An Investigation into the Support Provided to Indigenous Postgraduate Students in Australia
Postgraduate participation and completion rates for Indigenous Australians are considerably lower than those of non-Indigenous people in Australia. This inquiry examines the support provided to Indigenous postgraduate students. Fifty-five Indigenous postgraduate students located throughout Australia participated in this research. A qualitative study using the interpretivist paradigm was conducted – enabling an exploration of the support mechanisms that Indigenous postgraduate students currently have, or desire but do not have. The support provided to Indigenous postgraduate students was shown to be inadequate. Indigenous Support Units have played a key role in supporting Indigenous postgraduate students; however, they are reaching only half of their potential clientele. Universities have otherwise failed to consider Indigenous postgraduate students as a group that require culturally appropriate support mechanisms. Indigenous Australians must be better supported in order to address the disparity in participation and completion rates compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts.