Description:
The tendency in education writing on globalization has been to examine the congruence of educational policies in western societies and the international effects of global governance of education by powerful transnational institutions such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union. The authors tend to identify massive changes in approaches to educational governance, including the establishment of a broadly common policy and management agenda that is characterized by 'new managerialism', devolution, and rigid accountability structures, entrepreneurialism, and school effectiveness, that have been imposed largely as a result of globalization. These measures are often seen as being directly related to the 'hollowing out' of the state, and the emergence of neo-liberalism as the informing ideology of both international capitalism and residual nation-states. There are few studies, however, of the dynamics of educational life and micro-political activities that enable or challenge or bring about the kinds of educational reshaping and renorming that are typically associated with globalization. This study attempts to analyse such micro-shaping, which, through reporting an ethnographic study in a site of educational practice, examines how school managers and teachers dealt with government policy intervention and, in the process, both willingly and unwillingly implemented significant educational change.
Description:
The tendency in education writing on globalization has been to examine the congruence of educational policies in western societies and the international effects of global governance of education by powerful transnational institutions such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union. The authors tend to identify massive changes in approaches to educational governance, including the establishment of a broadly common policy and management agenda that is characterized by 'new managerialism', devolution, and rigid accountability structures, entrepreneurialism, and school effectiveness, that have been imposed largely as a result of globalization. These measures are often seen as being directly related to the 'hollowing out' of the state, and the emergence of neo-liberalism as the informing ideology of both international capitalism and residual nation-states. There are few studies, however, of the dynamics of educational life and micro-political activities that enable or challenge or bring about the kinds of educational reshaping and renorming that are typically associated with globalization. This study attempts to analyse such micro-shaping, which, through reporting an ethnographic study in a site of educational practice, examines how school managers and teachers dealt with government policy intervention and, in the process, both willingly and unwillingly implemented significant educational change.
Description:
This paper reports on the experiences of students who were learning mathematics with CAS for a second consecutive school year. Evidence presented shows that nearly all students managed the challenging task of mastering the technical aspects of using CAS well. It also shows that the level of technical difficulty and the degree to which it presents an obstacle to mathematical learning is not predictable from conventional mathematical ability. There is a complex interaction between cognitive and affective factors. Planning appropriate teaching for developing the effective use of CAS will require awareness and understanding of these individual differences.
Description:
This paper reports on the experiences of students who were learning mathematics with CAS for a second consecutive school year. Evidence presented shows that nearly all students managed the challenging task of mastering the technical aspects of using CAS well. It also shows that the level of technical difficulty and the degree to which it presents an obstacle to mathematical learning is not predictable from conventional mathematical ability. There is a complex interaction between cognitive and affective factors. Planning appropriate teaching for developing the effective use of CAS will require awareness and understanding of these individual differences.
Description:
Some marketing educators quite rightly justify the worth of their courses on the basis of industry value. For instance, “the entertainment industry is a $500 billion industry and therefore understanding this industry is of considerable importance to marketers”. If industry value is the key driver of course importance then none could be more important than a course in pricing – a US$32 trillion industry (World Bank, 2004)! Yet in Australia, no such courses exist at tertiary level and pricing is often given only cursory treatment in the marketing curriculum. This article highlights the need for greater attention to pricing education and makes recommendations as to why pricing is not incorporated in the curriculum, why it should be present in the curriculum and how it could be incorporated into the curriculum.
Description:
Mining education in Ballarat has a long and proud history dating back to the 1870s. Today the School of Engineering continues this tradition at the University of Ballarat. The recent review of Tertiary Minerals Education by the Minerals Council of Australia has questioned the current situation regarding Minerals tertiary education in Australia and recommendations have been made regarding the future of minerals tertiary education. This paper initially examines the original recommendations made by the Minerals Council of Australia and assesses subsequent changes made to these recommendations. Secondly the paper outlines the future shape of mining education in the light of these recommendations given that they are implemented. Finally the future delivery of mining education is discussed, particularly with respect to the impact of modern technologies.
