Keywords

2.1 Introduction

Universities Australia is the peak body representing universities in Australia. They have developed an Indigenous strategy that covers 2017–2020 that aims to have retention and completion rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter respectfully referred to as Indigenous) students equal to those of domestic non-Indigenous students in the same field of study by 2025.

The number of Indigenous Australian HDR enrolments has increased over the last decade; however, the completion rates of Indigenous HDRs have remained relatively low. Barney (2013) and Behrendt et al. (2012) concern about the under-represented participation, retention and completion rates of Indigenous HDR students in Australia. A range of factors continue to affect the retention and completion of Indigenous HDR students, including access to high-quality research supervision (Behrendt et al., 2012; Schofield et al., 2013; Trudgett, 2013, 2014). Factors including racism and discrimination and low socio-economic status affect Indigenous people’s access, participation and engagement in Australian higher education (Schofield et al., 2013) and in other countries, including Canada (Childs et al., 2016), New Zealand (Schofield et al., 2013), the United States (Wilson et al., 2011) and the United Kingdom (Hutchings et al., 2019; McCulloch & Thomas, 2013). Insufficient Indigenous methodological and cultural knowledge by supervisors of Indigenous HDR students has also been found to be problematic (Grant & McKinley, 2011). As such, Indigenous HDR students have encountered plenty of challenges and barriers in their research journey (Moodie et al., 2018). However, increased and expanded support services for Indigenous students contribute to the success of Indigenous students.

This chapter provides an overview of the participation and retention of Indigenous students in Australia as well as the impediments experienced by these students, with a focus on the factors that affect their success. This chapter then considers the current academic practices to support Indigenous HDR students in research programs in Australian higher education. The review also focuses on the literature and a submitted report that analysed, evaluated and reported on how these strategies effectively increased the retention of Indigenous students, retained them in the research programs and led them to completion of their research journey.

2.2 The Participation and Retention of Indigenous Students in Australian Higher Education

A growing body in the literature has focused on explaining the failure of Indigenous HDR students (Anderson, 2016; Barney, 2016; Behrendt et al., 2012; Schofield et al., 2013) in Australian higher education. However, it is surprising to note that there are relatively few studies that have focused on understanding the factors impacting the enrolment in a research degree program, the commencement in a research candidature and the retention in an HDR program to completion of Indigenous HDR students (Hutchings et al., 2018).

The literature on the participation and retention of Indigenous students (e.g. Asmar et al., 2011; Barney, 2016, 2018; Dang et al., 2016; Moreton-Robinson et al., 2020; Oliver et al., 2013; Raciti et al., 2018) has highlighted the disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. For Australian universities to increase Indigenous students’ commencement and completion rates is an existing challenge (Dang et al., 2016) despite a steady increase in the number of Indigenous students in Australia over the last decade (Moodie et al., 2018).

In a report to the Department of Education and Training (DET) about Indigenous success in higher education, Moreton-Robinson et al. (2020) reported the attendance of HDR students at Australian universities. Although the number of Indigenous students enrolled in a research degree has gradually increased since 2006, the number of students who commenced their study and completed it fluctuated in this period. The number of completions by Indigenous HDR students was very low compared to the number of enrolments and commencements during the years 2006–2017. What is interesting about this data is that the number of Indigenous HDR students enrolled in a research degree has increased in recent years (i.e. 2014–2017) with 2016 being the year with the highest completions. However, compared to the number of HDR students from the total population, the number of Indigenous HDR students is alarmingly low. The percentage of Indigenous HDR students’ enrolments, commencements and completions are recorded as less than 2% of the total number of domestic students in the period 2006–2017 (see Moreton-Robinson et al., 2020). Anderson (2016, p. 223) also confirmed that “Indigenous students lag behind their non-Indigenous peers in relation to completions”.

