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A distinctive characteristic of study tours is their immersive nature, and the type of learning developed in such circumstances often relies on instinctive skills related to confidence, flexibility, curiosity, resilience and risk taking. To discover more about these learning experiences for adult undergraduate students studying varying disciplines in the creative industries at an Australian University, the researchers employed educational action research and developed assessment modules to foster student awareness of intangible skills and personal characteristics during short-term international study tours. On the completion of the tours, participating staff and students provided feedback, via a questionnaire and focus group discussions, that assessed the value of these modules in promoting learning and their contribution to personal growth and cultural sensitivity. Findings show that these modules were highly effective at enabling adult students to become aware of the skills they employed while being actively engaged in international study tours. This study highlights the potential significance of immersive assessment modules that provide specific ways for students to engage with their host country and the cultural differences to which they are exposed.

Integrated "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics" (STEM) education is recognised as the latest development stage on the pathway to a highly capable future workforce, and is thus linked to a nation's future development and prosperity. However, despite various appeals and efforts by the Australian Government, effective processes for constructing relevant educational programs within local curricula remain under-researched. A comprehensive review of the design, and design-led education literature, and of related attempts to develop suitable instructional content and approaches, has been conducted. Its outcome is a recommendation to adopt a design-based pedagogy utilising 3D printing for the development and implementation of integrated STEM programs. Accordingly, this paper proposes a new area of research that requires a deep understanding of appropriate design processes, skills, and mindsets, for integrated STEM education. This study also prototypes a design-led conceptual framework to assist educators in developing integrated STEM programs. Based on the learning theory of Distributed Cognition and the Four-component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model, this conceptual framework begins to address an urgent need to prioritise methodologically rigorous evidence-based research on integrated STEM education. It also has the potential to lead to the formation and collaboration of STEM education communities of teachers, students, and researchers as external instructional leaders to co-develop design-led integrated STEM curriculum.

This paper examines the determinants of job-related training and workplace voice. Using data from a unique 2016 cross-national survey of Australian, British, Canadian and American employees, the paper contrasts two classic formulations in the literature; (1) the neoclassical/human capital approach which predicts that individual characteristics (such as age and education) which increase the efficiency of learning, will have the largest impact on the allocation of training (i.e. younger and more educated employees will be afforded training) and (2) the traditional institutional approach which favors the structural characteristics present at the industry and firm level, the nature of the job itself and the strategic choices of firms as the major predictors of job-related training. We find that age -- a key factor in the human capital model -- plays a significant role in the allocation of training but that education (in keeping with recent evidence) does not. In sum the human capital model provides, at best, only a partial explanation for the differences in training observed across individuals. In contrast, variables invoked by the institutional literature (i.e. occupation level; industry; ownership type; and market structure) are highly significant and account for a much greater proportion of the variance in training observed across workers. Other institutional factors such as the presence of a union and a human resource department were strong positive predictors of job-related training. But most important were product-market strategy and employee voice. Respondents working in firms utilizing a 'high road/high quality' product/service strategy and with a workplace consultative committee were significantly more likely to receive training than similar workers employed in observably similar firms. This last finding supports the industrial relations view of voice as an important channel by which training is optimally delivered inside the firm.

International short-term study tours are a fast-growing format for outbound education and provide exciting experiential learning opportunities for students in the creative industries disciplines. This success has encouraged researchers to seek a comprehensive view of the various concrete experiences that contribute to student learning during study tours. To that end, this article presents evidence from a qualitative online post-tour questionnaire administered with students studying various art and design disciplines who participated in short-term international study tours at a large Australian university in 2015. Using Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory as a framework, data collected explored student perceptions of which concrete experiences on a study tour are most impactful and which may actually hinder learning. Findings revealed: experiencing key industry venues are the most significant aspects of a study tour, rather than networking or personal growth; poor itinerary planning and travel issues are the least liked aspects of a tour, yet are often the most easily addressed with better tour management and planning; and students were positively impacted by unexpected gains in knowledge about their creative industries discipline. This study, therefore, provides unique insights into which concrete experiences may be most impactful as part of the experiential learning cycle within an international study tour for creative industries students.