Improving Indigenous completion rates in mainstream TAFE: An action research approach

Key messages

• The increase in Indigenous students in mainstream programs has meant that Indigenous business has become whole-of-TAFE business. This is in strong contrast to the previous custom of relegating Indigenous business to the Indigenous training units.

• Institute practices have not generally kept pace with the increasing number of Indigenous students in maintstream programs. If mainstream is to continue for Indigenous students, practices need to be examined. Some areas requiring more attention are:
  • the relationship between the Indigenous training units and the rest of the institute
  • the development of appropriate expertise of all staff
  • the resources and intra-institutional collaboration required by staff
  • the organisational support available to students with respect to education, career and work planning, attendance, creating a sense of belonging, and literacy and numeracy skills.

• While at a national level Indigenous performance in mainstream courses is below that of the total vocational education and training (VET) student population, there are institutes and/or particular programs within institutes where performance is comparable to or better than that for total VET students.

• Training organisations that consider their Indigenous clientele as comprising a number of client groups with different needs and expectations offer better learning opportunities.

• Training organisations need to review the impact of all policies and practices on Indigenous take-up of the learning opportunities offered, not only Indigenous-specific policies and practices.

• Concerted effort is needed to increase the number of Indigenous teachers and trainers— especially males—in TAFE institutes.

• Indigenous students in mainstream programs who need support are getting less than do Indigenous students whose TAFE experience is through the Indigenous training units.

• Indigenous students doing mainstream programs in mainstream organisations run the risk of being ignored. The risk is increased when:
  • the number of Indigenous students in any given course is small
  • learning interactions do not sufficiently draw on the intellectual, social and cultural capital that students bring by virtue of being Indigenous
  • the monitoring of Indigenous students' learning as a group in mainstream programs is not a specific responsibility in any managers' portfolio
  • there are limited opportunities for students to influence the learning opportunities offered.

• Relevant multi-departmental representation on action research teams is essential for maximising their capacity to improve organisational practices leading to improved Indigenous outcomes.

The action research project in this report concerned itself primarily with the intra-institutional factors that affect Indigenous students’ learning experiences and thus their completion rates in technical and further education (TAFE) mainstream courses. The study also examined the effectiveness of action research—a disciplined process of inquiry conducted by and for those taking the actions—as an organisational change process for improving Indigenous students’ completion rates.

While Indigenous engagement with vocational education and training (VET) has improved significantly in recent years, successful completion rates are lower nationally when compared with the overall population (Saunders et al. 2003). Robinson and Hughes (1999) revealed that little or no monitoring of students in mainstream courses was taking place and that limited attention had been given to developing strategies to improve student outcomes and reduce attrition rates.

This study furthers our understanding of VET providers' organisational responses to the increasing number of Indigenous students in mainstream programs. An action research team comprising seven to ten members was established in each of four TAFE institutes in Queensland. Details on how each team developed and responded to challenges are found in the case studies. In their attempts to change practices at the grassroots level over a 12-month period, the teams learnt about the factors that impeded quality provision and about the process of change itself. Collectively, the focus areas of the four teams represented a broad range of contexts and student groups.

This study drew on four sources of data to report on the teams' experiences. These were: documents produced by the action research teams; journals kept by the action research team facilitators; the monthly teleconferences and the web-based discussion board held among the action research team facilitators; and two sets of semi-structured interviews. In total, 70 interviews were conducted with members of the action research teams and key TAFE personnel halfway through, and toward the end of, the project.

Summary of major findings

Challenges

The legacy of relegating Indigenous 'business' to the Indigenous education units has had the consequence of making the 'mainstream' organisation unprepared for the increasing number of Indigenous students in mainstream programs. Evidence of this includes:

• the lack of quality data collected and/or made easily accessible to personnel about Indigenous participation in mainstream courses

• insufficient systemic links between the Indigenous education unit and ‘mainstream’ to assist support officers in servicing mainstream Indigenous students

• the risk of Indigenous education units losing their identity

• the lack of ease experienced by Indigenous student support officers and ‘mainstream’ teachers in working together resulting at least in part from inadequate role definitions

• insufficient expertise in personnel at management, support, teaching and administrative levels to provide optimal learning opportunities for Indigenous students

• insufficient relevant professional development for all staff, especially in cultural awareness and cross-cultural communication

• managerial inexperience in ascertaining needs of some Indigenous students and lack of knowledge about where to access funding for necessary interventions such as literacy support

• the absence of the collective Indigenous student voice to provide advice and feedback.