Researchers (Andersen et al., 2008; Barney, 2016; Behrendt et al., 2012; Dang et al., 2016; Hearn et al., 2019) have attempted to explore the factors causing low participation, retention and completion rates of Indigenous students in Australia. Behrendt et al. (2012) reported that the low number of Indigenous students completing Year 12 presents a primary barrier to increasing the participation of Indigenous students in higher education. Dang et al. (2016) also found that low completion rates in Year 11 and Year 12 lead to low participation and completion rates at university degree level. As a result, the participation and completion rates of Indigenous HDR students for postgraduate degrees and higher degrees by research are extremely low. In an attempt to understand why a larger proportion of Indigenous students do not choose to participate and complete a university degree that provides promising employment opportunities, Dang et al. (2016) determined a range of factors that have an impact on Indigenous students’ engagement, including geographic, demographic factors, socio-political historical factors, socio-cultural factors, curricular pedagogical factors and financial and economic factors. Although Dang et al.’s study focused on Indigenous students at university level, these factors also influence the enrolments and engagement of Indigenous HDR students in Australian higher education due to the limited number of Indigenous undergraduate students.

In another study investigating factors contributing to Indigenous students’ retention and attrition rates at the University of Adelaide, Hearn et al. (2019) argued that social factors and academic factors were not the factors affecting Indigenous students’ decision to withdraw from their studies, but agreed with Asmar et al. (2011) that health issues, family and community responsibilities, financial difficulties, lack of support, academic disadvantage and personal well-being issues were significant factors. Asmar et al. (2011), Barney (2013), Dang et al. (2016) and Hossain et al. (2008) also added that the factor of being the first one in the family to attend university causing a burden, as well as the lack of family support for Indigenous students in engaging with their studies, could lead to Indigenous HDR students considering leaving their university. Furthermore, Indigenous students’ perceptions, choices and decisions about participation in higher education were also affected by demographic factors combining with geographic factors that affect economic and cultural factors and social capital (Wilks & Wilson, 2012).

The literature on factors impacting the participation and engagement in higher education of Indigenous students has largely focused on financial issues (e.g. Asmar et al., 2011; Hossain et al., 2008; Radloff & Coates, 2010), economic and socio-cultural issues (Wilks & Wilson, 2012) and issues of remoteness (Herbert et al., 2014). Several studies (Andersen et al., 2008; Behrendt et al., 2012; Hossain et al., 2008; Trudgett, 2008, 2010, 2014) also suggest having a curriculum dominated by Western practices and epistemologies, lack of institutional support, lack of university readiness, lack of a research skill set, and issues in the student–supervisor relationships have affected Indigenous university and HDR students’ participation, engagement and completion rates in Australian higher education.

International higher education, including New Zealand and Pacific Island countries (Mayeda et al., 2014; McKinley et al., 2011; Theodore et al., 2017), Canada (Bailey, 2016; Childs et al., 2016) and the United States (Keith et al., 2016; Schmidtke, 2016), records the same under-represented rates of Indigenous students, and the participation rates of Indigenous HDR students are even lower. Exploring the factors impacting on the participation, retention and completion rates of HDR students, Curtis (2018, p. 122) reports that “Māori and Pacific students are the least likely to transition directly from high school to tertiary education compared to other ethnic groups” in New Zealand. As a result, this leads to low participation rates of Māori and Pacific students in postgraduate and HDR programs. In higher education in the United States, Native American (Indigenous) students have faced many challenges in pursuit of higher education. Factors such as under-preparation for academic community, social isolation, family issues and cultural differences have been identified as factors affecting Indigenous students’ enrolment in higher education (Hoover & Jacobs, 1992; Hunt & Harrington, 2010, as cited in Keith et al., 2016). In Canada, Bailey (2016) reported that racism and discrimination still exist in contemporary Canadian society, which is reputedly multicultural and inclusive; however, Indigenous students are consistently faced with interpersonal discrimination, frustration with the university system and isolation issues. Furthermore, Indigenous students who experience racism and discrimination tend to drop out or withdraw from their study (Bailey, 2016).

Research has documented many factors impacting the participation, retention and completion rates of higher education for Indigenous students in Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island countries, Canada and the United States. It is important to thoroughly understand the barriers and challenges Indigenous students have experienced that affect their success in higher education. The next section of this chapter will review the barriers and challenges Indigenous HDR students in Australia have encountered. The following section also links to the international contexts to provide an overview of impediments that restrict Indigenous HDR students’ success in higher education.

