Editorial

In this chapter, the author talks about the Australian higher education context as it currently stands and discusses various initiatives that are being implemented across Australian universities in the space of Indigenous equity. She discusses opportunities, issues and challenges that present themselves in her Australian context toward achieving diversity that is needed in higher education globally. Gender equity initiatives within higher education rarely identify specific groups of women within such targets. Without specific targets ensuring Indigenous equity within gender equity policies, gendered racial oppression will continue within higher education, with such actions continuing the privileging of white women and subjugation of women of colour. Teaching and leadership, research, and leadership and governance. In order to undermine the privilege and disadvantage that are pervasive in the academy, university leaders must look carefully at institutions to identify the specific causes of power imbalance and privilege.

The question of how to embed transformative change through the implementation of sustainability principles in our education systems has become increasingly important as complex situations, like pandemics and climate change, challenge societies. Education underpinned by a sustainability paradigm requires students to develop the ability to think critically about the nature of knowledge and about the ways in which knowledge is produced and validated. Educating for these skills will require shifts in educational practice, pedagogy and new approaches to learning and teaching. As the relationship between education and sustainability has matured, there has been increasing debate around whether capability or competence frameworks best underlie the type of education we seek to embed in sustainability professionals. Within an Australian context there is a philosophical difference between these two terms and an understanding of how this relates to different typologies of sustainability and education; Education about Sustainable Development, Education for Sustainable Development or Sustainability as Education (Sustainability Education) and this has yet to be fully explored. This is increasingly important as higher education is under pressure to be efficient producers of work-ready graduates. This paper provides an overview of the context of capability and competencies in the Australian higher education context and the associated implications for education, and sustainability education. It compares a competence approach with that of a capability approach and then situates this debate within the evolution of sustainability and education. Finally, it addresses some key consequences of the contemporary approaches to sustainability and education and emphasises the role of the capability approach.

In this paper the authors trace the development of equity within the Australian higher education context over the latter part of the last century. In particular they focus on the ways different perspectives (liberalist-individualist and social democratic) have shaped what has been a dramatic increase in the number and diversity of students accessing higher education in Australia. The adoption of a specific perspective has influenced the formation of policies concerning equity and consequently the way universities have responded to the pressures to accept more and different students. These responses are captured under two main headings – ‘restructuring the entry into higher education’ and ‘changing the curriculum within higher education’. Several examples of current programs and procedures based upon these are explained. The paper concludes with the identification of three ‘dilemmas' which have emerged as a result of the development and implementation of equity processes and procedures in higher education in Australia. These are: (a) While there has been an increase in the number and range of students accessing higher education, this has been accompanied by a financial cost to the more disadvantaged students, a cost which has the potential to exacerbate equity principles. (b) For one of the first times in the history of higher education, a focus is being placed on its teaching and learning functions, as opposed to its research functions. The problem is that those universities that have been obliged to broaden their base radically have also been obliged to review their teaching and learning practices without any budgetary compensation. (c) A third consequence of these changes relates to the life of a traditional academic. Universities that have been at the forefront of ‘changing their curriculum’ to cope with more diverse student groups (open and distance learning) have seen the loss of ‘lecturer autonomy’ as they work more as members of teams and less as individuals.

In order to produce digitally literate graduates, it is necessary for institutions to have digitally literate staff. While this statement seems clear, the commitment and approach of Australian Higher Education institutions to professional learning focused on digital literacies is not. This paper describes initial steps towards clarifying the place of digital literacies in the context of professional learning for higher education staff. The researchers canvassed 31 higher education websites to identify institutional approaches, and conducted a targeted literature review to uncover models and practices that could have transposal value to institutions. This paper reports on which institutions are publicly committed, which units are typically responsible for digital literacy, the reasoning for institutional approaches and key themes in pedagogical designs. It is the beginning of a conversation, in an effort to distil the muddy waters that digital literacies occupies and generate greater transparency and understanding between educators in the Australian Higher Education context.

