Equity issues: every university’s concern, whose business?: an exploration of universities’ inclusion of Indigenous peoples’ rights and interests

This research project addresses the key equity issues in higher education for Indigenous people. The project investigates which worthwhile policy initiatives are represented in university strategic plans, what key dilemmas arise from policies and practices in this area and how Indigenous leaders regard them. The focus is on the culture of the universities, not upon the Indigenous students or Indigenous academic/support centres, hence the project looks into the initiatives that are outside Indigenous education support units or centres. The structure of the report follows: Chapter one...  [+] Show more

This research project addresses the key equity issues in higher education for Indigenous people. The project investigates which worthwhile policy initiatives are represented in university strategic plans, what key dilemmas arise from policies and practices in this area and how Indigenous leaders regard them. The focus is on the culture of the universities, not upon the Indigenous students or Indigenous academic/support centres, hence the project looks into the initiatives that are outside Indigenous education support units or centres.

The structure of the report follows: Chapter one offers a conceptual framework for the consideration of equity issues in higher education. Chapter two outlines the how the research was conducted. Chapters 3 through 11 present the evidence generated by the analysis of university policies and interviews. Chapter 12 summarise the views of Indigenous leaders in universities regarding the evidence presented in previous nine chapters.