AUR 59 01 by NTEU

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017 Published by NTEU

ISSN 0818–8068

AUR

Australian Universities’Review

AUR Editor Dr Ian R. Dobson, Monash University

AUR Editorial Board Jeannie Rea, NTEU National President Professor Timo Aarrevaara, University of Lapland Professor Jamie Doughney, Victoria University Professor Leo Goedegebuure, University of Melbourne Professor Jeff Goldsworthy, Monash University Dr Tseen Khoo, La Trobe University Dr Mary Leahy, University of Melbourne Kristen Lyons, University of Queensland Professor Dr Simon Marginson, University of London Mr Grahame McCulloch, NTEU General Secretary Dr Alex Millmow, Federation University Australia Dr Neil Mudford, UNSW@ADFA Professor Paul Rodan, Swinburne University of Technology Cathy Rytmeister, Macquarie University Jim Smith, CAPA National President

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References to be cited according to APA Publication Manual 6th edition (with minor exceptions). References in the text should be given in the author–date style: King (2004) argues ... or as various authors (King, 2004; Markwell, 2007) argue ... Two co-authors should be cited in the text as (Smith & Jones, 2013). More than two authors cite as (Jones et al., 2011). Page references should be thus: (King, 2004, p. 314). Page references should be used for direct quotations. The reference list should be placed in alphabetical order at the end of the paper, utilising the author–date system. For a reference to a book: Gall, M., Gall, J. & Borg, W. (2003). Education Research: An introduction (7th ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon. For a journal reference: King, D.A. (2004). What different countries get for their research spending. Nature, 430, 311–316. For a reference to a chapter in a collection: McCollow, J. & Knight, J. (2005). Higher Education in Australia: An Historical Overview, in M. Bella, J. McCollow & J. Knight (Eds). Higher Education in Transition. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press. For a web reference: Markwell, D. (2007). The challenge of student engagement. Retrieved from http://www.catl.uwa.edu.au/__data/ page/95565/Student_engagement_-_Don_Markwell_-_30_Jan_2007.pdf Do not include retrieval dates for web references unless the source material may change over time (e.g. wikis).

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017 Published by NTEU

ISSN 0818–8068

Australian Universities’ Review 2 3

Letter from the editor

Martin Davies & Angelito Calma

Note of authorship change

Building on a paper recently published in AUR, this paper explains how journal citations reflect the ‘geography’ of a discipline.

ARTICLES 4

69 Getting cited: A reconsideration of purpose

Ian R Dobson

Students flourish and tutors wither: A study of participant experiences in a first-year online unit Andrea Dodo-Balu

The flexibilities that have widened participation at Australian universities have led to the admission of more ‘non-traditional’ students, but increased casualisation of teaching staff has had a negative impact on casual tutors. 14 Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme. Tertiary Tuition and beyond: Transitioning with strengths and promoting opportunities Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

This paper examines elements of the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme, and describes its success. However, the Scheme is no longer keeping up with developments in online learning and administration. 24 Collaboration in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

Collaboration in humanities and social sciences disciplines is on the increase. Analysis of a decade of Web of Science data shows this! 37 Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman

In this paper, the author proposes a new approach by universities to expand intakes of disadvantaged students, to concentrate on the identity of those students and how they understand ‘disadvantage’, to establish what they want out of higher education. 47 Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

Student activism is inhibited by students being time-poor. Many students spend more hours working than studying, making it more difficult to be ‘active’. 58 When rating systems do not rate: Evaluating ERA’s performance Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

A paper that keeps up the pressure on the Australian Research Council’s Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) programme. They scrutinise the way the ARC ranks disciplines at universities from ‘well below’ to ‘well above’ world standard. Just why have some disciplines at some universities been ranked ‘not reported’?

76 Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin: Dialectic relations between the neoliberal think-tank movement and academia in Australia Lester Thompson & David Wadley

This paper examines the place of ideology in the emanations of neoliberal ‘think tanks’. How can universities fight against this? Do they have the will to do so? 87 Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities: A mixed methods pilot study Michelle Gander

This paper compares general staff (aka professional staff, etc.) in the UK and Australia, and finds no significant differences between career attitudes in the two countries. 97 Promoting leadership in Australian universities Andrew P Bradley, Tim Grice & Neil Paulsen

This paper examines practices that can be used to help develop academic leadership. REVIEWS 106 I fought the law, and the law won… (Bobby Fuller Four, 1965) Higher Education and the Law by Sally Varnham, Patty Kamvounias & Joan Squelch (Eds). Reviewed by Pamela O’Connor

108 Teaching by design? Design by teaching? Studio teaching in higher education by Elizabeth Boling, Roland A Schwier, Colin M Gray, Kennon Smith & Katy Campbell. Reviewed by Andrys Onsman

109 HETL be all right on the night! Creative learning in higher education by Linda S Watts & Patrick Blessinger. Reviewed by Andrys Onsman

’

Letter from the editor Ian R Dobson Welcome to another year of Australian Universities’

Jason van Tol examined student activism, to explore

Review. We hope its contents continue to inform and

elements that can enable or constrain it. Drawing data

amuse, as appropriate.

from a questionnaire, interviews and an action research

This issue has ten papers on a wide-range of topics.

project, the study found that a major inhibitor was

First, Andrea Dodo-Balu presents the results of a small

students being time poor. The median student spent

study concerning widening student participation, on-line

more hours per week working than studying, somewhat

programs and casual teaching academics. She found that

limiting the capacity of students to be ‘active’.

the ‘flexibility’ provided by these aspects of contemporary

The Australian Government’s Excellence in Research

university life in Australia ‘…have facilitated successful

for Australia (ERA) has received quite a bit of attention in

entry into the academic community’ of non-traditional

papers published in AUR for the shoddy methodologies

students, that the quality of teaching has not been

used in the discredited journal rating scheme that was

affected, but that there can be a negative impact on the

eventually dumped by the then Minister in May, 2011.The

professional experience of casual tutors.

attention is now turned to the 2015 ERA assessment, in

Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton and Katie Wilson

which universities’ disciplines were rated as being ‘well

examine an Australian government scheme to provide

below’ to well above’ world standing. A sixth category

support to Indigenous students. Their paper considers

‘not rated’ was created, for universities which made a

the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme – Tertiary

submission, but for which ERA assessment committees

Tuition (ITAS-TT), which has been supporting Australian

were unable to rate,‘due to coding errors’. Using Bayesian

Indigenous university students since 1989. ITAS, they find,

modelling, Paul Henman, Scott Brown and Simon Dennis

has provided much valuable support, but is no longer

show that there are ‘…systemic differences in the rating

keeping up with developments in online learning and

processes of the Psychology Field of Research (16) and

administration.

the Medical Research Evaluation Committee that is not

The next paper is about collaboration. The Oxford

evident in other Fields of Research and RECs that are

Dictionary of English (2005, p. 338) lists two meanings

not attributable to institutional factors.’ Curiouser and

for this word. It can mean ‘the action of working with

curiouser!

someone to produce something’, but its second meaning

Also on research metrics, Martin Davies and Angelito

is ‘traitorous cooperation with an enemy’. In their paper

Calma use material from an on-going research program

Collaborations in the humanities, arts and social sciences

based on analyses of citation metrics in key journals.

in Australia, Gaby Haddow, Jianhong Xia and Michele

Based on citation data from two key higher education

Willson take this word in its first meaning, and examined a

journals, they ‘show how citations are a measure of the

decade of Web of Science data to show that collaboration

‘geography’ of a discipline, providing information about

in humanities and social sciences disciplines is on the

the nature of disciplines themselves’.

increase. Perhaps future work could examine higher education collaboration of the traitorous kind!

Lester Thompson and David Wadley look at the relationship between neoliberal think-tanks, and Australian

Tim Pitman examines higher education disadvantage,

academia. They suggest that government media and

and finds that policies and programs follow four distinct

think-tanks ‘aim to “balance” public information through

approaches, to wit creating mass higher education,

ideological promulgations;, and that ‘…universities lack

redistributing places to disadvantaged students, changing

the philosophical positioning, will and organisation

institutions’ cultural practices, and shifting policy focus

effectively to meet this challenge’. Scary stuff!

from access to outcomes/benefits. He proposes a fifth

Michelle Gander examines aspects of what she has

approach: to concentrate on the identity of the students,

described as ‘business management’ staff: managerial,

and how they understand disadvantage, and what they

professional and technical staff, variously described as

want out of higher education.

administrators or professional staff, typically holding

Letter from the editor Ian R Dobson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

tertiary qualifications in accounting, human resources,

’

Note of authorship change

etc. Her study compared staff in the UK and Australia, and found no significant differences between the career

Australian Universities’ Review published a paper by

attitudes of business management staff in the two

Laurie Field in 2015 entitled ‘Using outperformance pay

countries.

to motivate academics: Insiders’ accounts of promises

Finally, Andrew Bradley, Tim Grice and Neil Paulson examine current practices for developing and promoting academic leadership. They observe that ‘…current university recruitment and promotion procedures have not yet found a way to select adequately for leadership experience and potential. Current practice still tends to prioritise and reward technical achievements within

and problems’ (AUR 57(2), 5-15). In an email dated 15 July 2016, Dr Field wrote [the paper] acknowledges the contribution of Dr Verity Greenwood to data collection. However, upon further reflection and based on deliberations involving Dr Greenwood, I have decided that her contribution warrants acknowledgement as second author …and in place of the footnote about her data collection role.

an individual’s discipline, based on their research and teaching outcomes, as a surrogate for leadership’. How do we fix this?

The online version of the paper has been amended accordingly.

Here endeth the scholarly papers accepted for this issue. Now read the book reviews! Ian R Dobson is editor of Australian Universities’ Review, and an Adjunct Professional Staff member at Monash University, Australia.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Letter from the editor Ian R Dobson

’

Students flourish and tutors wither A study of participant experiences in a first-year online unit Andrea Dodo-Balu Murdoch University School of Education

Contemporary higher education has been affected by policy pressures built around ‘flexibility’. The policies of widening student participation and expanding flexible online delivery combine to provide the opportunity for a university education to students hitherto largely excluded. Flexible employment policies have increasingly placed university teaching into the hands of casual tutors without permanent academic positions. This article contextualises and outlines initial findings from a qualitative case study of a first year, online unit which is a representative microcosm of the teaching and learning conditions produced by these pressures. While the students in the study felt able to enter the academic community successfully and experience empowering and transformational learning, the tutors felt disempowered and devalued with little hope for a future in the academy. Keywords: Online learning, higher education policy, non-traditional students, first-year, casualisation, sessional academics

Introduction

been tightened and regulatory pressures have increased, requiring universities to adopt flexible workplace models

Flexibility is a key word in the contemporary higher

(Percy & Beaumont, 2008).This has changed employment

education system in Australia. Flexible and diverse entry

patterns at universities, with a decrease in permanent

and exit points, as well as flexible forms of recognising

academic positions and a rise in the number of casual

learning, open up the possibility of attaining a university

teaching staff, both in actual numbers and as a proportion

degree for students ‘…hitherto largely excluded from

of all teaching academics.

university attendance’ (Birrell & Edwards, 2009, p. 8).

In 2010, the proportion of teaching only positions

Flexible modes of course delivery centring on online

taken by casual staff was put at 86.5 per cent while

learning allow a further widening of access to university

52 per cent of all university teaching was performed

studies for students unable or unwilling to travel to

by casuals (National Tertiary Education Union, 2016).

and from campus (Norton, 2014), often due to location,

Australian higher education is therefore experiencing

employment and/or family commitments, or for medical

some of its most substantial growth in two groups

reasons. An increase in university enrolments of ‘non-

which can be regarded as being on the periphery of the

traditional’ students, particularly those classified as

academy: non-traditional students and casual academic

mature-age, regional or remote, low socio-economic

teachers. This article explores the literature on these

status or with disabilities, has been one result. At the

trends, and contextualises and outlines findings from the

same time, government funding for higher education has

initial stage of a case study into a first year, online unit,

Students flourish and tutors wither Andrea Dodo-Balu

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

pseudonymously named Academic Transition Unit or

assumed that students entering university are equipped

ATU100 for research purposes. This unit can be seen as

to succeed in their degrees. As stated by James (2010),

a representative microcosm of the conditions produced

‘… universities must accept that one of their roles is to

by three major policy pressures centred on flexibility: the

address shortfalls in schooling for some people’ (p. 10).

widening of student participation; the growth of flexible

Findings by Cupitt and Golshan (2015) suggest that online

online delivery; and the casualisation of academic teaching.

study may form a de-facto equity pathway as students

Using qualitative methods, the overall aim of the research

who are otherwise disadvantaged use online education as

is to develop an in-depth picture of how the participants

a gateway to university.

in ATU100 experience contemporary higher education

Such students are more likely to have a ‘fragile self-

learning and teaching within the unit, and thus allow the

belief” about their capacity to succeed in an academic

effects of these pressures to become more apparent.

environment (Yorke & Longden, 2004, p. 83), less sense

ATU100 is a compulsory first year unit focusing on

of belonging or fitting in at university (Berger, 2000), and

academic conventions, offered online by a major Australian

to be intimidated and overwhelmed by their first year

university through Open Universities Australia (OUA).The

(McInnes & James, 2004). Fully online students have the

number of students studying degree courses fully online

additional challenge of acquiring proficiency in navigating

has grown significantly. According to Norton (2014), 18

the online learning site, at the same time as they are

per cent of all higher education students were studying off-

developing academic competence (Bach et al., 2007). In

campus in 2013. This does not include students studying

response to the needs of non-traditional students, most

via a mix of off-campus and on-campus units. The option

universities offer physical spaces on campus where

of studying their degrees online through avenues such as

students can find academic support but these are not

OUA is taken up by students who have widely varying

generally accessible to online students, putting them at a

reasons for preferring this mode to studying on campus,

further disadvantage (Muldoon & Wijyegewardene, 2012).

creating an extremely diverse cohort. This increase in

While the literature paints an overall bleak picture of

the number of online students has been accompanied

the multiple challenges facing online students who are

by a corresponding growth in online university teaching,

new to university, personal determination and a love of

including the wide-ranging employment of casual

learning appear to be elements that can lead to student

academics as online tutors. This is in line with the trend

success (Stone, 2008).

towards the use of casual teaching academics across universities.The proportion of university teaching carried

Perseverance and retention

out by casual academics is variably put at between 21 per

It has been widely noted that the attrition levels in fully

cent (Norton, 2014) and 53 per cent (Ryan et al., 2011).

online courses are higher than in comparable courses in

This discrepancy reflects casual academics’ secondary

which students complete at least some of their studies

status (Ryan et al., 2011) within the academy, with several

on campus (Cupitt & Golshan, 2015). However, Nichols

universities being unable to provide accurate data on

(2010) discusses the complexity surrounding the issue of

the number of casual academics they employ or the

online student retention and how it can be measured, as

conditions of their employment (Coates et al., 2009). In

well as the fact that a certain level of attrition is normal.

the case of ATU100, more than 90 per cent of the tutors are casuals.

Personal determination is a key element cited by successful online students (Nichols, 2010; Beck &

The students and tutors involved in ATU100 represent

Milligan, 2014). Cupitt and Golshan (2015) suggest

two substantial groups who participate in a learning

that online students need more grit as well as greater

space on the edge of the academy created as a result

institutional and peer support in order to overcome their

of contemporary policy with its emphasis on flexibility.

greater challenges and achieve success. Also important to

The literature points to major difficulties for both these

retention is a genuine excitement about the opportunity

groups.

to participate in university study, which for many students is only possible through the online environment. Stone

From the literature Challenges of online study

(2008) mentions a love of learning and the desire to continue, as well as feelings of independence, fulfilment, confidence and personal growth gained by mature-age

The growth in academic transition units such as ATU100

students entering university via a non-traditional pathway.

is largely due to the recognition that it can no longer be

Mature-aged students are highly represented in ATU100.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Students flourish and tutors wither Andrea Dodo-Balu

’

The importance of the tutor for non-traditional, online students

& Beaumont, 2008; Lazarsfeld-Jensen & Morgan, 2009;

The de-facto equity pathway created by online learning

tutors in units such as ATU100 often strive to develop

results in a high proportion of non-traditional students in

their pedagogical skills in their own time and in isolation.

units such as ATU100.The literature suggests an increased

Brown et al. (2010) state that,‘unlike continuing or fixed-

importance of the tutor’s role in enabling institutions

term staff, casual teaching staff are not paid to develop

to respond effectively to these students’ needs. James

and maintain their knowledge-base, yet are expected

(2010) asserts that new forms of pedagogy are required

to deploy it in the teaching process’ (p. 172). Percy and

as students who do not meet institutions’ current

Beaumont (2008) problematise ‘…taking action on the

perceptions of university-level ability enter the academic

issue of casualisation only in terms of the provision of

community. Yorke (2004) also mentions the need for

adequate training…’ (p. 150). They argue for holistic

radical changes in pedagogy in the context of mature-

professional formation that includes casual academics

aged students, to provide the social element shown to be

within the collegial communities at the universities

important in promoting retention (Tinto, 2007). Thus, the

where they are engaged.

Brown et al., 2010; Gottschalk & McEarchern, 2010).Thus,

ability of the institution to design new pedagogies for non-

Instead, casual academics too often become deskilled

traditional students, and of individual tutors to implement

and marginalised on the ‘tenuous periphery’ of scholarly

them are important concerns for

retention.

Individual

tutors are also shown to have a crucial role to play in supporting the self-belief of non-traditional students and helping them to understand university (Yorke,

expectations 2004;

Yorke

life (Brown et al., 2010,

While the literature calls for a reflective, adaptable and innovative pedagogy to meet the needs of both non-traditional and online students, the prevalent use of casual teaching academics means that many online tutors are not given the opportunity to develop such attributes

p. 170) while uncertainty about ongoing employment and their reliance on prior relationships

with

unit

coordinators for continuing work, create a sense of financial vulnerability 2010;

and

personal

(Brown Gottschalk

Longden 2004; McInnis &

al.,

James, 2004).

McEachern, 2010; Lazarsfeld

In online learning environments, ‘…tutors… act as the

Jensen & Morgan, 2009). Despite these adverse conditions,

human interface between the university and its students’

‘the risk casualisation poses to the individual worker

(Quartermaine et al., 2012, p. 66).The literature on online

barely rates a mention in government and university

higher education emphasises teaching presence as being

policy and guidelines’ (Percy & Beaumont, 2008, p. 147).

key to the quality of the student experience (Garrison et

Rather, discussions generally centre on the perceived risk

al., 2010).‘The instructor does not become less important

that casualisation poses to the quality of teaching that

in e-learning…students experience the instructors’

students receive (Ryan et al., 2011).

support and expertise as especially important…’ (Paechter et al., 2010, p. 228). Thus, pedagogical and technological

The relevance of ATU100

innovations (Garrison, 2011) are involved in the response to the growth of flexible online delivery. Participation

The two pressures of widening student participation

in online learning spaces is a complex phenomenon

and delivering flexible online learning create the need

(Hratinski, 2008). Bach et al. (2007) emphasise the need

for academic transition units that are taught fully online.

for skilful and experienced facilitation of online learning,

The third pressure of casualising academic teaching

conceivably requiring time and the provision of quality

ensures that casual tutors are highly represented amongst

professional learning to develop.

teaching staff. ATU100 encapsulates the conditions which

The casualisation of academic teaching

produced these three policy pressures in a bounded teaching and learning space providing a setting for

While the literature calls for a reflective, adaptable and

investigating the type of experiences these conditions

innovative pedagogy to meet the needs of both non-

create for tutors and students. ATU100 is a large unit with

traditional and online students, the prevalent use of casual

the Open University versions regularly enrolling 500

teaching academics means that many online tutors are not

to 600 students per study period. The majority of these

given the opportunity to develop such attributes (Percy

students have been away from study for some time, and

Students flourish and tutors wither Andrea Dodo-Balu

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

these students generally enrol in ATU100 as the first

research and their interaction with current ATU100

unit towards their bachelor degree, which makes it an

students and colleagues.

important gateway to a positive and successful university

The students in the sample had completed the

experience. Given the potential problems emphasised in

unit previously, and were chosen as a response to the

the literature, the student experience could be expected

theoretical evidence of the importance of personal

to be difficult, if not overwhelming. Nevertheless, findings

determination and tutor support to perseverance in the

suggest that ATU100 is meeting its aims for students,

online learning environment, as outlined above. All three

which centre on equipping them for successful entry into

students had expressed doubts to their tutor about their

the academic community.This also suggests that tutors are

academic ability at an interim point in their study periods,

delivering the unit successfully.

but subsequently completed the unit successfully. The initial research stage has utilised in-depth interviews

The interviews Methodology As a qualitative/interpretivist case study focusing on

supported by statistical findings derived from larger external surveys. Findings have been grouped into the following emerging themes:

of the unit participants in dealing with the effects of the

Online study is a gateway to university opportunities

three major pressures outlined above, using constructive

The data provided by the students who formed the

grounded theory for data analysis. Interpretivist research

initial research sample paint a bright picture of the

seeks to ‘…get into the head of the actor’ (Schwandt,

benefits to students provided by the policies of widening

2000, p. 192) in order to gain a deep understanding of

student participation and flexible online delivery. All

their lived experience. However, Laverty (2003) cautions

three students were enthusiastic about the unit and the

that this understanding is necessarily combined with

opportunity to study at university level, as comments

subjective meanings brought by the researcher, as the act

from the interviews reveal. Student 1 (S1): ‘I think it’s

of interpreting is influenced by their socio-historically

an amazing unit.’ Student 2 (S2): ‘It’s been wonderful for

inherited traditions and personal experiences (Laverty,

me.’ Student 3 (S3): ‘Yes, very happy. I really enjoyed the

2003).

course.’ It was specifically the opportunity to study a

ATU100, this research aims to capture the experience

In addition to my role as researcher, I have participated

degree online that enabled these students access to the

in ATU100 as a tutor, adding a subjective, insider lens.

university experience, supporting the contention that

Constructive grounded theory acknowledges the place of

online study acts as a de-facto equity pathway (Cupitt &

researcher subjectivity (Charmaz, 2014) in constructing

Golshan, 2015).

theory from data and moves away from the positivist

S1 experiences health problems which make her

view that theory is something external to be discovered.

intermittently house bound, S2 lives in a rural location,

Engaging with early findings is an important element

while S3 has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder which

of emerging design, a pivotal grounded theory strategy

makes going to campus a stressful experience. In S3’s own

whereby the researcher uses constant analysis of data

words, ‘In spite of having greater stability, if I’d attempted

to inform and design the subsequent research stages.

to do a real-time course rather than an online course…I

Initial sampling addresses the initial research questions

think the pressures probably would have been too much

to start the process of establishing theoretical categories

for me even at this point.’ The flexibility of online study

and refining the research design according to established

is also beneficial to these students. ‘The online courses

sampling criteria (Charmaz, 2014).

allow me to pace myself so as to minimise any disruption

The sample This phase involved a sample of three tutors and three

to my medical treatment’ (S1).‘It is easier to fit around my life…so it was my only option.’ (S2).

both ethical and theoretical concerns in mind. The three

Technical and pedagogical problems are associated with online learning

tutors were chosen because they were not tutoring this

The online learning experience was not without

specific unit at the time the research was conducted.

its problems. S2 mentioned being scared off by the

This was a response to the ethical concern of a possible

technological aspect of studying online for some time

conflict of interest between their participation in the

before taking the plunge and enrolling. ‘Technologically

students who had participated in ATU100, selected with

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Students flourish and tutors wither Andrea Dodo-Balu

’

I think it was a huge challenge, and the lack of self-

Students feel part of a learning community

confidence in that sense…’. S1 felt ‘isolated and alone’

Despite the drawbacks students associated with studying

as an online student at times, and frustrated with the

online, none of the students felt that these were significant

asynchronous nature of the learning site. ‘Waiting for

impediments to their studies. In fact, there were aspects

answers is the most difficult aspect of studying online’

of the online learning experience that they particularly

(S1).

enjoyed, and all found it possible to feel part of a learning

Tutors also found the practical use of technology for

community. Due to having a mental illness, one of the

online teaching to be a challenge. In their interviews,

reasons behind S3’s choice of online study was the desire

there was a sense of being thrown in at the deep end,

to avoid studying in groups of people. Despite this, being

with little or ineffectual training. As tutor (T1) put it in

in the learning community provided by the unit was

her interview, ‘I was just into this world...[where] I was

something she found enjoyable, enriching and supportive.

expected to know what I was doing because I was the

‘I found it an amazing group of people…There was a

tutor of an online unit.’ Tutor 2 (T2) also felt unprepared,

feeling of being in a safety net [because] there were these

‘I am reasonably technically proficient, I’m a bit of a

open-minded, sympathetic kind of people that were there

geek, but I still struggled.’ Tutor 3 (T3) mentioned that

to talk to if I needed it…’ (S3).

the pedagogical aspects of the online environment were

Although S1 mentioned feeling isolated and alone

challenging at first, ‘When I first started I really just went

during her interview, she also found that the real-time,

in cold…It was difficult to know [what] should I spend

interactive sessions offered at intervals during the study

time on…”.

period were effective in creating a sense of community.

