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The project aimed to gain a better understanding of the doctoral education experience. Doctoral students' educational experiences across four discipline groups and six universities were examined. Over 130 interviews were conducted, two-thirds with students, the remainder with experienced supervisors, departmental and faculty coordinators and deans, postgraduate association presidents and senior managers. Consideration was given to type of doctorate (PhD or professional doctorate), mode of enrolment (full or part time), and stage of research (early, middle or late). The intention was to give doctoral students a 'voice' and to enhance the understanding of the complexity and diversity of their educational experiences. The study captures doctoral education at a time of transition. The report documents a wealth of findings from the interviews, supplemented by documentary data. It covers the doctoral education experience from initial recruitment and topic and supervisor selection (chapter three) through the research and supervision process (chapter four), skill development and support structures (chapter five), quality assurance aspects (chapter six), to the changing nature of the doctorate (chapter seven). The large majority of students are positive about their doctoral programs. For some however the experience is at best neutral or mildly disappointing and for a small number fairly traumatic.

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This study looks at the diversity of views of tertiary education held by secondary school students and their advisers ie parents, teachers and career counsellors. It explores the perceptions, attitudes, images, aspirations, plans and knowledge of tertiary education and the context in which students formed these views. A theoretical framework suggesting that there are four dimensions to students’ views: sex type, prestige, field type and ease or difficulty of access to the institutions or to courses within these institutions is used. A literature review, data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) and interviews formed the basis of this study. The study also examines the extent to which students’ perceptions have changed since 1995, the year LSAY data on this issue was first collected. Show less

This report calls for a reframing of Indigenous progress in higher education so that due emphasis can be placed on the very remarkable achievements of the many Indigenous people who have eagerly grasped the opportunity to experience university studies. The report shows that many of these students have overcome historical education disadvantage, as well as cultural, and in many cases financial and geographic barriers to achieve academically. Others have discovered that university life is not for them, but have left with greater self-confidence and an increased ability to interact positively both in Indigenous and mainstream communities. The findings show that despite government advice about [Higher Education Contribution Scheme] HECS, freely available in institutions, many students fail to appreciate the income contingent nature of the HECS-related loans, that HECS fees are deferrable and what happens to the HECS debt in the event that a student dies. In fact, people on low incomes benefit from deferred HECS repayment arrangements because they either never repay or they may benefit from an interest free loan. In addition, there are specific exemptions from compulsory repayments for people on low family incomes as well as provisions for financial hardship. The findings also show confusion about matters relating to ABSTUDY. Erroneous understandings about ABSTUDY allowances appear to be common within the Indigenous higher education community and there does not appear to be an appreciation that overall ABSTUDY is more generous than either Youth Allowance or Austudy in recognition of the educational disadvantage of Indigenous students. To date, as the report acknowledges, there is no evidence of a decline in overall student numbers following changes to ABSTUDY. The Department continues to closely monitor outcomes in this regard.

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This report is based on a project focusing on pedagogical applications of information and communications technology (ICT) and aims to develop conceptual and procedural bases for a national scheme for independent and expert peer-review of ICT-based teaching resources. The chapters are: Origins, aims and scope of the project; The conduct of the project; The project symposium; The conceptual background; Peer review; Options for the review process; A basis for the scheme; Institutionalising the project; Conclusions and recommendations. Show less

This report investigates opportunities for secondary school students in Australia to access university units for credit. The policies and conditions surrounding accelerated access to education are also examined. An increasing number of universities are allowing secondary school students to participate in selected university units in this age of lifelong learning, as boundaries between educational institutions are increasingly blurred. Twenty-three out of the 37 universities to participate in the study have already implemented at least one program of study for school students. Sections in this book include: Introduction and outline; University credit for school students: Framing and motivation; Development of practice; and Future directions. Show less

This annotated bibliography has been prepared for the Lifelong Learning Network as part of the Department for Education, Science and Training (DEST) funded project 'Lifelong learning in Australia: policy directions and applications'. The first stage of the project aimed to identify gaps in research that need to be addressed. This annotated bibliography brings together 224 separate reports and research papers compiled by the Lifelong Learning Network to demonstrate the scope of contemporary research on lifelong learning. The collection is not exhaustive and no clear boundary has been drawn around lifelong learning as a policy and research domain. The bibliography aims to demonstrate the breadth of issues being addressed under lifelong learning and it is arranged under a series of subject headings that reflect: (1) traditional education and training structures; (2) current moves towards increased cross-sectoral provision of education and training; and (3) current trends towards linking education and training provision and outcomes more directly with labour markets.

