An Introspective Look into Barriers and Facilitators to Accessing Post-Secondary

The purpose of this study is to use the stories of the participating students and administrators to inform areas where support is needed for Indigenous students. [...] After this process was completed, an early draft of the results of the thematic analysis was emailed to the participants to give them the opportunity to provide feedback and clarify any misunderstandings of the quotes they provided. [...] Often, funding to Indigenous student services lags behind the rate of inflation, the growing demand for services required by the rising admissions of Indigenous students, and the increasing student expectations of Indigenous student services due to the recent spotlight on reconciliation. [...] Additionally, this study has highlighted many structural barriers that impede the ability of administrators at Indigenous student services to provide quality support and has used the stories of administrators and students alike to highlight several best practices that administrators can use to improve the support they provide. [...] Second, due to the nature of the study, which partially examined the limitations that Indigenous student services face in providing support, the sensitivity of the topic may have impacted some administrators’ willingness to participate in this study.