Regional Australian University Research Articles

Features and Inspirations of Performance Framework for Regional Universities in Australia

Regional universities are common around the world, and important to the higher education system. This paper mainly analyzes the features of performance framework for regional universities in Australia, and discusses how the framework inspires the performance evaluation of regional universities in China. Firstly, the main features of Australian regional universities were summarized as the diversity of students, the strong local features, and the important social influence. Then, the key components of the performance framework, namely, core, optional, and institution-specific measures, were introduced in great details. Drawing on the framework and the local conditions, several suggestions were put forward to promote the performance evaluation of regional universities in China: develop high-level universities, serve local development, and diversify evaluation standards. The research results help to promote higher education in China and beyond.

Situating Race in Cultural Competency Training: A Site of Self-Revelation

Indigenous cross-cultural training has been around since the 1980s. It is often seen as a way to increase the skills and competency of staff engaged in providing service to Indigenous clients and customers, teaching Indigenous students within universities and schools, or working with Indigenous communities (Fredericks and Bargallie, “Indigenous”; “Which Way”). In this article we demonstrate how such training often exposes power, whiteness, and concepts of an Indigenous “other”. We highlight how cross-cultural training programs can potentially provide a setting in which non-Indigenous participants can develop a deeper realisation of how their understandings of the “other” are formed and enacted within a “white” social setting. Revealing whiteness as a racial construct enables people to see race, and “know what racism is, what it is not and what it does” (Bargallie, 262). Training participants can use such revelations to develop their racial literacy and anti-racist praxis (Bargallie), which when implemented have the capacity to transform inequitable power differentials in their work with Indigenous peoples and organisations.

Publish, perish, or pursue? Early career academics’ perspectives on demands for research productivity in regional universities

ABSTRACT The publish or perish adage is alive and well for early career academics (ECAs), who are under increasing pressure from higher education institutions for improved research performance. This paper explores the way in which ECAs respond to the managerial imperatives of one Australian regional university; specifically, a meta-reflexive lens was used to examine narrative data from ECAs to determine how institutional performance measures influence their participation in research teams. Three main themes were identified in the data: The ‘pull’ of institutional priorities, ‘Getting a leg up’ through teamwork, and Finding a way forward in personal values. ECAs responded to managerial imperatives through compliance and showed awareness of the importance of collaboration with established researchers in furthering their own personal career interests. At the same time, the data also reveal that ECAs working at this regional Australian university refused to compromise on the educational and research contributions they could make to their disciplines and the cultural capital of their local communities. This latter pursuit of autonomy provided these academics with personal satisfaction and a sense of academic integrity in relation to conducting research with impact while simultaneously meeting performance targets aimed at raising the reputation of their institution.

The Lived Experience of Gender and Gender Equity Policies at a Regional Australian University

The research question driving this project was ‘what is the congruence between the lived experience of gender and a policy designed to improve gender equity in a university environment?’ The study used mixed methods to investigate the question. These methods included analysis of organisational travel data, and a collaborative autoethnography of participants engaging with claims for dependent care support expenses while travelling for work. The research found four key themes influencing the relationship between gender equity policies and the lived experience of staff. These include gatekeeping, organisation-wide funding of gender equity policies, policy development processes and gender equity as a concept. This article presents a series of transferable recommendations for organisations looking to improve gender equity.

P100 Exploring the Concept of Sustainability in Nutrition and Dietetics: Student, Academic and Practitioner Perspectives

