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Brilliant Minds: A Snapshot of Successful Indigenous Australian Doctoral Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2016

Michelle Trudgett ,
Susan Page  and
Neil Harrison
Michelle Trudgett*
Affiliation:
Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123 Broadway, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007, Australia
Susan Page
Affiliation:
Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123 Broadway, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007, Australia
Neil Harrison
Affiliation:
School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Michelle Trudgett, University of Technology, PO Box 123 Broadway, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia. Email: Michelle.Trudgett@uts.edu.au
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Abstract

Drawing on demographic data collected from interviews with 50 Indigenous Australians with a doctoral qualification and 33 of their supervisors, this paper provides the first detailed picture of Indigenous doctoral education in Australia, with the focus on study modes, age of candidates, completion times and employment. It also analyses data produced through interviews with supervisors including age, employment levels and academic background. The study confronts a number of common perceptions in the higher education sector, to find that many Indigenous Australians are awarded their doctoral qualification in the middle stages of their career. This particular cohort is more likely to be studying in the arts and humanities, employed in higher education and enrolled on a full-time basis. This Australian Research Council (ARC) funded research provides new and important data to inform government policy, and to allow universities to implement strategies and recommendations arising from the Behrendt Report of 2012.

Keywords

postgraduatesupervisionhigher education
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , August 2016 , pp. 70 - 79
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

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