tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/access-to-education-25088/articlesAccess to education – The Conversation2023-08-17T15:47:30Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2105632023-08-17T15:47:30Z2023-08-17T15:47:30ZTeen mums in South Africa: largest ever study explores what it takes to go back to school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542353/original/file-20230811-35944-nv1ukl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">GettyImages</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Imagine the weight of responsibility for caring for a child when you are not yet fully grown yourself, and the fear of being shamed by parents, fellow learners, and even strangers within the community? </p>
<p>Vast numbers of adolescent mothers, many of them very vulnerable, exist across Africa, but there remains little research on their challenges and what can be done to support them and their children. </p>
<p>Policies and programmes are often small scale, poorly implemented, or not inclusive of adolescent parents. </p>
<p>Detailing findings from <a href="https://www.heybaby.org.za/">the largest adolescent mother cohort study</a> in sub-Saharan Africa, this article sheds light on some of the challenges they face, potential entry points for interventions and programmes, and opportunities to support adolescent mothers and their children. </p>
<p>Some adolescent mothers from sub-Saharan Africa say <a href="https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12978-021-01078-y">they did not realise they could get pregnant or how to prevent pregnancies</a>, pointing to the challenges to provide youth with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7887764/">comprehensive sex education</a> and the possible cultural obstacles to <a href="https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1742-4755-8-25">communication about sex</a>underlying early pregnancy. </p>
<p>Even before the COVID-19 pandemic sparked an <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380199_eng">education crisis</a>, nearly <a href="https://www.unicef.org/media/65586/file/A-new-era-for-girls-2020.pdf">one in five girls </a> aged between 15 and 19 globally were not in school, employment or training. </p>
<p>Many adolescent mothers have a history of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19248721/">poor school performance</a>, and a pregnancy can <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0376835X.2013.853610">act as a catalyst </a>for early dropout. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.heybaby.org.za/">HEY BABY </a>(Helping Empower Youth Brought up in Adversity with their Babies and Young children) research study was conceptualised to better understand adolescent mothers’ needs.</p>
<p>The study aimed to identify the hurdles young mothers face and how to overcome them. Between 2017 and 2019, HEY BABY collected data from over 1,000 adolescent mothers and their children living in rural and urban areas of South Africa’s Eastern Cape.</p>
<h2>Addressing mothers’ obstacles and identified points of intervention</h2>
<p>Prior research, using older samples, from South Africa indicates that only between <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1728-4465.2008.00181.x">30%</a>and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1728-4465.2008.00180.x">50%</a> of young mothers manage to continue their education, highlighting a continued need to understand better why this is the case.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2022.2049846">Our most recent study</a> showed that almost 70% of young mothers indicate having returned to school after birth. These mothers showed lower poverty rates, fewer repeated grades preceding the pregnancy, continued schooling during pregnancy, higher daycare/crèche use, more family childcare support, and lower engagement in exclusive breastfeeding within six months of birth.</p>
<p>Examining the relationship between poverty and school enrolment within this population, we identified two distinct routes towards a return to school: </p>
<p>Route one: Lower household poverty drives schooling throughout pregnancy which, in turn, drives higher school return rates post-birth;</p>
<p>Route two: Lower household poverty drives the use of daycare/crèche services which, in turn, drives higher school return rates post-birth. </p>
<p>The large proportion of mothers - 30% in our sample - who do not return to school might require substantial targeted support to re-engage with education. </p>
<p>Our results suggest that financial support alone might not be sufficient to support adolescent mothers. But when combined with other resources, such as affordable daycare and services that support school retention during pregnancy, they could prove effective.</p>
<p>This evidence aligns with the growing interest in <a href="https://www.unicef-irc.org/research/cash-plus/">cash-plus programmes </a> which provide cash payments in addition to complementary interventions to strengthen outcomes. This type of intervention might help adolescent mothers to continue their education. </p>
<p>Further research from the HEY BABY team provides valuable insights into maternal education and its potential drivers and consequences:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Better maternal education is associated with increased <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0275805">child cognitive development</a>. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059321001371">Withdrawal from school during pregnancy</a> is associated with more poverty, higher grade repetitions and greater lack of information about the pregnancy. </p></li>
<li><p>Some adolescent mothers face compound risks. For example adolescent motherhood and HIV-infection double the chances of <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Toska%2C+Banougnin%2C+Hertzog%2C+et+al.+(2022).+Syndemic+effects+of+adolescent+pregnancy+and+HIV.&rlz=1C1GCEA_enZA1069ZA1069&oq=Toska%2C+Banougnin%2C+Hertzog%2C+et+al.+(2022).+Syndemic+effects+of+adolescent+pregnancy+and+HIV.&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg70gENNDE4MzUzNjVqMGoxNagCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">dropping out of school</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jia2.25928">Food security</a> is associated with both education and lowered HIV behaviours, including age-disparate sex and sex on substances. </p></li>
<li><p>Access to <a href="https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/4670412/1/Cluver-etal-2023-Associations-of-formal-childcare-use.pdf">formal childcare services</a> has a substantial positive impact for adolescent mothers such as engagement with education and employment, optimism about the future, and improved parenting) and showed better child development over time. </p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Evidence to improve the implementation of school policies</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/au0618_insert_webspreads.pdf">Progressive laws and school policies</a>, and their effective implementation, are essential to increase school access for pregnant girls and adolescent mothers. </p>
<p>In South Africa, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/au0618_insert_webspreads.pdf">a national policy</a> assigns the responsibility for managing the care and support for adolescent mothers to individual schools. These schools need to know <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2023.2206465">how to provide effective and targeted help</a>, and which community networks to tap into. </p>
<p>Establishing and promoting education, health, and social systems that are responsive to the rights and needs of pregnant girls and adolescent mothers will require that the policy implementation is grounded in robust evidence.</p>
<p>Only then can we effectively improve the lives of adolescent mothers and our future generations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210563/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:janina.jochim@spi.ox.ac.uk">janina.jochim@spi.ox.ac.uk</a> receives funding from the UKRI </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Steventon Roberts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Almost one in three teen mothers do not return to school. Cash incentives help get them back, but affordable day-care is essential too.Kathryn Steventon Roberts, Researcher - Global Health, University of OxfordJanina Jochim, Postdoctoral fellow, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1800242022-05-12T20:01:46Z2022-05-12T20:01:46Z‘Stop measuring black kids with a white stick’: how to make school assessments fairer for all<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457306/original/file-20220411-22-hcsbpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/aboriginal-school-teacher-speaking-to-class-with-royalty-free-image/904531262?adppopup=true">GettyImages</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the title we quote Michelle Martin (with her permission), who is a proud Kija woman and passionate educator. She sees a system that does not adequately recognise Aboriginal students’ worldviews or knowledge. Instead, the education system measures Aboriginal students according to white language and cultural systems. </p>
<p>We know that languages other than English have features that do not exist in English, and use diverse modes of communication. This is particularly true of many Aboriginal languages. According to Centre for Aboriginal Policy Research fellow <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/INFORMIT.245205197181798">Inge Kral</a>, these languages have complex ways of conveying meaning, including: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] language, sign, gesture and gaze, special speech styles and registers, non-verbal communication and the iconic representations found in body painting, carved designs and sand drawings.</p>
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<p>But the school system – and the way it assesses students – does not recognise this. </p>
<p>This is certainly the case for NAPLAN testing, which is limited in what it tests and how. And, due to the “<a href="https://www.ufrgs.br/ppgletras/pdf/Shohamy2011.pdf">backwash effect</a>” of high-stakes standardised assessment on teaching practices, teachers are also inclined to set their students tasks that closely align with NAPLAN-style assessments. This is commonly known as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/testing-the-test-naplan-makes-for-stressed-kids-and-a-narrow-curriculum-10965">teaching to the test</a>”.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00336882221086307">new paper</a>, we argue the languages and methods of classroom assessments need to be expanded. Such changes will make assessment more inclusive and fairer for all, particularly First Nations students.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-australia-support-more-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-teachers-178522">How can Australia support more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers?</a>
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<h2>Why are current school assessment practices ‘unfair’?</h2>
<p><strong>One test, one language</strong></p>
<p>Most assessment practices currently follow a “one test, one language” principle. We argue this is inherently unfair to users of multiple languages. </p>
<p>Consider the following <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19313152.2016.1258190">example from New York University researchers</a>.
