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This paper examines the intellectual authority of theological education in modern Australia by tracing its provision from one set of arrangements (the first settlement) inherited from the nineteenth century to another (the second settlement) in the half century from the mid‐1960s to ca. 2020. The paper investigates what happened when the exclusion of Theology from the public higher education system was reversed by the Martin Report of 1964, with particular reference to the legitimacy and authority of Theology as public knowledge. A survey of the landmark developments in this transformation, the paper is divided into two parts. Relations of the theological education sector with the structures of the regulatory environment of higher education are examined in the first. Developments within the sector itself are considered in the second. It is argued that the confluence of these two streams has transformed the nature and public standing of Australian theological education. Paradoxically this dramatic improvement coincided with decline in the social salience of Christianity itself, a development which posed afresh the question of the legitimacy of theological knowledge in a way that raises the perennial issue of the relation between Christianity and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the experiences of teaching undergraduate psychology students in an Australian context. The degree course the students take has no community or critical units, but it is one of very few in Australia that has a compulsory standalone unit in qualitative methods. While qualitative methods are by no means necessarily inherently critical or community focused, it has presented an opportunity to the teachers of the unit (the authors of this paper). The authors of this paper, who employ community critical methodologies in their research, aim to design teaching which is also grounded in such theory, wherever possible and despite significant limitations. Such teaching is informed by: challenging taken for granted assumptions; deconstruction and problem posing; making things uncomfortable; and relating differently. The paper describes a design of teaching where all the students undertake research projects exploring the research question: "what does psychology offer community?" Following a description of the methodologies and teaching practices, the authors reflect subjectively on their experiences working with the students, on opportunities which arose and on structural boundaries which appear to make community critical methodologies in university teaching very difficult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Across higher education, systems and policies explicitly address the impact of research. This paper contributes to the impact and engagement discussion from a regional, rural and remote perspective. We focus on how impact and engagement fit with regional, rural and remote research and explore strategies that can be employed to enhance impact and engagement in a rural health research context. Context: The impact agenda in Australia is a response to a worldwide call for demonstrable change or potential for change resulting from university research. As funding models evolve to integrate impact, there are increased pressures for universities and academics to plan for, evidence and report on it. The current lack of focus on impact in regional, rural and remote research may further disadvantage regional, rural and remote researchers' prospects for career progression and funding opportunities. Approach: Ignoring or avoiding impact will marginalise rural researchers and research. We discuss the definitions of impact and engagement as they apply to rural research and argue that engagement and impact must be commensurate with employment conditions. To platform regional, rural and remote impact, we provide strategies to assist researchers and administrators in building impact and engagement into their research and academic culture. Conclusion: The message to researchers is that impact is here to stay. The high levels of rural engagement can lead to impact, but we need to be clever at providing clear evidence to make that visible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of neoliberalism on Australia's public higher education system. It examines flaws in the university system revealed by the COVID‐19 pandemic and identifies how the conditions created by neoliberal policies have limited universities' capacity to respond to a crisis. The paper reviews the previous literature on universities, neoliberalism policies, and new public management practices. It uses data from the literature, newspapers, and contemporary documents to shape an overview of the Australian public sector university system up to 2021 and its transformation by stealth. The impact of this transformation has been a heavy reliance on international onshore student fees to fund operations, infrastructure, and research activities. COVID‐19‐related public health measures have caused a significant downturn in the number of international students studying in Australia, in turn, creating a financial crisis that has seen many tens of thousands of university staff losing their jobs and courses being cut. The transformation has also seen accountingization of both individual academic and university performance to become the norm. The quantified performance metrics associated with accountingization have become universities' new language, and their goal displaced ends. Revenue generation and expenditure has been privileged over making a contribution to the nation and society. We call for a radical rethinking of the public sector university mission for the ultimate benefit of the Australian community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on a series of studies of design teams working on the creation and evaluation of novel complex learning spaces: spaces in which students' activity is situated and supported by rich mixtures of material and digital tools and resources. In most of the cases observed, students also played a substantial role in co‐configuring the learning spaces and/or the learning tasks they were set and the ways they worked with other students. The complexity of the design challenges involved revealed the inadequacy of normative models for design for learning. In other words, the people creating new spaces for hybrid learning are often doing so in ways that go beyond the capacities of existing design models. The paper draws on analyses of real‐world design practice to advance and illustrate an argument for higher level, more abstract, descriptions of how such work is done, and how design lessons learnt might be more easily shared. In so doing, the paper contributes to the literature on educational technology and learning space design by drawing out some relations