<h3>Background</h3> Nutrition and dietetic (N&D) professionals can contribute to sustainable development and achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. However, there are diverse understandings of what sustainability means in the N&D context which may be constraining higher education curricula. <h3>Objective</h3> To explore the concept of ‘sustainability' in the context of N&D from student, academic, and practitioner perspectives. <h3>Study Design, Setting, Participants</h3> An action research process was used to explore the concept of sustainability. Data was collected sequentially, first from undergraduate students' self-reported perceptions of sustainability (n = 95, self-administered online survey, open question) and then academics' perceptions of sustainability-related teaching practice (n = 7, workshop) at a regional Australian university. Semi-structured interviews were then undertaken with Australian N&D practitioners (n = 10) having longevity in the dietetic/nutrition profession as well as a specialist practice area. Data was analysed concomitantly and used as a sensitising device with each subsequent group. <h3>Measurable Outcome/Analysis</h3> Students provided 4 keywords/phrases conveying their personal understanding of sustainability within the N&D context. Academics provided a written response to the question; how do you perceive sustainability? Practitioners answered questions from an interview protocol developed to enable exploration of sustainability both conceptually and in practice. Each data set was analysed for theme by 2 independent researchers. Findings across participant groups were then analysed for overarching themes. <h3>Results</h3> Across groups, sustainability was perceived as a broad, future-focused concept, multi-factorial (environment, culture, social, economic), and relating to dietary recommendations and practices. Themes from student responses were sustainable food systems and system influencers. Academic and practitioner themes diverged to include sustaining the profession, sustaining the effects of our work, and stewardship of resources. Sustainability was characterised as conflicted, action-oriented, context-dependent, and inter-disciplinary. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Student, academic, and practitioner perceptions may be useful in forming a working definition to clarify sustainability in the N&D context for curriculum development.

Enhancing the learning of multi-level undergraduate Chinese language with a 3D immersive experience - An exploratory study

The article reports on a study that incorporated an immersive 3 D virtual environment, created in Second Life (SL) into the curriculum of a Chinese program, including its development, implementation and evaluation. This innovation supplemented classroom teaching of Chinese language throughout one semester at a regional Australian university. Using the existing resource called Chinese Island (CI) created by a major urban Australian university, the primary aim of this study was to probe student’s perceptions about the resource. Due to curriculum differences between two universities, customised language and culture learning tasks based on the learnt textbook content were designed on CI, with instructions and associated quizzes hosted in a private Moodle site—a widely-used learning management system (LMS) environment. Twenty-eight mixed-level undergraduate Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) students participated in a survey, and seven of these students were interviewed. The questionnaire and interview data were collected and analysed during the study. Following analysis, results indicated that students welcomed the experiential learning opportunity to explore Chinese culture and language outside the classroom afforded by CI. Anecdotal evidence suggested that students became more aware of the complicated pragmatic issues in real life communication. The survey results, including the participants’ responses to open-ended questions, are discussed in this paper. Pedagogical implications and directions for further research are also considered.

P161 Digital Workbooks to Develop and Evidence Learning in a Flipped Nutrition Classroom in Higher Education

<h3>Objective</h3> To evaluate student use and perceptions of a digital workbook in 3 undergraduate nutrition courses taught with a flipped classroom approach (FCA). <h3>Use of Theory or Research</h3> Within the FCA 3 phases of learning are aligned with Bloom's Taxonomy: prepare (self-directed pre-class activities: remember and understand); participate (facilitated in-class activities: apply and analyse) and recap (self-directed post class activities: evaluate and create). While technology can support the delivery of the FCA, there is little evidence for the most effective delivery of FCA learning experiences for nutrition students. <h3>Target Audience</h3> One hundred and sixty-two undergraduate nutrition students at a regional Australian University in Semester 1, 2019. <h3>Course/Curriculum Description</h3> PebblePad digital workbooks were used to deliver 3 FCA courses. Each digital workbook contained weekly workbook tabs with interactive pages based on the FCA phases. Students used the workbook to access and participate in learning experiences during each FCA phase. <h3>Evaluation Methods</h3> An online survey measured self-report student satisfaction and patterns of digital workbook use. Student perceptions of engagement with, usefulness of, and suggestions for assessment and learning to use the digital workbook were collected. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively and qualitative data analyzed using conventional content analysis. <h3>Results</h3> Thirty-nine students (24%) participated. Majority of students reported the digital workbook was engaging. Useful aspects included workbook structure, development of a learning artifact, and convenience. Digital workbooks were well-utilized for learning activities related to learning, applying and consolidating knowledge, with most students accessing their digital workbook several times a week. Less useful aspects included technology issues and limited feedback provided. Suggestions for future use included more ‘how-to' resources and integration of quizzes. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Well-structured digital workbooks can support FCA delivery in nutrition education. Further exploration of feedback integration and student technology support mechanisms would be useful for educators using the FCA.

