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This research study, funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC), has identified the capabilities that characterise effective academic leaders in a range of roles and has produced resources to develop and monitor these leadership capabilities. It has identified that the core focus for leadership in the current operating context faced by our universities has to be on achieving effective change management and implementation. The approach has been to build upon a decade of studying professional capability, development and change leadership in a range of contexts. The study undertook an extensive international literature review, an online survey, and a series of national and international sector feedback workshops that tested the veracity of the results and identified their key implications. The study found that there was agreement that, in the current context, effective change implementation is a central challenge facing Australian higher education and its leaders, and that developing organisational and individual capabilities to manage change is a key priority. Show less

This report investigates the relationship between post-school plans, family background and having a lifelong learning orientation. It highlights the important role of vocational education and training such as TAFE as an alternative for students with no plans to study at university. Data was drawn from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Youth (LSAY) and the OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The study investigated the post-school plans of young people, with a particular interest in those from families of low socioeconomic background, the factors associated with the development of these plans, and the association between types of post-school plans and predispositions towards lifelong learning. The study suggests that the most important factors for predicting post-school plans are gender, ability and the vocational orientation of the student. An orientation to lifelong learning also has an effect but, according to the LSAY data, only a small one. According to the findings, financial disadvantage is not a barrier to post-school study when students choose to study at TAFE or to pursue other vocational options. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds were found to be more likely to realise their plans for tertiary education when those plans do not initially involve attending university. Four guiding principles for policy development are proposed: (1) the establishment of a national youth mentoring strategy to enhance support provided to young people by families, communities and schools to enable them to make successful choices about their future employment and/or study; (2) government funding to support schools to develop more diverse and flexible pathways into work and/or post-school education to improve outcomes for all students; (3) incentives for businesses to work with schools and tertiary institutions to provide increased opportunities for mentoring and more effective career counselling to ensure that students are better prepared to make choices about post-school work and study; and (4) improved family and community support systems to better support students’ transition from school to work and the development of positive attitudes towards lifelong learning. Show less

In this study the effect of the reduced distribution of study activities on students' conceptual understanding of statistics is investigated in a quasi-experiment. Conceptual understanding depends on coherent and error free knowledge structures. Students need time to construct such knowledge structures. A curriculum reform at our university resulted in statistics courses which were considerably shortened in time, thereby limiting students' possibility to distribute study activities. Independent samples of students from before and after the reform were compared. To gauge conceptual understanding of statistics, students answered open ended questions in which they were asked to explain and relate important statistical concepts. It was shown that the reduction of distributed practice had a negative effect on students' understanding. The finding that condensed courses make it more difficult for students to reach proper understanding of the subject matter is of interest for anyone who is engaged in reforming curricula or designing courses.

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In Australia today, fewer academic staff are available to do a growing amount of work and the capacity of the workforce is shrinking relative to almost linear growth in the size of the system. Simply recruiting people into existing academic roles will not be sufficient because both the work and the workforce have changed, and hence so have the roles. This research briefing analyses academic work and the academic workforce in the context of current dynamics and likely futures. It discusses the significance of academic work, reviews workforce characteristics, and analyses tensions and pressures. Prevailing conceptualisations, it is argued, do not reflect the current situation in which the profession finds itself. There is an overarching need for a fresh conceptualisation of academic work. These conceptual ideas are reinforced and expanded by a case study of sessional academics. The challenges faced by the academic profession are operationalised in eight strategies for building Australia's future academic workforce: (1) reconfiguring academic work; (2) constructing academic career profiles; (3) designing attractive customised experiences; (4) designing measured experiences; (5) engaging sessional academics; (6) refreshing the research degree; (7) expanding staff numbers with system growth; and (8) engaging leaders in capacity development. The authors conclude by calling on institutions and the profession, jointly and collectively, to assume responsibility for leading the change required to implement these strategies. They describe the foundations of a roadmap setting an agenda for reshaping the academic workforce and profession.