Description:
This paper endeavours to examine the challenges that introducing sustainability into the curriculum brings for academics, students and engineering programs. The paper addresses the various international, national and regional drivers for increasing curriculum sustainability content and environmentally responsive behaviour by Universities. Finally, the consideration of triple bottom line reporting within a common first year engineering subject at The University of Ballarat is discussed as a recent curriculum development to incorporate current sustainability thinking.
Description:
Networks have increasingly been recognised by educators as important in adult and vocational learning contexts, in that they have the capacity to help potential learners engage and become better connected with a wide range of learning organisations through their families, jobs and communities and also with opportunities for future learning and work. The importance of ‘being connected’, including through networks to and between learning organisations, has come into higher relief with a recent increase in theorising about aspects of social capital including learning networks, the growth of lifelong learning and an identification of the particular penalties associated with several forms of disengagement from learning for people of all ages. This paper begins with a scan of research literature on networks in adult and vocational learning. The paper identifies some new techniques involving networks, found by experience to assist in the process of adult and vocational learning research: particularly for identifying potential research interviewees within learning organisations and communities, strengthening relationships between learning organisations and identifying opportunities for future collaboration. It also provides some insights from new data on organisational networks derived from a number of recent research studies about learning networks in TAFE, adult and community education and public safety organisations in small and remote towns. The paper finally provides a number of tentative, general findings about the broader applicability of network theory to research and theories about learning in such contexts.
Description:
Networks have increasingly been recognised by educators as important in adult and vocational learning contexts, in that they have the capacity to help potential learners engage and become better connected with a wide range of learning organisations through their families, jobs and communities and also with opportunities for future learning and work. The importance of ‘being connected’, including through networks to and between learning organisations, has come into higher relief with a recent increase in theorising about aspects of social capital including learning networks, the growth of lifelong learning and an identification of the particular penalties associated with several forms of disengagement from learning for people of all ages. This paper begins with a scan of research literature on networks in adult and vocational learning. The paper identifies some new techniques involving networks, found by experience to assist in the process of adult and vocational learning research: particularly for identifying potential research interviewees within learning organisations and communities, strengthening relationships between learning organisations and identifying opportunities for future collaboration. It also provides some insights from new data on organisational networks derived from a number of recent research studies about learning networks in TAFE, adult and community education and public safety organisations in small and remote towns. The paper finally provides a number of tentative, general findings about the broader applicability of network theory to research and theories about learning in such contexts.
Description:
In Australia, anti-discrimination legislation and government policies have been introduced which aim to facilitate the inclusion of people with disabilities in employment and education. However in the area of nursing, attitudinal barriers persist that effectively hinder the full participation of people with disabilities in nurse education programs. These attitudinal barriers prevail despite such legislative and policy changes, and run counter to changing community views about disability. Normative assumptions about the ideal attributes of nurses appear to influence these attitudes, especially in the area of admission of students with disabilities to nurse education programs per se, and to their participation in the practicum component of nurse education programs. This paper reports on research conducted in Victoria, Australia, by nurse academics and equity practitioners at three Victorian universities, into the barriers facing such students. The research examined the views of undergraduate student nurses, their lecturers and their clinical educators, nurse clinicians, and university disability practitioners about the participation of people with disabilities in nurse education programs. The research also sought to document their responses to a framework, developed through the research that aims to facilitate the inclusion of students with disabilities in undergraduate nursing programs. It did this against a pluralistic and technological milieu that in the researchers' view requires a more diverse mix within the nursing profession.
