Rigney, 2003).
2.3.1 Indigenous learning prior to European contact
There is widespread societal belief that Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
education did not exist prior to the colonisation of Australia (Castellano, Davis, &
Lahache, 2000; Smith, 1999). However, this fiction is dismissed with literature
indicating the exact opposite. In fact advanced education systems were in place prior
to the invasion of Australia (McConaghy, 2000; Wray, 2006). These systems of
Indigenous education can be viewed as highly developed and complex. They
continued well beyond first European contact and involved great intricacy in
Indigenous knowledge and learning. They required highly developed cognitive skills,
and used oral and symbolic means to educate members (Broome, 2005; Crawford &
Tantiprasut, 2003).
Prior to colonisation, Indigenous education could be viewed as mostly informal
with learning occurring during the daily life of the community through processes
such as: observation, imitation, participation and casual instruction (Battiste, 2002;
Martin, 2008). Formal instruction was employed for learning aspects such as ritual,
when initiates were taught aspects such as sacred knowledge, the meaning of
Chapter 2: Literature Review 43
symbols, the language of ritual and the text of stories (Berndt & Berndt, 1992).
Naturally, Indigenous education continues today: learning is passed on from one
member of a community to another through robust oral customs where songs and
stories of the way of “Dreaming” pass on the wisdom, beliefs and values of the
people (Hoff, 2006). This learning ensures the culture and knowledge remains active
and alive (Queensland Indigenous Education Consultative Body, 2003). Through
both formal and informal education, a sophisticated and complex cultural heritage is
taught and passed on from one generation to the next (Blacklock, 2008).
As indicated earlier, Indigenous academic Karen Martin (2005) points out that
while there is no pan-Aboriginality (therefore regional, group, and individual
differences occur), the focus of knowledge for Aboriginal people is about relatedness
to everyone and everything in their environment, where “a child is guided, or
parented, through the various stages of lifehood, fulfilling the expectations and
conditions, the roles, rites and responsibilities of relatedness” (p. 28). Battiste (2002)
suggests that Indigenous knowledge is both empirical (based on experience) and
normative (based on social values), embracing both the circumstances people find
themselves in and their beliefs about those circumstances in a way that is “unfamiliar
to Eurocentric knowledge systems which distinguish clearly between the two”
(p. 19).
The favoured traditional learning methods of storytelling, learning by
observation, imitation and group activities have been in place for many thousands of
years and form the Indigenous education system. Unlike Western educational
practice today, this system does not include a written component, but instead is
comprised of “non-textual product of knowledge” (Janke, 2008, p. 14). Herbert
(2006) suggests that there were approximately 700 Indigenous languages present in
44 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Australia prior to colonisation, comprising somewhere between 500 and 600 dialects.
Trudgen (2001) adds further insights, claiming it was not uncommon for Aboriginal
people to learn as many as 15 languages and dialects throughout their life. This
demonstrates the multifaceted learning that was very much a part of Indigenous daily
life prior to colonisation.
2.3.2 Aboriginal peoples and education – post-colonisation/invasion
The term Aboriginal was first used by Europeans to refer to the first peoples of
a particular area or region. According to Smith (1999), constructing Aboriginality
was, and continues to be, an action of colonisation. The invasion of Australia altered
and initiated a new path of educational practices for Indigenous peoples that were
both dramatic and rapid (Bamblett, 2002). With such a foray came new morals and
ethics of educational practices that were imposed onto Indigenous people by
colonialists who failed to understand, recognise, or value Indigenous societies or
their educational methods and ways of operating (Parbury, 2005; Partington, 1998).
Partington (2003) argues that few people understand the relevance of the historical
process to the lives of Indigenous people today: a history of “dispossession,
oppression and racism” which has been instrumental in shaping their lives and
continues to “constrict their educational opportunities” (p. 1). Biddle et al. (2004)
further add the significance of bearing in mind the history of Indigenous education
policy in Australia in order to gain a further understanding of contemporary patterns
in educational outcomes for Indigenous people today.
Atweh and Bland (2007) suggest that access to institutions such as universities
by traditionally underrepresented students, based on their “socioeconomic, ethnic or
geographical background” is a key concern to many developing countries such as
Chapter 2: Literature Review 45
Australia (p. 1). Tripcony (2003) highlights that educational inequality within the
structure of Australian society places Indigenous people in a position without power,
with Indigenous people often being referred to as “the lowest rung on the ladder”.
From initial contact to the present day, Indigenous people have had their “freedom
restricted by legislation, regulation and social ostracism” (Partington, 1998, p. 2).
Nakata (2002, p. 281) describes the knowledge that Indigenous peoples possessed
throughout colonial times and in the post-colonial era as being “largely ignored or
suppressed”. Because of a dislocation from the land and traditional practices, much
of the way of life of Indigenous peoples was systematically brutalised, leaving many
Indigenous peoples dispossessed, alienated and forced to adopt foreign ways of
learning within a foreign educational system (Nakata, 2002).
2.3.3 Valuing Indigenous peoples, culture and knowledge
Several reasons exist for the failure of the majority of Western imperialists to
recognise or value Indigenous people, culture and knowledge. In Australia, the
British colonialists arrived with deeply rooted, preconceived attitudes and beliefs
about their racial superiority and need to civilise the natives of the Port Jackson area
which resulted in establishing a school in 1814 (Rowley, 1972). Ah Sam and
Ackland (2005) reveal the British colonialists’ attitudes towards Aboriginal people
on one occasion as believing that they were “uneducable blacks and a dying race ...
who suffered from cultural deprivation or deficit which had the effect of
impoverishing their linguistic and cognitive abilities” (p. 84). The dying race
philosophy was used as justification to segregate Aboriginal people onto reserves.
Further, Aboriginal schools were established to exclude Aboriginal children from the
state education system and colonisers planned to use education as a controlling
mechanism through which Aboriginal families would conform to British social
46 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
traditions (Rowley, 1972). Ultimately, between 1883 and 1972, Aboriginal children
were excluded from New South Wales schools and similar exclusions occurred
across settled Australia (Parbury, 2005).
2.3.4 Aims to achieve equitable educational outcomes
The implementation of the 1967 Referendum came about in many ways from a
culmination of a period of activism and an increasing uneasiness within Australia
about international perceptions regarding the mistreatment of Indigenous people. It
was a growing call for equity, for improving aspects of life for Indigenous
Australians and providing them with the benefits and duties of citizenship (Huggins,
2007; Patton, 2009). While Fox (2008) states that the referendum is widely
celebrated as a turning point in Australia’s history for Aboriginal people’s struggle
for human rights, today many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people still live
in a cycle of poverty. This poverty includes inadequate education which leads to high
unemployment or poorly paid employment, inadequate accommodation, insufficient
and often inadequate diet and eating habits, recurring illness and great personal and
family stress (ABS, 2011; Purdie & Buckley, 2010; SCRGSP, 2009). The
interrelated nature of these life experiences, where one aspect interconnects and
affects all other aspects, can be compared with the holistic perspective of life of the
Indigenous world view. If there remains a denial of history, if limited challenges to
social assumptions about what counts as valuable knowledge still occur, if the trans-
generational trauma in Indigenous communities continues, and Western models of
child development persist in dictating curriculum and pedagogy, Indigenous students
“will always be viewed as deficient and in need of remedial efforts” (Martin, 2005,
pp. 38-39).
Chapter 2: Literature Review 47
2.3.5 Constructing identities
Throughout history Indigenous identities have been constructed by the
dominant powers through what Phillips (2005, p. 13) calls “colonial fabrications”,
using ethnocentric views such as Darwin’s (1879) beliefs, which argued that
biological differences caused differences in intellectual abilities; and pseudo sciences
like phrenology, also known as “craniology”. That is, a psychological theory or
analytical method based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character traits
are indicated by the configurations of the skull, to “prove” the superiority of “white”
races (Partington, 1998, p. 31). These constructions have worked to create solidarity
within and amongst the colonialists because of their grouping and the dominant
language spoken. Therefore, assumptions labelled as “truths” (Hall, 2001, p. 76)
about Indigenous people are made easier because of the similarities in the dominant
group and the language spoken. That is, shared meanings of Indigenous peoples are
taken as givens and work to form a taken-for-granted view. As these constructions of
identity form powerful concepts, they impact on who and what people believe in a
particular social context or surrounding, how individuals behave and how they
interpret their behaviour. Identity has been described as an essential element of one’s
sense of self, and an important contributor to an individual’s self-esteem (Kickett-
Tucker & Coffin, 2011). Identities are learned and for social contexts, they are social
constructions (Hogg, Martin & Weeden, 2004).
2.3.6 “Westernising” Indigenous peoples
The process of Westernising Indigenous peoples has left legacies of
colonialism that have negative implications for Indigenous education (Tatz, 2004).
Even as late as the 1970s, statements such as “our basic objective is not to preserve
aboriginal culture, but to educate children so they may enjoy greater social and
48 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
economic independence” (Partington, 2003, p. 104) are further evidence of non-
Indigenous values promoting assimilation of Indigenous Australians. Aboriginal
academic Pearl Duncan (as cited in Whatman & Duncan, 2005) writes about the role
of Indigenous Australians, including herself, who in 1973 began formally agitating at
a federal level about Indigenous education reforms. As a result, in 1974 the National
Aboriginal Education Committee (NAEC) first advised the Federal Government
about how major improvements could be made towards Indigenous education.
At the same time as changes were occurring in Australian schools regarding
school-based curriculum and decision making (to enable schools to address local
needs and circumstances), the NAEC was promoting a change from assimilation to
self-determination and self-management by Indigenous peoples regarding education
policy. Another significant change that emerged from the NAEC was an increase in
Indigenous representation in Australian universities and schools. This was a
significant achievement, as non-Indigenous teachers had limited notions of how to
teach Indigenous children. This meant Indigenous children were met with a system in
which their own culture and ways of learning were not represented.
2.3.7 Improving representation of Indigenous teachers
To address the issue of underrepresentation of Indigenous teachers, in 1972 an
alternative entry scheme to boost numbers of Indigenous teachers was implemented
by some educational institutions. In 1972 across all academic disciplines, seventy-
two Indigenous university students were enrolled. By 1989 this number had
increased to 3,307 (Bin-Sallik, Blomeley, Flowers, & Hughes, 1994). Other
strategies proposed to advance Indigenous self-determination and self-management
in education included: parental participation in education, the appointment of
Chapter 2: Literature Review 49
Aboriginal liaison officers and teacher aides in schools, teaching of Indigenous
languages, the implementation of Aboriginal studies courses for trainee teachers in
schools for all students, and establishing curriculum units with state education
departments for the development of Indigenous curriculum materials. In 1979, a
conference was held by NAEC. The conference was significant because “it was
conducted by Indigenous people for Indigenous people ... (which) was a major
turnaround in the control of education for Indigenous people” (Partington, 2003,
pp. 108-109).
A National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (NATSIEP)
first came to fruition in 1990 and was updated in 1993. A major development with
this policy was that funding to the states for the improvement of educational access,
inputs and outcomes for Indigenous students was tied to quantifiable targets as
proposed in the goals of NATSIEP. In 1994, the Ministerial Council for Education,
Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) appointed an Indigenous
taskforce to develop a national strategy for the education of Indigenous peoples.
Some of the national goals and strategies which followed the MCEETYA report
included: recognition that Indigenous students need to attain skills to the same
standard as other Australian students, that all Australian students need to develop an
understanding of and respect for Indigenous traditional and contemporary cultures,
and that funding needs to provide increased teacher and support numbers, resources,
facilities and specialist programs (Craven, 1999).
2.3.8 Social justice reforms
Other social justice reforms since the 1990s have also identified educational
restructuring as core to improving equity and life choices for Indigenous Australians.
50 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
In the 1991 report for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody,
Commissioner Elliott Johnston stressed how vital it was to promote changes in
Australian attitudes through all education systems and levels to address the root
causes of social disadvantage in Indigenous communities (Craven, 1999).
The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (1991) noted that one of the main
functions of the Council was to educate all Australians about historical and current
issues related to Indigenous dispossession and disadvantage in order to restore these
inequities and come to terms honestly with our history as a nation. The Australian
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) is a key advocate for
education as a means of combating racism and discrimination. As a result of the
HREOC inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
from their families, a recommendation was made that every school in Australia teach
compulsory units on the “history and continuing effects of forcible removal”
(Craven, 1999, p. 21).
Penny Tripcony (2003) and Cathryn McConaghy (2000) suggest that enormous
changes and some improvements in Indigenous education have occurred since the
early 1970s. They state that the government should build on continued Indigenous
community participation in decision making and in-class representation as a way
forward. The Federal Government has had to take a lead role in getting state
education departments to adopt policies and practices to improve education for
Indigenous students. In its most recent recommendations the key document,
Australian Directions in Indigenous Education 2005-08 (MCEETYA, 2006), states
that past practices of engaging Indigenous students in education reflected slow and
incremental gains only. The report states that there is a need to accelerate the pace of
change by engaging Indigenous children in learning. Five areas of improvement the
Chapter 2: Literature Review 51
document indicated needed addressing were in the areas of: “early childhood
education; school and community educational partnerships; school leadership;
quality teaching; and pathways to training, employment and higher education”
(MCEETYA, 2006, p. 4).
Empowered by these improved educational provisions, Indigenous peoples
should have a broader range of post-school opportunities and life choices, “allowing
them to contribute their skills and talents to their own communities and the
Australian community as a whole” (MCEETYA, 2006, p. 32). Key recommendations
to empower Indigenous people in education were expressed; however, the report
emphasised that these key areas will only be effective, or sustained, if Indigenous
education is “built in” and becomes a fundamental government focus (p. 4).
The establishment of a Western education structure that was imposed on all
Indigenous peoples of Australia is reflected in the low achievement levels of
Indigenous students at all levels of education today. Learning is still represented in
accordance with mainstream educational outcomes and lacks Indigenous input and
involvement (Jewell, 2008; Lester, 2006). In the case of Indigenous people, in
particular Indigenous students, the injustices of history continue to permeate and play
a major role in their present lives and circumstances. The educational methods of
defining and segregating Indigenous peoples have been identified as a dominant form
of practice. Such processes of generalising, depersonalising and dehumanising
Indigenous Australians continue and form the basis of the racism and prejudice
which “has far reaching impacts on the potential for young people to achieve their
best and to lead happy, balanced and fulfilling lives” (Irving, 2005, p. 3).
52 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Practices enforced on Indigenous peoples through prestigious cultural
authorities such as political systems and educational institutions are designed to
denigrate, dispose and disenfranchise certain groups in society, such as Indigenous
peoples. In doing so, they work to keep control of such systems and institutions in
the hands of the dominant power structures. Such actions are supported by using
colonialist constructions of cultural differences and cultural deficit (Moreton-
Robinson, 2009) to propose that white hegemony is the natural state. Hegemony
describes “how the relations of power operate” (Lewis, 2002, p. 31). It indicates how
groups maintain their power through processes of negotiation with subordinate
groups (Gramsci, 1977; Hall 1982). The maintenance of consensus is achieved by
strategic management. That is, when subordinate groups have been included in the
negotiation process, they are said to go along with their own oppression (Hall, 1982).
However, this is not always the case, as pointed out by de Certeau (1984). This usage
of hegemony neutralises dissent and instils the values, beliefs and cultural practices
of social structures (Hall, 1982).
These processes are still enacted today to some degree as Irving (2005, p. 1)
notes “past interactions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are relevant
to the work of present day educators and systems and impact on society as a whole”.
Although Partington (2003) concedes that some non-Indigenous “visionaries”
recognised the needs of Indigenous education, it was years before aspects of this
occurred at a systematic level. Whatman and Duncan (2005, pp. 119-120) note that
the experience of Indigenous students varied significantly from state to state,
and that despite the differences between education systems across the
country, the overwhelming experience of Indigenous students was limited,
particularly regarding progression through the standard school curriculum.
Chapter 2: Literature Review 53
The authors clarified policies through different phases of Indigenous education,
including models such as compensatory education, assimilation, cultural deficit,
cultural difference, self-determination, bilingual programs, two ways/both ways
education, bi-cultural education and educationally-at-risk theories.
2.3.9 Curriculum reform
Martin Nakata (Nakata, Nakata, & Chin, 2008) states that a curriculum for
Indigenous students that focuses only on traditional knowledge is limiting as
Indigenous students need to develop knowledge and skills (such as English literacy
and numeracy) which will equip them for the reality of a future in a Westernised,
global economy. This manner of othering Indigenous peoples, of constructing them
as inferior, is “used to support taken-for-granted understanding about what is
normal” (Phillips, 2005, p. 20). Phillips argues that educational institutions are chief
agents of this process, although it is also important to note that they are also powerful
agents for people to oppose racism and discriminatory practices.