Cultural safety training for allied health students in Australia

Abstract Culturally safe health practitioners are essential for effective service provision to culturally diverse populations, including Indigenous Australians. Therefore, cultural safety education during training as a health care professional is an essential component in helping improve the health of Indigenous Australians. This study examined whether the implementation of an Indigenous cultural safety education workshop increased self-rated cultural safety knowledge and attitudes of allied health students. The study employed a quantitative before-and-after design using pre- and post-surveys to determine the level of attitudinal change in students who attended a day long workshop. The study sample consisted of 1st year (n = 347) and 4th year (n = 149) allied health students at a regional Australian university over the years 2007–2011. Whilst the results of this current study are varied in terms of achieving positive change across all of the taught items of knowledge and attitude, they provide some evidence around the value of this type of curriculum intervention in helping develop culturally safe practitioners. An important finding was around the student's becoming self-aware about their own values and cultural identity, combined with acknowledging the importance of this cultural identity to interactions with clients. This form of ‘cultural humility’ appears to be an important step to becoming a culturally safe practitioner. These types of interventions would be enhanced through embedding and scaffolding throughout the curricula.

Studying gender in the neoliberal, postfeminist university: Australian university students’ perspectives

In a neoliberal environment where university students are encouraged to study subjects and courses which will lead to specific job outcomes, this article explores which students undertake Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS), why they undertake the degree, and what it teaches them. Drawing on interviews with students at a regional Australian university, this qualitative study examines the extent to which the university’s Gender Studies cohort is postfeminist, and the impact that this has on retention and student outcomes. Findings suggest that WGS holds an ambivalent position within the contemporary university context. While students claim that studying WGS may not directly benefit them in the contemporary job market, they choose to study it because it gives them a better understanding of themselves and the world around them. The value students place on WGS is an insight rarely recognised previously.

An exploration of perceptions of gender equity among SAGE Athena SWAN self-assessment team members in a regional Australian university

ABSTRACT Gender inequality in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) is well documented internationally. The Athena SWAN (AS) Charter was launched in the UK in 2005 to provide an impetus for positive cultural and structural changes to advance gender equality in UK universities. The Australian pilot of the AS Charter began in 2015 and is overseen by the Australian Academy of Sciences. Despite extensive engagement with AS over the last 15 years in the UK and more recently in Australia, qualitative research on the awards application process and its impact on AS Self-Assessment Team (SAT) members is limited. To fill this knowledge gap, we undertook a qualitative interview study examining how gender and gender equity are operationalised and understood by SAT members in the first year of an AS pilot at a regional Australian university. Findings indicate key gender differences in SAT members’ motivations for AS participation which, we argue, potentially translates into unequal gendered workload distributions on the SAT. Although AS is positioned as a key mechanism for addressing inequality in STEMM broadly, this study suggests that the initiative’s impacts in Australia risk being undermined by its unintentional reproduction of gender inequality in the academic workforce.

Transformative Learning: Developing Agency, Independence and Promoting a Strong Sense of Self in Teen Mothers

Adolescents who become pregnant during their secondary education experience a range of challenges that intersect and limit their opportunities to complete schooling and take up university places. One approach to addressing this issue at an Australian regional university is through the Tertiary Preparation Pathway (TPP) which has been delivered within the Supporting Teenagers with Education, Mothering, and Mentoring (STEMM) program, since 2008. The STEMM program offers teen mothers an opportunity to continue or re-engage with education during and beyond pregnancy. Adopting an intersectionality lens, interviews with adolescent mothers identified three key elements underpinning the success of the TPP/STEMM program: recognising the educational aspirations of teen mothers, developing agency and independence and promoting a strong sense of self. This article aims to provide practical implications for educators wishing to establish or develop programs based on this transformative teaching.

