Stop, Evaluate and Listen! Strengthening and Enhancing Programs for Indigenous Students through Evaluation
Associate Professor Katelyn Barney & Dr Hayley Williams, The University Queensland
With the release now of the Australian Universities Accord Final Report, which has cemented the imperative in the Accord Interim Report for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to be “at the heart” of the higher education (HE) sector, there has been renewed push to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student participation in university. As the Accord Final Report recognises, outreach programs are an important part of a suite of activities that attempt to increase pathways for Indigenous Australian students into HE. Many universities run on-campus outreach camps for Indigenous Australian (mostly high school) students that attempt to demystify university, build student confidence, and provide information about study options. These camps usually include “hands-on” activities, presentations by university staff, interactions with Indigenous Australian university student ambassadors, and cultural activities.
But how do we ensure programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are meeting their changing needs? We believe evaluation is key to ensuring programs are continually improved and are evidence-based to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to consider university as an option.
As part of an Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (previously NCSEHE) Equity Fellowship, we undertook interviews with a number of staff who run outreach programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students. Staff talked about the need for more guidance and resources on how to evaluate their work. They also discussed the importance of gathering more purposeful data to ensure outreach activities with Indigenous Australian school students are based on evidence of “what works” to support Indigenous Australian students to transition to university.
In response to these findings, videos and an accompanying booklet were developed with Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts in evaluation, to assist outreach staff in evaluating their programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Topics include:
Planning for evaluation: Maria Raciti
Key developments in relation to the quality of evaluation in Indigenous programs: Kevin Dolman
The importance of collaboration and co-design in evaluation: Caroline Salom
Purpose and key questions to frame evaluation: Peter Wilkins
Principles and practices of evaluation: Anna Bennett
Collecting interview data and asking the ‘right’ questions: Graeme Gower
Presenting findings of evaluation: Ryan Naylor
The experts in these videos discuss why evaluation is so important in achieving the goals and objectives of programs, meeting the needs of various stakeholders, improving the delivery of programs, ensuring reflective practice by staff, and leading the continuation and expansion (or redirection of effort) of programs.
The videos are part of a suite of resources, including the Indigenous Success: Doing it, Thinking it, Being it podcast series co-led with Tracey Bunda and an expert panel discussion on tips for outreach staff on how to evaluate outreach programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
As Maria Raciti notes elsewhere in this Needed Now series, there is a need to “shape the transformation of the Australian HE sector”. We believe that strengthening and improving existing outreach programs for Indigenous Australian students and drawing on the evidence of “what works” will contribute to this.
And it is good to see the Universities Accord Panel endorsing the evaluation imperative with exactly this “what works” focus.
Katelyn Barney is Associate Professor in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit and affiliated with the School of Music at The University of Queensland.
Hayley Williams (Gamilaroi) is a Research Fellow in the School of Psychology and affiliated with the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at The University of Queensland.