NPP Projects

Northern Territory Indigenous Higher Education Policy Review

Abstract

This project facilitated an Indigenous-led review of past and current federal and local government education policies to improve access and participation in higher education for Indigenous students in the Northern Territory. The review was implemented to develop lessons for future policy reform and development as observed by Indigenous people who had lived experiences of interacting with the higher education system.

Project outline

• The objectives of the Northern Territory (NT) Indigenous Higher Education Policy Review were to:
  • explore Indigenous perspectives of underlying principles of success in Indigenous higher education policy
  • identify cultural, socio-political and environmental factors that enable successful policy implementation from the perspectives of Indigenous “users” of higher education policy
  • explore the relationship between Indigenous perspectives of successful Indigenous higher education policy and practice; Northern Territory and national higher education policy; and Indigenous higher education enrolment and completion outcomes, in order to inform future policy reform and development.
• The project was framed to some extent by the recent Australian Government’s Developing the North agenda, which made it an opportune time to consider lessons from the past about “what works” in tertiary education for Indigenous people.
• The NT Indigenous Higher Education Review was implemented to develop lessons for future policy reform and development as seen by Indigenous people who had lived experiences of interacting with the higher education system.
• The project report appraised major shifts in policy dynamics in recent decades:
  • assimilation in the 1960s
  • self-determination in the 1970s and early 1980s
  • access and participation and equity in the late 1980s and 1990s
  • achieving “outcomes” from 2000 onwards.
• It was noted that there were two institutions primarily responsible for higher education in the NT, both of which were guided by national policy developments: Charles Darwin University (CDU) and the Bachelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE). The investments of CDU and BIITE were more strongly driven by socioeconomic forces after the 1990s. Both institutions have raised concerns regarding accountability and transparency of governments and institutions in relation to reporting on Indigenous higher education outcomes.
• Further, Indigenous education policy now problematises being Indigenous.
• The report investigated and challenged some assumptions: the purpose of education; what constitutes success; and how it can be measured. The authors argue that the focus on outcomes and accountability since the 2000s has perpetuated a deficit view in which Indigenous affairs is now framed — a view contested by informants who see themselves as strong and resilient agents of change.
• Neo-liberalist goals are centered around increasing employment and trade. Alternative objectives for higher education could include civil rights and cultural and social goals.

Key findings

• Two key findings and three recommendations, if addressed, would allow Indigenous higher education policies to more accurately reflect the needs of NT Indigenous people, groups and communities. This would enhance engagement and participation of Indigenous Australians within higher education, and bring broader social, economic and cultural benefits to Australia as a nation.
  • Key finding 1 — There is an urgent need for national and NT Indigenous education consultative bodies to be re-established.
    • Recommendation 1 — The Australian government must establish and fund an Independent National Indigenous Education Consultative Group to consult and provide specialist advice to the Federal Minister for Education on matters relating to Indigenous education and training at all levels (from early childhood to tertiary education).
    • Recommendation 2 — The NT government must establish and fund an independent NT Indigenous Education Consultative Group to consult and provide specialist advice to the NT Minister for Education on matters relating to Indigenous education and training at all levels (from early childhood to tertiary education).
  • Key finding 2 — In the face of ongoing deregulation, opportunities exist for CDU and BIITE to collaborate in a more strategic manner in order to advance Indigenous higher education outcomes in the NT.
    • Recommendation 3 — CDU and BIITE should explore opportunities to work in partnership to advance the higher education interests of Indigenous people, groups and communities in the NT.
  • Two articles based on this project have been published in the Australian Universities’ Review (2018).
    • The evolution of Indigenous higher education in Northern Territory, Australia: A chronological review of policy — International Studies in Widening Participation (2017)
    • A historical overview of responses to Indigenous higher education policy in the NT: Progress or procrastination? Australian Universities’ Review (2018)
  • This project has now been extended into a PhD project for the Lead Researcher.

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Summary prepared by the NCSEHE.

Posted 15 October 2018