Online tutors have a heavier workload

‘It made me feel like I was actually part of a class rather than separate…It gave us a bit of camaraderie...’ S2 found

The workload associated with online teaching and the

the engagement in the discussion area ‘…important

expectation of being constantly available to students

because it enables you to feel part of the community’ just

were other issues mentioned by the tutors, a finding

as effectively as in a face-to-face classroom.‘You don’t feel

that reflects other studies such as that undertaken by

like you’re isolated out in the bush somewhere battling

Tynan, Ryan and Lamont-Mills (2015). Despite having

with the Internet…there are actually people out there

taught ATU100 face to face, T1 felt that she needed to

that you have …common ground with…’

start again from scratch when tutoring the unit online

There is certainly a sense of genuine connectedness

for the first time, ‘…because it was just so different…

with a learning community revealed through these

the hours I did for the hours I got paid would have

comments. Students appreciated the richness provided

been just daft.’ T2 also felt that the hours she put into

by meeting and interacting with people who have diverse

the unit were ‘much, much more than I got paid for…’

life experiences, through the common bond of studying

but mentioned ‘…it’s the same for internal tutoring.’

ATU100.

T1 felt that online students were ‘more needy in terms because you don’t answer within the day…or the hour.’

Tutors face a complex learning space with minimal support

T3 also felt that online students were demanding, as ‘...

For the tutors, the diversity of the students was seen as

students…got quite annoyed that they couldn’t ring me

challenging. The OUA cohort compared with on campus

and talk to me…’ rather than communicating via email.

students clearly presents tutors with a wider range of

of constant attention. Students get upset with you

However, causal tutors, particularly those who teach

people and situations to manage, some of which can be

online, are not given space on campus or access to

quite extreme. ‘I had one [student] who was sleeping

university phone lines. Communicating to students

in her car, she’d been kicked out of her house, with two

by phone would necessitate handing out personal

children…’ (T3).There was a perceived lack of preparation

numbers, which tutors are reluctant to do.There is clearly

in ways to manage the online, non-traditional cohort

frustration with the constraints of online learning being

represented in the unit in comparison to on-campus

expressed on the students’ part. Fielding this frustration

students, and how to translate the teaching skills gained

adds to the tutors’ workload, ‘…because you don’t know

in the face to face classroom to the online environment.

how to answer 50 emails…how to stop the train’ (T1).

‘I would have loved some pre-training in the technical

In contrast, the students made no mention of a heavier

aspects, and the nature of the teaching…it is a separate

workload associated with online study.

thing but it is all meshed in together’ (T1).

Students flourish and tutors wither Andrea Dodo-Balu

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

complex pedagogical aspects of their work seem to

Students’ personal determination was important to completion of the unit

be completely lacking. Such opportunities would be

The three students of the initial sample all found the

welcomed, ‘…. because then I could actually feel that I

learning community and tutor support to be beneficial

was advancing my knowledge and my career…and getting

aspects of their experience in ATU100. A further crucial

acknowledged for it’ (T1). Instead, there was ‘…maybe the

element for persevering in the unit was their own personal

odd coffee with the unit coordinator or the other tutors

determination, or grit. S3 felt she could link the strength

once in a while…but no formal avenue to discuss how

gained from dealing with a mental illness to persistence in

it was all going’ (T3). Tutors felt devalued by the lack of

the unit. ‘I think it just gives you this inner determination

opportunities afforded to them to develop as university

or drive…to accomplish things.’ For both S2 and S3,

Formal opportunities to develop and reflect on the

educators. ‘The reluctance

personal

of the university system to

was a major driver that

invest in our futures and in professional

development

for us…reduces our ability to teach’ (T2). Tutors did, however,

appreciate

richness

“Despite doubts and challenges, the overall experience of the students interviewed in this initial research phase was one of empowerment.”

the

determination

enabled them to complete the unit. ‘Persistence and determination…You’ve

got

to want it’ (S2). Each student found the

experience

experience of completing the

brought by the diversity of the OUA cohort. ‘It becomes

unit uplifting and empowering. Developing technological

more challenging to teach because you’re dealing with

proficiency and coping with online learning, interacting

more diverse backgrounds, levels, experiences…and…

with fellow students, discovering resilience and achieving

it is more rewarding because of the same things’ (T1).

success with challenging academic material, all combined

‘They have so much more in their brains to bring to their

to transform students’ self-perceptions and their personal

education’ (T2).

self-esteem, as well as how they see the world around them.

Tutors have an important supporting role Even though tutors are dealing with complex challenges

Transformational learning was achieved by students

within the online learning space with little preparation

In this way, it seems that transformational learning was

and almost no professional development opportunities,

achieved by the three students interviewed. According

they still put in long hours and strive to do their best

to Willans and Seary (2011), transformational learning

for their students ‘…because you want to do a good job,

occurs when students construct new meaning structures

that’s what you do’ (T1). Tutors found they needed to

to make sense of their changing world and the changes

provide more emotional support and understanding to

within themselves. S1 valued the opportunity to ‘…

the OUA cohort. ‘My support mostly consists of sending

challenge my preconceived ideas…[and] look through a

back emails that said,“Don’t panic, remember to breathe”,

different lens…at the world.’ She found that the unit ‘…

rather than, “This is how you do it”’ (T2). T3 felt the need

altered my perception of even who I am as an individual

to be different things to different students as some “…

and where I fit within the social norms…’ S3 also ‘found

need that continual support”.

the material really interesting…to be able to figure out

The

students

interviewed

found

tutor

support

important to their experience in the unit. Both S1 and

my viewpoints on a lot of things I hadn’t thought about in a while.’

S3 considered dropping out at points during the study

S2 gained a new sense of self-confidence in her ability

period. ‘There were certainly times when I considered

to articulate her ideas. ‘I feel now I have something

quitting not only the unit but the entire degree’ (S1).

to say… I’m not just a housewife who is dated…I’m a

Amongst other things, ‘...personal emails to the tutor

different person now.’ The students also experienced a

kept me going’ (S1). S3 found intensive tutor guidance at

great sense of personal achievement in completing the

the start of the unit helped her cope with the more self-

unit successfully. ‘It was fantastic! It was a really good...

directed learning expected towards the end of the study

confidence boost to get that mark’ (S3). Despite doubts

period. S2 also appreciated the accessibility of her tutor,

and challenges, the overall experience of the students

who ‘encouraged me beyond what I could imagine.’

interviewed in this initial research phase was one of empowerment.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Students flourish and tutors wither Andrea Dodo-Balu

’

Tutors are disempowered

interviewed fit with the primary demographic traits

This sense of empowerment and enhanced self-esteem

of the cohort, and their successful completion of the

was not an outcome shared by the tutors. In fact, the

unit is widely shared by students who begin ‘genuine

opposite seemed to be the case as tutors felt devalued and

participation’ in the unit as defined below. A large survey

powerless across many aspects of their work. The tutors

of casual staff conducted in 2014 by Voice Project (used

felt that the lack of opportunity to have a consistent

with permission) at the university which offers the unit

presence on campus negatively impacted on both their

confirms that the concerns expressed by the tutors who

teaching and their relationships with their colleagues

were interviewed are also widely shared.

within the academic community. ‘You don’t necessarily have the relationships with on campus people’ (T3).

The student cohort

Tutors’ ongoing uncertainty about whether their work in

Information and a link to the Online Learner Engagement

the unit would continue seemed to have a strong effect on

Survey was posted on the unit’s online sites across an

their emotional wellbeing: ‘You feel really slapped in the

eighteen-month period resulting in 126 responses from

face for that… I hate it’ (T1);‘It doesn’t really seem fair…I

ATU100 students. The results show that the OUA version

was hurt…’ (T3), and their financial wellbeing: ‘I don’t

of the unit enrols a very different age group from the

have job security…so there’s the financial consequence

on-campus version where the majority of students are

of not having secure employment’ (T2).

still school leavers. Of the respondents, students over the

This uncertainty seemed to create a strong feeling

age of 25 accounted for 78 per cent of the cohort, with

of powerless frustration. All three tutors felt that the

the largest numbers in the 30 to 49 age group. Three-

allocation of work was based on a unit coordinator’s

quarters of respondents were female. All three students

arbitrary preferences rather than experience or merit. T1

interviewed fit this demographic. The survey data also

felt her years of experience in both on-campus and online

suggest the OUA course cohort contains a higher portion

teaching was invisible to the university. ‘You get more and

of students with other important commitments in life

more experience but you actually get no recognition for

besides study, which also emerged from the interviews.

that at all.’ If formal recognition of teaching excellence

Information on educational attainment support the idea

does occur, it seems to have no bearing on allocation of

that the OUA students have been away from study for

work, as T3’s experience demonstrates: ‘I’ve had an award

some time.

for professionalism, I’ve also had the OUA tutor award, I’ve

In addition, 37 per cent of respondents indicated that

worked as a coordinator... Now [the unit] has gone through

they were the first in their family to study at university.

another revolution and a new unit coordinator... so I’m not

These figures point to a large number of ATU100 students

being offered the work.’ University teaching appears to

being initially unfamiliar with contemporary university

operate ‘...informally on a system of patronage’ (T2).

level study. Further to this, 61 per cent of respondents

Building

and

maintaining

relationships

vital.

indicated that they were mostly new to the subject of

However, if unit coordinators move on or are replaced,

their degree, highlighting the importance of the transition

the relationships vanish with them. The rewards of being

phase provided by ATU100. The students interviewed

a casual tutor appear to be limited to personal satisfaction

had all been away from study for a number of years, and

for teaching well.As T1 says,‘I keep coming back because I

welcomed the transitional aspect of the unit. S1 was first

actually enjoy teaching.’ However, this type of satisfaction

in family and new to university study, S2 had completed

has its limits and all three tutors felt that there was no

a degree, but in a very different field, while S3 had twice

future for them in university teaching.As T2 noted,‘people

attempted university study but had withdrawn.

move on... away from teaching. People leave academia.’

Statistical findings

Retention and attrition The figures from the online learning site of one study period were analysed, and are closely representative of

Data from the Online Learner Engagement Survey 2014-

other study periods for ATU100 and indeed OUA in general.

2015 conducted by National Centre for Student Equity in

At first glance the attrition rate is alarming. For the study

Higher Education (used with permission) and from the

period in question, of all the students who enrolled in the

ATU100 online learning site suggest that the positive

unit, only 39 per cent completed, indicating a 61 per cent

outcomes that emerged from the student interviews are

attrition rate. However, a closer look raises the question

reflective of the wider unit cohort. The three students

as to whether many of the enrolled students had any

Students flourish and tutors wither Andrea Dodo-Balu

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

real intention of participating. Seventeen per cent of the

and casualisation of academic teaching, seem to have

students never logged into Blackboard, while a further 30

impacted the tutors in the study more negatively than

per cent never submitted assignments.Thus, 47 per cent of

the students. The literature suggests that non-traditional

enrolling students did not begin what could be considered

online students who are new to university face multiple

as full participation in the unit.This may indicate that some

challenges. Initial findings from the case study indicate that

students have different reasons for enrolling in the unit

for some students these challenges can be successfully

than a firm decision to undertake a degree.

overcome. The fragile self-belief of students reported in

Taking the remaining students, who attempted at least

the study by Yorke & Longden (2004) can be strengthened

the first assignment, as the participating cohort, the rate

and transformed, as they successfully manage feelings of

of non-completion falls to 28 per cent. This supports the

being intimidated and overwhelmed (McInnes & James,

contention of Nichols that the complexity surrounding

2004) by their first university experience, and discover

student retention must be taken into account when

themselves to be capable of persevering and completing

attempting to understand the online student experience.

the unit to a high standard. The literature points out

‘Difficulties arise in terms of who to count as having

potential problems for non-traditional, online students

dropped out’ (Nichols, 2010, p. 95). While the literature

in developing a sense of belonging to the university

indicates

non-traditional,

community (Berger, 2000). However, the students

online students, the statistics from the study period

interviewed were able to share a sense of supportive

analysed suggest students were able to overcome these

camaraderie with their peers through the online learning

challenges and achieve success in the unit. The majority

site. Pedagogical challenges in meeting the needs of online

of students who demonstrated an intention to participate

and non-traditional students (James, 2010; Yorke, 2004)

experienced success in this study period, reflective of the

appear to have been met successfully within the unit, as

students who were interviewed.

students’ comments showed high levels of satisfaction

significant

challenges

for

with the unit content, as well as the support offered by

Tutor dissatisfaction

their tutors. The statistics from a typical study period indicate that a good proportion of participating students

The 2014 survey of casual staff conducted at the

can be successful in the unit, which may indicate that the

university which offers the unit reveals that the

experience of the students who were interviewed is more

dissatisfaction expressed the tutors who participated

widely shared.

in the research is common. The survey was conducted

Given the greater complexities afforded by units such

online and received 353 responses. Staff were asked to

as ATU100, and the lack of opportunities given to casual

respond to a range of statements using a five-point Likert

tutors to develop their professional skills in response, it

scale. Regarding reasons for choosing casual teaching, the

appears that tutors are donating significant amounts of

highest agreement was given to a statement describing

their own time to achieve a quality experience for their

the satisfaction gained from helping students learn, which

students. This suggests that personal goodwill rather than

is reflective of interview responses.

institutional strategy is being used to ensure the quality

In the overall survey, the two lowest rates of agreement

of teaching provided by casual tutors. However, this

were in the category of career opportunities, specifically

brings significant personal cost to the individual tutors as

the lack of a career path and of opportunities for permanent

revealed through the interviews above. Concerns about

positions. Fairness and equity, pay and recognition, and

poor working conditions for casual academic teachers

workload and wellbeing, were the other categories which

are expressed repeatedly in the literature (Brown et al.,

garnered very low rates of agreement, detailing a lack of

2010; Gottschalk & McEachern, 2010; Lazarsfeld Jensen &

consistency with how staff are managed, not being valued

Morgan, 2009; Junor, 2003), yet clearly persist for the tutors

by the university, and a lack of commitment to staff

who were interviewed. As a result, tutors felt isolated and

wellbeing. These responses are entirely consistent with

devalued and saw little hope for their future in academia.

the concerns mentioned by the research participants.

Conclusion Discussion ATU100 is a unit in which the effects of contemporary The three flexibility pressures which are highlighted by

higher education policies centring on flexibility in

the unit: widening student participation, online delivery

teaching and learning are revealed. While the sample

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Students flourish and tutors wither Andrea Dodo-Balu

investigated here is very small, given the comparisons with wider surveys, these finding are likely to reflect more general, student and staff attitudes. For students, policies of widening student participation and online access to university study have facilitated successful entry into the academic community and allowed them to experience transformational learning. Theoretical sampling through the case study’s subsequent stages will need to focus on more diverse student experience in an attempt to understand why students enrol but do not participate in the unit, or start participation but do not complete. The extent to which the positive results expressed by the three students in this initial research stage are shared by other successful students in the unit also needs further investigation. Workplace flexibility does not seem to have negatively affected the quality of teaching in ATU100, but has had a negative effect on the quality of the professional experience for the three tutors interviewed, as well as on their personal self-esteem and optimism for the future. Again, it will be important to ascertain how widely this experience is shared by other tutors in the unit, and colleagues in similar employment situations. While it seems clear that contemporary employment practices at universities have a deep impact on casual teaching academics, the extent to which permanent academic staff and those on short term contracts are affected also needs to be considered. Further in-depth interviews for all the participants in the initial research phase will be important, as consistent with the constructive grounded theory method. For the students, these interviews should show whether their experience in ATU100 has consolidated into continuing successful university study, and for the tutors, they may reveal whether they have persevered with university teaching or taken their expertise to different fields of employment. For both these groups, the ongoing effects of the policies which create the peripheral space they occupy may then be further brought to light. Andrea Dodo-Balu is a Doctor of Education candidate at Murdoch University, Western Australia, with a strong interest in student and workplace equity. Contact: A.Dodo-Balu@murdoch.edu.au

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Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Tertiary Tuition and beyond: Transitioning with strengths and promoting opportunities Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton Southern Cross University & University of Notre Dame Australia

Katie Wilson Victoria University of Wellington

The Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme-Tertiary Tuition (ITAS-TT) has provided Australian government funding for one-to-one and group tutorial study support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attending Australian universities since 1989. It has been a central plank supporting Indigenous university students in their studies. However, evaluation of the scheme has identified quality limitations, under-utilisation, administrative burdens, and eligibility issues, and criticised the deficit or low academic expectations assumptions inherent in the scheme. In the 2016-2017 Budget the Australian government modified ITAS into an Indigenous Student Success Program. Reporting on research undertaken at a time of impending changes to funding arrangements and the continuation of ITAS, this paper builds on recent research into the transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders into higher education. The paper investigates the scheme through the perspectives of ITAS tutors and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students receiving ITAS tutoring in two regional universities in New South Wales. Qualitative research found that ITAS tutoring has enabled many students to manage their transition through university and complete their studies. Students and tutors identified limitations in the scheme in terms of guidelines, institutional expectations, access to learning management systems, and the timing of support. The study outcomes suggest that ITAS provides valuable support but has become static, and is not keeping up with developments in online learning and administration. Keywords: Indigenous students, ITAS, Indigenous Advancement Strategy, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Introduction

Wilks, Wilson, Hughes, & Thomas, 2014). However, the same research found some aspects of the administration

We were driven to begin this research project by

and implementation of ITAS to be cumbersome. Further,

impending changes to the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance

it found the scheme is less successful for students

Scheme-Tertiary Tuition (ITAS-TT). Comments from

studying in remote locations and in regional centres as

students and staff in research undertaken in 2012 with

there are often fewer potential tutors who meet the ITAS

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academics and

requirements, and those who do fit the criteria rarely have

students at 26 universities attested to the value of the

time to tutor all students requiring tutoring.

tuition scheme in enabling many students to continue,

Following the election of the conservative Liberal-

engage with and achieve in higher education (Kinnane,

National Coalition Government in September 2013,

Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Indigenous Affairs became part of the portfolio of the

students do not need or use ITAS tutoring, and student

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. A review

success depends on multiple factors (Whatman et al.,

of all Indigenous funding followed, and the realignment

2008). At the Queensland University of Technology,

of funding under a new Indigenous Advancement

Indigenous students had high rates of completion and

Strategy replaced more than 150 individual programs

participation, yet only 25 per cent used ITAS. Changed

and activities with five broad programs (Department of

requirements in 2004 included reporting to government

the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2014). This extended

ITAS student results, different tutoring methods and

to ITAS funding in 2014. Concerns arose in the higher

student attendance, although subsequent government

education sector that a proposed change from funding

feedback to universities was not useful for improving the

allocations based on student numbers to universities

quality of the program (Whatman et al., 2008).

bidding for funding on a competitive basis would mean

Into 2015, ITAS provided two hours of individual or

that universities with fewer Indigenous students could

group tutoring per week per subject for undergraduate

miss out on funding altogether (Liddle, 2014). Although

students plus five supplemental hours for exam

existing funding arrangements continued into 2015 and

preparation for eligible students. Limited tutoring was

2016, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs foreshadowed

available for postgraduate students (Trudgett, 2010) or

changes to future funding and support (Scullion, 2014).

students undertaking bridging or preparatory courses.

While this paper is unlikely to bring about changes

ITAS is administered through Indigenous Education Units

itself, we hope it is timely, given the scheme is in a

or Indigenous student support services at individual

transition period, and that it will contribute to knowledge

universities, providing valuable assistance to Aboriginal

and understanding of the benefits and strengths of ITAS,

and Torres Strait Islander university students at university

and of identified areas for improvement, for Aboriginal

(Patton, Lee Hong, Lampert, Burnett, & Anderson, 2012).

and Torres Strait Islander university students, particularly

However, the administration and management varies

in relation to regional universities. The paper discusses

from one institution to the next. Some universities have

the outcomes of a research project that investigated

adapted or added to ITAS in order to meet the needs of

the views and experiences of students, tutors and other

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students better, and

university personnel in relation to the operation and the

to streamline administration (Whatman et al., 2013).

role of ITAS in two regional New South Wales universities.

In 2013, Kinnane et al. (2014) found that ITAS was

Through the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; insights, this paper identifies

recognised as a key enabler of student performance

the significance of the scheme in supporting Aboriginal

and was a reliable and central means of engaging

and Torres Strait Islander university students at different

students successfully, despite its administrative and

stages of their study. We argue that ITAS continues to

implementation limitations and inflexibility. Further,

have merit and strengths for students and tutors, and

ITAS often takes effect too late when students have

needs to persist, building on its strengths and success, and

already left university after early negative experiences.

widening participation.

In a critique of ITAS, Whatman et al. (2008) focused on processes at QUT and student outcomes, questioning its

Background

deficit model as an explanation of student success or otherwise. The authors emphasised the need for further

The Australian Department of Education introduced the

research and analysis of the uptake of ITAS, and the use

Aboriginal Tutorial Assistance Scheme in 1989 as a strategic

of broader indicators such as studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understandings

initiative that emerged from the National Aboriginal

of success. Significantly, the study identified the value

and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (Whatman,

of the ITAS scheme in building cultural awareness

McLaughlin, Willsteed, Tyhuis, & Beetson, 2008). It was

and understandings of Indigenous perspectives, and

later renamed the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme

enhancing pedagogy among ITAS tutors.

(ITAS). Through successive departmental and political

The underpinning deficit model, the need for greater

changes, the Australian government has continued to

awareness of Indigenous perspectives, and the inclusion

fund ITAS through the Indigenous Education (Targeted

of Indigenous knowledges and pedagogies are echoed in a

Assistance) Act 2000. Initially, measuring success and

critique of Indigenous academic skills support at tertiary

eligibility for funding was based on numbers of student

level by Nakata, Nakata and Chin (2008). They called

completions and graduates linked to ITAS usage. However,

for more research and understanding of the strategies

this did not measure the quality of ITAS; many Indigenous

that successful Indigenous tertiary students develop.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

’

With its individual and group student focus, ITAS has the

and that the scheme would in fact be improved through

potential to contribute to this knowledge, but cultural

more ‘holistic/tailored student support activities…more

awareness and training for tutors is needed to deepen

flexible with a reduced administrative burden’ (Scullion,

their understanding and facilitate communication with

2014).This was implemented in the 2016/2017 Budget by

students (Brady, 2012).

combining three existing programs, the Commonwealth

Other research has identified several practices and

Scholarship Program, the Indigenous Support Program

issues associated with the current operation of ITAS

and the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme – Tertiary

such as under-utilisation by students; the scheme’s

Tuition, into one program to ‘improve progression

unavailability to students completing bridging courses

and completion rates for Indigenous higher education

and literacy and numeracy programs; onerous reporting

students’ (Australian Government, 2016). From 2017, the

requirements; and inadequate pay for tutors (Brady, 2012;

Indigenous Student Success Program will continue to

Holt, 2011; Trudgett, 2010). Universities reported that

offer tutorial assistance, with an expectation of student

ITAS inhibits flexibility and innovation (Behrendt, Larkin,

monitoring and progress evaluation.

Griew, & Kelly, 2012). In 2012, the Indigenous Higher Education Review signalled that the scheme was in need

The research project

of review and re-design, as per Recommendation 13 of its final report (Behrendt et al., 2012): Recommendation 13

This research responded to Recommendation 13 of the Indigenous Higher Education Review (Behrendt et al., 2012) and its call for significant reform of the

That the Australian Government reform funding for

operation of ITAS-TT in the Australian university sector.

supplementary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Further, a key finding of a related Office for Learning

support programs, including the Indigenous Sup-

and Teaching funded project, ‘Can’t Be What You Can’t

port Program and the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance

See’: The Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Scheme – Tertiary Tuition (ITAS–TT), in time for the

Islander Students into Higher Education (Kinnane et

2013 academic year, based on the following design

al., 2014), was that university personnel working in

principles:

Indigenous student support capacities, whilst stressing the value of the scheme, strongly articulated the need

• Allow universities greater flexibility to provide

for changes to ITAS-TT. New directions in the scheme,

locally relevant, tailored support for Aboriginal and

informed by evidence-based research, were needed in

Torres Strait Islander students and staff.

relation to improving ITAS in terms of efficacy regarding

• Target available funding to achieve an improvement in current enrolment levels but also with a greater emphasis on retention and completion rates.

its enunciated outcomes, and its complex and at times restrictive funding arrangements. The research aimed to contribute to the higher

• Ensure that funding would be simple to administer.

education sector’s understanding and knowledge

• Ensure that funding would support clear outcome-

about the level of success and suitability of ITAS from

focussed accountability for universities.

the point of view of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in regional areas, as well as ITAS tutors and

The new funding model should include consideration

Indigenous Education Unit staff in the institutions

of tutoring support for students who were previously

the students attended. A further motivation for the

ineligible for ITAS–TT assistance (p. 78).

research was to inform the debate and discussion about Indigenous higher education funding generated

The Australian Government appears to have adopted

by the Australian Coalition government’s impending

the terminology used in the review of ITAS funding

but unclear changes to ITAS funding and operational

by Behrendt et al. (2012), and the revision to all

aspects of the scheme.

