ACSES is excited to announce the release of First Nations Fellowship report: "Increasing the Number of Aboriginal Teachers in the Northern Territory: Planning for the Future"
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ACSES First Nations Fellowship report published
Dear colleagues,
The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) is pleased to announce the release of a new First Nations Fellowship report by Tracy Woodroffe (Charles Darwin University). Increasing the Number of Aboriginal Teachers in the Northern Territory: Planning for the Future explores how teaching is perceived as a career by Aboriginal senior secondary students and current Aboriginal teachers. The research presented in the report examines strategies to promote teaching as a viable and appealing profession among Aboriginal people. Dr Woodroffe highlights the cultural importance and knowledge that Aboriginal teachers bring to the education system and how crucial they are in inspiring Aboriginal students to pursue teaching careers.
Key findings of the report include:
- Teaching should be promoted more proactively as a career choice to Aboriginal people with culturally relevant messages.
- Positive impacts of teaching—such as benefits for Aboriginal students and communities—should be clearly communicated.
- Aboriginal people bring unique critical knowledge and understandings that are highly conducive to teaching.
- More Aboriginal teachers should be supported and recognised as role models, alongside clear information about training pathways and opportunities.
Recommendations from the report include promoting teaching as a career, role models and mentors, clear pathways, and targeted encouragement.
Read the full report here.
Professor Ian Li SFHEA
Research and Policy Program Director
Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success
Research Webinar: HDR Stipends Scheme
Join us next month for a Research Webinar featuring project presentations from three recipients of the inaugural 2024-25 Round of the ACSES Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Stipends Scheme.
Jaimey Facchin: The Role of Parents in the University Experiences of First in Family Students: A Systematic Review
Courtney Geritz: Turning lemons into lemonade: How first-year, first-time regional and remote university students turn disappointment into satisfaction.
Alison Knapp: Social determinants of depression and anxiety symptoms in undergraduate university students in Australia; Findings from The UNIversity student’s LIFEstyle and Mental Health Study (UNILIFE-M)
The ACSES HDR Stipends Scheme provides supplementary funding to higher degree by research students enrolled in an Australian university (Table A and Table B providers) to undertake a research project relating to Australian higher education student equity that leads to the publication of a journal article. The scheme is intended to encourage the translation of research to practice, evaluation, and policy in student equity.
Date: Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Time: 10:00am–12:00pm AWST | 1:00pm–3:00pm AEDT
Where: Online via Zoom
Find more information about the three projects here.
World Access to Higher Education Day 2025
From policy to practice: Student equity at global, national, and local levels
World Access to Higher Education Day (WAHED) returns on Tuesday 28 October 2025—a global day of action dedicated to raising awareness of inequalities in access to and success in higher education.
EPHEA (Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Association), ACSES (Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success) and the UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion are proud to host a compelling three-part online event. In this series of online panel sessions, speakers will explore student equity from global, national, and local perspectives, highlighting the shared challenges and innovations.
Date: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Time: 9:00am – 10:45am (AWST)
Where: Online via Zoom
Impact Evaluation for Equity workshop
Join us on Thursday, 30 October at the Australian National University (ANU Acton Campus) for our in-person workshop: "Impact Evaluation for Equity".
In this hands-on event, we’ll dive into:
- how to assess whether your program is "evaluability" ready
- different questions that the different impact evaluation approaches can (and cannot) answer
- common beliefs (and misbeliefs) in relation to impact evaluations
- real examples from equity/education settings.
Facilitated by Dr Patricia Vermillion Peirce (ACSES Trials Lead), this workshop offers a chance to engage with peers, get feedback, and help you identify programs that may benefit from different types of impact evaluation approaches.
Date: Thursday, 30 October 2025
Time: 10:00am – 3:00pm (AEDT)
Location: ANU Acton Campus (in-person only)
Seats are limited. Register today to secure your place. A light lunch will be provided.
This event is kindly hosted by ANU's Inclusive and Respectful Communities team.
New updates to our Student Equity Data Guides
We’ve recently updated our Student Equity Data Guides to reflect the latest information and measures used across the higher education sector.
If you’re interested in understanding more about equity data and how it’s used, take a look at the updated guides:
Teaching for all: Why equity must move into the classroom
ACSES Manager, National Student Equity Evaluation, Dr Patrick Broman has collaborated with Sally Kift and Jason M. Lodge for the latest Needed Now in Learning and Teaching article. Teaching for all: Why equity must move into the classroom highlights why there must be a focus on equity initiatives occurring inside the classroom, not just outside of it. The article touches on issues such as low completion rates in OECD terms, weaker demand for bachelor degrees, and cost of living and cost of learning disincentives.
Read the article here.
Evaluation Learning Program & PLM Tool
Last month ACSES launched two new evaluation resources designed to strengthen evaluation across the higher education equity sector, the Evaluation Learning Program and Program Logic Model (PLM) Tool. These resources aim to support equity practitioners and university staff in designing, implementing, and evaluating student equity initiatives with greater clarity, consistency, and impact.
The ACSES Evaluation Program provides accessible training modules for equity practitioners in higher education. The ACSES PLM Tool is an intuitive app for designing Program Logic Models for student equity programs, and plays a critical role in visualising and sharing program plans and outcomes.
Learn more about these tools through a recording of our Information Session that was held 1 October 2025 online via Zoom.
ACSES in the news
"Teaching for all: Why equity must move into the classroom", Needed Now in Teaching and Learning
