In this essay, the authors talk about higher degree supervision as a human relationship, and shares how to supervise a PhD. There's a tendency now to talk about supervision as if it's a technical process one needs to learn the rules of. This paper urges educators to think about this as a human educational relationship, which has all the ups and…

How best to understand the curriculum problem in doctoral research education: that is the question that this paper engages. It begins by noting that curriculum as such is little referenced and inadequately theorised in higher education and certainly in doctoral education, and indeed has been described as a "missing term". The paper then reviews a…

With growing international interest in diversifying sites for pedagogical work within the doctorate, doctoral programmes of different kinds are being developed in different disciplinary, institutional and national settings. However, little is known about how the pedagogical work of these programmes is designed and enacted, and with what effects.…

Introduces six articles that form this issue's feature section on international higher education. Uses the articles to explore issues of globalization in higher education, including the danger of a global convergence in models of higher education that may poorly serve the needs of different institutions. (EV)

Explores how extensions to the General Agreements on Trade in Services (GATS) designed to increase market access of private service providers to industries now in the public sector could affect public higher education. Asserts that these agreements have an alarming potential to limit the role of government in the delivery of public services such…

Discusses the rise of entrepreneurialism in Australian universities as one response to globalization. Examines its positive and negative effects upon educational standards, academic morale, and structure of academic work. Highlights areas of fundamental change in the sector, including changes in university missions and culture and the uneven…

Explores how the agenda for "modernization" in Argentinean higher education responds to interests of an economic rather than academic nature and aspires to eradicate an important identifying tradition, that of the humanistic professional committed to the community and to democratic practices. Proposes a cultural, rather than economic, analysis of…

Provides an analysis of some of the consequences of the deregulation and marketization of postgraduate education in Australia, such as a declining number of students in strategic areas such as biological sciences and agriculture, limiting of access to only those who can pay high up-front fees, and the strong incentives for programs to "dumb down."…

Assesses two recent Australian studies of diversity in higher education institutions, both financed by the Commonwealth Department of Education, Training, and Youth Affairs. Study results suggest significant diversity among universities in a number of areas, most of them closely associated with the history of the system. At the same time, state…

Influences on the development of international distance education are examined, focusing on the trend toward privatization of higher education and anticipated cooperation between media leaders and universities. Factors in the success of such efforts and the response of critics are considered, and the conclusions drawn by a major Australian report…

Discussion of trends in World Wide Web-based delivery of higher education in Australia looks at issues in the pedagogy of online teaching and learning, its costs, and some philosophical concerns of access and equity. All are examined in the context of a recent Australian report (the West Report) on technology in higher education. (MSE)

Discussion of a recent Australian report on technology in higher education, entitled "Learning for Life" and known as the West Report, finds unconvincing its claims about the imminent threat of "virtual universities" and the educational possibilities opening up through new communication and information technologies. An alternative vision of…

Examines distance teaching in Australian higher education, with particular reference to predictions made in the recent West Report ("Learning for Life"), arguing that discussion of technology and change in the universities must be framed in the context of the wider educational system, considering especially the government's construction of…

A discussion of the philosophy of open learning in higher education, particularly in the Australian context, looks at a variety of issues, including societal pressures to redirect higher education, the teaching role of faculty, student-centered curricula, lifelong learning, need for new student assessment strategies, and student attitudes toward…

Examines models of academic work in terms of the concepts of "residual, dominant, and emergent" discourses and practices, and in light of changing roles of universities, particularly in Australia. Models discussed include those viewing the academic as bureaucratic professional, market professional who defines his own work but produces for the…