Promoting Indigenous nursing student success in post-secondary education: A phenomenological study

There are many factors that effect the post-secondary completion rate of Indigenous students. The Indigenous student completion rate is a reflection of the number of students entering post-secondary education but is significantly affected by withdrawal rates (institutional withdrawals and student voluntary withdrawals). In the Saskatchewan Polytechnic School of Nursing, the Indigenous student withdrawal rate was 4.2% higher than the total nursing student population. Lower success rates among Indigenous students is a concerning issue in nursing programs. Continuing to operate programs and teach in the same fashion is not improving success rates. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action (2012) highlighted the need to examine strategies and develop policies to enhance Indigenous student success. To this end, recent literature was reviewed to determine trends among Indigenous nursing students, their struggles, and more importantly, the successful strategies currently being implemented. Indigenous peoples are not a homogenous group; rather, they are a mosaic of cultures, languages and nations. The authors examined the literature to determine key factors that enabled or prevented the success of post-secondary Indigenous students. Twenty-one articles on current research regarding Indigenous student success facilitators and barriers were examined. These articles encompassed research from Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The purpose of this literature review was to identify themes and gaps, drive positive change in education, and guide future research. The research team found four common themes: academic preparedness, cultural safety, intrinsic student factors, and student support.

UNSW Law Faculty has one of the most advanced offerings nationally for Indigenous law students, aimed both at providing pathways for entrance into legal studies, and academic and pastoral support throughout degree programs. In 2017, research was conducted into the experience of Indigenous students in the Faculty of Law, to evaluate what has been done well, what could be done better, and where the Faculty should look to next in growing its support for Indigenous law students. The research includes original primary research, in the form of a digital survey of present and past Indigenous law students, and two focus groups, one with current students and one with graduates. This paper will outline two of the issues that Indigenous students say are most challenging about attending law school. These are: the experience of imposter syndrome and the lack of institutional flexibility around the complex lives of many Indigenous law students. The research also discusses factors that are protective against discontinuation of studies, including fostering of cultural safety in the classroom and on campus, and attention to the needs of the whole students, including mental health and the needs of student parents. With the voices of the students firmly at the forefront, the paper includes recommendations for some priority areas in Indigenous student support in tertiary legal education.

BackgroundIncreasing the numbers of Indigenous health professionals is an international priority to enhance health outcomes for Indigenous communities. It is also incumbent on academics to ensure all graduates are culturally safe to work with Indigenous Peoples, and that accredited health degrees contain appropriate Indigenous content, improving the cultural competence of the registered health workforce. However, little current research investigates Indigenous tertiary students' experiences of learning about Indigenous health. AimTo explore Indigenous students' experiences of being taught Indigenous health. DesignThis study employed an online survey (16 % response rate) developed to evaluate student's beliefs, attitudes and learning experiences following operationalisation of a university Indigenous Graduate Attribute. An Aboriginal researcher also conducted Yarning Circles with Indigenous students as a culturally appropriate means to deepen insight into their experiences of studying Indigenous health topics alongside non-Indigenous peers. SettingA large urban Australian university. ParticipantsTwelve Indigenous students from four health disciplines completed the anonymous survey. Five Indigenous midwifery students participated in a Yarning Circle. MethodsSurvey data were analysed descriptively using SPSS version 27. Qualitative data from Yarning Circle transcripts were analysed thematically from an inductive Indigenous standpoint. ResultsResults from the survey demonstrated unanimous agreement that all health students should learn about Indigenous Peoples' health and cultures. However, most participants agreed that there needed to be more content on Indigenous knowledges, derived from Indigenous authors, researchers, and community presenters.The Yarning Circle yielded rich discussion of students' experiences, explored across three key themes and associated sub-themes. Themes were: When your culture is content; Being an Indigenous student; and Sources of strength and support as Indigenous students. ConclusionsFindings indicate the importance of framing Indigenous content, incorporating Indigenous knowledge into curricula, ensuring Cultural Safety in classrooms with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and supporting Indigenous students to excel.

How do trends in smoking prevalence among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian secondary students between 1996 and 2005 compare?

Indigenous students are not attaining the same educational and employment outcomes as non-Indigenous students. Psychological constructs have been demonstrated by research with non-Indigenous Australians to impact upon desirable educational outcomes; however, there is a dearth of Aboriginal education research that has identified psychological constructs of salience to Indigenous students. The purpose of this study was to: (a) evaluate the self-concepts of Indigenous secondary students; (b) identify Indigenous students' aspirations; (c) elucidate Indigenous students' perceptions of barriers faced in attaining their aspirations; and (d) compare and contrast the pattern of results for Indigenous students to results for non-Indigenous students from the same schools. A total of 1686 students (517 Indigenous and 1151 non-Indigenous) from urban and rural regions from three Australian States participated. Indigenous students displayed statistically significantly lower academic (school, maths, verbal) self-concepts in comparison to non-Indigenous students. Significantly more Indigenous students in comparison to non-Indigenous students aspired to leaving school early, attending Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions and were less likely to know much about what sort of job or further education and training they could pursue after leaving school. Indigenous students also rated nine potential barriers with significantly higher scores compared to non-Indigenous students in regard to limiting or stopping them from achieving what they want to do. The results have important implications for career education and counselling interventions in educational contexts.

