Topic outline
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Consider implementing a range of the following strategies to create and nurture culturally safe spaces within your Academic Unit, Research Centre, campus, university and community. As a supervisor, take the initiative to ensure that your Aboriginal HDR candidate has support beyond the supervisory meetings.
- Introduce your new candidate to your other research candidates or other HDR candidates in your Academic Unit or Research Centre so they can develop a research cohort, if possible. A cohort provides support, as peers can be confidants and critical readers of drafts.
- Support your HDR candidate to link them into networks with other Aboriginal HDR candidates, Aboriginal researchers and staff within the university. Community is central and valuable to Aboriginal Peoples, so having shared safe spaces with other Aboriginal Peoples is important for HDR candidates to overcome feelings of social and cultural isolation which they might otherwise feel within the university environment. Such spaces will enable HDR candidates to ‘yarn’, talk and relax and ‘be Aboriginal’ and provide the candidate with necessary emotional support. Build such a community, if it does not exist, by having regular opportunities to develop informal relationships between Aboriginal HDR candidates and their supervisors, Aboriginal staff members and other HDR candidates linked to the candidates e.g. morning teas. Work with other supervisors to create spaces to discuss Aboriginal research with candidates and supervisors across the university. Discuss other possibilities with your candidate. Without having such safe spaces, Aboriginal HDR candidates may feel overwhelmed and struggle with the pressures of doing research and ultimately feel like giving up. Safe spaces enable candidates to breathe and regain a sense of self and continue. Encourage your candidate to connect with people at the Wirringka Student Services Study Centre.
- Ensure that the new candidate knows of the availability and
provision of academic
and non-academic support, including relevant Aboriginal contacts within
the University. For example:
a. ensure the candidate participates fully in relevant research-candidate focused skills development workshops offered in EDGE (Enhancement of Doctoral Graduate Employability)
b. initiate contact with Aboriginal students through Wirringka Student Services
c. inform the candidate of relevant services available through the Student Engagement Unit.
- Create various research-focused opportunities for Aboriginal candidates. Some examples are:
a. create a monthly journal club, led by Aboriginal HDR candidates, with all the supervisors present. For example, a candidate can present a paper and lead a discussion to practise critical reading of a journal article. The group can then debate aspects of the paper, with candidates witnessing supervisors modelling rigorous academic debate.b. create a regular writing club or an interdisciplinary writing group. These groups could be fortnightly/monthly 'Shut up and Write' groups or writing retreats. Invite all Aboriginal HDR candidates across disciplines, Aboriginal academics, Elders, supervisors and others to form a community of research writers, with food. Invite other HDRs close to the Aboriginal candidates, ensuring the collective mass of participants are Aboriginal. The networking in this safe space can be important for Aboriginal HDR candidates, reinforcing relationships and nurturing community.
c. facilitate seminars in your discipline with Aboriginal scholars and Elders, and other invited speakers. Invite non-Indigenous staff and students to participate. These seminars can introduce various complexities of Aboriginal cultures. As supervisors understand these complexities, their response to HDR candidates is more nuanced. For example, topical issues can be discussed from various perspectives, including providing insights into Aboriginal ways of thinking. - Engage with Aboriginal communities and organisation to develop networks to appreciate what the Aboriginal scholar is bringing to the Academy. If the research is community-based, become aware of ways to work with the community and be led by the community and the Elders. Encourage the candidate to seek out supportive networks and make valuable connections with the community so that the research can be conducted with community agreement. Find Aboriginal Peoples within the community who will have valuable insights and approach the Elders in Residence.
Reflection: What other kinds of community can you create? How can you link your Aboriginal HDR candidate into a meaningful and supportive Aboriginal researcher network?