Source: RMIT Statistics at a Glance (2015), Victoria Univeristy Indigenous Education Statement (2015), Melbourne University Reconciliation Action Plan (2015-2017)
Academics who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander were underrepresented at RMIT, 2015 data from Victoria’s leading universities showed.
Compared to other Victorian universities, RMIT ranked lowest in percentage of teachers who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
In 2015, two full-time academic positions were occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, compared to 27 at Melbourne University.
One per cent of RMIT students identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, against 0.11 per cent of similarly identified academics in the same year.
Victoria University had 1.8 per cent of Indigenous academic staff, with The University of Melbourne sitting at 0.66 per cent.
MATSITI, More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative, was founded as a national employment strategy to increase the number and professional capacity of Indigenous teachers in Australian schools between 2011 and 2016.
The MATSITI Final Report for March 2016 said that any data relating to Indigenous self-identification “always” included a margin for error.
MATSITI identified issues around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identification, reporting the need for teachers to feel more comfortable with identifying in a culturally safe environment.
Nicole Major, Acting Associate Director of The University of Melbourne’s Institute for Indigenous Development Murrup Barak, said this is not an “accurate reflection of academic staff”.
“I think we’ve had a lot less issues with people wanting to identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander than certainly 10 years ago,” Ms Major said.
Outlined in Melbourne University’s 2015-2020 People’s Strategy, indigenous staff were a target high priority group.
The Indigenous employment target for the university was 210 by 2020, based on the total staff in 2011.
“In terms of academic staff specifically we know that we’re drawing on a relatively small pool. There’s a lot of work going into graduate pathways and growing our own academics,” Ms Major said.
The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students commencing higher education degrees at RMIT increased by 40 per cent between 2014 and 2015, with a 10 per cent increase in completions.
RMIT saw the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students commencing higher education degrees increase by 40 per cent between 2014 and 2015, with a 10 per cent increase in completions.
The number of indigenous teachers at a primary and secondary level schools also increased.
Research findings from MATSITI showed the number of teachers identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander increased from 2,661 to 3,100 between 2012 and 2015.
In 2014, the population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students was 4.9 per cent, with the proportion of Indigenous teachers at 1.2 per cent.
A 2012 report by the Queensland University of Technology said students “responded well to forms such as personal reflection and writing personal histories” when doing assessments.
The introduction of Indigenous-specific programs for students was outlined in universities’ Reconciliation Action Plans, with the Ngarara Willim Centre at RMIT and The University of Melbourne’s Murrup Barak Institute for Indigenous Development providing support.
Ms Major said universities were working towards making universities a “real option” for Indigenous students, and providing pathways to graduate careers.
“I think it starts earlier than what universities can do, it’s about the entire education system,” Ms Major said.
“If we’re not graduating students out of Year 12 who are interested and aspirational towards university, it then limits the pool of people we have that are qualified in being a part of the university sector.”