Poor educational participation and achievement limits the capacity of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to make real choices about their
participation in the economy. A diminished educational opportunity effectively
denies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people access to the full range of
resources, which could help them shape their lives and communities according to
their own vision and aspirations (Bin-Sallik & Smallacombe, 2003).
2.4 RECOMMENDATIONS SUGGESTED IN THE LITERATURE
To create sustainable and effective change it is essential that educational
institutions utilise and draw on the perspectives, practices and participation of local
54 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Aboriginal community members (Bourke, Burden, & Moore, 1996; Encel, 2000;
Generation One, 2010). Alba (1983, as cited in Lloyd, & Norrie, 2004) and Sarra
(2011) states that many processes fail to take into account community and
stakeholder groups’ schema or expectations, cultural factors, their abilities to
influence outcomes, their roles in the final decision making processes and the
expectations of what can be reasonably achieved. In their reviews of Aboriginal
education, Watts in 1982 and Yunupingu in 1995 (Whatman & Duncan, 2005)
highlight the deep desire of Indigenous peoples to have more involvement in their
own community’s education. This is despite a long history of exclusion of parents
and community members. Nicholson (1980) emphasises the importance of having
Indigenous members of the community directly involved in the education of
Indigenous students. Nicholson argues that the presence of Indigenous community
members gives them an assurance that someone understands their personal needs and
problems.
2.4.1 What is best practice for Aboriginal people to improve tertiary education
enrolments and successful outcomes?
According to the literature there are numerous recommendations regarding
Indigenous disadvantage in the Australian education system. The idea that tertiary
institutions’ use of Indigenous ways of operating and learning are scarce. Also, it
appears consultation with local Indigenous communities to assist in the education of
Indigenous students is lacking, as is awareness of the cultural factors impacting on
educational opportunity (Board of Studies New South Wales, 2001; McConaghy,
2000). The literature also reveals that Indigenous educational operations are quite
different to Western ways of operating. Nash (2009, p. 26) states that “stories,
artwork and the voices of the people themselves communicate an Indigenous
Chapter 2: Literature Review 55
perspective in ways that other media cannot”. It must also be noted that in various
situations Indigenous male and female cultural learnings and practices are to remain
a separate practice as this has been the way they have been practiced for thousands of
years (Martin, 2008). Overall it appears that educational institutions do not draw on
understandings of the cultural factors that impact on the transitional experiences of
Indigenous young people nor Indigenous educational ways of operating to counteract
low participation and retention of Indigenous students, or to address any other major
issues in tertiary education.
2.5 CONCLUSION
While the literature recognises that it cannot meet the challenge of closing the
gap alone, it fails to recognise and suggest strategies to enhance young people’s
transitions into tertiary education. With much of the literature stressing the
importance and need for tertiary institutions to work more closely with Indigenous
communities to help bridge the gap on tertiary educational outcomes for Indigenous
peoples, there is limited literature relating to the transitional experiences of young
Aboriginal people into tertiary education. Further, limited literature that has focused
on consultation with Aboriginal communities and their knowledges exists. Little
attention has been given to identifying what Indigenous groups perceive as best
practice in relation to how better to support, equip and encourage successful
transition into and completion of tertiary education.
There is a general agreement in the literature that issues such as cultural
factors, improved access, retention and educational outcomes need addressing. The
literature has revealed that these complex issues have a wide range of suggested
practices and recommendations from a range of sources. After reviewing the
56 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
literature it has also become apparent that there is very limited literature which
focuses on tertiary transitions for young Indigenous men in particular Indigenous
men from the Bundjalung Nation of northern New South Wales, therefore this study
attempts to respond to this gap by focusing on a Bundjalung community and what
can be done to improve retention and access for young Koori men in the tertiary
context.
2.5.1 My standpoint
A range of recommendations have been made via various reports that highlight
needs and identify gaps. There appears to be consensus that the Federal Government
needs to take a lead role in motivating state government education departments to
adopt policies and practices for the improvement of Indigenous education. It is
important to note that the literature points to success only occurring through a
partnership of all stakeholders at a national, state, local and grassroots level. The
literature has suggested that if systemic changes are to challenge issues of Indigenous
education, focus on Aboriginal community involvement and partnerships with
tertiary institutions must intensify. This would allow for more culturally recognised
practices that support Indigenous peoples. One issue of concern that has emerged
from the literature is that while universities and educational departments state that
their objective is to improve Indigenous retention and access in collaboration with
Aboriginal communities, no literature was found that described the extent of such
collaboration or revealed how effective this process had been.
This chapter has focused on the issues and challenges of current Aboriginal
tertiary education. This critical analysis positions the present research in relation to
Australia’s historical context. The overview of historical events that relate to
Chapter 2: Literature Review 57
Aboriginal people and education, both pre- and post-invasion, were highlighted to
situate this study correctly against the background of current circumstances and
issues of Aboriginal people’s transitioning into and achieving success in tertiary
education. From the literature review a gap emerges showing the limited research
conducted on Aboriginal community perspectives and more specifically Bundjalung
perspectives in terms of best practice for supporting, equipping and encouraging
successful transition into tertiary education courses. The literature does make some
suggestions for addressing issues related to tertiary success for Aboriginal people.
However, these suggestions may not be conducive for people living in the
Bundjalung region of northern New South Wales. Therefore, research that focuses on
this particular community’s strengths, wisdom and knowledges may better support,
encourage and equip young Aboriginal members to succeed in tertiary education.
Chapter 3: Methodology 59
Chapter 3: Methodology
The previous chapter addressed the first and second research questions by
reviewing and critiquing the research literature that focused on the transitioning
experiences of young Indigenous people into tertiary education. This chapter presents
the methodology and the research design to provide a conceptual basis for the
conduct of the study.
As mentioned in Chapter 1, the study seeks to identify insights about the
cultural factors that impact on young men’s educational opportunities by drawing on
local knowledges from different groups of people, including young Indigenous men,
Indigenous Elders and community members from the Bundjalung region. The study
is interpretative and descriptive (Arbon, 2008), grasping the ontologies at work
within education and beyond to the cultural knowledges and lived worlds of young
people. This approach uncovers the implicit ontologies of Indigenous knowledges
and the opportunities for young Indigenous people in the future to take up education
and training.
This research draws on the work of Torres Strait Islander scholar, Martin
Nataka (2007) on Standpoint Theory and his understandings of the “cultural
interface”. The work of Aboriginal scholar, Lester-Irabinna Rigney (1997), relating
to Indigenist research methodology is also utilised to guide the research to maintain
cultural appropriateness when conducting research with Indigenous communities.
Rigney outlines that Indigenist Research is research by Indigenous Australians
whose primary participants are Indigenous Australians and whose objectives are to
serve and inform the Indigenous struggle for self-determination and for emancipation
60 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
of Indigenous Australians. This perspective connects strongly with Nakata’s (2007)
conceptualisations of Indigenous Standpoint Theory.
To understand Indigenist research and the cultural interface in this study, a
toolbox approach – taking what is useful for the job at hand (Foucault, 1974) – has
been adopted; that is, ideas or aspects of relevant frameworks from other scholars
have been drawn on where necessary to develop a more useful and effective
understanding of such research. For example, the study draws on relevant aspects of
the works of other Indigenous scholars Karen Martin (2008) and Veronica Arbon
(2008) who emphasise the struggles that Indigenous peoples are confronted with
within an epistemological framework of education that is non-Indigenous and
aligned with Australia’s imperialistic past. They argue for a more equitable
understanding between Indigenous and Western knowledge systems to address such
issues.
3.1 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF INDIGENIST RESEARCH
The principles outlined by Rigney (1997) were used to guide the researcher
throughout the research process. The research took place in an Indigenous context as
described in Chapter 1 and provided what Rigney describes as a culturally
appropriate methodology. Indigenous Australians and Indigenous people are
arguably the most over-researched people in the world (Bessarab & Ng’andu, 2010;
Rigney, 1997; Smith, 1999). Associated with this type of research are entrenched
negative implications from historical research methods which have left many of the
world’s Indigenous communities with uneasiness and feelings of apprehension
towards research that involves Indigenous peoples and communities. To account for
past research malpractice, Rigney (1997, p. 115) calls for Indigenous peoples to be
Chapter 3: Methodology 61
directly involved in “defining controlling and owning epistemologies and ontologies
that value and legitimate the Indigenous experience”. Guiding this research are three
principles as described by Rigney: resistance, political integrity, and privileging
Indigenous voices (see Figure 3.1). Each principle will now be discussed.
Figure 3.1. Indigenist research principles.
3.1.1 Resistance as the emancipatory imperative
As part of the struggle for Indigenous Australians to gain recognition for self-
determination, Rigney (1997) outlines that Indigenist research involves the issues
which have arisen out of the long history of oppression of Indigenous Australians,
dating back to the invasion of Australia in 1788, and connects with the story of the
survival and resistances of Indigenous Australians to racist oppression. With this
research targeting cultural factors and Indigenous peoples, some of these aspects
have been highlighted throughout the literature in Chapter 2. This research will seek
resistance as the emancipatory imperative
privileging Indigenous voices: lived, historical experiences, traditions, dreams, interests and struggles of Indigenous
Australians
political integrity as appropriate and culturally
sensitive research
62 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
to gain a better understanding of the continuing forms of oppression which confront
and inhibit Indigenous Australians and their access, retention and successful
outcomes in tertiary education. It also seeks to address how Western tertiary
institutions, in partnerships with Aboriginal communities, can work towards
improving educational outcomes in the tertiary context to further support the
“personal, cultural and political struggles of Indigenous Australians” to build
individual and community pride, promote resilience and bring about healing from
past oppressions and support cultural practices in the future (Rigney, 1997, p. 118).
3.1.2 Political integrity
Rigney (1997, p. 119) does not suggest in any way that “critical research by
non-Indigenous people should not continue or that such research cannot serve to
inform the struggles of Indigenous Australians for genuine self-determination”;
however, he argues that the inappropriateness of such research contributions to the
political cause solely stems from non-Indigenous Australians. There is a real need for
more research contributions to be undertaken by Indigenous Australians and for
research centred on political aspects to not come only from non-Indigenous people
but to be framed by the needs of the Indigenous communities (Rigney, 2003). The
need for Indigenous Australians to determine their own political agenda for liberation
can be achieved most effectively when it derives from Indigenous Australians who
have a “simultaneous social link between the research and the political struggle of
the communities” (p. 118). As this research will be drawing on the lived experiences
of Indigenous men from the Bundjalung region and also their experiences associated
with the tertiary context, Rigney (2002) points out the complexity of such a task,
emphasising it is one of the most sensitive and complex tasks facing researchers.
Therefore, to maintain political integrity in research, Rigney points out the
Chapter 3: Methodology 63
importance of Indigenous researchers engaging themselves in the “heart of the
Indigenous struggle” (p. 119), thus making the researcher accountable not only to the
individual but also to the Indigenous community and its struggle. Rigney (2003) also
outlines that effective, appropriate and culturally sensitive research is vital in relation
to ethics and cultural protocols and the need for “recognition and protection of
Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights” (p. 12).
3.1.3 Privileging Indigenous voices
This research will be drawing on the lived, historical experiences, ideas,
traditions, dreams, interests, aspirations and struggles of Indigenous Australians.
Therefore, it is only fitting that Rigney’s (1997) third principle of privileging
Indigenous voices be adopted and widely used to inform this research. While Rigney
does not suggest that all Indigenous researchers are free of colonial hegemony or that
being Indigenous will automatically present a better representation of the Indigenous
people and communities they work with, he does, however, state that Indigenous
Australians tend to be “more aware of each other’s cultural traditions” (p. 119) and
are more accountable to the communities and institutions they represent. Rigney
(2003) and Smith (1999) emphasise that past malpractices of research pertaining to
Indigenous people and Indigenous communities have a history of exploitation,
suspicion, misunderstanding and prejudice. Nakata (2007) emphasises the
importance of conducting research that is productive in explaining the authentic
position of Indigenous people in relation to historical systems of thought which have
been complicated by and resulted in a “plurality of meanings” (p. 197). These have
been produced in the interactions between these systems and have been shaped by
such systems for several generations. Therefore, Nakata states that it is necessary for
64 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
new sets of understandings to be generated by Indigenous peoples to inform new
analysis.
Rigney (2003) expresses his concern that more “Indigenous Australians access
and make public the voice and experience of other Indigenous Australians” (p. 119)
while Drake (2002, p. 9) elaborates on the importance of such stories and how they
can “inspire us and challenge us to think in new ways”. Therefore, this research will
be drawing on the stories, perspectives and views of a range of Bundjalung
participants to draw on these important and valuable stories that often go unheard.
The next section discusses Indigenous Standpoint Theory.
3.2 INDIGENOUS STANDPOINT THEORY
For this study, where the aim was to develop a rich understanding of the
complexities associated with the cultural factors that impact on young Indigenous
men’s opportunities for engaging in tertiary education, Indigenous Standpoint
Theory (Nakata, 2007) is foregrounded because of the centrality it places on the
experiences of the participants. Although Nakata largely makes reference to
Indigenous Standpoint Theory in relation to Torres Strait Islanders, this study will
apply this understanding to the Bundjalung Nation.
Indigenous Standpoint Theory has been described as a distinct form of
analysis, and is both a “discursive construction and an intellectual device to persuade
others to elevate what might not have been a focus of attention by others” (Nakata,
2007, p. 214). This approach considers both the context and perspective as shaped by
the colonial and assimilationist history of schooling and education for Indigenous
people in Australia. Two elements of this standpoint will be applied in this study –
the cultural interface and my standpoint (as shown in Figure 3.2). These concepts are
Chapter 3: Methodology 65
theoretically distinct from those related to cultural difference and disadvantage.
Nakata (1998) and McGloin (2009) emphasise the importance of understanding
competing knowledge systems or standpoints so that an appreciation of, and further
insights into, aspects that support or hinder a particular group can be forged.
Figure 3.2. Indigenous Standpoint elements.
3.2.1 The cultural interface
The cultural interface is specifically concerned with the projection of
Indigenous knowledges about Indigenous people’s experience at the cultural
interface (Nakata, 2007). It is described as the meeting point of “Western and
Indigenous domains” (Nakata, 2007, pp. 195-217). This meeting point is a complex
space where we “live and learn ... and are active agents in our own lives – our
lifeworld” (Nakata, 2002, p. 5). It is described as a space of possibilities as well as
constraints which can have both positive and negative consequences for different
people at different times. This space can be a place of immense complexity and
confusion for many who are required to combine both traditional and Western ways
Indigenous standpoint theory
cultural interface
my standpoint
66 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
of knowing (Nakata, 2002). It is comprised of multiple interwoven, competing and
conflicting discourses, which are a fusion of both traditional and non-traditional
discourses. Differentiating between the two can be a difficult process. If there are
positive experiences for Islanders at the cultural interface, then these experiences can
speak back to provide a greater understanding for other community members and
peers (Nakata, 2007).
Nakata (2007) suggests that the position of Indigenous men at the interface can
only be understood via their experiences of it. In relation to tensions at the interface,
the everyday constructions that position Indigenous people either limit or facilitate
them (Nakata, 2007). Young people are trained to view and comprehend the
positions of Indigenous people in the “same systems of thinking, logic and rationality
that have historically not served Indigenous interests at all” (Nakata, 2000, p. 12). He
therefore emphasises the need for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to
understand these constructions. It is through this understanding that an appreciation
of the present positioning of Indigenous people can be better understood, so that
Indigenous people can be freed from colonial histories that serve only to limit them
at the interface and so that more useful approaches can be made (Nakata, 2007). One
of the difficulties facing Indigenous research is that any “contestation or expression
of unease must be conducted within the framework of Western understanding, logic
and rationality” (Nakata, 2000, p.12). This study is concerned with the standpoints of
young Bundjalung men’s experiences at the cultural interface.
The young people involved in the study navigate the cultural interface and
tensions on a daily basis. Nakata’s approach therefore contributes meaningful
knowledge by reflecting and sharing the participants’ perspectives and experiences
on transitions into the tertiary context. An approach that values the lived experiences
Chapter 3: Methodology 67
of Indigenous men transitioning at the cultural interface endeavours to eradicate
deficit views of Indigenous learning and eliminate tokenism. At the same time, this
approach maintains the participants’ cultural standpoint.
In line with Nakata’s (2007) inclination to use more Islander accounts of their
experiences and positioning which has been subjugated largely by Western attempts
to explain the experiences and positioning of Islanders, also expressed was a concern
for more useful theories of the Islander position to be generated. This study draws
from Bundjalung community members’ accounts of their experiences and
standpoints at the cultural interface to generate useful and personal knowledges from
Bundjalung men.
