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Australia's largest Indigenous education study links funding, tutoring to outcomes - Aurora Education Foundation

3 Jul 2025 5:00 AM

Australia’s Largest Indigenous-Led Education Study Shows

Power of Targeted Support on Indigenous Student Success

 

The Aurora Education Foundation (Aurora) has released insights from its RISE Project, the largest Indigenous-led education evaluation in Australia, which shows how targeted support significantly improves Indigenous education outcomes, from addressing school refusal to bolstering academic motivation and aspirations.

 

RISE - Redefining Indigenous Success in Education - is a five-year initiative delivering and evaluating three levels of high school programs, ranging from basic tutoring to intensive in-person support including academic mentoring, cultural camps, and connections with Elders.

 

The 2025 RISE Impact Report shows how more in-depth programs that provide targeted funding, tutoring, and ongoing engagement and cultural enrichment activities, reduce school refusal, build academic motivation and confidence, and increase parent and carer involvement in their child’s education.

 

The report also shows a clear link between investment and impact, demonstrating that the most intensive programs achieve the strongest gains across academic mindset, school attendance and family engagement.

 

Highlights from the Report show that:

  • A modest investment is shifting student mindset. $1,000 per student each semester is linked to a 10% increase in happiness at school and a stronger belief in the value of effort.
  • Attendance and belonging increase with support: Only 17% of students in the most intensive program want to stay home from school at least once or twice a week, compared to 35% in the least intensive. Students in the most supported programs also report stronger feelings of school belonging (47% vs 41%) and confidence in their future (76% vs 59%).
  • Tutoring use reflects both need and motivation: Students who are more motivated and in higher-need areas – particularly in schools with fewer RISE activities or less program uptake – are using tutoring the most, especially in maths. Indigenous students in Year 10 also accessed more than twice as much tutoring on average compared to students in all other year levels.
  • Parent and carer confidence in supporting their child at school significantly increased with more in-depth support. Confidence among parents and carers in engaging with schools rises significantly with more intensive support - up from 53% to 75%.

 

Aurora’s CEO, Wiradjuri woman Leila Smith, says: “This year’s RISE Report shows what’s possible when Indigenous students and families are heard, valued and supported. Targeted, culturally grounded support works. We now have the evidence to back what communities have long known, which is that strong relationships, high expectations and systems designed with us can deliver real change. RISE is more than a study. It’s an act of self-determination and a challenge to the education system: to expect Indigenous excellence and enable it.”

 

The 2025 RISE Impact Report is available for download via the Aurora website here: https://aurorafoundation.com.au/our-impact/ourpublications/2025-rise-technical-report/

ENDS

 

For more information and interview opportunities, please contact:

  

About Aurora  

The Aurora Education Foundation is an Indigenous organisation that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to realise their full education and employment potential – whether it is completing Year 12 or achieving a DPhil from Oxford. Through interconnected pathways, Aurora walks with students from high school through to university and the workplace, redefining Indigenous educational and employment success.   

  

About RISE  

RISE involves the delivery and evaluation of three distinct models of Aurora’s High School Program (HSP), which has been delivered since 2010 to champion Indigenous high school student outcomes. The three RISE models are being rolled out to 800 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander high school students at select partner schools in NSW, with student experiences and outcomes evaluated over five years. RISE is an Australia-first initiative, working to build an evidence base that champions Indigenous students and their families and drives future education policy reform.

 

About RISE Programs 

  • HSP Core provides a comprehensive set of in-person interactions, including camps, tutoring, family engagement days, one-day engagements, and Elder and mentor engagement. It also provides remote interactions through an Aurora Support Plan, which provides families with funding for educational, cultural and wellbeing-related resources.
  • HSP Focus delivers in-person interactions such as tutoring, family engagement days, one-day engagements, and Elder and mentor engagement. It also incorporates remote interactions through an Aurora Support Plan.
  • HSP Learn offers in-person tutoring interactions with some additional remote engagement. The program focuses exclusively on students and there is no ongoing interaction provided.

 

Partnership with Paul Ramsay Foundation

The 2025 RISE Impact Report has been developed by the Aurora Education Foundation as part of the Redefining Indigenous Success in Education (RISE) Project. The RISE Project is funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation (grant number 5030). Any opinions, findings, or conclusions expressed in the report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Paul Ramsay Foundation.

 

RISE Partners 

RISE is funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation, Commonwealth Department of Education, Industry Super Holdings and the National Indigenous Australians Agency, alongside a number of other supporters and donors.

 

RISE has been designed in partnership with the ANU Centre for Social Research Methods. This partnership is grounded in agreed principles recognising the importance of Indigenous leadership, Indigenous cultural and ethical practices in research, and two-way skills transfer. This partnership will support program evaluation over the course of RISE.


Contact details:

For more information and interview opportunities, please contact:

Images:

 Recent Aurora scholars with Aurora CEO Leila Smith.jpg
Aurora's CEO, Wiradjuri woman Leila Smith (centre), and Aurora scholars