between the pragmatics of design practice and the role of students' co‐configurative activity in realising instances of hybrid learning. The empirical research informing the paper was mostly undertaken in university settings, but the practical implications are of wider relevance to people who are professionally involved in shaping novel learning spaces in other areas of education and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a post‐COVID‐19 world, innovation stimuli and well‐aligned policies will assume even greater importance as various sectors seek to recover lost ground and to generate new opportunities. Collaborative partnering in innovation research and development (R&D) between private industry and higher education has increasingly emerged over the last decade as a leading key performance indicator for government policy development, and higher education research funding allocations. Recalibration of R&D‐related policies and incentivisation will require careful consideration, with constructive lessons to be learned from outcomes over the last four decades. This paper presents findings from a new study of stakeholder perceptions as to the National Innovation and Science Agenda's impact on innovation partnerships, and synthesises outcomes from two prior studies. It then examines a newly proposed innovation policy framework, Stimulating Business Investment in Innovation (SBII), set against a background of the shifting mix of paradigms that have comprised Australian innovation policy over the last 40 years. It argues that, following the SBII, any proposed change of policy direction will face significant challenges in its implementation, requiring a fully committed and comprehensive embrace by Government of the new APS engagement framework and greater levels of deliberative democracy. Industry–research partnering is a key performance indicator for government policy and research funding. This Paper synthesizes three studies on innovation, set against the shifting mix of paradigms in innovation policy over the last 40 years. Policymakers must embrace the new engagement framework, and deliberative democracy, when adopting new innovation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rapid globalization along with the growing trend of openness and sharing approach enabled widespread of digital technologies all over the world. However, we can still find differences between countries in technology use and perceptions of usefulness for learning. Understanding students' use of educational technology and their perceptions of its usefulness is especially significant today, given the rapid penetration of online learning into higher education as a response to Covid‐19. Objectives: This research aimed to understand students' actual experiences with digital technologies during their academic studies and their perceptions of technology usefulness across institutional and international contexts (Israel and Australia). Methods: This quantitative study used data from a large‐scale bi‐national online survey of 3003 students in both countries. Comparative analyses were conducted. In addition, factor analysis was used to identify latent factors from 16 variables of students' perceptions of the usefulness of digital resources usefulness. Results and conclusion: The results revealed significant differences in technology usage and its perceived usefulness between students in the two countries. They confirmed the predominance of 'official' digital resources, such as learning management systems and online library resources. However, large percentages also reported the use of 'non‐official' digital resources, including academic search services; subject‐related videos and audio recordings on content‐sharing websites such as YouTube and Wikipedia; and communication and/or collaboration with other students through social networks. Thus, universities need to consider the potential use of incorporating these resources for improving teaching and learning. Moreover, understanding the differences will assist in implementing tailored techno‐pedagogical solutions to the students. Lay Description: What is currently known about the subject matter: Technologies can enhance learning experiences, however the actual usage and sense of usefulness by higher education students is not well understood.Most technologies are under‐utilized for learning purposes, partly because the quality of students' learning experience is not yet guaranteed.Learning‐environment culture is important factor in the adoption of digital resources and practices in academic studies. What the paper adds to this: A large‐scale bi‐national survey of 3003 students at Monash University in Australia and Tel Aviv University in Israel adds to our empirical understanding of student use and perception of usefulness of digital technologies for their studies.'Official' digital resources, such as LMS and online library resources as well as 'non‐official' digital resources, including specialized academic search services, subject‐related videos and audio recordings on content‐sharing websites and communication were found to be in predominance.Significant international differences in technology usage and its perceived usefulness were found in 'official' and 'non‐official' digital resources. Implication of the study findings: Students use a range of 'non‐official' technologies to support their studies, which suggests universities need to consider the potential use of incorporating these resources and practices.The advantage of the digital technologies for academic learning is not utilized yet. We still have work to do in order to cross the chasm.The high usage and perceived usefulness of the external video materials (OER, such as MOOCs) raise questions regarding how to integrate them in academic learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I take a simple game-theoretic view of educational production within universities to frame a discussion of pedagogical power, effort, and influence in Australian higher education. After introducing the stylised game structure, I first compare the role of teachers in Australian universities to that of university teachers elsewhere in the world, in terms of Australian academics' power in pedagogical affairs relative to the power of the higher-education institutions within which they operate. I then review some existing empirical evidence using Australian data that sheds light on the role of both teacher inputs and student inputs in creating educational outcomes, and discuss some new evidence on students' perceptions of teacher influence. The paper concludes with some recommendations for changes to the current system designed to improve student outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tertiary education scholarships for individual students from developing countries, including those in the Pacific Islands, are