2.3 Indigenous HDR Students’ Barriers in Higher Education

It is now well established from a range of studies that Indigenous HDR students encounter many barriers in higher education (Barney, 2013; Moodie et al., 2018; Oliver et al., 2015; Pechenkina, 2017; Schofield et al., 2013; Trudgett, 2009; Trudgett et al., 2016). Moodie et al. (2018) synthesised the current literature and listed a range of challenges and barriers that Indigenous HDR students face in higher education, including financial hardship, culturally inappropriate support or supervision, tension between university and family–community commitments and insufficient support from university centres, units and faculties. Many recent studies have shown that financial issues (Barney, 2016; Behrendt et al., 2012; Hutchings et al., 2019; Moodie et al., 2018; Oliver et al., 2015) have been a significant factor affecting Indigenous students’ well-being, and the unaffordability of staying at university has caused their decision to withdraw from their course. The literature in this book focuses on the barriers affecting Indigenous HDR students’ success in completing their research study and the challenges they encountered throughout their research journey. The key barriers of Indigenous HDR students can be listed as follows: lack of an academic skill set and research skills to pursue a research degree program; lack of social and academic support for Indigenous HDR students; the student–supervisor relationship; and challenges relating to health, family and community responsibilities.

2.3.1 Lack of Academic and Research Skill Set

Lacking a research skill set, Indigenous HDR students encounter plenty of barriers in their research journey. Much of the literature discusses the types of barriers identified in the research journey of Indigenous HDR students, as well as the challenges students experience due to a lack of academic preparedness and research skills. In the review “Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People”, Behrendt et al. (2012) reported that Indigenous students lack an academic skill set to pursue a university degree and a research skill set to enrol in a research degree program. Since entering university study is a major challenge, continuing to a research degree program is another level of challenge for Indigenous students (Barney, 2016).

Lacking research skills causes Indigenous HDR students to feel isolated and to be left behind from their cohorts. In the “Review of Australia’s Research Training System”, McGagh et al. (2016) suggest cohort support and capacity building can be improved with research training workshops, including Indigenous research methodologies to enhance Indigenous HDR students’ knowledge in doing a research study. In addition, the emphasis on the academic skill-based support from supervisors was highly recommended to develop academic skills and to build confidence in doing research with Indigenous doctoral students (Moreton-Robinson et al., 2020; Trudgett, 2014).

Our research (see Chap. 1 for an overview of the research conducted) also found that many Indigenous HDR students lacked research backgrounds prior to commencing their research degrees and experienced challenges in understanding research terminology and research methods (see Chap. 5 for more details). Terms such as ‘literature review’, ‘quantitative’, ‘qualitative’, ‘mixed methods’, ‘data analysis’ and ‘research ethics’ were unfamiliar terms for some Indigenous HDR students. A lack of understanding of this basic research knowledge can confuse students and impede the collaboration with their supervisors and supervisory team.

2.3.2 Lack of Academic Support

A large and growing body of literature has investigated the support strategies for Indigenous HDR students (Anderson et al., 2021; Behrendt et al., 2012; Hutchings et al., 2018, 2019; McGagh et al., 2016; Moodie et al., 2018; Moreton-Robinson et al., 2020; Schofield et al., 2013; Trudgett, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013). However, there has been little discussion of the role of academic support in enabling Indigenous HDR students’ success in completing their research study, although Indigenous students’ need for more support from academic staff has been recorded in the contemporary literature (Amundsen, 2019; Trudgett, 2009, 2010).