Effective collaboration between departments within the TAFE institute is required to deliver quality training to Indigenous students in many mainstream courses. The compartmentalisation of operations in the organisational structure of TAFE institutes and an under-developed capacity for building links and working relationships across departments were found to inhibit collaboration. Commonly held beliefs about how to best service the organisations' Indigenous clientele were sometimes absent. The negative impact of such compartmentalisation was exacerbated by the absence of a position description that includes in its portfolio the monitoring of Indigenous students' learning in mainstream courses as a group and the coordination of relevant cross-institutional processes and professional development to service those students.

The final set of challenges concerns the conflicting demands of the government policies and regulations under which teachers and managers are required to operate. For example, many Indigenous students seek employment in Indigenous communities and/or organisations, yet training packages in mainstream programs do not offer those Indigenous students who desire it, the opportunity to develop Indigenous culture and sociological expertise.

Another source of conflicting demands is funding arrangements. Most funding for training delivery is based on enrolments rather than on completions, and this can lead to a focus on marketing at the expense of retention. The goals of maximising enrolments and minimising costs can also lead to under-resourcing services such as student support that would enhance the quality of the learning experience for Indigenous students.

Proactive responses

The above challenges have had all four institutes in this study grapple in different ways with creating mainstream space for Indigenous issues, staff and students. Responses have focused on establishing managerial, administrative and teaching structures and practices that meet the needs of Indigenous students in mainstream programs.

Changes in the role of the Indigenous education unit and its relationship to the rest of the organisation constitute an important part of the response. Many of these changes have aimed at more effective integration of the services offered by the unit with those of the rest of the organisation. With the exception of one institute in which the Indigenous education unit has developed into its largest income-producing faculty and thus has, in some ways, become 'mainstream', the units in the other institutes are undergoing change. Resistance to change is strongest where there is the perceived threat of the unit being 'dissolved' as a structure and/or entity.

Below are some of the measures taken by the institutes to better integrate the functions of the Indigenous education unit with the rest of the organisation. While generally well received, not all measures were taken by any one institute:

• the coordinator of the unit is directly accountable to the director of the institute

• the management of the unit is in the portfolio of an Indigenous director who is also responsible for several 'mainstream' vocational teaching areas

• programs that were once delivered by the unit are now being delivered by mainstream vocational teaching areas, and the unit now has predominantly community liaison, business generation and student support functions

• there are some teachers (including Indigenous teachers) who teach in mainstream programs as well as in Indigenous-specific programs and have thus formed inter-departmental links

• Indigenous field officers and support officers are working closely with delivery teams in mainstream programs.

Training delivery has been another major area in which innovation has occurred. Approaches to integrating language, literacy and numeracy training with vocational teaching are meeting with more success than previous approaches. Off-site collaborative modes of delivery have permitted many Indigenous people to access training that previously was out of reach geographically and/or culturally. The training of Indigenous students in their home communities has proved to be effective providing that the appropriate collaborative relationships between TAFE, the community, employers and any relevant government agencies are in place.

Action research as a change process

The value of the action research process was in its capacity to bring to the surface organisational factors that affect Indigenous students' learning experiences. There was also evidence that the action research experience improved practices at an individual, team and/or institutional level.

Team participants regarded the multi-departmental composition of the action research team— including teachers, managers, administrative and support staff from different departments—as its major strength. To their knowledge it was the first time in all four TAFE institutes that a group of colleagues had met over a prolonged period of time to better understand and take action on issues that affected Indigenous completion rates.

While the action teams' diversity was considered a strength, it contributed to the difficulty of establishing line management for the team. The issue of accountability remained unresolved in all four sites.

The effectiveness of action research as a change process varied across the four institutes. Its effectiveness was dependent on many factors, including the organisational context; the composition of the team and its dynamics; the team facilitator; the relationship between the team and the rest of the organisation, especially management; and the resources made available to it.

Conclusion

The report concludes with implications for policy and practice. Conflicting policy demands need to be resolved. Within the training organisation itself, effective responses to the increasing number of Indigenous students in mainstream courses require concurrent changes at three levels—intellectual, cultural and social. At the knowledge/skill level, for example, appropriate professional development of its staff is required. In terms of organisational culture, guidelines are required to encourage staff to hold more consistent values and beliefs about what it means to provide quality learning opportunities. The existing formal and informal staff and Indigenous student groupings and networks need to be critiqued to ascertain the extent to which they facilitate learning experiences. The issue of adaptation lies at the core of the organisations' decision-making regarding Indigenous completion rates, and has two dimensions. The first concerns the extent to which the organisation itself needs to adapt. This necessitates finding ways for the public VET provider to adapt to the needs of the various kinds of Indigenous clientele in terms of content, teaching, support, collaboration and other environmental factors such as learning spaces. The second dimension concerns the extent to which it needs to facilitate its Indigenous learners to adapt. This challenges the organisation to find appropriate ways to help those Indigenous students who desire it, to better adapt to the requirements of vocational education and training as they are offered by institutions such as TAFE.