Not in my backyard: the impact of culture shock on Indigenous Australians in higher education

The body of literature providing evidence that Indigenous Australians are significantly under-represented in higher education is steadily increasing. For instance, the Review of Australian Higher Education (2008) identified Indigenous Australians as one of the three most under-represented groups. Similarly, key bodies such as the Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council refer to significant disparity when undertaking statistical data analysis of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In other words, the fact that Indigenous Australians participate in higher education at a lower rate than that of other students is widely acknowledged – however the reasons underpinning such disparity are less transparent. This paper purports that the culture shock Indigenous Australian students experience when accessing higher education can be detrimental to their academic aspirations and outcomes. When exploring the notion of culture shock there is a tendency to assume that this only affects international students, when in fact it is rampant in our own back yard. The paper concludes by offering a set of recommendations designed to assist institutions to implement strategies to reduce the negative impact of culture shock experienced by Indigenous Australian university students.