Trudgett (2009) addressed the issue of the lack of Indigenous academic support from Indigenous Support Units (ISUs) in Australian higher education and emphasised that “increasing the number of Indigenous academics throughout faculties and departments is critical to maintaining Indigenous representation throughout the wider university community” (p. 13). Furthermore, Trudgett also recommended that ISUs should employ more Indigenous Postgraduate Support Officers (IPSOs) to support Indigenous HDR students due to the different types of support needed by postgraduate students. Particularly, Trudgett (2009, p. 14) described how “the IPSO must possess a postgraduate qualification, ideally be an Indigenous Australian, be responsible for overseeing academic and administrative matters between students and their supervisors; organising postgraduate seminars and workshops, disseminating information about ABSTUDY, conferences and scholarships; overseeing the establishment of an Indigenous postgraduate group at the university; and organising social activities for students.” Understanding the different types of support needed by Indigenous HDR students, an Indigenous Postgraduate Program Officer has been employed at the Carumba Institute, Queensland University of Technology, to provide this support as this officer’s main role. The support services offered to Indigenous postgraduate students at the Carumba Institute were reported in a case study (Anderson et al., 2021) in response to the support mentioned above by Trudgett and to better support Indigenous HDR students at QUT. However, more IPSOs are required to ensure that each ISU employs at least one IPSO to specifically assist Indigenous postgraduate students enrolled within the university (Trudgett, 2009).

Academic support for Indigenous HDR students to succeed in completing a research degree also includes significant support and guidance from their supervisory team and Indigenous supervisors, particularly (Trudgett, 2009, 2013). Data from several sources have identified the dearth of Indigenous academics in Australian higher education (Harrison et al., 2017; Moreton-Robinson et al., 2020; Trudgett, 2009). Specifically, Trudgett (2009) reported that among 55 participants, only 21.8% of participants in her research had at least one Indigenous supervisor; 70.9% did not have an Indigenous supervisor. Data from the Department of Education that was discussed in Moreton-Robinson et al.’s (2020) report indicated that there were only 431 Indigenous full-time equivalent and fractional full-time Indigenous academic staff in 2018. Having an Indigenous supervisor in the supervisory team to act as a cultural advisor is critical for Indigenous HDR students. Anderson et al. (2021) revealed that it does not matter if principal supervisors are Indigenous or non-Indigenous, but HDR students should expect to have at least an Indigenous associate supervisor to provide advice and support when needed. The quality of supervision is a primary influence that contributes to the success and/or failure of Indigenous HDR students in their research journey. The student–supervisor relationship and how the quality of supervision is critical for the success of Indigenous Australian HDR students will be discussed next.

2.3.3 Issues in the Student–Supervisor Relationship

Supervision has been identified as one of the most influential factors of the likely success of Indigenous HDR students (Trudgett, 2014). More recently, attention has been focused on the quality of supervision in which the relationship between Indigenous HDR students and supervisors is critical in supporting Indigenous students to succeed in completing their research degree. A growing body of literature (McKinley et al., 2011; Trudgett, 2008, 2011, 2014; Trudgett et al., 2016) has investigated the cultural aspects affecting Indigenous HDR students and their supervisors. Surprisingly few studies have explored the issues that may arise in the Indigenous student–supervisor relationship and how these issues impact Indigenous HDR students’ completion and/or academic achievements. To fill the void in this research field, this section provides an overview of student–supervisor relationship issues and reviews the influence these issues may have on Indigenous HDR students’ success and/or their decision to withdraw from their research degree program.

The literature on the Indigenous student–supervisor relationship has highlighted the importance of building a good rapport based on trust and respect, to make the student–supervisor relationship work (Trudgett, 2014). From this perspective, questions have recently attracted researchers’ attention about the consequences when Indigenous HDR students fail to build a good relationship with their supervisors; or if conflicts have occurred in their research cooperation; or if Indigenous HDR students cannot agree on their research project with their supervisors. However, previously, very little attention has been paid to HDR students who have issues in the relationship with their supervisory team.

Data collected in Trudgett’s (2008) doctoral inquiry indicated that cultural awareness training should be mandatory for academics and should be introduced to supervisors of Indigenous students. Since cultural differences and the lack of knowledge of students’ cultural background by supervisors can cause problems in the student–supervisor relationship, supervisors should have some understanding about Indigenous issues (Trudgett, 2008, 2011). Furthermore, cultural differences might affect the expectations of both supervisors and students, including research areas, research methods and students’ learning approaches (Wisker et al., 2003, as cited in Trudgett, 2011). Due to the issues related to cultural difference in the relationship with supervisors, most Indigenous HDR students have indicated that they prefer to have an Indigenous supervisor in their supervisory team. As a result, including community members or elders with appropriate qualifications in the supervisory team would bring great benefits to Indigenous HDR students and limit the cultural difference issues (Trudgett, 2008, 2011, 2014).

