Research to help LGBTQIA+ student needs

Flinders University will be driving new research to determine how appropriate career support can be provided for LGBTQIA+ students in Australian universities.

The project team – led by Associate Professor Zhou (Joe) Jiang with Professor Damien Riggs, Dr Ying (Lena) Wang (RMIT) and Dr Susan Mate (RMIT) – has obtained a National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) Research Grant that aims to identify what LGBTQIA+ university students expect in career guidance and support, and explore whether existing supports have benefited and/or hampered their career outcomes.

The research aims to identify this in general terms and within the context of COVID-19 social and economic changes.

“A combination of interviews and surveys will investigate the under-explored career-related issues of LGBTQIA+ students, which is a significantly marginalised group that has received insufficient attention from Australian higher education providers,” says Associate Professor Jiang.

The researchers want to identify specific or unique career support/guidance that LGBTQIA+ students expect from universities and also generate implications for the Australian government’s higher education policy specifically related to LGBTQIA+ students.

“At least 60,000 domestic LGBTQIA+ students are comparable or even greater in number that some of the traditionally defined equity groups, such as students with disability or Indigenous students,” says Associate Professor Jiang. “Our project will serve to advocate for explicit policy attention for this emerging equity group.

“We expect to identify LGBTQIA+ students’ unique needs and expectations in preparing for employment after graduation, and to identify best practices that can guide their career development. We also want to identify factors that hamper or strengthen LGBTQIA+ students’ capabilities – such as their resilience and adaptability – in navigating careers during crises, and uncover the strengths and weaknesses of existing support initiatives.”

The project, which will provide recommendations and guidelines for Australian universities that are better tailored for LGBTQIA+ students, will be conducted over a 12-month period, with final reports expected from September 2021.

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