The University of SydneyPage 1 Developing a culturally competent framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student support at the University

The University of Sydney Page 1

Developing a culturally competent framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student support at the University of Sydney

Presenters: Tanya Griffiths, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student Support CoordinatorAna Munro, Manager, Student Transition and Retention


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

We would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the traditional owners of the land we are meeting on today.

As we share our own knowledge, experiences and learning, may we also pay respect to the Elders past and present and the knowledge embedded forever within this land and its First Peoples.


OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their history

• Indigenous participation at the University of Sydney

• Implementation of Wingara Mura, the Indigenous strategy

• Formation of the Student Transition & Retention (STAR) team

• Why we need a cultural framework for student support

• Development of the framework to date

• Participant feedback and discussion

Please note: throughout the presentation, the term Indigenous is also used to include Australian Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people


MAP OF ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA

David R Horton, creator, © Aboriginal Studies Press, AIATSIS and Auslig/Sinclair, Knight, Merz, 1996.

“It is important to remember ... that Indigenous culture and people are diverse; there is no single

culture or people.” (Dudgeon et.al. p. 38)There are more that 500 different nations and social groupings, and a similar number of

languages or dialects across

Australia

Fewer than 150 Indigenous

languages remain in daily use, and all except roughly 20

are highly endangered.

Of those that survive, only 10% are being learned by children and those languages

are usually located in the most isolated

areas.


OVERVIEW OF ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER HISTORY AT UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

1963 – the first Aboriginal students were admitted to the University1966 - Charles Perkins was the first Aboriginal Australian to graduate (B Arts) from the University of Sydney and from an Australian university 1975 - The Aboriginal Teachers Aides Training program began in the Department of Adult Education 1989 - the Faculty of Education had established an Aboriginal Education Centre1992 - the name of the Aboriginal Education Centre was changed to the Koori Centre to better reflect its purposes and community.support services.

Pre 1850 – before the University of Sydney was founded, the land was a traditional meeting place of the Cadigal people, called the Kangaroo Ground

2011 – appointment of first Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Strategy & Services at the University of Sydney, at the time, highest appointment in academia

Charles Perkins in class


ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER STUDENT AND STAFF PARTICIPATION TODAY

Currently 320 Indigenous students enrolled

Indigenous students are represented in all 16 faculties of the University and all levels (UG, PG, HDR)

Current President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) is Aboriginal

Over 1000 Indigenous graduates who are members of parliament, teachers, doctors, barristers, accountants, veterinarians, teachers, Indigenous leaders and hundreds more working in many different professions.

Over 70 professional and academic Indigenous staff across in the University

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Strategy & Services remains one of the highest academic appointments at an Australian university


INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW INDIGENOUS STRATEGY

– DVC ISS introduced a new, comprehensive, integrated strategy to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation, education, research, employment and engagement at the University of Sydney.

– Wingara Mura – Bunga Barrabugu: A thinking path to make tomorrow: http://sydney.edu.au/strategy/wingara_mura

Key Aims of the Strategy– Create a “uniquely Australian” institution– Increase engagement with Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander communities across Australia

– Embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge in the curriculum of

every unit of study – Provide opportunities for staff & students to develop

cultural competence– Increase Indigenous student enrolment numbers,

progression and graduations across undergraduate, postgraduate and research areas

– Increase Indigenous student staff numbers across both academic and professional levels

– Integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education and support across all areas and faculties of the University

Professor Shane Houston

http://sydney.edu.au/strategy/wingara_mura


OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES OF THE TRANSITION FROM THE KOORI CENTRE Supporting the students to

accept the changes and adapting the delivery style of support after the transition

Physical location change Creating an Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander support team in mainstream student support services

Transforming “Koori Centre” to culturally safe spaces

Integration of staff into SSS – now seen to be positive for ease of referrals

Re-creating the sense of community, place and culture that was previously embedded within the Koori Centre environment

Collaborating with the National Centre for Cultural Competence: http://sydney.edu.au/nccc/

http://sydney.edu.au/nccc/

http://sydney.edu.au/nccc/


ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER STUDENT SUPPORT TEAMThe team has expanded to five members including non-Indigenous staff who:– encourage greater participation in higher

education through the Cadigal and Pemulwuy Alternative Entry pathways

– provide assistance and support to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students throughout their University journey, from admission to graduation; including

– provide pastoral care, advocacy and mentoring– monitor academic progress, referrals & tutorial

assistance – host regular events such as BBQs and social

activities to bring students together: build a sense of community

– linkages with other student services including Accommodation, Counselling, Financial Assistance and Careers

– manage culturally safe spaces including the common room, kitchen, computer lab and tutorial spaces: students can meet and feel safe in their identity and culture

– provide policy and procedural advice to the University– assist student recruitment by advising prospective students,

schools, parents & careers advisers


FORMING THE STAR TEAM– Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student

Support team combined with the existing Student Experience team to form the Student Transition and Retention team – the STAR team.

