Topic outline
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Consider implementing a range of the following strategies to create and nurture culturally safe spaces within your supervisory team.
- Initiate an empowering first conversation – This conversation will start to establish whether the candidate and supervisors can work well together and are interested in one another and their research. Start by allowing the candidate to talk about what they want to achieve, their role and how they see the world. During this discussion, the supervisors need to be judgment free and explore what the candidate’s research topic might mean because the potential topic might be perceived quite differently by the candidate and supervisors. This conversation will acknowledge historical influences on the candidate and be aware of the types of barriers Aboriginal Peoples will encounter by engaging in academia. In the spirit of two-way engagement, the supervisors will also talk about their own background and research interests. This conversation can facilitate the research journey by ‘walking alongside’ the candidate and standing in solidarity with the candidate. It sets up a productive relationship as a joint journey from the very beginning of candidature.
- Develop effective working relationships within the supervisory panel with the candidate and embrace the complexities involved. A long-term positive relationship is fundamental to the success of the candidature and the research. It involves getting to know one another to some extent, and supervisors having a positive view of Aboriginal Peoples and their histories and cultures. Be open to constant learning and consider yourself as an equal to the candidate. If this relationship is comfortable, all people can say what they need to and makes it possible to have ‘difficult’ conversations. Have regular conversations and be aware of additional required support for the candidate. Ensure that the candidate knows they can come and talk about anything. This solid quality relationship is one in which the Aboriginal HDR candidate can ‘have a meeting of minds’ with supervisors as mentors. This relationship or partnership has been described as a type of ‘cultural brokership’ where the supervisor has more knowledge of the university system and more power than the HDR candidate and through partnering can support the candidate to navigate the research system. In establishing an open relationship, a supervisor in humility might say, ‘I’m probably going to make mistakes, so please tell me. I'm apologising now because I don't know everything. Okay? Let’s work on this together.’ Keep having regular, ongoing honest two-way conversations. These conversations need to be supportive and give the candidate opportunities to present their ideas, questions and concerns, without being cut off and without experiencing shame. Support the candidate to be empowered to say, ‘I disagree’ or ‘You have made a mistake’.
- Create an environment in which the candidate can be themself in the meetings, where both the candidate and the supervisors listen and learn in a two-way long-term relationship. This involves feeling comfortable with one another so that the candidate can give voice to what they need to – for example, enabling the candidate to tell their stories, have time to think about what is being discussed, even if the ideas are different, new, unique, uncomfortable or outside of a supervisor’s comfort zone or knowledge base.
- Maintain an environment in which the candidate is socially and emotionally respected for who they are as an Aboriginal person and what they require and expect as an HDR candidate through the usual supervisory processes. Respect and support the candidate’s Aboriginal knowledge, position and lens.
- Demystify institutional/university processes and procedures to overcome barriers for the candidate and recognise the potentially complex environment for the candidate to navigate. One example is to navigate ethics approval according to multiple appropriate guidelines in a timely manner.
- Establish expectations for the research based on clarity about principles and guidelines governing this space. Refer the candidate to these guidelines and then discuss them to clarify expectations. (The Australian protocols guiding Aboriginal research and supervision are listed in Section 5: Guidelines and protocols governing Aboriginal research.)
- Establish your supervisory panel to include an Aboriginal co-supervisor or Aboriginal ‘end-user’ (industry partner). Some universities aim to have at least one Aboriginal supervisor for each Aboriginal candidate. The role of an Aboriginal colleague can result in valuable and successful collaborations as all participants in supervision meetings learn from one another, Take time to work on this relationship and draw on the strengths of all co-supervisors. An Aboriginal co-supervisor may also meet the needs of community expectations and facilitate research within communities. Seek advice about who might be an appropriate person from the Dean of Research in your Academic Unit and/or from the Office of Aboriginal Leadership and Strategy or the Aboriginal Partner Engagement Manager. A co-supervisor might be recruited from another university, depending on the topic of research. An appropriate end-user or industry partner may be an Aboriginal Person from a community organisation (e.g. health or child protection), a community member or an Elder.
- Aim to get to know the Aboriginal candidate – such as their interests, research motivations and perceived strengths and weaknesses. If you don't find about the Aboriginal candidate, you may come across as derogatory or arrogant. Getting to know one another in a two-way process can involve the following strategies:
- talk about: where you are from (find a map of Aboriginal Australia and locate the candidates’ Nation), family responsibilities including extended family, and community commitments and obligations. The candidate may be the first in family at university, have dependents, and be a community leader. The candidate may have relocated to Adelaide and so feel disconnected from their country and mob.
- share aspects of culture and be prepared to get out of your comfort zone
- discuss learning approaches and mechanisms supporting learning, strengths and weaknesses, the role of the supervisors and candidate
- identify any issues confronting the candidate as an Aboriginal person (maybe related to financial stressors, community obligations, grief and loss) and within the University
- become aware of additional responsibilities of Aboriginal HDR candidates. Compared to non-Aboriginal HDR candidates, Aboriginal candidates may have significant cultural obligations and might need to take time off to look after family/community members. Family responsibilities may include providing an income, while community responsibilities include being involved in local community organisations. Within the University, PhD candidates may become role models for undergraduate Aboriginal candidates to support the next generation of scholars.
Further considerations
- Avoid cultural stereotyping and generalising – Aboriginal Peoples have much diversity of culture, language and backgrounds – for example, the candidate may have grown up in an urban area or in a remote community. Mostly they will understand their culture well and know where they belong. They may be affected by their community's history and the experience of their parents, grandparents and extended family. Find out more about how your candidate's topic links to them as an Aboriginal person. Do not expect your candidate to talk of all things Aboriginal as cultural protocols determine what one can talk about and, only with permission, talk about other Nations' language and culture.
- Anticipate and be clear how to respond if something goes wrong. Things may go wrong, but that is OK as it is a learning opportunity. Keep dialogue open, transparent and honest to examine any issue in various ways. Acknowledge if the issue is cultural, i.e. related to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal positionality. In this case, supervisors can reflect on their white privilege and learn/'unlearn' their social positioning, rather than undermine Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing.
If this dialogue does not work, instead have a conversation with a mentor, a Research Education Portfolio Leader within the Academic Unit or an Aboriginal academic, and encourage the candidate to do the same. Discuss what happened, why and what might be done to resolve the issue. Such conversations can be a form of relief, especially for the candidate. Also ensure that the candidate has a support network if they experience racism. If needed, seek a joint meeting with the Research Education Portfolio Leader with the aim of repairing the relationship. If the situation does not resolve and seems unrepairable, act promptly to achieve the best outcomes for the HDR candidate to keep them on track and simply acknowledge that the relationship did not work. Reflect on why it did not work. - Do not rely on the Aboriginal HDR candidate to educate the supervisor about Aboriginality. The function of the supervision meeting is to supervise and to educate the candidate about research methodologies and so on. Nevertheless, the candidate will of course provide some explanations about Aboriginality in relation to understanding the research and the research approach.
- If as a non-Aboriginal supervisor you are uncertain about aspects relation to Aboriginality, find appropriate Aboriginal colleagues with whom to talk such as:
a. Aboriginal Partner Engagement Manager: Aboriginal Research, Research & Innovation Services
b. The Aboriginal Leadership and Strategy team, Chancellery
c. Consultant: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Development (for contacts with Aboriginal staff)
d. The Manager, Wirringka Student Services.