Indigenous program funding and reformatting ITAS into

The research methodology respected and incorporated

an Indigenous Advancement Strategy (Department of

Australian approaches and methods for Indigenous

the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2014). Following media

research, and followed institutional ethical guidelines

reports that ITAS was to be disbanded (Hare, 2014), the

(Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Minister for Indigenous Affairs countered that this was

Islander Studies (AIATSIS), 2012; National Health and

‘scaremongering’ by the opposition Australian Labor Party,

Medical Research Council, 2007).An Indigenous research

Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

assistant participated in interviews and focus discussion

to the guidelines at the time, ITAS tutoring for postgraduate

groups, contributing cultural acknowledgement and

students was very limited.

cultural safety for the participants. The research had the support and the endorsement of the Indigenous

Student experiences

education centres at both universities. Ethics approval to undertake the research was obtained from both

The vast majority of students had positive views to share

universities. Participants’ identities and contributions

about their ITAS experiences. For many students, the

were kept confidential throughout the research project

tutoring had enabled them to stick with university:

and the data analysis. The research investigated the views and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students receiving or who had received ITAS tutoring, ITAS tutors, and university personnel in relation to the operation of ITAS in two regional universities in New South Wales. Eighteen students, 15 tutors and four university personnel were interviewed during the period September 2014 to April 2015. We held

It helped me so much and I wouldn’t still be at university without it. (Student) It’s a big relief knowing that it was there I would have dropped out without it. (Student) Without ITAS I wouldn’t have got across the river; not even scraped through; I now understand what empowerment is. (Student)

one-to-one structured interviews at the two universities

Other students articulated the value of ITAS for them

with ITAS coordinators, ITAS tutors, and managers of

in terms of academic skills, subject support and mental

Indigenous Education Units, or similar. The interview

health support:

questions focused on elaborating the perspectives and experiences of ITAS tutors, and the ITAS coordinators

Having a tutor helps to alleviate anxieties. (Student)

in relation to the operations of ITAS, and administrative,

You have a support person. (Student)

reporting and funding procedures (see Appendix A).

I wouldn’t be here without ITAS, it is really good, especially the support after hours, the encouragement. My tutors have challenged me in a good way. They help me to see things I wouldn’t see, they help me to be more positive and not so hard on myself. They are also really good with referencing and other academic skills. (Student)

In the two universities, semi-structured focus group discussions and individual interviews were held with Indigenous students who were receiving tutoring under the ITAS scheme. The focus groups and interviews informed the research about the participants’ individual experiences with ITAS tutoring and, through dialogue and narrative, reveal shared or varying perceptions. Focus discussion group methodology is preferred for Indigenous students because it relates to Indigenous practices and customs of sharing, consultation and collaboration (Stewart, 2007). Questions for students sought their views on the benefits and operation of ITAS, as well as suggestions for improvements (see Appendix A). Focus groups and interviews took place in open, common spaces in the Indigenous education centres in both universities. Initial contact was made with the directors of the

Having a tutor helps me to understand the language that the university uses, and having someone knowledgeable about the ways of learning/writing/academic style etc. Having a tutor helps me to tune into that. It’s about getting feedback, how do I improve? (Student) I would not have passed maths without [my] tutor. Wasn’t focused on maths before I had a tutor and really struggled. I can see myself getting smarter. [The tutor has] taught structure and kept me motivated and stopped me from feeling guilty about not doing work. Great support in areas I struggle in. Keep[s] you focused. A very good place and helps to overcome disadvantage. (Student)

Indigenous education centres who in turn invited ITAS

Thus, the students conveyed a strong message that

Coordinators, ITAS tutors and Indigenous centre personnel

without the assistance (both academic and pastoral) of

to participate in the research. Staff at both centres sent an

their tutors provided through ITAS they may not have

introductory message to students receiving ITAS tutoring

kept going with their university studies.

via the universities’ student email addresses, including the

The tutors broke down barriers for students in their

researcher’s email address should they wish to participate

progress through university studies. In most cases, tutors

in the research. We followed up with students by email

and tutoring spaces provided a haven in the university,

and in person through the Indigenous education centres

especially in the initial stages of the students’ degrees. For

to arrange interviews and discussions. The undergraduate

students, the tutors ‘say things in a way that I understand’,

students’ ages ranged from 18 to mature aged. According

and assist students to ‘decipher’ aspects of university-

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Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

speak such as marker feedback. One student stated that

’

ITAS tutors

‘my tutor explains things to me better’. Many Indigenous students are shy and reluctant to speak with lecturers

The tutors interviewed regarded the scheme as an

and course tutors, feeling they need to build relationships

opportunity to bridge a gap that exists in terms of

before they are comfortable in seeking help from the

Indigenous success in higher education, reflecting previous

teaching staff. As a result, unnecessary misunderstandings

research findings about ITAS (Kinnane et al., 2014; Behrendt

and misinterpretations of the requirements of assessments

et al., 2012; Whatman et al., 2008). The tutors, many non-

can persist.

Indigenous, viewed ITAS as breaking down barriers for all involved, increasing and refining the students’ academic

The importance of a ‘place’ Both universities have provided welcoming spaces for students to study individually, to meet with other students, to meet with their tutors, or just to hang out. It was clear from the students’ responses that this was

skills and confidence and their belief in themselves: Creating a space for students to feel safe and comfortable to ask questions. (Tutor) There’s a cultural thing in their classes of not wanting to put themselves forward. (Tutor)

their ‘place’ on campus. They regarded

the

atmosphere

as warm and inviting. Many students how

commented

great

these

spaces

were and we saw students

The spaces, and the sense of belonging and community created by, in, and through them was instrumental in the students’ perceptions of their success at university.

receiving tutoring in the areas provided. Staff in the Indigenous Education Units at both universities were located close to the student spaces, were visible to students and easy to access. This factor appeared to be of huge benefit.The spaces, and the sense of belonging and community created by, in, and through them was instrumental in the students’ perceptions of their success at university. The students loved being in these places, as expressed in the following comments: It has good rooms available and using the centre makes things much easier. (Student) Sometimes I just need a hug and (this) is a place I can get one. (Student) [The centre] is so good at supporting our participation in all aspects of university life. They go above and beyond. (Student)

Tutoring helps them to build their confidence in their own work, and it gives them the affirmation they need that they are on the right track. (Tutor)

The biggest obstacle is selfconfidence. My student knows the stuff but she didn’t think she did. The tutoring has built up her confidence. (Tutor) Important especially to help them identify their strengths, it’s not all about their weaknesses, ITAS builds reaffirmation. (Tutor) To raise the standard early, they need more than just Passes in the early years of their degree if they want a high GPA, they need at least Cs in Year 1, and Ds and HDs in subsequent years. (Tutor) Success is about owning the knowledge that you can succeed and do well [but I am] very honest with students about the effort required to do a university degree. (Tutor) The tutors’ comments indicate that through working closely with the students they had gained a deeper understanding and connection to Indigenous Australia,

However, at one university campus, students were

and a deeper understanding of family and community

unhappy with the designated tutoring space, finding it

commitments in the students’ lives. This finding mirrors

‘noisy, cold and uninviting’.

that of Whatman et al. (2008) who identified the value of

The students viewed the availability of food, snacks

ITAS in building cultural awareness and understandings of

and refreshments in the centres combined with

Indigenous perspectives, and enhancing pedagogy among

all-hours access as a very positive affordance. By

ITAS tutors.

providing students with a place where they feel safe and comfortable to learn and can connect with other

Induction, training and payment

Indigenous students, ITAS becomes more beneficial to them. One tutor described the centre as ‘a safe and quiet

However, tutors were critical of some administrative

place to work’ for students.

aspects of ITAS. Some related that they did not receive

Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

sufficient induction to the university nor to the ITAS

like I’m not connected to anything – the student and I

program (some are from outside the university). The

meet, and that’s kind of it’.

tutors expressed the view that they would appreciate

However, these negotiated relationships are in the main,

receiving cultural awareness training, stressing that

genuine and robust and demonstrate a level of connection

cultural knowledge needs to be refreshed regularly. In

and mutual respect. One tutor commented that her

addition, they would like training and updating in using

students related to her own Indigenous background and

the university online learning management systems. Many

her academic successes provided a role model. But she

tutors mentioned they would appreciate more social

also stressed that she is very honest with students about

get-togethers where tutors, university support staff and

the effort required to do a university degree and the

students could socialise and get to know each other

commitment required on the students’ part:

better, a beneficial outcome for all involved. Some students also suggested similar improvement to the scheme, for example, a camping trip. At one university, tutors made it clear that the processes used to pay them and the attendant paperwork could be improved and streamlined. Currently at this university tutors are paid by completing a paper pay claim form that students have to sign to confirm the claim of the hours worked. Many tutors labelled this process tedious as they had to rely on students to sign off on

Sometimes students themselves don’t value the scheme/us enough – this is a weakness in the valuing of the process, it’s not the students’ money, and they can take it for granted; a lack of respect for the scheme (not showing up; being late; cancelling; going surfing instead) – it’s not a cultural thing, it’s a generational thing. All the onus is on the tutor and not the student, we can ‘dob’ them in if they don’t show up three times in a row and then they lose their tutor, but I don’t. Some students really believe that I’m going to do their work for them! I don’t of course because if I do, they will never own what they need to know. (Tutor)

time during the tutorials to ensure they were paid. This process is also problematic because if students don’t

Tutor/student relationships often go beyond academic

turn up to scheduled tutoring sessions the tutors do not

skills building. A student related ‘the tutors are amazing,

get paid. Students too described this process as a little

they give us much more time than they are being paid

uncomfortable and awkward, and wondered whether

for’. One tutor interviewed was helping a student write a

it might be more appropriate if the paperwork was to

scholarship application in the tutor’s own time during the

be done in another way. Tutors at this university also

university holiday period.

observed the pay scale was considerably less than for the same work at other universities at which they tutor,

Delivery modes

with one reflecting, ‘it’s a sense of feeling less worthy because of the low rates; there should be national equity,

Tutors and students alike noted the flexibility of delivering

I get a lot more (per hour) at other universities’.The low

ITAS as an outstanding strength. We heard examples

pay for ITAS tutors was noted in the review by Behrendt

of tutors and students meeting at each other’s homes,

et al. (2012).

sharing food, and meeting at cafes, in groups, frequently emailing to keep in touch and occasionally Skyping.

Relationships and understandings

Students related that this multi-layered and convivial approach to tutoring aligned well for them within the

Throughout the interviews, it became clear that most

context of an Aboriginal way of being and a collective

student/tutor relationships were based on a type of

approach to learning. Given that many universities deliver

negotiation, partly in response to ‘the vagueness of

a large percentage of their courses online, it is tempting to

guidelines in relation to how we actually do our tutoring’

envisage that ITAS tutoring might move more into online

(mostly a negative), but also arising out of the flexibility

mode accordingly. However, the tutors and students we

of tutoring arrangements (mostly a positive). Students and

interviewed stressed that a key strength of ITAS is that

tutors alike commented on these aspects; one student

in the main tutoring is face-to-face. As one tutor observed

related that ‘there is very little information about what is

‘it’s a cultural thing, a human thing’, and an Indigenous

expected of me/my tutor, for example, how do I know if

education centre administrator remarked: ‘relationships

one of us is not doing the right thing?’ In reference to the

are so important; we need to get people who work

vagueness of the scheme’s guidelines, a tutor remarked:

effectively with Indigenous students’.

‘ITAS works based on student/tutor relationships; (they)

A tutor who was also a third-year student observed that

need to be good and effective. It’s a funny feeling … I feel

it’s ‘good to be able to negotiate meeting times, can work

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Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

’

around when we’re both available’, and another, ‘I tutor

persons (ITAS tutors) having unfettered access to the unit

the student at her house as she has her computer set up

material. Again, more consideration of this proposal may

there. We correspond by Skype and email in between the

be required in this respect.

face to face tutoring sessions if she has questions, and she finds that helpful’.

Widening participation and access

Access to university learning management systems

In terms of availability and ease of access to ITAS, at the time of the research, students in pathways and bridging courses were generally not eligible. Some respondents

At both universities, tutors related it was a struggle, indeed

made a strong case for the extension of ITAS into such

in most cases not possible, to make connections within

courses, with one tutor commenting from personal

the university’s online learning management systems to

experiences in this respect:

help them to become more efficient in supporting the students they tutor. One tutor observed:‘If I had access [I] would be able to show the student around [the learning management site], where things are located, to help them feel more comfortable with the resources’. Not having access to the learning sites meant that they were not able to access course instructions and resources, nor assessment details. Tutors were therefore reliant on

It would be great to see ITAS available for [title deleted] – the university’s pathways program. [This program] was for me a steep learning curve, and is especially so for people who have been out of school for a while. It gives them a very solid grounding for coping with Year 1. It builds an important level of confidence. Confidence is a big issue for Indigenous students, to know that university is not out of their reach; it gets university as a feasible option in their minds early. (Tutor)

students for these materials and often valuable time was

On the other hand, postgraduate students were entitled

wasted chasing them up. Providing ITAS tutors with direct

only to a reduced amount of tutoring based on an

access to the learning sites would ensure that the tutors

assessment as to how ‘different’ their postgraduate course

could work to their best ability to support students more

is from their undergraduate course. This also seems

efficiently, and they could also keep up to date in changes

counterproductive, considering the demanding nature of

in course content. One tutor related how helpful it would

their studies, especially if the students have had consistent

be if tutors could borrow textbooks on extended loan from

tutoring throughout the duration of their undergraduate

the library: ‘textbooks are very expensive and there are

studies. That ITAS is currently not generally available

always new editions, and are only available on short term

to postgraduate students was viewed as a significant

loan’.A student suggested it could be useful for ITAS tutors

limitation and a resounding negative at both universities,

to access the online tutor links (hidden to students) within

and was reflected in the Behrendt review (2012).

the learning management systems. In this way, the ITAS

Most tutors contended that two hours per unit per

tutors could be party to the general exchanges between

week wasn’t enough to effectively cover all the material

tutors regarding resources, teaching ideas and overall

requiring coverage over a teaching session. This is

student progress during the delivery of the unit of work.

especially the case around assessment time or if the

Students and tutors alike highlighted the absence of

tutoring starts a few weeks after the teaching session has

collaboration between ITAS tutors and the mainstream

begun, which is frequently the case, leaving several topics

course teaching staff, observing this had the potential

to catch up on. It was felt there was insufficient flexibility

to exert a negative impact on the quality and efficiency

in the scheme for students who have used their two hours

of tutoring provided. This was an opinion frequently

and genuinely need more.

expressed, and it is reflected in the following student’s comments: ‘It would be good if there was more communication between the tutors and the UAs [Unit Assessors], they could see when assessments are due. I have to write all these things down for my (ITAS) tutor’. However, on a cautionary note, if ITAS tutor access to

One tutor suggested allowing for a few more hours per week: …optimally 3 – 4 hours per week per unit … you don’t have to claim for it if you don’t use it, it would just be good to have the flexibility for more if needed. (Tutor)

the learning management sites resulted in inadvertent

Another commented:

identification of the student, and this was not the student’s

…students shouldn’t have to apply for extra hours. Would be good if tutors could make recommendations/assessments on higher needs students. (Tutor)

wish, further thinking may be needed. Additionally, unit coordinators may feel uncomfortable about ‘outside’

Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

And another:

’

In an effort to address the kaleidoscope of information

…often students don’t realise that they need ITAS until half way through semester... if they need thirty hours at that point, they should get it. (Tutor)

that comes at students, one university in this research has recently inserted a sentence near the ‘tick-a-box’ relating to Australian Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander selfidentification on the enrolment form. The purpose of this

Timing

extra sentence is to let students know their university has an Indigenous support centre, and asks the students if

From the perspective of many students there is

they would like to know more about its activities.

considerable room for improvement in terms of timeliness and availability of the scheme. Students

Looking forward

expressed a need to be matched with a tutor as soon as possible in the teaching session, and a number

Tutors and students shared insights into improvements to

mentioned that they had not started with the tutoring

the operation of ITAS, or the design of its successor(s):

until well into the session, for example, ‘It was a bit late; I’d already done some assessments’. Other students weren’t aware the scheme existed for the first part of their time at university:‘I didn’t find out about it until my second year’. Ensuring students are made aware of ITAS at class registration or during the official orientation period would enable them to have the greatest chance of being effectively supported at university from the time of their commencement. There was also concern expressed amongst tutors with the timeframe in which they receive their contracts, with some stating they often ‘start off behind the eight-ball’ due to not receiving contracts until Week 4 of the teaching period: ‘It takes two weeks to get my contracts done, can be half way through session by then, and then there’s a lot of pressure on the tutors too, not just the students, when they have lots to do’. As one tutor put it, the lag time in contracting tutors: …can be too late for students who are already struggling with their first assignment. By Week 4 there is quite a lot to catch up on. It would be much better if we could get an early jump on it, it’s important for them [students] to get familiar early with everything else they have to do in Year 1. (Tutor) Again this might be avoided by promoting ITAS more broadly to students prior to the commencement of their studies in any study period so that the student/tutor matching can be done as early as possible enabling the tutoring to get underway promptly in the teaching session. Universities are well known for sending many emails to students (ask the nearest student!), and students can be overwhelmed by the email volume. Students, especially in the early days of their degrees, experience a lot of ‘noise’ about all the things going on. Because of this noise, they may disregard the emails – as important as they are – about ITAS support and the general support provided to them by their university’s Indigenous unit. vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

I would like to see greater guidance with respect to the best outcomes for tutors and students, outcomes which you would expect to be mutually beneficial. (Tutor) There is not enough voice in ITAS for students or tutors. This is the first time I’ve never been asked for my views about ITAS and I’ve been tutoring for three years. (Tutor) Testimonies from previous students could be put up around the Indigenous Education Unit to impart to new students to encourage them to utilise ITAS. (Tutor) We need an integrated online system for all the paperwork, we use online systems in everything else at university why not ITAS? Tutors are sometimes discouraged as they are not paid until the students sign the paperwork and this can take a while and a lot of chasing up. An email from the student saying they have attended the session could proxy as a signature. (Tutor) Multi-level styles of tutoring, i.e. instead of just one on one, have a multi-level approach to how people learn; we learn in groups; by discussion; Aboriginal people are a collective system, it’s what we do. (Student) Making the program more widely known, letting them know it’s a good thing to do, do it, and feel good about it, and to not feel that it’s a sign of weakness to use ITAS and other things such as academic skills programs. (Tutor) I was doubtful about my tutor’s qualifications, wasn’t sure how qualified they were, and started disengaging from her. I found her to be negative, therefore this is one of the weaknesses, it would be good to have reassurance about who they are, what their qualifications are etc. More transparency. (Student) ITAS should target high achieving students in the latter years of a course as potential tutors, collaborations between lecturers etc., ITAS should ask lecturers to nominate students who would make good tutors. An

Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

improved ITAS could work to hook students back onto campus. (Student).

’

Acknowledgements This research was undertaken with the assistance of a

What does success look like?

Southern Cross University School of Education small research grant.

One question we asked tutors was what success looks like in the context of ITAS:

Judith Wilks is an Adjunct Associate Professor with both the

If we get a student/tutor match that works, and the relationship becomes good, a lot of success can come from this – unit of work completion and degree completion are the ultimate measures of success.

School of Education at Southern Cross University and the

If you take ITAS away, Indigenous completion rates will go down and we will go backwards; for all the good jobs you have to have a degree.

education services delivery, and increasingly specialist

ITAS tutoring helps students to stay on scholarships, and if they can keep their scholarship they’re more likely to stay at university. If not, they would have to go home and study from there, and their chances of completion would not be as good.

Contact: Judith.Wilks@scu.edu.au

Nulungu Research Institute at the University of Notre Dame. She is an experienced educator with a significant research, teaching and community engagement track record in regional research skills in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation and success in higher education.

Ellen Fleeton is a proud Aboriginal woman who is currently living, working and studying a Bachelor of Education in Coffs Harbour (Gumbaynggirr Country), NSW.

Finally, one tutor summed up the sentiments of many: Tomorrow I’m attending the graduation of an Aboriginal woman who had many difficulties facing her – that’s success!

Katie Wilson’s (Te Atiawa) research areas are Indigenous students’ school education and their transition to higher education, and post-qualitative methodologies. She is currently providing strategic research and publication advice

Conclusion

and support at Victoria University of Wellington Library.

Evidence from this research shows that at both regional

References

universities in which the study was conducted, ITAS has been a vital means of assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to achieve their academic goals. The scheme’s operation was viewed by students and tutors alike as extremely beneficial and a very positive influence on the students’ experiences of university. Partnering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students with a tutor throughout their undergraduate studies (and in some cases, their postgraduate studies) is assisting students to negotiate the visible and invisible hurdles encountered during their journey through university studies. However, we also found that from an administrative and efficiency perspective some improvements could be implemented. ITAS has been invaluable for Indigenous students who feel overwhelmed by the university machine and culture, or lacking in confidence. It has provided a bridge and strengthened their university journey. This research demonstrates the ongoing value of ITAS, and we hope recently introduced changes to the scheme and future arrangements will address shortcomings whilst maintaining strengths.

Australian Government. (2016). Budget paper no. 2: Budget Measures 201617. Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, Australia. Retrieved from http://www. budget.gov.au/2016-17/content/bp2/html/bp2_expense-20.htm Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. (2012). Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies. Retrieved from http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/research/docs/GERAIS.pdf Behrendt, L., Larkin, S., Griew, R., & Kelly, P. (2012). Review of higher education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Final report. Retrieved from https://education.gov.au/review-highereducation-access-and-outcomes-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people Brady, W. (2012). Indigenous student support in Australian universities. Retrieved from https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/indigenous-studentsupport-australian-universities Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2014). Indigenous Advancement Strategy. Retrieved from http://www.dpmc.gov.au/indigenousaffairs/about/indigenous-advancement-strategy Hare, J. (2014, September 5). Key Indigenous tuition program disbanded. The Australian. Retrieved from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/ key-indigenous-tuition-program-disbanded/story-e6frgcjx-1227048080456 Holt, L. (2011). Submission to the Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people [by NSW/ACT Higher Education Network Aboriginal Corporation]. Retrieved from https://docs. education.gov.au/documents/nswact-higher-education-network-aboriginalcorporation Kinnane, S., Wilks, J., Wilson, K., Hughes, T., & Thomas, S. (2014). ‘Can’t be what you can’t see’: The transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Islander students into higher education. Retrieved from http://www.olt.gov. au/project-transition-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-students-highereducation-2011-0 Liddle, C. (2014, 8 October). Changes to funding arrangements for the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS). Retrieved from http://www.nteu. org.au/article/Changes-to-funding-arrangements-for-the-Indigenous-TutorialAssistance-Scheme-ITAS-16942 Nakata, M., Nakata, V., & Chin, M. (2008). Approaches to the academic preparation and support of Australian Indigenous students for tertiary studies Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 37, 137-145. National Health and Medical Research Council. (2007). National statement on ethical conduct in human research. Retrieved from http://www.nhmrc.gov. au/_files_nhmrc/file/publications/synopses/e72-jul09.pdf Patton, W., Lee Hong, A., Lampert, J., Burnett, B., & Anderson, J. (2012). Report into the retention and graduation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in initial teacher education. Adelaide, Australia: More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative, University of South Australia. Scullion, N. (2014). Indigenous tutorial support more flexible under Indigenous Advancement Strategy. Retrieved from http://minister.indigenous. gov.au/media/2014-09-11/indigenous-tutorial-support-more-flexible-underindigenous-advancement-strategy Stewart, J. (2007). Grounded theory and focus groups: Reconciling nethodologies in Indigenous Australian education research. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36, 32-37. Trudgett, M. (2010). Supporting the learning needs of Indigenous Australians in higher education: How can they be best achieved? The International Journal of Learning, 17(3), 351-361. Whatman, S., McLaughlin, J., Willsteed, S., Tyhuis, A., & Beetson, S. (2008). Quality and efficacy of the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS) for university students. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 37, 118-130.

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Appendix A: Questions for participants Questions for ITAS Tutors and Indigenous Education Unit management personnel: 1. In your view, what are the strengths of the ITAS scheme? 2. How would you define success in the ITAS scheme? 3. How do you feel about the administration and funding arrangements of the scheme? 4. Do you have any comments you would like to make concerning the availability of ITAS in terms of eligibility guidelines (e.g. students undertaking bridging courses including literacy and numeracy programs, and also postgraduate students?) 5. W hat are your views on the availability and timeliness of tutoring arrangements for students throughout their study at uni? 6. What are your views on things such as the flexibility and scope of the scheme overall? 7. What do you feel are specific issues strengths/ weaknesses of the scheme for a) students, b) tutors, and c) administrators of the ITAS scheme? 8. What things could be done to strengthen the future operation of ITAS? Questions for students receiving ITAS tutoring: 1. In what ways has having an ITAS tutor been beneficial to your study? 2. What are your views on the availability and getting access to ITAS tutoring at times that are suitable for students? 3. In your view does the ITAS scheme have any particular strengths or weaknesses? 4. Can you suggest changes to the scheme that you think would be beneficial to students?

