Papers by Emmaline Bexley
Australian University Student Finances 2006: A summary of findings from a national survey of students in public universities
For Australian higher education institutions
This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes s... more This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgment of the source and no commercial usage or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those indicated above, requires the prior
A review of the participation in higher education of people from low socioeconomic backgrounds an... more A review of the participation in higher education of people from low socioeconomic backgrounds and Indigenous people
The Australian academic
www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au
Prepared for the Group of Eight
University selection in support of student success and diversity of participation
University Student Finances 2006
August 2007This work is copyright-free to universities and other relevant bodies provided that at... more August 2007This work is copyright-free to universities and other relevant bodies provided that attribution of authorship is made to Universities Australia. Apart from such use, all rights in copyright are reserved. Further inquiries should be made to the Chief Executive Officer:
This discussion paper argues for new steps to be taken to intensify the recognition and support f... more This discussion paper argues for new steps to be taken to intensify the recognition and support for the professional practice of teaching in Australian higher education. The proposed creation of a new national institute in 2016, building on the contribution and achievements of the Office for Learning and Teaching and its predecessor agencies, will open up new opportunities that are worth exploring. This discussion paper is not about the future structure of Australian higher education but it is concerned with one element of the maintenance of quality and standards through the future professionals who will teach, and lead teaching, in a more diverse, complex and competitive tertiary environment.
who conducted the 2000 study of student finances. Studies such as the present one, which are repe... more who conducted the 2000 study of student finances. Studies such as the present one, which are repeated at regular intervals, build upon the work of the many individuals contributing at each iteration. The instrument used in the 2012 study of student finances was developed by the Steering Group (listed below), based on the previous instrument with many new items, including those for international students. At the CSHE, Professor Richard James and Associate Professor Sophie Arkoudis led this stage of the conceptual development of the project, and Erik Okerstrom and Tricia Deasy from ASR led the technical development and testing of the instrument and prepared it for online deployment. ASR constructed the sample design and liaised with Universities Australia, who managed participating institutions in contacting students to be sampled. ASR also hosted the online instrument, collected the data and collated it for analysis by the CSHE. The statistical analysis at the CSHE was undertaken by Malcolm Anderson, and we thank Malcolm for his expertise in preparing complex data of the type contained here. Interpretation and reporting of the data was undertaken by Department of Immigration and Citizenship. (March 2012). Fact Sheet: Working while studying. Canberra: Australian Government
Higher Education Research & Development, 2020
The growth of the doctorate in recent decades has spawned concerns about programme quality and ex... more The growth of the doctorate in recent decades has spawned concerns about programme quality and external relevance. This article reports findings from research conducted in Australia that was shaped by the view that the doctorate remains in need of educational clarification and design. The research generated insights that can be used to modernise and realign the doctorate. First, this article discusses the development of a doctoral education framework. Next, it presents results from a questionnaire developed using the framework and administered in a national survey to both five-year-out doctoral graduates and to doctoral experts. This identifies the need to design programmes that better orient and align research training with students' professional aspirations, incorporate more real-world forms of learning, enhance traditional aspects of research training and provide structured reports of doctoral outcomes, experiences and preparations. The results underpin the need for more specific analyses of outcomes and assessment, the nature and distribution of doctoral experiences and the design and management of the resources that go into doctoral education.
Higher Education, 2019
Doctoral training continues to grow in scale and scope in Australia, but has been subjected to fa... more Doctoral training continues to grow in scale and scope in Australia, but has been subjected to far less design and improvement compared with other facets of higher education. Governments and universities engage in ongoing change which helps respond to opportunities and challenges but also leads to a proliferation of options and approaches. The current research study was seeded and shaped by the ambitious view that despite such refinement the doctorate remains in need of much bolder and deeper design, and particularly design with an education focus. This paper reports outcomes from a four-year national project which sought to articulate a doctoral design architecture. The paper discusses framing contexts and concepts, design and characteristics of the doctoral architecture, then implications for sectoral, institutional and individual practice. It concludes that this kind of architecture can provide a useful guide for growth.
International Journal of English Linguistics, 2019
Gaining mastery over the English language by undergraduates of universities has acquired much sig... more Gaining mastery over the English language by undergraduates of universities has acquired much significance today because it plays a significant role in ensuring their future employability. This is highly relevant to the students of the Faculty of Arts and Culture (FAC), SEUSL, as a majority of them are from rural areas and pursue their degrees in the Tamil medium. Results of English language examinations held in recent years at the faculty indicate the poor command of English language of undergraduates, and the trend appears to be set firmly. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore the factors contributing to the poor performance of students in English language and to examine the ways in which this problem could be addressed. This is a qualitative study consisting of observation, interviews and focus group discussions employed as techniques of data collection. The study argues that the enrolment of students from rural background, psychological dimension of students, and the ...
Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 2018
Growing interest in university-industry collaboration (UIC) calls for a need to develop framework... more Growing interest in university-industry collaboration (UIC) calls for a need to develop frameworks and compare overseas models to better understand how successful UIC occurs. This article provides a framework for analyzing UIC across three dimensions: environmental, technical, and managerial. It further breaks down these dimensions to suggest key attributes that can inform us about how dimensions can develop and improve. Subsequently, we use the framework outlined to analyze seven countries' UIC policies and frameworks and present key findings. The findings of this research include the importance of building and training a workforce ready to engage across sectors and of creating clear intellectual property policies, and the need for dedicated programs and national policies that support UIC growth.
