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Batchelor staff contribute to major national review of First Nations student experiences
Home Batchelor staff contribute to major national review of First Nations student experiences
17 December 2025
7 minute read

National recognition

Batchelor Institute’s Dr John Guenther and Dr Robyn Ober have joined a diverse team of researchers from across Australia to co-author a significant new study on schooling in Australia.

The publication is a cross-institutional collaboration involving scholars from the University of South Australia, University of Notre Dame Australia, Deakin University, and the University of Adelaide.

Supported by funding from Australians Together, the article "First Nations students lived experiences of Australian schooling: A systematic literature review" was recently published in Issues in Educational Research.

This comprehensive review brings together 15 years of scholarship to amplify the voices of First Nations students. By contributing their expertise to this broader team, John and Robyn have helped highlight critical insights into how institutional structures impact students and the vital importance of connection to Country and community.

Abstract:

This systematic literature review explores how First Nations students have spoken about their lived experiences of middle to secondary schooling within Australia. Employing established and trustworthy systematic processes, the key findings across 57 publications for the past 15 years (early 2011 to late 2025) indicate that institutional factors, such as settler-colonial structures of power and control that enforce culturally-unsafe rules and restrictions have the biggest impact on First Nations students lived experiences.

However, when First Nations students’ identities are deeply connected with Country, community, and sovereignty and acknowledged via constructive and positive relationships, they are able to envision success as a First Nations person. The take-away provided by this systematic review is that several interwoven factors affect First Nations students’ lived experiences in Australian schooling and that it is no longer acceptable to ignore the overwhelming evidence of what changes are needed. The experiences shared by First Nations students affirm that it is time for educational decision-makers to listen, and for policies and processes of schooling to change to meet the needs and aspirations of First Nations students.

Read the full paper

We congratulate John, Robyn, and the entire authorship team on this collaborative achievement.

You can read the full article at the link below:

https://www.iier.org.au/iier35/weuffen-abs.html