{"id":6794,"date":"2018-07-13T00:26:28","date_gmt":"2018-07-12T16:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/curtins-centre-aboriginal-studies-breaking-barriers-indigenous-higher-education\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T10:10:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T02:10:38","slug":"curtins-centre-aboriginal-studies-breaking-barriers-indigenous-higher-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/curtins-centre-aboriginal-studies-breaking-barriers-indigenous-higher-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Curtin\u2019s Centre for Aboriginal Studies is breaking down barriers to Indigenous higher education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian universities have achieved a 70 per cent growth in Indigenous enrolments in the past decade1<\/sup>, yet attrition rates remain high. Aaron Matthews is a Curtin researcher with the Centre for Aboriginal Studies (CAS) who is examining ways to improve the tertiary experience for Indigenous students to ensure they have the best opportunities to succeed at university.<\/p>\n

As a former Curtin student, Matthews has unique insight into the Indigenous uni student experience. An Aboriginal man\u00a0from the Kija (East Kimberley) and Gurindji (Northern Territory) language groups, he graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Indigenous Community Management and Development<\/a> (ICMD) with Honours in 2009.<\/p>\n

Matthews now lectures in the ICMD program and is undertaking a Master of Education, investigating how tertiary enabling programs can be enhanced for future generations of Indigenous students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve kind of gone full circle. I\u2019ve had opportunities at CAS as both student and teacher, and that\u2019s been really interesting because it\u2019s enabled me to experience education from both sides,\u201d says Matthews.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve now been able to step back from teaching so I can focus on my research and start creating new ways for Indigenous higher education.”<\/p>\n

“We all share a common goal of wanting to access education and use it to benefit our communities \u2013 that\u2019s why I\u2019m here doing what I do.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Matthews says there have significant improvements in education delivery and access for Indigenous Australians, but there are still barriers that make it difficult for students to prioritise and fully engage with their studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might have a student who has aspirations to go to university, but they\u2019re weighed down by financial, social, cultural or family responsibilities, or are dealing with culture shock from moving away from home to the city,\u201d says Matthews.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they\u2019re probably dealing with a bit of guilt as well, because studying is quite an individual thing \u2013 you go off to pursue your own interests and it takes up a lot of your time and it can be difficult for families to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

CAS has implemented a number of initiatives to help students feel comfortable at Curtin and get the most from their studies. In addition to its bridging and enabling programs<\/a>, some of the centre\u2019s courses are delivered in block units, enabling students to learn course content for two weeks at a time throughout the year. This helps them to balance study with their other commitments and is especially beneficial for students who live in regional or remote communities.<\/p>\n

There is a mentor program for first-year students, as well as a Tutorial Assistance Scheme<\/a>, which provides private tutoring to eligible students studying an undergraduate degree.<\/p>\n

CAS also holds a number of events throughout the year to ensure students and staff have the chance to connect and share experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are morning teas and community forums, as well as presentations from important members in the community,\u201d says Matthews.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CAS building itself is quite beautiful and gives people a sense of connection. It\u2019s also the people within it as well \u2013 the teachers are always willing to work with students.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Matthews says CAS is a strong example of a higher tertiary centre that is advancing Indigenous education, but he would like to see more collaboration between institutions, as it can generate a greater exchange of ideas and promote best practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we all want to reach the same goal. We need to communicate with and learn from one another to try and increase the number of Indigenous students who are ready to engage with tertiary education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews hopes that his master\u2019s research will help to innovate the delivery of Indigenous courses across all Australian universities. For example, he is looking at how technology can be better integrated into teaching and learning to align with how today\u2019s generation of students learn and engage. He also envisions a future where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives are embedded in all university courses, rather than confined to individual programs.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the CAS alumnus encourages Indigenous Australians to \u201cgive uni a go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil you actually put your feet in and see what it\u2019s about, you won\u2019t know if uni is for you or not. There\u2019s so much about it that you won\u2019t experience until you\u2019re here, so it\u2019s just one of those things where you just have to give it a go!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1<\/sup> Universities Australia. (2017). Indigenous Strategy 2017-2020<\/em>. Retrieved from universitiesaustralia.edu.au, 10 July 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Curtin CAS researcher Aaron Matthews is examining ways to improve the uni experience for Indigenous students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4182,"featured_media":6795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":83,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,3,4,82],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-6794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander","category-campus-and-global-community","category-research","category-society-and-culture"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"Indigenous Community Management and Development Major","qualification":"","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/study\/offering\/course-ug-indigenous-community-management-and-development-major-bappsc--mjru-incmd\/","description":"","faculty":"Centre for Aboriginal Studies"}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}},"post_components":false},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/AaronMatthews.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Zoe","last_name":"Taylor","display_name":"Zoe Taylor"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-17 09:27:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6794"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=6794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}