“Paco” is a child with a linguistic repertoire of both Spanish and English. But when judged in each of these languages separately, his knowledge is considered deficient. The assessment does not accurately judge Paco’s knowledge and skills or recognise and value his bilingual identity.</p>
<p>In this example, the purposes of assessment are not fully met. The assessment also privileges the monolingual student. They can use the full extent of their language knowledge, whereas a bilingual student is only permitted to use half of their’s.</p>
<p><strong>One mode of communication</strong></p>
<p>Current assessment practices are not only monolingual, but they tend to be in writing. Therefore a “one test, one language, one mode” approach is used. For some users of Aboriginal languages, this means their messages cannot be fully communicated because culturally it is appropriate to use gesture or signing to communicate certain information.</p>
<p>For example, some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0388000115000704?via%3Dihub">Aboriginal languages</a> use cardinal direction – the use of compass directions such as north, south, east and west. In English a left/right system is used which is centred on personal location. In contrast, cardinal direction in these languages are not centred on personal location but true compass directions. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43102868?sid=primo&saml_data=eyJzYW1sVG9rZW4iOiI5NWI5OTRkZi1hMDJjLTRiOTYtOTBhNy1mOWI4OGQ5ZmMxYmQiLCJpbnN0aXR1dGlvbklkcyI6WyJjM2JkZjhlNi1kNzVhLTQ4NjItODIzMC00MmUzNDRkZmI3ZTciXX0&seq=1">Guugu Yimithirr</a>, an Aboriginal language in Far North Queensland, cardinal direction can be communicated using only body position and gesture with compass-like accuracy.</p>
<p>This is just one example of how languages can differ, and why English-based testing might disadvantage speakers of these other languages.</p>
<h2>How can we make assessment fairer for all?</h2>
<p>We propose two main ways to make school assessment fairer for all:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>assessment practices should allow students to use all their available linguistic resources to express their knowledge and understanding.</p></li>
<li><p>methods of assessment need to be expanded to embrace linguistic practices in other languages.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Some might argue that if assessment includes languages other than English, the teacher will not be able to understand and grade the student’s work. </p>
<p>However, we respond that it provides teachers with an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue with children to learn about their social, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This will help teachers to see what these children are capable of in their additional language/s. This can be supported by using “translanguaging” education and “two-way” learning in the classroom.</p>
<h2>Translanguaging education</h2>
<p>“Translanguaging” is a term used to describe the ways individuals will use all their available meaning-making resources to communicate - such as signs and languages. In a classroom that uses a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/pedagogical-translanguaging/67802C1E5AE4A418AE3B8E2DEFBAD30A">translanguaging approach to learning</a>, this practice is not only allowed, but actively valued. </p>
<p>Translanguaging has been shown to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1362168820938822">improve learning and foster inclusivity</a> in the classroom. It is used to demonstrate that all languages and therefore all children, are welcome in this classroom. </p>
<p>Translanguaging also strongly aligns with the “two-way” approach to learning - one that has been advocated for in First Nations educational contexts for over half a century. <a href="https://www.cdu.edu.au/sites/default/files/the-northern-institute/10.18793-lcj2019.24.04.pdf">Two-way learning</a> is premised on dialogue between teacher and student and an equal exchange of knowledge about language and culture.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/invisible-language-learners-what-educators-need-to-know-about-many-first-nations-children-175917">Invisible language learners: what educators need to know about many First Nations children</a>
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<h2>New modes of communication</h2>
<p>Storytelling practices in schools are currently dominated by Western narrative writing. This represents just one storytelling style in a written mode. There are many styles of narratives across many modes, such as sand drawings, art, drama, singing and dancing. </p>
<p>This example from Ngaanyatjarra, an Aboriginal language group in Western Australia, shows the telling of a traditional sand story:</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UgR3bRQGgYA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>As part of a research project with Aboriginal youth, Inge Kral and her colleagues <a href="https://www.ijih.org/volumes/article/837">documented</a> ten young First Nations women who used iPads to record traditional sand stories. In doing so, they used multiple ways of communicating. </p>
<p>Kral and her colleagues comment on the way these young people seamlessly blended and integrated to create new ways of communicating:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The films burst with colour, energy and originality, and we see traditional iconography merging with contemporary symbols as the young storytellers recount stories of trips out bush collecting traditional foods with humorous memories of flat tyres and seeing scary animals.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This example shows school children are skilled at representing their knowledge and understanding across multiple modes of communication like oral, digital, drawing. </p>
<p>It is important to note these innovative and creative practices were produced outside the classroom, not inside. It is time for that to change. </p>
<p>By allowing linguistic freedom of expression and expanding modes of communication in assessment, we can enrich our understanding of the world and make classroom assessment fairer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180024/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rhonda Oliver receives funding from Australian Research Council. She is affiliated with Curtin University and supports the not-for-profit organisation "Kate Mullin Association" which supports Education and Literacy initiatives for Aboriginal students and their teachers. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carly Steele, Graeme Gower, and Sender Dovchin do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The languages and the methods of classroom assessments need to be expanded. Such changes will make assessment more inclusive and fairer for all, particularly First Nations students.Carly Steele, Lecturer, Curtin UniversityGraeme Gower, Associate professor, Curtin UniversityRhonda Oliver, Professor and Head of School, Curtin UniversitySender Dovchin, Associate Professor and the Director of Research, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1785222022-03-13T19:16:18Z2022-03-13T19:16:18ZHow can Australia support more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers?<p>A major federal government review into how we train our teachers has just been <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/quality-initial-teacher-education-review/resources/next-steps-report-quality-initial-teacher-education-review">released</a>. </p>
<p>This is part of the government’s push to improve Australia’s standing in the international education rankings. </p>
<p>The first two recommendations focus on the important role of Indigenous teachers. Namely, specifically targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a national recruitment campaign.</p>
<p>The government has a history of trying to increase the numbers of Indigenous teachers. We must build on these earlier attempts and centre the voices of Indigenous peoples in implementing programs to support these recommendations if these are to lead to successful outcomes.</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/invisible-language-learners-what-educators-need-to-know-about-many-first-nations-children-175917">Invisible language learners: what educators need to know about many First Nations children</a>
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<h2>The role of Indigenous teachers</h2>
<p>There is no shortage of <a href="https://nit.com.au/closing-the-gap-12-years-on-little-progress-high-hopes/">media coverage</a> about Closing the Gap in education. Yet we hear little about the role Indigenous teachers have been playing in Indigenous education over decades. </p>
<p>Australia’s <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards">professional standards for teachers</a> highlight the importance of having a teacher workforce capable of teaching Indigenous students, and teaching about Australia’s full histories and the importance of reconciliation.</p>
<p>Research also shows Indigenous teachers and support workers in schools bring a wealth of <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/research/spotlights/the-impact-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-educators">additional knowledges</a> and skills to Australian schools. These knowledges can include local knowledge of Country, kinship groups, Indigenous languages, community dynamics and politics and embodied knowledges acquired through lived experiences of being an Indigenous person.</p>
<p>Indigenous students and indeed all Australian students benefit from seeing strong <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/research/spotlights/the-impact-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-educators">Indigenous role models in schools</a>.</p>
<p>However, we also know some Indigenous teachers are encountering racism, have all Indigenous-related issues diverted to them and <a href="https://indigenousx.com.au/blak-representation-in-schools-is-imperative/">feel isolated</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A classroom with young students, with their hands raised." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451151/original/file-20220309-21-cwvvoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451151/original/file-20220309-21-cwvvoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451151/original/file-20220309-21-cwvvoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451151/original/file-20220309-21-cwvvoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451151/original/file-20220309-21-cwvvoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451151/original/file-20220309-21-cwvvoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451151/original/file-20220309-21-cwvvoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Indigenous education provides all students with a rich and well-rounded knowledge of Australia’s history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/aboriginal-elementary-school-teacher-giving-a-royalty-free-image/909795536?adppopup=true">GettyImages</a></span>
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<h2>What are the ‘gaps’?</h2>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/schools/latest-release#aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-students">last Australian Census</a> in 2016, Indigenous students accounted for 6.2% of all students.
At the <a href="https://www.acde.edu.au/acde-analysis-of-2016-census-statistics-of-aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-teachers-and-students/">same time</a>, 2% of Australian teachers identified as Indigenous. The data clearly show there is a gap in equality between Indigenous student numbers and Indigenous teacher numbers. </p>
<p>Currently, there is no national database on teacher retention. The recent <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/research/australian-teacher-workforce-data/atwdreports">Australian Teacher Workforce Data report</a> provides an insight into the difference in retention rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers. Indigenous teachers were considerably more likely to intend to leave the profession before they retired (36%), in comparison to the overall teacher workforce (25%).</p>
<p>These are gaps we should be focusing on in Indigenous education policy.</p>
<h2>Past programs</h2>
<p>The severe shortage of Indigenous teachers has been on government radars for some time. In 2011-2015 the federal government spent A$7.5 million to increase Indigenous teachers in Australian schools.</p>
<p>This was a large investment and the only program of its kind. It was led by three of Australia’s leading Indigenous education scholars. The number of Indigenous teachers increased by <a href="https://www.edutech.com.au/matsiti/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MATSITI-2016-Final-Report-1.0.pdf">16.5%</a> during this initiative. This improvement demonstrates what can be achieved under Indigenous leadership.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.edutech.com.au/matsiti/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MATSITI-2016-Final-Report-1.0.pdf">evaluation</a> of the funding later found we need program reform and more policy on how to increase and retain Indigenous teachers. This includes a focus on improving graduation rates and leadership and workplace opportunities for current Indigenous teachers.</p>
<p>It also needs to include Indigenous teachers’ voices in understanding how to increase and retain Indigenous teachers. </p>
<p>But there has been limited action since this program ended in 2016 until now.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-the-first-time-closing-the-gap-has-a-higher-education-target-heres-how-to-achieve-it-147984">For the first time, Closing the Gap has a higher education target – here's how to achieve it</a>
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<h2>Indigenous-led research</h2>
<p>Much of the existing research has been on Indigenous teachers leaving the profession. But a critical resource is <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=4767">those who have remained</a> despite the challenges. Ren Perkins’ PhD research is looking at this group and what we can learn from them.</p>
<p>Through listening to Indigenous teachers, this research explores why this cohort is staying in the profession beyond the average of <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/school-leadership/school-leader-guide-(online).pdf?sfvrsn=d113f63c_1">six years</a>. </p>
<p>While the study is not yet complete, one of the key themes emerging from this research has been the strength of identity and culture. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/preschool-benefits-indigenous-children-more-than-other-types-of-early-care-149724">Preschool benefits Indigenous children more than other types of early care</a>
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<p>Jemimah* shared her perspective on how identity is connected to her role as a teacher:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it’s important for me to enter the field of education, to become part of the community that is Indigenous educators, in the hopes that one day, too, I can help a student find their own place in the schooling system […]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another Indigenous teacher, Sarah, shared how her identity informs how she teaches the curriculum, enriching learning experiences for all students: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Quality teachers should know who all of your students are, but, in particular, why this subject is so important is because of where we are, whose land we’re on and what Country we’re teaching on. It’s a really important part of knowing our history and why we’ve come to this position.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>The recommendations from this latest report are timely. However, more support through specific programs and funding is needed to transform these recommendations into action.</p>
<p>There is expertise among Indigenous peoples about how to grow the Indigenous teacher workforce – we need to listen and use it. </p>
<p>*Names have been changed</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178522/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marnee Shay receives funding from the Australian Government and Edmund Rice Education Australia. She is a member of QATSIETAC Department of Education Queensland and a board member of the Xavier Flexi School Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ren Perkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Indigenous education provides all students with a rich and well-rounded knowledge of Australia’s history. However research shows Indigenous teachers are scarce and poorly supported.Ren Perkins, PhD Candidate, School of Education, The University of QueenslandMarnee Shay, ARC Senior Research Fellow, School of Education, Affiliate Senior Lecturer, Centre for Policy Futures, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1759272022-02-24T19:09:58Z2022-02-24T19:09:58ZHigher education must reinvent itself to meet the needs of the world today. Enter the distributed university<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448199/original/file-20220224-15-1du0vib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C170%2C4828%2C3206&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities face many threats to their future. The traditional universities have become <a href="https://www.nteu.org.au/qute/article/The-Death-of-Socrates%3A-Managerialism%2C-metrics-and-bureaucratisation-in-universities-%28AUR-58-02%29-18949">over-managed business enterprises</a>, which may not reflect societal, national or global educational needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many of these issues into focus.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-6506-6">new book</a>, I propose a model that responds to the broad range of challenges universities face. I call this model the distributed university – that is, a university that distributes education online to where it is needed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/amid-global-crisis-how-can-universities-be-regenerated-to-serve-the-common-good-172495">Amid global crisis, how can universities be regenerated to serve the common good?</a>
