Higher Education Success Factor Model: A Means to Explore Factors Influencing Indigenous Australian Completion Rates

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.3154

Keywords:

Indigenous students, social determinants, university completions, HESF

Abstract

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled at universities continues to increase; however, completion rates have not. In this study, we sought to understand what contributes to university completion rates by Indigenous Australian students. We employed a mixed-method approach, utilising the higher education success factor (HESF) model to investigate the factors that influence completion. In total, we surveyed 308 Indigenous Australians who had graduated between 2018 to 2022. We found that the economic conditions, social environment and individual characteristics were identified as three factors influencing the completion of Indigenous university graduates. We report that this model has worked well to provide a means to identify factors influencing Indigenous Australian success in higher education. Academic institutions can now use this model to identify how they can best support Indigenous Australian students by examining the three factors we have identified to see where their weaknesses may lie and where improvement can be made.

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Author Biographies

Thu Dinh Xuan Pham, Griffith University

Dr. Thu Pham is originally from Vietnam and currently lives and works on the land of the Yugarabul, Yuggera, Jagera and Turrbal peoples in Queensland. She is a Research Project Officer at the Carumba Institute, Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Her research areas include leadership in higher education and Indigenous students’ success. She completed her doctoral degree in Education at QUT, Australia, in 2016. Her doctoral research study focused on leadership to support quality improvement in Vietnamese higher education. She is currently working on several research projects focusing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia regarding the impact of digital inclusion challenges for low-income Indigenous families living on Mornington Island, a remote region in Queensland, and the social determinants of higher education impact Indigenous students’ attainment. In 2022, she published a Springer Brief titled: “Higher Degree by Research: Factors for Indigenous Student Success”.

Levon E Blue, The University of Queensland

Dr Levon Blue’s is a senior lecturer in the Office of the Deputy-Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) at The University of Queensland. She is a member of the Beausoleil First Nation in Canada and lives in Australia. Levon’s research area includes financial literacy education practices and pathways to success in higher education with Indigenous peoples in Australia and Canada. Her PhD was awarded in 2016 which focused on financial literacy education practices in a First Nation community in Canada.

Angela Baeza, Queensland University of Technology

Dr Angela Baeza is Diaguita First Nation from Chile and a lecturer at Carumba Institute at Queensland University of Technology. She holds a Master's degree in Education from Monash University and a Master's degree in Learning Disabilities from PUC. Her PhD focuses on understanding the experiences of teachers and Indigenous community members in providing Indigenous education in rural and remote areas. Angela’s research area includes Indigenous education, teacher professional development and higher education with Indigenous peoples. She has published several books and journal articles in English and Spanish.

Peter J Anderson, Griffith University

Professor Peter Anderson is from the Walpiri and Murinpatha peoples of the Northern Territory and is Professor and Director Indigenous Research Unit at Griffith University. Professor Anderson’s research spans the area of Australian Indigenous education, educational systems, curriculum and pedagogical interventions and the intersecting relationships with indigenous peoples both globally and domestically. A member of the ARC College of Experts, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Science and member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and a Lifelong Fellow of the Atlantic Institute at Oxford University. He also holds research advisory positions for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the Diversity Council of Australia and the Australian Education Research Association

Congcong Xing, Queensland University of Technology

Dr Congcong Xing is a research associate at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She just received a doctor’s degree in sociology of education from QUT. Her research interest focuses on international higher education, Indigenous education, Bourdieu, and the sociology of resilience.

Melanie Saward, Queensland University of Technology

Melanie Saward is a proud descendant of the Bigambul and Wakka Wakka peoples. She is a lecturer of creative writing in the School of Creative Practice at QUT, a PhD student, and an author. In 2022, she published a Springer Brief titled: “Higher Degree by Research: Factors for Indigenous student success”.

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Published

2024-04-22

How to Cite

Pham, T. D. X., Blue, L. E., Baeza, A., Anderson, P. J., Xing, C., & Saward, M. (2024). Higher Education Success Factor Model: A Means to Explore Factors Influencing Indigenous Australian Completion Rates . Student Success. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.3154

Issue

Online First

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2022 Thu Dinh Xuan Pham, Levon E Blue, Angela Baeza, Peter J Anderson, Congcong Xing, Melanie Saward

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.