a key pillar of Australia's development policy. Understanding students' experiences of these scholarships are important in identifying both positives and challenges, which can help foster improved future opportunities. This is especially the case for Pacific Islander students engaging in the Australia Awards Scholarship programme for which there is limited understanding of experiences. As such, this paper identifies that although educational mobility programmes can offer a wealth of opportunities for students, the COVID‐19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges of such programmes which can inhibit students from reaching their full potential. Educational mobility programmes that effectively address the needs of students and empower them to achieve their goals are required to better facilitate transformative development pathways for Australia's Pacific Island neighbours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the literature that ranks universities and economics departments. In international rankings Australian universities fare well, but the most popular (ARWU and THES) measures are biased in ways that favour Australian universities. In international rankings of economics departments by their research performance, Australian universities fare poorly, relative to natural comparators. Several hypotheses can explain this phenomenon: inappropriate measures, low productivity, time spent on non-research activities, age and cohort effects and lack of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a detailed survey into the reasons for the spate of mergers between Geography and Environment Studies that took place in Australian universities from 1989 to 1999. The results, from a 1998 survey, suggest that the development of a symbiotic relationship between the two areas of study is merely a veneer masking a complexity of underlying factors. These include financial reasons, internal university politics, staff changes and mobility, and only in some cases, a genuine academic rationale for a merger. The paper concludes that the superficial appearance of a symbiosis between Geography and Environment Studies generally masks an opportunistic pragmatism which is very site specific in its complexity. The result has been a series of departmental mergers which, although providing a firmer financial footing, raise questions about the academic implications for the development of both study areas as we move into the third millennium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the idea of the university from the first-in-family enabling students' perspective. It provides an overview of the current crisis of meaning in scholarly commentary that points to a spectrum of meanings about the university. This spectrum ranges from the ancient imaginary of the monastic university as 'ivory tower' to the instrumental idea of the entrepreneurial university. The analysis then reports on the idea of the university in over 40 interviews and surveys of first-in-family enabling students who attended two large regional Australian universities in 2014. Their metaphorical understandings of the university constitute a powerful imaginary about what a university is and can do for individuals and the wider society. For many, the resolution of the individualistic passion for knowledge of 'ivory tower' studies and the commitment to the social and economic usefulness of the fully engaged entrepreneurial university can be found in the pursuit of the passionate career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graduate employment rates and self‐reported employability are increasingly a feature of higher education funding measures. However, graduate outcomes do not denote the whole learning experience of the student nor is the student experience reducible to a single statistic. This paper discusses a design‐centric approach to employability development which was enacted within a hybrid learning space. The study engaged 52 final‐year speech pathology students, their lecturer, the lead researcher and a career practitioner (advisor) at an Australian university. Students first created personalized employability profiles using an established online self‐reflection tool. The online tool produced a personalized report and enabled students to access developmental resources relating to employability and student success. The project team used anonymized student data to transform a previously generic "careers" workshop into a targeted workshop in which students explored individual and cohort findings and participated in developmental activities informed by the data. The initiative's contribution to learning space research is in its composition as a hybrid learning space in which educators and students engaged as learners and developers of their online learning spaces, and educators collaborated to analyze student data and inform learning and teaching enhancements within the same study period. It is anticipated that the data from subsequent years will inform the curricular review, particularly if subsequent student cohorts express similar concerns. Implications for higher education policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that an income contingent loan (ICL) should be considered for tertiary student living costs as a supplement to existing income support policy in Australia. It is shown that income support remains insufficient despite recent improvements to policy, and that as little as $1500 per annum could result in improved participation and educational outcomes for many existing and prospective students. The case for an ICL is put forward and advantages and disadvantages are discussed, including observations from proponents and critics of ICL policy. The key features for consideration in policy design are described, including eligibility criteria to mitigate adverse selection. Implicit taxpayer subsidies are calculated for a hypothetical scheme under both a loan surcharge and real loan indexation arrangements. It is argued that a surcharge may be more attractive to students, and cross-subsidisation from higher earning to lower earning graduates would reduce the costs to taxpayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traverses three consecutive policy periods with respect to Australian higher education equity, the first two driven by the policies of successive Labor Governments and the third by a highly deregulatory market liberal Coalition Government. It identifies the distinguishing characteristics of the national equity policy, planning and reporting framework put into place by Australian Labor Governments in the first of these periods (mid 1980s-mid 1990s). The second and abruptly concluded period is significant in terms of the evaluation it provides of the achievements of that framework and the elaboration of the principles, policy and procedures required to entrench