3.2.2 What is my standpoint?
My standpoint is a shared positioning between Aboriginal people from within
my home community, which is situated on the far north coast of New South Wales,
the Bundjalung Nation, as discussed in the Preamble. Situated within this standpoint
are embedded multiple roles, firstly as an Aboriginal community member and
secondly as an Aboriginal researcher with an interest in the research topic. Other
roles which make up my standpoint include: a current and active member of the local
Aboriginal Lands Council within the region; and an active community member who
is involved in organising sporting events, particularly rugby league competitions, at
various times throughout the year within and for the local Aboriginal community.
Because of the researcher’s strong connection to the community and family
members, this research was accountable to my community Elders, Indigenous
community members and the Narlumdarlum Local Aboriginal Lands Council, which
is situated in the area where this research took place. In recognising my
68 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
accountabilities, I have employed an Indigenist (Rigney, 1997) approach to this
research, researching from within and respecting my Bundjalung community and
cultural obligations and practices. In doing so, I utilise three approaches for this
research: (a) ways of knowing, (b) ways of being, and (c) axiology (see Figure 3.3
below).
Figure 3.3. Approaches to research with community.
Ways of knowing: Epistemological approach for this research
The epistemological approach that is informing this research is one that is
based on relationality in an Indigenous context, but is informed by what Moreton-
Robinson (2009) describes as one that is intrinsically linked to relations to others by
descent, ancestors, country, place and shared experiences. Innately embedded within
the epistemology of the researcher is a shared commonality of perspectives, such as,
valuing Indigenous community and its members, shared concerns and aspirations to
improve higher educational access and retention, and successful outcomes. This
approach will be guided by and conducted in consultation with the Elders located
within the community itself, who are widely respected by the Indigenous community
members throughout the region.
Ways of knowing
Ways of being
Axiology
Chapter 3: Methodology 69
Ways of being: Ontological approach for this research
The ontological approach of this research acknowledges that this research has
strong connections to country, in this case the Bundjalung region. This approach also
acknowledges the Bundjalung Nation’s ancestral links to country. This significance
stems from the researcher’s cultural beliefs that the land, people and all life forms
that encompass the Bundjalung Nation have been created and are all interconnected
and associated with a blood line to country (Hoff, 2006).
An ontological approach focuses on “ways of being”. In this case, the “ways of
being” are built around an understanding and connection of how Bundjalung
ancestors lived and their ways of operating. These ways of operating continue to
influence and provide a way of life for people today. Their stories and yarns of the
past remain closely linked and relevant to the lives of present Bundjalung
Australians. These stories reinforce the connection to country. This connectivity is
based on principles of reverence, reciprocity and responsibility and is valued because
it provides connection to the world for Bundjalung people.
The ontological approach of the researcher affirms that Bundjalung men and
women are both valuable and distinct knowledge holders regardless of age,
qualification or social status within the community. For the purpose of this research
and for cultural appropriateness, young male participants’ stories are drawn upon,
recorded, transcribed and analysed to inform the research, together with stories of
community Elders and other male and female community members where
appropriate. As outlined in chapter 1, this study has been undertaken with the
permission of the Aboriginal community through the Local Aboriginal Lands
Council as well as in consultation with community Elders. The intentions and
methods were both discussed with the lands council and community Elders and they
70 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
informed the researcher that only young male participants’ stories should be used,
despite the researcher being an Aboriginal male from the area. They explained that
interviewing young females would be inappropriate culturally and for safety reasons
and may lead to a higher risk of miscommunication which would not benefit the
research. They also informed the researcher that involving older female community
members and Elders would be suitable so this guidance was respected by the
researcher and used.
Ways of doing: Axiological approach to the research embedded in
Indigenous value systems
The axiological approach to this research is closely related to the researcher’s
ontological positioning. The focus topic and values of the research are intrinsically
tied to the researcher’s position as an Aboriginal man from the Bundjalung Nation.
The axiological approach to the research was accountable to the Indigenous Elders
and community members of the Bundjalung region. The research was strongly
influenced and informed by Indigenous knowledges that derive from within the
community (Hoff, 2006). Moreton-Robinson and Walter (2010) emphasise that
“ways of doing” are an “extension of our communal responsibilities” and we are
“therefore accountable to our respective communities for our knowledge production,
and the values we bring to our research are bounded by our understanding that all
things are connected” (p. 7). In completing this study, the researcher acknowledges
his accountability and responsibility to community as an insider but also as an
outsider conducting a study project with this community.
Whilst the methodological framework draws on various works as described
previously to inform the study, as an Indigenous researcher, my voice also features in
this study, and positions the views, experiences and knowledges drawn from local
Chapter 3: Methodology 71
Indigenous participants to inform the research. As an Indigenous researcher from the
Bundjalung region, I have extensive access to the area as well as access to
Indigenous community Elders and key Indigenous community members to gain an
inside perspective and to draw on viewpoints and perspective that would otherwise
not be available (Deyhle & McKinley-Brayboy, 2000).
My positioning as an Aboriginal researcher and insider provides a contextual
understanding of the communities being researched that outsiders do not possess
(Innes, 2009). While there has been debate concerning the scholarly validity of using
insider/outsider research (Innes, 2009; Smith, 1999), the insider position, as an
Aboriginal researcher, allows the opportunity to develop and work closely within the
nominated Aboriginal communities located on the far north coast of New South
Wales. By providing Aboriginal people with the opportunity to become involved in
the research process, this research allows for the development of meaningful
Aboriginal perspectives, establishes positive and respectful relationships and gives
authenticity to local Aboriginal perspectives. The research also recognises the
importance of observing appropriate protocols when working with Aboriginal people
and their communities to establish positive and respectful relationships (Board of
Studies New South Wales, 2001; Martin, 2008).
The use of insider/outsider research allows myself as the researcher to exercise
influence on an issue that has significant importance not only to benefit Indigenous
communities on the far north coast of New South Wales, but also to the broader
scholarly community. This is because the research focus is an area that is in need of
local, national and international attention (Innes, 2009). This study seeks to
understand “inside” community perspectives on how young Aboriginal men can be
better supported, equipped and encouraged to transition into tertiary education
72 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
courses and achieve successful and measurable outcomes through semi-structured
interviews with the researcher. It aims to capture the voices and perspectives of a
wide range of Aboriginal community members. The literature in the field is
juxtaposed with the participants’ voices to gain an understanding of the effectiveness
of support for making successful transitions. The next section addresses the methods
of analysis.
3.3 DATA ANALYSIS: RESTORYING AND RETELLING
Much of the data that has emerged from the research is in the form of
interviews/yarns that were held with the participants. How this data was analysed is a
critical part of the methodology. After the interviews/yarns were collected by the
researcher they were analysed using Creswell’s method of restorying and retelling.
This is a method that is often used in research that contains a narrative component
(Creswell, 2008). Restorying is the process used to gather, categorise and analyse
narratives for key themes that become a focus of the research. Creswell (2007)
argues that this method is used to effectively “interpret the meaning of a particular
research focus” from participant interviews (p. 157). The process of restorying and
retelling provides links between key ideas that have been expressed amongst the
participants and emerge from the interviews. Restorying allows these key ideas to
surface and it assists in categorising such key ideas more efficiently and effectively.
Creswell’s method of restorying is divided into three phases and is used in this
research as shown in Figure 3.4.
Chapter 3: Methodology 73
Figure 3.4. Restorying process.
Phase 1. The first phase of the restorying process involves the researcher
conducting the interviews/yarns with the nominated participants. These
interviews/yarns were audio recorded and the entire conversations were
electronically transcribed from the digital audio recorder. The transcriptions of all the
interviews/yarns were collated and grouped under a column headed “transcription
from audio – raw data”. If participants used terms or words that involved the
Bundjalung language, these terms or words were translated into English by the
researcher and then rechecked with the participants to see if this is what they meant.
Phase 2. The transcriptions of raw data were retranscribed by the researcher
identifying key elements of the stories. Codes were used to highlight elements such
as: factors that facilitate transition, factors that hinder transition, and age of the
young person. The retranscriptions of raw data were placed into a second column
under the heading “retranscription by the researcher”.
Retranscribing and Restorying a Transcript (Creswell, 2008)
Transcription from audio recorder
(raw data)
Phase 1 Phase 2
Retranscription by the researcher
Restorying by the researcher
Phase 3
74 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Phase 3. The researcher restoried or retold the young people’s accounts and
organised the key codes into groups and emerging themes. Codes were divided into
relevant categories. This allowed major themes and sub-themes to become clear and
links and common themes between key ideas suggested by participants to emerge.
The information was placed into a third column under the heading “restory by the
researcher”.
The following sections describe the participants in the study and provide
further details of the data collection techniques.
3.4 PARTICIPANTS
The main participants in this study were nine young Koori men aged 17-27
years from the Bundjalung region of Narlumdarlum on the far north coast of New
South Wales. The reason that only young males were chosen to participate in the
study was mainly for maintaining cultural appropriateness, as outlined in the
ontological approach for this research. Indigenous Elders and community members
were also interviewed and their accounts form part of the study. Community
members were not necessarily Elders in the community but were referred by the
Elders in the study as suitable people to participate in the research. The participants’
accounts of their educational transitional experiences were collated and analysed.
The group was homogeneous in nature, with all participants involved in the study
possessing a “similar trait or characteristic” to add insight and value to the research
(Creswell, 2008, p. 216). In this case, individuals who were transitioning into the
tertiary context were sought. For the purpose of this study “convenience sampling”
was utilised (Walters, 2006, p. 198); that is, gaining access to the participants was
convenient to the researcher and they were available for the study (Creswell, 2008).
Chapter 3: Methodology 75
The participants were selected in consultation with the chairperson and board
members of the local Aboriginal Lands Council. The chairperson and board members
were able to advise and guide the researcher on which participants would be most
suitable to fit the criteria of participants the researcher was seeking. The participants
needed to fit the following criteria:
participants were Koori males aged between 17-27 years;
participants had expressed an interest in studying, were currently studying
or had previously studied at a tertiary education level; and
participants derived from the Bundjalung Nation.
The researcher studied this sample group with the intention of uncovering the
cultural factors that facilitate or hinder effective transitions into the tertiary education
context. The sample also presented the “complexity of the information provided by
individuals” (Creswell, 2008, p. 217). The sample size was chosen in order to fulfil
the requirements of a Masters by Research thesis at the Queensland University of
Technology.
3.5 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES
The data collection techniques used in this research comprised semi-structured
interviews and yarning (Martin, 2008; Minichiello, Aroni, Timewell, & Alexander,
1995). Each of the young people participated in a series of interviews throughout the
study. These interviews were audio recorded when deemed appropriate by the
researcher.
76 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
3.5.1 Semi-structured and unstructured interviews
Semi-structured and unstructured interviews (Minichiello et al., 1995) were
used as the main data collection instrument. The interviews were conversational in
nature as this is considered to be a better method for participants to express their
views and insights in a way that surveys often do not allow (Creswell, 2005). During
the interviews all participants in the research were informed that pseudonyms would
be used to maintain confidentiality and the researcher attempted to make all
participants feel as comfortable as possible during the interview process. The
research also aimed to be sensitive to the community and an understanding was
sought on whether or not culturally sensitive information obtained would be shared.
The questions guiding the semi-structured interviews are included in Appendix E.
3.5.2 Yarning
Yarning, an informal and relaxed discussion, can be used as a semi-structured
interview. Yarning is described by Bessarab and Ng’andu (2010, p. 38) as a “journey
together visiting places and topics of interest relevant to the research study for both
the researcher and participant/participants”. Yarning is an Indigenous cultural form
of conversation, as outlined by Bessarab and Ng’andu (2010), and may be used in an
Indigenous context as a more appropriate data gathering tool when working with
Indigenous peoples. Yarning can be used not only to collect information during
research interviews, but also to establish a relationship with Indigenous participants
prior to gathering their stories through storytelling, also known as narrative.
It must be highlighted, however, that while the researcher commenced
discussion early in the research phase with the young Bundjalung men in small
groups, the researcher found it much more effective to gather information by
Chapter 3: Methodology 77
conducting interviews on a one-on-one basis with participants. The researcher found
that, when conducting interviews in small groups, participants seemed to be more
apprehensive to speak openly about their experiences with the group as opposed to a
one-on-one approach which was adopted. Two interviews were conducted with each
participant over a 4-week period. According to Ollerenshaw and Creswell (2002),
collecting stories has emerged as a useful way to interpret such stories in qualitative
research and gain legitimacy in education research.
3.5.3 Audio recording and transcribing interviews
Participants’ accounts were captured using an audio recorder. Recording
responses helps to provide detailed and accessible accounts of participants’
experiences (Perakyla, 1997). The audio recordings are considered a public record
and accessible for others to scrutinise (Silverman, 2003). Due to the rich language
used by the participants to generate accounts of their experiences, interviews were
transcribed and an analysis of the transcripts was made. Creswell (2008) suggests
that when using audio recorders during interviews the researcher should record both
the questions and answers to give an accurate record of conversations and to make
transcribing more convenient. As suggested by Creswell (2008), the researcher took
notes in the event that the audio recorder malfunctioned. Interviews were conducted
in a quiet and suitable location and consent was obtained from all participants (see
section 3.7). The researcher’s approach to the interviews was flexible to allow
conversations to follow the interviewee’s line of thought. The researcher also
attempted to complete the interview within the time specified as a sign of respect
towards participants. The technique of using probes or sub-questions to obtain
additional information was followed. All participants were thanked for their
participation in the interviews.
78 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
3.6 PROCEDURE
The conduct of the project is outlined below. The project commences at phase
1 where community access and permission is sought through the identified key
Aboriginal stakeholder. As the research develops through each of the research
phases, the research is finalised with what Smith (1999) outlines as integral to
research involving Indigenous peoples; that is, as the final phase, reporting back to
the community on the outcomes and findings. The project consisted of six main
phases as follows:
1. Phase 1: Selection of the research site;
2. Phase 2: Visiting the context;
3. Phase 3: Conduct of interviews/data collection;
4. Phase 4: Analysis of data;
5. Phase 5: Documentation of findings;
6. Phase 6: Reporting to community.
These phases are illustrated in Figure 3.5.
Chapter 3: Methodology 79
Figure 3.5. Phases of research.
A map of the research study is provided in Figure 3.6 on the following page.
Phase 1: Research site chosen and access
sought
Phase 2: Contextualisation
Phase 3: Interviews/data collection
Phase 4: Data analysis
Phase 5: Documentation of
findings
Phase 6: Reporting back to community
Figure 3.6. Map of the research study.
Young people’s stories of their
experiences of transitioning
Themes the researcher looks for
Identity Belief and fear Influence family, peers &
community (role models)
Analysis (Restorying)
Restorying process (Creswell, 2008)
(Bundjalung) Young men Community Elders Community members
Participants
Semi-structured and unstructured interviews
Yarning
Organising the story elements into the problem solution Narrative Structure Setting
Collection
1. Transcription from audio (raw data) 2. Retranscription by the researcher
(identify key element of narrative) (codes used)
3. Restorying by the researcher
Indigenist Research (Rigney, 1999)
Method of application Resistance Political integrity Privileging Indigenous voice
Cultural factors affecting tertiary education access for Bundjalung men
Method of inquiry Analytical instrument Research process
Cultural interface My standpoint
Indigenous Standpoint Theory (Nakata, 2007)
Map of Study
Researcher
Insider/Outsider Research (McKinley-Brayboy & Deyhle, 2000)
Methodological Framework
Reporting back to the community on the findings of the research
Chapter 3: Methodology 81
It is important to note that, although the diagrammatic representation of the
phases of research may suggest that the process was orderly, occurred in a sequential
format and flowed logically, it did not necessarily follow an ordered line of events;
for example interviews/data collection were conducted over a period of time that
overlapped with the data analysis and documentation of findings. The phases in the
research process crossed over simultaneously and did not always follow an ordered
structure. Each phase is now described in more detail to show the steps taken in the
study.
3.6.1 Phase 1: Research site chosen and access sought
The context in which to conduct the research was chosen for several reasons.
First, there is a high population of Aboriginal people living in and around the
surrounding town. Second, there is a university and TAFE located in the region and,
as an Aboriginal researcher and through previous contact with local Aboriginal
Elders and community members within the community, the researcher is aware that
the focus area of the research, to further support, equip and encourage young
Aboriginal people to transition into tertiary education, was a common community
goal. Third, the researcher’s relationship and status in the community allowed access
and entry to the community and its members. Access and community consultation
was sought though the Narlumdarlum Local Aboriginal Land Council and through
the Bundjalung Elders Council for cultural appropriateness and to inform the
community of the research intended to take place.