Self-concept of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students: Competence and affect components and relations to achievement

Given the education completion gap between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students and the need for more Indigenous nurses, support for Indigenous nursing students is imperative for academic success. Indigenous nursing students face a number of barriers to success and struggle with the demands of the university setting. Academic, financial, personal, and cultural supports may assist students to successfully adapt and overcome these barriers. Educational institutions, such as Saskatchewan Polytechnic, have recognized barriers to Indigenous student success and have put a variety of measures in place to assist students. This paper aims to examine the current literature on Indigenous nursing student perception and academic support staff perception of available supports. The literature suggests that facilitative factors such as collaborative relationships between support services, individual supports, the learning environment, financial supports, and student characteristics all play a role in the academic success of students. Stressors, health, institutional racism, and feelings of shame and self-doubt are some barriers students must overcome. Within the larger context, students’ pre-university educational experience, the academic environment, and program characteristics impact the effectiveness of support services. Indigenous nursing students and Indigenous students from other programs share similar perceptions as to the effectiveness of support services. The perception of academic staff is that the needs of both Indigenous nursing and non-nursing students are similar. Although there is little research in the area of library services in relation to how they support Indigenous nursing student success, student perceptions of other support services are positive when students use them...

Among a sample of 472 Indigenous high school students, juxtaposed with 15,884 non-Indigenous students from the same 54 schools, we investigated variation in motivation and engagement from school to school, and the role of motivation and engagement in predicting various academic outcomes (aspirations, buoyancy, homework completion, and achievement). We found significantly lower mean-levels of motivation and engagement among Indigenous students. Importantly, however, after accounting for age, gender, socio-economic status (SES), and prior achievement, the motivation and engagement differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students were markedly reduced. We also found that Indigenous students’ positive motivation and engagement (e.g. self-efficacy, mastery orientation, etc.) predicted academic outcomes to a significantly greater extent than their negative motivation and engagement (e.g. anxiety, self-handicapping, etc.) predicted these outcomes. Findings are discussed with particular focus on how they may be helpful in identifying ways to enhance the educational outcomes of Indigenous students.

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of mental illness and substance use among Indigenous students attending Canadian post-secondary institutions. We obtained data from the National College Health Assessment - American College Health Association Spring 2013 survey, which includes 34,039 participants in 32 post-secondary institutions across Canada. We calculated prevalence estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We compared Indigenous and non-Indigenous students using age- and sex-adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) obtained from Poisson regression models. Of the total sample, 1,110 (3.3%) post-secondary students self-identified as Indigenous. Within the past 12 months, Indigenous students had higher odds of intentionally injuring themselves (PR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.27-1.84), seriously considering suicide (PR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.12-1.56), attempting suicide (PR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.16-2.62), or having been diagnosed with depression (PR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.08-1.47) or anxiety (PR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.02-1.35) when compared with non-Indigenous students. Indigenous students also had higher odds of having a lifetime diagnosis of depression (PR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.17-1.47) when compared with non-Indigenous students. Indigenous students were more likely to report binging on alcohol (PR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.02-1.19), using marijuana (PR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.06-1.37), and using other recreational drugs (PR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.06-1.63) compared to non-Indigenous students. This study demonstrates that Indigenous students at post-secondary institutions across Canada experience higher prevalence of mental health and related issues compared to the non-Indigenous student population. This information highlights the need to assess the utilization and ensure the appropriate provision of mental health and wellness resources to support Indigenous students attending post-secondary institutions.

Evaluation of strategies designed to enhance student engagement and success of indigenous midwifery students in an Away-From-Base Bachelor of Midwifery Program in Australia: A qualitative research study

This study investigated smoking behaviour among Indigenous youth. A sample of schools (n = 12) in north Queensland with large proportions of Indigenous students was selected. Details about the prevalence of smoking behaviour in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students (n = 883) were gathered. Data were also collected on the cultural, social, and psychological factors associated with cigarette smoking for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. This survey indicated smoking rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students were 24% and 30%, respectively. The study found similarities between both groups regarding where they obtained their cigarettes (friends) and their reasons for not smoking (their parents and health). Results of this survey challenge the belief that Indigenous youth are significantly different in their smoking patterns and behaviours compared to non-Indigenous secondary school students in rural regions. It indicated the potential importance of school communities in promoting non-smoking behaviours among Indigenous students even in the face of strong normative pressures from elsewhere in the community. This survey can be used to monitor smoking prevalence among Indigenous secondary students in north Queensland, help guide the development of culturally appropriate school curriculum resources and contribute to the overall evaluation of smoking prevention and smoking cessation programs which are developed for Indigenous secondary school students.