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Findings from the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) provide a new and unique means of tracking international students' participation in higher education. This paper uses findings from AUSSE and from the USA National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to benchmark the engagement and outcomes of international students enrolled at universities in Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Comparisons are made with domestic students to provide a context for interpreting the experiences of the international cohort. Show less

This report is the fourth in a series from The Smith Family examining the post-school plans of young people. It is the first to be able to report findings using longitudinal data. These data are valuable because they allow for study of change and continuity in those plans. The major research questions addressed by the study were: (1) What were student perceptions of the world of work in late 2005 and how had these changed since 2004? (2) To what extent did students’ post-school plans in 2005 imply upward social mobility? (3) What evidence is there of the influence of family expectations on plans to go to university? and (4) What factors shape participants in the Smith Family’s Learning for Life program plans for attending university? This study highlights the importance of ability and interests on students’ educational and vocational plans. The study also introduces the role of family expectations in shaping these plans. Careful thought needs to be given to how family expectations might best be investigated in further projects. However, in this report the focus is upon those students applying for university because of a concern about some of the data relating to course preferences for TAFE. There was evidence that a substantial proportion of those interested in TAFE were confused about differences between Certificate I and II and Certificate III and IV level courses. While identifying this confusion was an important finding, it limited the value of many of the analyses that had been planned for the study.

Other reports from The Smith Family examining the post-school plans of young people are: Post-school plans: aspirations, expectations and implementation: a report prepared for The Smith Family / by Adrian Beavis … [et al.] (indexed at TD/TNC 77.324); Youth unemployment in Australia: a contextual, governmental and organisational perspective: a report by The Smith Family for the AMP foundation / Kristy Muir … [et al.] (indexed at TD/TNC 77.325); What do students think of work?: are they on the right page?: junior secondary school students’ perceptions of the world of work: a report prepared for the Smith Family (indexed at TD/TNC 81.202); and What do students know about work?: senior secondary school students’ perceptions of the world of work: a report prepared for the Smith Family / Adrian Beavis, David Curtis, Nicola Curtis (indexed at TD/TNC 83.158). Show less

This research briefing offers a snapshot of how Australian students engage in their first year of university study. It reviews participation in key learning activities, perceptions of support, correlates of retention, and important educational outcomes. Drawing on data from the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE), the results show that in comparison with first-year students in the USA (also surveyed in 2009) first years in Australia are less likely to be challenged to learn, are less engaged in actively constructing knowledge, and participate in fewer broadening educational activities. First-year students are more likely to remain at university and continue to subsequent years if they are able to have regular contact with teaching staff and if they feel supported by their university. Yet first-year students in Australia are significantly less likely to have contact with their lecturers and tutors than their counterparts in the USA, and also feel less supported by their universities. Show less

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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At a time in which there is increasing focus on the productivity, equity and standards of higher education, it is vital for universities to have access to data that focus on how students are learning and the outcomes being achieved. The Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) provides the higher education sector with such data. The AUSSE reflects a collaboration between the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and participating institutions. In the 2009 AUSSE, 35 institutions took part, around three quarters of the universities in Australia and New Zealand. This report provides measures of student engagement, information about individuals' intrinsic involvement with their learning, and the extent to which they are making use of available educational opportunities. Such information enhances knowledge about learning processes, can be a reliable proxy for understanding students' learning outcomes and provides excellent diagnostic measures for learning enhancement activities. Show less

In 2000, ACER introduced cohort reports as part of its Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) program to ‘provide an overview of the education, training and labour market experiences of the whole cohort on a regular basis, contributing to discussions of issues that affect young people’. Cohort reports supplement data already available from government statistics on enrolments and apparent retention rates. These reports are aimed at helping researchers to see the potential of the database as they use a wider range of the variables than may be used in the LSAY research reports.

This report contains information about the experiences of the 1998 LSAY cohort in 2002. Information on this cohort was first collected in 1998, when these young people were Year 9 students in Australian schools. Highlights from this report include: 51% of this cohort were in tertiary education at university or TAFE full-time in 2002; two per cent of the cohort were attending secondary school; 24% were not enrolled in education and training in 2002; 20% were not in the labour force; 34% were employed full-time; approximately five per cent were unemployed; and the overwhelming majority were highly satisfied with various aspects of their lives. The contents are: The Year 9 class of 1998 in 2002; Education and training; Employment; Social aspects; Appendix; References. Show less