3.6.2 Phase 2: Contextualisation
Getting to know the context of the research, that is, the research area and
surrounding regions, a group of young Indigenous people and the programs offered
82 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
in their social contexts, was a vital step before the interviews commenced. This was
achieved using Indigenist research methodologies, including building rapport and
trust.
3.6.3 Phase 3: Interviews/data collection
The interviews involved working with the young people, community Elders
and key community workers to gather data on their situation using narrative research
design. The interviews were recorded when appropriate and annotated notes taken.
Further details of the data collection techniques were provided in section 3.5.
3.6.4 Phase 4: Data analysis
Following the initial interviews, reflection, additional interviews or questions
as a result of the data were used where deemed necessary. Data was organised and
coded for themes or categories that emerged as a result of the analysis. Full details of
the data analysis process were provided in section 3.3.
3.6.5 Phase 5: Findings documented
Key findings from the conduct of the study are to be reported in line with
university guidelines and the requirements of the Masters Research process through
the writing of this thesis.
3.6.6 Phase 6: Reporting back to community
Reporting back to the local Aboriginal community is a key component of the
research and may occur through an informal presentation to the local Aboriginal
Land Council monthly meetings as well as being presented to the Elders and other
members of the Bundjalung community.
Chapter 3: Methodology 83
3.7 ETHICS AND LIMITATIONS
In academic institutions, researchers are required to adhere to strict codes of
conduct and ethics. This means that the identities and location of individuals and
places are not identifiable. The data collected has been labelled and held
anonymously to ensure confidentiality. The researcher ensured that the interviews
met ethical requirements according to the Queensland University of Technology
ethical guidelines, and were culturally appropriate and sensitive in relation to the
community and its participants. In every university, ethics processes can be time
consuming, and this is even more so when the keyword ‘Indigenous’ appears in an
application. These extra institutional precautions are completely understandable
considering past injustices involving research of Indigenous peoples and non-
Indigenous researchers.
The ethics application for this research was approved on 29 June 2011, as
follows: Ethics Category – Human; Ethics Approval Number – 1100000363. The
ethics forms are included in Appendix F.
3.7.1 Anonymity of participants
The participants were promised anonymity at the commencement of the
project. Any data collected from participants was coded with a pseudonym.
Therefore, the identities and location of individuals and places is not identifiable.
The data collected was labelled and held anonymously to ensure confidentiality. The
participants’ interviews and yarns were captured using a digital audio recorder and
later transcribed.
84 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
3.7.2 Obtaining consent from community
Access and community consultation was sought through the Narlumdarlum
Local Aboriginal Land Council. The Bundjalung Elders Council for cultural
appropriateness was also consulted in order to better inform the local Indigenous
community of the intended research. Obtaining consent from participants
acknowledges that they “understand the purpose of the study” and that the researcher
will “treat them ethically” (Creswell, 2008, p. 157). The researcher had previously
worked with the Narlumdarlum Local Aboriginal Lands Council and local
Aboriginal Elders, supporting young Aboriginal people to transition into tertiary
education. Therefore the researcher was aware that the issue of transition had been
identified as a community concern. The researcher’s relationship and status in the
community allowed access and entry to the community and to community members.
3.7.3 Limitations
The following limitations are to be considered in this research. Past research
methods that have been conducted in Indigenous communities have disempowered
Indigenous peoples. As suggested by Smith (1999, p. 1) Indigenous peoples have
been mere “objects of research” and “do not have a voice or do not contribute to
research or science”. These past practices have been resented by Indigenous peoples
and communities who are tired of being treated as objects. Furthermore, research to
date has given little back to Indigenous peoples who have been the source of
information (Porsanger, 2004). In this study, every effort has been made to
counteract past inappropriate practice by valuing Indigenous voice, reporting back to
the community and observing culturally appropriate conduct throughout the research
process. It is also hoped that recommendations for change arising from this research
Chapter 3: Methodology 85
will improve the transition process, thereby giving something back to the Indigenous
peoples.
It must be stated, however, that despite all efforts from the researcher to remain
objective throughout the project, Hitchcock and Hughes (1995, p. 164) state
“whatever kind of interview is used the fact that an individual, the researcher or
interviewer, is directly involved with another individual means, inevitably, that the
presence of the researcher will have some kind of influence on the findings or data”.
Conducting the research from my position as an Indigenous researcher, from an
Aboriginal community, ultimately meant that the data and results were exposed to a
level of uncontrolled bias. However, it must also be highlighted that as an Indigenous
researcher who grew up in the community in question, a level of rapport with
community members had been established. This may have facilitated dialogue,
promoted further discussion and served to gain further insights from interviewees.
My knowledge and position may have also provided additional understanding,
particularly when local community aspects were referred to, or where Aboriginal-
English or Aboriginal definitions of words were used.
In summary, this chapter has described the research methods, the research
process and its social setting in which the accounts occur. It has taken into account
the ethical considerations necessary when conducting this research project. In the
following chapter, restorying and retelling are applied to an examination of the
participants’ accounts, making sense of their particular experiences.
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 87
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis
The previous chapter presented the methodology and the research design to
provide a conceptual basis to address the research questions. Martin Nataka’s (2007)
work on Standpoint Theory and his understandings of the cultural interface were
examined. Further, the work of Aboriginal scholar Lester-Irabinna Rigney and his
Indigenist research methodology (1997) has been drawn on to guide the research in
order to maintain cultural appropriateness when conducting research with Indigenous
communities and their participants. Rigney (1997, p. 109) argues that this form of
research contributes to the “self determination and liberation struggles as defined and
controlled by their communities” by having Indigenous people analyse and critique
epistemologies (ways of knowing that reality) that are commonplace in higher
education. To achieve this, the study draws on insights from Indigenous community
members to find out how access to tertiary education is influenced by cultural
factors. It draws on local knowledges from different groups of people, including
young Indigenous men, Indigenous Elders and community members from the
nominated area within the Bundjalung region.
This chapter draws on the participants’ interview responses to respond to the
third research question: What cultural factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective
transitions can be traced in the accounts of young Bundjalung men and how do they
relate to those previously traced in the literature?
To answer this question, this chapter applies the methodological framework
developed in Chapter 3 to the participants’ interview responses. It describes the
cultural factors relating to the transitioning experiences of young Indigenous men.
88 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
The three principles of Indigenist research described in Chapter 3 – resistance,
political integrity and privileging Indigenous voices – frame the analysis in this
chapter. However, as this study focuses on young Indigenous men describing their
experiences, the analysis will draw primarily on the third principle.
4.1 PRIVILEGING THE BUNDJALUNG VOICE
The privileging of the young men’s voices allows for a focus on their lived
experiences, ideas, interests, aspirations and struggles. This principle will be further
organised into cultural factors. For example, factors related to culture include
identity, role models, family, community and peers, belief and fear. Each of these
elements reveals the barriers and enablers to access and transition to tertiary
education for young Bundjalung men.
The methods of analysis previously discussed in Chapter 3 and drawn on in
this analysis include restorying and retelling (Creswell, 2008). Restorying refers to
gathering, categorising and analysing interview responses for key themes and
information in the participants’ stories. This information is then retold to describe the
factors enabling and/or impeding young Indigenous men trying to access and
transition to tertiary education. In doing this, the following four-step process of
analysis provides the organising framework for the analysis: (a) the key theme is
identified; (b) there is a brief discussion of what that theme shows; (c) the theme is
traced in the interview response; and (d) its significance to access and transition is
addressed.
To contextualise and situate the voices of the participants represented in this
chapter, a brief introduction to who they are is provided to assist the reader.
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 89
Michael is 26 years old. He is a father of four young children all under the age
of four years. Michael currently works as a fork lift driver at a warehouse and has
expressed a strong interest to study physiotherapy at university but says that he is not
sure if he can afford to study and provide financially for his family and is not sure of
the processes involved or how to get started.
Kane currently work in disability services. He is 25 years old and has
expressed an interest in studying fashion. Kane says that in order for him to study
fashion he would need to relocate as there are currently no university fashion courses
available in his area.
Kerry says he is a proud father of five young children. He is 26 years old and is
currently completing a 12-month electrical worker traineeship with an energy
company. As part of his traineeship requirements, Kerry studies at TAFE one day a
week. Kerry says he is really enjoying his traineeship and would like to study at
university in the future.
Craig is 27 years old and has previously completed a social science degree.
Craig will soon commence a Master’s degree in social work. He is a single dad with
three young children.
Jerry is 25 years old and is currently in his final year at university studying a
Bachelor of Business degree. He has previously studied several courses at TAFE
prior to commencing university. Jerry also has ambitions of playing professional
rugby league. He is married with no children.
Ryan is 25 years old and is currently unemployed. He is a single dad and takes
care of his 6-year-old son who is living with a disability. Ryan has expressed an
90 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
interest in studying at university but is not sure of the processes involved to get
started.
Jim is 26 years old. He currently works for an employment agency and has
previously completed a one-year bridging course at university as well as completing
his first year of a four-year education undergraduate degree. Jim gained employment
at his current job and decided to defer his studies. Jim says he would like to complete
his degree if he can obtain a scholarship to support him financially.
Gerald is currently completing a 12-month traineeship as an Aboriginal family
support worker with a local organisation. He is required to attend TAFE one day a
week as part of his traineeship and is undertaking a Certificate III in Community
Welfare. Gerald says he would like to commence a social science degree part-time
upon completion of his traineeship. Gerald is 27 years old and is married with four
children.
Kyle works in construction. He previously completed an entry level
construction course with a local employment organisation and says he was fortunate
enough to gain full-time employment in the construction industry as a result of
completing the course. Kyle is 25 years old and has three young children.
The following three community members also participated in the study.
Mary Wright has worked with the education department for 17 years. She has
expressed a strong interest in studying at university. Mary has previously completed
several courses at TAFE. She is 44 years old and is a single mother with one teenage
son.
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 91
Roger Peters is currently retired. He has worked in the welfare industry for
over 25 years. Roger is actively involved in the Aboriginal community helping
mentor Aboriginal youth who are coming through the youth justice system and he
also coaches a local rugby league team. Roger is 60 years old.
Roberta Gill is a registered nurse. She has worked in the community health
industry for over 30 years. Roberta has four children and six grandchildren.
The following two Aboriginal Elders participated in the study.
Uncle Ray is an Aboriginal community Elder. He is highly respected in his
community and is active in promoting and encouraging young Aboriginal people to
study at university and TAFE. Uncle Ray is 68 years old and has recently completed
a Diploma in Community Development and uses this achievement to encourage and
challenge Aboriginal youth in his community to take up tertiary study.
Aunty Tina is also an Aboriginal community Elder. She is highly respected in
her community and is a current board member of the local Aboriginal Lands Council.
Aunty Tina has been highly active in fighting for Aboriginal rights in the local area
for over 40 years.
The next section will respond to their voices.
92 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
4.2 CULTURAL FACTORS
The cultural factors discussed in this section are related to giving voice to the
voiceless; here the majority of the voices will be from young Indigenous men, with
support and insight from Indigenous Elders and Indigenous community members.
The factors have emerged from their stories and experiences through yarns and semi-
structured interviews and are discussed through the Indigenous researcher. The
cultural factors include identity, belief and fear, and role models such as family,
peers and community. Each factor will be described to expose the continuing
struggles that Indigenous young people face such as those in this study. In the
following analysis, these factors are discussed, beginning with identity.
4.2.1 Identity
Identity is described in this study as who and what people think they are in a
particular social context or community, what they do in consequence, and how they
interpret what they do. Identity has been described as an essential element of one’s
sense of self, and an important contributor to an individual’s self-esteem (Kickett-
Tucker & Coffin, 2011). Identities are learned and for social contexts, they are social
constructions (Hogg, Martin, & Weeden, 2004). For example, when Kerry was asked
about the factors that impacted on young people accessing tertiary education, he
began by discussing who and what he thinks being Aboriginal means in a range of
contexts and communities and what they do in consequence.
Number two is we need to move away from where we think that, that’s white
fella styles. It’s not white fella styles. It might be the white way of life but if
you look at black fella tradition, you weren’t allowed to be an outcast in
society in black fella days, you had to play your role. It’s just a modern
society now and we need to learn to adapt. (Kerry, young person)
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 93
Of significance in Kerry’s response are the cultural factors that impact on what
it means to be Aboriginal. For example, he classifies “white fella styles”, “white way
of life”, and “black fella tradition” to emphasise that in “black fella days”, people
were not allowed to be outcasts, rather they had a role to play. Aunty Tina
exemplifies further,
If you don’t know who you are and where you come from then you are lost...
Ownership of where you are coming from and where you are going is one
thing you need to know. (Aunty Tina, community Elder)
Both Kerry and Aunty Tina highlight the importance of knowing who “you”
are, “your role” and “where you come from” – ways of being (Hoff, 2006). They also
reveal the significance of tradition and not being allowed to be an outcast as well as
taking ownership of who you are and where you are going. This reference supports
the views expressed earlier in the Preamble by Indigenous Elders at Camp
Bundjalung around the importance of young men knowing who they are and where
they come from. Where Kerry begins with the differentiation of people and practices
from one another and how they are placed in opposition to one another, he and Aunty
Tina emphasise the importance of identity and knowing who “you are” as shown
below.
Being a Koori boy you learn from a young age that you are Aboriginal and
that you are different. (Kerry, young person)
This contrast places “being a Koori boy” in opposition to other groups and in
doing so gives rise to negative feelings and practices, which may be the focus of
struggle, for example,
The worst thing about the whole scenario is people like my grandparents
they were all hard working Kooris and they worked for nothing. They all
came from good values and they suffered and you look today and we have
94 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
got everything, we don’t have everything but we have a lot more than what
we have ever had, but yet we are lazier. Do you understand where I am
coming from my brother? I have seen old Koori photos of old aunties and
uncles, milking goats at the age of four, doing farm work, boys driving
tractors at the age of ten. Fencing, ringbarking, shearers, stockman, do you
know what I mean and all young fellas and they got paid smidgens to do it.
They had to fight for their wages, their own children had to fight for their
wages once they had died. We have got stuff but a lot of them don’t want to
put their front foot forward, and I was guilty of that myself, but that came
from a misguided self-interpretation of I didn’t want to be a part of the white
man’s world and this and that do you know what I mean, but all I was doing
was fooling myself and here I am now just kicking off when I should have
been kicking off back when I was sixteen. (Kerry, young person)
Here, Kerry signifies the struggles of his family to compare what “we” have
today. For example, the phrases “worked for nothing” but “came from good values
and they suffered” work to show the adaptation of his “grandparents” and others
from previous generations. According to Arbon (2008) Aboriginal people who
survived the initial invasion, adapted to working in a range of areas, but many others
were either unable to access or were not wanted in an emerging workforce. Many
were unable to “access the new or the old Indigenous ways of being, knowing and
doing in the world” (p. 56). Indigenous people were progressively “dispossessed and
denigrated” as authority was taken by the State (p. 56). This era of civilisation and
assimilation has impacted on “all Indigenous peoples” (p. 56) and is visible in
Kerry’s responses. It is particularly evident in education. In the past, education
served the purposes of others to transform Aboriginal people to “the invaders’
ontological and culturally defined beliefs of who we should be as individuals” (p. 57;
see also Norris, 2011, for a comprehensive discussion of the thinking behind the
decades-long regime that limited Indigenous Australians’ participation in the colonial
society established by the British in 1788). Schooling for many had become a
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 95
negative and degrading failure. The impact of this failing process goes to much
deeper issues of struggle and identity.
The issues affecting Indigenous young people’s disengagement with education
and how they identify themselves as learners are many (Schwab & Sutherland,
2001). For example, one issue stems from many Indigenous adults feeling
unprepared to provide the much-needed support to younger community members due
to negative associations and experiences in their own schooling as a result of past
practices as discussed previously. When Jerry, one young person interviewed in the
study, was asked his thoughts on the issues preventing young Indigenous men in his
community from participating in tertiary study, he reflected back on his own
experience growing up and living with a message that was relayed on to him from his
own family surrounding engagement with tertiary education.
Even for me there is always that story that I lived with when I was younger
that only smart people go to uni but there are simple things that we just
didn’t get, I didn’t get it, well the world that I lived in didn’t get it. (Jerry,
young person)
Highlighted in Jerry’s account is a belief that “only smart people” attend
university. This statement works to reinforce what Schwab and Sutherland (2001)
argue. That is, the result of unsuccessful past engagement with education for many
Indigenous families lies in an ill-equipping by family members to provide their
children with the “necessary assistance and direction for their children’s education”
(p. 4), which may be due to themselves having low levels of “literacy and numeracy
skills and also little experience with the knowledge and processes that underpin
formal education” (p. 4). This process can, therefore, generate a negative outlook
towards their own children’s directions and attitude towards formal education. The
belief that Jerry has held towards tertiary education is revealed as being embedded
96 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
within him as he emphasises the placing of himself and others within his immediate
family as not in the “smart people” category. This self-representation indicates a low
academic self-concept and leaves him doubting his ability to study at a tertiary level.