Pastoral Care and the Caring Teacher – Value Adding to Enabling Education

The concept of pastoral care to effectively meet the personal, social and academic needs of students is a complex yet under-researched matter in higher education. Similarly, under-researched and institutionally undervalued is the pivotal role that the caring teacher fulfils in imbuing pastoral care in enabling courses. Using an enabling course in a regional Australian university as the context, this article outlines the concept of pastoral care and then discusses the characteristics of the caring teacher, so fundamental to enabling education. The article draws on Motta and Bennett’s (2018) pedagogies of care, namely care as recognition, care as dialogic relationality, and care as affective and embodied praxis to analyse how the students perceived and valued care in the enabling course in which they participated. Findings indicate that supportive learning environments in which caring teachers nurture their students can promote very positive interactions, and ultimately, high student satisfaction and retention.

Conceptual understanding of osmosis and diffusion by Australian first-year biology students

Osmosis and diffusion are essential foundation concepts for first-year biology students as they are a key to understanding much of the biology curriculum. However, mastering these concepts can be challenging due to their interdisciplinary and abstract nature. Even at their simplest level, osmosis and diffusion require the learner to imagine processes they cannot see. In addition, many students begin university with flawed beliefs about these two concepts which will impede learning in related areas. The aim of this study was to explore misconceptions around osmosis and diffusion held by first-year cell biology students at an Australian regional university. The 18-item Osmosis and Diffusion Conceptual Assessment was completed by 767 students. From the results, four key misconceptions were identified: approximately half of the participants believed dissolved substances will eventually settle out of a solution; approximately one quarter thought that water will always reach equal levels; one quarter believed that all things expand and contract with temperature; and nearly one third of students believed molecules only move with the addition of external force. Greater attention to identifying and rectifying common misconceptions when teaching first-year students will improve their conceptual understanding of these concepts and benefit their learning in subsequent science subjects.

How are we progressing with academic numeracy at regional universities? Perspectives from first-year undergraduate studies

This study provides an overview of the support provided for academic numeracy for first-year students across six Australian regional universities. Survey analysis of university academics provided an overview of the approaches used in academic numeracy in diverse cohorts. Further investigations via semi-structured interviews and secondary data were performed, providing details of the level of academic numeracy required in the subjects offered, identification of at-risk students and strategies for student support, and student responses to service provision. A case study at one university provided a more detailed view of the factors influencing attrition in first-year academic numeracy subjects. This case study highlighted issues related to a one-size-fits-all approach and findings argue for a more nuanced cohort-based approach that combines conventional statistical analysis with analysis that provides a more detailed view of complex scenarios. The study suggests that while support services are not responding well to the issue of attrition, better targeting individual student support may lead to improvements.

Reflexivity in a longitudinal narrative inquiry: in pursuit of clarity of interpretations

ABSTRACT The need for researcher reflexivity in qualitative research, especially where data are gathered through interview, is well documented. Studies employing a range of theoretical frameworks and methodologies are similarly affected, with researchers needing to consider specific contextual factors related to the design nuances of each project. This paper focuses on the need for reflexivity, including ethical concerns, in a longitudinal study using narrative inquiry and a Bourdieuian framework. The study included multiple interviews with thirteen students from ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds over a four-year period to examine their experiences of studying at a regional Australian university. Issues around interviewer/interviewee relationships are outlined, along with possible mis/re/interpretations of data. Results demonstrate the critical nature of skilled and ethical interviewing techniques, emphasizing the importance of designing questions which do not pre-empt findings or skew results. Overall, the benefits for both researchers and interviewees of longitudinal studies allowing substantial time lapses facilitating reflexivity between interviews are made evident.

International study abroad programmes: Exploring global south student perspectives, reciprocity and sustainability

ABSTRACT This paper explores student experience, sustainability and the nature of reciprocity in the context of international student mobility programs. There is a considerable body of literature on various aspects of these programs such as educational outcomes, curriculum development, standards for practice and ethical issues. Much of the literature tends to focus on the experiences of the students and staff from the Global North and not on the experiences of those from the Global South. Some authors have highlighted the importance of maximizing the mutual benefits of international programs for all participants and to encourage some level of reciprocity as part of program-planning and delivery. To explore an example of one attempt to increase reciprocity, this small-scale qualitative study focused on the experiences of two international students from India on a short-term program to an Australian regional university. Using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to explore their experiences, we reflect on what educators can learn from the lived experience of these students and how we can further increase the level of reciprocity of these programs, thereby enhancing mutual benefit and ethical standards of international engagement.

