This paper describes two studies that explore students' beliefs about critical and creative learning at two universities, and considers the implications of those beliefs in comparison to the universities' stated education goals. One is a mixed method study of students at a top university in Korea, and the second is a comparative study…

This paper is concerned with the participation of students from low socio-economic status (SES) families and communities in Australian higher education. One means of achieving this, as purported by the Australian Government and various universities, is through the raising of family aspirations or expectations. In this paper, I explore the…

Peer review of teaching is recognized increasingly as one strategy for academic development even though historically peer review of teaching is often unsupported by policy, action and culture in many Australian universities. Higher education leaders report that academics generally do not engage with peer review of teaching in a systematic or…

Reflection is not a new concept in the teaching of higher education and is often an important component of many disciplinary courses. Despite this, past research shows that while there are examples of rich reflective strategies used in some areas of higher education, most approaches to, and conceptualisations of, reflective learning and assessment…

University workloads, their impact on staff and how they can be managed, are the subject of considerable research and discussion. This paper addresses strategies to deal with the impact of workloads on teaching practices in higher education. In particular, it aims to discover the implicit theories and tacit assumptions that underlie perceptions of…

This paper presents the views of students, from a range of schools and disciplines, on the effectiveness of current assessment feedback practices at Flinders University. We also report on a workshop on feedback with teachers. Overall, individual written comments were found to be the most useful form of feedback. However, there was significant…

This paper describes a terminological approach to the teaching and learning of fundamental concepts in foundation tertiary units in Statistics and Accounting, using an online dictionary-style resource (TermFinder) with customised "termbanks" for each discipline. Designed for independent learning, the termbanks support inquiring students…

This article offers an unconventional cost-benefit analysis of three academic development initiatives at a large Australasian university: a three-day foundation course for new academics, a series of one-on-one teaching consultations and a two-year postgraduate certificate program. Weaving together qualitative, quantitative and arts-based…

In this paper, I argue that memoir, as a form of auto-ethnographic research, is an appropriate method for exploring the complexities and singularities in the practice of western educational practitioners who are immersed in the social reality of offshore higher education institutions, such as those in Mainland China. I illustrate this proposition…

This paper reports on an interpretivist research study that sought to articulate the strategies being adopted by selected universities to recruit, teach and retain students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. The literature is clear that these students face more barriers and fewer encouragers than their peers to engage with higher…

The use of technology for teaching and learning is now widespread, but its educational effectiveness is still open to question. This mixed-method study explores educational practices with technology in higher education. It examines what forms of evidence (if any) have influenced teachers' practices. It comprises a literature review, a…

In this article, David Watson debates the pros and cons of leadership skills in both a small and large university. Watson relates his own experiences regarding the changing atmosphere of leadership. He states that his experiences have caused him to reflect on what is genuinely generic about individual capacities for institutional leadership: that…

An increase in students who enter higher education in Australia following their studies in the vocational education and training (VET) sector has led to heightened national interest in the transition experiences of these students. This paper reports on the experiences of students who, as a result of their VET studies, entered a relatively new,…

Students' perceptions during their first semester at university may be critical in the decision to continue or discontinue studies. In this study we consider students' perceptions of what factors enable successful transition to university. Using qualitative research, students' perceptions are obtained by in-depth interviews and…

In this article, I explore some of the contested meanings of leadership coexisting within the context of higher education. I report from my study about how academics at one university in Aotearoa/New Zealand experience and understand themselves as leaders in their everyday working contexts. From the participants' accounts and their…