Faculty of Education - Research Publications
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ItemThreshold quality parameters in hybrid higher education(SPRINGER, 2014-10)
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ItemThe rationale for and use of assessment frameworks: improving assessment and reporting quality in medical education(SPRINGER, 2015-06)An assessment framework provides a structured conceptual map of the learning outcomes of a programme of study along with details of how achievement of the outcomes can be measured. The rationale for using frameworks to underpin the targeting of essential content components is especially relevant for the medical education community. Frameworks have the capacity to improve validity and reliability in assessment, allowing test developers to more easily create robust assessment instruments. The framework used by the Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration (AMAC) is an interesting and relevant case study for the international community as it draws and builds on established processes in higher education assessment. The AMAC experience offers an insight into important considerations for designing assessment frameworks and implementing frameworks in differing contexts. There are lessons which have the potential to improve assessment and reporting practice and quality in not only medical education, but in other domains of assessment. Prior to implementing any programme of assessment, the framework considerations outlined here will hopefully improve the quality of assessment and reporting practice by making implicit assumptions explicit, and allowing more critical reflection and evaluation throughout assessment processes.
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ItemAssessing student engagement and outcomes: Modelling insights from Australia and around the world(Brill, 2014)Assessing how students engage and what they know and can do are pressing change frontiers in contemporary higher education. This paper examines large-scale work that has sought to advance the capacity of higher education systems and institutions to engage students through to graduation and ensure they have capabilities required for future study or work. It reviews contexts fuelling the importance of engagement and learning outcomes, reviews two large-scale case studies, and advances a broad model for structuring assessment collaborations that create and deliver new value for higher education. We conclude by discussing implications and opportunities for Chinese higher education and collaborative international partnerships.
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ItemStrategic positioning of medical schools: An Australian perspective(Taylor & Francis, 2016)Key forces shaping medical education drive medical schools to make strategic choices to locate themselves in niches where they can make use of their resources effectively and efficiently. However, the concepts of strategy in higher education are highly contested issues due to the nature and complexity of the sector and the university, more so for medical schools which operate in an ever more regulated environment. Drawing on data from qualitative semi-structured interviews, this paper investigates the notion of strategic positioning in medical education. The broad findings show that medical schools are somewhat bipolar in nature, in that they seemed to position themselves in terms of teaching and learning, and research. The analysis of strategic positions of medical schools has implications at both institutional and systems levels.
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ItemUniversity sustainability reporting: taking stock of transparency(SPRINGER, 2016)
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ItemDevelopment of the Australasian survey of student engagement (AUSSE)(SPRINGER, 2010-07)
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ItemAustralian higher education leaders in times of change: the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor(Routledge(Taylor & Francis), 2010)This paper discusses responses provided by 31 Pro Vice-Chancellors (PVCs) and Deputy Vice-Chancellors (DVCs) who were part of a larger study of more than 500 higher education leaders in roles ranging from DVC to head of programme in 20 Australian universities. Using both quantitative and qualitative data the paper gives an insider’s perspective on what the roles of DVC and PVC are like at the daily level. It identifies the key focus of the roles, highlights the criteria these leaders use to judge that they are effectively performing them and outlines the relative impact of different influences on their work. It then discusses their views on what being in such a role is like, including its key satisfactions and challenges; and identifies the capabilities seen to be central to managing in such a context. Finally, it provides insights into how such leaders have gone about learning their role. The paper indicates how these findings can be used to address the current succession crisis for leaders in such critical roles. It shows how the data generated can be used to build leadership from within by identifying leaders with potential early on in their career, how the findings can be used to give selection processes more focus and how leadership development programmes can best be shaped to be effective. Having a high level of emotional intelligence is identified as a key ingredient in the successful delivery of such roles.
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ItemDiversity in Australian higher education: an empirical analysis(National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), 2009)The concept of diversity has been part of the Australian government’s higher education agenda for several years, but empirical studies on the actual state of diversity in the sector are limited. This situation raises questions regarding the factual basis for the policy claims made. With this in mind, this paper seeks to assess the degree of diversity within the Australian higher education sector through an analysis of the perceptions, aspirations and reported activities of Australian academics in terms of their teaching, research and community service. Using data collected in the 2007 international Changing Nature of the Academic Profession survey, we are able to cautiously conclude that some diversity appears to exist, however not to the extent one might expect given the importance placed on institutional groupings in the Australian higher education debate.
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ItemAustralia's casual approach to its academic teaching workforce(Monash University, 2009)Australian academics’ response to the Changing Academic Profession (CAP) survey indicates that they are among the least satisfied academics in the world. This dissatisfaction has been expressed after two decades of rapid growth in the student body and structural changes in the academic workforce, particularly an expansion in the amount of teaching provided by casual staff. The growth in casual staff numbers is a factor which has simultaneously created a precariously employed but cheaper and more flexible workforce along with higher levels of stress among the full-time teachers responsible for managing and supervising casual teachers. The academic profession has an important role to play in creating a highly educated workforce for Australia and in generating export income by teaching international students. Careful attention needs to be paid to this situation especially in light of the need to replenish the ageing academic workforce.