This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book brings together contributions by researchers, scholars, policy-makers, practitioners, professionals and citizens who have an interest in or experience of Indigenous pathways and transitions into higher education. University is not for everyone, but a university should be for everyone. To a certain extent, the choice not to participate in higher education should be respected given that there are other avenues and reasons to participate in education and employment that are culturally, socially and/or economically important for society. Those who choose to pursue higher education should do so knowing that there are multiple pathways into higher education and, once there, appropriate support is provided for a successful transition. The book outlines the issues of social inclusion and equity in higher education, and the contributions draw on real-world experiences to reflect the different approaches and strategies currently being adopted. Focusing on research, program design, program evaluation, policy initiatives and experiential narrative accounts, the book critically discusses issues concerning widening participation.

This book takes a critical view of masculinities through an investigation of first-in-family males transitioning to higher education. Drawing on six in-depth longitudinal case studies, the focus is on how young men from working-class backgrounds engage with complex social inequalities, as well as the various capitals they draw upon to ensure their success. Through the longitudinal approach, the work problematises the rhetoric of ‘poverty of aspirations’ and foregrounds how class and gender influence the lives and futures of these young men. The book demonstrates how the aspirations of these young men are influenced by a complex interplay between race/ethnicity, religion, masculinity and social class. Finally, the book draws connections between the lived experiences of the participants and the implications for policy and practice in higher education. Drawn from a larger research project, each case study compels the reader to think critically regarding masculinities in relation to social practices, institutional arrangements and cultural ideologies. This is essential reading for those interested in widening participation in higher education, gender theory/masculinities, longitudinal research and social justice.

Children and young people from diverse populations are statistically more at risk of exclusion, however education providers can make a difference to all children and young persons’ learning outcomes no matter what their personal circumstances. To achieve this, not only must educators form closer and more authentic relationships with these children and their communities, but the governments that fund learning environments must also be prepared to provide adequate resourcing and training opportunities. Safe, Supportive, and Inclusive Learning Environments for Young People in Crisis and Trauma addresses both the general and specific issues that may prevent children and young people from diverse populations from being safe, supported, and included in learning environments. Some chapters focus on general factors that contribute to both inclusion and exclusion at early childhood and in formal school environments, while others present research-based best practice and practical advice to enable good education outcomes for indigenous, migrant, and LGBTQI children and those who experience mental health problems, drug misuse, and abuse. Lastly, the book includes information about how to negotiate and set up programmes that have been shown to be effective with communities that differ from the dominant culture. This book provides practitioners in education, health, and social work with information and practical advice on how to retain all children and young people in early childhood, formal school education, and tertiary settings.

Addressing a significant gap in the literature, this book provides conceptual and practical foundations for the development of more effective support strategies to improve academic outcomes for Indigenous higher education students. Authors Martin and Vicky Nakata draw on Indigenous and higher education research, as well as their own experience implementing reforms to Indigenous student support services in Australian universities, to present a method that focuses on helping students to develop the skills and capabilities they need to thrive at university. The book is divided into three sections, the first outlining fifteen key concepts and conditions for student success. The second section provides detailed guidance on individual student case management, from foundational concepts through to implementation. The third section outlines what staff need to consider before attempting to implement changes to practice in their local context, offering a blueprint for assessing current practice, planning for and then implementing change. Presenting an approach that has proven successful in closing the gap between the academic outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, this book is an essential resource for academic and non-academic staff who support underprepared students to succeed in higher education.

An engaging guide for future best-practice, this book provides an illuminating account of how the innovative programs of education and research at one Centre for Aboriginal Studies made a demonstrably positive difference in the lives of Indigenous students. Written by the experts involved, the book provides detailed descriptions of these ground-breaking education and research programs that saw an increase in the number of Indigenous graduates emerging from the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University. Each chapter documents a different stage in the development and delivery of these programs and demonstrates how innovative and culturally appropriate principles of teaching, learning and organizational processes empowered participants to make a real difference in the lives of their families and communities. The book also addresses the challenges faced by such programs and the counterproductive pressures of market-based economic policies, highlighting the need to create an environment attuned to Aboriginal desires for social justice, self-management and self-determination. As a celebration of genuine success in higher education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and a guide on how to improve practice in the future, this book is an essential resource for all professionals and policy makers looking to make a real difference in the lives of Indigenous peoples.