The impact of Jerry’s home and family views and the negative outlook associated
with tertiary education became trans-generational. That is, the negativity that has
been historically accumulated reinforces a self-negative construction with feelings of
self-doubt and uncertainty. This in turn leads to negative views about his ability and
self-concept of what he sees as achievable academically. He concludes that “I didn’t
get it, well the world that I lived in didn’t get it”. This conclusion is further
reinforced in the following statement to indicate that he was not an isolate with this
doubt,
There is a high Aboriginal population where I come from and I wouldn’t be
able to think off the top of my head anyone who has gone to uni. (Jerry,
young person)
Jerry uses the term “high Aboriginal population” to further reinforce his
previous statement about “smart people”. A presupposition, that is, a reasonable
inference that can be drawn here is that, because he does not know anyone who has
gone to university, the “high Aboriginal population” does not belong in the “smart
people” category. If this is the case, it further denigrates the identities of Aboriginal
people and how they see themselves and their capacity to achieve and access
education. Craig’s response below reinforces Jerry’s statement. His view of young
Indigenous men participating in tertiary education indicates that there is a majority of
Indigenous people in his community not participating at a tertiary level and
engagement is being viewed by members of his community as a difficult task.
I think at least 90 percent of people around here are going to think that uni is
too big a step for them to achieve... If you have got someone who left school
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 97
in Year 8 or Year 9 and they don’t have any family members who have gone
to uni or even work, university is not even an option. University is seen as
something that is for people who finished school and even white fellas see it
as the same thing. If you don’t finish Year 10, they see uni as impossible as
you can never get there. (Craig, young person)
Both Jerry’s and Craig’s responses indicate that family, peers and Indigenous
community members are not accessing and or transitioning to tertiary education.
Their responses support Bain’s (2011) argument that many Indigenous students drop
out of school before completing Year 12. Year 12 retention rates are much lower
than those for non-Indigenous students, as identified in the literature. Although Bain
identifies some positive trends for Indigenous students, with Indigenous retention
increasing from 1998 to 2008, he argues that there are still too many Indigenous
students dropping out of school before they complete Year 12. Their chances of
obtaining well-paid jobs, or obtaining employment at all, and/or accessing tertiary
education are minimal (Bain, 2011). Anderson (2011) asserts that there are high
proportions of young Indigenous people reaching the age of 15 without obtaining
adequate numeracy and literacy and who experience limited opportunities to move
into employment or tertiary education. This argument is evident in both Jerry’s and
Craig’s statements. Jerry uses the term “high” and his phrase “I wouldn’t be able to
think off the top of my head anyone who has gone to uni” supports Craig’s statement
that “90 percent of people around here are going to think that uni is too big a step for
them to achieve” and that studying at university is being seen as “impossible” and
“you can never get there”. These terms and phrases reinforce Bain’s (2011) argument
about the under-representation of young Indigenous people in higher education.
Access and transition to tertiary education is important for Indigenous students
so that they can then begin to believe that they possess the ability to study at such a
98 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
level (Di Gregorio, Farrington, & Page, 2010). Without the belief that they can
transition successfully and achieve, feelings of low self-confidence and low self-
concept prevail. As stated in Aunty Tina’s response earlier in this section,
“ownership of where you are coming from and where you are going is one thing you
need to know”.
Several authors have indicated reasons for why young Indigenous people are
not accessing education and give weight to the claims in the participants’ responses
(Andersen 2011; Bin-Sallik & Smallacombe, 2003; De Bortoli & Thomson, 2010;
Lowe 2011; Rigney, 2011). These reasons have included: low achievement at school,
low socioeconomic status, and low expectations of academic ability and academic
success to name a few. Ryan, a young person in the study, provides his reasons for
why this might be the case.
Just really no confidence about us. We haven’t had that experience of going
out and doing it and being up front. It’s shame bra you know. (Ryan, young
person)
In this statement, Ryan expresses his views about himself and his peers,
categorised as “us” and “we” which suggests inclusivity and by using the terms
“just”, “no confidence”, “haven’t” and “shame” to indicate that the problem is
related to “really no confidence” to engage in tertiary education. His comments are
supported in the literature, which states that Indigenous men are identified as less
likely to enter higher education over other socio-economic groups (Woodin & Burke,
2007). The lack of confidence with the statement “just really no confidence about us”
is further reinforced with Ryan stating that “it’s shame”. This statement can be
interpreted as more than feeling embarrassed or ashamed, but also as made to feel
different or singled out, thus emphasising the wider effects of “social exclusion,
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 99
reduced self-esteem and self-respect that result from a lack of access to material and
cultural resources” (Centre for Community Child Health The Royal Children’s
Hospital, 2009, p. 1).
Low self-confidence and feelings of shame further erode how young
Indigenous people identify themselves and is reinforced by one community Elder,
Uncle Ray. He provides insights into the high proportion of Indigenous young
people’s non-participation in education and the associated low self-confidence,
respect and exclusion that he has witnessed amongst his community members.
What I think the problem is, is that a lot of these young fellas have got no go
in them, you know. Well there are some that want to do something but I
would say that about 75 percent don’t want to do anything...but like I said
some young people want to do it [participate in tertiary education] but some
just don’t want to, especially the young girls, a lot of them would rather be
out having kids instead of studying. (Uncle Ray, community Elder)
Issues of low self-confidence and esteem are evident in Uncle Ray’s
interpretations of the “young fellas”. If young people have had negative experiences
in school that are largely framed by disappointment and negativity, the impact on
self-confidence and esteem is likely to result in a lack of self-respect and motivation
and eventually self exclusion as the likely outcome (Sarra, 2011). This impact is
identified in the phrases “have no go in them” “75 percent don’t want to do
anything” and “the young girls, a lot of them would rather be out having kids instead
of studying”. These phrases prompt the necessity to enhance Aboriginal young
people’s identity, resilience, engagement and wellbeing as an outcome of schooling
(Andersen, 2011). Without these aspects young people will continue to find
themselves in unbreakable cycles of failure, and lacking a strong sense of themselves
as young Aboriginal people.
100 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Uncle Ray’s phrases “about 75 percent don’t want to do anything” and “a lot of
them would rather be out having kids instead of studying” emphasise that high
numbers of Indigenous young people are not participating in education within the
community and that tertiary education may not necessarily be a priority amongst
them. He provides added weight to the claims about “these young fellas” using the
terms “about 75 percent” and “a lot” to signify an exactness that reinforces his
authority to speak about the young people. Roger, a community member, further
supports Uncle Ray’s view about high numbers of Indigenous youth in the area not
completing high school:
A lot of these kids [Indigenous] are dropping out [of school] at 13, 14, 15
[years of age] and it doesn’t mean a thing to them because it’s at that age
when they dip out until when they really start to realise it, it could be 10 or
20 years. (Roger, community member)
Roger uses the term “a lot of these kids are dropping out at 13, 14, 15” and “it
doesn’t mean a thing to them”. These statements work to reinforce what Anderson
(2011) argues about the high proportions of Indigenous teenagers (15-19 years): that
are not fully engaged in work or education, being three times the rate of non-
Indigenous people and nearly 70% of young Indigenous adults (20-24 years) not
fully engaged in work or education (p. 99).
This section has identified in the accounts some of the issues affecting
Indigenous young people’s identities and how they view themselves and others
academically and in terms of capability of accessing and transitioning to tertiary
education. The issues which emphasise struggle and exclusion include young people
not knowing who they are and what their role is, being “Koori”, low self-concept,
self-esteem and confidence. They also describe young Indigenous people as deficit.
An alternative explanation might be, that if most young Indigenous people
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 101
experienced schooling that was good and culturally appropriate, they would be less
likely to experience negative and degrading failure in school which has become “a
major social and educational problem” that needs to be addressed (Arbon, 2008,
p. 58). Because of the processes associated with failure in school, it flows onto the
crisis in tertiary education, resulting in fear and the underrepresentation of
Indigenous people as role models. The following sections address these aspects more
fully.
4.2.2 Fear and its influence on access to education
The previous section discussed in detail aspects around identity and how this
plays out into participants’ engagement with tertiary education. This section will
focus on fear and its influence on access to education. Fear has been described as
resistance towards something that a person may experience when considering or
attempting to let go of familiar ways of doing things in order to embark on or
embrace new and unfamiliar terrain (Zariski, 1996). Such associations linked to
tertiary educational engagement for new students may also bring feelings of doubt
and uncertainty and may be considered intimidating or threatening for these students.
McNaught (2005, p. 2) explains that when feelings of fear are experienced by
students in a tertiary context, it is important that they are recognised and dealt with in
order for sufficient strategies to be developed by academic staff and institutions so
that “confidence, motivation, and adequate support and training opportunities” can
be instilled. Fear is described in this study as feelings of apprehension relating to the
responses generated from community participants surrounding the issues of why
young Indigenous people from the Bundjalung region are avoiding engagement with
tertiary education.
102 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
For example, when Roger, a community member, was asked what he sees are
the factors that are holding young men back in his community from participating in
tertiary education he begins by outlining the following:
People are afraid, even these young people they are afraid to leave their own
environment because they are safe. Young fellas that are roaming around
they can always get a bed at aunties or uncles or nephews or cousins. They
can always get a drink around the place. And I would say about 80 percent
of young people in these towns have gone away for holidays but never ever
lived away. They have never ever done it tough because it is like their own
... and that is like what it was like 100 years ago you didn’t go away but
things are too comfortable for them in their own area. And it’s frightening to
even think about, a young fella going away for a job or to study. (Roger,
community member)
Of significance in Rogers’s response is how he describes the young people as
being fearful by using the term “afraid” and “because they are safe”. This statement
supports Zariski’s (1996) argument as mentioned earlier, that fear can be experienced
when considering embracing new ways of operating. Roger also uses the figures “80
percent of young people in these towns” and “they have never done it tough”, to
emphasise a very high number of Indigenous young people not having experienced
being in uncomfortable and unfamiliar environments. The phrase “things are too
comfortable for them in their own area” may provide a reason for why young
Indigenous men are not participating in tertiary education, because of fear of the
unknown and getting out of their comfort zone. He provides added weight to this
claim about the “young fellas” and “young people” by stating “I would say about 80
percent of young people in these towns” to signify an exactness of young people that
are fearful.
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 103
Roberta’s statement also supports Roger’s comments about a high number of
young people in their community unwilling to embrace new and unfamiliar
experiences.
Many of them if they are that way inclined will go and play sports but they
are too frightened to leave the area and leave the family behind because of
the lack of self-esteem. (Roberta, community member)
Roberta uses the term “many” when referring to the young people in her
community which signifies high amounts of young people and “they are too
frightened to leave the area”. She also refers to this fear as being due to a “lack of
self-esteem” amongst the young people. This statement also works to reinforce what
Zariski (1996) argues, that is, resistance occurs when people are fearful of
considering or attempting to let go of familiar ways of doing things in order to
embark or embrace on new and unfamiliar terrain.
This section has focused on fear that has been identified amongst young
community members and its possible impact on access to tertiary education for
community members. The next section focuses on role models.
4.2.3 Role models as mentors: Family, community and peers
The previous section discussed the issues that impacted on young Indigenous
people accessing tertiary education. In this section, the influence of role models,
family, community and peers are elaborated in order to describe how these groups
support or otherwise influence the young people’s access and transitions to tertiary
education. Arbon (2008) describes how Indigenous societies are founded within and
on “the symbolic, performative and interpretational where dialogue, mentoring and
responsibility are critical” (p. 53). Mentoring is seen as central and as a backdrop to
who is mentored and with what responsibility. “Mentoring is a component of
104 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
dialogue and dialogue is a factor within mentoring” (p. 53). What this means is that
with the responsibilities of role models as mentors, comes the responsibility of
affirming and ensuring “continuity and sustainability” (p. 53).
Role models
Through observing family, community and peers, there are mentors or role
models who have the responsibility of helping to mentor others. Solomon (1997)
emphasises the importance that role models play in the lives of young people, family
and community. He highlights that they “inspire others to believe that they too may
be capable of high accomplishments” (p. 396). In the following statements this
aspect is explored. For example, Roberta describes her views on why she believes a
lot of young Indigenous men in her community are not accessing tertiary education.
The other big problem that we have here and I think that it is part and parcel
of why they [young Indigenous men] don’t carry on to tertiary education and
that is that there are very few role models here that go on to do that.
(Roberta, community member)
In Roberta’s statement she highlights “that there are very few role models here
that go on to do that”. Of interest is that this statement reinforces what Stewart
(2009) argues, that is, for educational success for Indigenous students studying at
university, positive role modelling from within the community is important, which
may shed some light as to why young men in the community are not accessing
tertiary education. This aspect is further identified in Craig’s response below, that is,
what is being perceived as one of the major contributing factors to young people’s
lack of participation in tertiary education in their community.
There is a lack of role models. There is a lack of support when it comes to
studying. I think it is a lack of family members and friends that have
achieved anything that is above and beyond. (Craig, young person)
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 105
Craig’s statement supports Anderson’s (2011) and Stewart’s (2009) argument,
that there is a lack of visible mentoring, with Anderson (2011) emphasising that “a
lack of role models” is a key factor to why young people are not participating in
tertiary education. Craig points to a “lack of support when it comes to studying” and
“lack of family members and friends” as causative factors towards engagement and
transition into tertiary education. This point gives weight to Anderson’s (2011)
argument of why Indigenous students are not completing compulsory years of
schooling and going on to higher education; that is, “parents are not being actively
involved” and there is a the lack of external “resources to support participation”
which needs to be addressed (p. 101).
Kane and Michael, two other young people interviewed in the study, also
provide insight about what they perceive as factors affecting tertiary participation.
Identified in their accounts is a shortage of mentors in the community. For example,
There is no one really showing them the way. People can be quite negative
about it [tertiary studies]. (Kane, young person)
With me I know that I have had no role models in my immediate family or
nobody really there to keep pushing me to do it [tertiary study]. Thinking
back I should have just gone and did it. (Michael, young person)
Where Kane begins by stating “there is no one really showing them the way”
both Kane and Michael also emphasise the lack of role modelling occurring in the
community as the reason behind the lack of tertiary engagement. Stewart (2009)
highlights the importance that role modelling plays to “counteract negative
community expectations” and states that positive role modelling “inspires personal
ambitions in gaining a rewarding career as part of a healthy life balance” (p. 187). Of
significance in Michael’s response of why young men in his community are not
106 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
participating in education is his identification of having “no role models in my
immediate family” and “nobody really there to keep pushing me to do it”. However,
Jerry provides an alternative view when asked about members of his family that he
has looked up to and which has contributed to him enrolling in university; he states,
I don’t think dad finished school and none of his brothers or sisters finished
school. (Jerry, young person)
Here, Jerry highlights that his dad did not finish school and “none of his
brother or sisters finished school” which indicates that he has several of his family
members not modelling successful engagement in education. A conclusion can be
drawn here, because Jerry has grown up not witnessing or experiencing any of his
immediate family engaging in tertiary education, let alone completing high school,
he has used this experience to upwardly mobilise himself; that is, creating his future
life and opportunities. In doing so, he is demonstrating just what a young Indigenous
person can do despite not having a family history that has engaged in formal
education.
Rose, O’Malley, and Valverde (2006) highlight the key role that mentors
contribute in Aboriginal communities and the vital importance they play in the lives
of their members, assisting them to manage problems affecting their community
autonomously. As also indicated earlier by Arbon (2008) and Solomon (1997),
positive mentoring within Aboriginal societies is fundamental. It is especially
relevant if academic success and growth of tertiary education is to be achieved
together with parity of participation and outcomes. The Indigenous Higher Education
Advisory Council (2008) indicates that enrolments of Indigenous students need to
triple and completions need to increase by at least six hundred percent, because
currently, the largest inequity of achievement for Indigenous people rests at the
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 107
highest level of the education system (Anderson, 2011). The role of mentors and role
models is critical to supporting young people into education. The next section
discusses the role of family in such modelling.
Family as role models
The importance of family as role models for engaging children and young
adults in formal education is critical to their future life opportunities. Through the
process of modelling, children and young people learn the practices and processes
that are historically and culturally accumulated which serve as inspiration and
encouragement in the present and future (Anderson & Cavallaro, 2002). If one
accepts this premise, that modelling and engagement in education and learning is
significant to the future lives of young people, then the questions arise, what happens
with families who do not have the resources and skills to instigate and maintain such
modelling? How does such a lack of family modelling of education and learning
impact on the young people in this study? Aunty Tina’s account provides some
insights into these questions.
