Dr Olabisi Imonitie (PhD)

This paper investigates layered workplace exclusions experienced by African professionals in Australian workplaces. Through semi-structured interviews with 44 participants and a qualitative phenomenological design, the study reveals experiences of subtle exclusion, workplace gatekeeping, and power struggles that African professionals face from various sources—dominant cultural groups, other migrant communities, and within their own professional networks. An integrated theoretical framework combining Intersectionality Theory, Social Dominance Theory, and Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital and habitus examines how overlapping identities and power hierarchies shape workplace relationships and professional belonging. The findings show that diversity and inclusion efforts often neglect the layered nature of exclusion that African professionals navigate, limiting their effectiveness. This study contributes to migration and workplace diversity scholarship by highlighting the need for inclusion strategies that address the complex realities of workplace exclusion in multicultural professional environments rather than relying on simple majority–minority binaries.

This study examines the lived experiences of 44 African migrant professionals in Australian workplaces. Using phenomenological inquiry and thematic analysis, the research explored the challenges these professionals face and the coping mechanisms they employ in navigating workplace dynamics across various industries. This paper highlights three significant challenges identified in the findings: the pervasive nature of microaggressions and subtle biases in professional interactions, unspoken challenges and the emergence of inter-migrant discrimination, a phenomenon previously underexplored in Australian workplace studies. The research also revealed various coping strategies employed by these professionals, including striving for performance excellence, affirming cultural pride and identity, and cultivating a positive mindset. This research contributes to the literature on workplace diversity by revealing the nuanced interplay between cultural identity, professional recognition, and workplace inclusion. The findings offer practical insights for organisations seeking to move beyond superficial diversity initiatives towards creating genuinely inclusive environments that value diverse perspectives and experiences in the Australian professional context.

This study explored the learning styles prevalent among high and low achievers in 14 public and independent senior secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study utilised a survey design to elicit information from 414 participants across three local government areas of the state, using a random sampling technique and the English Language Achievement Test (ELAT) instrument. The collected data were analysed using t-test analysis. The findings showed no significant difference in the learning style preferences of high and low achieving students in secondary schools for visual and auditory styles, while there was a significant difference in tactile learning style. Low achievers had a higher preference for the tactile learning style (M = 17.96) than high achievers (M = 16.24). The study also revealed that the most prevalent learning style among high and low achieving students in public and independent secondary schools is visual, followed by auditory, while tactile/kinesthetic is the least prevalent learning style. Based on the findings in this study, a number of recommendations were articulated for teachers, curriculum developers and learners.

The study investigated the growing concern of the African professionals who arrived in Australia since 2007. The ongoing concern was based on the lack of job opportunity in their nominated skilled occupation in post arrival in Australia. The study used demographic questionnaire and semi-structured interview to elicit information from forty (40) participants from Western Australia and Northern Territory cities and regional areas. The data analysed provided the needed perspectives about the extreme frustration of the African skilled migrants lack job opportunities in the post arrival in Australia. Based on the findings, the study made some recommendations, including counselling implications on several pathways on how African professionals could gain recognition for opportunities in their professional areas.

This study was an outcome of research report on closing the gap of educational disparities in two West Africa countries (Nigeria and Sierra Leone). Both countries were among the 155 countries that agreed at the World Conference on ‘Education for All’ in Jomtien (1990), to make primary education accessible to all children and to massively reduce illiteracy before the end of the decade. There has been little demonstrated success since the implementation of the UBE program over a decade ago. Findings from the analysed data collected through document analysis and interview with thirty bureaucrats in the capital Territories of the two countries revealed that more than eight million children of school age (six to 15 years) are still not in school in Nigeria (Bolaji, Campbell-Evans and Gray, 2016;  NUT, 2008; UENSCO, 2006; World Bank, 2007, UBEC, 2004), and over  28% of school-aged children are out of school and those children that have dropped out of school are engaged in domestic and economic slavery in Sierra Leone(World Bank Report, 2014; UNICEF Report, 2009; 2015). Meeting the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aim to achieve compulsory universal basic education for all children 2050, is in serious doubt in both countries because of the issue of implementation. This study advocates regional managerialism of education as alternative approach to achieving education for all in 2050.