progress over the longer term. The paper goes on to identify what remains of that framework in the third and contemporary era, given that the policies of the current conservative Coalition Government have brought about changes in higher education funding and policy directions which threaten to reverse what progress had been made in the two earlier periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionThis paper reports on a teaching strategy designed to support first year undergraduate medical students from non-English speaking backgrounds in a behavioural science course taught at an Australian university. MethodThe strategy is described, as is the language profile of students from two successive cohorts who participated in the teaching programme. The effectiveness of the intervention in improving students’ academic performance is explored, as gauged by summative assessment and student perceptions. ConclusionsFindings suggest that students disadvantaged by difficulties with language and/or knowledge of Australian culture were able to perform at least as well as other students on a number of summative criteria. Non-English speaking background students perceived the behavioural science course to be difficult, and indicated that they found the teaching support offered to them to be useful. The methodological difficulties and limitations involved in the evaluation of a teaching programme such as this are discussed and the conclusions that can be validly drawn are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments in the UK and many other countries have long sought to promote the diversity of their higher education institutions. However, diversity is hard to define, harder to measure and even more difficult to compare between countries. Most empirical analyses of the diversity of higher education systems use categorical variables, which shape the extent of diversity found. This study examines continuous variables of institutions' enrolment size and proportions of postgraduate, fulltime and international students to find the extent of variation amongst doctoral granting and all higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. The study finds that there is less variety amongst all higher education institutions in the United Kingdom than in Australia, which in turn has much less variety than the United States. The paper argues that the extent of government involvement in higher education is not so important for institutional variety as the form that it takes. More tentatively, the paper suggests that the more limited the range of institutions for which government funding is available the stronger government involvement is needed to have variety among the limited range of institutions for which government financial support is available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have detailed the range of skills required for conservation and voiced concerns that training is not fit for purpose. Still, we have little understanding of what skills conservation education aims to teach. This study uses survey data and content analysis of online module descriptions to examine skills and methods teaching in conservation higher education across the United Kingdom and Australia. We found most conservation‐specific modules aimed to develop disciplinary and communication skills, but fewer than half aimed to develop interpersonal or project management skills. Social science methods training was absent from the core offering of over half of the conservation degrees reviewed. To prepare students for conservation careers and the complex problems they will encounter, the conservation education sector should further focus on building essential nonacademic skills and provide training on the breadth of methods that contribute to effective conservation science. This analysis can help educators to reflect on teaching aims and forge a curriculum that will best prepare students for contemporary conservation challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the application of neoliberal thinking to the higher education sector, measures of research quality and utility have proliferated in efforts to increase academic accountability, innovation, and contributions to public policy. We intend to reignite discussion about community activism and the role of the academic in response to trends in higher education policy and recent debate in Australia about research quality assessment and policy relevance. We challenge the common portrayal of the public sector as the sole locus of policy-making and argue the case for greater recognition of the role of the community sector and its research partners in policy development and implementation - one that is not given due attention in the discourse on or in measures of research value and impact. Informed by recent literature on governance and interpretative approaches to policy analysis, we draw on our combined experience conducting research with two Australian movements at the forefront of reforms to property rights institutions, legal standards, and norms relating to social and economic equity to outline the institutional tensions and structural impediments facing researchers working with the non-government sector. The paper documents the progressive roles the academic can play in such work, arguing that institutional change is required within the tertiary sector to support researchers to build closer, more trusting research partnerships in which due attention is given to social impact and relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the development of learning standards in higher education economics in Australia. The motivation is twofold. The creation of Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency in 2011, along with the revised Australian Qualifications Framework specifications published in July 2011, have given the learning standards agenda a new impetus in Australia. Work has been done overseas on learning standards in economics through the UK Benchmarking Statement and the OECD's Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes study. However, a key finding from learning standards projects in Australia in other disciplines is that the Australian academic community needs to take ownership of the standards agenda as a pre-condition for general acceptance and successful implementation. Second, the development of learning standards in economics is an opportunity to drive an evidence-based process of curriculum renewal, including critical reflection on core knowledge, skills and assessment methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

