What predicts health students’ self-reported preparedness to work in Indigenous health settings?

Transformative Learning: A Precursor to Preparing Health Science Students to Work in Indigenous Health Settings?

“…The Impact of the Aboriginal Health Undergraduate Curriculum questionnaire (IAHUC, Paul et al, 2006) was developed to measure the impact of Aboriginal health curriculum on undergraduate students. Originally consisting of 24 items across four key areas of Aboriginal health, the current study used Bullen et al’s (2017) revised measure, developed following factor structure and internal consistency testing, along with amendments to five-scale items to ensure institution- and degree-neutral language and to contextualise the items to a future tense. The revised measure comprises four discreet subscales: Aboriginal health as a social priority (α = .62), perceptions of the adequacy of Aboriginal health services (α = .58), student preparedness to work in the Aboriginal health context (α = .83) and future commitment to Indigenous health (α = .83).…”

“…Students enter Australian undergraduate education with diverse beliefs about, and experiences with, Indigenous Australians. Previous research suggests that, upon commencing university study, students’ attitudes towards Indigenous people and interactive experiences with culturally diverse people are predictive of their self-reported preparedness to work with Indigenous Australians in health care settings (Bullen, Roberts, & Hoffman, 2017). While important to understand, from an outcome-based perspective, it is perhaps more important to understand how knowledge, attitudes and capabilities change during the course, and the processes that underlie this change.…”

Driving Transformative Learning within Australian Indigenous Studies

“…Students enter undergraduate education in Australia with a variety of beliefs about, and attitudes towards, Indigenous Australians (Bullen et al, 2017). How individuals perceive and interact within the education environment and their own learning preferences are examined below as potential predictors of transformative learning experiences in Australian Indigenous contexts.…”

“…The current study is the third phase of a broader research project examining the development of student cultural capabilities through a transformative educational course mechanism. Phase 1 examined student attitudes towards Indigenous Australians, and student preparedness to work in Indigenous health settings upon entry to their first Indigenous health course experience (Bullen, Roberts, & Hoffman, 2017). Phase 2 examined the efficacy of the course experience in terms of shifting attitudes and preparedness, and the role of transformative experiences within this.…”

“…The courses are fundamentally underpinned by the nature of Australia's ‘beginnings’, from colonisation and its historical policy foundations — policies that had, and continue to have, marginalising influence on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culture (Gunstone, 2009). Reflecting the complexity of the space, student resistance is a key impediment to the quality of learning (Asmar & Page, 2009; McDermott, 2014), this itself reflecting the attitudes, values and beliefs of students entering it (Bornholt, 2002; Bullen, Roberts, & Hoffman, 2017). Australian literature details various positive effects of such challenging courses, broadly suggesting the existence of personal shifts in the perspective or worldview of students, while highlighting the efficacy of their adopted teaching and learning models to effect these shifts (e.g., Bierman & Townsend-Cross, 2008; Jackson, Power, Sherwood, & Geia, 2013; Kickett, Hoffman, & Flavell, 2014).…”