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<hr>
<p>In more than 50 years as an academic in Australia and the UK, I have seen the potential for a pivot to online learning that, through distributed learning, could solve many of the problems the higher education sector faces.</p>
<p>I have been involved in online master’s-level programs to build public health capacity in both high-income and low-to-middle-income countries. Face-to-face teaching designed for the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2037863/">International Clinical Epidemiology Network</a> was augmented by distance learning – first paper-based, followed by online. I established the University of Manchester’s first fully online master’s program. </p>
<p>More recently, I founded and co-ordinated the global, fully online, volunteer-led <a href="https://www.peoples-uni.org/">People’s Open Access Education Initiative (Peoples-uni)</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man looking at computer screen with the faces of the many people taking part in an online meeting" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448200/original/file-20220224-12782-ojqn3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448200/original/file-20220224-12782-ojqn3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448200/original/file-20220224-12782-ojqn3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448200/original/file-20220224-12782-ojqn3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448200/original/file-20220224-12782-ojqn3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448200/original/file-20220224-12782-ojqn3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448200/original/file-20220224-12782-ojqn3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The distributed university reflects the way we communicate and learn in today’s world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-has-changed-students-needs-and-expectations-how-do-universities-respond-172863">COVID has changed students' needs and expectations. How do universities respond?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the problems facing universities?</h2>
<p>The pressures on universities are both external and internal. </p>
<p>Externally, universities need to be responsive to the ways people access information today (and will tomorrow). They also need to ensure environmental sustainability. And amid global inequalities in access to higher education, our universities are <a href="https://theconversation.com/without-international-students-australias-universities-will-downsize-and-some-might-collapse-altogether-132869">overly dependent on income from overseas students</a>.</p>
<p>Internal developments pose multiple threats too. Universities have downgraded teaching, with academics not rewarded for educational excellence as opposed to research. They have adopted a competitive business model, rather than a collaborative model of education, and intrusive managerial oversight instead of placing trust in academics. And they work in centralised ivory towers rather than engaging with local communities and industries. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/amid-global-crisis-how-can-universities-be-regenerated-to-serve-the-common-good-172495">Amid global crisis, how can universities be regenerated to serve the common good?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The distributed university responds to these problems by:</p>
<ul>
<li>reducing global inequalities in access</li>
<li>emphasising local relevance</li>
<li>reducing impacts on the environment</li>
<li>building trust in place of managerialism</li>
<li>collaborating rather than competing. </li>
</ul>
<h2>How does the distributed university work?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447428/original/file-20220221-26-gpnt5q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cover of book 'The Distributed University'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447428/original/file-20220221-26-gpnt5q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447428/original/file-20220221-26-gpnt5q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447428/original/file-20220221-26-gpnt5q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447428/original/file-20220221-26-gpnt5q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447428/original/file-20220221-26-gpnt5q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447428/original/file-20220221-26-gpnt5q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447428/original/file-20220221-26-gpnt5q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-6506-6">Springer Link</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The distributed university I describe in my book (free to read and download) sets up higher education to adapt to the changes in how we work and learn today. </p>
<p>Online learning, which must be <a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-zoom-teams-and-video-lectures-what-do-university-students-really-want-from-online-learning-167705">fit for purpose</a>, is central to this as it allows for structural change. Smaller local hubs can largely replace central large campuses, reducing the large carbon footprint created by students and staff travelling to campus. These hubs may be physical or virtual. </p>
<p>The distributed university offers education mainly online rather than in lecture halls. Local or regional hubs engage with local communities, industries and other education providers. They encourage practice-based active learning, which can be a hybrid of online and face-to-face.</p>
<p>Each of the hubs can be replicated over geography (including internationally) and over time. Learning needs will change over time as careers and interests develop. Central administration is much smaller, but ensures the courses being offered meet societal needs. </p>
<p>Intrusive managerialism is replaced by trust in academics – made easier by this structure. It is not generally recognised that online education is much more transparent than face-to-face. All materials, student contact and student-tutor interactions are captured, allowing for unobtrusive quality assurance.</p>
<p>Social interaction between students and between academics is offered partly in the hubs but mainly online. This reflects the way we communicate and learn in today’s world. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-zoom-teams-and-video-lectures-what-do-university-students-really-want-from-online-learning-167705">Beyond Zoom, Teams and video lectures — what do university students really want from online learning?</a>
</strong>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>IT support for education and research is vital. It will allow us to respond to future developments in communications and to the changes and challenges of the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/">fourth industrial revolution</a>. </p>
<p>The distributed university will be light on the environment. Although online education is IT-heavy and has its own carbon footprint, it’s <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2013-0065/full/html">much smaller</a> – even more so when powered by renewables – than the face-to-face version with buildings and travel. It will thus show leadership in achieving environmental sustainability. </p>
<p>This model’s local and regional hubs will also encourage regional development. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://f1000research.com/articles/10-849/">recent research paper</a> highlights the environmental benefits of online education. A group of 128 master’s degree students (mainly from Africa) studied online rather than travel to live and study in the UK. They saved nearly a million kilograms of carbon emissions.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-universities-are-starting-to-re-evaluate-their-academics-travel-177129">Why universities are starting to re-evaluate their academics' travel</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Doctor treats a young boy" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448196/original/file-20220224-13-51ylsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448196/original/file-20220224-13-51ylsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448196/original/file-20220224-13-51ylsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448196/original/file-20220224-13-51ylsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448196/original/file-20220224-13-51ylsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448196/original/file-20220224-13-51ylsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448196/original/file-20220224-13-51ylsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Distributed learning is a proven concept that has helped build public health capacity in Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Three new programs</h2>
<p>COVID has exposed the over-reliance on overseas student fees. This revenue has largely been <a href="https://theconversation.com/7-6-billion-and-11-of-researchers-our-estimate-of-how-much-australian-university-research-stands-to-lose-by-2024-146672">diverted to support research</a>. The government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-strategy-to-revive-international-education-is-right-to-aim-for-more-diversity-172620">recent international education strategy</a> makes no mention of the role Australia can play in reducing global inequalities in access to education. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-strategy-to-revive-international-education-is-right-to-aim-for-more-diversity-172620">Australia's strategy to revive international education is right to aim for more diversity</a>
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<hr>
<p>In addition to the benefits described above, a pivot to online education opens up other opportunities. I describe three potential programs: a global online program, a tertiary version of the International Baccalaureate and a “PlanE for Education”.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-6506-6_3#Sec10">global online program</a> can create low-cost learning for overseas students. This will help meet current educational needs while providing a bridge to future mutually beneficial partnerships with emerging economies. Research must be properly funded, and not rely on the diversion of income from overseas students paying high fees.</p>
<p>To help reduce the <a href="https://theconversation.com/amid-global-crisis-how-can-universities-be-regenerated-to-serve-the-common-good-172495">destructive emphasis on competition between universities</a>, a higher education version of the International Baccalaureate used in schools might be created. This would involve global collaboration between universities, which would reduce competition and standardise quality. </p>
<p>Continuing the collaboration theme is a proposal to create “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-6506-6_3#Sec11">PlanE for Education</a>”. This would be similar to <a href="https://theconversation.com/making-australian-research-free-for-everyone-to-read-sounds-ideal-but-the-chief-scientists-open-access-plan-isnt-risk-free-171389">initiatives such as PlanS</a> that require publicly funded research to be published in open access journals or platforms. At least some of the educational resources generated in universities using public money would be made freely available under PlanE.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/making-australian-research-free-for-everyone-to-read-sounds-ideal-but-the-chief-scientists-open-access-plan-isnt-risk-free-171389">Making Australian research free for everyone to read sounds ideal. But the Chief Scientist's open-access plan isn't risk-free</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We live in a digital and distributed world. Universities should too. The notion of a distributed university may help the higher education sector survive, prosper and be sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175927/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard F. Heller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We live in a digital and distributed world. Universities must adapt to that reality to do a better job of meeting today’s educational needs.Richard F. Heller, Emeritus Professor, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1759172022-02-14T01:05:56Z2022-02-14T01:05:56ZInvisible language learners: what educators need to know about many First Nations children<p>Of the original <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/academic-professional/linguistics/Australias-Original-Languages-R-M-W-Dixon-9781760875237">250-plus languages and over 750 dialects</a> spoken by First Nations peoples before 1788, <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2020-08/apo-nid307493.pdf">only 12</a> are being learned by children today.</p>
<p>However, widely spoken contact languages – creoles and dialects – have emerged. One example is <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-ways-aboriginal-australians-made-english-their-own-128219">Aboriginal English</a>, which is a broad term used to describe the many varieties of English spoken by Aboriginal people across Australia. Another example is <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-largest-language-spoken-exclusively-in-australia-kriol-56286">Kriol</a>, which is a creole language spoken across northern Australia.</p>
<p>These contact languages are not always recognised as the full languages they are by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-22/calls-for-teachers-to-understand-aboriginal-english/11780094">some educators</a> and society generally.</p>
<p>Because of this, many First Nations children are not treated as second language learners. Their languages are sometimes viewed as deficient forms of Standard Australian English and can be “<a href="https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/aral.36.3.02sel">invisible</a>” to teachers and education systems.</p>
<p>To improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who do not speak Standard Australian English as their first language, their language backgrounds must be recognised and valued.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-state-of-australias-indigenous-languages-and-how-we-can-help-people-speak-them-more-often-109662">The state of Australia's Indigenous languages – and how we can help people speak them more often</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are contact languages?</h2>
<p>Contact languages form when communication is essential between speakers of two or more languages. In Australia, this occurred between the speakers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and English speakers after the British invasion in 1788. </p>
<p>A variety of contact languages developed which are both similar to, and different from, each other. Some languages are more closely related to English, while others have more features of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Many of these contact languages are not officially named. </p>
<p>The features of contact languages often reflect the impacts of colonisation for communities across Australia. These factors contribute to their lack of recognition in Australian society, including school systems. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-aboriginal-languages-course-should-count-towards-atars-52138">New Aboriginal languages course should count towards ATARs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Our study</h2>
<p>Little is known about contact languages, but many First Nations children all over Australia come to school speaking them as their first language.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09500782.2021.2020811?src=">Our research</a> was conducted at three primary school sites in Far North Queensland. One group was made up of monolingual Standard Australia English speaking children. The other two groups were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who spoke Indigenous contact languages. The First Nations groups were located near each other, but despite their proximity, they differed. </p>
<p>One of the two First Nations groups was in a rural town where Standard Australian English is widely spoken and the children had a diverse range of language backgrounds. The other was in an Aboriginal community where one contact language was primarily spoken and exposure to Standard Australian English was limited.</p>
