Looking for the invisible: The case of EALD Indigenous students in higher education

Abstract

English language proficiency (ELP) has long been acknowledged as an important element for success in higher education in Australia and elsewhere. A consolidated directive to support and foster this was presented to Australian universities by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA, 2009) in the form of the Good Practice Principles (GPP). The English Language Standards for Higher Education (ELSHE) developed in 2010 (DEEWR, 2010) further elaborated the roles of education providers. Somewhat parallel to this, the Bradley Review (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent, & Scales, 2008) identified Indigenous students as one of the most disadvantaged groups in Australian higher education, and consequently the Behrendt Review (Behrendt, Larkin, Griew, & Kelly, 2012) mentioned English language proficiency as a key challenge for Indigenous students in Australia. However, in these and other relevant reports, the cohort of Indigenous students who speak English as an additional language or dialect (EALD), a significant group experiencing ultimate disadvantage, remains invisible. This paper will attempt to identify the evidence of in/visibility of this cohort in the literature and consider the implications.