10: Culture and Social Issues in Higher Education Review

Educational context and Learning Space: This part of the blog examines the relationship of the educational context (the school and learning space) to issues in modern education. How does it affect the student and the teacher.

Indigenous Social and Culture: Problems and Solutions in Higher Education

Social and cultural factors are regarded as key issues in why native Australian children (and parents), feel that they are unable to engage with education institutions. Yet, time and time again, the significance of a quality education cannot be under-estimated, as both a social and economic panacea. It is therefore necessary for both educators and governments to be proactive in identifying barriers and obstacles, which learners may encounter in accessing quality educational outcomes. Moreover, we must remove both tangible and intangible obstacles that lead to exclusion or emotionally impacts the person’s willingness to participate within the educational system (Sonn, 2000). 

When students from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve higher educational success, this should be a catalyst for their fellow compatriots to complete Higher Education studies and better serve their cultural group. Yet, social and cultural barriers are still a major concern for equality within Australia’s educational system today, predominantly for Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander students. With this premise, I have selected the educational report of Koshy (2014), ‘Student Equity Performance in Australian Higher Education: 2007 to 2012’, in examining Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students, within the Australian Higher Education (AHE) system. Moreover, what are the issues that disengage indigenous students from completing their higher educational studies, and what can be done to improve the situation? This will also include some relationship to the education context (the university) and my learning space.

 From the report less than 1.5% of all higher educational students are native Australian (Koshy, 2014, p. 9). In terms of pre-service teachers, they represent less than 2% of students. While this participation rate in itself is poor, more disturbing is that the research showed that 68.2% of these native pre-service teachers will not complete their course. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers are pivotal as role models and leaders, towards addressing historically poor outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners and ‘overcome the legacy of hostility towards schools’ (Bethel, 2006). Therefore, it is necessary for higher level educators to develop approaches to full engage these learners with a desire to participate and complete their education potential. And contribute back to their communities.

With such poor outcomes, the key is to develop student engagement and connectedness to the educational institution (Bethel, 2006). Engaged learners consistently achieve academic success; higher educational aspirations and lifelong desire to become involved in community communicative and participative measures (Bowen & Woolley, 2007).

To establish a connection with the Higher-Education context, both, teachers and indigenous students need to understand the three main concepts of student engagement: behavioral, emotional and cognitive engagement. Behavioral engagement, particularly refers to student’s involvement in the classroom and learning activities.

For example, small aboriginal groups, form talking or yarn circles when wanting to discuss issues of their community or to tell a learning story. Yet, in the university setting, lectures are in large halls with one person at the front and the student far in the distance. The indigenous student may feel from this setting they have no involvement or ability to contribute to the lecture discussion, and disengagement beings. Unlike, the community circle, where they are both physically and emotionally closer to users in the circle, and an opportunity to participate.

Therefore, approaches such as arranging smaller lectures for culturally sensitive students could be a start to improve engagement. For me personally, I have found the smaller Saturday classes (which form a circle) conducted for this subject, has allowed me more freedom from the student’s perspective to participate on an equal par with the lecturer.  This has helped me engage more with the subject (as I am not an information management or a librarian, teacher student), and this type of approaches could assist indigenous student-teachers, to become more engaged or involved in their unit classes.

Emotional engagement refers to students’ personal attachments and support of the educational institution and with other students and teachers. As many indigenous students come from distance community, they are unable to maintain regular connections with their community and families. The university community needs to fulfill this role, as research shows that this influence can have noticeable impacts on the student’s achievement success (Connell & Klem, 2004). For aboriginal students a connection to place is a starting point. When the students walk into the campus, they should see signs that their culture is recognized, not just in the cabinets I talked about, at the entrance to the learning space. This is to build a positive emotion (such as inspiration), that will trigger the indigenous students' willingness to stay and build friendships. And, within the classroom, again the room can show signs of cultural life to engage not only engage the indigenous student, but as a way to have other students understand their culture (i.e. a way to break the ice).

And finally, for Cognitive engagement, this refers to the students’ application to and investment in learning. Moreover, to what extent students become engaged in higher levels of thinking or discussing; and the teacher provides quality feedback to the student. This can be achieved when the curriculum material has, for example, related-cultural content or connection to their real-world.

More importantly, for engagement to succeed, there needs to be effective institutional leadership to improve teacher performance, social equality and native student academic achievement (Zammit, 2007). In lower level schools, the principal has both greater controls to ensure effective leadership, in higher educational institutions, but each faculty due to decentralization, is given this responsibility. This can become a problem, as while some departments meet social and cultural integration, others may lack the disciple to implement effective change. A student is not just part of one faculty, they need to feel they are part of the whole university; else this can fracture the engagement in learning.