<p>Our research is intended to make the Standard Australian English language learning needs of many First Nations children more “visible” to educators. We identified some of the linguistic differences between Standard Australian English and the contact languages these First Nation children speak for testing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young child does homework with their parent." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445555/original/file-20220210-28511-1qb8eyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445555/original/file-20220210-28511-1qb8eyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445555/original/file-20220210-28511-1qb8eyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445555/original/file-20220210-28511-1qb8eyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445555/original/file-20220210-28511-1qb8eyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445555/original/file-20220210-28511-1qb8eyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445555/original/file-20220210-28511-1qb8eyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Because of language differences, First Nations students’ achievements as Standard Australian English speakers may not be recognised in the classroom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/father-and-son-working-on-homework-at-the-dining-royalty-free-image/1130189395?adppopup=true">GettyImages</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>First, we compared the short-term memory capacities of the three groups. The short-term memory capacities of all groups were the same, demonstrating all the children had the ability to store language in their short-term memories for immediate use.</p>
<p>Next, these students were asked to orally reproduce a range of simple sentences given to them in Standard Australian English to gauge their proficiency. There were 18 simple sentences of different syllable lengths – six, nine and 12. </p>
<p>Sample sentences included: </p>
<p>• The dog barks at the cats (six syllables)</p>
<p>• In the bush, they built houses from sticks (nine syllables)</p>
<p>• He always eats mangoes in the park with his friends (12 syllables).</p>
<p>Each sentence was marked for grammatical accuracy in Standard Australian English. The speaking ability of all three groups differed significantly. On average, the Standard Australian English-speaking group recorded 71.1% accuracy, the group of First Nations children with diverse language backgrounds scored 45.1% and the others who spoke the same contact language and lived in an Aboriginal community scored 29.6%.</p>
<p>We also examined students’ knowledge of four Standard Australian English grammatical features: </p>
<p>• the prepositions “at”, “in” and “on”</p>
<p>• plural “s” on nouns, for example <strong>cats</strong></p>
<p>• simple present tense with a third-person singular “s”, for example, <strong>she runs</strong></p>
<p>• simple irregular past tense, for example, they <strong>ate</strong>.</p>
<p>The Standard Australian English-speaking group and the speakers of contact languages differed significantly in all aspects except for the prepositions “at”, “in”, and “on” where there was no difference. </p>
<p>For the other grammatical features, the difference of accuracy between the Standard Australian English speakers and second group ranged from 12.1% to 20.8%, and for the third from 20.1% to 45%. Simple present tense with the third-person singular “s” was the most difficult feature for the speakers of Indigenous contact languages, and plurals the easiest.</p>
<p>These findings highlight the close relationship that exists between Indigenous contact languages and Standard Australian English, as well as the significant differences. </p>
<p>Speakers of Indigenous contact languages may be proficient in some aspects of Standard Australian English, as demonstrated by their use of prepositions but not others. The findings also showed significant differences between the two groups of First Nations children, which probably reflect their diverse language backgrounds and their differing levels of exposure to Standard Australian English.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher in a classroom with children you have their hands raised." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445559/original/file-20220210-18418-1oi4u1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445559/original/file-20220210-18418-1oi4u1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445559/original/file-20220210-18418-1oi4u1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445559/original/file-20220210-18418-1oi4u1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445559/original/file-20220210-18418-1oi4u1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445559/original/file-20220210-18418-1oi4u1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445559/original/file-20220210-18418-1oi4u1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Language backgrounds of First Nations children need to be recognised and valued in Australian classrooms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/aboriginal-elementary-school-teacher-with-the-class-royalty-free-image/909795530?adppopup=true">GettyImages</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-remote-indigenous-community-where-a-few-thousand-people-use-15-different-languages-107716">Meet the remote Indigenous community where a few thousand people use 15 different languages</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why does it matter?</h2>
<p>Our findings showed the Standard Australian English speaking ability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students improved over their primary school years. However, it never reached the levels of their monolingual Standard Australian English speaking peers.</p>
<p>As children progress through school, the Standard Australian English language and literacy demands increase at such a rate that language gains are unlikely to be identified in either classroom-based or standardised assessments. Consequently, students’ achievements may not be visible or recognised in the classroom. </p>
<p>The impact of this can be seen in continued <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6300-761-0_10">narratives of deficiency</a> surrounding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners. The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/house_of_representatives_committees?url=/atsia/languages2/report.htm#chapters">educational and social implications</a> of this are considerable, and the educational outcomes for First Nations children who speak contact languages are a national disgrace. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-caring-for-children-can-help-aboriginal-elders-during-lockdown-164628">How caring for children can help Aboriginal Elders during lockdown</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>To meet the Standard Australian English learning needs of First Nations students who speak contact languages, their languages must be recognised and valued in the classroom. Contact languages need to be treated with respect and understanding, and not viewed as incorrect forms of Standard Australian English. </p>
<p>To show respect and promote learning, we encourage teachers to learn about students’ first language/s and include them in the classroom. Students should feel free to express themselves in whichever language they choose, recognising their first language/s play an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1362168820938822">important role</a> in learning.</p>
<p>All teachers need to understand how language is learned and should be supported to effectively teach Standard Australian English alongside curriculum content. Language skills are the cornerstone of literacy and educational development. Teachers should <a href="https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/tesol/article/view/1421">explicitly teach Standard Australian English</a> and provide students with the opportunity to practise their language skills. </p>
<p>Targeted training needs to be delivered in initial teacher education courses and through professional development for those already teaching. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://theconversation.com/only-1-in-3-teachers-use-research-evidence-in-the-classroom-this-is-largely-due-to-lack-of-time-175517">current climate</a> of heavy responsibilities on time-poor teachers, sufficient funding and time must be given for teachers to gain the skills required.</p>
<p>To provide a fair and equitable education for all, the language backgrounds of First Nations children should be embraced in their education settings and the broader systems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175917/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carly Steele received funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language to conduct this research as part of her PhD at the University of Melbourne.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gillian Wigglesworth receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) as a Chief Investigator on the Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CE140100041) and also holds two Discovery Projects funded by the ARC related to her work with Indigenous children whose first language is not English.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graeme Gower does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Contact languages are widely spoken by many First Nations children. These languages must be recognised and valued in the classroom to better meet students’ learning needs.Carly Steele, Lecturer, Curtin UniversityGillian Wigglesworth, Professor of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, The University of MelbourneGraeme Gower, Associate professor, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1755212022-02-04T03:21:14Z2022-02-04T03:21:14ZFirst Nations students need culturally safe spaces at their universities<p>Since the <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/4137">Closing the Gap</a> targets were first introduced in 2008, the number of Indigenous university enrolments have more than doubled. The numbers grew from 9,490 students in 2008 to 19,935 students in 2018. During this period, bachelor award course completion grew by 110.6%, from <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Indigenous-strategy-second-annual-report.pdf">860 degrees to 1,811</a>.</p>
<p>Indigenous support centres embedded within universities around the country have played a vital role in supporting this growth of Indigenous students.</p>
<p>Students can feel supported on their learning journey and gain support from other students experiencing similar challenges, while being in an environment that understands the obligations of culture, family and community.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tutors-are-key-to-reducing-indigenous-student-drop-out-rates-86130">Tutors are key to reducing Indigenous student drop out rates</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Challenges for Indigenous students</h2>
<p>Indigenous students who come to study at university already face a number of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/australian-journal-of-indigenous-education/article/red-dirt-thinking-on-educational-disadvantage/23A3721E7125F68009F7A181E133E82B">disadvantages</a> in education. </p>
<p>For many they are first person in their family to attend university, which can bring a sense of pressure and responsibility from community. </p>
<p>This journey for students can be quite isolating and stressful. Particularly when a lack of understanding by family and community leads to forms of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870.2019.1626015">lateral violence</a> - violence towards one’s peers. </p>
<p>This is an experience <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/being-the-first-in-your-family-to-go-to-university/11924802">commonly shared</a> among Indigenous students at university and is one of the reasons it’s important to have culturally safe spaces that support them while studying. </p>
<p>In addition to cultural and family obligations, other <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/australian-journal-of-indigenous-education/article/understanding-the-challenges-yet-focusing-on-the-successes-an-investigation-into-indigenous-university-students-academic-success/09488FAC4EB5E994E077802969B74EFC">challenges</a> include financial struggles of full-time study, lack of requisite academic skills and unfamiliarity of place while being disconnected from country.</p>
<h2>How culturally safe spaces can help</h2>
<p>Indigenous centres are culturally safe places instrumental in student success. They often provide a range of supports to students from scholarships, workplace learning, tutoring, counselling and accommodation. It’s an environment reserved for Indigenous students that helps build confidence and academic ability.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339916465_Supporting_Success_Aboriginal_Students_in_Higher_Education">International research </a> has indicated creating a supportive institutional space for Aboriginal students can build confidence and self belief in their study abilities, which is a strong motivator for ongoing engagement and active learning.</p>
<p>Embeddedd within some Indigenous centres are educational programs and outreach opportunities that encourage high school students to pursue university as an option and provide alternative entry pathways for future students. One <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339916465_Supporting_Success_Aboriginal_Students_in_Higher_Education">study</a> found a number of Aboriginal students sought out a particular post secondary institution because of the Aboriginal education program on offer. Participants said the small class sizes, peer support networks and positive support from authority figures were some of the reasons behind their choice.</p>
<p>Indigenous centres have the capability of working in alignment with other schools across the university to further support students. </p>
<p>In another <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/australian-journal-of-indigenous-education/article/wings-to-fly-a-case-study-of-supporting-indigenous-student-success-through-a-wholeofuniversity-approach/2B169A125124E36B6A10B24BF39DF513">case study</a>, the Kulbardi centre at Murdoch University aimed to increased its visibility across the university with the intent of schools reaching out to the centre to support students in need. This was a success and resulted in schools reaching out to the centre to support them in designing culturally appropriate curriculum, cultural competency training and reaching out to student success coordinators about how they could best support their Individual Indigenous students. </p>
<p>Though Indigenous centres provide a wealth of knowledge and experience in ensuring the success of Indigenous students. It is important to note a “<a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/215558/1/NATSIHEC_%2BAIHE_FinaL_%2BReport%2BJan%2B2018_updated_031218.pdf">whole-of-university</a>” approach is important in achieving this. This can be done through utilising university resources to further assist First Nations students in their success at university. It needs to be acknowledged Indigenous student success is everyone’s responsibility, not just the Indigenous Centre’s. This is vital for significant change to occur, in not only increasing the number of First Nations students at university, but to support their successes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bridging-programs-transform-students-lives-they-even-go-on-to-outperform-others-at-uni-171721">Bridging programs transform students' lives – they even go on to outperform others at uni</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The UWA example</h2>
<p>In late 2020 following the COVID outbreak, the University of Western Australia welcomed the new School of Indigenous Studies which would be the new home to Indigenous students on campus. </p>
<p>Bilya Marlee (meaning river of the swan in local Noongar language, as it’s built on the swan river) is <a href="https://ipoint.uwa.edu.au/app/answers/detail/a_id/2708/%7E/location-of-indigenous-studies">currently home</a> to over 250 Indigenous students who come from all over the country, including rural and regional Western Australia.</p>
<p>The building was culturally designed by Indigenous Elder Dr Richard Walley, with input from staff and students. Upon consultation, Dr Walley used a cultural blueprint to inform the design process which included connection to place and its surroundings. This includes the connection to plants and animals of the area and their significance to that place. </p>
<p>By creating a physical environment that connects to culture, the building hopes to enhance the feeling of support and safety for students while studying. The building aims to make students feel like they are studying on country and in a place that supports their cultural identity while navigating a foreign education system.</p>