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme Judith Wilks, Ellen Radnidge Fleeton & Katie Wilson

’

Collaboration in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson Curtin University

This paper reports on the first large-scale quantitative investigation into collaboration, demonstrated in co-authorship, by Australian humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS) researchers. Web of Science data were extracted for Australian HASS publications, with a focus on the softer social sciences, over the period 2004 – 2013. The findings show that collaboration has increased over the last ten years, with strong intra-region collaboration concentrated on the east coast of Australia. International collaboration occurred most frequently with English speaking countries at vast distances from Australia. On average, fields in the social sciences collaborated at higher rates and attracted higher citations than humanities fields, but co-authorship of any kind was likely to increase citation rates. The results provide a snapshot of collaboration by Australian HASS authors in this time period and can be used as a benchmark to explore collaboration patterns in the future. Keywords: HASS, humanities, social sciences, collaboration, Web of Science

Introduction

by different HASS fields. As a purely quantitative study, the research used co-authorship as a proxy for collaboration,

A report into the humanities, arts and social sciences

thereby presenting a subset of the full range of activities

in Australia stated: ‘In an era when collaboration is

that may occur in research collaboration.

encouraged by institutions and by funding mechanisms,

There are a number of reasons why collaboration

the pattern of collaboration is becoming an important

is encouraged, including to share expertise and the

consideration’ (Turner & Brass, 2014, p. 69). This paper

costs associated with research, and to boost research

seeks to explore aspects of collaboration in specific

productivity and scholarly impact (Beaver, 2001; Katz

humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS) fields in order

& Martin, 1997). For researchers in the sciences, the

to identify the extent of collaboration, the countries

need for large-scale facilities can be a strong driver for

Australian HASS authors are collaborating with, and to

collaboration. This has previously been seen as less

test whether collaboration is associated with higher

relevant for HASS researchers as they generally do not have

impact as reflected in citations. It considers both national

the same requirements for costly equipment and research

and international collaboration to gain an insight into

facilities. On the other hand, sharing skills and expertise,

collaboration patterns by different Australian regions and

‘intellectual companionship’, and the potential for higher

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

visibility of research are common to all disciplines (Katz

education, economics and management tend to collaborate

& Martin, 1997, p. 15). For research funders, policy-makers

at higher rates than other social sciences (Abramo et al.,

and institutions, increases in productivity and impact

2014; Larivière, Gingras & Archambault, 2006), and within

contribute to improved performance in world university

the humanities fields collaboration in history is the

rankings and the pressure to collaborate, particularly

strongest – the researchers qualifying their findings with:

with international partners, from funding agencies and

‘in the humanities and literature, formal collaboration based

institutions is applied across the disciplines.

on co-authorship is a marginal phenomenon’ (Larivière,

The research reported in this paper is the first large-scale

Gingras & Archambault, 2006, p. 531).

quantitative study of research collaboration, represented

The motivation and pressure to collaborate are given

by co-authorship, by HASS researchers in Australia. Using

impetus by research that suggests ‘internationally

data from the Thomson Reuters Web of Science database,

co-authored papers are cited up to twice as frequently as

the research findings are a valuable source of information

single-country papers’ (Katz & Martin, 1997, p. 6). Moed

about Australian HASS collaboration patterns over the

(2005) sought to determine why citation rates tend to

past ten years and establish a benchmark from which

increase with collaboration and found that citation impact

future collaboration trends can be measured.

varied depending upon the number and combination of countries involved in a co-publication. The widespread

Background

perception that citations increase with collaboration was also tested by Luukkonen, Persson and Sivertsen

The use of co-authorship as a proxy for measuring

(1992), who found less developed countries sought to

collaboration is an established, if imperfect, method to

collaborate with developed countries. Physical proximity

explore patterns and trends in research collaboration

(Hoekman et al., 2010; Katz, 1994; Katz & Martin, 1997;

(Glänzel & Schubert, 2005). It is imperfect because

Larivière, Gingras & Archambault, 2006; Luukkonen et

co-authorship

al., 1992), length of experience, experience in a number

collaboration that occur between researchers, such

of workplaces (van Rijnsoever & Hessels, 2011, p. 469),

as research supervision activities, access to research

and ‘social distance’ (Katz & Martin, 1997, p.5) can also

equipment and informal sharing of research data (Katz &

influence collaboration rates. Hoekman, Frenken and

Martin, 1997; Laudel, 2002). Co-authorship captures only

Tijssen’s (2010, p. 667) research into physical proximity

the formal published outputs of research by two or more

and language as factors influencing collaboration in

authors, using data that are commonly collected from

Europe found that, on average, the share of within-

established indexing sources such as Web of Science.

country co-authored publications in social sciences and

When examining HASS fields, the nature of scholarly

humanities was 90 and 97 per cent (of all co-authored

communication and coverage of the databases used to

publications), respectively: the highest proportion of

gather data introduces additional factors that influence

national collaboration across all fields. The authors also

results. For example, a substantial proportion of the

found that ‘lingual area’, that is regions with a common

research outputs by HASS researchers – books, book

language, was strongly associated with co-authorship for

chapters and creative works – are not indexed by the

social sciences (93 per cent) and humanities (97 per cent)

databases to the same extent (if at all) as journal articles

publications.

does

not

capture

other

forms

(Hicks, 1999, 2005; Moed, 2005; Universities UK, 2008). Despite

the

HASS

internationally (Beaver, 2001; Ossenblok, et al., 2014;

collaboration using co-authorship as a proxy has attracted

Wuchty et al., 2007) and Australia is the second highest

increasing attention over the last two decades and the

publisher in the Asia-Pacific region, with a substantial

findings of the research can be summarised as follows:

proportion (40 per cent) of international collaboration

social sciences authors collaborate at lower rates than

(Haustein et al., 2011, p. 736). According to a UK report,

authors from science fields, but more than authors from

Australia experienced an average growth in international

humanities fields (Abramo et al., 2014; Bordons & Gómez,

collaboration of 162 per cent between 1996 and 2005

2000; Endersby, 1996; Gossart & Oezman, 2009; Larivière,

(Universities UK, 2008). Biglia and Butler (2009) and the

Gingras & Archambault., 2006; Ma et al., 2014; Marshakova-

Office of Chief Scientist (2012) reported a similar growth

Shaikevich, 2006; Nikzad et al., 2011; Ossenblok et al.,

rate of collaboration, however only science fields were

2014; Puuska et al., 2014; Stefaniak, 2001). Focusing on

included in the 2012 report and field analysis was not

international collaboration, the fields of psychology,

presented in the 2009 study.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

acknowledged

limitations,

There has been an increase in co-authored papers,

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

’

Several studies have examined collaboration by HASS

The research does not claim to be representative of

fields in Australia, including a study of international

all collaboration activity that occurs in Australian HASS.

collaboration by Larivière, Gingras and Archambault

It cannot due to the fields selected for examination,

(2006, p. 527). This research found Australian social

the acknowledged limitations of using co-authorship

sciences and humanities fields collaborating at 20.3 per

as a proxy for collaboration, the nature of scholarly

cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively, over the period 1998

communication in HASS, and database coverage – which

– 2002. Focusing on the Australian educational research

is biased towards the large English-speaking publishing

workforce, Bennett et al. (2013, p. 487) reported 67.6

nations in North America and Europe. However, the

per cent of their sample (504 education academics) was

results can be examined against existing international

involved in ‘active collaborations’ and 49.4 per cent had

quantitative studies of HASS collaboration, particularly in

engaged in international collaborations (this was not

relation to the influence of proximity and language. It also

limited to co-authorship). Collaboration with partners

affords closer attention to the selected HASS fields.

from English-language speaking countries formed the collaborations were with collaborators in Asia. Noting

An overview of the Australian HASS environment

the limitations to using co-authorship to measure

Across the Australian higher education sector there are

collaboration in HASS, Turner and Brass (2014) drew on

approximately 17,840 full-time equivalent research staff

data from national competitive grant applications and

associated with HASS, as defined in the Turner and Brass

Australia’s 2010 and 2012 national research assessment

(2014) report. This number accounts for 42.7 per cent

exercises (Excellence in Research for Australia, ERA)

of all research academics in the 39 universities. HASS

to gauge the extent of collaboration in HASS fields. The

includes fields ranging from the strongly scientific (such

report’s findings echo those of Bennett et al. (2013), with

as some areas of psychology) and mathematical (as in

Europe (primarily the United Kingdom) providing the

economics), to performance and art. HASS is an unwieldy

largest group of international collaborators (56 per cent),

grouping that is difficult to define, and research and

followed by North America (27 per cent), and 10 per cent

publication practices vary enormously across it. While

Asian collaborators. Like previous international studies

HASS fields are found in all Australian universities, their

(Abramo et al., 2014; Larivière, Gingras, & Archambault,

place in faculty, college and school structures differ.

2006; Ma et al., 2014; Ossenblok et al., 2014), Turner and

For example, the majority of universities (64 per cent)

Brass (2014, p. 71) found that psychology, education and

locate psychology with science faculties and schools

management fields had the highest rates of collaboration,

in their organisational structure, while economics and

at a national level, in HASS.

law are commonly located in schools of business or

majority of collaborations, while only a quarter of the

This study of Australian HASS fields gathered benchmark

management.

data about collaboration activity by researchers as

There are also differences in the methods applied to

reflected in co-authored publications indexed by the

assess HASS research in Australia by the Excellence in

Web of Science database. It focussed on humanities

Research for Australia (ERA). While research outputs in

and the ‘softer’ social sciences fields, which tend to be

‘Psychology and Cognitive Sciences’are assessed by citation

overshadowed in bibliometric analyses by large fields

analysis, other social sciences are assessed through peer

such as psychology and economics (with scholarly

review Furthermore, the humanities, arts and most social

communication practices often more akin to sciences).

sciences fields are co-located under a number of divisions

The research sought to answer the following research

in the research classification scheme (the Australian and

questions in relation to these Australian HASS fields over a

New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC),

ten-year period, 2004 – 2013:

(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008)) used in the ERA.

1. Which publication types and how many are produced

‘Psychology and Cognitive Sciences’, ‘Economics’, and

through national and international collaborations?

‘Law’ stand alone in their own divisions. For all HASS

2. What are the citation rates for national and

fields, the research classification is applied to research

international collaborations, and for which fields?

outputs, with journal articles automatically assigned the

3. Are proximity and language associated with higher

Field of Research (FoR) codes specified in the approved

national and international collaboration? 4. Which fields are involved in higher rates of national and international collaboration?

ERA Journal List (Australian Research Council, 2012). At the time of writing the revised journal list for ERA 2015 had not been made available to the public.

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Methods

’

p. 329) reported Web of Science coverage of Australian university publications in psychology journals was 73 per

As a purely quantitative examination of HASS collaboration

cent compared with less than 50 per cent for other HASS

in Australia, the research drew on publications data from

fields. By limiting the research to the humanities, arts and

the Web of Science database.This source was selected due

softer social sciences in this study, the research was able

to the database’s advanced search functions that allow

to closely examine fields that are often lost amongst the

refinement and identification of specific subject fields.

findings for HASS more broadly.

The search for relevant publications was limited to the

The full records for the retrieved items were downloaded

Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities

into an Excel spreadsheet. In their original form, the data

Citation Index (A&HCI), Conference Proceedings Citation

included concatenated fields and inconsistent naming

Index-Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH), and the

rules which required extensive cleansing to identify

Book Citation Index–Social Sciences & Humanities (BKCI-

collaborating authors, institutions, regions and countries.

SSH), with a publication year between 2004 and 2013.This

A Perl script was used to parse the raw data to extract,

period was selected to provide some indication of change

group and codify data of interest and to reformat so that

across ten years. It also incorporates the years before the

the data could be imported into JMP11 (2014) and IBM

ERA was introduced (prior to 2010) and several publishing

SPSS Statistics (2013) to conduct frequency analyses.

years subsequently. ‘Australia’ was used in the address field

The data were analysed using descriptive statistics

to limit results to publications with at least one author

functions of Excel and IBM SPSS Statistics. To enable field

affiliated with an Australian institution. In order to focus

of research (subject) analysis, the FoR codes assigned to

on the humanities, arts and softer social sciences fields, the

journals in the ERA (Australian Research Council, 2012)

subject search applied the strategy: (SU = Archaeology OR

were recorded against journals in the spreadsheet and the

Architecture OR Art OR Arts & Humanities Other Topics

‘research areas’ terms assigned to individual records by

OR Asian Studies OR Classics OR Dance OR Film, Radio &

Web of Science were also included.

Television OR History OR History & Philosophy of Science

Citations data are reported as means and at the citation

OR Literature OR Music OR Philosophy OR Religion OR

level of the 75th percentile in the analysis of authorship

Theatre OR Communication OR Cultural Studies OR

categories and research areas. The 75th percentile was

Demography OR Education & Educational Research

chosen as the cut-off level, as performed by Levitt and

OR Ethnic Studies OR Family Studies OR Geography OR

Thelwall (2010) in their analysis of economics literature

Linguistics OR Social Issues OR Social Sciences Other

and after testing the higher 90th percentile cut-off level.

Topics OR Social Work OR Sociology OR Urban Studies

ArcGIS software was used to create visual representations

OR Women’s Studies). The results were refined to exclude

of the density of collaborating countries.

publications indexed with science-related Research Area

The main subsets of data examined were the authorship

terms. Only the document types ‘article’,‘book chapter’ and

categories: sole-authored; national

co-authored; and

‘book’ were included in the final data set for analysis. All

international co-authored (IC) publications. If a publication

records indexed as ‘proceedings papers’ in the results were

had two or more authors and all were affiliated with

in fact journal publications, and therefore this document

Australian institutions, it was classed as a national

type did not feature in the analysis. A total of 21,217

collaboration. Publications with at least one international

publication records comprised the data for analysis.

co-author were categorised as international collaborations.

Although psychology, economics and law are associated with HASS, these fields were not included in the study.

Results

Previous research in Australia and internationally indicates that psychology, and to a lesser extent economics and law,

From the total 21,217 publication records, 12,964 (61.1

are closer to science fields in scholarly communication

per cent) were sole-authored, 5,526 (26.1 per cent) were

practices and coverage by Web of Science. In relation to

national co-authored, and 2,727 (12.8 per cent) were

scholarly communication, a comparison of referencing

IC. In contrast to earlier studies of science fields (Biglia

practices (Larivière,, Archambault, Gingras, & Vignola-

& Butler, 2009; Haustein et al., 2011; Office of the Chief

Gagnè, 2006) found that journal literature makes up

Scientist, 2012), the international collaboration of these

over 50 per cent of the share of references in the fields

HASS publications occurs at much lower rates. The set

of psychology, economics and law, while all other HASS

was comprised of 15,228 (71.7 per cent) articles, 5,981

fields are substantially below that. Butler and Visser (2006,

(28.2 per cent) book chapters, and eight books.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

Table 1: Publication types by authorship categories SA n Articles

NC %

8973

58.9

n 4301

28.2

Total %

1954

categories

W was

examined. For example, under 6

12.8

15228

12.9

5981

25.0

per

cent

co-authored

international

publications

the dataset were published in

(%)

(69.21)

Book chapters n

3986

(%)

(30.75)

(%)

(0.04)

(0.02)

(0.07)

co-authored publications in 2010,

12964

5526

2727

followed by a rise and steadying

Books

Total

(77.83)

authorship

IC %

’

66.6

1224

(71.65) 20.5

(22.15) 62.5

771

2007, rising to over 12 per cent in 2009. Figure 1 presents the

(28.27) 12.5

findings, which show a decline

in the number of international

off in 2011 and 2012. The trend

Note: SA – sole-authored; NC – national co-authored; IC – international co-authored

lines

Publications, publication year and citations

indicate

international

co-authored publications have

The types of publications produced by each authorship

increased at higher rates than national co-authored, with

category were analysed to explore whether differences

sole-authored publications growing at the lowest rate

existed between sole-authored, national co-authored

across the period.

and international co-authored outputs (see Table 1).

The mean number of citations per publication was

The results for journal articles and book chapters differ

calculated for the three authorship categories and for the

across the authorship types, with sole authors producing

different publication types. Across the full data set the

the majority of all publication types. The proportion of

mean citation rate was 2.27; journal articles had an average

articles is slightly higher than book chapters for national

citation rate of 2.94, and chapters were cited 0.55 times

co-authored publications, but there is no difference

on average. The book publications had the highest mean

between these publication types for international

citation rate at 4, but this finding is unreliable due to the

co-authored publications. The number of books (8 in

very low number of books (eight). The highest number

total) in the data set is too small to achieve reliable results

of citations to a single publication in the authorship

relating to books specifically, however, book publications

categories was 208 for a 2006 international co-authored

were included in analyses of Research Areas.

publication, 196 for a 2007 national co-authored

To determine whether a trend in publication outputs emerged over the period studied, the publications (per cent of total set) produced each year by the different

publication, and 122 for a 2004 sole-authored publication: all journal articles. Citation rates across the full data set were also calculated

Percentage of publications in authorship category

publication: sole-authored was

1.64;

national

co-authored was 3.02: and was 3.75 citations. As a comparison, a calculation

Linear (SA)

Linear (NC)

4 2 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Year of publication

Linear (IC)

Figure 1: Publications by authorship categories and year of publication Note: SA – sole-authored; NC – national co-authored; IC – international co-authored

the

international co-authored

for

authorship categories. Per

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

of the 75th percentile was used as a cut-off to compare citation levels across

the

authorship These

different categories.

calculations

for

book publications are not included as a separate row in Table 2 because the low number of books is likely to

produce

unreliable

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Table 2: Mean citations and citation level of the 75th percentile for publication types by authorship categories

’

states with the highest national co-authored collaboration were also the highest collaborators on international co-authored publications, with 31.4 per cent, 24.6 per

All publications

(n=12964)

(n=5526)

(n=2727)

Mean citations

1.64

3.02

3.75

states/territories, the affiliations of national co-authored

Citation level at 75th percentile

publications were analysed by disaggregating the affiliation

Journal articles

(n=8973)

(n=4301)

(n=1954)

the one-to-one collaborations across Australia. Overall,

Mean citations

2.16

3.73

4.94

intra-state/territory collaboration occurred at higher rates

Citation level at 75th percentile

Book chapters

(n=3986)

(n=1224)

(n=771)

Mean citations

0.47

0.52

0.72

Citation level at 75th percentile

cent, and 20 per cent respectively. To explore the extent of collaboration between

data for each national co-authored publication to identify

than inter-state/territory collaboration. Only Tasmania and the Northern Territory had higher rates for interstate collaboration. The highest intra-state collaboration was by authors affiliated with NSW (3,749), followed by Victoria and Queensland (3,208 and 2,700, respectively). The highest inter-state/territory collaboration occurred between NSW and Victoria (480),Victoria and Queensland

Note: SA – sole-authored; NC – national co-authored; IC – international co-authored

(284), NSW and Queensland (274), and Victoria and the

data. The results indicate that publishing with co-authors,

numbered 148 or less.

ACT (204). The other inter-state/territory collaborations

either at national or international levels, will advantage Australian authors in terms of potential to attract citations,

Collaborating countries

and that journal articles are likely to attract higher

In total, 101 different countries were represented in the

numbers of citations than book chapters.

international co-authored publication set. Across it, there

Authors, affiliations and national collaboration

were 4,903 international co-authors on 2,727 publications. This count was derived from counting the number of

The average number of publications per collaborating

international co-authors regardless of country affiliation;

author in the full data set was 1.46. The number of

for example, a publication with two authors from the US,

co-authors

publications

two from England, and one from China was counted as

ranged from 2–14, with an average of 2.63 authors per

national

co-authored

five. Two analyses were performed on the international

publication. International co-authors ranged from 2–20,

co-authored publications data to determine the number

with an average of 3.18 authors per publication. In the

of publications by a collaborating country (for example,

national co-authored publication set, 2,284 authors had

if one or more co-authors on a publication was from the

collaborated on two or more publications, while less than

United States then this was counted as one instance) and

half that number (1,002) of authors had collaborated

by the number of authors from a collaborating country

on two or more international co-authored publications.

across the whole international co-authored set. The top

Across both collaboration types only 93 authors (0.58 per

five most frequently collaborating countries are presented

cent) had co-authored more than 10 publications. Two

in Table 3.

Australian authors affiliated with the field of linguistics

With the exception of China, the highest collaborating

were the most frequent collaborators across the national

countries share the same language with Australia.

co-authored and international co-authored publications

There was a substantial decrease to the sixth highest

sets (140 and 111 publications, respectively), 111 of

collaborating country: 100 publications had a co-author

which were co-authored with each other.

affiliated with Singapore; and Singapore and the

The data were analysed to determine the extent to which

Netherlands were each represented by 153 authors on

Australian states/territories engaged in co-authorship. New

international co-authored publications. Some of Australia’s

South Wales (NSW),Victoria, and Queensland collaborated

nearest neighbours (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,

on 36.6 per cent, 29.2 per cent and 24.7 per cent of

Cambodia,Thailand, Brunei and Laos) collaborated on 134

national co-authored publications respectively, while the

publications in total. ArcGIS mapping software was used

other states and territories were collaborators on less

to illustrate the density (in raw numbers) of international

than 10 per cent of national co-authored publications.The

co-authors by country affiliation, seen in Figure 2.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

Table 3: Top five collaborating countries by publications and authors Collaborating country by publications n

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Table 4. Education is strongly represented in the national co-authored set, while the international co-authored

Collaborating country by authors %

journals have a slightly broader subject representation.The findings that only 18 titles in the national co-authored set

had 50 or more articles and only 10 titles in the international

England

646

23.7 USA

995

20.3

co-authored set were responsible for 20 or more articles

USA

613

22.5 England

957

19.5

indicate a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;long tailâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of journals in which very few Australian

280

10.3 NZ

382

7.8

China

234

8.6 China

332

6.8

Canada

209

7.7 Canada

308

6.3

HASS fields: Collaboration and citations

HASS authors publish. The FoR codes assigned to journals for the ERA were recorded against all journals with five or more articles in the national co-authored and international co-authored sets. The frequency of FoR codes in the sets was analysed after the codes were proportionally distributed at the

Differences between subject fields can be analysed in a

two digit level. Proportional distribution of the FoR codes

number of ways, including the terms assigned to records

was undertaken to account for the varying number of

by a database, the journals in which articles are published,

codes assigned to journals. For example, Geographical

or through more formalised research classification like

Research is assigned the single Multidisciplinary FoR

Fields of Research codes, as in the ERA. Each of these

code and therefore each of its articles was counted as

methods was used to examine the publications in the

one multi-disciplinary code in the analysis. The Journal

co-authored data sets. The sole-authored publications

of Social Issues is assigned two FoR codes and half the

were included in some analyses for comparative purposes.

number of articles were distributed to each code. For a

It is problematic, however, to compare the findings from

journal that is assigned three FoR codes, such as Australian

these various approaches due to differences in how a

Feminist Studies, a third of the articles were distributed

subject is assigned or interpreted. For example, journal

to each code.The total number of articles included in this

titles rarely describe their full content, assignment of

analysis was 3,532 for national co-authored (82 per cent

Fields of Research codes were somewhat haphazard

of the total number of national co-authored articles) and

(Haddow, 2015), and databases index at article level using

1154 articles in the international co-authored set (59 per

their own set of terms.

cent of the total international co-authored articles). The

Journals that had published the highest number of articles

difference between the sets is due to the longer tail of

in the national co-authored and international co-authored

international co-authored journals with fewer than five

sets were identified and the top five titles are presented in

articles.

Figure 2: International collaboration density by countries Source: Web of Science

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Table 4: Journal titles with highest number of articles with Australian co-authors NC

’

codes than international co-authored publications, at 4.77 per cent and 32.58 per cent, respectively. International co-authored articles have higher representation in

Title

Articles (n)

Title

Articles (n)

‘Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services’ (16.98

Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

124

Antiquity

co-authored articles, and in ‘History and Archaeology’

Australian Geographer

118

Social Indicators Research

Australian Journal of Social Issues

108

Annals of Tourism 28 Research

Higher Education Research & Development

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

per cent) compared with 7.93 per cent in the national at 6.85 per cent compared with 4.61 per cent for the national co-authored articles. The field ‘Studies in Human

Society’ is represented in almost equal proportions in the two articles’ sets, with a less than one per cent difference. The analysis performed on the Research Area terms of Web of Science included an examination of subject fields

International 26 Journal of Science Education

across the full data set. Web of Science assigns more than

Teaching & Teacher Education

indexed with one Research Area term only; 22 records

one indexing term to some records. In the Australian HASS data set, approximately 78 per cent of the records were were not assigned terms. On this basis, the first (or only)

Note: NC – national co-authored; IC – international co-authored

Research Area term assigned to a record was used in the analysis. A total of 32 different Research Areas were assigned to records in the data set and all were social

Figure 3 presents the findings for this analysis and suggests more similarities than variation exists between

sciences or humanities terms, indicating the search strategy achieved its aim.

the fields in which national co-authored and international

In the first calculation, the data were sorted by Research

co-authored article authors are publishing. National

Area and by authorship type. Authorship types within each

co-authored articles are stronger in the ‘Multidisciplinary’

of the Research Area sets were calculated as a percentage

(8.75 per cent) and ‘Education’ (41.79 per cent)

of all records indexed with that Research Area term.The 10

100%

22 Philosophy & Religious Studies 21 History & Archaeology

90%

20 Language, Communication & Culture

80%

19 Studies in Creative Arts & Writing 18 Law & Legal Studies

70%

17 Psychology & Cognitive Sciences

60%

16 Studies in Human Society

50%

15 Commerce, Management, Tourism & Services

40%

13 Education

14 Economics 12 Built Environment & Design

30%

11 Medical & Health Sciences

20%

08 Information & Computing Sciences 04 Earth Sciences

10% 0%

01 Mathematical Sciences NC (3532)

IC (1154)

MD Multidisciplinary

Figure 3: Field of Research code analysis for journals with five or more articles with national or international co-authors (number of articles) Note: NC – national co-authored; IC – international co-authored vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

’

Research Areas with the highest number of records in the

With the exception of Geography and Arts & Humanities

dataset are presented in authorship categories in Figure 4.