A lot of people in the community don’t go to school because of issues
surrounding family life... A lot of young people have 3 and 4 kids and they
are not even 20 [years old]. But we have got a lot of young girls and boys
and they are not even ... the average age would be about 21 and they have
got between 3 and 4 kids. (Aunty Tina, community Elder)
Of significance in this account is the use of the term “a lot of” to emphasise the
significance of the issue that Aunty Tina is communicating. That is, there are a lot of
young people who do not go to school and who have “3 and 4 kids” and they are not
yet 20; with an average age of 21 and repeating “3 and 4 kids”. In this account,
Aunty Tina provides an interpretation of what is happening to the young people in
her community. This evidence reinforces the argument of Rose et al. (2006) stated
108 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
previously. That is, of critical importance is the role that mentors and role models
play in the lives of young people and in addressing and managing the social
problems affecting Aboriginal communities. Where young people are disengaging
from school and then confronted with parenting of 3 and 4 children at a young age,
their likelihood of active participation in education and employment is critically
reduced, thus reproducing and reinforcing their exclusion from further opportunities
(Alston & Kent, 2003). This cycle of exclusion then becomes trans-generational and
serious, as Roger explains,
I think if you were to ask the majority of Koori kids’ parents they are going
to say all of the right and positive things yes I want this and that for my kid
to have an education but there has got to be something from the home, some
commitment. I don’t agree about making them suffer financially but if you
have got mum and dad who is on drugs and alcohol and there is jail in there
and they are on welfare, gee it makes it hard to motivate that parent. And
you have got so many kids today reared by grandparents too. (Roger,
community member)
Roger’s account highlights the difficulties for “Koori kids” and their parents.
He emphasises that “to say all of the right and positive things” is not sufficient. A
presupposition here is that simply stating words is not enough to support children
with their future lives and that parents have got to be actively engaged – “some
commitment”. Like Roger, Jim’s response indicates the characteristics surrounding
the family and home life and the influence they have on young Indigenous people
participating in tertiary education.
Home life, if you have a good home that is good to study, if you have people
who drink and take drugs or come in and out early in the morning it is a lot
harder to study or to work if you are getting no sleep... It was when I was
growing up with a lot of my friends, there was only a couple of us who had
stable households. There was a lucky few of us. (Jim, young person)
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 109
Jim highlights the importance for young Indigenous people to be living in what
he terms “a good home that is good to study” if they are to be successful in engaging
in tertiary education. Jim further reveals that if young men have family members that
display the following behaviours, “who drink or take drugs” or “come in and out
early in the morning”, it makes it “a lot harder to study”. Such behaviours being
modelled and stemming from the home environment can be viewed as disruptive and
work to reinforce Anderson, Bunda, and Walter’s (2009) argument that providing
supportive learning environments in the home and at institutions is imperative to
increasing Indigenous higher education participation and success which is currently
one of Australia’s puzzling and complex problems (Buckskin, 2008). Jim’s account
emphasises that from “a lot of my friends” there were only a “lucky few of us” who
grew up in households that he considers supportive households, which may give
further insight into why so few of Jim’s peers with whom he grew up are
participating in tertiary education.
Kerry elaborates his educational experiences and the role his family played in
his outlook towards tertiary education.
With me, my school experience wasn’t a happy time in my life. As a
teenager you go through hormonal changes and stuff like that. I felt that as
an Aboriginal boy growing up in a predominantly white area that I wasn’t
supported enough by my family, so it was a pretty painful time for me going
through school. I didn’t finish school. I only went to Year 9. It wasn’t a
happy time for me, so more or less as soon as I was able to leave school I
did... With me, my mum was an alcoholic. She was strong in the part where
she believed in good education for me, but because she was suffering from
addiction herself and although she wanted me to have a good education but
there was no way she was able to support me. She had her own struggles in
her life with her addiction... The main thing for me, it’s about family
structure. This is one thing that is really big for me and where I come from.
It’s all about family structure is what I believe and having support from our
110 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
family. If there is a breakdown in the family structure young fellas aren’t
going to have a chance. (Kerry, young person)
Kerry reflects on his experience growing up and not being “supported enough
by my family”. Due to this lack of support, Kerry associates his schooling as a
“pretty painful time” and resulted in Kerry not completing school. He also states that
his “mum was an alcoholic” and therefore due to her behaviours, she was unable to
provide sufficient educational support because of her addiction, which is highlighted
with the following statement “there was no way she was able to support me”. Kerry
attributes the strength in the family structure of Aboriginal families and places
emphasis on young men needing support from family. He also states, “if there is a
breakdown in the family structure young fellas aren’t going to have a chance”.
Kerry’s statement reinforces what Arbon (2008) highlights regarding the importance
that family plays and their obligation in mentoring younger members to ensure
positive pathways are shown, interpreted and understood for what she terms “proper
way” (p. 38). If these positive pathways are not being shown by older family
members, it works to reinforce what Kerry views as greatly minimising young people
opportunities and the young fellas in the community “aren’t going to have a chance”.
Jerry’s statement also highlights the influence of family modelling behaviours,
using the words “from the roots”.
Growing up as a Koori man and living with them and going to school with
them, the main one for me is from the roots. Things have to change in the
home where they are seen differently with uni and further education, the
value of education in school and the value of education has to change and
that is the key. (Jerry, young person)
Jerry highlights that the thinking within the home and what is modelled from
family relating to education and the value placed on education “has to change” and
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 111
he indicates that this “is the key”. Roberta’s statement below gives insights into the
barriers that affect access to education.
The other thing is the numeracy and literacy and a lot of the local people
here can’t read or write and the other thing you will find is the grandparents
are rearing the children, their children’s children. (Roberta, community
member)
Of significance in Roberta’s account is the use of the term “a lot” to emphasise
the significance of the issue relating to why many of the local people in her
community are not accessing tertiary education stating that many members are not
able to “read or write”. This evidence reinforces Anderson’s (2011) argument that
low levels of literacy are impeding academic success in many Indigenous
communities. Where Indigenous young people are significantly behind with literacy,
their likelihood of accessing tertiary level of education is greatly reduced (Atweh &
Bland, 2007). The next section discusses community as role models.
Community as role models
The previous section discussed the role of family as role models. While several
community members indicated that a lack of role models within the family affected
the participation of young Bundjalung men in tertiary education, there were mixed
responses with how this would be received amongst their peers and the community.
One community Elder elaborated on her thoughts with the following statement:
I think that if a young person wanted to study at university that would be just
grand. You know what that young person would be a great role model and
that is what it is all about and we haven’t got many of them. (Aunty Tina,
community Elder)
Identified in Aunty Tina’s comment is the significance of a “young person”
studying at university. The use of the term “just grand” works to emphasise her
112 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
positive view of young people in her community expressing an interest in wanting to
engage in study at university. However, this comment is accompanied by the phrase
“we haven’t got many of them”. Thus, whilst she recognises the importance of young
people attending university there are very few doing so in the community, which
results in limited or no role models who can mentor young people into the
importance that education plays in providing a successful transition to employment
and wellbeing. Kerry discusses the importance of role models.
All I can do is play my part and do the best that I can do with what I have
got. Be there for my kids and not only my kids but if my kids have a friend
or a mate from school and they need a home to stay I will try and be a role
model for not just my own kids but to other Koori kids as well and that’s all
I can do. (Kerry, young person)
Kerry uses the phrase “all I can do is play my part”. Here, he indicates that he
has a role to play within his community as a mentor and he places importance on
such a role by stating that he aims to “do the best that I can do with what I have got”.
Of significance in his response is that he does not limit this role to his own
immediate family but rather to others within his community, highlighted with the
following statements “be there for my kids and not only my kids but if my kids have
a friend or a mate from school” and “I will try and be a role model for not just my
own kids but to other Koori Kids as well”. Kerry also uses the words “I will try and
be a role model” to emphasise that within his community such a role is something he
places importance on and is striving towards. This statement reinforces what Winkler
(2010) emphasises about the structure of many Aboriginal communities, which may
oppose a Western view of the family unit and often includes varying roles amongst
older members as there is often a “close intersection between the community and the
individual”. These roles and community structures may include family values, where
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 113
raising and taking care of a child is everybody’s responsibility including discipline
and education (Winkler, 2010, p. 15). Community member Mary indicates in her
response that within her community, Elders are placing great value on education.
Our Elders in the community are certainly advocating that education is the
key to our future, so our Elders in our community are certainly advocating
for education and employment. (Mary, community member)
Mary’s response signifies the importance of education and that it is strongly
advocated in her community. The use of the term “certainly” twice adds weight to
her claim. That is, education and employment is “key to our future” – for the benefit
of the community. However, in her next response she indicates what some of the
issues might be for why the young people do not access tertiary education.
If you were a young person out at Marimgar [who] took themselves off to
uni everyday and caught the bus in to Laguwan everyday and back home to
Marimgar everyday and stuck your head in a textbook everyday and didn’t
associate with your family, because most uni students are head down bum up
in their books; then the community feels like they are losing that young one
because that young one is spending more time in the town than on the
community and so they can create rifts for the young ones to achieve goals
like that. It can make it harder for them not deliberately, but that is how it is
seen as though they have grown up on this community, they have been a part
of this community all of their lives and now they are a part of the big life in
town and they are off to uni big noting themselves and yeah that cannot have
the desired response that our young ones need. (Mary, community member)
In this response Mary highlights several aspects, namely, the differentiation
between young people in the community and “most uni students” and also young
people in the community and the young people as “part of the big life in town”. Such
differentiation works to emphasise several issues; in particular, the geographical
location of the young people’s community to the city and the impact that this has on
the community and family.
114 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Kerry, who is a young person in the community and aware of what the
community Elders are advocating, says:
They (Elders) see education as a positive thing. It’s number one. (Kerry,
young person)
Kerry highlights that the Elders “see education as a positive thing” and that
“it’s number one” to indicate the great importance being placed on education by
community Elders. Of interest in this statement is the use of the binary term
“positive” to compare how education is viewed by the Elders. The significance of
identifying binary oppositions as shown in the statement above is that they work to
differentiate between the importance of having and not having an education. Having
an education is reinforced with the use of the term “number one”. This term worked
to emphasise and evaluate how Kerry has interpreted the Elders’ views of education,
thus providing added weight to his statement. The use of this term expressed an
exactness that reinforced Kerry’s authority to speak about what the Elders had stated.
In the following account, Jim states what he does to encourage the young
people to engage in education.
I tell them [young Indigenous men] about all of the courses they can do and
how easy it is to enrol in them and that there is someone that they can always
speak to, but I think they need that encouragement from their close family
members and friends because I don’t think they get enough encouragement
from them. (Jim, young person)
Of significance in Jim’s response is the claim that he informs the young
Indigenous men in his community about courses available and that there are people
who they can talk with about their educational aspirations. Jim is also a young
person, and thus appears to be acting as a role model for his peers. From this
position, he identifies that young people need encouragement from their “close
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 115
family members and friends”, something which he claims they are not receiving. As
stated earlier by Di Gregorio, Farrington, and Page (2010), encouragement is vital for
young Indigenous students so that a belief of accomplishing successful transitions is
viewed as attainable. Kerry and Mary have highlighted that Elders in the community
place great importance on education for community members, however this is
negated by Jim’s statement that indicates there is a lack of encouragement from close
family members and friends. The next section discusses peers as role models.
Peers as role models
The previous section discussed the community as role models. While several
community members stated that community Elders emphasised the importance they
placed on education it was also identified that within the community more
encouragement was needed from within the family and peers. This section discusses
how peers are perceived as role models within the community. For example, Kyle,
one young person identified in the study by community Elders as having successfully
transitioned into tertiary education, elaborates this aspect.
They think I am up myself now, because I have gone on and got a full time
job and moving along in life. I don’t hang around the lads now who say that
to me. I don’t really do nothing except go to work and come home. They all
think we are all gammin [not-real, pretending, kidding] now and up
ourselves now. Yeah because I am getting ahead in life and because I am not
hanging out with them I suppose. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t and I
stopped hanging around them. (Kyle, young person)
Kyle elaborates his engagement and participation in employment. In doing so,
he indicates that he is “getting ahead in life”. However, this statement is also
evaluated by the use of the terms “suppose” and probably”. These terms work to
indicate a median probability to his claim about getting ahead. Whilst he indicates
that he is achieving, they also allow for considerations of what might exist that
116 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
causes or has caused him struggle, that is, a sense of belonging and alignment with
his peers. Broadly he is situated like his peers, given that who and what he is, is
derived from his social grouping; however, because he identifies with another
grouping, that is, those who have a full-time job and are progressing in life, he does
not identify with his peers. Thus, feelings of not being like them may cause him
struggle. This struggle is identified in the phrase “they all think we are all gammin
now and up ourselves now”. This statement is in opposition to what community
Elder Aunty Tina expressed earlier about a young person such as Kyle who has
successfully transitioned into tertiary education and who would be considered a
mentor with the community. She indicated that he would be warmly accepted by his
community, however Kyle has a different view, indicating that “I” and other peers,
“we”, who are achieving academic success, are not being accepted positively by their
peers. Kyle’s decision to separate himself from negative influences within his
community in order to achieve academic success supports the Elders’ advice which
was highlighted earlier in the Preamble. The influence of peers is further emphasised
in Roberta’s response below.
If they [young people] want to go to high school and they get peer pressured
by others saying what do you want to go and do that for and all of that kind
of stuff. (Roberta, community member)
Roberta’s response highlights the struggle for young people who want to
achieve like Kyle previously. Here, she identified that for these young people,
experiences of peer pressure may influence young people’s participation in
education. The pressure from peers may be so powerful that when a young person
chooses to rebuke such pressure, they risk losing affiliation and alignment with the
group which, in turn, impacts on their identity. On the other hand, if they choose to
succumb to the pressure, they risk losing the chance to engage and participate in
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 117
beneficial opportunities with positive role models that will support them in their
current and future lives. Jim explains,
It takes a bit of motivation. They need someone to lead them in the right
direction. It is hard when all of your mates party and drink. If your mates are
doing that it becomes natural. A lot of young Indigenous men are good until
they hit 18 and then they legally allowed to drink. They need that extra
motivation or that extra kick in the bum to tell them there is more out there
and more opportunities. I am not saying that they are all like that but a lot of
my cousins and my nephews are going that way at the moment. It is hard
because they don’t care but if [I] can tell them that there are these
opportunities available it would be that extra motivation. (Jim, young
person)
Here, Jim emphasises the importance of motivation and role models as leaders.
In doing so, he uses binaries to exemplify his point. For example, the use of the terms
“a bit of motivation” and “extra motivation” work to frame the negative concept that
Jim has of the young people of which he is one. Such a framing impacts on
motivation and self-respect with exclusion and negative life choices the likely
outcome. Jim uses the terms “right direction” and “hard” work to differentiate
between right and wrong choices and belonging and not belonging with “mates” who
party and drink. Being led by “mates” who drink and party is identified in the
statement as “natural”. This arbitrary classification orders the practices that “mates”
see as natural and taken-for-granted, and who join a sense of belonging, but may
limit how they negotiate their world. However, those who challenge these powerful
practices can do so by controlling their use of the practices (de Certeau, 1984). For
example, the phrase “there is a lot more out there and more opportunities” is used by
Jim to challenge the current practices that “a lot of my cousins and my nephews”
engage in. Bain (2011, p. 72) argues that “often” Indigenous young people have less
exposure to role models in families and with friends who have completed school and
118 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
gone onto further education. As a consequence, the motivation to engage in
education may be low with young people identifying with their peers in similar
situations. Kyle explains,
They are just following suit. They all have older brothers and they are all
following the same path. It’s just continuous. Younger brother sees older
brother not going to TAFE and doing what he does get a job, have kids and
that’s just the normal thing. They just follow suit. I had friends and they all
had older cousins and older brothers and stuff and they were all exactly the
same. There were no expectations of them to go to uni or get anything so
they don’t go. (Kyle, young person)
Kyle’s response reinforces Jim’s comments previously. In doing so, he uses
evaluative terms such as “just” “all” “same” “not going” “exactly the same” and “no
expectations”. These terms worked to emphasise what is considered “natural”. That
is, where practices are seen as everyday and natural, they are taken for granted. The
more taken-for-granted the practices are, the more powerful they are in social life,
reinforcing routine tasks as natural and thus creating particular views (Bourdieu,
1977). They guide people on what they think, say and do in daily life. Such
reinforcement is identified in the phrases, “just following suit”, “following the same
path”, “it’s just continuous”, “just the normal thing”, “all exactly the same”. Kyle has
collectively identified the young people negatively. Beneath the surface of these
phrases are issues related to less exposure to role models, low expectations and low
academic self-concept. Although there are many other factors that impact on the
choices that young Aboriginal people make, these factors work to deter them from
engaging in further education (Bain, 2011).