<p>Consultation with cultural experts such as Dr Walley is a way universities can explore opportunities to address challenges faced by Indigenous students at university.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175521/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Culturally safe spaces are pivotal in the academic success of First Nations students.Kevin Taylor, Lecturer Indigenous health, cultural studies and Indigenous Education Development Specialist, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1716742021-11-16T19:07:43Z2021-11-16T19:07:43ZFair access to university depends on much more than making students ‘job-ready’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431889/original/file-20211115-15-40xg5o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C249%2C6941%2C4631&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today is <a href="https://worldaccesshe.com/">World Access to Higher Education Day</a>, but Australia is still a long way off fair access for students from all backgrounds. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/research-database/ncsehe-briefing-note-equity-student-participation-in-australian-higher-education-2014-2019/">enrolment share</a> of students from low socio-economic, regional and non-English-speaking backgrounds fell in 2019. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit these students hard, affecting both their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/APXBVWRICUHVUKUKDPYP/full?target=10.1080/1360080X.2021.1933305">expectations and pathways to higher education</a>. Access rates of other equity groups, such as students from remote areas, remain low. </p>
<iframe title="Domestic undergraduate enrolments by equity group" aria-label="Grouped Column Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-5pNnH" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/5pNnH/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Achieving equitable access is a complex challenge. Our <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780367854171-2/becoming-university-student-sally-patfield-jennifer-gore-leanne-fray">longitudinal study of school student aspirations</a> shows we need to think more broadly about how young people see the meaning and value of higher education. </p>
<p>Of course they see its value for getting a job. But they also value higher education for intellectual enquiry, social interaction, personal growth and the desire to just experience “university life”. And students from equity groups in particular valued these last four aspects the most.</p>
<p>Higher education policy has often focused on the economic goals of participation. However, our research suggests that policies to support fair access need to do more than funnel students into degrees and aim to make them “job-ready”. </p>
<p>To appeal to a more diverse range of young people, equity policy must take heed of what higher education actually represents to prospective applicants.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pandemic-widens-gap-between-government-and-australians-view-of-education-148991">Pandemic widens gap between government and Australians' view of education</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Equity and ‘Job-Ready Graduates’</h2>
<p>The federal government has long had policies targeted at widening participation, including measures in the 2020 <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/job-ready">Job-Ready Graduates Package</a>. Australian universities have also long had a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-australian-idea-of-a-university-17433">vocational focus</a>. </p>
<p>The “Job-Ready Graduates” reforms include <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/job-ready/improving-higher-education-students">new funding supports</a> for students from equity groups. For example, there is a <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/tertiary-access-payment">Tertiary Access Payment</a> for regional and remote students and a new <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/access-and-participation#:%7E:text=The%20Indigenous%2C%20Regional%20and%20Low,Participation%20and%20Partnerships%20Program%20(HEPPP)">Indigenous, Regional and Low SES Attainment Fund</a>.</p>
<p>To <a href="https://theconversation.com/3-flaws-in-job-ready-graduates-package-will-add-to-the-turmoil-in-australian-higher-education-147740">influence course choice</a>, fees have been reduced in “national priority” areas and increased in areas deemed to not directly benefit the labour market. </p>
<p>This particular change, however, is not about equity. It’s about meeting perceived workforce needs. It may well decrease diversity in certain degrees. The impacts on the workforce profiles of different industries could have <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/job-ready-graduates-package-student-equity/">wide-ranging consequences</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-flaws-in-job-ready-graduates-package-will-add-to-the-turmoil-in-australian-higher-education-147740">3 flaws in Job-Ready Graduates package will add to the turmoil in Australian higher education</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What matters to prospective students</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780367854171-2/becoming-university-student-sally-patfield-jennifer-gore-leanne-fray">Our longitudinal study</a> of young people’s post-school aspirations looked at the way school students start to form ideas about university during late primary and secondary school. The study drew on focus groups with 310 university aspirants from 30 government schools in New South Wales.</p>
<p>We found young people were interested in higher education for many reasons. But there were important differences in their interest depending on background.</p>
<h2>A way to get a job</h2>
<p>While students did value higher education for employment, these students tended to match the profile of the “traditional” university applicant – high-achieving and from a higher socio-economic background. </p>
<p>Young people who mentioned employment often focused on the need for a qualification in today’s job market. This view reduced the experience of university to the degree awarded at the end. As one student put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I would definitely go to uni because you can’t really get a job without a piece of paper.”</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Line of graduates holding their degree certificates" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431884/original/file-20211115-23-1gz3w2o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431884/original/file-20211115-23-1gz3w2o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431884/original/file-20211115-23-1gz3w2o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431884/original/file-20211115-23-1gz3w2o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431884/original/file-20211115-23-1gz3w2o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431884/original/file-20211115-23-1gz3w2o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431884/original/file-20211115-23-1gz3w2o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">That ‘piece of paper’ needed to get a job tends to be important for the sort of students who traditionally have dominated university enrolments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/students-choice-of-university-has-no-effect-on-new-graduate-pay-and-a-small-impact-later-on-what-they-study-matters-more-171491">Students' choice of university has no effect on new graduate pay, and a small impact later on. What they study matters more</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Its inherent value</h2>
<p>Students from a wide range of backgrounds saw inherent value in higher education. But those living in lower socio-economic circumstances tended to focus on this intrinsic value rather than employment. For example, one student told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I’ll definitely go to university, that’s the thing – the top of the list. And that’s the thing with university […] there’s so much that’s being offered to attract more students, it ticks all your interests […] I adore history and geography, and all sorts of things that are not going to be focused on my career, but I’ll still do them anyway.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many of these students saw university as an opportunity to meet people who share similar interests and passions. This was particularly the case for young people attending relatively disadvantaged schools:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It’s going to be a lot of learning opportunities with like-minded people that are open-minded […] They care and they want to do something, not be with people that don’t care and don’t want to do anything.”</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Group of university students enjoying a discussion around a table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431883/original/file-20211115-27-11qzsli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431883/original/file-20211115-27-11qzsli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431883/original/file-20211115-27-11qzsli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431883/original/file-20211115-27-11qzsli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431883/original/file-20211115-27-11qzsli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431883/original/file-20211115-27-11qzsli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431883/original/file-20211115-27-11qzsli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many young people saw university as an opportunity to meet people with similar interests and passions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-this-job-ready-era-its-worth-looking-at-how-a-us-style-broader-education-can-benefit-uni-students-160461">In this ‘job-ready’ era, it's worth looking at how a US-style broader education can benefit uni students</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Equity is much more than being ‘job-ready’</h2>
<p>The social justice and economic goals of higher education have long been <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/15776">in tension within policy</a>. Employability agendas, such as “Job-Ready Graduates”, narrowly link the value of higher education to economic objectives. In doing so, they obscure important <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-are-losing-sight-of-higher-educations-true-purpose-73637">philosophical questions</a> about the purpose of higher education, particularly for those from equity groups.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2020.1830039">Other research</a> has similarly shown that university students link the purpose of higher education to employment, personal growth and societal change. University students from equity target groups can also have much <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2018.1463973">more expansive views of “success”</a> than what is portrayed in policy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-purpose-of-university-your-answer-may-depend-on-how-much-it-costs-you-151526">What's the purpose of university? Your answer may depend on how much it costs you</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is a clear need, therefore, for the intrinsic value of higher education – not just its economic value – to be more widely promoted in equity policy and practice.</p>
<p>Universities often use outreach activities such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-ways-to-improve-equity-in-australian-universities-61437">campus visits and mentoring programs</a> to spark interest among young people from equity groups. Such activities should not just narrowly focus on degrees and jobs.</p>
<p>We also need to continue to ask questions about <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/openu/jwpll/2011/00000013/00000001/art00002">the nature of higher education</a> today, and what young people from equity groups are being asked to participate in, rather than just the outcome of participation.</p>
<p>A more equitable higher education sector can play a critical role in creating a more just society. Again, this is not just in terms of economic value, but in terms of how students see themselves and society. On World Access to Higher Education Day, our research challenges the sector to think more genuinely about fair access.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171674/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Aspirations Longitudinal Study was funded by the NSW Department of Education and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Students matching the ‘traditional’ applicant’s profile see university as a stepping stone to a good job. Those from less-well-represented groups care more about higher education’s intrinsic value.Sally Patfield, Postdoctoral Fellow, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1132062019-03-21T12:57:36Z2019-03-21T12:57:36ZFixing South Africa’s public schools: lessons from a small-town university<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264838/original/file-20190320-93036-z66kiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A mentor works through a problem with a pupil at one of Makhanda's schools.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rhodes University</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>South Africa’s public schooling system is <a href="https://www.cde.org.za/teacher-professional-standards-for-south-africa-the-road-to-better-performance-development-and-accountability/">riddled with problems</a>. Drop-out rates are high, pupils lack proper support and mentoring, and the transition from school to tertiary education is often overwhelming. But what happens when universities, NGOs and schools work closely together to address these issues? The Conversation Africa’s Natasha Joseph spoke to Professor Di Wilmot about an initiative in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) to improve the outputs of the small town’s public schools.</em></p>
<p><strong>What’s the situation in public schools in Makhanda?</strong></p>
<p>There is starkly unequal access to quality education. Most children attend dysfunctional no-fee paying public schools. <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2016-06-24-00-schools-serve-the-party-state">Statistics show</a> that fewer than one in ten black learners from no-fee paying schools leave with a good quality matric (the final year of high school) pass – the kind that would provide access to university.</p>
<p>Many drop out of school before reaching matric and are condemned to a life of despair in which there are few opportunities and prospects. <a href="https://www.ecsecc.org/documentrepository/informationcentre/makana-local-municipality_67455.pdf">Makhanda</a> has a population of about 82 000 people and an unemployment rate of around 25.5%.</p>
<p>To try and change this trend, Rhodes University launched an initiative in 2016 consisting of a number of projects targeting different levels of education. </p>
<p>At the secondary level, it works with three schools whose pupils are exempted from paying fees. That’s because they come from extremely poor backgrounds – which is <a href="https://www.ecsecc.org/documentrepository/informationcentre/makana-local-municipality_67455.pdf">true for most of</a> Makhanda’s residents.</p>
<p>It runs a mentoring programme called <a href="https://www.ru.ac.za/communityengagement/vcseducationinitiative/ninetenths910ths/">The Nine Tenths</a> at three secondary schools: Nombulelo, Ntsika and Mary Waters. The top Grade 12 – that is, final year – pupils at the schools are allocated a highly trained Rhodes student volunteer mentor for the year. The mentoring process focuses on personal planning, studying skills, written work (especially summarising) and tertiary applications.</p>
<p><strong>What’s the impact been?</strong></p>
<p>In 2017, the three participating schools more than trebled their consolidated Bachelor-level passes from 16 to 52. Those with Bachelor-level passes are eligible for tertiary study. Of those students, 26 are registered as full-time students and a further seven as occasional students at Rhodes University.</p>
<p>In 2018, the programme worked with 170 Grade 12 pupils. Each one was linked to a highly trained Rhodes student volunteer. </p>
<p>The results have been remarkable.</p>
<p>For starters, 87% of the 2018 bachelors in no-fee schools were delivered by these three schools. All 89 bachelor passes in these three schools were gained by pupils who participated in the 9/10ths Mentoring Programme.</p>
<p>One of the schools, Ntsika, was rated third in the district. </p>
<p>We also made history: the three schools all obtained a matric pass rate of 80% or more. Nombulelo and Mary Waters have improved by 23 percentage points and 10 percentage points since 2016. </p>
<p><strong>What’s being done to help students make the transition to university?</strong></p>
<p>Rhodes works with a <a href="http://gadraeducation.co.za/">school</a> that offers pupils who passed matric but want to improve their results a chance to do so. Called Gadra Secondary School, it produces over 100 Bachelor passes annually and is Rhodes University’s largest feeder school. </p>
<p>In February 2017, Rhodes registered over 100 disadvantaged local first year students for the first time in the university’s history. In 2019, the figure <a href="https://www.grocotts.co.za/2019/01/06/locals-lead-in-matric-2018/">stood at 130</a>. </p>
<p>Gadra and Rhodes also work together on a bridging year programme to improve local access to the university. In 2018, 16 people enrolled for two courses at Gadra and one at Rhodes; they studied Psychology through the Faculty of Humanities. </p>
<p>We recorded a 100% pass rate, and have now institutionalised the programme, expanding into the Faculty of Science and Commerce for 2019.</p>
<p><strong>Are there lessons here for other universities, in South Africa and elsewhere?</strong></p>