– Other Topics these Research Areas tended to have lower

The large set, Social Sciences – Other Topics, had the

numbers of publications in the set. The humanities fields

highest rate of IC, followed by Archaeology, Geography,

published more journal articles than book chapters; a

and Education & Educational Research. These same

finding that is probably related to database coverage rather

Research Areas and Sociology were also collaborating

than anomalous scholarly communication behaviour of

at the highest national co-authored rates. Literature had

Australian humanities authors.

the highest proportion of sole-authored publications

The final analysis explored citation rates by Research

(95.5 per cent) in the top 10 publishing Research Areas

Areas. Presented in Table 6, average citations and

and across the full data set. Of the Research Areas with

citation level at the 75th percentile were calculated for

fewer publications (excluding those with less than 20

sole-authored, national co-authored and international

publications), Demography (300 publications) had the

co-authored publications in the top 10 publishing

highest international co-authored rate at 29 per cent and

Research Areas. Co-authorship creates a citation advantage

highest rate overall and Family Studies (393 publications)

in the majority of these Research Areas. An exception

had the highest proportion of national co-authored

is the History international co-authored set, which has

publications (47.6 per cent).

lower citation rates than for its national co-authored and

In order to identify any associations between

sole-authored publications. Potentially accounting for this

publication types and citations (discussed below),

outlier, the History international co-authored publications

the Research Areas were analysed for publication type

comprised 53 book chapters with a total of 2 citations

distribution. Table 5 presents the Research Areas that

and 34 journal articles with a total of 37 citations.

had a majority of book chapter publications and the five

Large publishing Research Areas are likely to produce

Research Areas with the highest proportion of article

more reliable results for this analysis, however another

publications. Because the full data set was made up of

approach to examining citations by Research Area is to

over 70 per cent articles, most Research Areas were

explore the influence of collaboration overall. Of the

found to publish more articles than other publication

Research Areas in Table 6, three had collaboration (national

types, therefore the analysis presented in Table 5 was

co-authored and international co-authored) rates of over

limited to the top five Research Areas.

50 per cent: Education & Educational Research, Geography, and Social Sciences – Other Topics. Several Research Areas

Archaeology (520)

with fewer publications also

Arts & Humanities Other Topics (604) Education & Educational Research

had collaboration rates of greater than 50 per cent and these are presented, with mean citations and citation

Geography (936)

level at the 75th percentile, in

History (1574)

Table 7.

Linguistics (1129)

that

Literature (1382)

Tables 6 and 7 suggest Research Areas

that

engage in high rates of collaboration and for which journal articles are the major

Philosophy (1094)

publication type (illustrated

Social Sciences - Other Topics (1719)

by Geography, Family Studies, and Social Issues) will attract

Sociology (794)

citations at or above the mean 0

100

Percentage

and 75th percentile level for national co-authored and international

co-authored

Figure 4: Top 10 publishing Research Areas (no. of publications) by authorship category

publications. The fields with

Note: SA – sole-authored; NC – national co-authored; IC – international co-authored

higher citation rates than

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

the average for international co-authored and national

collaboration, had low average citation rates of 0.72 and

co-authored publication (3.75 and 3.03, respectively)

1.03 for national co-authored and IC, respectively.

are social sciences. In contrast, the social sciences field

Discussion

Criminology & Penology, which had a high proportion of book chapters and was involved in just under 50 per cent

This study considered collaboration patterns by Australian

Table 5: Research Areas with a majority of book chapters and highest proportion of journal articles Research Area (n)

authors publishing in HASS fields by seeking answers to the following questions:Which publication types and how

Book chapters Articles %

Film, Radio & Television (245)

73.47

Ethnic Studies (180)

67.78

Criminology & Penology (139)

61.15

many are produced through national and international collaborations? What are the citation rates for national

and international collaborations, and for which fields? Are proximity and language associated with higher national and international collaboration? And which fields are involved in higher rates of national and international

Women’s Studies (339)

98.23

collaboration? Publications records from the Web of

Geography (936)

95.19

Science database were the primary data and these were

Social Issues (319)

92.79

limited to publications between 2004 and 2013 that were

Family Studies (393)

92.11

indexed with terms relating to humanities and softer social

Arts & Humanities – Other Topics (604)

90.89

sciences fields. Journal articles comprised the majority of publications (over 70 per cent), which corresponds with Turner and Brass’ (2014, p. 65) analysis of the ERA 2012 data. Articles also made up the

Table 6: Top 10 publishing Research Areas (number of publications): Mean citations and citation level at 75th percentile by authorship category SA Research Area (n)

Mean

Archaeology (520)

1.60

NC 75th

Mean 2

highest proportion of national co-authored publications, while

75th

1.47

Mean 2

book

75th

2.41

chapters

and

articles

were produced in almost equal

proportions

international

Arts & Humanities – Other Topics (604)

0.76

1.26

2.48

co-authors. The number of books

Education & Educational Research (5596)

2.35

2.84

3.75

was negligible across the data set.

Geography (936)

5.78

6.44

6.55

History (1574)

0.66

1.06

0.45

Linguistics (1129)

1.93

1.43

2.68

levels (12.8 per cent) than reported

Literature (1382)

0.45

0.36

2.86

for science fields (40 per cent)

Philosophy (1094)

1.41

1.58

3.21

are not surprising and support

Social Sciences – Other Topics (1719)

2.65

3.63

4.28

numerous earlier studies’ findings

Sociology (794)

3.11

4.30

6.52

Note: SA – sole-authored; NC – national co-authored; IC – international co-authored

Research Area (n)

% Mean

NC 75th

Mean

75th

international partners at lower

(Abramo et al., 2014; Bordons & Gómez, 2000; Endersby, 1996; Gossart & Oezman, 2009; Larivière,

Table 7: Research Areas (number of publications) with >50% collaboration: Mean citations and citation level at 75th percentile by authorship category NC+IC

The results showing Australian HASS authors collaborate with

Mean

Gingras & Archambault, 2006; Ma et al., 2014; MarshakovaShaikevich, 2006; Nikzad et al., 2011; Ossenblok et al., 2014;

75th

Puuska et al., 2014; Stefaniak,

Demography (300)

57.67

4.15

3.37

3.75

3.29

2001). The reported increase

Family Studies (393)

60.31

2.76

3.50

5.76

5.75

in international collaboration

Social Issues (321)

57.94

2.65

4.16

5.53

Social Work (479)

62.84

2.12

2.46

3.18

Note: SA – sole-authored; NC – national co-authored; IC – international co-authored vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

generally (Beaver, 2001; Haustein et al., 2011; Ossenblok et al., 2014; Universities UK, 2008; Wuchty et al., 2007) was also

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

’

seen in this study, which found international co-authorship

amongst the top five collaborating countries for science

tripled over five years, between 2005 and 2009, and by

authors, although it features strongly when a calculation

2011 had exceeded national collaboration growth rate.

for ‘collaboration intensity’ is reported (Office of Chief

In this respect, the results were similar to those found

Scientist, 2012, p. 142). HASS co-authorship with Chinese

for science fields over a similar period (Office of Chief

partners was in the top five collaborating countries,

Scientist, 2012, p. 140). The steady rise in international

however, co-authorship with others in the Asian region is

co-authorship is possibly attributable to the release of a

limited, echoing the findings of Turner and Brass (2014)

report (Department of Education, Science and Training,

for HASS collaboration and the results for educational

2006) that proposed using international benchmarks

researchers’ collaborations (Bennett et al., 2013).

to assess research quality, leading to predictions that

The broad agreement, with some qualifications (Katz &

international collaboration would increase (Genoni et al.,

Martin,1997; Moed,2005),that international co-authorship

2009, p. 94). Another explanation could be the increased

increases citation rates is confirmed for this selection of

coverage of Australian journals by Web of Science in the

Australian HASS publications. Overall, mean citation rates

late 2000s (Haddow & Genoni, 2009), in part due to the

were lowest (1.64) for the sole authored publications,

creation of an eligible journal list for the ERA and lobbying

rising to 3.02 for national co-authored publications, and

of Thomson Reuters by the national Academies and journal

3.75 for international collaborations. However, citation

editors. If the latter, the increases reported may reflect the

rates varied across fields and appeared to relate to the

availability of data for analysis rather than a real growth in

social sciences – humanities continuum and the types of

international co-authorship.

publications most frequently authored. Social sciences

Previous research has found that HASS has higher

fields (Geography, Family Studies and Social Issues) had

rates of national, or inter-institutional, collaboration than

the highest citation rates and these fields also had high

other fields (Hoekman et al., 2010). This can be related

collaboration rates. Regardless of the field however,

to the national focus that characterises many social

the findings suggest that any type of collaboration will

sciences fields (Hicks, 2005) and Australia’s physical size

improve the potential to attract citations. For example,

is likely to be an additional factor that influences research

mean citations to internationally co-authored publications

collaboration activities. Compared with the findings for

in the Arts & Humanities – Other Topics are three times

Australian science fields (Office of Chief Scientist, 2012,

that of sole authored publications, and in Literature

p. 140), with approximately 28 per cent of ‘domestic’

internationally co-authored publications are cited at five

publications, the findings for national collaboration for

times the rate of sole authored publications.

the HASS fields at just over a quarter of the publications

Education journals were well represented in co-authored

do not support the earlier study. However, collaboration

articles in the study’s Field of Research codes analysis,

generally was found to be very low with less than 100

particularly national collaborations.These findings support

Australian HASS authors collaborating on more than 10

earlier work that shows strong collaboration rates for the

publications; that is, half a per cent of the total number

education field (Abramo et al., 2014; Larivière, Gingras &

of collaborating authors. The higher levels of national

Archambault, 2006; Ma et al., 2014; Ossenblok et al., 2014;

collaboration that was found for the east coast of Australia

Turner & Brass, 2014). In relation to the findings for Web

is explained by the density of universities in those regions

of Science Research Areas, it was the Social Sciences –

and physical proximity, relative to the rest of the country.

Other Topics field that had the highest international and

Physical proximity, language, social distance and

overall collaboration rates and the majority of Geography

cultural ties have been found to affect the extent of

publications were also co-authored. Less-often studied

international collaboration (Hoekman et al., 2010; Katz,

social sciences fields, Demography and Family Studies,

1994; Katz & Martin, 1997; Luukkonen et al., 1992). In

collaborated internationally and nationally, respectively, at

Australia, it appears that proximity is less important than

the highest rates, while none of the humanities fields had

language and cultural ties for international co-authorship.

more than 13 per cent of co-authored publications. It is

With the exception of New Zealand, Australian HASS

in the nature of social sciences, especially fields such as

authors collaborate most often with geographically distant

education and social work which are bound by common

English-speaking countries; England and the United States.

policy and labour systems, that publications are likely to

Australian authors in science fields collaborate similarly,

focus on national issues. Certainly, the Education field in

with the United States and United Kingdom as the main

this study had the highest (of the large publishing fields)

co-authors. Unlike the HASS authors, New Zealand is not

ratio of national to international collaboration.

Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

In terms of limitations to the study, the existence

’

Conclusion

of two subject schemes, Fields of Research codes and Web of Science Research Areas, introduces additional

This first quantitative analysis of Australian HASS

complications and resulted in finding marked differences

co-authorship has identified patterns that both support

in the two analyses. For example, in the article FoR code

and contest previous research findings. Like many earlier

analysis psychology and management codes were found,

studies, the research found an increase in international

whereas neither field appeared in the Web of Science

co-authorship was occurring for Australian HASS, and

Research Areas assigned to publications. In addition,

international collaboration was growing at higher rates

the FoR codes are assigned to journals only, so that a

than national collaboration. While proximity appears to

comparison across the whole data set was not feasible.

influence national collaboration, international collaboration

While acknowledging that research classification schemes

does not appear to be affected in the same way and occurs

are created for different purposes (Glänzel & Schubert,

most often with countries that are at extreme distances

2003), the variance between schemes is a consideration

from Australia, both in terms of geography and time zones.

for researchers undertaking subject fields analysis within

These countries, the United States and England, are those

a specific context, such as in this Australia study.

with which Australia has strong language and cultural

The search strategy used for this study was successful in

ties. Given Australia’s isolation, one could speculate that

identifying publications in the humanities, arts and softer

international collaboration with distant co-authors is an

social sciences, however the Web of Science data presented

accepted mode of research for Australian HASS authors.

challenges. Cleansing the data was time-consuming and

Although mindful that this research “must be

involved extensive parsing and reformatting to create

interpreted as being the output of scholars who publish

individual records that conformed to a standard data

…, not the output of all scholars in the SSH” (Larivière,

format. More importantly,Web of Science coverage is likely

Gingras & Archambault, 2006, p. 520), the results have

to influence the study’s results. There are many factors

provided a quantitative benchmark for Australian HASS

that contribute to this caution, including the dominance

collaboration not previously available. The results present

of journal articles in Web of Science, compared to the

future researchers with a foundation from which to

types of publications that characterise HASS scholarly

explore Australian HASS collaboration in other forms and

communication, such as book and chapter publications

to examine patterns in Australian HASS co-authorship in

(Hicks, 1999, 2005; Moed, 2005).The coverage of HASS fields

the years ahead.

by Web of Science may also produce variations in the results that do not reflect a completely true picture of collaboration

Acknowledgment

in different fields. In 2006, Butler and Visser examined Web of Science coverage of a large sample of Australian articles.

The authors would like to thank Craig Caulfield for his

This study found, for example, that Web of Science included

assistance with data cleansing.

34 per cent of all Australian history articles but only 18 per cent coverage of the field’s total output. Butler and Visser’s

Gaby Haddow is a senior lecturer in the Department of

(p. 329) list of fields differ to those discussed in this paper,

Information Studies, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.

which makes precise comparisons difficult, however

Contact: G.Haddow@curtin.edu.au

along with history, the fields of philosophy, education and

Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia is an associate professor in the Department of Spatial Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.

language are listed. Philosophy had a relatively high Web of Science coverage of articles, 49 per cent, with 32 per cent coverage of all philosophy outputs. Education and language had lower Web of Science coverage, with 25 per cent of all

Michele Willson is an associate professor in the Department of Internet Studies, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.

articles and 14 per cent of all outputs. It is reasonable to conclude, therefore, that the data set represents a sample (proportion unknown) of co-authored HASS publications. A fuller picture of HASS collaboration could be developed from other sources, such as author generated publication lists and surveys of authors. Although a major undertaking, this approach may also shed light on the higher levels of national collaboration in some fields. vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

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Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

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Collaboration in HASS in Australia Gaby Haddow, Jianhong (Cecilia) Xia & Michele Willson

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

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Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman Curtin University

Policies and programs to address higher education disadvantage reveal four distinct approaches, each revealing certain assumptions about the nature of educational disadvantage. These are: creating mass higher education systems; redistributing or allocating certain places to disadvantaged students; changing the cultural practices of institutions; and shifting the policy focus from access towards higher education outcomes or benefits. Using the Australian higher education sector as a case study, each of these approaches is defined, identified and examined in regard to its impact on widening access and participation in higher education. An alternative approach – a fifth act – is proposed; one which concentrates on the need to understand the identity of the student, both in terms of how he/she understands disadvantage and what he/she wants out of higher education. Keywords: access, participation, disadvantage, higher education, Australia

Introduction

for many policymakers, the essence of higher education equity policy.

For at least the last quarter century, policies designed to

However, whilst distributive justice is synonymous

widen access to and participation in higher education

with equity in higher education, conceptualising all

have been largely predicated on notions of proportional

efforts to widen higher education participation as

representation or ‘changing the balance of the student

iterations of redistributive justice misrepresents a

population to reflect more closely the composition

wider range of strategies designed to increase the

of society as a whole’ (Department of Employment

access and participation of disadvantaged students in

Education and Training, 1990, p. 2). The goal of social

higher education. The purpose of this paper is twofold.

justice has been a common thread linking higher

First, it seeks to outline a framework for understanding

education policies; various approaches represent forms

the various approaches (what are called here ‘acts’)

of distributive justice; that is the proportional distribution

to addressing educational disadvantage in the tertiary

of a resource to diverse groups and individuals (Gale &

stage of education. These include, but are not limited to,

Densmore, 2000; Gale & Tranter, 2011). These approaches

policies of redistributive justice. To this end, this study

speak to fundamental principles of egalitarianism, which

uses the Australian higher education sector as a case

hold that whilst humans are of equal value, the existence

study. Examining policies dating back to the mid-1940s,

of socially-constructed inequality requires intervention

four approaches or acts are identified: massification,

to ensure equitable distribution (Walton et al., 2014). The

redistribution, re-normalisation and benefit, with each

aim of creating a more representative student body is,

described and discussed below. Second, a range of available

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman

’

data and statistics is interrogated to empirically consider

education toward the levels achieved in the leading OECD

the effect these various acts of addressing disadvantage

countries (Dawkins, 1988). It was thought that this could

have had on the composition of the Australian higher

only be realised by increasing the number of degree-

education sector since 1950. These impacts are measured

awarding institutions, to create what became known as

in terms of overall access to higher education, changes to

the unified national system (UNS) of higher education.

student demographics and more recently, considerations

In order to fund this expansion, the Federal Government

of the post-enrolment and post-graduation outcomes for

reintroduced student tuition fees, complemented by a

the students.

Commonwealth subsidy for each student place. However, to avoid reintroducing an upfront price barrier, the

Acts of equity: four approaches to widening participation in higher education Massification

cost of education to the student was supported by the introduction of an income-contingent loan system known as the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). There is broad consensus that the UNS/HECS ‘double

Acts of massification seek first and foremost to increase

act’ represented the most significant implementation of

the overall number of higher education participants,

integrated policies, based on principles of massification,

not any particular subset. The aphorism ‘a rising tide

in the history of Australian higher education (cf. Croucher,

lifts all boats’ is regularly cited (Sheldon & Gottschalk,

Marginson, Norton, & Wells, 2013).

1986), evidencing a belief that government social policy

The most recent act of massification has been the

is most effective when it first addresses the general,

introduction of a demand-driven system of funding

macroeconomic environment (cf. Marks, 2009). Acts of

higher education in 2012. This has removed the cap on

massification are effective in transitioning a nation’s

the overall number of places subsidised by the Federal

higher education sector from the elite to mass stage,

Government so as to enable a closer match between

towards universal access (Trow, 1974, 2000). In Australia,

demand and supply and a more flexible and responsive

as is frequently the case internationally, most major

allocation of university places (Department of Industry

higher education equity policies have been founded on

Innovation Climate Change Science Research and Tertiary

acts of massification. One of the most notable was the

Education, 2013).The potential of this act of massification

introduction of the Commonwealth Scholarships Scheme

is significant; however it is too soon to assess its full impact

in 1951. The Scholarship scheme was academically merit-

and therefore the scheme is not considered further here.

based in terms of provision and covered tuition fees for any and all students meeting the academic criteria. By

Redistribution

1963, it was estimated almost one in five students held

Acts of redistribution occur when policy and action

a Commonwealth Scholarship (Committee on the Future

directly target disadvantaged students to increase their

of Tertiary Education in Australia, 1964). More important,

proportional representation within higher education.

in terms of the number of students involved, was the

Redistributive acts are the most commonly-recognised

Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme (CRTS),

form of higher education equity policy. In Australia, the

begun in 1944. Its aim was to give service men and

above mentioned policies of massification were generally

women the opportunity to acquire occupations, with free

enacted in conjunction with acts of redistribution.As part

training at a university or technical college, plus living and

of the Commonwealth Scholarships Scheme a means-

supplementary allowances. In 1947, more than five times

tested living allowance was provided for students from

as many students received financial assistance under the

socio-economically

CRTS as had received similar forms of student assistance

abolition of tuition fees in 1974 was also accompanied

prior to its implementation (Anderson, Boven, Fensham,

by the introduction of a means-tested living allowance for

& Powell, 1980).

students. When tuition fees were reintroduced in 1989,

disadvantaged

backgrounds. The

In 1988, the Government intervened to alter supply

means-tested student support packages continued. And at

more than any other previous administration. At the

the same time the Government introduced the demand

time, the Government estimated the national demand for

driven system of funding in 2012, it adopted ambitious

higher education places was exceeding supply by around

targets and a range of measures to support increased

20,000 students per year. Furthermore, it considered that

participation from students from low socio-economic

by the year 2000, 125,000 graduates per annum would

backgrounds (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent, & Scales, 2008).

be required to lift Australian participation in higher

These targets were supported by significant funding to

Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

encourage and reward universities for enrolling these students.

’

Acts of re-normalisation are not restricted to staffing profiles; they also extend to cover the mechanisms

Policies based upon principles of redistribution assume

by which students are selected. In Australia, the focus

that acts of massification function to broaden access to

of re-normalisation acts has been on supporting non-

higher education more than widen it. The persistence

traditional pathways to higher education beyond the

of inequity at more disaggregated levels thus requires

traditional means of completion of Year 12 studies; more

government policy to become more targeted. In 1990,

specifically the undertaking of academic-track subjects

the Australian Federal Government argued for the need to

that are eligible to be considered in the construction of

define particular groups of disadvantaged students and set

an entry score.This entry score is known as the Australian

national equity objectives and targets for each.The groups

Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). The ATAR is a percentile

specifically targeted were: Indigenous students; students

score denoting a student’s ranking relative to his or

from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds;

her peers in the same cohort. A wealth of research has

women enrolled in non-traditional areas of study; people

demonstrated links between socio-economic factors

from non-English speaking backgrounds; people with

and ATAR scores (cf. Dobson & Skuja, 2005; Jacobs &

disabilities; and people from rural and isolated areas

Harvey, 2005; Marks, McMillan, & Himman, 2001). In

(Department of Employment Education and Training,

response, Government higher education equity policy

1990; Martin, 1994). Targets, ranging from a 15 to 50 per

has focussed on ‘articulation’, which refers to increasing

cent increase in enrolments were set for each group.

and improving pathways between vocational education

Strategies to effect these improvements included ‘tertiary

and training (VET) and higher education. The hypothesis

awareness and schools link programs… special admission

is that since disadvantaged students have higher rates of

arrangements, bridging and support programs and units;

participation in VET than higher education, VET studies

and strategies to make teaching materials and processes

can act to enhance both aspiration and preparation for

more relevant to the needs of disadvantaged students’

higher education (James, 2007; Wheelahan, 2009a). In

(Department of Employment Education and Training,

theory at least, admissions processes are ‘blind’ to the type

1990, p. 3).

of academic qualifications being used by the prospective student, as the various pathways all feed in to a common

Re-normalisation

ranking system.