The relationship between HDR students and their supervisors may become complicated if conflicts arise over the research intended for study. The student–supervisor relationship can develop in many different forms, including graduate supervision—the simplest research relationship, supervision plus employment of graduate students and supervision involved in an employment relationship and/or commercial research (MacDonald & Williams-Jones, 2009). In the relationship between Indigenous HDR students and supervisors, conflicts of interest may arise from their research. However, researchers have not examined this in detail. Although several studies have been conducted on the relationship between Indigenous HDR students and their supervisors (e.g. Grant & McKinley, 2011; Harrison et al., 2017; McKinley et al., 2011; Trudgett, 2014; Trudgett et al., 2016), no study has discussed the issue of different research interests, such as supervisors who drive and/or pressure students to do research in their area of expertise or for their own research interests instead of the student’s. In many cases, HDR students have been allocated a supervisor instead of choosing their supervisory team, which is believed to be a cause of the conflict of research interests and the failure of cooperation between the students and their supervisors.

Detailed examination of quality supervision and the relationship between Indigenous HDR students and their supervisors by Trudgett (2011, 2014) and Trudgett et al. (2016) showed that Indigenous HDR students need a range of support systems besides quality supervision, including those discussed above, such as ISUs, IPSOs, universities and government bodies to assist Indigenous HDR students if issues arise in the relationship with their supervisory team. However, Trudgett (2013) determined that providing advice on how to handle issues pertaining to the supervisory relationship is beyond the capabilities of an IPSO. Thus, it is critical for universities in Australia to be open to involving community members who are qualified in a supervisory team to provide support for Indigenous HDR students and to listen to them when they have issues with their supervisors (Trudgett, 2014). Trudgett (2014) also suggested that providing peer networking opportunities for Indigenous doctoral students is a helpful support for Indigenous HDR students when they have problems in the relationship with their supervisors. “Ensuring all Indigenous students have information about national initiatives that will support their research capacity – most notably the National Research and Knowledges Network” (Trudgett, 2014, p. 1046) is included in the framework of best practice for the supervision of Indigenous doctoral students.

2.3.4 Issues Related to Health, Family, Community Responsibilities and Financial Hardship

Numerous studies have attempted to explain the challenges to success of Indigenous HDR students and determined that those relating to health, family and community responsibilities, finance, and issues surrounding personal well-being are barriers to the success of Indigenous HDR students (Barney, 2016; Behrendt et al., 2012; Hearn et al., 2019; Trudgett, 2014). Trudgett (2014) listed a range of barriers to success of Indigenous doctoral students, including family responsibilities, divorce, a partner or family who fails to understand the PhD journey, community responsibilities, financial needs and loneliness of the journey. Cardilini et al. (2021) also found that the issues in the relationship with supervisors also caused mental health issues for Indigenous HDR students.

Regarding family responsibilities, Behrendt et al. (2012) reported this can be problematic because of a lack of advice from family members and an absence of Indigenous role models for Indigenous students as they are the first ones attend university in the family. In the same vein, Rochecouste et al. (2017) and Hutchings et al. (2018) also indicated that many Indigenous students who are first in the family to attend university have certain obligations in relation to family, and this and the lack of family support can affect their success at university. Furthermore, “the obligations Indigenous students have to care for extended family extended members which provides an additional burden in terms of finances and time can contribute to non-completion” (Rochecouste et al., 2017, p. 2086). In line with Rochecouste et al.’s study, Hearn et al. (2019) determined that there is an association between caring for their parents, children and extended family and the likelihood of withdrawing from study of Indigenous HDR students. This can be particularly difficult for mature age Indigenous students who were recorded as often overwhelmed with day-to-day matters on the family and community front, which may lead to their withdrawal from their research study (Devlin, 2009; as cited in Hearn et al., 2019).