The key characteristics of a successful leader is that they have an internally driven motivation to improve outcome for indigenous students. Moreover, they have a core belief in the learning capacity of their Indigenous students to achieve national standards; and recognize the intrinsic value embodying student culture and identity, throughout the learning process and its visibility across the physical institution.

All these factors must exist within the institution's culture to influence change and engagement by indigenous students. The institutions visions, values, curriculum and how it connects to the wider community determine the type of institutional culture which is formed (Helme & Lamb 2011).

 Research shows that the school culture is an important school-level factor that can influence attendance, engagement, achievement and school completion among Indigenous students (Helme & Lamb 2011). A school’s beliefs, visions and values, as well as how a school operates—such as the curriculum, teaching approach and level of community involvement—all permeate the school’s culture. How schools adopt an effective culture is largely dependent on the quality of school leadership. More importantly, it must start from day-one when the student enters the hallowed ground. Armstrong and Buckley (2011), discussed how a provision of directly welcoming indigenous students, as nurturing mother connecting with her child. If the child feels as safe as being at home or in their own community then emotional pressure is released.

Foremost, the institution needs to create an environment free from racism and other prejudices. Again, leadership plays a crucial role in discouraging such behavior, and therefore is less likely to occur in a caring and respectful learning environment (Pearson, 2007). Educators and institutions need to proactive in challenging negative perceptions or stereotype attitudes of indigenous students (Harman, 2005). This helps the indigenous student enhance their positive conceptions of themselves and feel embodied as a student (Purdie, 2010).

Finally, the concept of contextually relevant curriculum is also an important pedagogical tool to engage indigenous students. Indigenous students have found that learning that does not have practical or relevant to their cultural background, impacts their experiences as students and aspirations (Shephard,  2008).  Moreover, we should not be ‘dumbing down the curricula’, but rather redefining the curricula to include relevant prior knowledge and experiences of the native student, and creating a more responsive learning environment (Shephard, 2008). As for example, within this university the education faculty has a dedicated section to develop unique teaching methods for teachers of mathematics, for indigenous students. Teachers are taught new ways to understand the culture and how to make mathematics relevant in a distant indigenous community. Therefore, the student will feel more engaged with the learning material and it’s relevant.

In conclusion, the institution, the teachers and fellow students play a critical part to encourage native students to complete their studies. More importantly, engagement begins with effective leadership that plans how the institutions successfully interacts with the native student, no only after they reach the walls of the learning centre, but from when they decide to leave their community.

 

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References: 

           Armstrong, S. & Buckley, S. (2011). An investigation into the attendance and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students: Research and theory about what works. Retrieved from http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1120&context=research_conference

        Bethel, B. (2006). Critical approaches to inclusion in Indigenous teacher education in Queensland: the case of RATEP. International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 2(3), p.30-41.

Bowen, G.L. & Woolley, M.E. (2007).  In the Context of Risk: Supportive Adults and School Engagement of Middle School Students. Family Relations, 56, p.92-104

              Connell, J.M. & Klem, A.M. (2004). Relationships matter: Linking teacher support to student engagement and achievement. Journal of School Health, 74 (7), p.262-273. doi:  10 .1111/ j .1746-1561.2004.t b 0 8 2 8 3 . x

Harman, G. (2005). Internationalization of Australian higher education: A critical review of literature and research. Internationalizing Higher Education. Springer: Netherlands.

Helme, S. & Lamb,S. (2011). Closing the school completion gap for Indigenous students. Australian Institute of Family Studies, Canberra: Australia.

Koshy, P. (2014). Student Equity Performance in Australian Higher Education: 2007 to 2012. National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE), Perth: Curtin University

              Pearson, S. (2007) Exploring inclusive education. British Journal of Education, 34(1), p.25-41.

Purdie, N. (2010). School attendance and retention of Indigenous Australian Students.  Retrieved from http://www.aihw.gov.au/closingthegap/documents/issues_papers/ihw/33/12176.pdf

     Shephard, K. (2008). Higher education for sustainability: seeking affective learning outcomes. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 9(1), p.87-98.

Sonn, C. (2000). Encounters with the dominant culture: Voices of indigenous students in mainstream higher education. Australian Psychologist, 35(2), p.128-135.

Zammit, K. (2007). Teaching and Leading for Quality Australian Schools. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, University of Sydney: NSW.