To what extent higher education in Australia is meritocratic. PDF

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The argument about whether the higher educational system being meritocratic is still very debatable topic in Australia. Meritocracy suggests that everyone who has the merit to study in a higher education have all the possibilities to do so. Smith & Skrbis, (2017) claim that ideal meritocracy relates to hard work and personal merit and ability that lead to success. Meritocracy is challenged by theories relating ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender and higher education enrolment and graduation for Indigenous students. The Department of Education and Training provides data demonstrating that higher education (University) system has major inequity between non-Indigenous and Indigenous students. This essay will argue the challenges of meritocracy theory in relation to imbalance and inequity of Indigenous students.

Comparison data from the higher Education Statistics show that the number of Indigenous students increased by 10.5% between 2015 and 2016, and comprised 1.7% of all students in 2015. According to DET, from 2016 to 2017, applications for higher education have increased by 1.6%. Yet, DET showed that in 2016 out of 2.05% selfreported Indigenous people applied for Australian Universities, only 1.98% were admitted into Universities. Penchenkina & Anderson (2011, p. 16) suggest that a small share of Indigenous students graduate with HSC marks that insure further higher education.

Racism and Eurocentrism theories contribute to the pattern of higher

education of Indigenous students. Systematic racism, especially considering students all the same, negatively influences a specific race or ethnicity, may be the purpose of the imbalance of the number of Indigenous students University entry (De Plevitz 2001, p. 55). Higher education system is primarily Eurocentric, however the teaching model encounters challenges for Indigenous students to fit in including cultural beliefs, language, values and family ties (De Plevitz 2007, p.60). Indigenous learning style differs from the non-Indigenous. According to ethnic customs, Indigenous communication method may consist of avoiding eye contact, speak broken English and 1

circumvent direct questioning (De Plevitz, 2007, p.62). these communications factors may be interpreted by the westerners as having poor social skills, self-conscious, intentionally ignorant and lying when not able to use standard English (De Plevitz 2007, p.62). The Eurocentrism system creates impediments for the Indigenous students and they may be viewed as simply not being good at school (De Plevitz 2007, p.66). De Plevitz (2007) also suggests that these obstacles preclude Indigenous students from reaching full potential.

Research shows that some Indigenous students feel oppressed for being Indigenous or having Indigenous background (Barney 2016, p.6). Due to cultural beliefs and family ties, Indigenous people are faced with difficulties as they have responsibilities towards their families which include taking care of the elderly or ill family member (Barney 2016, p.6). These factors influence their attendance at school that in turn affect their learning outcomes. In Eurocentric teaching system the cultural aspects are not regarded (De Plevitz 2007, p.62) and this leads to low or nonattendance and low completion. Therefore, resulting in racism within educational institutions. Thus, it can be deduced that the evidence strongly suggest that racism challenges the theory of meritocracy of higher education in Australia.

There are many aspects and factors that relate to educational outcomes, commencement and completion of Indigenous students. Smith & Skrbis (2017, p.445) propose that educational practices are highly correlated with one’s upbringing, cultural model, and also family’s values that are passed down to the next generations. In many instances, despite earlier unpleasant experiences in relation to school, education or personal experience, families showing support, they have limited ability and means to offer assistance in child’s future education. According to Indigenous cultural beliefs, asking 2

for help outside family is associated with shame which makes it more difficult for larger Indigenous families (De Plevitz 2007, p.64). Many other reasons have been hypothesized including parental influence, obstacles in everyday life, inappropriate support and lack of encouragement, lack of knowledge in guiding their offspring, as well as “white man’s institution” (Frawley, Nolan & White 2009, p.1) have all lead to poor educational outcome for Indigenous students. Many Indigenous students are the first once in their family to attend University, and it is not something common for the Indigenous people. Nevertheless, Margaret Williams, was the first Indigenous person to have graduated University in 1959.

Another major reason why Indigenous students are faced with systematic racism is caused by the socio-economic status. Australian Bureau of Statistics describes SE status that consists of aspects such as education, health, employment and income. Many Indigenous families have low socio-economic status. Limited access to information and lack of funds to finance University courses have led to low enrolments and low graduation rates. Many Indigenous families are also unskilled and require economic assistance. Due to lack of skills, they may be required to travel far to find work (Prout 2009, p.44). Considering the above-mentioned encounters of Indigenous students of low socio-economic groups, as they are faced with constant disparities this, however challenges the meritocracy theory.

In conclusion, this essay has argued many aspects of the meritocracy theory of higher education in Australia and the challenges it faces. It explained how Eurocentrism, systematic racism, cultural model and socio-economic status influence educational outcomes and academic choices of Indigenous students. It is evident that Eurocentrism is an educational system that does not suit Indigenous ‘style of learning and its policies with no regards for Indigenous beliefs and heritage is obviously a challenge to 3

meritocratic theory. Systematic racism of Indigenous people and their feeling of being singled out has also been elaborated in this essay. Furthermore, it has been discussed the importance of having access to information and knowledge in relation to enrollment and making better academic choices. And finally, this essay has explained the effects of low socio-economic status that influences Indigenous students’ educational outcomes. References: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011, Measures of socioeconomic status. Barney, K 2016, ‘Listening and learning from the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student to facilitate success’, Student Success, vol. 7, no. 1, pp.111. Department of Education, Employment and Workforce Relations, Review of Funding for Schooling: Final Report, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Canberra.

Department of Education and Training 2017, Undergraduate applications, offers and acceptances. De Plevitz, L 2007, Systematic racism: the hidden barrier to educational success for Indigenous school students, Australian Journal of Education, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 5471. Frawley, J, Nolan, M & White N 2009, Indigenous issues in Australia universities: Research, teaching, support, Charles Darwin University press, Darwin. Pechenkina, K & Anderson, I 2011, ‘Background paper on Indigenous Australian Higher Education: Trends, Initiatives and Policy Implications’, Department of Education, Employment and Workforce Relations, Canberra. Prout, S 2009, Policy, practice and the ‘revolving classroom door’: examining the relationship between Aboriginal spatiality and the mainstream education system, Australian Journal of Education, vol. 53, no. 1. Smith, J & Skrbis, Z 2017, ‘A social inequality of motivation? The relationship between beliefs about academic success and young people’s educational attainment’, British Educational Research Journal, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 441-465.

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Barney, K 2016 ‘Listening to and learning from the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to facilitate success’, Student Success, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1-11.

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