Acts of re-normalisation refer to policies and practices designed to alter the normative behaviour or culture of

Benefit

the higher education sector or its constituent institutions,

Acts of benefit involve attempts to widen the discussion

so as to make it and them more inclusive and embracing

from participation, where it has traditionally been

of student diversity. Rather than requiring students to fit

focussed, to more fully consider the social and economic

the existing institutional culture, acts of re-normalisation

outcomes of higher education for disadvantaged students,

require that these cultures be adapted to better fit the

as well as society more broadly (Brennan & Shah, 2003;

needs of increasingly diverse student groups (Zepke

Gidley, Hampson, Wheeler, & Bereded-Samuel, 2010). This

& Leach, 2005). Research indicates that recruitment of

is generally measured in three ways: satisfaction with

female faculty members in science-centric courses has

the course experience; employment and earnings; and

the potential to increase female student recruitment

transition to further (e.g. postgraduate) studies (Pitman

(Bettinger & Long, 2005) and subsequent retention in

& Koshy, 2014). However, acts of benefit also encompass

the course (Robst, Keil, & Russo, 1998). Similar findings

in-program strategies designed to increase the completion

show the positive influence of role models for students

rates for disadvantaged students.To date,Australian higher

based on their ethnic or socio-economic background

education equity policy at the national level has been

(cf. Crosnoe, Mistry, & Elder, 2002; Freeman, 1997). From

mostly focussed on access and participation. The policy

2013, Australian universities have been required to set

debate concerning post-graduation behaviours historically

progressive targets for the number of Indigenous staff,

has focussed on matching higher education supply with

both academic and general, in their employ.This followed

workforce demand at the generic (i.e. graduate) level.

recommendations arising from the Review of Higher

Since the 1990s, educational qualifications have become

Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and

increasingly important to almost all forms of long-term,

Torres Strait Islander People (Behrendt, Larkin, Griew, &

career oriented employment (Marginson, 1993). However,

Kelly, 2012).

the ability of either universities or government to predict

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman

Table 1: Gender representation in Australian higher education, 1950-2010 Year

National population

1950 1951

8,178,696

National University population population (female) % 49.6%

30,630

Female %

’

collection, data for sector-wide, long-term trends prior to this time require the use of proximal assessments of disadvantage. For the period 1950–2000, female student enrolments are used as a proximal of disadvantage. Given women comprise approximately one-half the overall

21.6%

Introduction of Commonwealth Scholarships Scheme and means-tested allowance

population yet prior to the 1990s were under-represented in higher education; and that gender is one of the most stable demographic identifiers when tracing trends over long periods of time, gender provides an accurate, albeit

1955

9,199,729

49.4%

30,792

21.9%

1960

10,275,020

49.5%

53,633

23.1%

equity policy on addressing disadvantage. Table 1 shows

1965

11,387,665

49.6%

110,250

24.0%

the change in population of Australia and its universities

1970

12,507,349

49.7%

161,455

27.1%

from 1950-2010 and highlights the rise in enrolments

1974

Abolition of university tuition fees and introduction of new means-tested living allowance

1975

13,892,995

49.8%

276,559

40.6%

1980

14,695,356

50.1%

329,523

45.3%

1985

15,788,312

50.1%

370,016

47.6%

1989

Creation of the unified national system, introduction of income contingent loan system and continuation of means-tested living allowances

proximate, indication of the effect of higher education

of students overall and female students. The table also indicates the major policy ‘acts’ of massification and redistribution as described above. The trend reveals that as supply has increased, the female student population has increased both in raw numbers and as a proportion of the student body. Today, female students outnumber male students in Australian public universities. Over time, the nation’s universities have become more public in that, literally, more of the

1990

17,065,128

50.1%

485,066

52.7%

public are now able to access them. Furthermore, the

1995

18,004,882

50.2%

604,176

53.9%

proportional increase in enrolments from female students

2000

19,028,802

50.4%

695,485

55.2%

has been greater than that of male students, meaning they

2005

19,855,288

50.6%

957,176

54.3%

2010

21,507,717

50.5%

1,111,352

55.8%

are more publicly representative in terms of gender today than they were in 1950. The data for Australia indicate that, at the aggregate level,

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Department of Education and Training

acts of massification, combined with acts of redistribution,

future demand and match it with supply has always been

broad terms (i.e. gender). Since acts of massification and

problematic. Consequently, government policy has more

redistribution tend to occur simultaneously, it is difficult

often than not addressed workforce shortages via the

to ascribe degrees of success to one act over another.

more direct and immediate route of increasing visas for

However, there appears to be general consensus that

skilled migration (cf. Birrell, Edwards & Dobson, 2007).

before participation can be widened, it must first be

Policy interest in and engagement with ensuring equality

increased (Gale & Tranter, 2011; Osborne, 2003).

of post-graduation outcomes for disadvantaged students currently operates at the margins of policy debate.

ameliorate disadvantage, when disadvantage is defined in

Table 2 shows the proportional share of domestic student enrolments of each of the six higher education equity groups, from 1998 to 2008. Two things are

The impact of higher education equity policy on the Australian higher education sector since 1950

apparent. First, the effect of government policy in addressing disadvantage in higher education becomes dissipated at greater levels of disaggregation. In fact, more equity groups have seen a deterioration in their

Assessing the impact of policies of massification,

proportional share over the ten-year time period than

redistribution, re-normalisation and benefit can be

experienced any improvement. Second, even in cases

informed by empirical data. However, statistics relating

where improvements have been recorded, the revised

to specific groups of disadvantaged students have only

proportional share is still below the national population

appeared regularly since 1994, when they were defined

average. Even when policies of massification address the

as the focus of policies to widen access and participation.

issue of supply, it is often the more privileged students

Excepting smaller-scale, case-study approaches to data

who take advantage of the extra places available to a

Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Table 2: Equity groups proportional share of domestic student enrolments 1998-2008 Students from a Non English speaking background

Students with a disability

Women in NonTraditional Area

Indigenous students

Low SES

Regional

Remote

1998

4.7%

2.8%

19.5%

1.3%

14.7%

n.a

1999

4.2%

2.9%

19.9%

1.3%

14.7%

n.a

2000

3.8%

3.0%

19.9%

1.2%

14.8%

n.a

2001

3.6%

3.1%

19.9%

1.3%

15.4%

19.0%

1.4%

2002

3.5%

3.4%

19.8%

1.3%

15.2%

18.7%

1.3%

2003

3.7%

3.6%

19.7%

1.3%

15.0%

18.5%

1.3%

2004

3.8%

3.7%

19.6%

1.3%

14.8%

18.2%

1.2%

2005

3.7%

4.0%

19.1%

1.2%

14.6%

17.9%

1.1%

2006

3.5%

4.0%

18.6%

1.2%

14.7%

17.9%

1.1%

2007

3.7%

4.1%

18.2%

1.3%

14.9%

17.8%

1.1%

2008

3.8%

4.1%

17.9%

1.3%

15.0%

17.8%

1.1%

~ 10.0%

18.5%

50.3%

2.5%

25.0%

27.2%

2.3%

Representation in national population

Source: Department of Education and Training, Selected Higher Education Statistics (2005 and 2010)

greater degree than the less privileged (cf. Pitman, Koshy,

representation). These four groups with below-sector

& Phillimore, 2014).

representation in the elite universities are more closely

Furthermore, policies of massification, and most

correlated with socio-economic disadvantage than the

policies of redistribution, assume an equality of institution,

two that are not (cf. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010;

where a degree from one university has the same value

Bradbury, Norris, & Abello, 2001). It therefore appears that

(in terms of economic and cultural capital) as the others.

the elite universities in Australia are enrolling women

The reality is that mass higher education systems contain

and non-English speaking students from predominantly

within them elite groupings, which tend to be much more

medium to high SES backgrounds. Similar findings have

restrictive in their selection and admission practices,

been found in other research (cf. Coates & Krause, 2005).

leading to even greater levels of under-representation

In regard to acts of re-normalisation: as noted

than the sector as a whole (cf. Boliver, 2013; Karabel, 2005;

previously, the focus of Australian higher education policy

Zimdars, 2010). In Australia, the Group of Eight universities

is on increasing access via pathways other than Year 12

in Australia are comprised of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest and most

studies. Statistics relating to VET to university transitions

prestigious universities. Table 3 shows the most recent

have not been recorded uniformly for any period of

data pertaining to enrolments of disadvantaged students

time, however the following can be extrapolated from

for the Group of Eight universities, compared to the

the Higher Education Statistics collections between

Australian higher education sector as a whole. Students

2002 and 2010. First, the proportion of students being

from low SES backgrounds, regional and remote areas,

admitted to university on the basis of prior VET study

Indigenous students, and students with a disability are all

increased from 8.9 per cent of commencing domestic

excluded from Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elite universities at higher rates

undergraduate students in 2002 to 10.1 per cent in 2006

than the sector average (which are themselves below-

(Department of Education Employment and Workplace

Table 3: Domestic undergraduate student enrolments by equity group, 2013 Students from a Non English speaking background

Students with a disability

Sector

3.3%

5.4%

17.3%

1.4%

15.8%

20.2%

0.8%

Group of Eight

4.0%

4.7%

21.8%

0.8%

9.1%

11.3%

0.5%

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Women in NonTraditional Area

Indigenous students

Low SES

Regional

Remote

Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman

’

Relations, 2008). Second, applications from persons with

traditional areas of study such as engineering, science

prior VET participation increased from 14.5 per cent of

and information technology (Department of Education,

all applications in 2009, to 16 per cent in 2010 and 17.3

2014)

per cent in 2011 (Department of Education Employment

Women are also under-represented in terms of the post-

and Workplace Relations, 2009. 2011; Department of

graduation benefits they experience. In 2013, the median

Industry Innovation Climate Change Science Research

starting salary for Australian female graduates (A$51,600)

and Tertiary Education, 2010). A change in reporting in

was equivalent to 93.9 per cent of the median starting

2012 prevents subsequent comparisons; nonetheless

salary earned by their male counterparts (A$55,000).

the data suggest that over time, the Government’s policy

Male graduates tended to be overrepresented in fields

focus on improving VET pathways to higher education is

of education with higher median starting salaries like

bearing fruit. However, the extent to which this translates

engineering, whilst women outnumbered males in fields

to improved outcomes for disadvantaged students is less

such as humanities, which was ranked at the lower end

clear.

of the salary distribution. Even when controlling for

In 2009, Leesa Wheelahan undertook an analysis of

field of education, personal, enrolment and occupational

published and unpublished statistics on commencing

characteristics of male and female graduates, the aggregate

domestic under-graduate students produced by the

gender wage gap was 4.4 per cent (Graduate Careers

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace

Australia, 2014).

Relations, as well as some data on VET students produced

In 2016, a report into graduate outcomes for the

by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research

aforementioned student equity groups found mixed

and data produced by some state tertiary admissions

results for the six groups of students. When considering

centres. Whilst encountering problems with the nature

issues such as earnings, relevance of qualification to

of the data collected, as this study has, Wheelahan’s

employment and security of tenure, Indigenous graduates

conclusion was that VET pathways ‘play a modest role in

and graduates from low-SES and regional backgrounds

increasing the efficiency of tertiary education in Australia,

generally experienced above average outcomes, when

but they have a long way to go before they contribute to

compared to all graduates. Conversely, graduates with

meeting equity and social justice objectives’ (Wheelahan,

a disability, females graduating from non-traditional

2009b, p. 19). This appeared to be the result of the VET

areas of study and graduates from non-English speaking

sector reproducing wider socio-economic disadvantage

backgrounds tended to experience worse outcomes

much in the same way universities themselves did

(Richardson, Bennett & Roberts, 2016).

(Wheelahan, 2009a). To date, there has been no coordinated government

Discussion

policy relating to acts of benefit; that is ensuring the outcomes of higher education are equally realised by

The history of higher education equity policy in Australia

disadvantaged students. This is an area of policy that

has been a play in four acts. First have come acts of

requires greater attention, as it is apparent that many

massification, seeking to increase supply or provide

disadvantaged students do not enjoy the same higher

support at the aggregate level. Policies of these types have

education completion rates and post-graduation benefits

been closely followed or at times enacted in conjunction

as other students. In 2013, the Department of Education

with acts of redistribution. Here, policies have focussed

and Training undertook an analysis of students entering

more on the composition of higher education student

higher education in 2005, tracking their completion rates

demographics, rather than increasing the size of the

up to 2012.They found:

sector per se. As the higher education sector moves

• Indigenous and remote students had completion rates

closer to near-universal access, inequities are identified at

significantly lower than the national average;

greater levels of disaggregation and accordingly policies

• Regional students and students from low SES

and programs become themselves more focussed.

backgrounds had completion rates slightly below the

Increasingly, attention shifts to acts of re-normalisation,

national average;

to make the sector less homogenous, and benefit, to

• Students from a non-English speaking background had completion rates above the national average; and

ensure that more disadvantaged students complete their studies and realise post-graduation benefits. The

• Whilst women in general had above-average completion

evidence is that of these four approaches, policies or

rates, they remained under-represented in non-

acts of massification have been the most successful.

Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

However, that statement must be contextualised in two

when the nature of disadvantage itself is ever-changing

respects. First, the success of acts of massification may

and intersecting.

be largely attributed to the circumstances in which they

In many cases, disadvantage can only be addressed with

are initially enacted, where higher education is generally

the consent of the disadvantaged person him/herself.

an elite activity and qualified demand far exceeds the

Particular definitions of disadvantage rely on processes of

number of places available. Second, the success of

self-identification, for example Aboriginal and Torres Strait

massification policies can be more easily accounted

Islander (A&TSI) and disabled students. However, research

for, as they are generally measured in higher degrees

has shown that for A&TSI people, self-identification is a

of aggregation, such as overall increases in student

complex process, variously affected by social dislocation

numbers or increases by broad demographic profile

(Clark, 2000) and personal exposure to racism (Ziersch,

such as gender. Acts of redistribution – and later, acts

Gallaher, Baum, & Bentley, 2011). Indeed, some individuals

of re-normalisation and benefit – require policy actors

choose to change their A&TSI identity over time in official

to define, and measure, more nuanced understandings

records, such as the National Census (Biddle, 2014). In

of disadvantage. Their frequency increases as more

a similar vein; for many disabled students ‘the process

‘sub-groups’ of disadvantaged students are identified

of identification hurts… it is best to avoid that liminal

(Carpenter & Hayden, 1993). However, somewhat

space’ (Chandler, 2010). Acceptance, disclosure and

paradoxically, the more precise our understanding of

documentation of the disability by disabled applicants

disadvantage becomes, the more compartmentalised our

and students are key legal issues in Australia, as with the

approaches to dealing with it appear to be. Government

US and the UK (Konur, 2006). Moreover, the identities that

policies become increasingly focussed on one group of

shape definitions and understandings of disadvantage

disadvantaged students, one contributor to disadvantage

are not static; they change both at different points in the

or one consequence of the same.

time of creation and also when they are remembered.

The aforementioned six equity groups, which are the

Frequently it is the combination of life events, the

focus of Australian higher education policy design, were

personality of the student and their desire to create a life

defined more than 20 years ago. Since then, Australia’s

narrative that others understand, which influences the

social composition, backgrounds, family structures and

students’ identification of disadvantage (Goodson, Biesta,

ways of participating in higher education have undergone

Tedder, & Adair, 2010; Pitman, 2013). A student’s personal

significant change (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013).

perception and experience of disadvantage are therefore

Some students, such as those from lower socio-economic

key foci for a more integrated evaluation of disadvantage,

groups and/or neighbourhoods, are defined by their

as the final section of this paper describes.

place in time and space, such as living in a particular postcode at a particular moment in time. This is a cost-

The need for another act – identity

effective mechanism for the purposes of classification but, as James et al. (2004, p. 19) observe, ‘blunt and

Ultimately, it is the student who is best placed to identify

inadequate for measuring both the aggregate patterns

the forms of disadvantage that have had an impact on his

and the potential educational disadvantage of individuals’.

or her educational experience. Barbara Comber does an

Creating definitions of disadvantage such as these also

excellent job of explaining the dangers in foregrounding

marginalise other disadvantaged students, including:

background; that is, allowing an individual’s demographics

students who are first in their family to attend university;

to overwhelm the reality of their lived experience:

many part-time students, students of sole parents; students who are sole parents, refugees, and students who are carers – all of whom have been identified in the literature as experiencing disadvantage. Furthermore, as described in the paper, there is often overlap between categories

How can the ‘characters’ be introduced without reducing them to statistics, categories, exotics or stereotypes? On what basis do researchers make decisions about aspects of students’ material lives to count as data, interpretive categories, contextual information, results? (Comber, 1998, p. 1)

of disadvantage and many students experience multiple types of disadvantage. These difficulties are exacerbated

Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992, p. 106) refer to a

by a tendency to label all pupils from specific groups

‘resemblance within a difference’; that is the ways in

as underachievers (Stevens, 2007). A key challenge

which certain individuals share a common doxa, which

for researchers and policymakers therefore lies in

unites them despite their individual traits. However,

conceptualising disadvantage, and policies to address it,

the reverse is equally true: categories of disadvantage

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman

’

overlook the reality that each person’s experience with

of student identity. Whilst they would still not be entirely

the same is highly individualistic. In other words, from a

accurate and still rely on proximal understandings of

policy perspective the act of defining a particular group of

disadvantage, they would be more highly nuanced than

students as being disadvantaged risks overlooking critical

the current definitions and – crucially – be able to be

‘differences within a resemblance’. Engaging with more

operationalised at the governmental level.

nuanced understandings of disadvantage, through acts of identity, is one way in which more formulaic approaches

Conclusion

to addressing higher education disadvantage can be de-inscribed from current policy. For example, any critical

With our improved understanding of higher education

assessment of a policy should critique whether the policy

disadvantage comes a need to incorporate student

takes into account the underlying sources of the problem

identities into our definitions of the same. This act

it intends to address (Bessant, 1993). However, in the case

requires policymakers and researchers to explore

of addressing low-SES disadvantage, which is measured by

higher education disadvantage first and foremost

postcode,it is a proxy of disadvantage that is being targeted,

from the perspective of the individual. Of course,

not its actual causes. Students of other SES backgrounds,

individual interventions into defining disadvantage

who have not experienced significant disadvantage, can

are problematic for policymakers, who not only seek

be labelled as such by virtue of the postcode they state

to measure what they value but, to some degree, value

on their application form. And even for those who are

only what they can measure. Statistics are central to the

disadvantaged, as Connell (1994, p. 128) observes, ‘the

governing practices of the state; they make the nation

poverty of indigenous peoples, still grappling with the

‘legible’ for governing (Lingard, Creagh, & Vass, 2011).

consequences of invasion and colonisation, is different

Such measurements have a direct impact on higher

from the poverty of recent immigrant groups.’

education policy for when ‘we are required to report,

Critically, identity is not static. Individuals shape

count, are funded, and held accountable for something,

and reshape their sense of self over the life course and

it starts to matter a lot’ (Wheelahan et al., 2003, p. 41).

education is a key part in this narrative process (Goodson

However, in pursuit of numbers at the aggregate level,

et al., 2010). Prior research exists into the construction

true educational disadvantage may be obscured. Mapping

of student identity (cf. Moss & Pittaway, 2010; Yannuzzi &

educational inequalities in detail, rather than in aggregate

Martin, 2014); however, these are difficult to incorporate

‘can facilitate strategies in pursuit of smaller changes at

in their current abstractions. In effect, they present the

many points, rather than all points at once (and hence in

exact opposite problem to the problem that currently

none)’ (Marginson, 2011, p. 34). In order to achieve this,

exists.

higher

researchers and policymakers need to more fully engage

education disadvantage in broad, aggregated terms. These

with how the (prospective) students themselves have

are relatively easy to measure and track longitudinally,

experienced, and understand, educational disadvantage.

Contemporary

policy

understands

however they are manifestly inadequate for purpose.

Here, the need for a rigorous, systematic approach to

Conversely, emerging theories of student identity are

mapping disaggregated disadvantage is crucial. Simply to

more accurate and dynamic however extremely difficult

call for the ‘voice’ of the student to be heard and appreciated

to enact effectively within an institution, let alone across

might exacerbate, rather than ameliorate disadvantage.This

an entire sector. There is however, potential in exploiting

is because the evidence suggests students from advantaged

a peculiarity of Australian higher education financing;

backgrounds possess greater ability to harness their social

one which has arisen as a consequence of the creation of

and cultural capital/networks to improve their position

the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS, now

within a competitive system. For example, policies designed

known as HELP – the Higher Education Loan Program).

to facilitate the recognition of prior formal and informal

Every student graduating with a HELP debt has their higher

learning for the purposes of academic credit frequently

education and taxation data linked, to allow repayment of

contain an emancipatory agenda, by placing greater value

the debt over the long-term. Consequently, this has given

on non-traditional learning experiences (Harris & Cooper,

rise to an extraordinary amount of information spanning

2013). However, it is often the case that more privileged

the higher education spectrum from prior socio-economic

students are better able to exploit social networks to gain

disadvantage to long-term, post-graduation outcomes.

‘knowledge-rich’ employment. If acts of identity are simply

Coupled with the relatively detailed demographic data,

about codifying a student’s experiences in an analogous

this creates the possibility for constructing ‘meso’ levels

fashion, students with high cultural capital and some (but

Widening participation in higher education: a play in five acts Tim Pitman

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

relatively lower) levels of disadvantage might perversely benefit the most (cf. Kaufman & Gabler, 2004) Understanding acts of identity is about exploring the diverse nature of educational disadvantage in greater detail and frequency, in order to better inform policy design.The more we generate complex and intersecting data sets that track cohorts over extended periods of time, the greater the need to understand what it is that we are searching for within them. This will only occur when policymakers embrace, rather than avoid, the diversity and complexity of educational disadvantage. Tim Pitman conducts research into higher education policy, with a focus on widening access and participation, at Curtin University, Australia.

’

Brennan, J., & Shah, T. (2003). Access to what? Converting educational opportunity into employment opportunity. London: Centre for Higher Education Research and Information, The Open University. Carpenter, P., & Hayden, M. (1993). Improvements in equity in the participation of young people in higher education in Australia during the 1980s. Higher Education, 26(2), 199-216. doi: 10.1007/BF01406952 Chandler, E. (2010). Sidewalk stories: The troubling task of identification. Disability Studies Quarterly, 30(3/4). Clark, Y. (2000). The construction of aboriginal identity in people separated from their families, community, and culture: Pieces of a jigsaw. Australian Psychologist, 35(2), 150-157. doi: 10.1080/00050060008260337 Coates, H., & Krause, K. L. (2005). Investigating Ten Years of Equity Policy in Australian Higher Education. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 27(1), 35-46. doi: 10.1080/13600800500045810 Comber, B. (1998). Problematising ‘background’: (Re) constructing categories in educational research. The Australian Educational Researcher, 25(3), 1-21. doi: 10.1007/bf03219678 Committee on the Future of Tertiary Education in Australia. (1964). Tertiary education in Australia: Report of the Committee on the Future of Tertiary Education in Australia to the Australian Universities Commission (Vol. 1, pp. 270). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Contact: Tim.pitman@curtin.edu.au

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Pitman, T. (2013). ‘Miraculous exceptions’: what can autobiography tell us about why some disadvantaged students succeed in higher education? Higher Education Research & Development, 32(1), 30-42. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2012.750278 Pitman, T., & Koshy, P. (2014). A framework for measuring equity performance in higher education: draft framework document V1.6. Perth: National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. Pitman, T., Koshy, P., & Phillimore, J. (2014). Does accelerating access to higher education lower its quality? The Australian experience. Higher Education Research & Development, 1-15. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2014.973385 Richardson, S., Bennett, D. & Roberts, L. (2016) Investigating the Relationship Between Equity and Graduate Outcomes in Australia. Report submitted to the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE), Curtin University: Perth. Robst, J., Keil, J., & Russo, D. (1998). The effect of gender composition of faculty on student retention. Economics of Education Review, 17(4), 429-439. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7757(97)00049-6 Sheldon, D., & Gottschalk, P. (1986). Do Rising Tides Lift All Boats? The Impact of Secular and Cyclical Changes on Poverty. The American Economic Review, 76(2), 405-410. doi: 10.2307/1818805 Stevens, P. A. J. (2007). Researching Race/Ethnicity and Educational Inequality in English Secondary Schools: A Critical Review of the Research Literature between 1980 and 2005. Review of Educational Research, 77(2), 147-185. doi: 10.2307/4624892 Trow, M. (1974). Problems in the Transition from Elite to Mass Higher Education. In OECD (Ed.), Policies for Higher Education (pp. 1-55). Paris: OECD. Trow, M. (2000). From Mass Higher Education to Universal Access: The American Advantage. Minerva, 37(4), 303-328. doi: 10.1023/A:1004708520977 Walton, J., Priest, N., Kowal, E., White, F., Brickwood, K., Fox, B., & Paradies, Y. (2014). Talking culture? Egalitarianism, color-blindness and racism in Australian elementary schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 39(0), 112122. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.01.003 Wheelahan, L. (2009a). Do educational pathways contribute to equity in tertiary education in Australia? Critical Studies in Education, 50(3), 261-275. Wheelahan, L. (2009b). What kind of access does VET provide to higher education for low SES students? Not a lot. Paper presented at the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education Launch & Forum Adelaide. http:// w3.unisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute/ncsehe/student-equity-forum-2009/wheelahanwhat-kind-of-access.pdf Wheelahan, L., Dennis, N., Firth, J., Miller, P., Newton, D., Pascoe, S., & Veenker, P. (2003). Recognition of Prior Learning: Policy and practice in Australia. Southern Cross University. Yannuzzi, T. J., & Martin, D. (2014). Voice, identity, and the organizing of student experience: managing pedagogical dilemmas in critical classroom discussions. Teaching in Higher Education, 19(6), 709-720. doi:10.1080/13562517.2014. 901963 Zepke, N., & Leach, L. (2005). Integration and adaptation: Approaches to the student retention and achievement puzzle. Active Learning in Higher Education, 6(1), 46-59. doi: 10.1177/1469787405049946 Ziersch, A. M., Gallaher, G., Baum, F., & Bentley, M. (2011). Responding to racism: Insights on how racism can damage health from an urban study of Australian Aboriginal people. Social Science & Medicine, 73(7), 1045-1053. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.06.058 Zimdars, A. (2010). Fairness and undergraduate admission: a qualitative exploration of admissions choices at the University of Oxford. Oxford Review of Education, 36(3), 307-323. doi: 10.1080/03054981003732286

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Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol This study investigated university student activism from both a theoretical and applied perspective. The aims were to explore some of the elements that might enable or constrain student activism and to facilitate the students’ opportunity to act on an issue of their choice. The three elements of self-efficacy, group work, and time were reviewed in the literature and used as a framework to gather data, the collection of which was completed in three sequential phases: a questionnaire, interviews, and an action research project. Sixty questionnaires were returned and, from these, eight students were interviewed and engaged in the action research project. Results from the questionnaire indicated that students were quite time poor with the median student spending more hours per week working than studying. Further results from the questionnaire as well as the interviews and action research project suggested that the element of self-efficacy had less of an effect on students’ activism than did group work or time, both of which were enabling when present and constraining when absent. Keywords: student activism, student politics, civic education

Introduction

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, a joint declaration by all state and

This study explored the topic of university student

territory Ministers of Education describes ‘active and

activism. The main research question posed was: what

informed citizens’ who ‘work for the common good, in

are some of the elements that enable or constrain

particular sustaining and improving natural and social

students’ activism? The Encyclopedia of Activism and

systems’ (Barr et al., 2008, p. 9), and The Shape of the

Social Justice states that while activism is not well

Australian Curriculum: Civics and Citizenship refers to

defined, it ‘is action on behalf of a cause, action that

‘preparation of active and empowered citizens includ[ing]

goes beyond what is conventional or routine’ (Martin,

opportunities for students to…actively engage in practical

2007, p. 19). Actions which are considered conventional

citizenship activities within schools, in the community and

or routine may be relative and difficult to define and

online’ (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting

so act to obscure a clearer definition; for actions which

Authority, 2012, p. 5). Note that there is no contradiction

are ordinary and acceptable in one time or place might

between ‘working for the common good’ or ‘actively

be plainly disallowed in others – universal suffrage, for

engaging in practical citizenship activities’ and engaging

example. Some important Australian educational policy

in action which is not routine. The length to which some

can be interpreted as favouring this study. For instance,

environmentalists go to protect the natural world, which

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

’

sustains all of life, serves as an obvious example and many

responding to a genuine demand of the youth whom they

others abound. The emphasis in both documents is on

serve (Matthews, 2001). Moreover,Taft and Gordon (2013)

action and an active citizenry.

argue that many youth activists recognise this insincerity

The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study

and view youth councils as elitist and as a tactic for

(ICCS) (International Association for the Evaluation of

mitigating youth participation. Vromen and Collin (2010)

Educational Achievement, 2013), the largest international

concur and argue that youth political participation has

study of civic and citizenship education ever conducted

usually been formal in structure and excludes many

(p. 5), found considerable variation with the content and

students’ voices. Instead they recommend political

method of civic and citizenship education both within

authorities seek out young people’s places of expression

and across the thirty-eight participating countries, but one

and try to include their voices in more informal and fun

of the central outcomes of civic and citizenship education

ways than has traditionally been done and create policies

named is ‘prepar[ing] young people…to be informed and

to make this effective. Bessant (2003, 2004) also agrees and

active citizens’ (p. 9). Given this outcome and the range

concludes that despite much rhetoric about increasing

of content and conduct considered in the ICCS, student

youth political participation, the policies promoted have

activism, at least as it has been conceived in this study, fits

been to increase the governance of, rather than by, young

quite well within that scope and bears squarely on that

people. Her suggestion is to make youth participation

outcome.Yet, although Australia has sufficient educational

effective through further policy reform which, while not

policy to promote active citizenship, university teacher-

unimportant, overlooks the fact that a number of avenues

training programs do not necessarily address this aspect

of political participation are already available to people of

of the curriculum well (Donnison, 2004), nor is there

all ages through activism and direct action, just as Vromen

a consensus on what this might entail (Peterson &

and Coleman’s (2011) treatment of GetUp shows.