– Student Experience team remit is the orientation, transition and retention of all students across the University – approximately 55,000 currently enrolled

– Includes both Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous staff

– Currently comprises 9 full time staff membersShared missions –

• To deliver a comprehensive, welcoming orientation experience for students to ease their transition to the University

• To provide students with information and referrals to supports and services available to them at the University – both personal and academic

• To monitor student engagement and performance and implement a range of interventions to improve progression, enhance retention and increase graduations.


STAR MISSION STATEMENTThe STAR team is uniquely positioned within the University of Sydney to enhance student transition, orientation, retention and success. The team is responsible for the development and implementation of University-wide retention and support initiatives... The team... widens participation by providing access and targeted, proactive support to a larger range of students who demonstrate potential. The team is responsible for the coordination and evaluation of... programs [that] align with best practice, are timely and appropriate and offer the greatest benefit to all undergraduate, postgraduate and research students enrolled...

• Elite athletes

Particular emphasis is placed on developing programs that enhance success for those students with higher transition and support needs:• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students • International and exchange students• First year students, both UG & PG• Students entering through alternative entry

pathways (E12, Broadway, Flexible Entry, Rural)

• Non traditional students (Mature Age, Part time, Low SES)

• Students at risk of failing


Transition

Orientation

Support

Referral

Ret

entio

nS

ucce

ssSTUDENTS

STUDENT TRANSITION AND RETENTION (STAR) TEAM STUDENT SUPPORT CONTINUUM


Transition Cadigal Alternative

entry program application advice, accommodation,

scholarships and all other support services

advice Orientation Cadigal Orientation

Day and 2 week Academic skills

program – mid February each year, meet the

team, current students, tours across campus

Support Pastoral care, individual

meetings, advice, tutorial and mentoring

support, events, lunches and activities, culturally safe spaces

Referrals Counselling, financial

assistance, scholarships, careers advice, disability

services, accommodation, child care, academic

advice

RetentionProgress meetings,

staying on track agreements, tutorial assistance, any extra

support

SuccessAchievements, Completions &

Graduation!

Aboriginal & Torres Strait

Islander Student

Support Team


WHY DO WE NEED A CULTURAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUPPORTING INDIGENOUS STUDENTS?

• Build and sustain a sense of cultural safety at the University of Sydney for students that is broad enough to take into account the diversity of their own backgrounds and stories.

• Guide the University strategies, policies and procedures to enhance outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

• Redress past injustices: Indigenous people were denied an education and rights

• Necessity: attrition statistics: Indigenous students have differing needs to and must be supported appropriately

• Educate the University community of the breadth and diversity of the Indigenous Peoples – destroy the commonly held stereotypes

• Tanya and team’s first hand experiences working with students -understanding their needs and particular cultural pressures

• Articulate and illustrate what the team does and why

• Encourage greater Indigenous participation across the University

• Create strong networks of support• Recognise, celebrate & reward student

achievements


ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN OF FRAMEWORKS

International: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Australia: Sharing Stories – Living Communities model

NZ: Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Wha model

NZ: Mason Durie’s Te Pae Mahutonga model


Aboriginal & Torres Strait

Islander student

Spirit

Place

Belonging

Identity

Culture

Connection

Community

MODEL 1: STUDENT

CENTRED, CULTURAL

NEEDS


Community

Spiritual

Emotional

Mental

Physical

Social

Cultural

MODEL 2: COMMUNITY

CENTRED, HIGH LEVEL

NEEDS


Fully-realised Aboriginal & Torres Strait

Islander student

Spirit

Place

Belonging

Identity

Culture

Connection

Indigenous Community

University Community

Family / Mob and broader community

MODEL 3: INTEGRATED: CULTURAL SAFETY


Fully realised Aboriginal & Torres Strait

Islander student

Spirit

Place

Belonging

Identity

Culture

Connection

Indigenous Community

University Community

CULTURAL SPHERE

SOCIAL/ PHYSICAL SPHERE

SPIRITUAL/ EMOTIONAL

SPHEREHOW THIS MODEL INTEGRATES

Family / Mob and broader community


WHY CIRCLES?• Circles are iconic in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tradition,

art and culture.• Circles represent meeting and gathering places for coming

together, sharing stories and ‘yarning’• Ceremonies and traditional celebrations such as corroboree are

conducted in circles • Circles represent continuity – connecting the past, present and

future • Circles are fluid and flexible – this will allow each Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander student to interpret and understand the framework according to their own particular customs, traditions and culture and those of their mob.

• Circles are natural and organic– they are found within the land, but also the stars and sky to which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are also connected

http://www.aboriginalartstore.com.au/aboriginal-art-culture/aboriginal-symbols-glossary/star

Interesting co-incidence?After exploring various models for the Framework, we came across this image that is a traditional representation of a star in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.We were quite pleased with ourselves that it has a few similarities to the shape of our latest model – AND the STAR team!