The literature on barriers to success of Indigenous students has highlighted health issues as an impediment (Hearn et al., 2019; Paradies, 2006; Pechenkina & Anderson, 2011; Pechenkina et al., 2011; Trudgett et al., 2016; Wilks & Wilson, 2015). Particularly, ill health is one of the principal reasons for deferring and non-completion of Indigenous students (Asmar et al., 2011). Ill health is identified to be an additional burden along with other impediments such as financial hardship, family and community responsibilities and the lack of social support that restricts Indigenous students’ access to university (Trudgett et al., 2016). Although Trudgett et al. (2016) believe that “the effects of ill health are not necessarily immediately remedied by educational progress” (p. 75), Barney (2016) states that due to a myriad of challenges Indigenous students face in the undergraduate level, to do HDR is another level of challenge.

A considerable body of literature has demonstrated that financial hardship remains a significant issue for Indigenous students’ success in completing their studies (Barney, 2016; Behrendt et al., 2012; Hearn et al., 2019; Hutchings et al., 2018; McGagh et al., 2016; Pechenkina & Anderson, 2011; Trudgett, 2014). In all the various factors that have been found to be barriers restricting Indigenous students’ access to Australian higher education system and hindering their success in completing university courses, a postgraduate program and/or a doctoral degree, “financial hardship remains on the top of the list as the main barrier to Indigenous educational achievement” (Pechenkina & Anderson, 2011, p. 11). In accordance with Trudgett (2014) and Hearn et al. (2019), Barney (2016) determined that financial hardship is the reason why the number of Indigenous students transitioning from undergraduate degrees to HDR is so low; and financial hardship is the main reason why HDR students quit their studies. Barney also indicated that although there is financial support for Indigenous students, the scholarships are too low in financial value and are not available for part-time students. In addition, Indigenous students who enrol in a HDR program are usually mature age and these students usually have more financial and family responsibilities (James et al., 2008). Collectively, these studies determined that financial problems are the main barrier that can limit Indigenous students’ access to higher education and can lead to withdrawing because of financial hardship and influencing Indigenous students’ educational pathway (Dang et al., 2016).

Considering all of this evidence, it seems that Indigenous HDR students may encounter a wide range of barriers that can hinder their success in completing a master’s or doctoral degree in Australia. Barriers, such as lack of an academic skill set and the research skills to pursue a research degree program, the lack of social and academic support for Indigenous HDR students, issues in the student–supervisor relationship and challenges relating to health, family and community responsibilities and financial hardship are all significant challenges for Indigenous HDR students’ success. This chapter will also review the current strategies used in Australian higher education to support Indigenous students’ success in a HDR program.

2.4 Current Academic Practices to Support Indigenous HDR Students

The academic literature across this field of research has recorded a range of strategies for supporting Indigenous HDR students to increase their participation in Australian higher education. The number of Indigenous HDR students has also increased steadily in recent years. However, Indigenous HDR students, as mentioned above, continue to encounter barriers to completion, highlighting in particular the impact of the absence of a research background, inadequate support, potential issues in the relationship with supervisory team and the issues related to health, family and community responsibilities and financial support. In terms of these barriers, this section will review the current strategies that are used to support Indigenous HDR students to succeed in completing their research degree. The review is also seeking evidence in the current literature that reveals whether the current support strategies are effective in attracting more Indigenous HDR students to enrol in a research degree in Australia, such as masters by research or a doctoral degree.