Description:
There are now over 5,000 alliances between Chinese and foreign universities but there is little research on how managers from the two sides value the various aspects of their educational alliances. This research finds that both sides valued a range of alliance levels, types, activities, sizes and structures but there were significant differences. Chinese respondents tended to prefer larger and higher level alliances which they perceived as being more long term, viable and indicative of foreign commitment. Foreign alliance managers liked to start their alliance associations in China with smaller scale alliance models which could then be expanded into larger and more complex alliances. Chinese alliance managers preferred an alliance model which aimed to establish a benchmark educational standard in China; foreign staff preferred what has been termed pragmatic alliances which were cheaper to organize and manage. Chinese respondents liked alliances which ensured that at least a range of foreign academic and administrative staff were located in China: foreign respondents preferred to fly staff in and out for particular projects and activities. More generally, foreign respondents discussed the value of alliances in business and income generation terms while their Chinese colleagues conceptualized the key value of alliances in terms of their ability to assist China to develop a highly skilled workforce capable of taking its place in an internationalized market economy.
Description:
Adults in Australia have tended to return relatively recently to learning in patterns that are significantly different by gender. These patterns of gender segmentation for adults are particularly noticeable in the findings of recent research by the author into adult, community and vocational learning in small and remote towns in Victoria. The issues associated with such patterns form the basis of this exploratory paper.
Description:
In the 1990s, two major issues emerged globally for tertiary mathematics educators: declining standards in the mathematical proficiency of students at tertiary-entry level and the advocates for the incorporation of IT into the processes of teaching and learning. Addressing these issues required significant reform of both curriculum content and classroom practice to ensure that the technology was used appropriately and effectively. These reforms were largely implemented by staff from tertiary Schools of Mathematics. Rather than leading the reform, the Education community lagged behind and in some instances has taken research into the use of IT in Mathematics Education in a questionable direction. In this paper, we outline what we contend has been a failure on the behalf of the Education community to tackle and address problems experienced by mathematics educators (particularly at the tertiary level) and make some suggestions for the directions of future research in Mathematics Education.
Description:
In the 1990s, two major issues emerged globally for tertiary mathematics educators: declining standards in the mathematical proficiency of students at tertiary-entry level and the advocates for the incorporation of IT into the processes of teaching and learning. Addressing these issues required significant reform of both curriculum content and classroom practice to ensure that the technology was used appropriately and effectively. These reforms were largely implemented by staff from tertiary Schools of Mathematics. Rather than leading the reform, the Education community lagged behind and in some instances has taken research into the use of IT in Mathematics Education in a questionable direction. In this paper, we outline what we contend has been a failure on the behalf of the Education community to tackle and address problems experienced by mathematics educators (particularly at the tertiary level) and make some suggestions for the directions of future research in Mathematics Education.
Description:
Recent times have seen a large increase in the numbers of international students attending Australian universities. At some universities, international students comprise up to twenty percent of the whole student cohort. Yet university teachers report that they feel ill-equipped and untrained to teach such students. International students themselves report that they feel undervalued and that their teaching and learning needs are often not well met. This paper reports on research on the experiences of both university lecturers and international students of teaching and learning at Australian universities. This research found strong evidence of a ‘gap’ in perceptions between staff and students about how well the learning needs of international students are being met and a general lack of awareness amongst university lecturers of teaching and learning issues in relation to international students. The paper will detail the impacts of these issues in terms of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, and the broader factors influencing the learning of international students. It will suggest some strategies for better internationalising not only curriculum content, but also teaching methods and assessment practices. Such strategies will be of benefit not only to international students but also all learners in a diverse learning environment.
Description:
Recent times have seen a large increase in the numbers of international students attending Australian universities. At some universities, international students comprise up to twenty percent of the whole student cohort. Yet university teachers report that they feel ill-equipped and untrained to teach such students. International students themselves report that they feel undervalued and that their teaching and learning needs are often not well met. This paper reports on research on the experiences of both university lecturers and international students of teaching and learning at Australian universities. This research found strong evidence of a ‘gap’ in perceptions between staff and students about how well the learning needs of international students are being met and a general lack of awareness amongst university lecturers of teaching and learning issues in relation to international students. The paper will detail the impacts of these issues in terms of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, and the broader factors influencing the learning of international students. It will suggest some strategies for better internationalising not only curriculum content, but also teaching methods and assessment practices. Such strategies will be of benefit not only to international students but also all learners in a diverse learning environment.