of the Grattan Institute released the report titled Investing in the Regions: Making Difference in May 2011. The report sought to question the rationale for differential funding of regional infrastructure projects and concluded that 'government spending cannot make economic water flow uphill' (). The report was used to argue that fast growing regional areas were being deprived of important government funding and that this approach 'has treated people unfairly' (). The authors also scrutinised the argument that regional universities can impact on the economic development of regions and found that 'the economies of university cities do not develop faster than regions without a university' and thus 'it may well be that the additional spending on universities and regional campuses in smaller cities should be redirected to assist students from regional areas to study at larger campuses in our capital cities and largest satellite and coastal cities' (). In this paper, we identify the limitations of this report. We also take the opportunity presented by the release of this report to consider other important policy areas requiring attention, especially in the field of higher education in regional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adds to earlier reviews by the author of the changing roles and identities of contemporary professional staff in UK higher education, and builds on a categorisation of professional staff identities as having bounded, cross-boundary and unbounded characteristics. Drawing on a study of 54 professional managers in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, it describes a further category of blended professionals, who have mixed backgrounds and portfolios, comprising elements of both professional and academic activity. The paper goes on to introduce the concept of third space as an emergent territory between academic and professional domains, which is colonised primarily by less bounded forms of professional. The implications of these developments for institutions and for individuals are considered, and some international comparisons drawn. Finally, it is suggested that third space working may be indicative of future trends in professional identities, which may increasingly coalesce with those of academic colleagues who undertake project- and management-oriented roles, so that new forms of third space professional are likely to continue to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the notion of decolonisation by outlining the way in which Indigenous Australians are creating space within tertiary institutions as part of a broader project of cultural renaissance. We explore what ‘creating space’ means in terms of de Certeau's distinction between place and space, and also Bhabha's notion of ‘the third space’. We examine two instances of creating space. Firstly, we outline the general way in which Indigenist intellectuals have opened up space within the western domain of academia in Australia. Secondly, we refer to a specific Indigenous studies programme as a constructivist, process-oriented approach to teaching and learning at Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia. While little direct reference is made to psychology in this paper, we suggest that third spaces are created as ways of thinking and doing, as social and psychological, connected to individual agency and political action as part of making space within everyday institutional life. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reforms to higher education in Australia over the past twenty-five years have followed the worldwide trend towards greater use of market mechanisms accompanied by greater accountability for public funds. In this paper we evaluate the opportunities and limitations of the current system of funding higher education in Australia. Three important tensions are highlighted: (i) the variety of prices paid by different students; (ii) the strong incentives for institutions to expand in size; and (iii) the strict regulation of the discipline mixes of universities. We put forward a number of proposals which collectively would deal with the current tensions and create a more level playing field for universities and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade or so a number of OECD economies have migrated from providing higher education free at the point of consumption to levying user charges. However, rather than charges for tuition being paid up-front, contributions have taken the form of income-contingent loans. Graduates therefore contribute to the costs of their education, after they have graduated and when they are earning. The earliest example of this instrument was in Australia, with the introduction of the Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS). This paper argues that following their successful introduction in Australia, income-contingent loans offer a good example of successful international policy transfer, with elements of that scheme being adopted and modified for use in New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The paper reviews the conditions for successful policy transfer and discusses the reasons why the arrangements have not proliferated in non-OECD countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities in Australia have undergone profound changes over the past fifteen years, primarily as a result of changes in Federal Government policies and the growth in overseas student enrolments. Debate has ensued regarding the effects of these changes upon the productive efficiency of universities, and upon the quality of their outcomes. However, given the non-priced nature of many university outputs, traditional measures of productivity growth (involving revenue weighted outputs) have been unavailable. In this study we obtain measures of productivity growth by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods to annual data relating to thirty-five universities over the 1996 to 2000 period. Discussion in the paper focuses on the conceptual challenges involved in developing measures of university performance that account for both the quantity and quality of the services provided. The empirical results suggest that the sector is relatively efficient and that productivity growth was superior to most sectors of the economy. However, concerns with data quality and availability are noted, and the need for further empirical work is emphasised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of e–Universities and flexible delivery in higher education may also lead to increased use of electronic course evaluation methods. The effectiveness and methodology of electronic surveys are discussed. In the graduate–entry, problem–based University of Sydney Medical Program extensive use is made of web technologies for curriculum delivery and evaluation. The design and response rates for web–based “End of Year” student evaluation surveys in the medical program are reported for the period 1997–2001. To be used successfully in course evaluation, online surveys should be infrequent, short, simply designed and free from password access, and de–identified results should be displayed