In response to the issues of the absence of a research background and lack of support for Indigenous HDR students in higher education, a range of initiatives have been implemented to improve their research capacity (Behrendt et al., 2012; Hutchings et al., 2018, 2019; McGagh et al., 2016; Moodie et al., 2018; Trudgett, 2009, 2010). In particular, the National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network (NIRAKN), funded by the ARC, was established in 2012 under the Special Research Initiative for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Researchers’ network. The NIRAKN provided Indigenous HDR students with support ‘to develop a critical mass of skilled, informed and qualified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers who can address the urgent needs of our communities through the delivery of culturally appropriate research’ (Anderson, 2020, p.2). However, McGagh et al. (2016) indicated that the NIRAKN program alone is still insufficient to assist Indigenous HDR students and/or researchers across the country to overcome the deficiency in research capacity. McGagh et al. also suggested that taking up Behrendt et al.’s (2012) recommendations would be a practical approach to address this issue. Further, the funding of a targeted research training program for Indigenous HDR programs and activities was an effective strategy to improve research capacity for Indigenous HDR students (University of Newcastle, 2015).

To support Indigenous HDR students holistically, the support provided by government, universities and ISUs is critical as they are the three main bodies responsible for supporting Indigenous postgraduate students in Australia (Trudgett, 2009). In addition, Trudgett (2014) also determined that supervisors and good supervision play a key role in supporting Indigenous HDR students to completion. This view is supported by Moreton-Robinson et al. (2020), who reported that good practice in supervision highlighted the factors of disciplinary expertise, good understanding of the HDR process, respect for students’ knowledge and cultures, supervisors’ availability and interest in students’ research, as well as supervisors’ willingness to develop a good rapport and a reciprocal relationship with HDR students. Furthermore, improving cohort support is a productive approach in assisting Indigenous students’ networking to share experiences in their research journey and help deal with isolation (McGagh et al., 2016).

Trudgett (2009) mentioned the importance of ISUs at Australian universities and recommended that all ISUs should have an IPSO. The ISUs have been recorded by the National Indigenous Australians Agency. However, IPSOs have seldom been documented until Anderson et al. (2021) reported a case study at the Carumba Institute, Queensland University of Technology, about support services offered to Indigenous postgraduate students. An IPSO whose main role is to offer support to Indigenous postgraduate students is employed at the Carumba Institute.

Unfortunately, to resolve issues that may arise in the relationship between Indigenous HDR students and their supervisors is not always appropriate for an IPSO (Trudgett, 2013). Recommendations such as including qualified Indigenous people from the Community in the supervisory team (Trudgett, 2014), having at least one Indigenous associate supervisor and having support from Indigenous centres and convenors (Anderson et al., 2021) have been proposed. Research to date has not yet determined the effectiveness of ISUs in assisting Indigenous HDR students to resolve the problems in the student–supervisor relationship. Nor is there any suggestion of a negative influence on their study once Indigenous students report problems to an ISU or faculty. However, whether the problems in the relationship with Indigenous HDR students’ supervisor are resolved or not, these can still affect the psychological well-being of Indigenous HDR students and all HDR students in general, possibly causing uncomfortable feelings and a lack of confidence in working with their supervisors.

Various support strategies have been employed over the past decade to assist Indigenous HDR students to succeed in their research journey. Although the effectiveness of these strategies, such as including an Indigenous supervisor in the supervisory team, establishing an ISU, having an IPSO and providing scholarships and bursaries to Indigenous HDR students, has not been fully evaluated, it has been documented that the number of Indigenous HDR students’ enrolments and completion has been steadily increased during 2008–2018 (Department of Education, 2019; Universities Australia, 2020). The “Indigenous Strategy Annual Report, January 2020 by Universities Australia and the Indigenous Higher Degrees by Research”, a report by the Department of Education (2019), contains more details and statistical information about the participation, retention and success of Indigenous students in Australian higher education.

2.5 Summary

Supporting Indigenous students effectively is key to enabling them to succeed in completing a higher education research degree and to close the employment gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The growth rates in the participation, completion and retention of Indigenous HDR students in recent years have demonstrated that support strategies from the government, universities and ISUs have been productive. Furthermore, a thorough understanding of and preparation for HDR study will increase the number of Indigenous students’ completion. We found that the capacity-building workshops provided by NIRAKN have played a crucial role in preparing and developing Indigenous HDR students’ research skills over the past few years. In the next chapter, we present the findings and insights from the NIRAKN capacity-building workshops and the benefits these provided to the Indigenous HDR students who participated.