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 119
4.3 CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter has highlighted issues which have impacted on the struggle and
exclusion of young Koori people. Issues surrounding identity include not knowing
who they are and what their role is, as a Koori, which in turn can lead to issues
around low self-concept, self-esteem and confidence, impacting heavily on
participants’ engagement with tertiary education. Concerns around fear amongst
participants within the community were also identified as a central issue, impacting
on participants’ engagement with tertiary education.
The chapter has also identified the influences of role models, and their
importance for supporting or otherwise young Indigenous men with accessing and
transitioning to tertiary education in the study. In doing so, a consistent theme has
emerged amongst many of the participants involved in the study. That is, it is evident
that there is a lack of visible and active mentors within the identified community who
are demonstrating successful engagement and transitioning into tertiary education
and which are being witnessed by young men in the community. The accumulative
effects of this kind of experience is that by not accessing and transitioning into
tertiary education, the young men are contributing to negative trans-generational
issues that further reinforce how they identify themselves and their community. This
in turn continues the cycle of self-doubt, low self-confidence and low academic self-
concept.
Chapter 5: Conclusion 121
Chapter 5: Conclusion
The overall aim of this study was to critically reflect on the cultural factors
affecting Indigenous men’s access to tertiary education by focusing on the following
research questions:
1. How can this study contribute to understandings of the cultural factors that
impact on the transitional experiences and access to tertiary education for
young Bundjalung men?
2. What cultural factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective transitions can
be traced in the literature relating to young Indigenous men?
3. What cultural factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective transitions can
be traced in the accounts of young Bundjalung men and how do they relate
to those previously traced in the literature?
Chapter 1 argued for the significance of these questions and the value of the
study that responds to them. Chapter 2 reviewed the evidence, claims and counter-
claims and arguments around the factors influential to Indigenous men’s transition to
tertiary education. It found that the research questions and the critical issues they
raised had not yet been adequately addressed by studies that focused on the
Bundjalung Nation. Hence, rather than seeking to resolve that debate, it proposed to
present the range of positions advanced by the literature in terms of the experiences
reported by the participants in this study. A gap in the literature was identified which
could be resolved by a comprehensive framework for addressing forms of Indigenous
men’s participation in tertiary education and the processes that inhibit and support
sustained participants over the duration of studying for a degree. Chapter 3 proposed
122 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
a methodological framework that was suited to the task, the context and method of
the study. The analysis and discussion in Chapter 4 addressed the third research
question and related issues. In this chapter, the research questions are reviewed, and
the overarching research question is addressed in terms of the contribution of the
study: How can this study contribute to understandings of the cultural factors that
impact on the transitional experiences and access to tertiary education for young
Bundjalung men? The limitations of the study are then assessed, and the chapter
concludes with recommendations and suggested areas for further study.
5.1 SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS
Three cultural factors about the barriers and enablers to access and transition to
tertiary education were identified in the participants’ accounts of their experiences.
These factors were identity, fear, and role models – family, community and peers.
The factors differed in their influence as identified in the participants’ accounts.
These findings are briefly discussed before addressing research questions two and
three and the discussion of the contribution of the methodological framework.
5.1.1 Identity
Identity was identified as a significant contributor to how an individual viewed
themselves. Identities are learned and constructed in social contexts – who and what
people think they are, what they do, and how they interpret what they do, all
contribute to the kinds of identities constructed. From the participants’ accounts of
their experiences, it was evident that several issues affect Indigenous young people’s
identities and how they see themselves and others academically. Such issues
emphasised struggle and exclusion; for example, young people not knowing who
they are and what their role is, being “Koori”, low self-concept, self-esteem and
Chapter 5: Conclusion 123
confidence. However, an alternative explanation might be that if young Indigenous
people experienced schooling that was culturally appropriate, they might be less
likely to experience negative and degrading failure in school which has significantly
impacted on their future opportunities for education, training and employment.
5.1.2 Fear
From the participants’ accounts, fear was identified as linked to feeling
frightened, low self-esteem, and feeling uncomfortable if they had to leave “their
own environment” and family. Fear was identified as a barrier to accessing further
opportunities in education and training and consequently the kind of identity
constructed as young people. The interaction with community afforded the young
people with opportunities of safety and comfort in their community.
5.1.3 Role models
Positive role models were identified as critical to playing a role in the lives of
the young people. Role models help to inspire others to believe that they too can
achieve success and are capable of accomplishments. From the participants’
accounts, family, community and peers were major contributors to the kinds of role
models that they interacted with. Where there was an identified lack of positive role
models there were also major barriers to accessing further education and training.
Such models play a key role in the lives of Indigenous community members,
assisting them with making decisions about their lives and how to manage problems
affecting their community autonomously.
5.1.4 Responding to research questions two and three
Drawing on the relevant findings from this study, as presented in Chapter 4 and
briefly discussed above, it is now possible to respond to the research questions.
124 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
What cultural factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective transitions can be
traced in the literature relating to young Indigenous men?
As discussed and reviewed in Chapter 2, several factors were identified in the
literature and discussed. There was general agreement that cultural factors, improved
access, retention and educational outcomes need addressing. In particular, that to
bring about effective change that is sustainable in Indigenous communities,
educational institutions need to consider the perspectives and practices of local
Aboriginal community members and Indigenous educational ways of operating to
counteract low participation and retention of Indigenous students. There is a strong
desire with Indigenous people to be involved in their community’s education,
regardless of the history of exclusion from education in Australia. Where there is that
presence, it provides assurance that someone is there who understands their personal
needs and problems.
What cultural factors can be traced in the accounts of young Bundjalung
men and how do they relate to those previously traced in the literature?
The analysis in Chapter 4 identified several major cultural factors that were
influential to Indigenous people transitioning to tertiary education. These included
identity, fear, and role models – family, community and peers. At issue was their
application in the lives of the participants interviewed. That is, where the young
people identified themselves or it was referred to by community members and
Elders, so too were issues of no confidence, shame, and feelings of low self-
confidence and exclusion. Such feelings can be traced in the literature and how
through history Indigenous people have been excluded from an effective education
that considers their ways of learning and world views.
Chapter 5: Conclusion 125
5.1.5 The contribution of the methodological framework to the study
Indigenist research methodology (Rigney, 1997) and Standpoint Theory
(Nakata, 2007) contributed to understanding the accounts of the participants in this
study. It was most significant for privileging Indigenous voices – their lived and
historical experiences, traditions, dreams and struggles influential to accessing
further education opportunities. It has meant that the participants’ experiences of
education can be attributed to the influence of schooling and its lack of recognition
of the ways of learning and world views of Indigenous people.
5.2 ADDRESSING RESEARCH QUESTION ONE
Research question one, the overarching research question, draws together the
findings of Chapters 2 and 4 to develop deeper insights into the accounts of the
young Bundjalung men and other community members.
How can this study contribute to understandings of the cultural factors that
impact on the transitional experiences and access to tertiary education for
young Bundjalung men?
This research has supported the findings of a number of other studies as
identified in Chapter 2. This has included support for the findings of negative
associations between education and Indigenous people (Lester, 2006; McConaghy,
2000; Moreton-Robinson, 2009) and support for findings that effective education can
lead to changes of this failure (Nicholson, 1980; Whatman & Duncan, 2005).
With reference to access to tertiary education identified in the findings
summarised in section 5.1, the following points reoccur in the accounts by
Bundjalung young men, community members and elders:
struggle and exclusion lead to low self-concept, esteem and confidence;
126 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
cultural inappropriateness of schooling leads to failure and negative beliefs
about capability in tertiary education;
comfort and safety in staying in community leads to not taking
opportunities to access tertiary education; and
difficulties occur if community and family do not include role models that
instil a belief in capability with respect to tertiary access or if role models
are characterised in ways that estrange them from community.
At the same time, there is evidence that Indigenous young people’s
engagement in education could be established and improved in programs that bring
together, through partnerships, stakeholders at a national, state, local and grassroots
level. If systemic changes are to challenge the issues of Indigenous education, there
is a need to intensify the focus on Indigenous community involvement and
partnerships with tertiary institutions. This process would allow for more culturally
recognised practices that provide sustained and well-maintained support for
Indigenous people.
To gain insight into culturally recognised practices, two issues will be
discussed, interaction of factors and role of family and community. The implications
of these for access to tertiary education are then discussed.
5.2.1 Interaction of factors
Three factors adversely affect access to tertiary education: (a) identity negative
in terms of tertiary education; (b) fear of change in terms of studying and leaving
community, low self-esteem and confidence; and (c) visible lack of role models in
Chapter 5: Conclusion 127
terms of tertiary-trained Indigenous people. Each factor has an effect on young
people engaging with tertiary education as follows:
young Bundjalung men described identities which were unfamiliar with
tertiary study, not intelligent enough to handle tertiary education, or not
resilient enough to handle failure if this was the case;
community members described young people as being afraid and
frightened to leave community and family because they feel safe and
comfortable;
young Bundjalung men and community Elders and members described
how the young men are frightened to leave their community and family
because of low self-esteem and self-confidence; and
young Bundjalung men, community Elders and members described not
having tertiary-educated role models in the family and community and
how any peer role models became estranged from community.
Though the factors are strong individually, it is evident from the transcripts that
it is the interaction between them that works to reinforce the influence and impact of
any one factor thus weakening the likelihood of accessing tertiary education. For
example, a tertiary-educated role model may appear but young people feel that they
could not be like that person because of how they identify themselves as negative
with respect to tertiary education, so low academic and self-concept remains to
prevent action.
A new community program may cause young people to feel better about
themselves in the short term but lack of role models over the longer term does not
128 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
direct action towards tertiary education with low academic and self-concept
remaining.
Young people may feel that they have to try something and overcome fear of
tertiary education but negative identity and lack of role models means that this
cannot be sustained over the longer term.
In summary, the factors lead to fear of tertiary access, which in turn leads to
characterising possible role models as rejecting family and community.
Opportunities to change lack of access are diminished. It is this interaction effect that
has to be challenged.
5.2.2 Role of family and community
The importance of family and community was evident in the interview
transcripts from young Bundjalung men, community members and community
Elders.
The young men reported that it is the attitude of family members that has given
them their beliefs about themselves, for example “my father said ...”. The reasons
given about fear are related to safety in the community, for example, “because young
fellas roaming around can always get a bed at Aunty’s or Uncle’s”. Also reported
were showing respect to Elders in family and community, whilst those outside of
these relationships, including peers who have taken up tertiary education, tend to be
discounted.
The insight in Chapter 4 of the attitude towards young people who leave for
tertiary education, particularly community attitude, is particularly important – the
characterising of these young people as leaving the community and no longer being
Chapter 5: Conclusion 129
part, or wanting to be part, of the community is powerful in damaging the university
enrolled young people’s positions as role models. The impact works to reinforce fear
in other young people, limiting their access to tertiary education.
From the accounts, it appears that community and family work to reinforce
negative identities, role models and fear of tertiary access as seen in such comments
as “It was when I was growing up with a lot of my friends, there was only a couple
of us who had stable households”, “There is a lack of role models. There is a lack of
support when it comes to studying. I think it is a lack of family members and friends
that have achieved anything that is above and beyond” and “They are just following
suit ... Younger brother sees older brother not going to TAFE and doing what he does
get a job, have kids and that’s just the normal thing ... There were no expectations of
them to go to uni or get anything so they don’t go”.
This experience of role of community is different to that of the researcher. As
the preamble shows, my interaction with Elders in the camp Bundjalung was positive
with regard to their support for my undertaking tertiary education. Thus, the
Bundjalung community can be a strong support for young men enrolling in tertiary
education if the culture of the community is strong and positive.
5.2.3 Implications for access to tertiary education
The implications of interaction, and the cycle of reinforcement, are that
programs to improve tertiary access amongst Bundjalung young men have to
challenge all three factors together and prevent the cycle of reinforcement in terms of
transitional experiences and access to tertiary education.
130 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
The implications of family and community are that programs to improve access
of young Bundjalung men to tertiary education cannot focus only on the young men
but must, as a priority, focus on the role of family and community in that process. In
other words, to be sustainable and successful, effective programs have to change and
challenge the family and community as well as the young men.
However, there is one more factor that emerges from sections 5.2.1 and 5.2.2,
and that is the importance of place and culture. Many of the identity, fear and role
model factors are based on the community’s place – where the community is
situated. The identity is about being in the community’s place, the fear is often about
leaving, and the role models are in the community. Any component of not being in
the place of the community tends to discount effect. As well, the Bundjalung culture,
particularly as espoused in camp Bundjalung style activities, can provide strong
community support for accessing tertiary education.
This leads to the model, illustrated in Figure 5.1, that effective access to tertiary
education requires together: (a) action on all three factors, (identity, fear and role
models); (b) a focus on the young person, family and community; and (c) an initial
component, at least, operating in place and in harmony with culture, that does not
require the student to leave.
Chapter 5: Conclusion 131
Figure 5.1. Components of effective access-to-tertiary programs.
5.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The contributions made by this study have to be considered in the context of its
limitations. This study has only provided data from a small sample of participants,
being nine Indigenous young men, two Indigenous community Elders and three
Indigenous community people from the town of Narlumdarlum. No claims have been
made that the results presented in the study can be generalised to all of the young
Indigenous men living in Narlumdarlum or the surrounding region where the
research has taken place.
The study could have been strengthened by including Indigenous participants
from neighbouring towns and communities to gain a wider range of perspectives. It
would also have been useful to include interviews from community members who
work at educational and employment bodies within the region to gain their
Community
Family
Student
Role Models
Identity
Fear
Place and culture
EFFECTIVE ACCESS
TO TERTIARY
PROGRAMS
132 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
perspectives and insights on the issues surrounding Indigenous people’s access to
tertiary education. The study could also have been extended to increase the number
of participants in each group: young men, community Elders and community people,
to further strengthen this study. As this thesis only focused on the cultural factors
affecting Indigenous men’s access to education, the findings of this thesis could have
been strengthened by including the systemic factors affecting Indigenous men’s
access to tertiary education.
5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING TERTIARY ACCESS FOR
BUNDJALUNG MEN
By gaining inside perspectives of young Indigenous men, Indigenous
community Elders and community people and focusing on the cultural factors that
inhibit and/or promote tertiary education participation, this study has demonstrated
that greater understanding of these factors is necessary for programs to improve
access to and engagement in tertiary education.
The understandings in section 5.2 indicate that these programs must have an
integrated focus on three components:
1. all three factors – identity, fear and role models together;
2. young person family and community together, for example, community-
based in terms of the program; and
3. started in place and culture, that is, in the community so that students have
success in the home before having to move, the cultural strength of the
Bundjalung community is behind the program, and cultural structures of
the community are part of the program.
Chapter 5: Conclusion 133
5.5 DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
This study has critically reflected on the cultural factors affecting Indigenous
men’s access to tertiary education by focusing on the following research questions:
1. What cultural factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective transitions can
be traced in the literature relating to young Indigenous men?
2. What cultural factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective transitions can
be traced in the accounts of young Bundjalung men and how do they relate
to those previously traced in the literature?
3. How can this study contribute to understandings of the cultural factors that
impact on the transitional experiences and access to tertiary education for
young Bundjalung men?
The analysis has identified several major cultural factors that were influential
to Indigenous people transitioning to tertiary education. These included identity, fear,
and role models – family, community and peers. To increase understanding of these
cultural factors affecting tertiary education access for Bundjalung men, the following
significant issues have been identified for further research:
1. a further and more in-depth investigation, with a particular focus on
identity, fear, and role models – family, community and peers;
2. a longitudinal study which includes a larger participant group of
Bundjalung young men, community members and community Elders, in
order to gain a larger group of perspectives, insights and knowledges of
the cultural factors affecting tertiary education for Bundjalung men;
134 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
3. a longitudinal study of how Indigenous men participate in tertiary
education over time and the processes that inhibit and support them over
the duration of their enrolment; and
4. research into institutional barriers facing Indigenous men perhaps by
interviewing Bundjalung men who have gone on to tertiary study and
drawing out their experiences to gain a further understanding of this issue.
References 135
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Spark, R. (1999). Developing health promotion methods in remote Aboriginal communities (PhD Thesis). Curtin University of Technology. Retrieved from http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au/view/action/nmets.do?DOCCHOICE=9501.xml&dvs=1285198387988~952&locale=en_AU&search_terms=SYS%20=%20000035318&adjacency=N&VIEWER_URL=/view/action/nmets.do?&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=4&usePid1=true&usePid2=true
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision (SCRGSP). (2009). Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: Key indicators 2009. Canberra: Productivity Commission.
Stewart, J. (2009). Indigenous narratives of success: Building positive and effective communication in group conversation. Mount Gravatt, Qld: Post Pressed.
