Professor Marcia Devlin holds the inaugural Chair of Higher Education Research at Deakin University in Victoria.
Marcia's research interests and expertise span higher education policy, equity, Indigenous higher education, standards, leadership, interdisciplinarity, teaching and learning and student engagement and learning. Current national work includes sitting on the National Advisory Group of the Australian Survey of Student Engagement managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research and serving as an Assessor for the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC).
Marcia is frequently invited to deliver national and international keynote addresses, workshops and seminars to provide advice on a range of topics related to policy, practice, quality, and higher education broadly. The author and co-author of a large number of reports, articles and studies, recently completed national work includes co-authoring the Universities Australia-funded studies of Australian student finances and student equity. Marcia also writes regularly on higher education issues for newspapers including The Australian, Campus Review, The Age and The Warrnambool Standard.
Abstract
Socioeconomic status and Indigenous background: Implications for first year university curriculum
Professor Marcia Devlin
Deakin University
Students of low socioeconomic status (SES) face particular challenges in accessing higher education in Australia. However, once they have gained access to university, the performance of students from low SES is not significantly different from that of students from the other levels of SES. Indigenous students also face obstacles in accessing university education and in succeeding once they have gained entry.The first year curriculum has a potentially vital role to play in ensuring the retention and success of both groups of students.
Drawing on a recent study funded by Universities Australia, this keynote highlights the challenges for these students, their teachers and the universities that enrol them and makes some suggestions for managing the challenges.
