Presentation by University of Southern Queensland at the national MATSITI #OurMobTeach conference, 30 September 2015

1. / ourmobteach
Exit decisions of ITE students
# OURMOBTEACH
Associate Professor Karen Trimmer, Linda Wondunna-Foley & Raelene Ward
University of Southern Queensland
Adelaide | 30 September – 1 October 2015

2. Exit decisions of ITE students
 What the project did
 Successes
 Challenges
 What will continue
 Lessons for others

3. University of Southern Queensland
Regional university currently attracting Indigenous students to its teacher education
programs
 Average of 48 enrolments each year since 2010
 61 students in 2013
 Annual rate of exiting before graduation
 was 39% for 2010 & 2011
 Improved to 22% in 2012
 Whilst participation and retention rates are improving and compare favourably with
other universities across Australia, there is a long way to go.

4. Research Questions
 Identification of factors impacting on student exit decisions?
 Develop collaborative processes and establish processes to increase completion
rates and retention of new teachers.

5. Research plan
 Purposive sample of pre-service and recently graduated teachers.
 Qualitative design – focus groups at each of 3 USQ campuses and individual
interviews over 2014-15.
 Semi-structured with emphasis on people’s lived experience within their education
program.
 Thematic data analysis using NVivo.

6. Researching from an Indigenous Perspective
 Wilson (2001) prompted me to ask myself these questions:
1) What is my obligation in research, and to whom is my responsibility?
2) How can I break away from western paradigms to conduct my research and write
not only from an Indigenous perspective, but from an Indigenous paradigm?
3) How do I share my knowledge and perspective with non-Indigenous colleagues and
research partners in an effort to increase understanding and encourage change?
4) What research do I need to do next to benefit my community?

7. Researching from an Indigenous Paradigm
 Research Design – Narrative Inquiry
 Terminology – ‘engage’ rather than ‘recruit’
 Responsibility to report back to community

8. Demographics – Fraser Coast Campus
Fraser Coast Campus
Age and Culture
20-30 31-40 40-50 Over 50 Aboriginal TSI Both
Female 1’ 1’, 1’, 1* 4
Male 1’ 1
NB: Age, Graduated (*), studies not completed(‘)
 3 participants are currently enrolled in USQ’s Bachelor of Education program
 1 exited the Bachelor of Education degree to complete a Human Services degree
 1 participant is a local Elder who has completed a Master of Education
 4 have not yet completed their studies but do wish to complete their studies
 4 had child rearing responsibilities at the time of their studies
 1 attempted both on campus and external
 5 lived in a regional area serviced by a local university

9. Toowoomba Campus
Toowoomba Campus
Age and Culture
20-30 31-40 40-50 Over 50 Aboriginal TSI Both
Female
Male 1’ 1
 1participant currently enrolled full time in first year of USQ’s Bachelor of Education program

10. Springfield Campus
Springfield Campus
Age and Culture
20-30 31-40 40-50 Over 50 Aboriginal TSI Both
Female 1’ 1’ 2
Male
 1 student working part-time and studying on-line from a regional area
 1 student enrolled on-campus
 1 student completing in 2014 and planning to transition to teaching in 2015

11. Emerging Themes
The emerging themes are relatively consistent across the participants’ experiences and not uncommon
to the experiences of Indigenous peoples studying at a tertiary institution.
 Cultural safety, identity and belonging at key contact points from application through to completion.
 Enhancement of Indigenous content
 Numbers of Indigenous lecturers
 Indigenous professional support through practicums
 Finances
 Family and community support
 Engagement of Elders in the support and development process for students.
The themes relating to ‘cultural safety’, ‘cultural support’ and ‘pracs’ will be briefly discussed.

12. Summary of Results by Themes
Cultural Safety
 Identity
- I didn’t feel like I had a place within the content of a lot of the learnings. I felt like I was being
forced from a triangular shape into a square shape. My priorities weren’t matching the priorities
that the teachers were telling me I must have as a teacher. It still would have got me there. My
mind might work in a different way because of my upbringing. It could be cultural. I don’t know. It
could be. I’m thinking it is. The way they are expecting teaching students to grow as professionals,
they want you to grow into a white professional explicitly. I felt I had lost my identity completely.

13. Emerging Themes
 Belonging
- I thought, where’s the language maps? Where are the things that make me feel at home and
comfortable as an Aboriginal person? And there wasn’t a lot of that there.
- I didn’t know about BJB (Indigenous studies room). I didn’t know any other Indigenous
students. I didn’t have an ITAS tutor.
- I had one guy come and say he can’t go to the Indigenous orientation because he’s not Butchulla
and he doesn’t know the elders and won’t be accepted by them.

14. Emerging Themes
 Cultural Support (SRO – Student Relationship Officer)
- I think you need to have discipline-specific support, especially for our Indigenous students.
- I’ve been really lucky in having my SRO. Because sometimes I’d be melting down and coming in
in a hell of a rush. I suppose to her, saying ‘Take three deep breaths before you go anywhere’.
Support like that, while it doesn’t seem much, it is really valuable. It really is.
- I think what has worked really well at this campus, the SRO’s particular role and she has of her
own accord – she asks the students.

15. Emerging Themes
Role of Elders
- Aunty Irene McBride, she was one of the first teachers on Palm Island.
She has a bit of an impact here at uni. She’s here to support the Education
students and she’s just jumping on the elders and community members board.
- Getting the elders on board is really the best thing for all the uni’s.
Because then they can talk to the community and they can get them to say
you can do it. And having them as mentors and all of that is really important.

16. Emerging Themes
Practicums
- The lack of support from the university was just unbelievable when I was on prac.
- If it could derail me completely, it concerned me that a younger student…it would
just kill them.
- Well it’s one of the trigger points when people can tend to drop out of a program.
If you have a bad experience, people can think perhaps teaching is not for me.
- Yeah they were excited to start. The last lady, Lyn, because they had Sorry Day
and then it was NAIDOC week and she was saying, “Oh this is perfect timing. It’s
meant to be. I’ll just go with what you’ve got. If you want to just show me your
ideas.”

17. Emerging Themes
 Pracs in rural and remote locations
- But if I had no ties, I’d be straight up there. I just think the lifestyle would be fantastic.
- At the end of next year. I’m doing an elective – Remote and Rural Teaching. I always wanted to
go remote.