<p>Absolutely. The first is that universities should serve the public good. These institutions have both a responsibility and a degree of potential influence on public schooling that set them apart and impose a special duty of leadership. In our case, the university’s future is intimately bound up with the future and sustainability of the city. </p>
<p>The more accessible we are to the city’s young people, the stronger its influence will be and the stronger the bonds of association with the entire local community, eroding a culture of exclusion and despair.</p>
<p>Another lesson is that a big, bold vision of quality schooling for all young people can be achieved by working with partners that have different strengths and interests which can be combined and are aligned to achieve greater impact.</p>
<p>We’ve also learned that schools are complex social organisations. Effective change can only happen in schools where there is good leadership and a staff ready and willing to embrace it. Also, change doesn’t happen overnight. But supporting the emergence of centres of excellence – in this case, the three high schools – school by school, will be the quickest and most sustainable route to long term systemic change.</p>
<p>Finally, university students must be viewed as a critical resource in addressing the challenge of quality education for all in local communities. </p>
<p><em>The author wishes to acknowledge the input of Mrs Di Hornby, Director: Community Engagement, Dr Ashley Westaway, GADRA Education Manager, as well as the “Supporting Public School Education in Grahamstown” brochure produced by Communication and Advancement, Rhodes University.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113206/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Di Wilmot does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Universities have both a responsibility and a degree of potential influence on public schooling that set them apart and impose a special duty of leadership.Di Wilmot, Professor and Dean of Education, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/926022018-03-06T14:59:24Z2018-03-06T14:59:24ZHow class and social capital affect university students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208477/original/file-20180301-152575-1494gth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C160%2C849%2C837&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Work hard, read your books, and university will be a breeze...or will it? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s a great deal of comfort to be had in the idea that success at university is primarily or exclusively the result of a student’s hard work. All that’s needed is for students to do their best and fairness will prevail. Students who don’t apply themselves will fail. End of story. </p>
<p>Or is it?</p>
<p>A far more complex picture of student success and failure has emerged from <a href="http://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/9781928331698_web.pdf">a study</a> tracking the influence of higher education on young people’s lives. We worked with 73 people who first registered for a BA or BSc six years before the data was collected. They had pursued these degrees at three South African research-intensive universities.</p>
<p>Many of the participants shared a strong sense that their university years had provided them with access to powerful knowledge. They felt better able to act in ways aligned to their values and goals. But not all had been able to attain this overwhelmingly positive experience equally. Social class – as well as a range of other factors in the institutions themselves – played a huge role in people’s experiences of accessing and succeeding in higher education, and then getting into the workplace.</p>
<p>Those from impoverished rural settlements or towns, or from peri-urban townships, experienced far more significant hurdles than their urban, middle-class counterparts. This was in part about connections: middle-class, urban students were able to draw on networks before, during and after university. So they tended to enjoy shorter, smoother routes through the institution.</p>
<p>This finding is neither new, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/212017/the-tyranny-of-the-meritocracy-by-lani-guinier/9780807078129/">nor specific to South Africa</a>. The study refutes common sense explanations of higher education success and failure that continue to dominate in our <a href="https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1391&context=ij-sotl">universities</a>. These understand higher education success to be predominantly a function of attributes inherent in the individual. Failure is understood to result from the student’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075079.2015.1072148">lack of such attributes</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, common sense explanations <a href="http://cristal.epubs.ac.za/index.php/cristal/article/view/80">conceptualise universities</a> as being acultural, apolitical spaces where people acquire skills. This maintains the fiction that higher education is a <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674088023&content=reviews">meritocracy</a> which fairly rewards individual students’ hard work, motivation, “language skills” and intelligence.</p>
<p>Our data shows the institutional culture, the curriculum structure, teaching and learning approaches, and family support and relatives’ own knowledge of how universities work all played a role in students’ making their way through the system.</p>
<p>Our findings raise a number of concerns for institutions – and individuals – who would like to see fair opportunities for young people wanting to advance their education. </p>
<h2>Family support</h2>
<p>In South Africa, as in similar economies, it is a huge investment for a family to have a young person who is not earning for a number of years after school, and who might also add costs to the household during this period. </p>
<p>The families of some of the participants were able to manage this investment. Some funded their studies through a combination of resources from bursaries, family, or part-time work.</p>
<p>Others, though, came from families with absolutely no financial flexibility and were frequently in financial crisis. This pressure took a toll on the students’ academic progress. Even those who had some funding from the <a href="http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/">National Student Financial Aid Scheme</a> struggled: they had no safety net for any crisis. It took a great deal of energy to manage their basic financial requirements. </p>
<p>But the extent to which the family was able to foster aspirations and engage with the young person’s deliberations and choices was perhaps even more important than financial support. </p>
<p>The data showed that having people with whom to discuss their decisions played a very important role in participants’ higher education journey. This meant having informed people – not necessarily graduates themselves – to talk through their choices. </p>
<p>For instance, a young person might not get access to their first choice of university, and could turn to relatives for discussions and alternative ideas. A more challenging experience for some participants was when they failed academically in their chosen degree and had to figure out a new course of action. </p>
<p>Much of this kind of understanding came from another family member’s experience of going to university. But it was also closely tied to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0142569042000236952">cultural capital</a>: social class played <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425692.2011.527723">a significant role</a>. The transition to the expectations of the university, to its peculiar and discipline specific knowledge making practices for example, is difficult for all students. But access to these powerful knowledge practices is uneven and it is a disservice to pretend <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/books/review/degrees-of-inequality-by-suzanne-mettler.html">otherwise</a>. </p>
<p>The social side of university life was also enormously important to these young people, as might be expected. Fitting in, making friends and experiencing campus life were often mentioned. Students from less well-off families sometimes struggled, feeling they had to keep up with more affluent friends in a materialistic culture.</p>
<h2>Cohesion</h2>
<p>How can prospective students from settings where family members or teachers do not have the cultural capital related to university study get support in making decisions? And how can universities assist in attending to these needs once they have made their way into higher education? </p>
<p>While universities can’t attend to all societal problems, the data would suggest that institutions have some role to play in forging social cohesion among their own staff and student body.</p>
<p><em>This is an edited abstract from “Going to University: The influence of Higher Education on the lives of young South Africans” (2018) Case, J., Marshall, D., McKenna, S. & Mogashana, D. African Minds. Available for <a href="http://www.africanminds.co.za/dd-product/going-to-university-the-influence-of-higher-education-on-the-lives-of-young-south-africans/">download here</a>.</em> </p>
<p><em>The other authors of the book from which this piece is extracted are Professor Jenni Case (Head of Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech), Professor Delia Marshall (Faculty of Natural Science at the University of the Western Cape) and Dr Disaapele Mogashana (student success coach and consultant at <a href="http://www.mytsi.co.za/">True Success Institute</a>).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92602/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors of the book 'Going to University: The influence of higher education on the lives of young South Africans' are grateful for the financial support of the NRF.</span></em></p>Social class plays a huge role in people’s experiences of accessing and succeeding in higher education.Sioux McKenna, Director of PG Studies & Higher Education Studies PhD Co-ordinator, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/875292018-01-11T16:53:24Z2018-01-11T16:53:24ZSome fear that e-learning will erode African knowledge. This isn’t true<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194777/original/file-20171115-19845-39hi7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">E-learning is important for Africa, but critics have their doubts.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When people discuss the challenges related to <a href="http://www.elearningnc.gov/about_elearning/what_is_elearning/">e-learning</a> (the use of electronic technology to facilitate learning), they tend to focus on access. This can mean access to financial resources to buy equipment as well as geographical constraints: some regions are simply too remote and underdeveloped to be properly connected to the internet – or even the electricity grid – which are of course both crucial for e-learning systems.</p>
<p>There are also socio-cultural challenges to the use of e-learning, particularly in Africa. Critics argue that the use of e-learning in African higher education could erode African culture and identity. They fear that e-learning platforms might prioritise Western culture and that this is somehow “un-African”. These critics fear that the use of e-learning will somehow destabilise the existing patterns and behaviours in African higher education.</p>
<p>But, based on <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14767724.2017.1390664">my research</a>, I would argue that e-learning is very important in Africa. This technology offers a chance to increase communication in the process of learning and to stretch educational offerings across borders. E-learning can also allow academics to build new networks beyond their own borders. So while knowledge from and about the West can come to Africa, the reverse is also true: the continent’s own knowledge can reach much further through e-learning.</p>
<p>There should be a drive across Africa to invest in e-learning, as has been seen in similar economies like <a href="http://www.ambientinsight.com/Resources/Documents/AmbientInsight-2011-2016-LatinAmerica-SelfPaced-eLearning-Market-Abstract.pdf">Latin America</a> and <a href="https://www.hughes.com/collateral-library/why-e-learning-has-promising-future-india">India</a>.</p>
<p>Most African countries have progressive policies related to e-learning, and have embraced it in theory. However, at the practice level, a lot still remains to be done, especially by those who must share this information: educators. </p>
<p>At the same time, mechanisms must be put in place to ensure that it’s used without being perceived to undermine African people’s efforts, knowledge and cultures.</p>
<h2>An important social innovation</h2>
<p>Those who criticise e-learning because of its perceived threat to African cultural identities clearly see globalisation – and the resulting spread of technology and innovation – as a danger that aggravates the disparities between the Western world and African countries. </p>
<p>But e-learning is both a technological and a social innovation. At its best, it can address problems within a particular social context. For instance, my colleagues and I have used e-learning to complement our teaching in a Masters programme in health information management in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. This has saved money since students and staff didn’t have to travel. It’s also been an opportunity for invaluable cross-cultural learning. </p>
<p>African cultural identities will not be eroded by e-learning. On the contrary, the sort of cross-cultural experiences found in my example help to strengthen the continent’s cultural identity. At the same time, they are a way to better understand and accommodate diversity.</p>
<p>Critics also suggest that e-learning is an example of forcing technology on African people. This idea arises because of the power and economic disparities between the West and Africa. But it lacks a proper understanding of the problems the technologies are meant to solve. </p>
<p>For instance, large swathes of Africa are remote. People in those areas want to continue learning, but struggle to do so because they are far from cities or major centres. E-learning is a way to appropriately respond to this demand, quickly and cheaply.</p>
<p>Part of the problem here is that people do not distinguish between westernisation and modernity. Westernisation is cultural emulation of the West which leads to unquestionable adoption of Western ideologies, technologies and content. Modernisation is the acceptance of changes that are compatible to – and brought about by – science, technology and their functional requirements in people’s lives. </p>
<p>A resistance to modernity, in the form of e-learning, could actually hinder socio-economic development in Africa.</p>
<h2>Allaying fears</h2>
<p>E-learning is a mature socio-technical innovation. It has many benefits and can address some of the educational challenges in African higher education. Its critics must be heard so that their fears can be overcome. Those of us working in the field of e-learning, as well as those providing the platforms, will need to help people to distinguish between the sources of the technology – often, Western nations or organisations – from the benefits it brings.</p>
<p>It will also be important to prepare Africa’s educators for this technology. They must know how to use it, how to infuse it with local and relevant content, and how to provide students with authentic learning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87529/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Njenga does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>E-learning is both a technological and a social innovation. At its best, it can address problems within a particular social context.James Njenga, Senior lecturer, Department of Information Systems, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/780702017-05-23T22:18:15Z2017-05-23T22:18:15ZHelping military service members complete college<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170642/original/file-20170523-5743-1k570k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/542047942?src=AszG7LJhDC6AxrYoyzWJ6Q-1-10&size=huge_jpg">Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year, over half a million military service members and veterans <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011163.pdf">enroll in undergraduate institutions</a>. Only about half <a href="https://studentveterans.org/images/Reingold_Materials/mrp/download-materials/mrp_Full_report.pdf">leave with a certificate or degree</a>.</p>
<p>Getting a college degree can help graduates get <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/671809">jobs and earn higher wages</a>, but veterans and active military service members may face obstacles on their way to degree completion. Along with their studies, they often commit time to family, work and military service. </p>
<p>As a scholar who works with the College Board and studies barriers and solutions to college completion, I have seen at least one promising way to get military personnel across the college finish line – a short exam that offers college credits towards a degree.</p>
<h2>Additional challenges for service members</h2>
<p>Students of all backgrounds face uncertainty in whether they will complete college, but military personnel and veterans can face additional challenges.</p>