to students on their completion of a survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the positioning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach programmes within universities' operations. Though universities in many respects form a rather homogenous international community, there is wide diversity in regard to the provision of STEM outreach by different institutions. To explain this diversity, a conceptual framework was developed by using the Theory of Legitimacy as an organising concept. The framework considers two opposing scenarios that form a continuum between them, namely: 'top-down' initiative by the university governance versus 'bottom-up' grass-roots initiative. Using the Theory of Legitimacy, internal and external outreach relationships are characterised and explained under the two scenarios. The framework was applied to two settings chosen due to their essential differences in outreach provision, namely, Australia and Israel. The differences that were found in internal and external legitimacy provide a useful lens for examining the low-performing, fragile system in Australia as compared with the high-performing, thriving system in Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a two period model of the higher education decision to determine the required return from higher education. It uses the model to calculate the proportion of full tuition costs which should be charged 'up front' under the Australian Higher Education Scheme (HECS), in order to compensate for the fact that such fees are not deductible against income for tax purposes. Because full tuition costs represent less than 11 per cent of the total costs of higher education, the ideal HECS ratio is relatively high, in the region of 0.7. The low relative importance of tuition costs means that fee subsidy schemes cannot possibly compensate for other distortions such as income tax progression which persist over the working life of graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Previous research has established substantial relations between students' approaches to study in higher education and their perceptions of the learning environment. More recently, there has been a growing body of research into teachers' approaches to teaching and conceptions of teaching. There has, however, been little research into their perceptions of the teaching context. Aims. This study aimed to develop an inventory of university teachers' perceptions of their teaching environment (PTE) and how those perceptions related to their approaches to teaching. Samples. The interview sample comprised 13 teachers of first year university physics and chemistry courses in two Australian universities, and the survey sample comprised 46 teachers from several Australian universities. Methods. In the qualitative study teachers were interviewed about the things they thought affected their teaching. The interviews were content analysed, and an inventory was produced. In the quantitative study, the results of the administration of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory and the PTE were analysed by correlational, factor and cluster analyses. Results. This exploratory study found systematic relations between the perceptions and approaches. The relations observed suggest that the adoption of a conceptual change and student focused approach to teaching is associated with perceptions that the teacher has control over what is taught and how it is taught, as well as perceptions that the department values teaching and that class size is not too large. Conclusions. The paper concludes by arguing that if we are to improve the quality of teaching and learning in higher education we will need to take account of the perceptions teachers have of their teaching context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The restructuring of the Australian labour market decreased demand for low-skilled workers and increased demand for highly skilled workers and professionals further strengthening the relationship between educational and occupational attainment. To satisfy the demand for highly educated workers, the government reorganised the higher education sector increasing the number of universities and trebling the number of places for domestic undergraduate students. Analysing data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, this paper examines the association between parents' education and the likelihood of graduating from university for six birth cohorts of Australians. Overall, the findings suggest that although the expansion of the higher education sector in Australia provided alternative pathways into university, differences in educational attainment, on both quantitative and qualitative dimensions, persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, most Australian universities have moved increasingly towards 'blended' and online course delivery for both undergraduate and graduate programs. In almost all cases, elements of online teaching are part of routine teaching loads. Yet detailed and accurate workload data associated with 'e-teaching' are not readily available. A search of the international literature indicated that there is limited rigorous literature and research that points to the actual effects on workload in online and blended higher education teaching environments. This paper reports on a research project in four Australian universities, and the perceptions of a representative group of staff who perceived that e-teaching had increased their 'teaching time' workload, and that Workload Allocation Models ( WAMs) did not take account of contemporary teaching modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some universities rely on their élitism as one mechanism to attract and retain talented faculty. This paper examines two groups of élite and non-élite universities and the mediating effect that work engagement has on affective commitment and intention to quit. Findings indicate partial support for the mediating effect of work engagement in the non-élite group but no support in the élite university group. The implications of these diverse results are posed for the management of academics in élite and non-élite universities, suggesting that a 'one size fits all approach' to performance outcomes does not always fit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors express their opinion on the impact of having two medical degree in Australia on the medical profession in the country. They explain how having a Bachelor of Medicine (BMed) or a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS) might pose the risk of forming a two-tiered system which will lead to a divided medical profession. The proposal of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Council stipulated in a consultation paper regarding a universal system for higher education coursework degrees is discussed.