This edited collection presents perspectives from a range of disciplines on the challenges of dismantling coloniality in settler societies. Showcasing a variety of pedagogies and case studies, the book offers approaches to the praxis of decolonisation in diverse settings including tertiary education, activism, arts curatorial practice, the media, trans-Indigeneity, and psychosocial therapy. Chapters centre on the personal, relational, and political work needed to support decolonisation in settler societies in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Drawing from experiences in the field, contributors argue that to decolonise research and build authentic relationships with Indigenous communities, settler researchers must learn from Indigenous worldviews without appropriating them, disrupt colonial epistemologies, and reconcile their place in colonialism. Indigenising is discussed as a counterpart to the decolonisation process, involving restoring and centring the Indigenous voice within Indigenised socio-cultural, economic, legal, and political structures and institutions, including the return of land. The book is a rich resource for researchers seeking to understand and support decolonisation in settler societies, and will appeal to non-Indigenous scholars, students, and those involved in decolonisation work in community and institutional settings.

This book focuses on three broad and intertwined concerns in Indigenous education across several settler-colonial settings such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Within these settler-colonial contexts, many Indigenous learners continue to be failed by education policies and practices, while teaching and learning – all too often concomitantly – reproduce and maintain deficit perspectives and expectations from those in the wider community towards Indigenous Peoples. The contributions presented in this book seek to interrupt this cycle in some way and share three broad and intertwined areas of focus: Holistic and more-than-human view of the world and knowledge making practices Critical engagement with the ongoing legacies of colonial institutions, practices and histories And efforts that seek to reveal and address social injustices, inequities and discrimination. The book highlights the work of scholars who are actively working to privilege Indigenous ways of working and/or recognising the resilience of Indigenous peoples in all aspects of education. Critical Studies and the International Field of Indigenous Education Research offers inspiration, hope and practices to learn from and with. In doing so, a wider community of researchers and professionals can draw on the ideas and strategies to help inform their efforts within the settings they work and live. This book was originally published as a special issue of Critical Studies in Education.

This book presents multiple cultural and contextual takes on working performances of academic/writer/thinker, both inside and outside the academy. With worldwide, seismic shifts taking place in both the contexts and terrains of universities, and subsequently the altering of what it means to write as an academic and work in academia, the editors and contributors use writing to position and re-position themselves as academics, thinkers and researchers. Using as a point of departure universities and academic/writing work contexts shaped by the increasing dominance of commodification, measurement and performativity, this volume explores responses to these evolving, shifting contexts. In response to the growing global interest in writing as performance, this book breaks new ground by theorizing multiple identity constructions of academic/writer/researcher; considering the possibilities and challenges of engaging in academic writing work in ways that are authentic and sustainable. This reflective and interdisciplinary volume will resonate with students and scholars of academic writing, as well as all those working to reconcile different facets of identity.

This book brings together contributions by researchers, scholars, policy-makers, practitioners, professionals and citizens who have an interest in or experience of Indigenous pathways and transitions into higher education. University is not for everyone, but a university should be for everyone. To a certain extent, the choice not to participate in higher education should be respected given that there are other avenues and reasons to participate in education and employment that are culturally, socially and/or economically important for society. Those who choose to pursue higher education should do so knowing that there are multiple pathways into higher education and, once there, appropriate support is provided for a successful transition.The book outlines the issues of social inclusion and equity in higher education, and the contributions draw on real-world experiences to reflect the different approaches and strategies currently being adopted. Focusing on research, program design, program evaluation, policy initiatives and experiential narrative accounts, the book critically discusses issues concerning widening participation. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

This open access book explores cultural competence in the higher education sector from multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives. It addresses cultural competence in terms of leadership and the role of the higher education sector in cultural competence policy and practice. Drawing on lessons learned, current research and emerging evidence, the book examines various innovative approaches and strategies that incorporate Indigenous knowledge and practices into the development and implementation of cultural competence, and considers the most effective approaches for supporting cultural competence in the higher education sector. This book will appeal to researchers, scholars, policy-makers, practitioners and general readers interested in cultural competence policy and practice.