Physical fitness is essential for all. This is comparative cum cross-sectional study dealing with the physical fitness of students. It was conducted in the secondary schools of Lamjung district with the objective to compare the physical fitness between indigenous and non- indigenous students. Altogether 150 secondary level male students were selected as the respondents consisting 75 for each group. Five schools were selected using purposive sampling method whereas, the respondent students were selected using purposive cum random sampling method. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (AAHPER) Youth Physical Fitness Test was used to compare the physical fitness of indigenous and non-indigenous students. The test battery included six test items i.e. pull-ups, sit-ups, standing broad jump, shuttle run, 50-yard dash and 600-yard run-walk. For the comparison of fitness score, mean, SD, CV and Z-test were applied. Fitness status was found better among indigenous students in comparison to non-indigenous students.

Since 2008, various Prime Ministers of Australia have used the “closing the gap” report to focus on the low level of school attendance and educational achievement of Indigenous students. Consequentially, new strategies focusing on schools, Indigenous parents and students are implemented, and the following year the Prime Minister repeats the call for improvement. It seems that nothing changes. This cyclical issue raises fundamental questions, “Why does a gap in attendance between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students persist, and are there unexamined factors that perpetuate the ‘wicked’ problem?” Perhaps it is not the individual school, teacher, parent or student who is the largest impediment to Indigenous student attendance and academic success. Are there other factors that remain unexamined, including the values and beliefs upon which the practices of the education system are built? Using the methodological approach and tools generated from critical race theory (CRT) this study critically examines Queensland state school data and identifies systemic factors that are preventing or impacting on Indigenous student attendance. Data sets are predominantly reviewed using quantitative analysis techniques, aligning with the current educational focus on policy informed by quantitative rather than qualitative research (Lingard, Creagh, & Vass, 2012). In addition, qualitative methods are used to examine how racism is endemic in educational policies. Key results from this study indicate that, in Queensland, educational policy, decision- making, and practices maintain the white dominant ideology that impacts on Indigenous students’ success, and renders them invisible. The results also demonstrate that Indigenous parents/caregivers and secondary school students’ opinions of school differ from those of their non-Indigenous peers. The thesis presents new understandings of how race continues to impact on the education system and facilitates a rationale for why Indigenous students have a higher rate of non-attendance than their non-Indigenous peers. The evidence base has the potential to change the way blame is apportioned for Indigenous student non-attendance, by shifting the focus from Indigenous parents and students to the education system. The study recommends two practical changes within the education system. Firstly, that an accredited professional development program for both policy makers and senior officers and above within the public service occurs, focusing on unconscious racial bias. Secondly, that a review of public sector policies be undertaken to address the part that seemingly neutral language plays in enabling the ‘wicked’ problem to persist, beginning with the qualitative analysis methods presented in this thesis. Finally, the study suggests that future research should focus on how the legacy of colonisation, in addition to race, impacts on Indigenous students’ educational outcomes. More detailed qualitative research should be undertaken to explicate the reasons for unexplained absences of Indigenous school students. Understandings about unexplained absences will assist in the development of alternative, targeted, evidence based strategies focusing on all areas affecting Indigenous students’ attendance.

This study investigates the relative roles of home and school variables in accounting for achievement gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in Australia and New Zealand. Using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment [PISA] 2009, our findings show that achievement gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students are associated with both home and school resources, not only in terms of unequal allocations but also in relation to differences in the rates at which home and school affordances are converted into positive educational outcomes. In both countries, home resources accounted for more of the achievement gap than differences in schooling resources. However, the achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students is substantially larger in Australia than in New Zealand, apparently related to greater inequity in the allocation of school resources. We suggest that education policymakers in Australia ensure a more equitable allocation of school resources between Indigenous students and their non-Indigenous peers.

ABSTRACT: In the spring of 2022, I achieved a longtime aspiration of teaching a course solely focused on American Indian-produced comics and graphic novels. The purpose of this course was to (1) illustrate the importance of comics and, consequently, the importance of the American Indian representations they create; (2) facilitate knowledge of American Indian federal policy and current topics of importance in Indian Country; and (3) elevate American Indian voices in an accessible, multimedia format. The course was an immediate success in attracting students and in fulfi lling the above goals. However, it was not until spring 2023, after moving to Duke University, which has a larger Indigenous student population, that the course truly began its work of refl ecting and inspiring Indigenous student voices and facilitating conversations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. By diving deeply into comics not just as entertainment but also as a form of Indigenous resistance, knowledge transmission, and futurisms—especially in the wake of regularly occurring threats of termination and genocide—students were able to more quickly understand the stakes of these discussions. In addition, the fi nal project—an “unessay” in which students choose the form of their project—created a platform for Indigenous students to showcase their own creativity through submissions such as beading, Indigenous language translations, and screenwriting. In this article, I refl ect on my experiences of teaching this course; student responses to the course; and, fi nally, the specifi c ways that comics and graphic novels enable the inspiring of Indigenous students as well as facilitate the education of and dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students regarding the critical issues American Indians are addressing today.