Abstract
While access to higher education has increased for Indigenous Australians, participation and completion rates remain lower than those of non-Indigenous Australians. A sound evidence base is needed to ground equity initiatives if they are to address the specific needs of Indigenous students. This paper presents the results of a scoping review of empirical research focusing on the participation of Indigenous students in higher education. The purpose of the scoping review was to synthesise empirical research on aspirations for, and barriers and enablers to, higher education that were published between 2000 and 2016 (n = 57), and identify areas where further research is needed. Despite a recent increase in research on this topic, relatively little attention has been paid to Indigenous students’ aspirations while they are at school. We argue that future research should take account of school students’ aspirations for higher education, including primary school students; the similitude of barriers and enablers across the student life cycle; differences within Indigenous community and among Indigenous students; and, the insights emerging from Indigenous methodologies and scholarship.
Highlights
It is widely acknowledged that the higher education sector1 has a crucial role to play in reducing disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians through improving employment, economic, and health outcomes (Behrendt et al 2012; Pechenkina and Anderson 2011; Pechenkina et al 2011)
We argue that future research should take account of school students’ aspirations for higher education, including primary school students; the similitude of barriers and enablers across the student life cycle; differences within Indigenous community and among Indigenous students; and, the insights emerging from Indigenous methodologies and scholarship
Experience of higher education and generating a stronger evidence base for targeted and meaningful support. This scoping review contributes a valuable synthesis of empirical research on the participation of Indigenous students in the Australian higher education sector
Summary
It is widely acknowledged that the higher education sector has a crucial role to play in reducing disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians through improving employment, economic, and health outcomes (Behrendt et al 2012; Pechenkina and Anderson 2011; Pechenkina et al 2011). This report highlighted that as the level of education increases along the continuum from secondary school, to vocational education, to a university degree, the employment gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians declines (Commonwealth of Australia 2017). In 2012, the Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People (Behrendt et al 2012) examined the role of higher education in reducing the economic disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians. The Behrendt Report called for increased research in this area, given Indigenous students’ significantly lower rates of access, retention, and completion (Behrendt et al 2012)
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