Knowles, 2009). The aim of this study was to provide an

In trying to discover some important elements

opportunity for students to engage with a political, social,

enabling or constraining student activism, the field of

economic, or environmental issue of their choice, and in

social psychology provides a robust research tradition

so doing, answer the research question set out above.

on the causes and conditions of protest specifically (see for example van Stekelenburg & Klandermans, 2013),

Background

as well as collective action generally (see for example Klandermans, van der Toorn, & van Stekelenburg, 2008;

Much of the research on student activism is descriptive

van Zomeren, Postmes, & Spears, 2008). However, this field

in nature and seeks to report or at best explain some of

of research has at least two major, and related, differences

its features (see for example Barcan, 2011; Darby, 2001;

from the study in this article: (i) the purpose of the research

Dominguez, 2009; Robertson, 2013; Sankaran & Chng,

does not attempt to facilitate activist engagement, but

2012). In reviewing the literature on youth, but not

merely to observe and explain the elements of social and

necessarily student, political participation, Fyfe (2009)

political movements, and (ii) it has a strong commitment

contends that most research in this domain has been

to a positivist research paradigm with an emphasis on

confined to conventional political actions such as voting,

measurement, quantitative data analysis, prediction,

party campaign work and running for office. In its place

and ‘the thorny issue of causality’ (van Stekelenburg &

he recommends moving toward an understanding of the

Klandermans, 2013, p. 898) (see for example Gould, 1993;

many non-conventional means of political action such as

Kelly & Breinlinger, 1995; Klandermans & Oegema, 1987;

issue-specific protesting as well as new ones like online

Klandermans, Sabucedo, Rodriguez, & de Weerd, 2002;

mobilisation through social media.

Oegema & Klandermans, 1994; Stürmer, Simon, Loewy,

Researchers in the field of political science have considered

number

conventional

and

& Jörger, 2003; Tausch & Becker, 2013; van Stekelenburg,

non-

Klandermans, & van Dijk, 2009; van Zomeren, Leach,

conventional means to include youth participation in

& Spears, 2012). However, Gamson’s Talking Politics

politics but many have found the results lacking. For

(1992), which laid a framework of elements of collective

instance, youth councils, one common method of giving

action and which was subsequently used by much social

young people a voice in political matters, have been

psychological research, was based on a qualitative, rather

argued to conceal the large numbers of voices which

than quantitative, analysis of thirty-seven peer group

remain unheard and to be more about assuaging the

conversations. His work, drawing on others before him,

consciences of the adults who set them up, rather than

used the three elements of injustice, or what is sometimes

Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

referred to as grievances, agency, or what is sometimes

created entirely as an extra-curricular activity and it was

referred to as efficacy, and identity. Each of these three

made very clear that the students’ participation or lack

elements was used in order to describe and explain

thereof would not affect their grades in any way. As such,

people’s participation in social movements.Yet, Gamson’s

the students who participated did so entirely of their own

work also differs from point (i) above and he states

volition, and many chose not to.

‘[t]hose of us still located in academia continue to struggle

The students in the study were undergraduates

to make the university a resource for social movements’

enrolled in a Bachelor of Education (Primary) program

(Gamson, 2005, p. 278).

and they ranged in age from late teens to their forties. In

Within the field of education there are a few studies

addition to the HSIE class described above some students

which have a similar aim and methodology to this one. For

were taking a class called English Issues. A large majority

example, working within a high school context, Bencze,

of the students were female, which is to be expected

Sperling, and Carter (2012) investigated how teachers

given the current demographics of the Australian primary

can try to enable their science students to use their own

pre-service teacher cohort (McGrath & Sinclair, 2013).

research to inform their activism for a socio-scientific

The study was undertaken in a regional university in

issue. Their findings suggest that a countless number

Southeast Queensland which values, among other things,

of elements may affect students’ activism, but focussed

advancing human rights, pursuing social, economic, and

curriculum

policy

statements, school culture, teacher characteristics, and student-generated

research

findings. Marri and Walker (2008) also investigated ways of enabling students’ activism

environmental sustainability,

Researchers in the field of political science have considered a number of conventional and non-conventional means to include youth participation in politics but many have found the results lacking.

acting in a fair and equitable manner, and engaging with the

community

scholarship

through

(Council

Southern Cross University, 2014, p. 3). As such, the

at a high school level, though

university

their study was with students

positioned to support this

was

well

of colour and investigated how they could engage them

kind of study since the author expected many of the

in activism associated with race-related issues. Though

issues around which students would mobilise would

their study did not specifically seek to discover what

address these values.

elements might enable or constrain students’ activism,

Data collection in this study proceeded in three

they give the following advice to anyone attempting to

sequential phases: (i) a questionnaire, (ii) semi-structured

develop young activists: include an initiation component

interviews, and (iii) an action research project. An

where students discuss the issues they are interested in, a

information sheet describing the study was given to

history component reviewing the role that young people

students in class with the thrust of the description being

have had in social movements, a reflection component

that students were to involve themselves in the resolution

where students brainstorm ideas about how to address

of a social, political, economic, or environmental issue

their problems, and an action component where they

of their choice with the help of the author and, where

implement their ideas.

overlapping interests occurred, other students as well. There was a certain tension in the research design between

Methodology & data collection

allowing the students to choose the issue in which they were interested and around which they would mobilise,

The author has taught Human Society and Its Environments

and encouraging the students to work with others as part

(HSIE) to primary school pre-service teachers for about

of a group. Choosing the issue which concerned most

two and a half years. This class is essentially a social

students and trying to encourage the entire group to

sciences amalgam and includes topics such as civics and

mobilise around it would have been effective in creating

active citizenship, values education, and discrimination.

a large group that could work together, though many

Tutorial discussions are the furthest extent of engagement

members might not have cared much about the issue

with the issues covered in the class and for this reason,

chosen. After some deliberation it was decided that the

the author wanted to try and create more opportunities

study would be most authentic if each student named the

for students to act on them. However, because the author

issue in which they were most interested and the group

had little influence on the course syllabus, this study was

work presumed necessary for effective activism facilitated

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

’

by suggesting that students with similar interests join

network and as a means for sharing their experiences and

together or with existing groups pursuing each of their

learning from one another, particularly in the cases where

issues (cf. Stenhouse & Jarrett, 2012). The author also

the issues in which students were interested overlapped.

attempted to create solidarity amongst his students by

Following this, many individual emails, phone calls, and

insisting on learning and using all of his students’ names

occasional face-to-face exchanges were made between the

and by encouraging his students to do the same with the

author and the students in order to chart their progress.

help of name tags.

The author kept an action research journal as a means of

About 110 questionnaires were given out at the end of

recording events, conversations, and observations (Cohen

class and completed at home where necessary. Questions

et al., 2007, p. 300), and for the purpose of maintaining

asked about how the students spent their time during the

the students’ anonymity, used pseudonyms throughout

week, their previous activist experience, whether or not

this paper.

they believed in their self-efficacy, and any social, political, economic, or environmental issues they were concerned

Elements influencing students’ activism

about. The results from the questionnaires were used to winnow the respondents down to a smaller group to

As some of the literature reviewed above suggests, myriad

interview by case-sampling (Flick, 2010, p. 115). This also

possible elements might enable or constrain student

was a research design decision which was made with

activism. This study focussed on three however: self-

much deliberation. As much as the author would have

efficacy, group work, and time.

preferred to work with all of his students in trying to resolve each of their chosen issues, in practice this would

Self-efficacy

have been impossible due to time and energy constraints

Self-efficacy may play an important role in helping to

(cf. Stenhouse & Jarrett, 2012). As a result seven students

explain why people engage in activism since we might

were selected to interview, with one additional student

expect that those who believe in their power to effect

interviewed during the action research project, for a total

change will be the ones more likely to do so. Bandura

of eight interviews. The students were chosen so as to

(1977, p. 193) refers to self-efficacy as an individual’s

provide a variety of answers from the questionnaire. In

conviction that one’s behaviour can produce expected

other words, some interviewees had a fair bit of previous

outcomes. However, Velasquez and LaRose (2015)

activist experience, but one had none, and while some

emphasise the importance of distinguishing between

believed in their self-efficacy others were not sure.

self- versus collective-efficacy since many political actions

During the interviews students were mostly asked ‘why’

are made en masse rather than as an individual effort.

questions about their responses on the questionnaire, as

Their main results suggest that online collective political

well as other questions related to this study to try and

activism is better predicted by efficacy at the collective,

ascertain the students’ reasons for acting the way they

rather than individual level. For the purposes of this

did or for believing what they did. The interviews were

study, although online activity was not a central focus, the

audio recorded, the conversations transcribed, and the

contrast between individual- and collective-efficacy was

transcripts member checked (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison,

nonetheless investigated via the element of group work,

2007, p. 136).

which is discussed below.

These same interviewees then engaged in an action

Wollman and Stouder (1991) also dissected the concept

research project to try and resolve the social, political,

of efficacy, but in their study did so along the lines of

economic, or environmental issue of their choice and

overall, political, and situation-specific efficacy, arguing

to provide an opportunity to compare some of the

that beliefs in general life efficacy do not necessarily accord

theoretical results from the questionnaires and interviews

with those in the political sphere. They further contend

with the practical ones which arose in the action research

that specific political behaviour will be better predicted

phase. This was important since what students say they

by a belief in the efficacy of that particular behaviour.

are willing to do in theory may not be what they actually

This is a sensible argument, though the deterministic

do in practice (van Stekelenburg & Klandermans, 2013,

and quantitative approach they apply with the goal of

pp. 898-899). This began by the author sending out a

prediction, when taken to the logical extreme, seems to

group email priming the students for the action research

imply that the best predictor of a given behaviour would

phase, inviting them to ‘reply all’ in solidarity with the

involve making the most highly specified map of the

other students involved so as to use the group as a support

world to account for every possible factor influencing the

Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Table 1: Results from the Questionnaire Regarding Students’ Belief in Self-efficacy Statement I am an important contributor to society and I personally make a difference.

Agree 50%

’

action research project answered on their questionnaires that they believed in their self-efficacy; Neil and Elle

Disagree

Unsure

both joined GetUp and signed petitions relating to their

44%

respective causes, and Brian became vegetarian to help promote animal rights, which could be construed as a very broad boycott. However, Winona had also answered that she believed in her self-efficacy, but did nothing during the

participants’ behaviour. What Wollman and Stouder seem

action research phase even though she spoke passionately

to be driving at by investigating such situation-specific

about her chosen issue of littering during the interview:

efficacy are the reasons an individual acts in a certain way and they admit that many other factors must be addressed than those investigated in their study to fully understand an individual’s action. Consequently, as described above, most of the questions asked in the interview phase of this study were ‘why’ questions. Results from the questionnaire with regard to the students’ belief in their ability to cause change in society

Winona: I haven’t even spoken to you about putting this into anything but I already feel like… burning up. Author: What do you mean? Winona: A feeling of burning up, like as in, doing something… instead of just sitting here it’s like a fire that you get – like when I thought about doing a protest about littering.

– their self-efficacy – are shown in Table 1. Although sixty

Reasons for Winona’s lack of engagement during the

questionnaires were returned, this part of the study was

action research phase appeared to be mostly due to lack of

only completed by fifty students, perhaps because this

time, which is examined below. What was most revealing

table was on the back of the last page of the questionnaire

about the relationship between self-efficacy and activism

and some did not think to look there.

however came from the interview with John. He had a

Only half of the students believe that they are an

range of previous activist experience but indicated in his

‘important contributor to society’ and ‘personally make a

questionnaire that he was unsure about his self-efficacy.

difference.’This may have worrying consequences for the

Throughout his interview he maintained his belief that

prospects of activism since if they do not believe they

there is not much one person can do, not only for the

can make a difference one might expect that they will

refugee issue about which he had done nothing, but for

not bother trying. This is perhaps even more concerning

those issues in which he had engaged in various forms of

since these students are studying to become teachers and

activism, each connected to either a high school being

might then, when they step into their occupation, be less

built near his home or a council’s proposal to demolish a

inclined to think critically, struggle for social change, and

cricket club at which he said he had played for many years.

more readily accept the status quo. However, half of the

These actions included writing to a newspaper, calling in

students in this study who agreed with the statement in

to a radio show, attending a public meeting, participating

Table 1, and thus believe in their self-efficacy, had never

in a march, as well as signing petitions online and on

engaged in any form of activism, other than signing a

paper. When asked if any of the activist measures he had

petition. Conversely, all three students (six per cent) who

taken affected the council’s decision he stated:

disagreed with the statement, and thus do not believe in their self-efficacy, answered that they had participated in some form of activism beyond simply signing a petition; those actions were participating in a protest, calling in to a radio show, and participating in a march. And yet

I’d say it might have swayed them a little bit, but we all know that with councils that if they’ve made up their mind they’ll go through with it anyway, so it’s just having people there that are against the council’s decision to destroy it…there was enough people there to stop it.

again, the one student who had participated in one of the most extreme forms of activism – a blockade – answered

Thus here, as well as in other parts of his interview, John’s

‘unsure’ to the statement. Hence, the questionnaire

belief is that efficacy does not come from an individual, but

phase produced some doubt as to how strongly self-

from a group, which supports the group work element

efficacy might enable, or through lack thereof constrain, a

considered below.When asked if one person could make a

student’s activism.

difference by starting such a group John replied:

Additional light was shed on this element during the interview and action research phases. All three students who actually engaged in some form of activism during the vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

It’d be hard to try and find people that were as passionate as you to help towards that, and it’s also t r y i n g to find the time between work and study, because a

Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

’

group thing, everyone must be involved and you have to have one day at a certain time where everybody can get there and everyone can lobby, everyone can press their opinions…it’s hard to try and find the right people, the time between work and study and personal life.

Civil and Political Rights, to which Australia is a signatory

In addition to the importance of group work, here

associate to effect change.

(Australian Human Rights Commission, 2013). Though there may be legitimate circumstances for banning the association of people, such as in wartime, activists must be mindful of the need to preserve their right to

John points out another element mentioned in the

Most of the interactions between the author and the

literature below – time. Although it may be hard work as

students in this study took place outside of class via

John suggested, he is arguing that what is necessary to

email or phone, but there was nonetheless an important

create social change is for enough people with a similar

observation made by the author in class which impacted

interest to find the time to come together and express

on the group work element of this study. Without

their opposition. To a lesser extent, Mandy’s beliefs and

exception, despite insisting on students using name tags

experiences were the same: ‘I’ve just never been a big

in the tutorials, by the end of the semester not a single

believer of…one person can change…everything, like it

student knew the names of all the other students in their

definitely takes a lot more than just one, and I don’t feel

tutorial group. He noted the following exchange in his

like I could personally make a big difference.’

action research journal:

Thus the triangulation of the results of the questionnaire, the students’ ideas expressed in their interviews, and their actions in the action research phase suggests a conflicting

Author: How come you guys don’t know each other’s names?

engagement with an issue through activism.

Student: Because we just come here to class and then leave. There’s nowhere else to go and nothing else going on.

Group work

This likely has adverse effects on the element of group

relationship between a belief in one’s self-efficacy and

As mentioned above, another element which may

work and the student body would appear to be quite

affect activism may simply be called ‘group work.’ In

fragmented. Many results from the questionnaire and

short, we might expect that social change is unlikely

interviews showed that the students are politically aware,

to come from individuals, but instead by groups of

socially conscious, and environmentally concerned,

like-minded people working together. In writing about

yet they are not interested in being part of, nor do

how to understand the world and stay informed, world-

they behave as, an integrated body qua students. This

renowned political activist Noam Chomsky writes: ‘[i]

is not to say that the students may not be part of other

t’s true that the task is somewhere between awfully

groups which are mobilising for change on the issues

difficult and utterly hopeless for an isolated individual.

about which they are concerned, but it seems clear, at

But it’s feasible for anyone who is part of a cooperative

least from this study, that the ‘student’ aspect of student

community’ (Chomsky, 1999, para. 1). Van Stekelenburg

activism, does not constitute a cohesive group which

and Klandermans (2013, p. 890) concur when they write,

might be able to mobilise for some collective interest – it

citing several studies, that ‘the more people identify with

is far too disintegrated. Furthermore, none of the students

a group the more they are inclined to protest on behalf of

responded to the group email sent to initiate the action

that group.’ The need to band together to create change

research phase, though everyone eventually replied to

may seem obvious, but laws prohibiting such association

emails which were sent to them individually. Also, as

are not without precedent and in recent times the

indicated above, the only activism in the action research

Queensland government’s Vicious Lawless Association

phase involved Neil and Elle, both of whom joined GetUp

Disestablishment Act 2013 is one example. The law is

to sign petitions related to their respective causes, and

meant to target bikie gangs but defines an association

Brian who became vegetarian. And although Brian’s

quite broadly in Section 3 as, among other things, ‘any…

decision might appear independent of others, he spoke

group of 3 or more persons by whatever name called,

at length in this interview about a range of actions he had

whether associated formally or informally and whether

taken in concert with other animal rights activists. These

the group is legal or illegal.’This has caused the Australian

included helping his sisters, who look after rescue dogs

Human Rights Commission President, Professor Gillian

and rehabilitate birds, attending rallies to oppose animal

Triggs, to criticise the law on the basis of the freedom of

circuses, and working with others to remove flyers and

association contained in the International Covenant of

signs promoting animal circuses.

Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

suggested that group work may enable constrain it when absent. When asked what strategies she thought would help

Table 2: Results from the Questionnaire Regarding Students’ Time

Other results from the interviews also student activism when present and

’

or more, and almost one fifth working twenty-one hours or more. Perhaps not surprisingly, sixty-three per cent reported

Hours Spent Working per Week

that they were often overwhelmed by

Hours

replied: ‘maybe, researching into local…

Statistics’ Survey of Education and Work

they’re not projects I guess, but local

1-4

showing that of all fifteen- to seventy-

groups that do…something about that

5-9

four-year-olds who are studying for a

and …get them involved in a way.’ Mandy

10-14

non-school qualification, some 2.2 million

15-19

demonstration:‘like a big gathering of…a

20 or more

whole group of people that believe in

Total:

the…common good…that can definitely

* Median is 17 hours per week

correlated with students’ likeliness to

change something, and I felt like I was

Hours Spent Studying per Week

engage in activism, some studies, such

part of something, I felt like I was really contributing to something.’And in adding

Andrew, & Davidson, 2012) and business

to the statements he had made earlier

1-4

(Richardson, Evans, & Gbadamosi, 2014)

5-9

gave a similar reply as she related this to her own experience of taking part in a

comparing self- versus collective-efficacy, when asked if one person can make a

No. of Students

everything they had to do. This trend has

get students active about an issue,Winona

continued with the Australian Bureau of

students, over two thirds, or about sixtyseven per cent are working either full- or part-time (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). Although these statistics are not

as in nursing (Salamonson, Everett, Koch,

show

that

working

while

studying

negatively impacts on students’ study

difference John stated: ‘it won’t make as

10-14

time and Grade Point Average. From this,

much difference as a group or an activist

15-19

we might surmise that any other activity,

lobby or anything along those lines but…

20 or more

including engaging in activism, will suffer

one person can do something, but it

Total:

as students juggle both work and study.

won’t be much.’ The theme expressed by these students seems to be that, alone, one person is rather impotent

* Median is 14.5 hours per week

In this vein, Dominguez (2009) drew the ironic conclusion that many student

Leisure Hours per Week

activists adopt the neoliberal ideology

but, when joined by many others, is able

and behaviour of ‘time management’ and

to exert political pressure and create

1-4

‘multitasking’ in order to include activism

social change. In short, those who acted

5-9

in their already busy schedules, even as

or described previous actions did so or

10-14

they try to mobilise against its effects.

15-19

described doing so with others; nobody decided to work alone.

20 or more

Time

Total:

That time is needed to do anything is

* Median is 12 hours per week

obvious, and no less so for a student,

that undergraduate students struggled to find time to participate in a program to implement social change. From this we might expect that students would be hard pressed to find the time to engage in any

teacher, or any responsible and engaged citizen to actively involve themselves in a political, social or

Stenhouse and Jarrett (2012) also found

sort of activism, and if they did, to only a limited degree.

environmental issue.Yet, university students and staff alike

Results from the questionnaire with regard to how the

are becoming decreasingly able to mobilise for change due

students spend their time during the semester are shown

to lack of time; academics who are underpaid need to find

in Table 2.

external income streams (Nicholas, 2003) and students

The number of hours the median student spent

with increasing debt levels also need to find ways to create

working each week supports the findings reviewed in the

an income (Hall, 2010). In fact, a report by the Australian

literature.What is most striking in these results however is

Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and

that the median student spends more time working each

Training (McInnis & Hartley, 2002, p. xi) found that

week than studying. These students are enrolled in full-

undergraduate students work an average of fifteen hours

time study and yet they work only part-time. That such

a week, with almost forty per cent working sixteen hours

descriptors do not accurately reflect the relative amount

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

’

of time spent on each activity may belie a change in the

page, it should be fine! Struggling to get my assignment in

traditional nature of undergraduate student life.

so need to finish it but I’m sure it’s all OK!’ The record of

A couple of results from the interviews and action research project discussed above have already touched on the role that time may play in enabling student activism when present or constraining it when absent. Other excerpts from the interviews supporting this relationship follow: Winona: I need to want to do more but, at the same time, you know, it’s hard being a uni student, working two jobs, not really having any spare time as it is, but wanting to be able to help in some way… Elle: I’ve never really, or not recently, because I seem to be on the go so much… sat down and sort of gone, alright, where can I sort of time manage to focus my energies on this [issue of Aboriginal communities]? And I guess when you’ve got a young family a lot of your energy sort of gets taken up with that process… Neil: I currently have two jobs. I’m working at a Chinese take-away place as a delivery driver. I usually do that between ten to twelve hours a week. And then, sometimes they call me in for an after-school care job.

communication with Mandy was similar: Hi Jason, just returning your phone call. I was in a tutorial when you called, so I was unable to answer. I’ve been struggling quite a bit with my work load at the moment. So am focusing on trying to keep on top of all my uni and work commitments, which is proving quite difficult. The triangulation of results from each of the three phases of the study – the questionnaire, the interviews, and the action research project – suggest that students do not have much time to engage in activism due to their work and study loads.

Studying and teaching for active citizenship Mentioned in the introduction were some important education policy documents which indicate that teachers will be expected to prepare students as active citizens.