The transition from military to civilian life is often challenging for veterans. International research shows higher education to be an important pathway that can help veterans navigate this change and improve their psycho-social wellbeing and career prospects. In this article, we examine how student veterans are being recognised and supported in the Australian higher education context. Our research finds the range of governmental and institutional support for student veterans to be limited, and in contrast to nations such as the United States. Nevertheless, we find recent examples of veteran-specific pathways and programs, and a growing momentum for change among university staff. Along with clear opportunities for the expansion and coordination of existing support, we highlight the need for a national framework that recognises higher education as an option for all those who have served in defence of the nation. We argue that supporting veterans is not only an equity issue, but also a matter of recognising how the skills and experience gained in the military make veterans valued members of the university community.

ABSTRACTMost Australian universities have among their goals to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at their institutions. In the Australian higher education context, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are seriously under-represented, particularly in business education compared to other disciplines. An understanding of why a larger proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students do not choose to study a discipline that provides promising employment opportunities, is fundamental to improving the status quo. This paper reviews the literature to identify key barriers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ participation and engagement in business education. Apart from multiple general barriers to participation in higher education, factors specific to business as a profession and as an academic discipline are also considered. The paper then discusses a number of strategies Australian educational institutions could pursue when seeking to increase participation and engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in business. Drawing on the review, the paper concludes with recommendations for higher education institutional policy to further improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student participation and engagement in business studies.

Assessment is a crucial factor in higher education where marks gained can determine future study and career options. Increasing student numbers, and an increasing proportion of international students, raises concerns regarding marking practices, and whether the same criteria are used to mark both native-speaker (NS) and non-native-speaker (NNS) essays. This paper examines the essays of five native and five non-native speakers written in English for the same undergraduate subject. The essays were marked by 10 experienced assessors. Results reveal distinct differences in the approaches taken by the assessors resulting in, in some cases, the same NS essay being awarded every grade level from the highest possible grade, to a failure. Similar results were found in the NNS essays although the variability was somewhat less. The paper examines reasons for this and discusses its implications for assessment in higher education and for potential approaches which might mitigate against this outcome.

Purpose – The higher education sector in many countries is going through unprecedented changes. The changes are as a direct result of external and internal operating environments which are having a significant impact on universities. Externally, changing government policy; ongoing student growth and stakeholder demand for quality; and international developments in higher education are some of the many factors driving change in universities. Internally, change in leadership and renewed institutional strategy; and financial sustainability are some of the internal factors contributing to the changes within universities. The purpose of this paper is to outline the changing context of Australian higher education and argue the need for the renewed emphasis on strategy development and effective implementation in universities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses the recurring themes related to strategy development, implementation and reviews from the external quality audits of all Australian universities in cycle one audit and 29 universities who completed cycle two audit until 2011. Findings – The paper argues the need for universities to engage in careful strategy development and implementation which aligns with institutional resourcing and risk management. Failure to engage in careful strategy development and effective implementation may put universities at risk in the current higher education landscape characterised by changing government policy and the political landscape in Australia. Originality/value – The literature on the effectiveness of strategy development and implementation in universities is limited. This paper attempts to fill the current gap by arguing the need for institutions to engage in careful strategy development at a time when governments cannot be trusted in the funding of universities.

Since the 1980s, neoliberal reforms in Higher Education (HE) have been widely adopted by governments around the globe because HE was seen as central to knowledge creation, national prosperity and competitiveness. Although the rate of adoption of these reforms varied due to differences in historical and political contexts, they have had a significant impact on HE systems, especially in the OECD countries. A strong focus on efficiency saw clear patterns emerge including rapid growth, reduced government funding and external accountability mechanisms limiting the independence of universities. While universities have become more efficient, this may have come at the cost of their effectiveness. An argumentative review, from a systems perspective, with particular attention to the impacts on the academic profession, this paper advocates that HE reform should focus on effectiveness, as opposed to efficiency and refers to an action research project to test these ideas, using the Australian HE context as a case study. Early results indicate focussing on effectiveness presents significant challenges for key stakeholder groups: government policymakers, university corporate leaders and the academic profession, but may lead to better a better performing Australian HE system, and offer a model for systemic HE reform applicable to other HE contexts.

