By Dr Trixie James, Associate Professor Sarah Hattam & Associate Professor Tanya Weiler, National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia (NAEEA)
The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) and the National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia (NAEEA) have partnered on a major national research project that will provide valuable new insights into the impact of Enabling Education on student success in higher education.
Supported through funding of $315,063, the collaborative project will examine the experiences and academic outcomes of former Enabling students during their first two years of undergraduate study across eight Australian universities.
The research will analyse key measures including student retention and pass rates to better understand how Enabling programs support successful transitions into university and contribute to long-term academic success.
Importantly, the study will focus on students from equity groups that have traditionally been under-represented in higher education, including students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students living with disability, and those who are the first in their family to attend university.
By exploring outcomes across multiple institutions, the project aims to strengthen the evidence base supporting Enabling Education while identifying factors that contribute to student persistence, engagement and achievement.
The findings will help inform future policy, program design and teaching practice, ensuring universities continue to develop evidence-informed approaches that improve educational access and success for diverse learner cohorts.
As Australia’s higher education sector responds to the ambitions of the Universities Accord and increasing participation targets, research of this scale provides an important opportunity to demonstrate the significant contribution that Enabling programs make to widening participation and improving equity outcomes.
NAEEA is proud to partner with ACSES on this important initiative and looks forward to sharing project updates and research findings with members and the broader higher education community as the project progresses.
