opening page ornament

The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success acknowledges Indigenous peoples across Australia as the Traditional Owners of the lands on which the nation’s campuses are situated. With a history spanning more than 60,000 years as the original educators, Indigenous peoples hold a unique place in our nation. We recognise the importance of their knowledge and culture, and reflect the principles of participation, equity, and cultural respect in our work. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future, and consider it an honour to learn from our Indigenous colleagues, partners, and friends.

Enter website
Back to Publications
You are reading: Indigenous university pathways, WIL and the strengthening of aspirations: Robbie’s journey as a learner

Garth Stahl, School of Education, University of Queensland
Sarah McDonald, Education Futures, University of South Australia
Jennifer Stokes, Education Futures, University of South Australia

Abstract

The underrepresentation of boys from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australian universities continues despite recent gains in widening participation. This article presents a case study documenting the transition of one Indigenous student, Robbie, from an underprivileged school located in the Western suburbs of Sydney to an urban Australian university. We focus first on his experience at university before considering how an opportunity with Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) influenced his confidence and motivation. Central to the analysis is the continual and contentious nature of Robbie’s identity work concerning the opportunities he encounters. In exploring Robbie’s journey as a learner, his experiences compel us to reflect on how facets of his learner identity change in relation to opportunities and what this may mean for how equity programmes provide support for vulnerable learners – specifically how we can improve outcomes for young men from underrepresented backgrounds.

Read the full article on Taylor & Francis Online.

Indigenous Journal articles
Read full article on Taylor & Francis Online
Indigenous university pathways, WIL and the strengthening of aspirations: Robbie’s journey as a learner
G Stahl, S McDonald, J Stokes, 2023
Featured publications
Increasing the number of Aboriginal teachers in the Northern Territory: Planning for the future
T Woodroffe​ , 2025
An ACSES First Nations Fellowship final report. This project explored how teaching is perceived as a career by Aboriginal senior secondary students and current Aboriginal teachers, and examined strategies to promote teaching as a viable and appealing profession.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
First Nations students’ progress into and through university
J Beaufils, R Taylor, and D Edwards​ , 2026
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study provides insight into the pathways and approaches to university by First Nations students and the role that a university centre designed specifically to support First Nations students can have on building success for students.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Understanding school students’ aspirations in uncertain times
L Fray, S Patfield, K Sincock, J Gore, and C Rubie​ , 2026
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study returned to a diverse cross-section of schools in the Aspirations Longitudinal Study (2012-2015) to understand how students’ views about their futures had changed over the past decade.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Australian Framework for Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education
J M Lodge et al.​ , 2025
Published by the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success, in collaboration with the Australian National AI in Schools Taskforce.
Resources
More publications
Increasing the number of Aboriginal teachers in the Northern Territory: Planning for the future
An ACSES First Nations Fellowship final report. This project explored how teaching is perceived as a career by Aboriginal senior secondary students and current Aboriginal teachers, and examined strategies to promote teaching as a viable and appealing profession.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Research report
Publications
Fellowship Reports
First Nations students’ progress into and through university
Tomasz Zając​ , The University of Queensland (UQ)​
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study provides insight into the pathways and approaches to university by First Nations students and the role that a university centre designed specifically to support First Nations students can have on building success for students.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Research Reports
Understanding school students’ aspirations in uncertain times
Tomasz Zając​ , The University of Queensland (UQ)​
A Small Grants Research Program final report. The study returned to a diverse cross-section of schools in the Aspirations Longitudinal Study (2012-2015) to understand how students’ views about their futures had changed over the past decade.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous
Low SES
Low socioeconomic status
Regional, rural and remote
Regional and remote
Research Reports
Australian Framework for Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education
Published by the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success, in collaboration with the Australian National AI in Schools Taskforce.
Resources