Further and Higher? Institutional Diversity and Stratification
Student Equity in Australian Higher Education, 2016
A broad, heterogeneous higher education sector should offer students choice, and an opportunity t... more A broad, heterogeneous higher education sector should offer students choice, and an opportunity to find a course that closely suits their particular needs. However, although a preference for heterogeneity has been clearly signalled by the policies of successive governments, the ‘landscape’ of the differentiated market has itself been unplanned. Very large increases in participation in tertiary education, diversification of provider types and greater institutional differentiation within the university sector itself, has lead to new forms of stratification. No longer can notions of ‘equity’ centre around a consideration of those who do and do not participate in higher education (the underlying concern of A fair chance for all), but rather who participates where, and how – in short, the status game has shifted from the boundary of the academy to within it.
Group of Eight, Jul 1, 2010
This report is part of a wider three-year program of research, Vocations: the link between postco... more This report is part of a wider three-year program of research, Vocations: the link between postcompulsory education and the labour market, which is investigating the educational and occupational paths that people take and how their study relates to their work. Previously the authors identified three main roles for mid-level qualifications, as a labour market qualification (entry or upgrade), a transition to a higher-level qualification, and to widen access to higher-level qualifications. They also proposed a new approach to qualifications based on vocational streams and productive capabilities, which would strengthen educational pathways and occupational outcomes. In the final year of the research, the authors tested this new approach through consultations with stakeholders in four industry areas: agriculture; engineering; finance; and health and community services. This report focuses on the outcomes of those consultations and also suggests how the new approach can be progressed. Key messages Support for vocational streams and productive capabilities varied by industry, with finance showing the highest overall support. Agriculture showed the least support due to a general reluctance by employers to invest in education and training.
This paper reports on the preliminary findings from a project funded by the National Centre for V... more This paper reports on the preliminary findings from a project funded by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research to investigate the provision of vocational education and training by higher education institutions. The project involved a review of the literature, an analysis of the sketchy statistics available on enrolments in Australian mixed sector tertiary institutions and interviews with 61 people. The study found that higher education institutions offer vocational education for a variety of reasons: as a historical legacy, as a result of a merger or acquisition, to broaden the institution's role and source of students, and as a part of vertical integrationincorporating the sources of baccalaureate students such as preparatory colleges and senior secondary colleges as well as vocational education colleges. The study also found that while sectoral designation was very important for TAFE institutes offering higher education programs, it was of far less importance to mainly higher education institutions offering vocational programs. Of far greater importance for public and private providers of vocational education were the different funding arrangements from governments. The findings from the study seem to indicate that Australian mixed sector institutes of tertiary education are developing partly for pragmatic reasons and partly to improve student pathways from vocational to higher education and to desirable occupations. Distinctions in pedagogy develop from differences in curriculum, field, industry orientation and teachers' response to students, which seem to be indirectly related to sector.
University student finances in 2012: A study of the financial circumstances of domestic and international students in Australia’s universities
Higher Education, 2012
The Australian academic profession is more differentiated than is acknowledged in national and in... more The Australian academic profession is more differentiated than is acknowledged in national and institutional policies and academic roles are more diverse than many academics themselves may recognise. However, the evolution of the nature and purposes of the profession and its implicit diversification have been incremental and largely unplanned. A consequence of this piecemeal approach is the attitudes and pressures on academic staff uncovered by this study, including a widespread intent to leave the Australian higher education sector for other work, or work in overseas universities. The study is based on a large-scale survey of over 5,500 academics across 19 Australian universities, and explores the attitudes, motivators and career plans of the present academic workforce in Australia.
Australian university student finances 2006
Canberra: …, 2007
This report affirms the financial difficulties many young Australians face in completing their un... more This report affirms the financial difficulties many young Australians face in completing their university studies. The findings from this AVCC survey indicate that on balance students are worse off today in financial terms than in 2000, especially full-time undergraduate students, which is ...
This thesis provides a new analysis of early contributions to the development of the theory of ab... more This thesis provides a new analysis of early contributions to the development of the theory of absolute time-the notion that time exists independently of the presence or actions of material bodies and has no material cause. Though popularly attributed to Newton, I argue that this conception of time first appeared in medieval philosophy, as a solution to a peculiar theological problem generated by a widespread misrepresentation of Aristotle. I trace the subsequent evolution of the theory of absolute time through to the seventeenth-century, and argue that Newton, if anything, retreats from a full endorsement of the doctrine. Unlike absolute space, absolute time was absent from the philosophy of the Greeks, entering Western thought in the thirteenth century. Absolute time was first proposed as a negative thesis in response to a perceived irreconcilability between the popular theory of time, then seen as Aristotle's, that time was an attribute or effect of the motion of the primum mobile, and Biblical evidence from Joshua X 13, in which Joshua commands some heavenly motion to stop, but time continues. A pivotal moment in the development of theories of absolute time came at the close of the Scholastic period, in 1597, when the Jesuit philosopher Francisco Suárez built on these earlier ideas about time and proposed a theory of absolute time startlingly similar to the later absolutism of the neo-Epicurean atomistic philosophers. While Suárez's theory of time was dualistic, and he proposes one kind of time that is unmistakably Scholastic, his tempus imaginarius, which he describes as an infinitely extended immutable temporal flux that exists independently of material being, is very much of the early modern period. It is, however, in the work of Pierre Gassendi, the well known founder of seventeenth century neo-Epicurean atomism, that we see the first, and arguably the only, fully fledged theory of absolute time. Gassendi implanted absolute time into the Epicurean dualism of bodies and the void of absolute space. For Gassendi, time and space are truly absolute, and are ontologically prior to all other existing things-even God.
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Papers by Emmaline Bexley