Australian universities were first established in the 1850s, well before the introduction of compulsory schooling. From the middle of the twentieth century, the introduction of mass secondary school education and the expansion of the number of universities widened student access to universities. Subjects offered in higher education increased in scope and labour market discrimination diminished. These factors, together with supply-side changes, meant that women were more easily able to shift into investing in skills. By 1987, Australian women were more likely than men to be enrolled at a university. These aggregate figures, however, disguise considerable heterogeneity across fields of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education in Germany and Australia is being subject to pressures of market forces, internationalisation and financial constraints. This had led to both systems experiencing significant crisis and change over the past 20 years. In this paper, frame analysis is used to compare the changing policies in each nation and examine the extent to which the landscapes of each system have been transformed. It is found that higher education policy in both nations underwent significant change in the late 1980s and again in the early 2000s, impacting on system structures and institutional forms. There is now evidence of further change occurring in both nations that may mark a transition to a ‘post-public era’ in higher education. This analysis reveals a degree of convergence in the neo-liberal policy trajectories of both nations but differences in the rate and nature of the transitions taking place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses education and skill mismatches in the Australian labor market. Reality belies the notion that a higher skill level invariably produces a higher income. Employees with education beyond what the job demands earn less per year of education than do workers better-matched to their jobs. Data show the proportions of overeducated and undereducated in the Australian work force are 14% and 16%, respectively. Research indicates additional training is effective in addressing undereducation.

This paper reports on a detailed investigation into the beliefs and practices of teachers in 22 computer-assisted learning projects in Australia in the mid-1990s. Detailed interview data were obtained, supported by the project software and other curriculum materials. The interview transcripts and documentary material were collated and condensed into rich descriptions; these were then coded on a number of belief and practice dimensions. The resulting profiles were clustered into five belief–practice categories: thoughtful instructors, pre-emptive professionals, conversational constructivists, learning facilitators and situated knowledge negotiators. These complex, yet interpretable, patterns of relationships between beliefs and practices are useful in understanding teachers' reluctance to change their teaching, one instance of which is the relatively limited uptake of technology in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional wisdom in Australia is that policy aimed at reducing imbalances in the representation of different socioeconomic classes in the tertiary sector should be aimed at encouraging completion of high school. The analyses in this paper suggest, however, that most of the differences in the socioeconomic mix of tertiary students are due to different propensities of high school graduates to pursue tertiary studies. The relatively low rate of university participation among rural students, however, needs to be addressed by encouraging the completion of high school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the regulatory differences between Australia and New Zealand in higher education are examined to determine if they have encouraged the entry of Australian universities into the New Zealand education market. Some general observations are also made about the nature of regulatory competition and the manner in which it influences the development of the international education export industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses several debates surrounding the reproduction of socio-economic inequality: (i) the persistent inequality thesis, which maintains that despite the increases in educational participation socio-economic inequalities in education have not declined; (ii) the related thesis of maximally maintained inequality, which proposes that socio-economic inequalities decline only when participation levels for the most privileged socio-economic group approach saturation levels; (iii) the meritocracy debate on the importance of ability vis-à-vis socio-economic background and changes in its influence over time; and (iv) the effect of policy changes on socio-economic inequalities in education. These issues are addressed using data from six Australian youth cohorts born between 1961 and the mid-1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides a critique of the West Committee's report on higher education funding in Australia. Issues criticized on the report; Economic argument for government funding; Retreat from policy making.

The debate over managerialism has been the most controversial issue in Australian public administration journals in recent years. Although most articles have been critical, there have been responses in favour of the changes by senior public servants. One unfortunate consequence of this debate has been the appearance of a gap between academic public administration and public service practice. This paper argues that, from several angles, the work now carried out by public services is management rather than administration. It argues that managerialism is a long-overdue reform to a model which has outlived its usefulness. The traditional model of public administration was an irrelevance for many years; it was never efficient or effective and deserved to be replaced. However, public management does not necessarily mean the widespread and uncritical adoption of practices from the private sector. What it should mean is that a distinctive public management needs to be developed. This should take account of the differences between the sectors, but still recognise that the work being done by public servants is now managerial rather than administrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the higher education policies that have been implemented under the administration of John Dawkins, Minister for Employment, Education and Training in Australia. It discusses the major policy changes which connotes a positive and negative impact faced by several universities across the country in the 1990s. It analyzes the implications of the said changes to the aspect of the country's future education. According to the author, the educational reform allows to provide proper allocation of resources such as funds and grants in different fields and disciplines which upgrade the higher education system of the country.

