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Coursework graduate courses have been a significant growth area over the last few decades and are of immense importance to Australian higher education. The knowledge and skills achieved through postgraduate study make a significant contribution to individuals and society. Nearly one quarter of all higher education students in Australia are enrolled in a coursework postgraduate degree. It is reasonable to ask, therefore, why so little is known about coursework postgraduate education in Australasia. As such, securing timely and relevant insights into postgraduate coursework education is of enormous importance. To that end, this briefing paper highlights a number of key findings from the 2010 Postgraduate Survey of Student Engagement (POSSE).

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The purpose of the project is to examine senior New South Wales students' expected educational and occupational pathways. It specifically analysed the post-school destinations of both Year 12 completers and early school leavers (or school non-completers) in the first year after leaving school and the educational and occupational expectations of students still at school. The expectations of university and vocational post-school study or training among students at school are compared to the expectations of their parents and teachers. Students' expectations are also compared to the actual participation at university and [vocational education and training] VET of the generally older cohort of school leavers. Students' Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) scores are analysed among students who gained an ATAR score. The report also documents students' expected occupations at age 30. Other aspects of the school-to-work transition analysed in this report include: influences on course selection, early school leaving, plans for further study, course level and field of study among those in post-school study or training, employment, unemployment and the main activities of young people not in full-time work education or work. The report documents many aspects of the school-to-work transition by gender, region, school sector and socioeconomic background. The report is based on data obtained from a representative survey conducted in late 2010 of approximately 6,100 NSW students who were in Years 10, 11 and 12 in 2009. The data also include information from parents (from one in three families) and teachers and principals at the sampled schools. The main activities of Year 12 completers were full-time university study (46 per cent), full time work (22 per cent) which includes apprentices and trainees, part-time work (14 per cent), full-time vocational study at a TAFE (11 per cent) and unemployment (five per cent). The main activities of Year 12 non-completers were full time work (45 per cent), part-time work (19 per cent), full-time vocational study at a TAFE (17 per cent) and unemployment (14 per cent). (Note that the non-completer group is smaller, so there the estimates are less precise, or statistically speaking are associated with wider confidence limits).

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This review outlines some of the themes that have emerged in the growing global discourse of Indigenous education in the higher education sector. The past decade and a half have seen increased numbers of Indigenous students and academic staff in universities, a proliferation of publications exploring Indigenous issues in the academy, and heightened interest in the nature and meaning of Indigenous knowledge and studies. The review examined information provided by 22 Australian universities to gain a picture of the research fields and topics that are attracting most interest from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates and academics. It also reviewed some of the international and national literature to identify themes and issues generating debate among Indigenous scholars.

In this paper the term Indigenous is used to refer to First Peoples and nations globally. The term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is used to refer to Higher Degree by Research students, staff and researchers in Australian universities. The purpose of the paper is to outline: the current context and discourse on Indigenous involvement in higher education; the current research being undertaken by Indigenous students and academics (including [doctorates of philosophy] PhDs written on the topic of Indigenous education); and current research being undertaken on Indigenous peoples. The literature review was conducted in a very short timeframe and is not exhaustive.

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This report provides an overview of the results obtained from the Staff in Australia’s Schools (SiAS) 2010 survey commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). The survey ran from August to December 2010. The survey was structured around four populations: primary teachers; secondary teachers; primary leaders; and secondary leaders. ‘Leaders’ were defined as principals, deputy/vice principals, and their equivalents in the different school systems. The design meant that all eligible teachers in Australia had an approximately equal probability of selection. The survey is intended to provide a detailed picture of the Australian teacher workforce, and to gather information to assist in future planning of the workforce. It is also designed to provide comparative and updated data following on from the first SiAS survey conducted in 2006-07. A key facilitation reform under the Smarter Schools: Teacher Quality National Partnership (TQNP) agreement is to improve the quality and availability of teacher workforce data. Work under this reform includes the development of a national teaching workforce dataset and a teacher longitudinal study. SiAS 2010 is intended to contribute directly to the development of the national teacher workforce dataset. The results of the survey are presented under the following headings: demographic background; qualifications; current position and work; professional learning activities; career paths in teaching; early career teachers; activities outside teaching; future career intentions; views on teaching and leadership; school staffing issues; teacher appraisal. The appendices provide information about the survey and additional tables containing more detailed results for some sections.

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The conference will explore the important theme of Indigenous education. It will draw together research-based knowledge about the environmental conditions, pedagogical strategies and curriculum approaches that create pathways to success for Indigenous students. The conference will explore our understanding of the role of language and story telling in supporting access to the curriculum and it will consider directions from research studies in the key areas of early-years education, literacy and numeracy learning, attendance and retention of students and successful post school transitions.