<p><a href="https://studentveterans.org/images/Reingold_Materials/mrp/download-materials/mrp_Full_report.pdf">The Millions Records Project</a> tracked the enrollment patterns of nearly one million active military personnel and veterans who used <a href="http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/montgomery_bill.asp">Montgomery</a> and <a href="http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asp">Post-9/11 GI Bill</a> benefits between 2002 and 2010. These service members do not fit the “traditional” – and perhaps old-fashioned – profile of a college student. Relative to nonmilitary students, service members and veterans are on average older, more likely to work and support families, and can have delayed or interrupted enrollment due to service obligations.</p>
<p>On top of all of that, many veterans have <a href="https://studentveterans.org/images/Reingold_Materials/mrp/download-materials/mrp_Full_report.pdf#page=13">service-related disabilities</a> that can make college completion difficult.</p>
<p>These challenges, in addition to <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8971.html">those faced by many students in higher education</a>, contribute to veteran and active military students leaving college with no degree.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170645/original/file-20170523-5786-1g9kwzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A U.S. army sergeant takes a class in preparation for civilian life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Credit for prior learning</h2>
<p>Along with my colleagues who study economics and higher education, I recently completed <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2933695">a study</a> looking at the effectiveness of one particular tool that may help military students complete their college degrees.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://clep.collegeboard.org/">College Level Examination Program</a> (CLEP) is a 90- to 120-minute exam administered by the College Board that offers credits in lieu of completing college coursework. Nearly 3,000 colleges offer credit for <a href="https://clep.collegeboard.org/exams">33 different CLEP exams</a> in topics including literature, mathematics, world languages, social and hard sciences and business. </p>
<p>Students can take a CLEP exam whenever they choose – before enrolling in college or as they near graduation. Depending on the college campus and CLEP exam, students with high enough scores (typically a 50 on a scale of 20 to 80) are eligible for college credit. </p>
<p>The Department of Defense has an agency dedicated to improving the educational experiences and outcomes for veteran and active military students: <a href="http://www.dantes.doded.mil/#sthash.XXx7BV0s.dpbs">Defense Activity for Non Traditional Education Support</a> (DANTES). DANTES pays the US$80 CLEP exam fee for active duty military and offers the exams on some military bases.</p>
<p>Eighty dollars and travel to a testing center may not seem like something to stand in the way of enrolling in or graduating from college. But these types of small barriers prevent students’ success in other contexts, like <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20140062">taking the SAT or ACT and enrolling in college</a>. For active military, at least, DANTES has removed some of these obstacles.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170643/original/file-20170523-5757-1lkb7vz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In some cases, taking an exam may be a quicker – and more affordable – way to get college credit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/writing-hands-students-course-151419089?src=pbiKoqGDtctSAQqzMkGBDQ-1-27">Lucky Business/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>CLEP success</h2>
<p>Why might CLEP help military servicemen and servicewomen complete college?</p>
<p>For one, getting credit for introductory and lower-level courses improves college completion, as seen with <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/687568">Advanced Placement courses and exams</a>. Additionally, these credits can allow students to bypass some lower-level courses that might have content or less academically prepared classmates that <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/508222">discourage students</a> from continuing with their education.</p>
<p>Using approximately 200,000 military-affiliated CLEP examinees, we found that those who start at two-year colleges and receive college credit for CLEP exam scores are <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2933695">18 percent more likely</a> to attain an associate’s degree than those who did not receive such credits. Similarly, military personnel who start at four-year colleges and earn credit through CLEP are 11 percent more likely to attain a bachelor’s degree. </p>
<p>With this evidence, we can think about what might happen if we got more military personnel to pass CLEP exams – either through increased participation or improved scores.</p>
<p>In a world of countless college completion efforts and policies, an 18 or even 11 percent increase is noteworthy. More successful interventions are rare and can be <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2571456">costly</a>.</p>
<p>Colleges, policymakers and researchers should continue trying new paths to get military members college degrees, but my research suggests that CLEP is a viable one. Earning college credit through exams is a cheap and unusually effective way to improve the completion rates for any student, but perhaps especially so for military personnel who face challenges and outside commitments. Not to mention, the exam is fully subsidized.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78070/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Smith consults for the College Board, who owns CLEP. The research underlying this article was conducted jointly with Angela Boatman of Vanderbilt University, Michael Hurwitz of the College Board, and Jason Lee of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
</span></em></p>Every year, thousands of active military and veterans enroll as undergrads, but only half leave with a degree. What cheap and effective strategies could help our military complete college?Jonathan Smith, Assistant Professor of Economics, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/744482017-03-21T09:45:35Z2017-03-21T09:45:35ZSouth Africa’s student funding scheme should be strengthened<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161287/original/image-20170317-6100-vcjyiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa's government is trying to approach student funding differently.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/NIC BOTHMA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In mid-December 2016, the South African Minister of Higher Education and Training released <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/SiteAssets/Gazettes/MTT_Report.pdf">the report</a> of a ministerial task team set up to investigate student funding for those who can’t afford higher education. </p>
<p>The timing of the report’s release coincided with the start of the annual holiday season which precluded public scrutiny and engagement. This was a missed opportunity. The report is a welcome contribution to the debate on student funding in South Africa. </p>
<p>Its main recommendations provide a realistic framework for rethinking approaches to student funding. These include grants for very poor students and a combination of grants (progressively reduced as household income increases) and loans for the poor and “<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-south-africa-university-is-open-to-rich-and-poor-but-what-about-the-missing-middle-36801">missing middle</a>” – students whose parental income is above the cut-off point to qualify for loans from the <a href="http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/">National Student Financial Aid Scheme</a> (NSFAS) but insufficient to meet the full costs of higher education. This approach reduces the repayment burden. </p>
<p>The report also recommends the mobilisation of private sector funds through various tax incentives. And it suggests that loan recovery mechanisms could be improved through direct deductions by the South African Revenue Service (SARS).</p>
<p>But there’s one key flaw in the report. It recommends that a new agency, the <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/rdm/news/2017-01-11-applications-open-for-new-student-funding-scheme/">Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme</a>, be established to replace the NSFAS. It was established in 1999 to ensure that funding is not a barrier to access to higher education for poor students. It has successfully discharged this mandate and supported just more than one million students in the past 18 years.</p>
<p>The report presents a jaundiced view of an important organisation that has opened the doors of higher education to many who would otherwise have been left out.</p>
<h2>Myths and realities</h2>
<p>One of the report’s recommendations is that Ikusasa should establish a special purpose vehicle run by the private sector to manage student funding on the government’s behalf. </p>
<p>It argues that this is necessary to counter the private sector’s apparent lack of confidence in the NSFAS, which is ascribed to the scheme having weak accountability structures and inefficient processes, especially its poor loan recovery record. The NSFAS has as a result apparently <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/SiteAssets/Gazettes/MTT_Report.pdf">lost</a> “most of the funding it used to receive from the private sector”.</p>
<p>There’s no evidence provided to support this assertion. This is because there has been no private sector funding of the NSFAS other than its administration of bursaries on behalf of one of the major banks. </p>
<p>The NSFAS was also remarkably successful in recovering loans between 1997 and 2008, increasing <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/CHE%20Presentation%20to%20Commission%20of%20Inquiry%20into%20Higher%20Education%20and%20Training%2017%20August%202016.pdf">from R30 million to R636m</a>. After that <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/CHE%20Presentation%20to%20Commission%20of%20Inquiry%20into%20Higher%20Education%20and%20Training%2017%20August%202016.pdf">the amount decreased</a>: only R248m was recovered in 2014, as against projections of R1 711m. This was because of the promulgation of the National Credit Act in 2005. </p>
<p>This legislation made it illegal to recover loans from debtors through automatic deductions by employers, which was provided for in the <a href="http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/downloads/NSFAS%20Act.%20No%2056%20of%201999.pdf">NSFAS Act</a>. This has severely impacted on the funding available to the NSFAS.</p>
<h2>The role of funding agencies</h2>
<p>The report is also on weak ground in its attempt to deal with broader skills and educational issues. </p>
<p>It proposes that funding should prioritise professional and vocational programmes in scarce skills and high demand occupations to “grow the economy”. This refers to the need to grow enrolments in science, engineering and technology. </p>
<p>The scarce skills focus would adversely impact on poor students’ access to higher education. They are the main recipients of low quality schooling, especially in gateway subjects like maths and science which are essential for access to the programmes in question. </p>
<p>The report also proposes that Ikusasa should develop a “wrap-around” student support programme. Social, life skills and academic support to improve throughput and graduation rates would be provided using external service providers. This betrays a lack of understanding of the challenges of teaching and learning in higher education. The fact that such support has been successfully provided on a small scale by NGOs and private sector bursary programmes does not necessarily mean it can be taken to scale. </p>
<p>What is needed is systemic intervention to address the knowledge and skills gap between school and university. This requires restructuring the curriculum and qualifications structure in higher education, as has <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/4YD%20proposal%202013_CHE%20seminar_2013-00-17.pdf">been proposed</a> by the Council on Higher Education. This is the joint responsibility of government and higher education institutions – not funding agencies.</p>
<h2>A crucial body</h2>
<p>The report’s uncritical focus on enhancing the role of the private sector in student funding is cause for concern. It ignores the fact that the private sector is risk averse. In the absence of collateral in the form of government guarantees, it’s unlikely to come to the party. And at any rate, it projects that direct private sector investment will comprise of no more than one-fifth of the total funding required to implement the proposed model.</p>
<p>The private sector has a role to play in student funding. But this can best be done through an expanded NSFAS, with a separate and dedicated sub-structure established to deal with private sector contributions and investments.</p>
<p>There’s no denying that administrative and governance challenges have had an impact on the NSFAS’ efficiency and effectiveness. This is largely due to the rapid growth of the funds it administers without a concomitant development of administrative systems. There has been progress in addressing these challenges and no doubt more needs to be done. But its real challenge is too little funding to meet demand. The private sector can contribute to alleviating this. </p>
<p>However, ultimately it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that student funding is adequate to meet demand. </p>
<p>The NSFAS, despite its challenges, has played a critical role in opening the doors of higher education to the poor. It has been one of success stories of the post-1994 commitment to social justice and the redress of past inequalities. The NSFAS cannot be wished away by the whims of a task team which seems have little or no understanding of the social and political context that gave rise to it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74448/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ahmed Essop does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The ministerial task team’s report presents a jaundiced view of an important organisation that’s opened the doors of higher education to many who would otherwise have been closed out.Ahmed Essop, Research Associate in Higher Education Policy and Planning, Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/583462016-04-29T04:26:43Z2016-04-29T04:26:43ZSouth Africa must open student funding to public scrutiny<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119951/original/image-20160425-22352-12qvkeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most South Africans need serious financial support to make it through university.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GCIS/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s government is planning a <a href="http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/education/2016/04/13/universities-hinder-students-from-accessing-funds-says-nsfas">major overhaul</a> of its student funding system. This comes in the wake of <a href="https://theconversation.com/fee-protests-point-to-a-much-deeper-problem-at-south-african-universities-49456">protests</a> at the country’s universities that saw students successfully freeze fee increases for the 2016 academic year.</p>
<p>Government aid has been available to poor students for a number of years through its <a href="http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/mission.html">National Student Financial Aid Scheme</a> (NSFAS), which falls under the Department of Higher Education and Training. But the scheme’s definition of “poor” – a family income of less than R120,000 (about US$8,287) per year – has left the country’s “missing middle” stranded. These young people make up the bulk of the school-leaving population each year. Their parents are teachers, nurses, police and other civil servants whose annual income (<a href="http://www.unisa.ac.za/contents/faculties/ems/docs/press429.pdf">on average</a> between R151,728 and R363,930) is above the NSFAS threshold but not high enough to afford university fees. As Rhodes University vice-chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela has <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-south-africa-university-is-open-to-rich-and-poor-but-what-about-the-missing-middle-36801">pointed out</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This means you have to be desperately poor or wealthy to afford higher education in South Africa.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The proposed overhaul will see NSFAS’ household income threshold rise to R500,000. This should see many more deserving students get a shot at a university education, though where the university places will come from in an overstretched system is entirely unclear. </p>
<p>At the same time, government plans to centralise student funding. Universities will lose their power to allocate student funds, and instead NSFAS will control student funding directly.</p>
