Connections, community and context - The importance of post-boarding school pathways and re-engagement for remote Aboriginal students

Oct 15, 2026

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Research examines how remote Aboriginal students understand outcomes after leaving boarding schools. Many students access secondary education via boarding models, yet academic evidence on post-boarding experiences is limited. Drawing on grounded theory and thematic analysis of 32 semi-structured interviews, the study identifies connections (early exits), community (re-engaging in education), and context (employment in remote communities), showing outcomes are not linear. A theory of change is recommended to clarify goals and measures of success for families and remote schools.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Education and Closing the Gap context

Evidence on boarding school outcomes

Connections, community and context: The importance of post-boarding school pathways and re-engagement for remote Aboriginal students Tessa Benveniste1, John Guenther2, Lorraine King1 and Drew Dawson1 1 CQUniversity Adelaide, 44 Greenhill Rd, Wayville, South Australia, 5034, Australia [email: t.benveniste@cqu.edu.au](email: t.benveniste@cqu.edu.au) 2 Batchelor Institute, Faculty of Tertiary Education & Research, Casuarina Campus, Ellengowan Dr, Casuarina, Northern Territory, 0810, Australia Many remote Aboriginal Australian students live away from home for periods of time to access secondary education through boarding schools. While financial, political and community support is burgeoning for boarding models that provide scholarships, sports programs, or accommodation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, very little academic research or evidence exists that examines the experiences of students post-boarding. This paper forms part of a broader doctoral research study and specifically focuses on how past students, families and communities from remote South Australia view the outcomes of boarding. Using a g rounded theory design, thematic analysis of 32 semi-structured interviews with past students, families and community members led to the identification of three main themes: connections (early exits), community (re-engaging in education), and context (employment in remote communities) . Findings indicated that outcomes are not linear, nor easily defined. Developing a theory of change was recommended as a future approach to help families, students and remote schools to clearly define goals and measures of success for each student, recognising a range of interpretations and conceptions of “success”, and adapting these goals as necessary. Keywords: remote, boarding, pathways, community Background Education contributes to improved health and wellbeing and greater socioeconomic opportunities (Australian Government, 2014). For over a decade years, the Australian Government has been committed to the Closing the Gap initiative, which aims to deliver health, education and employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians that are closer to those of non-Indigenous Australians. The 2018 Closing the Gap report indicates that Indigenous Year 12 attainment rates have increased across all regions, with a large increase for young Indigenous Australians living in very remote areas from 23 per cent in 2006 to 43 percent in 2016 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2018). However, it is difficult to determine where exactly those young people attained their Year 12 certificates (for example, in remote community schools, or at boarding schools) . Wilson’s (2014) Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory made several recommendations based on the assertion that remote and very remote schools with very small numbers of secondary students will not effectively deliver a “full range of secondary education”(p. 143), and that “the development or expansion of boarding or other residential facilities located close to urban high schools”(p. 143) should be considered. However, a building body of research has been pointing to the complexity of this transition to boarding school, and the unintended challenges students face during the boarding experience. Support services such as the Northern Territory Transition Support Unit and the Department of Education Queensland’s Transition Support Service assist students and families in this complex transition to boarding. However, detailed quantitative analysis of rates of retention, completion, or long-term outcomes for current or past Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have accessed boarding has not been reported. To truly understand the impact of boarding, and the potential effects of relevant policies developed in this space, we must first articulate (1) what outcomes boarding strives for, (2) how these are prioritised and actioned by families and boarding institutions

FAQs

Why does the paper focus on experiences after boarding school?

It addresses a gap in academic evidence, as research has largely examined experiences during boarding, while outcomes after boarding remain poorly understood.

What research method and data does the study use?

The study uses a grounded theory design with thematic analysis of 32 semi-structured interviews involving past students, families, and community members.

What are the three main themes identified in post-boarding outcomes?

The themes are connections (early exits), community (re-engaging in education), and context (employment in remote communities).

What recommendation does the paper make for future work?

Developing a theory of change is recommended to help define goals and measures of success for each student, recognizing differing interpretations of “success” and adapting goals as needed.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Kurz