While there has been a sustained focus on widening participation in higher education internationally, there are few empirical accounts of the experiences and perceptions of ‘equity’ students in STEM subjects, and even less that examines this in the elite university context. Reporting from the Australian higher education context, this article outlines findings from an exploratory, mixed-method study of students enrolled in a Science Faculty in a ‘prestigious’ research-intensive university. The study involved a faculty-wide survey of students, collecting demographic data and perceptions of equity, and follow-up focus groups focusing on students’ perceptions of equity and their experiences of studying STEM in the elite context. The findings provide new insights into the composition of the Science student cohort and their lived experiences of feeling like outsiders in the elite context. This article reflects on how structural barriers, institutional assumptions, navigational experiences and staff engagement impact on equity students’ engagement and sense of belonging. We argue that supports must be visible, accessible and targeted, rather than limited to centralised services. We conclude by foregrounding the perceived importance of ‘care’ from Faculty staff and argue for more Faculty-embedded supports if we are to create a more diverse STEM student cohort and workforce.

Community engagement is growing across higher education. Cooperative education and other internships are well established in the literature as pedagogies with links to experiential and connected learning. Cooperative programs combine business, industry, educational providers and students paid on‐the‐job. Most studies of work‐based learning focus on individual or small group‐based models. This paper reports on a large and complex work‐integrated project involving 35 students from seven disciplines in an Australian higher education context. The students took 10 weeks to research, design and implement an online financial skills training program for small business owners. Students worked in teams to create an online content management system, design the website, develop and edit content and produce audio visual material. Feedback from industry partners and students identified that greater attention to planning, student selection and overall project management could have increased the overall benefits. Findings suggest specific ways to improve large group work‐based programs.

Massification is a reality facing universities around the world. While increased access to higher education has significant social and economic benefits, rapid growth in class sizes challenges institutions to maintain quality standards while teaching at scale, amidst ongoing cost pressure. This paper analyses this issue within the Australian higher education context. It employs the notion of the ‘Iron Triangle’ to examine the tensions between what appear to be mutually conflicting concepts of access, cost and quality. It also highlights key strategies that can be employed to potentially enhance quality without dramatically inflating costs.

The impact of global systemic changes over 40 years in higher education (HE) have typically focussed on efficiency, cost-reduction and the needs of the economy. This has usually involved ‘command and control’ change processes and corporate accountability practices aimed at reducing university autonomy and bringing academics under greater institutional control. We draw on systems research to consider factors related to the effectiveness of a HE system, as opposed to its efficiency, and propose a reform process based on learning as the basis of effectiveness. This requires greater differentiation between the important roles played by key stakeholders such as government, university corporate leaders and academics. A lack of definition of the academic role in the managerial university makes it difficult for the profession to present a counter-narrative to the neo-liberal reform agenda that has led to an ‘unbundling’ of academic work. We propose four universal foundational principles to underpin the academic professional in a context of greater accountability and argue these should be universally applicable to HE systems around the globe. We introduce an action research project to test these ideas using the Australian HE context as a case study which may provide a model for colleagues in other HE contexts.

Conventional undergraduate teaching laboratories are valuable in terms of their contributions to students learning but are generally costly to develop and maintain and often have extremely low overall utilization rates. These issues can be addressed through cross-institutional sharing of laboratories. This is, however, limited by the overarching requirement that students are physically co-located with the laboratory apparatus. In this chapter we will describe the nature of the challenges with regard to cross-institutional sharing and the potential benefits that can be achieved if a solution can be found. A possible solution is the use of remote laboratories that can be accessed across the internet with a suitable model for laboratory sharing that promotes both institutional and individual engagement. We describe the characteristics that such a model should have and show how the Labshare project is providing a nation-wide model within the Australian Higher Education context.

This chapter presents an analysis of complementary ‘value adding’ contexts for learning creativities in higher education (HE). Based on the premise that creativity is a common graduate attribute, the authors examine disparities between what universities expect of their graduates and what is explicitly taught. To address the tensions in creativity gaining traction, the integration of formal and informal learning is considered in the Australian HE context. Focusing on alternative learning contexts, such as community engaged learning, extracurricular activities and volunteering, the chapter explores the benefits and challenges of learning creativity in extrainstitutional settings. The chapter draws on the literature rather than empirical evidence to generate an understanding of learning creativity across different contexts. Student scenarios are provided throughout the chapter to elucidate approaches to learning creativities.