THE INTEGRATED CULTURAL SAFETY FRAMEWORK MODEL

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team will attempt to build a sense of cultural safety for Aboriginal Strait Islander students by ensuring that all elements of the student’s mental, physical, spiritual and cultural wellbeing are recognised, nourished and developed.

Williams (1999, p. 213) - defines cultural safety as:“an environment that is spiritually, socially and emotionally safe, as well as physically safe for people; where there is no assault challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are and what they need. It is about shared respect, shared meaning, shared knowledge and experience of learning together”. Cultural safety “requires

that all human beings receive services that take into account all that makes

them unique”. (Bin-Sallick, 2003, p. 21)


SOCIAL / PHYSICAL SPHERE

Place/Land • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are custodians of

their country• How do we maintain a sense of place and respect when not

“on country”?“Land is fundamental to Indigenous people, both individually and collectively…. Hence land was not owned; one belonged to the land. Aboriginal people experience the land as a richly symbolic and spiritual landscape rather than merely a physical environment.” (Dudgeon et.al. p. 32)

“I often wonder how to connect with my country when I’m in the city,” wonders Aboriginal dancer and

choreographer Francis Rings [13]. “For many Indigenous people it’s a visceral connection; you look

beyond the buildings and concrete and feel a sense of belonging”..

(Creative Spirits)

Belonging • How do we create a sense of belonging to the

University and its community?• How do I fulfil my cultural role and obligations

at University? • Why should I stay? What is keeping me here?“Descent is about belonging to a people and a place. This involves kinship; that is, relationships and obligations to other people and place or ‘country’”. (Dudgeon et.al, p. 32)


Identity • Who am I as a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

person in contemporary Australian society?• How do I live my culture at the University of Sydney?

“No matter how much you dilute, mix, match and try to pollute, Our identity remains intact Something you can't change, that's a fact. Our spirit is not measured by the shade of our skin, but by something stronger found within; a place you can not touch or take away, will remain shining out till our dying day. We all connect with it again, no matter how far we've been”.Poem by Deidre Currie, Tweed Heads, NSW

Culture • Including traditional knowledges and perspectives, language,

art, ceremony, stories, sharing, yarning in daily life as well as the curriculum

• How to keep culture alive, add to it and pass it on to the next generation?

CULTURAL SPHERE

“To appreciate the contemporary realities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, their cultural ways of life need to be understood. In the recent decades there has been a strong renaissance of Indigenous culture and forms of creative expression, and a reconnection and reclaiming of cultural life. Aboriginal culture has roots deep in the past”. (Dudgeon et.al)


Spirit & Connection – To the Dreaming: the past, present & future– Bond with Elders past and present, and each other– Union with the Land and all that lives and depends

on it

"The Dreaming means our identity as people. ... In Aboriginal society, people did not own the land it was part of them and it was part of their duty to respect ...” (Creative Spirits site).

“We are part of the Dreaming. We have been in the Dreaming for a long time before we are born on this earth and we will

return to this vast landscape at the end of our days. It provides for us during our time on earth, a place to heal, to

restore purpose and hope, and to continue our destiny. (Milroy, p. 414).

“For Aboriginal people the relationship is much deeper. The land owns Aboriginal people and every aspect of their lives is connected to it. They have a profound spiritual connection to land. Aboriginal law and spirituality are intertwined with the land, the people and creation, and this forms their culture and sovereignty” (Dudgeon et.al).

SPIRITUAL/EMOTIONAL SPHERE


COMMUNITY

“Being part of an Aboriginal community is another facet of Aboriginal identity. Other Indigenous people know who you are

and what family you belong to.... Aboriginal people identify themselves with the idea of being

part of ‘community’; it gives us a sense of unity and strength... There still is a strong Aboriginal sense of what it means to

belong to a community. Overall, Aboriginal society is structured around the community. Within or forming the community are strong kinship and family ties and networks. (Dudgeon et.al. p. 33)

• Who is your mob? • Family, kinship, responsibility and roles, obligations to each

other, the land and the environment

The Kinship Module was developed by Lynette Riley at the University of Sydney to build knowledge and understanding of the complex, structured nature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander connections. It can be undertaken online and is an excellent introduction to Indigenous culture and relationships: http://sydney.edu.au/kinship-module

http://sydney.edu.au/kinship-module


DISCUSSION, FEEDBACK & COMMENTS

– Initial response - suggested amendments or recommended revisions?

– Do you think this framework is meaningful?

– Do you think it will assist us to achieve our aims?

– How should the framework be promoted/implemented?

– Does this framework resonate with the experiences and culture of Canadian First Peoples in the higher education context?A list of references for this presentation is available in hard or soft

copy upon request.


PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT OR VISIT US DOWN UNDER!Tanya GriffithsAboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Student Support CoordinatorT: +61 2 8627 8651E: [email protected]

Ana MunroManager, Student Transition & RetentionT: +61 2 8627 8454E: [email protected]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE, CONTRIBUTIONS AND HOSPITALITY!

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

The University of SydneyPage 1 Developing a culturally competent framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student support at the University