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Keynote papers in this volume include: Educational success: a sustainable outcome for all Indigenous students when teachers understand where the learning journey begins / Jeannie Herbert; Creating Indigenous classrooms of tomorrow today: what children will need and know to create it? / Lester-Irabinna Rigney; Key factors influencing educational outcomes for Indigenous students and their implications for planning and practice in the [Northern Territory] NT / Jonathon Carapetis and Sven Silburn; and Indigenous education: finding face, making space, having place / Lorna Williams.

Concurrent papers in this volume include: Success in the early years for remote Indigenous children / Georgie Nutton; Aboriginal languages reclamation: countering the neo-colonial onslaught / Kevin Lowe; Numeracy, mathematics and Indigenous learners: not the same old thing / Caty Morris and Chris Matthews; Successful post school transitions for Indigenous youth / Justin Brown and Gina Milgate; Incorporating and understanding different ways of knowing in the education of Indigenous students / Jill Milroy; Indigenous curriculum is out there but lacking a quality teaching base / John Lester; Research-based literacy and numeracy resource for young Indigenous students / Cath Pearn and Margaret James; Literacy and numeracy learning: what works for young Indigenous students?: lessons from the Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study for Indigenous Children / Kate Reid; Reading the country: reflexivity as an intimate journey into epistemological liminalities / John Bradley; Indigenous mathematics: creating an equitable learning environment / Grace Sarra; Reporting against the National Indigenous Reform Agreement: what have we learnt so far? / Kate Connors; and An investigation into the attendance and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students: research and theory about what works / Sarah Buckley and Stephanie Armstrong. Show less

Australia is seeking to expand participation in higher education, with the Australian Government, in 2009, setting attainment targets coupled with an explicit mandate to diversify the student mix, in particular by balancing the inclusion of people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Supporting students' engagement in higher education is fundamental to the success of these reforms. For the purposes of this briefing paper, 'support' is defined broadly as the university's interaction with a student, whether it be with academic or service professional staff, that enhances the study experience. It may be in the form of a specific university service, such as counselling or learning assistance, and it can also be in the form of student-teacher interactions, such as constructive feedback on assessments or an out-of-class discussion. Drawing on the 2010 Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE), this briefing concentrates on the retention of first year and later year students. The overall sample size for this analysis is 25,950 students, and is weighted to ensure representativeness of the target population, onshore undergraduate students. The briefing takes a broad look at students' intentions to remain at university, examining rates for different subgroups. It highlights the vital role of student support in engaging students and preventing early departure. There are disjuncts, the data shows, between the support students need and the support they receive from their institutions. The results are used to shed light on practices that institutions can use to further support students' participation in higher education. Show less

This report is the culmination of a project carried out for the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE). The main findings of this report are based on the outcomes from the National Research Student Survey (NRSS) conducted in June 2010 across 38 of the 39 universities in Australia. In total 11,710 Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students responded to the NRSS, providing a 25.5 per cent response rate across the country. These response numbers represent the largest collection of survey responses from research students ever undertaken in Australia. The report primarily explores the career intentions and motivations of these students. It provides particular emphasis on the interests of HDR students in following an academic career on completion of their degree and the support they have received in terms of preparation for university teaching during their candidature.

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Indigenous students are engaged with learning at a similar or slightly higher level than their non-Indigenous peers, and report levels of overall satisfaction equal to or higher than their peers. This Research Briefing by the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) addresses Indigenous engagement with universities. Key findings include: (1) Indigenous students are more likely to seriously consider leaving their institution; while only 1.9 per cent of Indigenous students actually plan to leave before completion, Indigenous students continue to be less likely to complete than their non-Indigenous peers; (2) in comparison to non-Indigenous students, Indigenous students are more likely to be female, to be older, and to come from regional or remote Australia. They are more likely to be studying externally, with evidence that many are doing this via ‘Block Mode’ intensive programs. Only 58 per cent reported studying full-time and on-campus, compared to 74 per cent of non-Indigenous domestic students; (3) Indigenous students report markedly higher levels of engagement in relation to work-integrated learning. This difference is probably due to the fact that the older Indigenous students are often employed before commencing study, and select courses directly relevant to their work. The AUSSE results provide considerable grounds for optimism in terms of Indigenous students’ engagement in Australian higher education. Further research is needed to explore areas of concern and also to strengthen the evidence base regarding factors related to Indigenous success in higher education. This could be done by devising new questionnaire items for national surveys such as the AUSSE.

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