Street, Catherine, Smith, James, Robertson, Kim, Ludwig, Wendy, Motlap, Shane, and Guenther, John (2018) Northern Territory Indigenous Higher Education Policy Review: Final Report. Report. Charles Darwin Univeristy, Darwin, NT, Australia.

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Abstract

The Australian Government’s Developing the North agenda makes it an opportune time to consider lessons from the past about ‘what works’ in tertiary education as a means of preparing the local Indigenous workforce to support economic development within the Northern Territory (NT). Recent moves to shift a larger proportion of the costs of higher education to individuals also make it timely to consider what can be learnt about the impacts of decreasing government investment in higher education over time. The NT Indigenous Higher Education Review was implemented to develop lessons for future policy reform and development for governments and institutions as seen by Indigenous people who had lived experiences of interacting with the higher education system. This project aimed to explore how Indigenous perspectives of ‘success’ relate to definitions of success within policy, how these may have evolved over time, and identify any links with Indigenous student outcomes.

The results confirmed the evolution in national and subsequent NT government higher education policy approaches from assimilation in the 1960s; to self-determination in the 1970s and early 1980s; to access, participation and equity in the late 1980s and 1990s; and finally achieving ‘outcomes’ from 2000 onwards. Charles Darwin University (CDU) and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE) – as the two institutions primarily responsible for higher education in the NT – were initially guided by national higher education policy directions in their strategies around Indigenous higher education. In particular, they focused on Indigenous teacher training and putting in place access and support measures such as bridging courses and academic support. Changes were implemented in the 1990s within the Vocational Education and Training (VET) and higher education industries that increased competition between providers and therefore the need for accountability. The investments of both CDU and BIITE in Indigenous higher education after this time appear to have been more strongly driven by socio-economic forces, such as ensuring financial sustainability, than policy at the national level. It was also found that success in Indigenous student enrolment and completion outcomes at CDU and BIITE was influenced more by discipline-specific strategies than particular Indigenous higher education policy initiatives. Historically, there have been several attempts for collaboration between CDU and BIITE, although these have been individual- or project-based. The two institutions are wellplaced to work in partnership on policy and research initiatives in an ongoing way to counteract the absence of formalised NT-specific Indigenous higher education policy structures.

Item ID:	58534
Item Type:	Report (Report)
Date Deposited:	19 Sep 2022 00:57
FoR Codes:	13 EDUCATION > 1303 Specialist Studies in Education > 130301 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education @ 100%
SEO Codes:	93 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 9399 Other Education and Training > 939901 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education @ 100%
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