Capacity-Building Indigenous Higher Degree by Research Students: Undoing the Racism of Low Expectations

• In Event: 25.083 - MTCC Roundtable Session Eight
  In Roundtable Session: 25.083-11 - Setting the Record Straight in the Post-Truth Era: The Importance of Indigenous Research and Praxis II

Abstract

The National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network (NIRAKN) is funded by the Australian Research Council which commenced 2013 and continues today. One of NIRAKN’s aims is to “…establish a coterie of skilled, qualified Indigenous researchers, creating pathways from undergraduate to postgraduate studies to establish a regenerative pipeline of new researchers…” (Moreton-Robinson, 2016, p. 3). Capacity building Indigenous higher degree by research (HDR) students also involves unveiling how institutional racism plays out. Revealing the practice architectures in academia exposes the tension between the pathway to success and the pathway to failure Indigenous HDR students may be facing. In this paper, we describe the academic landscape and recommend changes to enable successful pathways for Indigenous HDR students.

Authors

• Peter Anderson, Queensland University of Technology

• Levon Ellen Blue, Queensland University of Technology