The effects of Aboriginal tertiary students' perceived experiences of racism and of cultural resilience on educational engagement

Jordan Gibbs; Yin Paradies; Graham Gee; Nicholas Haslam

doi:10.55146/ajie.v51i2.27

Authors

Jordan Gibbs Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Yin Paradies Deakin University
Graham Gee Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Nick Haslam The University of Melbourne

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55146/ajie.v51i2.27

Keywords:

racism, Indigenous tertiary students, cultural resilience

Abstract

Racism pervasively impacts the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and is a substantial barrier to accessing, engaging and succeeding within secondary education. Cultural resilience and support have been identified as critical to Aboriginal success within racist institutions. However, research examining experiences of racism and cultural resilience among Aboriginal tertiary students is limited. This study explored the relationship between racism, cultural resilience, and educational engagement and academic outcomes in a sample of these students (N = 63). We proposed that higher perceived racism would be associated with lower engagement and academic outcomes. The study also developed a new measure of Aboriginal tertiary students’ experience of racism during their studies, which demonstrated good reliability and validity. Experiencing racism was associated with perceiving a less supportive learning environment, and with lower learning outcomes, developmental outcomes and overall student satisfaction.

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Author Biographies

Jordan Gibbs, Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Jordan Gibbs is a proud Peerapper man. He is a research assistant at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in the Intergenerational Health Team, and a research assistant at the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology. His primary work has been in the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in health and secure settings.

Yin Paradies, Deakin University

Prof. Yin Paradies is a Wakaya man who is Chair in Race Relations at Deakin University. He conducts research on the health, social and economic effects of racism as well as anti-racism theory, policy and practice across diverse settings, including online, in workplaces, schools, universities, housing, the arts, and health. He also teaches and undertakes research in Indigenous knowledges.

Graham Gee, Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Dr Graham Gee is an Aboriginal man, also with Celtic heritage, from Darwin, Northern Territory. He is a psychologist and senior research fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. His research focuses on Aboriginal mental health/social and emotional wellbeing, and healing and recovery from trauma.

Nick Haslam , The University of Melbourne

Prof. Nick Haslam is Professor of Psychology at the University of Melbourne. He has published widely on topics including personality, intergroup relations, psychiatric classification and stigma.

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