The bibliography indicates that lifelong learning is a term widely used by politicians and policy agencies as a 'catch-all' term to address the broad range of education and training issues that have arisen along with recent economic and technological changes embraced by the term 'globalisation'. As a consequence, lifelong learning is a central concept in international forums such as OECD and UNESCO. In Australia, lifelong learning has been a key theme in policy statements and reviews of education and training in each of the sectors: schools, higher education, vocational education and training (VET), and adult community education (ACE). Although the term is widely used in policy contexts, it continues to lack a single conceptual foundation.

The report from the second stage of the research project is indexed at TD/TNC 77.131. Show less

Many educational and training organisations in Australia and overseas have tended to see 'flexible delivery' as a panacea for the problems facing education in the late 1990s. There are many explanations given for its recent rise to prominence in educational and training contexts. Some say it is a response to mass education and the need to cater for more diverse student groups; others argue it is a response to industry needs for 'on-the-job training' or champion its value in promoting 'lifelong learning', while others link it to emerging educational theories concerning teaching and learning, particularly those who support constructivist approaches. This report is about the introduction of online education in higher education. Specifically, it is a case study of one university's approach to offering postgraduate courses totally online - the University of Southern Queensland [USQ]. As such, caution is needed in extrapolating the findings from this study to other educational settings; nonetheless, the authors believe that the experiences of staff at USQ will have relevance to all institutions that have either begun to offer programs online or are contemplating doing so.

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Within the context of increasing international competition in the field of education, the present system of self-accreditation for universities in Australia may no longer be sufficient. This publication examines issues in accreditation and quality assurance and assessment, and describes the present situation in Australia. It also outlines practices in Britain, Sweden, New Zealand, the United States of America, and the Australian vocational education and training (VET) system, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each. A Modern Australian Model for accreditation and quality assurance is proposed. The model builds on the self-examination processes currently being used in many Australian universities. A national agency would be created to validate the standard of Australian degrees in both the national and international education arenas. The agency would also represent Australia in discussions related to international accreditation. Show less

The Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire (PREQ) is designed to provide information on the educational experiences of students in higher research degree courses in Australian institutions. This report of the 1999 postgraduate research experience survey is structured around six chapters. This first chapter introduces the background to the report. It outlines the nature of the data on which the analyses in the report are based. The second chapter provides a national overview of the survey results. The third chapter describes some of the associations between PREQ measures and background characteristics of respondents. Chapter four probes differences between masters and doctoral graduates and variations among broad fields of study. Chapter five contains an exploration of the patterns of difference across institutions. The final chapter draws together the results in a brief conclusion about the future uses of the PREQ and similar instruments.

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The National Review of Nursing Education 2002 was initiated in April 2001 to examine the future nursing educational needs of the health, community and aged care system in Australia and to provide advice on appropriate education policy and funding frameworks. The Review examined the effectiveness of current arrangements for the education and training of nurses, labour market factors affecting the employment of nurses and the choice of nursing as an occupation, and the key factors driving the demand for, and supply of, nursing education and training. The Review sought to make recommendations on models of nursing education and training, the types of skills and knowledge required, and mechanisms for attracting new recruits to nursing and encouraging the commitment to lifelong learning of those already engaged in nursing. The Review commissioned a wide range of research and six literature reviews. This report provides an overview of all the reports that have come out of the review and is structured as follows: Overview of recent and current reviews of aspects of nursing and nurse education in Australia; Labour force issues in reports; Work force studies reviewed; Labour force projections reviews; Data sources; Conclusion. Included as appendices are: The Reid review (1994); List of reports by category; Summaries - educational programmes.

The volume from which this paper is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 71.717; individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 71.718 to TD/TNC 71.720. The final report of the National Review of Nursing Education 2002 is indexed at TD/TNC 71.180. Show less