Impact of integrated sustainability content into undergraduate business education

Purpose This paper aims to compare the findings from a survey of a cohort of students at an Australian regional university across two time points: immediately on commencing their first semester of study and at the end of their final semester of study to determine whether, and in what ways, these students’ views concerning sustainability appear to have changed. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of the attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of undergraduate business students regarding a range of sustainability issues. Design/methodology/approach A paper-based questionnaire was delivered to approximately 250 first year and 150 third year students. Findings A factor analysis shows small but statistically different positive differences, which indicate that the revised curriculum has been successful in raising student awareness and achieving behaviour change. Research limitations/implications The study focussed on Australian undergraduate university business students, which reduced generalizability of the findings. Practical implications The findings of this study can inform instructors in higher education of student attitudes towards sustainability and climate change adaption and in turn inform changes to tertiary curriculum in sustainability and climate change adaption. Originality/value The authors confirm that the research is original and that all of the data provided in this paper is real and authentic. As the paper reports on the third phase of the longitudinal study, some parts of the methodology have been previously published but differ as they reflect the third phase of the study. The results of this study have not been previously published.

Modern Artificial Intelligence Model Development for Undergraduate Student Performance Prediction: An Investigation on Engineering Mathematics Courses

A computationally efficient artificial intelligence (AI) model called Extreme Learning Machines (ELM) is adopted to analyze patterns embedded in continuous assessment to model the weighted score (WS) and the examination (EX) score in engineering mathematics courses at an Australian regional university. The student performance data taken over a six-year period in multiple courses ranging from the mid- to the advanced level and a diverse course offering mode (i.e., on-campus, ONC, and online, ONL) are modelled by ELM and further benchmarked against competing models: random forest (RF) and Volterra. With the assessments and examination marks as key predictors of WS (leading to a grade in the mid-level course), ELM (with respect to RF and Volterra) outperformed its counterpart models both for the ONC and the ONL offer. This generated relative prediction error in the testing phase, of only 0.74%, compared to about 3.12% and 1.06%, respectively, while for the ONL offer, the prediction errors were only 0.51% compared to about 3.05% and 0.70%. In modelling the student performance in advanced engineering mathematics course, ELM registered slightly larger errors: 0.77% (vs. 22.23% and 1.87%) for ONC and 0.54% (vs. 4.08% and 1.31%) for the ONL offer. This study advocates a pioneer implementation of a robust AI methodology to uncover relationships among student learning variables, developing teaching and learning intervention and course health checks to address issues related to graduate outcomes, and student learning attributes in the higher education sector.

Staff Accessibility and Online Engagement With First-Year Students

Studying online is becoming an increasingly attractive option to prospective students worldwide, yet external completion rates tend to be considerably lower than those enrolled on campus. Through an autoethnographic critical reflection process of teaching 27 first-year online students at a regional Australian university, this article considers methods for increasing accessibility and student engagement as well as managing personal challenges supporting online students from non-traditional backgrounds. Among seven key implications for practice, this article argues the need for genuine and open-ended interaction with online students at the early stages of a semester. It also recommends that teaching staff consciously recognize the limitations of providing academic support to non-traditional students. Based on these practices, this article confirms the benefits of critical reflection in higher education settings and the broader impact it can have on pedagogic approaches to tertiary teaching and learning.

Rethinking online learning design to enhance the experiences of Indigenous higher education students

The educational inequity that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have experienced in higher education in Australia is replicated in virtual learning spaces, with generic models of online learning design taking little account of cultural factors that impact on learning. To counter this, new approaches to online learning design are needed that consider the experiences of Indigenous people. This article explores culture as a critical element of online learning design that enhances the learning experiences and outcomes of Indigenous people. The study reported in this article was conducted at a regional Australian university and was methodologically situated within an educational design research framework. Data were collected through the narrative method of yarning with 19 Indigenous students enrolled in a range of disciplines. From the data, 10 themes were developed, which guided the design of a learning design model and six preliminary design principles. The study contributes to the gap in the literature on learning design for Indigenous online higher education students. As the model and preliminary design principles are culturally situated at the site of the study, they need testing by educational designers and academics to ascertain their usefulness in other contexts.