<p>To date, universities have managed their own NSFAS funds. This has been marred by <a href="http://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/student-funds-used-for-fort-hare-salaries/">financial mismanagement</a> and <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/nzimande-to-probe-nsfas-corruption-allegations-20151112">allegations of fraud and nepotism</a> at a number of universities.</p>
<p>Such changes seem positive. However, there is nothing to guarantee that these reforms will be effective in supporting students. There appear to be four main hurdles to ensuring that student funding is equitable and efficient, which we will explore in this article. Crucially, these reforms will only work if student funding is opened to public scrutiny and participation.</p>
<h2>Hurdles to equitable student funding</h2>
<p>So what’s holding student funding back?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Government capacity: how will the Department of Higher Education implement a complex grant of this magnitude given its other priority functions? In 2014, universities administered R9 billion in NSFAS funding to more than <a href="http://www.nsfas.org.za/content/reports/NSFAS%20AR%202014-15.pdf">400,000 students</a>. How will NSFAS build the structures and the competencies to go from managing zero students to managing 400,000? </p>
<p>And if universities are mismanaging relatively small pots of funding, what is to prevent a national office from mismanaging a much larger central fund, which is more complex and difficult to oversee? Indeed, NSFAS has struggled to both <a href="http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/42d741804ba833bea363f7b10d544352/NSFAS-probe-late-payments-of-students%E2%80%99-allowances-20161202">disburse funds</a> and <a href="http://www.financialmail.co.za/features/2015/06/25/nsfas-brakes-on-the-free-ride">recover debt</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>Student care: When universities manage NSFAS funds, students have direct access to financial aid services and counselling related to the process. This is important because most young people entering universities are the first in their <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/student-dropout-rate-high">immediate families to do so</a>. They need care and support to navigate university life and student funding.</p>
<p>How will NSFAS provide such “care services” from a central office and ensure that students are not further alienated by red tape?</p></li>
<li><p>Local knowledge and decision-making: The academics and support staff at each institution have local, particular knowledge of students’ strengths and weaknesses and the difficulties of each course. They sometimes admit students who are failing on paper, understanding that in practice and with sufficient support such students will succeed. Will the central management of student funding affect universities’ admission and selection criteria? Will deserving students be excluded, or will these students be forced into courses that they do not want to or cannot do? </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/university-autonomy-insights-from-tanzania-uganda-and-nigeria-50535">Institutional autonomy is central</a> to the functioning of universities as a critical space. If the government begins to dictate who should be allowed access to universities, this autonomy will be lost. </p></li>
<li><p>Trade-offs in funding: There are two ways to fund more students. Either university costs go down or the national higher education budget goes up. If additional money for NSFAS comes from within the existing higher education budget, then university costs will have <a href="http://businesstech.co.za/news/general/102010/what-you-need-to-know-about-university-fees-in-south-africa/">to go down</a>. This has enormous implications for quality. </p>
<p>Austerity measures, in the form of voluntary retrenchments, are already being implemented in some universities. The casualisation of academic staff is in full swing, with more than 50% of academics in South Africa working on a <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/focus_areas/higher_education_data/2013/staffing">contract basis</a>. How can these processes be squared with student demands for a complete overhaul of the curriculum, the insourcing of workers and support for black academics?</p>
<p>On the other hand, the national budget for higher education could increase. South Africa spends only 0.71% of its gross domestic product on higher education, compared with <a href="http://chet.org.za/books/doctoral-education-south-africa">double or more spent by countries</a> like India, the US, Australia, Ghana and Malaysia. But next year there will probably be less money in the budget. The economy is stagnant and the price of borrowing will likely increase substantially if South Africa’s credit rating is cut to <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/businesstimes/2016/04/20/SAs-credit-rating-will-probably-be-cut-to-junk-this-year">junk status</a>. Where will the money for an increase in NSFAS funds come from?</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Public scrutiny is key</h2>
<p>These hurdles can only be overcome if citizens have the information and the right to participate in setting the budget and overseeing NSFAS. At the moment the process is almost entirely limited to a small number of government and university bureaucrats. </p>
<p>The first step to deepening democratic participation would be for Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande to provide full information about the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTlsjUd0doQ">forensic audit to probe alleged malpractices</a> in NSFAS. There is no transparency about who is carrying out the audit, what their terms of reference are, expected penalties and remedial action, or even the deadline for findings. </p>
<p>The second step is for NSFAS to make public its detailed financial records so that citizens can identify delays in distributing NSFAS funds and how debt is recovered. National Treasury has just opened up the country’s entire municipal budget dataset to <a href="http://www.codebridge.co.za/dataquest.htm">public scrutiny and participation</a> in line with South Africa’s international commitments to <a href="http://www.wri.org/blog/2012/08/open-government-partnership-african-nations-commit-new-levels-transparency">open data</a>. The Department of Higher Education can and should become an innovator and open government data to democratic oversight. </p>
<p>The third step is for citizens to participate in setting the national budget. Should our universities cut their costs and, if so, should it be staffing costs? Should the higher education budget be increased and, if so, where should this money come from? Why does the government spend <a href="http://ewn.co.za/Media/2016/02/24/Budget-2016-at-a-glance">three times as much</a> on the security cluster as on higher education?</p>
<p>The proposed student funding reforms can make higher education more equitable and sustainable. But this will only happen if NSFAS is subject to public scrutiny, participation and oversight.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58346/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Temwa Moyo receives funding from DHET </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nimi Hoffmann and Sioux McKenna do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Student funding processes must be opened up to public scrutiny and participation if they’re to succeed.Temwa Moyo, PhD Candidate, Rhodes UniversityNimi Hoffmann, PhD student, Rhodes UniversitySioux McKenna, Professor and Higher Education Studies PhD Co-ordinator, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/551552016-02-23T19:05:43Z2016-02-23T19:05:43ZHow universities make inequality worse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112451/original/image-20160223-25885-q5xza5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We are in danger of returning to a stage where young people from poorer backgrounds have no hope of attending an elite university.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In this, the first of a two-part series on inequality and university education in Australia, University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker argues that rather than redress inequality, universities actually exacerbate it. Part two, tomorrow, suggests 10 ways to fix the problem.</em></p>
<p>In the last 50 years higher education has expanded, but so has social inequality. There is a causal connection, one which can be reduced or dismantled to some extent.</p>
<p>The Gini coefficient is a useful starting point to measure inequality. If all the income of a group were shared equally, there would be perfect equality and the coefficient would be 0. If it were all owned by one person, the coefficient would be 1.</p>
<p>In the last 20 years, Australia’s inequality has been rising at around the OECD average, but now we are above it. We have greater income equality than the UK but <a href="http://www.oecd.org/australia/OECD2015-In-It-Together-Highlights-Australia.pdf">much less than Denmark</a>.</p>
<p>Income inequality began to rise after 1980, in what Tony Atkinson has called <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674504769">The Inequality Turn</a>.</p>
<p>Wealth inequality has been growing faster than income inequality and is considerably worse. The average wealth of an Australian household in the top 20% is around <a href="http://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Inequality_in_Australia_FINAL.pdf">70 times the average wealth</a> of a household in the bottom 20%.</p>
<p>The greater the inequality in a society, the less social mobility there seems to be across the generations: graphically described as <a href="http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.27.3.79">The Great Gatsby Curve</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112448/original/image-20160223-23457-3cdsbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112448/original/image-20160223-23457-3cdsbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112448/original/image-20160223-23457-3cdsbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112448/original/image-20160223-23457-3cdsbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112448/original/image-20160223-23457-3cdsbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112448/original/image-20160223-23457-3cdsbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112448/original/image-20160223-23457-3cdsbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">http://ftp.iza.org/dp7520.pdf</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Recently, there are at least suggestions that <a href="http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/restricted/publicationContent/!ut/p/a1/lZDBbsIwEES_pQeOkdfGiZ1jCmodBEKCViW-IMd2glEwgbion1-DeqW0extpduftIIk2SHp1ca0K7uhVd9Uy25aYTISgMFsKkUHJXt5Wa_E-BpyhDySR1D70YYcqry_2vB126mzNCPrPunP6dmkYAWGYXL29aq2xg2v9TWlnUJXj3DKr64RpgxOaZnmiTKMT2jQca10zTklEqSIK3JkC_kQaLZPXQlA2jzuUEyinz2LK8gVE84_hl4gqMrC7ISJF638-NXtEHb92-9NJFrHlow_2K6DNw5r7w4Hvm3m24jBOu_bpG9NyqGM!/dl5/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/">inter-generational mobility in Australia is declining</a>. I believe it might have stalled.</p>
<p>But what has this got to do with higher education?</p>
<p>The better your parents are educated, the more likely you are to graduate from university. <a href="https://www.srhe.ac.uk/downloads/SimonMarginsonKeynote.pdf">Simon Marginson</a>, in line with other studies, estimates that a young person in Australia is 4.3 times more likely to participate in tertiary education if one of their parents was tertiary-educated than a young person whose parents had less than upper secondary education.</p>
<p>If the economy increasingly rewards graduates, and only 30% to 40% of young people go to university, then over time they will tend to move ahead of the other 60% to 70%.</p>
<p>Thus, income inequality increases, with the affluent accumulating more property and superannuation, which they pass onto their children, so that wealth inequality increases.</p>
<p>The following graph, if valid, is profoundly disturbing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112447/original/image-20160223-25894-sbifh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112447/original/image-20160223-25894-sbifh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112447/original/image-20160223-25894-sbifh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112447/original/image-20160223-25894-sbifh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112447/original/image-20160223-25894-sbifh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112447/original/image-20160223-25894-sbifh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112447/original/image-20160223-25894-sbifh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">http://ftp.iza.org/dp7520.pdf</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In countries where a degree buys more earning power there is less upward mobility over the generations. In Norway, for example, the premium on a degree is less, and longitudinal studies show that there is less relationship between parental earnings and those of their child: the younger generation largely starts again. At the other end of the scale is the US, where a degree is worth more and social mobility is less. If the Australian education becomes more Americanised, we risk the same situation.</p>
<p>But universities don’t control the drivers of earnings inequality such as the tax transfer system and the minimum wage level. Nor do we control global capitalism, the knowledge economy and the demand for ever-increasing skill levels. We are caught up in a system that places a high value on a degree.</p>
<p>What we can do, however, is help distribute more evenly the spoils of higher education and disrupt the patterns of inherited advantage, which increasingly divide society. To understand them, however, we need first to understand how advantage is transmitted through education and how stratification comes about within education.</p>
<p>Parental education levels typically influence not only whether a child attends university at all, but also the type of university attended. If one parent went to university rather than reached Year 12 only, then it is more likely that their child will graduate from a Group of Eight research-intensive university. Other universities pick up more first-in-family students.</p>
<p>Low-SES students are distributed unevenly among different types of institutions, a situation that is well-documented, although probably <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/265557/social-class-in-the-21st-century/">worse in the UK</a>.</p>
<p>In Australia, the Group of Eight universities have the lowest percentage of low-SES students, followed by the Australian Technology Network universities. The distributions of low-SES students according to university type have not changed much since at least 2007. Of the change that there has been, it is the rural and regional universities that have done most of the heavy lifting, followed by the outer urban universities.</p>
<p>This will do more than just make the sector “look” better. It will disrupt a spiralling effect whereby elites move further and further ahead of the others because of the way they use the higher education sector. The argument is this.</p>
<p>When technological change accelerates, governments expand higher education to upskill the workforce. Only when demand from the upper and middle classes has been satisfied does access by lower-class people seem to expand (the “maximally maintained inequality theory”). They are, at present, disproportionately represented in lower-status universities. And because the rich dominate elite institutions, this will accentuate and entrench hierarchy among places, moving the rich relatively <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hequ.12060/abstract">further up the distribution</a>.</p>
<p>Then, as technological change slows down for a while, but higher education still has the momentum to keep expanding (which is arguably the case at present), the premium on a degree declines. Competition for prestigious places intensifies as privileged elites seek to consolidate their position in a toughening market. They pay for the most expensive schooling, secure access to the most prestigious universities and, if necessary, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hequ.12060/abstract">invest in graduate study</a>.</p>
<p>Then, when technology takes off again, those elites are best placed to take advantage of the new economic order, and social divergence increases further.</p>
<p>It is a pump inflating inequality. We are in real danger of returning to a situation when the son or daughter of poor parents who lack tertiary qualifications has no realistic prospect of entering a prestigious profession or a secure, well-remunerated career. They might as well hope they have a long-lost distant relative who bequeaths them all their money, or “marry up” if they can, as in Jane Austen’s day.</p>
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<p><em>Tomorrow, part two: what universities must do to redress inequality.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55155/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article is based on a speech recently given to the TJ Ryan Foundation.</span></em></p>Universities must redress, not reinforce, disadvantage by ensuring more students from lower socio-economic backgrounds have the chance to benefit form them.Stephen Parker, Vice-Chancellor, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.