Social inclusion of Indigenous people and perspectives in higher education and the role of IHEAC

1. Social inclusion of Indigenous people and perspectives in higher educationand the role of IHEAC Professor Steve Larkin, Chair Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council (IHEAC) 1

2. Third Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council Top row (Left to Right): Professor Steve Larkin (Chair), Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson (Deputy Chair), Professor Roger Thomas, Associate Professor Ngiare Brown, Professor Paul Chandler; Bottom row (Left to Right): Associate Professor Sue Green, Professor Lynette Russell, Mr Russell Taylor, Mr Asmi Wood. 2

3. IHEAC Values “IHEAC’s vision is for a higher education system in which Indigenous people share equally in the life and career opportunities that quality higher education can provide.” • INTEGRITY as Indigenous people • RESPECT for Indigenous people, knowledge and culture • INDEPENDENCE AND EXCELLENCE in our advice to the Australian Government • INNOVATION: We listen, and will put forward new ideas 3

4. A picture of mixed success Indigenous student commencement, participation and completion rates (as a percentage of all domestic students), 1990 – 2008 Source: Students, Selected Higher Education Statistics (DEEWR) 4

5. A picture of mixed success Since 2001: • The total number of Indigenous students participating in higher education has increased by 4.6 per cent. • Yet, due to increasing rates of participation in higher education by non-Indigenous students, the proportion of total students who are Indigenous has remained unchanged. 5

6. Indigenous staffing levels • Population Parity Rate = the number of Indigenous people within the Australian population who are 15-64, as a proportion of all Australians who are 15-64. GAP 6

7. Evidence of exclusion and marginalisation in the higher education sector • The retention rate for commencing Indigenous students in 2007 was 62.8 per cent compared with 80.7 per cent for all domestic commencing students (excluding completions). • Only one third of Indigenous staff in our universities are in teaching and/or research positions. • There is a small pool of Indigenous PhD students graduating each year – only 21 students in 2008. • Incidences of racism. • A dominant epistemology in teaching, learning and research that serves to devalue Indigenous ways of knowing and methodologies. 7

8. Referenced works (1) • Renee Pualani Louis (2007) Can you hear us now? Voices from the margin: Using Indigenous methodologies in geographic research, Geographical Research, 45 (2), 130. • Cheng Feng Shih (2010) Academic colonialism and the struggle for Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Taiwan, Social Alternatives, 29 (1), 44. • Margaret Hunter (2002) Rethinking epistemology, methodology and racism: Or, is white sociology really dead?, Race and Society, 5, 119. • David Theo Goldberg (1993) Racist Culture: Philosophy and the politics of meaning, Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. • Langton, M. (1993) “Well I hear it on the radio and I saw it on the television”: An essay for the Australian Film Commission on the politics and aesthetics of filmmaking by and about Aboriginal People and Things. Sydney: Australian Film Commission. 8

9. Referenced works (2) • Gibson, C. (1999) Cartographies of the colonial/capitalist state: A geopolitics of Indigenous self-determination in Australia, Antipode, 31 (1), pp. 45-79. • H. Richard Milner IV (2007) Race, culture, and researcher positionality: Working through dangers seen, unseen, and unforeseen, Educational Researcher, 36 (7), 388. • Barbara J. Flagg (1997) ‘The transparency phenomenon, race-neutral decision-making and discriminatory intent’, in Critical white studies: Looking behind the mirror, Temple University Press: Philadelphia, 220-226. • Larkin, S. (2006) Evidence-based policy making in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2006/2, pp.17-26. 9

10. Social inclusion in higher education Through: • Researchers engaging in the ongoing act of critical reflexivity. • The promotion and encouragement of Indigenous perspectives in the academy. • Acknowledging that innovation and creativity stem from embracing difference. 10

11. IHEAC initiatives to promote inclusion • Indigenous Cultural Competency in Australian Universities Project with Universities Australia. • Continued progress toward an Indigenous Centre for Researcher Development. • IHEAC is empowered by Recommendation 30 of the Bradley Review to review the effectiveness of measures to improve higher education access and outcomes for Indigenous people. • Promotion of a National Indigenous Higher Education Workforce Strategy. 11

12. National Indigenous Higher Education Workforce Strategy Policy objectives: • To enhance employment pathways for existing Indigenous employees, such as by developing career opportunities, promoting additional study and facilitating international exchanges for Indigenous employees. • To increase new employment opportunities for Indigenous people, in both long term positions and in short term development opportunities to build capacity in a pool of future employees • To develop a working environment sensitive to the needs of Indigenous people; • To improve universities’ community engagement and outreach with the Indigenous community. 12

13. Working together for change • The current patters in relation to Indigenous higher education staff are not inevitable. • RAPs and goals in Collective Agreements present opportunities for reconciliation and goals for increased participation. • Opportunities for mutual benefit through equitable employment: • Fresh perspectives creating new knowledge in research • A supportive environment for students • Connections with the wider Australian community 13

14. Questions? Professor Steve Larkin, Chair Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council 14