Tatz, C. (2004). Aboriginal, Maori and Inuit youth suicide: Avenues to alleviation? Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2, 15-25. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=449408040989691;res=IELHSS
Taylor, J. (2011). Postcolonial transformation of the Australian Indigenous population. Geographical Research 49(3), 286-300.
Taylor, L. (2003). ‘Who’s your mob?’ – The politics of Aboriginal identity and the implications for a treaty. In Treaty: Let’s Get it Right (pp. 88-106). Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=303567774951760;res=IELHSS
Tripcony, P. (2003). Success without inclusion: Is real change in sight? In S. McGinty (Ed.), Sharing success: An Indigenous perspective: Papers from the second national Australian Indigenous Education Conference (pp. 33-55). Altona, Vic: Common Ground Publishing.
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Tsey, K., Patterson, D., Whiteside, M., Baird, L., & Baird, B. (2002). Indigenous men taking their rightful place in society? A preliminary analysis of a participatory action research process with Yarrabah men’s health group. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 10(6), 278-284.
Walters, M. (2006). Social research methods: an Australian perspective. Victoria: Oxford University Press.
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Whatman, S., & Duncan, P. (2005). Community participation in Indigenous education: Learning from the past in policy and practice. In J. Phillips & J. Lampert (Eds.), Introductory Indigenous Studies in Education: the importance of knowing (pp.117-138). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.
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Zepke, N., & Leach, L. (2007). Improving student outcomes in higher education: New Zealand teachers’ views on teaching students from diverse backgrounds. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(5-6), 655-668.
Appendices 149
Appendices
Appendix A
Aboriginal Australia Map
Retrieved September 14, 2010, from Google Images
http://www.reconciliationsa.org.au/images/Aboriginal-Australia-Map-small.gif
150 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Appendix B
Regions of New South Wales
Retrieved September 14, 2010, from Google Images
http://www.australianexplorer.com/australia/graphic_map_new_south_wales.gif
Appendices 151
Appendix C
Narlumdarlum Local Government Area Fast Facts 2008
Population
Age Narlumdarlum Total Indigenous New South Wales
No. % No. % % Census in Population
42,210 1,578 3.9
Est Residential Pop
44,225
0-4 2,387 5.9 211 13.4 6.4 5-9 2,667 6.6 228 14.4 6.6
10-14 2,941 7.2 188 11.9 6.8 15-19 3,142 7.7 164 10.4 6.7 20-24 2,547 6.3 132 8.4 6.6 25-29 2,052 5.1 110 7.0 6.5 30-34 2,332 5.7 93 5.9 7.1 35-39 2,671 6.6 111 7.0 7.2 40-44 2,976 7.3 100 6.3 7.4 45-49 3,362 8.3 83 5.3 7.3 50-54 3,173 7.8 59 3.7 6.6 55-59 2,759 6.8 36 2.3 6.1 60-64 1,911 4.7 31 2.0 4.8 65-74 2,888 7.1 (65+) 32 2.0 3.9 75-84 2,033 5.0 - - 3.2 85+ 824 2.0 - - 1.7
(Statistics made available from Narlumdarlum City Council website). http://www.Lismore.nsw.gov.au/content/uploads/FASTFACT2006Census__2_.pdf
152 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Appendix D
Census Data
2006 Census, Indigenous population – Remoteness Areas
Major Cities ofAustralia
Inner Regional Australia
Outer Regional Australia
Remote Australia
Very Remote Australia
State/Territory % % % % %
New South Wales
42 33 19 4 1
Victoria 48 36 16 - -
Queensland 26 20 32 8 14
South Australia 48 10 23 5 14
Western Australia
34 9 15 15 26
Tasmania - 52 44 2 1
Northern Territory
- - 19 18 63
Australian Capital Territory
100 - - - -
Australia 31 22 23 8 16
Statistics taken from: The Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006). http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4705.0Main+Features12006?OpenDocument
Appendices 153
Appendix E
Semi-structured Interviews
The semi-structured research interviews were a two-part process as follows.
First semi-structured interview
The first semi-structured interview with participants was very general and
aimed to ask participants questions based around themselves. This was done
primarily to build rapport with the participants and establish a deeper relationship.
This first interview was also useful to explain the project and talk the participants
through the research and their involvement. Questions were also centred on their past
experiences both positive and negative and community views on education as well as
their own personal views of tertiary education. Questions asked included: Is tertiary
education valued within the community? Is it valued individually?
Second semi-structured interview
The following questions guided the second round of interviews:
Can you tell me about what you would like to do in terms of study and or
work?
What do you think is preventing Koori men from enrolling in and
completing courses? (general)
Thinking about obstacles and barriers, can you tell me what might be
preventing you from accessing study and/or work? (specific)
154 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
Can you tell me about the education support available for Koori men in
your community? Can you comment on whether you know of anyone who
has used this support? If so in what ways? If not why not?
If you are wanting to study what support and encouragement do you think
you need?
Are there any study support centres or people in place that you know of in
your community to support and encourage young Koori men to study at
TAFE or university? (general)
Are there any study support centres or people that you have used in the
past? Can you tell me about them? Were they useful? What support was
provided? (specific)
What are the main obstacles/hindrances that you believe are preventing
young Koori men from transitioning and achieving success in tertiary
education? (general)
What is preventing you from making the transition to tertiary education
and achieving success? (specific)
Appendices 155
Appendix F
Ethics Forms
PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT
Interviews: Bundjalung Young Men, Community Elders, Community Members
Access, retention and outcomes for Bundjalung men: What do local knowledges teach us?
QUT Ethics Approval Number 1100000363
RESEARCH TEAM
Mr Todd Phillips [email protected] 07 3138 5558
Professor Tom Cooper
[email protected] 07 3138 3331
Dr Bronwyn Ewing [email protected] 07 3138 3718
DESCRIPTION
This project is being undertaken from June 2011 to August 2011 in the city of Narlumdarlum and is part of a Masters of Education degree for post‐graduate student Mr Todd Phillips from the Queensland University of Technology. The project is a part of a grant awarded by the Australian Research Council. The funding body will not have access to the data obtained during the project.
The project is conducted by the above research team and only the research team will have access to the data obtained during the project.
The purpose of the project is to explore the perspectives and gain the insights of 15 young Indigenous men’s experiences as well as Indigenous Community Elders and Community members in order to gain their experiences and knowledges of how Indigenous men from Narlumdarlum can be better supported and equipped to access and achieve improved outcomes and tertiary education. The project aims to examine the transitional experiences of young Bundjalung men into tertiary education. The research will be drawing on the lived, historical experiences, ideas, traditions, dreams, interests, aspirations and struggles of Indigenous Australians therefore, it will be privileging Indigenous voices to inform this research. The team is seeking your permission to participate in this research. While the focus of the research is to examine the transitioning processes of young Bundjalung men into tertiary education, its central concern is to explicate from their accounts of their experiences of transitioning, those aspects that facilitate or hinder effective transition into the tertiary context. There are broader applications of this research; the findings that arise from the research may not only assist and benefit Indigenous peoples living in the Narlumdarlum region and tertiary institutions but it may be beneficial to Indigenous men throughout Australia and education institutions that work with Indigenous young men, as they are significantly under‐represented at all levels of education particularly in the tertiary context (ABS, 2010).
156 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
The research team requests your participation in an interview to discuss your experiences and thoughts on how Indigenous men could be better supported and equipped to access and achieve improved outcomes and tertiary education.
PARTICIPATION
Your participation in this project is entirely voluntary. If you do agree to participate, you can withdraw from the project at any time without comment or penalty. Any identifiable information already obtained from you will be destroyed. Your decision to participate, or not participate, will in no way impact upon your current or future relationship with QUT.
Your participation will involve an audio‐recorded interview, conducted by the principal researcher, at a convenient location in Narlumdarlum or other agreed location that will take approximately 45 minutes of your time. Questions will include:
What have been some of your experiences (both positive and negative) when attempting to access tertiary education?
In your opinion, how could you be better supported to access or study in tertiary education?
EXPECTED BENEFITS
It is expected that this project may not benefit you directly, however, it may benefit your community by highlighting the following:
1. By learning how to further support Aboriginal men in the future to gain access to tertiary education;
2. It is anticipated that future recommendations can be made that will further support Indigenous men to take up tertiary education and be further supported;
3. By learning together as a community it will enable you to educate and lead one small step towards self‐determination and emancipation.
RISKS
There are no risks beyond normal day‐to‐day living associated with your participation in this project.
PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
All comments and responses will be treated confidentially. The names of individual persons are not required in any of the responses.
Audio recording that are obtained from participants will be destroyed at the end of the project.
The audio recording that is obtained from participants will not be used for any other purpose.
Only the investigator will have access to the audio recordings. At no stage will any data be discussed or revealed to another community member. Only the research team will have access to any data.
Any publication of results will be in a de‐identified form (no individual responses will be published).
All audio recordings will be verified by you prior to final inclusion in the project.
The audio recordings will be transcribed and will not be used as an instructional aide.
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE
We would like to ask you to sign a written consent form (enclosed) to confirm your agreement to participate.
Appendices 157
QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT
If have any questions or require any further information about the project please contact one of the research team members below.
Mr Todd Phillips Professor Tom Cooper (Professor) Dr Bronwyn Ewing (Senior Lecturer)
School of Maths, Science and Technology – Faculty of Education – Queensland University of Technology
Phone: 3138 5558 Phone: 07 3138 3331 Phone: 07 3138 3718
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE PROJECT
QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Unit on (07) 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Unit is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.
Thank you for helping with this research project. Please keep this sheet for your information.
158 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT
Focus group / yarning circle: Bundjalung Young Men, Community Elders, Community Members
Access, retention and outcomes for Bundjalung men: What do local knowledges teach us?
QUT Ethics Approval Number 1100000363
RESEARCH TEAM
Mr Todd Phillips [email protected] 07 3138 5558
Professor Tom Cooper
[email protected] 07 3138 3331
Dr Bronwyn Ewing [email protected] 07 3138 3718
DESCRIPTION
This project is being undertaken from June 2011 to August 2011 in the city of Narlumdarlum and is part of a Masters of Education degree for post‐graduate student Mr Todd Phillips from the Queensland University of Technology. The project is a part of a grant awarded by the Australian Research Council. The funding body will not have access to the data obtained during the project. The project is conducted by the above research team and only the research team will have access to the data obtained during the project.
The purpose of the project is to explore the perspectives and gain the insights of 15 young Indigenous men’s experiences as well as Indigenous Community Elders and Community members in order to gain their experiences and knowledges of how Indigenous men from Narlumdarlum can be better supported and equipped to access and achieve improved outcomes and tertiary education. The project aims to examine the transitional experiences of young Bundjalung men into tertiary education. The research will be drawing on the lived, historical experiences, ideas, traditions, dreams, interests, aspirations and struggles of Indigenous Australians therefore, it will be privileging Indigenous voices to inform this research. The team is writing to seek your permission to participate in this research. While the focus of the research is to examine the transitioning processes of young Bundjalung men into tertiary education, its central concern is to explicate from their accounts of their experiences of transitioning, those aspects that facilitate or hinder effective transitions into the tertiary context. There are broader applications of this research; the findings that arise from the research may not only assist to benefit Indigenous peoples living in the Narlumdarlum region and tertiary institutions but it may be beneficial to Indigenous men throughout Australia and educational institutions that work with Indigenous young men, as they are significantly underrepresented at all levels of education particularly in the tertiary context (ABS, 2010).
The research team requests your participation in a focus group / yarning circle (conducted by the principal researcher) with young Bundjalung men from the community, to discuss your
Appendices 159
experiences and thoughts on how Indigenous men could be better supported and equipped to access and achieve improved outcomes and tertiary education.
PARTICIPATION
Your participation in this project is entirely voluntary. If you do agree to participate, you can withdraw from the project at any time without comment or penalty. Any identifiable information already obtained from you will be destroyed. Your decision to participate, or not participate, will in no way impact upon your current or future relationship with QUT.
Your participation will involve a focus group/ yarning circle with other men from your region. The focus group/ yarning circle will be audio recorded and will take place at a convenient location in Narlumdarlum or other agreed location and will take approximately 1 hour of your time. Questions will include:
What have been some of your experiences (both positive and negative) when attempting to access tertiary education?
In your opinion, how could you be better supported to access or study in tertiary education?
EXPECTED BENEFITS
It is expected that this project may not benefit you directly, however it may benefit your community by highlighting the following:
4. By learning how to further support Aboriginal men in the future to gain access to tertiary education;
5. It is anticipated that future recommendations can be made that will further support Indigenous men to take up tertiary education and be further supported;
6. By learning together as a community it will enable you to educate and lead one small step towards self‐determination and emancipation.
RISKS
There are no risks beyond normal day‐to‐day living associated with your participation in this project.
PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
All comments and responses will be treated confidentially. The names of individual persons are not required in any of the responses.
Audio recordings that are obtained from participants will be destroyed at the end of the project.
The audio recordings that are obtained from participants will not be used for any other purpose.
Only the investigator will have access to the audio recordings. At no stage will any data be discussed or revealed to another community member. Only the research team will have access to any data.
Any publication of results will be in a de‐identified form (no individual responses will be published).
All audio recordings will be verified by you prior to final inclusion in the project.
The audio recordings will be transcribed and will not be used as an instructional aide.
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE
160 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
We would like to ask you to sign a written consent form (enclosed) to confirm your agreement to participate.
QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT
If have any questions or require any further information about the project please contact one of the research team members below.
Mr Todd Phillips (Principal Researcher)
Professor Tom Cooper (Professor)
Dr Bronwyn Ewing (Senior Lecturer)
School of Maths, Science and Technology – Faculty of Education – Queensland University of Technology
Phone: 3138 5558 Phone: 07 3138 3331 Phone: 07 3138 3718
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE PROJECT
QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Unit on (07) 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Unit is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.
Thank you for helping with this research project. Please keep this sheet for your information.
Appendices 161
CONSENT FORM FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT
Interviews
Access, retention and outcomes for Bundjalung men: What do local knowledges teach us?
QUT Ethics Approval Number 1100000363
RESEARCH TEAM CONTACTS
Todd Phillips – Masters Student Professor Tom Cooper – Supervisor Dr Bronwyn Ewing – Supervisor
Maths, Science and Technology Education Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology
Phone: 07 3138 5558 Mobile: 0434 495 918
Phone: 07 3138 3331 Phone: 07 3138 3718
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
STATEMENT OF CONSENT
By signing below, you are indicating that you:
have read and understood the information document regarding this project
have had any questions answered to your satisfaction
understand that if you have any additional questions you can contact the research team
understand that you are free to withdraw at any time, without comment or penalty
understand that you can contact the Research Ethics Unit on 07 3138 5123 or email [email protected] if you have concerns about the ethical conduct of the project
understand that the project will include audio recording
agree to participate in the project
Name
Signature
Date
MEDIA RELEASE PROMOTIONS
From time to time, we may like to promote our research to the general public through, for example, newspaper articles. Would you be willing to be contacted by QUT Media and Communications for possible inclusion in such stories? By ticking this box, it only means you are choosing to be contacted – you can still decide at the time not to be involved in any promotions.
Yes, you may contact me about inclusion in promotions
No, I do not wish to be contacted about inclusion in promotions
Please return this sheet to the investigator.
162 Cultural Factors Affecting Tertiary Education Access for Bundjalung Men
CONSENT FORM FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT
focus group / yarning circle
Access, retention and outcomes for Bundjalung men: What do local knowledges teach us?
QUT Ethics Approval Number 1100000363
RESEARCH TEAM CONTACTS
Todd Phillips – Masters Student Professor Tom Cooper – Supervisor Dr Bronwyn Ewing – Supervisor
Maths, Science and Technology Education Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology
Phone: 07 3138 5558 Mobile: 0434 495 918
Phone: 07 3138 3331 Phone: 07 3138 3718
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
STATEMENT OF CONSENT
By signing below, you are indicating that you:
have read and understood the information document regarding this project
have had any questions answered to your satisfaction
understand that if you have any additional questions you can contact the research team
understand that you are free to withdraw at any time, without comment or penalty
understand that you can contact the Research Ethics Unit on 07 3138 5123 or email [email protected] if you have concerns about the ethical conduct of the project
understand that the project will include audio recording
agree to participate in the project
Name
Signature
Date
MEDIA RELEASE PROMOTIONS
From time to time, we may like to promote our research to the general public through, for example, newspaper articles. Would you be willing to be contacted by QUT Media and Communications for possible inclusion in such stories? By ticking this box, it only means you are choosing to be contacted – you can still decide at the time not to be involved in any promotions.
Yes, you may contact me about inclusion in promotions
No, I do not wish to be contacted about inclusion in promotions
Please return this sheet to the investigator.