The problems of shifting from norm-referenced assessment to criterion-referenced assessment have been identified by several scholars in recent years. These important critiques touch on a number of areas, but neglect a key question about how assessors learn to accomplish what Shay calls a "socially situated interpretive act". Research…

This article reflects on the purposes and functions of examination criteria for Masters' research degrees with creative practice components. With a particular focus on dance projects that incorporate both a performed and a written expression of the research, we consider how a rubric for creative practice research degrees might address…

As part of a mixed-methods doctoral project, this study drew on an interview, bracketed by two surveys, with experienced Australian reviewers. It explored questions about the contributions of peer review, the need and possibility to improve it and the driving factors for reviewers to contribute voluntarily. The respondents emphasised the essential…

The role of institutional factors in students' intentions to persist with or withdraw from their studies is well established in the literature. More recently, the influence of factors external to the institution has been highlighted as well. This study investigates the relationship between levels of engagement of first-year students…

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has yet to fully enter the mainstream of life in higher education. In this case study, we consider a specific network focused on the reform of engineering education. The network involves global collaboration within the discipline of Engineering and is based around curricular activity that affects…

The study focused on learning difficulties experienced by East Asian International (EAI) students. Participants were 117 EAI students undertaking tertiary study at a major university, all were surveyed and 21 students were interviewed. The findings suggest that language limitations, academic content and learning styles were associated with…

One important line of inquiry in educational psychology involves the study of change of individuals' cognitive-motivational processes. The conjunctive use of longitudinal data with latent growth curve modeling procedures has, for example, allowed researchers to identify initial levels and to trace trajectories of theoretical variables such as…

Being aware of the factors that develop a positive organisational climate is especially important in universities, where the academic members of staff are, in large measure, self-motivated. To identify the determinants of organisational climate for university academia, the validity and reliability of the first-order constructs of autonomy,…

Analysis of a sample of assessment tasks used in New Zealand first-year clinical and final-year secondary school Biology and Chemistry National Certificate of Educational Achievement summative assessments was conducted to assess whether similarities and differences existed in secondary and tertiary competency discourses. Findings suggested…

The writing of this essay coincided with the author's first meeting as a member of the newly established Task Team for the Council on Higher Education (CHE)--an advisory body to the national Ministry of Education--to review the state of higher education in South Africa over the past twenty years since its transition to a post-apartheid…

This article, based on narrative inquiry, explores how academics with/out formal leadership positions experience and understand themselves as leaders in their everyday working contexts. A single case of a fixed-term academic was chosen to illustrate how different analytical lenses -- "plot analysis" and "discourse analysis" -- can unpack the…

Higher education, especially that leading to a degree from a high-prestige university, is strongly related to social status and employment opportunities in East Asian countries. This is a consequence of both traditional Confucian attitudes to education and the social and economic changes accompanying industrialisation. Since the number of places…

Emotion experienced in the classroom has been shown to influence subject-level satisfaction and loyalty to the institution. To date, a valid and reliable scale to measure higher-education satisfaction emotions does not exist and this study aims to rectify this shortfall. After a qualitative and quantitative investigation, 14 emotions that formed…

Much research into doctoral student-supervisor relations focuses on developing positive interactions. For many students, however, the research experience can be troubled by breakdowns in communication and even the loss of the supervisor(s), turning the student into a doctoral "orphan" and impacting on their academic identity and ability and…

The higher education landscape is undergoing major transformation, with a significant impact on the work and family practices of academics and professional staff. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the extent to which (1) time-related, (2) strain-related and (3) demographical variables impact on the work/family balance of academic…