Listening to Emma and Liana: stories from two Aboriginal women who are first in their families to attend university

This paper reports in part findings from an OLT seed grant exploring the experiences of first-in-family students at university and their family members. The approach adopted is narrative biographical, which encourages... [ view full abstract ]

This paper reports in part findings from an OLT seed grant exploring the experiences of first-in-family students at university and their family members. The approach adopted is narrative biographical, which encourages participants to story their experiences in their own words, choosing the elements of their biography they feel comfortable revealing during the interview conversation. We believe that this approach is culturally sensitive as it attempts to reconfigure the power imbalances during interviews. Of the 102 interviews we identified two students who self-disclosed their Aboriginality. Thus this paper deeply explores the perspectives of two mature-age Aboriginal women both in their first year of study: meet Emma and Liana. Emma’s story is from the position of a mature-age learner, the youngest of five siblings, a wife and mother, emphasising the importance of family encouragement and her battles with self-confidence. Liana tells her story of commencing university study from a deep sense of responsibility as mentor to young people – she wanted to experience what these ‘kids’ would be experiencing in their transition to university. Liana describes herself as a translator between worlds – at 17 she “stuck [her] finger up at academia” choosing instead “the University of Life” but at age 45, is now embarking on the delights of university study. Drawing on the work of Barney (2013), and Wallace and Lovell (2009), listening to Emma and Liana’s diverse experiences as first-in-family students provides insight into the importance of culturally safe places in which learning can be a transformative experience. The presentation will draw on both narratives - insights into the particularities of two first-in-family student experiences. Providing rich deep understanding of diverse student cohorts is vital but particularly so for our Indigenous populations as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are under-represented in this sector and are more likely to be first-in-family