This paper traces the stunted evolution of Australian law faculties from `trade schools' to liberal law schools. Higher education funding cuts and increased accountability to a government that is throwing the universities onto the competition of the market now combine with the traditional influence of a conservative profession to put Australian law schools in a precarious position. We argue that Australian law schools should transform themselves by embracing the contradictory position they inhabit, and using it to develop a broader concept of the legal knowledge they pass on and the legal practice for which they prepare their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of parental expectations in determining children's higher education participation is important in understanding both participation and potential policy responses. Using a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Australian households, providing repeat observations on expectations for individual children, this study extends the literature in several respects. First, it examines the adaptation of parental expectations over a 4‐year time frame. Second, it looks at how parental expectations for school children are associated with actual higher education outcomes in the future. Third, the longitudinal aspect of the dataset permits more robust analyses of factors that shape parental expectations. The findings indicate that parental expectations of their children's attendance at university are generally stable across time. Perceptions of children's academic achievement at school are shown to be the key influence in shaping parents' expectations, and behavioural issues at school adversely affect expectations. Australian parents from non‐English‐speaking backgrounds were more likely to form positive expectations of university participation by their children, consistent with studies from other countries. A more nuanced picture of the formation of expectations for sole‐parent mothers is also presented. Positive effects of parental education and children's enrolment in a private school on parents' expectations, over and above any effect on school achievement, highlight these socioeconomic factors as potential causal channels for the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on international design education and the benefits of combining design thinking with cross‐cultural empathy, in addressing 'wicked' global problems in our society. There is a lack of cross‐cultural design thinking‐specific approaches in international education literature. This study aims to cover the main contributors to the development of design thinking, Cultural Intelligence (CQ), and explore their different views. It discusses the metric of CQ, its importance in the world today and how to improve CQ, through cross‐cultural design workshops and units that deal with 'wicked' global problems and scenarios. The approach involves a combination of design thinking methods with an empathy framework, to seek meaningful participation in the entire design process for a socially complex environment. Furthermore, the results reveal that, co‐design with cross‐cultural empathy relates to the increasing development of CQ. The findings are discussed and related to the implications for the use of design thinking in international higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The graphic design industry has moved beyond its traditional focus on printed matter to deliver multidimensional communication projects involving diverse audiences and media channels. No longer a skills and service industry, graphic design increasingly informs business strategy and innovation processes, requiring heterogeneous expertise, a rigorous design process and the ability to work in multidisciplinary teams. This shift raises the question of the relevance of a traditional design portfolio in demonstrating employability, especially when employers prioritise generic over disciplinary and technical skills. Our article reports the results of a survey of 53 Australian employers of graphic design graduates on the role of the portfolio in evidencing design‐specific and more general employability skills, capacities and attributes. The article provides a deeper understanding of the role of a portfolio in the transition to work. We argue that graphic design graduates need 'portfolio literacy'—which combines insight in the curation of the portfolio and its use in interview performance—to demonstrate both core graphic design and creative skills and capacities in communication, collaboration and problem‐solving. This significant know‐how is best developed during graduates' tertiary studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 2020, Australian university funding was profoundly changed by the Higher Education Support Amendment (Job‐Ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote Students) Act (hereafter 'the Act'). The Act is based on separate funding of education and research and relies heavily on estimates of education costs that are controversial. The Act increased tuition fees for domestic business students by 30%. Using an empirical archival approach, this study examines three questions: (1) What are the costs of providing tertiary education to business students? (2) Does research intensity impact the costs of education? (3) Is there evidence consistent with a cross‐subsidy from education to non‐teaching activities, including research? Unfortunately, sufficiently granular data for Australia are not publicly available, so we use data from business schools in US public universities as a proxy. The sample is partitioned between institutions professing a primary focus on either education or research. Results reveal that undergraduate degrees cost, on average, around AUD3,000 per annum per full‐time student when regressed on university operating budgeted dollars, holding other factors constant; much lower than Australia's increased business tuition fee under the Act. Significant differences for undergraduate, master, and doctoral education costs exist between the education‐ and research‐focused sub‐samples. Master degrees are around triple undergraduate costs, on average. Both research (publications) and research training (doctoral degrees) are high cost, with 'elite' publications much more costly than other scholarly publications. We conclude that education costs are impacted by research intensity and that opportunities to cross‐subsidize non‐teaching activities exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]