Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Research Publications
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ItemThe idea of the university(Centre for Independent Studies Limited, 2004)In their book on how Melbourne University has ‘lost its way’, John Cain and John Hewitt provide a rich snapshot of an institution in transition. They document a host of dissonances afflicting Australian universities generally, and show how confusing recent changes have been for many who work there. This is the book’s main strength. Its weaknesses are that it is prone to errors of fact and interpretation; and as a critique of the present situation, it rounds up the usual concepts and targets the usual suspects. In consequence, it offers no convincing solutions.
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ItemPerformance management and cultural difference in the Australian university(SAGE Publications, 1999)A key recommendation of the Higher education management review (the Hoare Report, 1995: 86) was that every Australian university should ‘phase in a comprehensive performance management system for both academic and general staff’. This recommendation received very mixed reactions, due in part to the widespread failure of earlier attempts to introduce schemes with managerialist overtones in universities. A Monash University study (Paget et al., 1992: 3) found widespread ambivalence about the role of appraisal in tertiary institutions. Managers wanted a summative (judgemental) approach, while staff wanted a formative (developmental) approach.
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ItemRethinking the Australian university: a critique of Off Course(Taylor & Francis Australia, 2004)This paper critically examines a recent book about the University of Melbourne. It uses this as a case study to explore traditional conceptions of the university in the Western tradition, and aspects of the Australian debate about government policies and institutional strategies.
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ItemThe attractiveness of the Australian academic profession: a comparative analysis(LH Martin Institute, University of Melbourne & Australian Council for Educational Research & Educational Policy Institute, [2009])This briefing provides an analysis of challenges facing the sustainability and development of the academic workforce in Australia. It draws together insights from national statistics collections and a number of recent studies, sheds light on current characteristics of the academic profession, and identifies key problem areas. From a review of the evidence, we argue that now is the time for both policy action at the national and institutional level to address these problems, and for further research that can inform workforce planning and development in the years to come.
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ItemInternational dimensions of the Australian academic profession(Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, 2009)This paper provides insight into the international dimensions of the Australian academic profession. Australia has one of the most internationalised higher education student populations in the world, which leads us naturally to inquire into the international characteristics of its academic staff. It is important to consider, for instance, whether the academic workforce has internationalised in the same way as the student body, and how academic staff are responding educationally to various opportunities and challenges arising from internationalisation.
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ItemThe Australian academic profession: A first overview(Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, 2008)
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ItemRethinking equity in tertiary education: why we need to think as one sector and not two(Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA), 2010)Equity policy in Australian tertiary education is differentiated by educational sector, with the higher education and vocational education and training sectors having different policies, and in some cases, different definitions of equity groups. This is problematic because pathways from VET to higher education are meant to act as an equity mechanism by providing students from disadvantaged backgrounds with access to higher education. This presentation examines equity policies and definitions in both sectors, and it examines data on student pathways within VET and between VET and higher education. It finds that, apart from students with disabilities, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are over- represented in VET and under-represented in higher education. However, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are over-represented in lower-level VET qualifications and under-represented in higher-level qualifications, particularly in diplomas and advanced diplomas. This matters because diplomas are the ‘transition’ qualification which VET students use as the basis for admission to higher education. The presentation argues that the diploma is the key qualification for equity policy in both VET and higher education. Rather than separate VET and higher education equity policies and separate sectoral policies that mean pathways are of some importance only ‘at the borders’, a tertiary education policy framework will be needed that considers equity outcomes and pathways within and between sectors and places these outcomes as key concerns of both sectors. The presentation first problematises the extent to which pathways are able to act as a mechanism to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds to access higher level studies. Second, reasons why we need to consider equity from a post-compulsory or tertiary education perspective are presented, and it argues that the diploma is the key qualification for pathways and thus for equity policy. This is followed by an analysis of the relative position of equity groups in VET. Finally, the presentation considers the implications for equity policy.
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ItemWhat kind of access does VET provide to higher education for low SES students?: not a lot(National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, 2009)This paper addresses three questions: the first question explores the extent to which VET diplomas and advanced diplomas provide students with an educational ladder of opportunity. The second question explores the extent to which VET pathways provide students from low socio-economic backgrounds with access to higher education and thus provides a social ladder of opportunity. The third question explores the institutional destinations of VET students from low socio-economic backgrounds in higher education. The paper concludes by examining the implications for policy. Overall, the findings are that pathways from VET to higher education provide access to universities, but not to the elite universities. It also finds that VET pathways are not a mechanism for redressing socio-economic disadvantage in higher education more broadly, because the socio-economic profile of VET articulators is very similar to students already in higher education and within individual universities, with a few notable exceptions.
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ItemBetwixt and between: higher education teachers in TAFE(Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA), 2009)This paper reports on the views of 20 teachers who were involved in designing and delivering higher education programs in TAFE institutes.