Supporting Those Who Provide Support: What Do University Student-Facing Staff Say About Training for Working with Diverse Cohorts?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.3085

Keywords:

Diversity, student support, career development, equity practice, academic advising, Culturally and Linguistically Marginalised

Abstract

Increasing access for underrepresented cohorts to higher education has long been a priority internationally, and Australia is no exception. While universities offer a range of services in the areas of Equity, Career Development and Academic Advising (ECDAA) to support student success, there is little understanding of how these student-facing support staff are supported to work with diverse student cohorts. This is particularly the case when working with cultural and linguistic marginalised (CALM) students such as international students, refugees or migrants. This article examines the differing levels of knowledge and experience ECDAA practitioners’ have in working with culturally and linguistically diverse students in Australian universities, and the challenges practitioners face in accessing professional development to support them in their roles. While the importance of tailoring support services to meet the needs of diverse student cohorts is recognised, our findings highlight the need to provide ongoing professional development to support practitioners in the delivery of nuanced support services to CALM students. 

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Author Biographies

Samantha Kilmartin, Griffith University

Samantha Kilmartin is a qualified career development practitioner and current PhD candidate. Samantha’s work focusses on developing and supporting students and graduates; an area that she finds immensely rewarding. She is a professional member of the Career Development Association (CDAA) and the National Association of Graduate Career Advisory Services (NAGCAS).  Samantha currently sits on the NAGCAS management committee in the role of Public Officer    

Tessa McCredie, University of Southern Queensland

Tessa McCredie is the Associate Director (Wellbeing) within the Support for Learning portfolio at the University of Southern Queensland. She has over ten years working in the higher education sector in career development, equity, education and wellbeing. Tessa is a PhD candidate and her research interests are focused on education and career development. Tessa is the President of the National Association for Graduate Advisory Services (NAGCAS).

Sally Baker, Australian National University

Sally Baker is an Associate Professor, Migration and Education at the Australian National University. Sally’s teaching and research interests centre on equity in higher education, particularly the educational access, pathways, and experiences of students with forced migration backgrounds.

Farhana Laffernis, University of New South Wales

Farhana Laffernis an equity practitioner at the Division of Equity Diversity & Inclusion at UNSW Sydney. Farhana has ten years’ experience working in the higher education and non-profit sectors in roles related to equity, student support, and career development. She has a keen interest in projects that promote inclusion in university communities, particularly related to cultural diversity and anti-racism, and working with students as partners.

Clemence Due, University of Adelaide

Associate Professor Clemence Due works in the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide. Her cross-cultural and applied research interests centre on the health and wellbeing of individuals and families who are considered to be marginalised or vulnerable, particularly people with asylum seeking, refugee or migrant backgrounds. She also researches resettlement factors that have an effect on the health and wellbeing of people with asylum seeker or refugee backgrounds, including access to mental health care, housing, education, employment and social inclusion, as well as mental health care for children with refugee backgrounds who have experienced, or are experiencing, psychological trauma

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Published

2024-02-27

How to Cite

Kilmartin, S., McCredie, T. ., Baker, S., Laffernis, F. ., & Due, C. (2024). Supporting Those Who Provide Support: What Do University Student-Facing Staff Say About Training for Working with Diverse Cohorts?. Student Success, 15(1), 73–85. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.3085

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Samantha Kilmartin, Tessa McCredie, Sally Baker, Farhana Laffernis, Clemence Due

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International Licence (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.