New solutions for maximising secondary indigenous students' full potential : identifying causal constructs that enhance indigenous students' aspirations and educational outcomes

Drawing from a growing number of demographic studies highlighting the disadvantaged status of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander students within various educational settings, this paper will outline a proposal that will attempt to unravel the causal role of differing psychological determinants on the academic status of Indigenous students within the secondary education system. More specifically, with an emphasis on Indigenous and non-Indigenous students future aspirations (including aspirations for completing schooling, seeking higher education, career and life goals), a three-stage longitudinal causal modelling study is proposed to examine how the future aspirations of secondary school students, academic achievement, and other desirable educational outcomes valued by Indigenous community groups (e.g., attendance, enjoyment of school, school engagement, optimism) are influenced by multidimensional facets of self-concept, academic motivation, and perceptions of discrimination. It is hoped that this research design will help elucidate the central roles of self-concept, motivation, and discrimination in impacting on desirable educational outcomes for Indigenous students, and result in informing, educational policy and practice aimed at improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students. In this presentation a rationale for the need for a longitudinal causal modelling study of this nature is presented along with a proposed research design for addressing this need