In the questionnaire, Neil had written that there was

Nowhere in the HSIE course were students told that they

nothing he was doing about any of the issues in which

would be expected to do this so perhaps we should not

he was interested, the reason being ‘don’t know where

be surprised that almost half the students chose not to

to begin.’ When asked to elaborate on his comment in

complete the questionnaire and participate in the study.

the interview he said: ‘it’s just hard to know where to

For those sixty that did, eighteen of the respondents,

start with these things. It’s sort of like…I guess it’s the

or almost a third of them, ticked ‘no’ in response to

complexity…and finding the time, obviously…busy

the question: ‘Are there any environmental, economic,

schedule.’ These comments seem to suggest that lack of

political or social issues that you are concerned about

time adversely affected the students’ ability to engage in

today?’ Added to this disjuncture between education

activism.

and activism was the paucity of issues named on the

During the action research phase of the project some

questionnaire related to education. For the forty-two

records of communication show the influence that

students that responded ‘yes’ to the question above, only

time had on students’ actual participation in activism.

five of them named an education-related issue.These were:

For example, upon the author’s suggestion that she join

‘education about the real world’, ‘education worldwide’,

some groups related to her named causes Barbara replied:

‘deregulation of university fees’, ‘cuts to education’ and

‘Thank you Jason. I will look at those in the near future

‘education system in Australia.’ Whether this was due

when I am not so busy with uni work. Sounds great.’

to selflessness on the part of the students, ignorance

However, this was the last and only bit of communication

of or apathy towards the then current attempts by the

with Barbara during the entire action research phase.

government to pass legislation to deregulate university

Furthermore, Winona sent the following text in response

tuition and cut funding, complete satisfaction with the

to the author’s email suggesting some groups to join

current system of schooling in Australia, or some other

related to her named issues: ‘Hi Jason, I’ve only just got

reason, is uncertain.

home and I’ve got to start roast dinner. I haven’t had time

From these results it appears just as uncertain, doubtful

to check out the links in your emails with assignments

even, whether students draw much of a connection

due the last week. How about I get back to you when I’ve

between education, including their future role as teachers,

had a look?’ However, the only other reply which came

and active citizenship through activism. Knowing

from Winona during the action research phase was in

how inclined to activism students in other disciplines

response to the author’s request to check the transcript

are compared to the students in this study would be

of her interview, which was: ‘Hi Jason, I checked the first

interesting, and a question worth considering. Perhaps

Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

students majoring in political science are more likely to

no matter how minimal, they are more prone to engage

engage in activism and those in business less.

in activism again in the future.’ This suggests that one

The scant relationship between education and activism

method of fulfilling the educational policy documents

in this study’s sample also appears to have normalised the

cited above in preparing students to be active citizens is

increased cost of studying, and in turn the need for students

to include activism in the syllabus for the HSIE classes in

to work while doing so, and the time they spend engaging

teacher education programs. Pre-service teachers could,

in these activities. The fact that the median student spent

for example, be asked to involve themselves in an issue

more time working each week than studying and that only

of their choice as part of an assessment for the class.

a few listed the cost of education as an issue about which

Of course, this would contravene the approach taken

they were concerned implies that the majority of students

in this study whereby students participated voluntarily

in this sample accept these circumstances. But as some of

outside of class, but voting in Australia is compulsory and

the results from the interviews and action research phase

there is no specific training provided for how to vote

suggest, lack of time impedes students’ ability to engage

‘correctly.’ Furthermore, voting is a relatively passive form

in activism.This can create a positive feedback loop – the

of citizenship activity compared to activism, so perhaps

greater the cost of education, the more students must

the suggestion to include the latter in teacher-training

work, and the less time they have to oppose further

programs is a fair assessment. If we are to move beyond

increases in cost. However, in May 2014 thousands of

mere rhetoric of preparing students to be active citizens,

Australian students took to the streets in opposition to the

it seems reasonable to suggest that such a change would

government’s plan to cut funding to higher education and

be a step in the right direction since, as Saha suggests, this

deregulate university tuition fees, arguing that universities

would increase the likeliness of further activism in future,

should be financed by public, rather than private funding

which in turn would give teachers a base from which to

(ABC, 2014). This was followed with sustained media

work when they go about preparing their own students

coverage about the government’s failed attempt to have

to be active citizens. Doing so would also capitalise on the

the proposed legislation passed by the Senate on not

opportunities for group work which arise naturally in a

one, but two occasions (see for example Clarke, 2015).

classroom setting and students could also be given time

So why were the students in this study so disinterested in

in class to work on or discuss their activism.

the topic? The chance that they would not have known anything about it seems unlikely so perhaps there are

Conclusion

other reasons for their apathy and lack of engagement. Most of the student protests opposing the government’s

This exploratory study was initiated in response to

proposal to deregulate university tuition and cut funding

educational policy in Australia calling for students to be

occurred in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and other large

prepared as active citizens.There is no universal consensus

cities (ABC, 2014). The students in this study however

on what active citizenship might involve and so it is not

were part of a regional university on a relatively small

obvious why activism, at least as it has been defined and

campus. Some of the results from this study suggest that

exemplified in this study, should be excluded. On the

group work is an enabling element for student activism so

contrary, many examples of activist work can be argued

perhaps the relatively small, and as further results showed

to fulfil the role of active citizenship quite well. Preparing

fragmented, student body was unable to coalesce enough

students to be active citizens through activism can thus

organised opposition to make the topic predominate

act as an important, though not exclusive, component

over the other issues students listed on the questionnaire.

of social change. The political, social, economic, and

As Neil stated above, he did not know where to begin

environmental issues which currently face us are as varied

tackling the issues he had listed due to their complexity,

as they are serious and answering the call for active and

as well as lack of time. Organisation for or against certain

informed citizens to address such issues is arguably the

social, political, or other issues can indeed be complex

most important function of the institutions of learning

and take much time and energy. For someone who has

today. The results of this study suggest that the elements

never been involved in activism before knowing where

of group work and time appear to enable student activism

to begin can be daunting, even overwhelming to the

when present and constrain it when absent.The evidence

point of paralysis and continued non-involvement.

related to self-efficacy appeared more conflicting and

However, according to Saha (2004, p. 10) ‘once a person

suggests this element is less significant. Similar studies

has engaged in forms of social and political activism,

which sample students in other disciplines, universities,

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Student activism: An exploration of pre-service teacher engagement Jason van Tol

age groups, and countries, as well as those which consider other elements which may enable or constrain students’ activism would help to either support or discover limitations to the results found in this study. But even when research addressing such a topic ‘fails’, we can at least seek comfort in having tried to do something about the profusion of issues we face today.

’

org/web/20000608144830/http://zmag.org/ZSustainers/ZDaily/1999-03/ mar_8_1999.htm Clarke, M. (2015, March 17). Senate votes down Government’s university deregulation legislation. Retrieved May 14, 2015, from http://www.abc.net. au/news/2015-03-17/senate-votes-down-legislation-to-uncap-universityfees/6327066 Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6 ed.). New York: Routledge.

Acknowledgement

Council of Southern Cross University. (2014). 2013 Annual Report. Australia: Southern Cross University. Retrieved from http://scu.edu.au/docs/annual_report/ download.php?doc_id=14769&site_id=223&file_ext=.pdf%20-%20229k

This article has been drawn from the results of an honours

Darby, R. (2001). Preaching to the unconverted: Memories of La Trobe’s radical street theatre. Overland, 165, 53-61.

thesis project. For the full results of this study, including the exploration of other elements not discussed in this article, please contact the author at the address below. Jason van Tol is an independent scholar and lives in Byron Bay, NSW. He has taught at several universities in Queensland. His current research is concerned with the potential for citizenship education to contribute to a sustainable society

Dominguez, R. F. (2009). U.S. college student activism during an era of neoliberalism: A qualitative study of students against sweatshops. Australian Educational Research, 36(3), 125-138. Donnison, S. (2004). Discourses for the new millennium: Exploring the cultural models of ‘Y generation’ preservice teachers (Doctoral thesis, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland). Retrieved from https://www120.secure. griffith.edu.au/rch/file/3f1d9a8f-559f-1a61-7fc4-40fba20aa797/1/02Whole.pdf Flick, U. (2010). An introduction to qualitative research. Singapore: SAGE Publications.

Contact: jayveetee@gmail.com

Fyfe, I. (2009). Researching youth political participation in Australia: Arguments for an expanded focus. Youth Studies Australia, 28(1), 37-45.

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’

When rating systems do not rate Evaluating ERA’s performance Paul Henman University of Queensland

Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis University of Newcastle

In 2015, the Australian Government’s Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment of research quality declined to rate 1.5 per cent of submissions from universities. The public debate focused on practices of gaming or ‘coding errors’ within university submissions as the reason for this outcome. The issue was about the in/appropriate allocation of research activities to Fields of Research. This paper argues that such practices are only part of the explanation. With the support of statistical modelling, unrated outcomes are shown to have also arisen from particular evaluation practices within the discipline of Psychology and the associated Medical and Health Sciences Research Evaluation Committee. Given the high stakes nature of unrated outcomes and that the evaluation process breaches public administration principles by being not appealable nor appropriately transparent, the paper concludes with recommendations for the strengthening ERA policy and procedures to enhance trust in future ERA processes. Keywords: higher education policy, universities, research performance, performance assessment, performance measurement, Excellence in Research for Australia, ERA, Australian Research Council, ARC, public administration

Introduction

for a particular discipline, a category of ‘not assessed’ (n/a) was given.

On 4 December 2015, the Australian Research Council

The ERA process has been subjected to academic

(ARC) released the results of its third Excellence in

analysis and commentary (Gable, 2013), as has the wider

Research for Australia (ERA) assessment process. The

and growing practice of national research assessment

process assessed disciplines, or Fields of Research (FoR),

exercises, such as the UK’s Research Excellence

in each of 41 Australian universities, based on their own

Framework (REF) and its predecessor, the Research

submissions. Each submission, or Unit of Evaluation

Assessment Exercise (RAE) (Elton, 2000; Geuna & Martin,

(UoE), consisted of research indicators including research

2003). Many of these articles are highly critical of these

funding, research publications, applied indicators, and

forms of evaluation and their authors have argued that

esteem measures. Each discipline at each university

they do not achieve their stated goals, and also lead to

that made a submission was rated from 1 to 5, being

dysfunctional managerial control over traditional academic

‘well below world standard’ to being ‘well above world

practices (Bonnell, 2016; Kwok, 2013; Martin, 2011).While

standard’. Where institutions did not make a submission

many of these articles challenge the performance metric

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

approach, many more engage with the contours and

In an effort to better understand the administrative

specifics of performance evaluation design. For example,

black box, we examined the ERA production of n/r

the ERA 2010 allocation of a four-scale ranking to journals

UoE using both textual analysis of public reporting and

was subjected to such widespread challenge due to its

statistical examination of the outcomes. One of our goals

subjective and political construction (Haslam & Koval,

was to further investigate and understand the locus of

2010; Vanclay, 2011) that it was finally dropped.

the problems associated with n/r outcomes. Furthermore,

In ERA 2015 a new twist to the evaluation process

our analyses provide a basis for suggestions for enhancing

occurred. In addition to the five-scale rating, a new

the public governance of ERA processes to ensure they

category was created, ‘not rated’ (n/r). This new outcome

maintain confidence and credibility for future ERA rounds,

was given for disciplinary areas within an institution

including its expansion in 2018 to cover research impact.

that made a submission, but ‘due to coding errors’ ERA

The next section presents an overview of the n/r

committees were unable or unwilling to allocate it a

outcomes with respect to institutions, FoR and ERA RECs.

numerical rating from one to five (ERA, 2015, p. 364).

These data and their patterns are then considered in the

The failure of the rating system to rate some submissions

light of public statements about the n/r UoE, and statistical

has generated considerable public and private debate,

analysis using Bayesian statistical modelling to assess the

including media coverage.

probabilities of the n/r outcomes. These observations are

Unfortunately, the debate so far has shed little light on how submissions came to be categorised as n/r, and speaks to a wider discomfort in the university sector about the black-box, opaque nature of

interpreted to identify the

... university reputations are enhanced or degraded based on ratings, and the not rated outcomes have cast significant doubt about the propriety of those seven institutions who received them.

ERA rating exercises. Indeed,

best explanation for the n/r outcomes. The concluding section

considers

what

these findings suggest for the possible changes to ERA rules

and

administrative

processes.

there is considerable secrecy in the process. University submissions are confidential,

ERA 2015’s not rated submissions

and members of the Research Evaluation Committees (RECs) sign strict confidentiality agreements to ensure

For ERA 2015, each of 41 universities was invited to make

the confidentiality of submissions to the rating process

submissions for rating in any of 179 FoR. These fields

and of the process itself. While the members of the RECs

are defined by the FoR codes in the Australian and New

are

(http://www.arc.gov.au/era-2015-research-

Zealand Standard Research Classification (ABS, 2008).

evaluation-committee-rec-members) the reviewers who

Here, and throughout, we exclude from analysis the

provide input into peer-reviewed disciplines are not,

two-digit FoR codes, and focus on the more fine-grained

and there is no process for appealing the rating results.

divisions of the four-digit codes, of which there are 157.

Institutions can, however, appeal the process by which

Together, the 41 universities made 1,802 submissions. Of

ratings were made if they are viewed as infringing the

these, only 27, or 1.5 per cent, were categorised as n/r.

stated process, but as the process is largely hidden it

These 27 n/r UoE were distributed across seven of the

would be hard to make a case on those grounds.

41 (17 per cent) participating universities (see Table 1).

known

There are significant public interest grounds for

University of Wollongong had the most, with 13 out of

analysing this situation. Firstly, there are important public

their 54 (24 per cent) submissions n/r, Victoria University

administration principles at stake, including due process,

second with 8 of 29 (28 per cent) submissions n/r, while

administrative fairness, transparent and accountable

the remaining five had only one or two n/r submissions.

public administration, and decision making being subject

Data on ERA ratings have been obtained from the ARC

to appeal (Bovens et al., 2014; Weber, 2009, pp. 196-244).

website (www.arc.gov.au/era-outcomes) and reports

Secondly, university reputations are enhanced or degraded

(ARC 2015).

based on ratings, and the not rated outcomes have cast

Another way to view the n/r units is by discipline (or

significant doubt about the propriety of those seven

Field of Research – FoR), instead of institution. Of the

institutions who received them. Thirdly, such universities

157 different disciplines defined by the FoR codes, 20

also need clear feedback to identify perceived problems in

disciplines generated at least one n/r unit of evaluation

their submissions in order to avoid future n/r outcomes.

(see Table 2). Only two of the FoR codes yielded a n/r

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

Table 1: Unrated (n/r) submissions by institution Institution

Number of n/r from total of institution’s UoE

University of Wollongong

Percentage n/r of institution’s UoE

13 of 54

24%

Victoria University

8 of 29

28%

University of Tasmania

2 of 53

3.8%

Central Queensland University

1 of 14

Edith Cowan University

’

Table 3: Unrated (n/r) submissions by Research Evaluation Committee (REC) Research Evaluation Committee

Number of unrated (n/r) from total evaluated

Percentage unrated of submissions considered

Biological and Biotechnological Sciences (BB)

3 of 199

1.5%

7.1%

Economics and Commerce (EC)

5 of 171

2.9%

1 of 27

3.7%

0%.

1 of 39

2.6%

Education and Human Society (EHS)

0 of 214

RMIT University University of Newcastle

1 of 57

1.7%

Engineering and Environmental Sciences (EE)

5 of 214

2.3%

Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA)

0 of 308

Mathematical, Information and Computing Sciences (MIC)

1 of 153

0.7%

12 of 321

3.7%

1 of 222

0.5%

Source: www.arc.gov.au/era-outcomes

Table 2: Unrated (n/r) submissions by Field of Research Field of Research

Number of unrated (n/r) submissions

0103

Numerical and Computational Mathematics

Medical and Health Sciences (MHS)

0204

Condensed Matter Physics

0601

Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences (PCE)

0904

Chemical Engineering

0905

Civil Engineering

category for more than one university: Public Health and

0908

Food Sciences

Health Services (FoR code 1117) and Psychology (FoR

0915

Interdisciplinary Engineering

code 1701), which yielded two and five n/r outcomes,

0999

Other Engineering

1103

Clinical Sciences

1111

Nutrition and Dietetics

1115

Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences

1116

Medical Physiology

Table 3. Just one REC, the Medical panel, was responsible

1117

Public Health and Health Services

for almost half of all n/r outcomes from ERA 2015 (12

1402

Applied Economics

outcomes, or 3.7 per cent).

1501

Accounting, Auditing and Accountability

1503

Business and Management

Analysing the reasons for not rated outcomes

1505

Marketing

One obvious interpretation of the pattern of these

1599

Other Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services

outcomes is that the problems of n/r submissions lie

1701

Psychology

Indeed, in the context of high-stakes performance

1799

Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences

measurement, gaming is to be expected (Bevan & Hood,

Source: www.arc.gov.au/era-outcomes

respectively. A third way to view these results is by the committees that allocated ratings. The ERA ratings were determined by the eight RECs, each of which was responsible for rating submissions in a different subset of FoR codes. The distribution of n/r outcomes across RECs is shown in

within universities, and in particular, what they submitted.

2006; Hood, 2006; Jacob, 2005), and rules are likely to be bent as far as possible to enhance institutional performance, as indicated by the ratings.This perspective

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

is certainly what has been implied and is a widespread

To be sure, the ERA rules state ‘FoRs should be assigned

perception within the sector, as evidenced in the mass

to an output if they are relevant to that output’(ARC,2014,p.

media articles cited below.

32). Indeed, for each journal and conference proceedings,

Analysing not rated using public statements

the ARC assigns up to three FoR codes, and institutions must submit journal or conference publications to these

Prior to the release of the ERA 2015 results, a story in

FoR codes. The exception is the ‘reassignment rule’

the Fairfax media reported that ‘Several universities

which states that another FoR code can be used when

are being threatened with tough penalties for allegedly

‘publications which have significant content (66 per cent

providing data that would artificially boost their

or more) that could best be described by [that] four-digit

performance on [ERA]’ (Knott, 2015, 18 November), and

FoR code’ (ARC, 2014, p. 33).The allocation of books, book

referred specifically to University of Tasmania and Central

chapters and research funding does not have this detail,

Queensland University. The ARC’s CEO Professor Aidan

but remains subject to the overarching rule stated at the

Byrne responded that, ‘…it is not correct that either of

start of this paragraph.

the universities named “coded” journal articles “multiple

Notably, under the rules, the FoR codes assigned to

times” to “inflate a university’s results”’. He proceeded to

researchers have no relationship to the FoR code assigned

say that REC panels had raised queries about data and that

to their publications. Rather, the ERA rules state ‘FoR

such queries ‘account for well under 2 per cent of the UoEs

assignment should describe the focus of the activities of

submitted for assessment’, and that such assessment will

the researcher’ (ARC, 2014, p. 29).This results in situations

be ‘based on clear and robust processes with the rules of

such as an engineer publishing in an international

submission clearly stated when released in July 2014’.The

development journal about engineering projects in

media’s presentation clearly constructs some universities

developing countries, where the FoR codes assigned to

as gaming the system with alleged ‘data manipulation’

the researcher may relate entirely to engineering (FoR

that will be countered by clear, fair and robust review

two digit code 09), and yet the journal could be assigned

processes. More directly, this coverage suggests that some

by the ARC or the institution to FoR codes in Economics

institutions may have breached the ERA rules.

(FoR two digit code 14) or Studies in Human Society (FoR

Following the release of the ERA results, The Australian

two digit code 16).

summarised the ERA n/r outcomes by institution

Returning to the case of Victoria University, the

(Loussikian, 2015, 9 December). The newspaper article

reporting of Professor Lawson’s review can be interpreted

referred to ‘[A] significant number of coding errors in

as implying that Victoria University’s submission did not

submissions’ as the cause of the n/r outcomes, and the ARC

pass the overarching ERA research output rule, and instead

is reported to have referred to ‘coding issue[s]’ (see also

used ‘complex computer models’ without overarching

ARC, 2015, p. 364), statements that reinforce the view that

‘academic judgement’ to allocate FoR codes to outputs on

the ERA rules were breached. However, the University of

a numerical basis, thereby separating publication content

Wollongong – the institution with the most n/r outcomes –

from its most relevant FoR code.

was reported to state that ‘UoW’s ERA 2015 submission was

Important questions remain. Are ‘problems’ or gaming

prepared in accordance with the…submission guidelines

within institutions the sole explanation for the n/r ERA

and followed the same process as previous submissions’

outcomes? Is failure of universities to provide appropriate

(ARC, 2015, p. 364, emphasis added), thereby countering

submissions that accord with the ‘clear and robust’ ERA

the view that ERA rules were breached.

processes with ‘independent’ committees with ‘integrity’

Subsequently, Victoria University contracted Emeritus

the only interpretation or full explanation of a failure of

Professor Alan Lawson from the University of Queensland

rating system to rate? Is it just the fault of institutions

to undertake a review of their ERA submission process

who have not played by the rules? Alternatively, are

in the light of their high proportion of n/r submissions.

there public administration insights about the ERA rules

According to a report in The Australian (Loussikian, 2016,

and processes that also need to be considered? Indeed,

16 March), Professor Lawson found that the university

the ARC reported that the reason for n/r UoEs is ‘not

allocated some research performance indicators (e.g.

the same reason for each unit of [evaluation] that has

publications) to FoRs not related to that indicator,

received this rating’ (Loussikian, 2015, 9 December).

apparently in breach of the ERA rules that outputs can

Accordingly, it is important to identify whether the

only be assigned to a specific field of research if ‘they are

patterns of n/r UoEs reflect problems within the ERA

relevant to that output’.

system beyond the university level. To provide further

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

’

insight into these questions, we undertook statistical

to compare which of these two models – the null model

modelling to consider these questions.

or the outlier model – provided the best description of the full data set. In all cases, we used the same prior

Analysing not rated patterns statistically

distribution for the probability of yielding a n/r outcome.

The distribution of n/r outcomes is uneven across

This prior distribution was Beta(11,1), which can be

institutions (seeTable 1),which reinforces the interpretation

interpreted as a prior expectation consistent with

that erroneous institutional submissions explain the n/r

previously observing ten ERA outcomes, none of which

submissions. However, the distribution of n/r outcomes

were n/r. We tested many other prior distributions, from

also appears uneven across FoR codes (Table 2), and across

uniform, Beta(1,1), up to Beta(41,1), and the results were

RECs (Table 3). This variability raises questions about

qualitatively unchanged.

whether the greater number of n/r outcomes in certain

The null model against which all others were compared

categories is more likely to be caused by differences

showed that the data favoured an overall probability of

between institutions, differences between the RECs,

n/r outcomes around 1.5 per cent (this was the median

differences in the ways that FoR codes were evaluated, or

of the posterior distribution), with a 95 per cent highest

a combination of each. Put another way, while the Victoria

posterior density (HPD) interval from 1.03 per cent to

University case demonstrates that there can be systemic

2.16 per cent. Note that 1.5 per cent was chosen as this is

practices with ERA submission processes within a specific

the percentage of UoEs that were n/r.

institution, is it also possible that there may be practices

Institutions as outliers: We compared the null model

within specific disciplines or specific REC processes that

against 41 models, each one of which treated one

can explain the patterns of n/r submissions?

particular institution as having a different rate of n/r

There are standard and well-accepted statistical

outcomes from all the others. Figure 1 summarises

approaches for addressing these questions. Similar

results from these models. The 41 institutions are arrayed

questions arise in educational and psychological testing

along the x-axis, and above each one the black error bar

settings, for example when many students take an exam

shows the 95 per cent HPD interval for probability of

consisting of many questions, and the examiners wish to

a n/r outcome from that institution (the black circle is

know whether any students performed particularly well

the posterior median). The shaded rectangle covers the

or poorly, and also whether questions were particularly

95% HPD for the probability of a n/r outcome from the

difficult or easy.

other 40 institutions combined. In most cases, the black

We used a Bayesian approach based on nested model

error bars overlap the grey rectangles which means that

tests (Congdon, 2006) to identify whether the proportion

there is no evidence that the singled-out institution has

of n/r outcomes was unusual for any particular institution,

a different rate of n/r outcomes from the others. For just

FoR code, or REC. In other words, the tests can identify

two institutions (University of Wollongong, and Victoria

whether

different

University) there was evidence in favour of a different rate

institutions, different FoR codes or different RECs in the

of n/r outcomes than the others.To quantify these results,

presence of n/r outcomes that are not random statistical

we calculated Bayes factors to quantify the evidence in

variations. The analysis approach for institutions, FoR

favour of each outlier model over the null model. These

codes and RECs was identical in each case, which

are printed at the top of Figure 1. In almost all cases,

we outline here for the institution-focussed analysis.

the Bayes factors are less than 1, indicating evidence in

We first fitted a null model to the data, which treats all

favour of the null model, namely that allocation of n/r

institutions identically, and estimated a single parameter,

is the same in this institution as the others. Only for the

representing the probability of a n/r outcome. All UoEs,

two institutions mentioned above do the Bayes factors

from all institutions and all FoR codes, were assumed to

indicate strong evidence in favour of a different rate of

have this same probability of (independently) yielding

n/r outcome. Put differently, these findings suggest that

a n/r outcome, which leads to a binomial distribution

there is something different about these two institutions’

for the number of n/r outcomes. Next, we examined an

ERA outcomes (and thus their submissions) compared

‘outlier’ model, which tested whether one particular

with other institutions, and that there is no discernible

institution was different from the others. For this model,

difference between the other institutions’ ERA outcomes

we chose one institution and estimated one probability

(and thus their submissions).

there

are

differences

between

for that institution, and a different probability for all

FoR Codes as Outliers: Our second analysis investigated

other combined institutions. We then used Bayes factors

the evidence for each FoR code yielding a different rate

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Figure 1: Bayes factors in favour of an outlier institution of n/r outcomes than the others. To simplify, we grouped

outlier model which treated FoR=17 as different from the

all the four-digit FoR codes into their two-digit categories

others indicated strong evidence for this over the null

(e.g. the FoR=18 analysis grouped together FoRs 1801,

model: 3,909-to-1. Putting these findings another way, they

1802, and 1899). Figure 2 summarises this analysis, using

suggest that there is something different about the ERA

the same format as Figure 1. Once again, most FoR codes

outcomes for Psychology FoR code as against other FoR

showed evidence in favour of having the same rate

codes, and that there is no discernible difference between

of n/r outcomes as the others. Only one FoR code was

the other FoR codesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ERA outcomes.

different â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FoR=17, Psychology. This code had a posterior

RECs as Outliers: The final analysis investigated

median probability of yielding a n/r result nearly an

evidence for each of the eight RECs being different

order of magnitude higher than the others, at 13.3 per

from the others (see Figure 3). There was some evidence

cent (HPD: 5.8%-24.3%). The Bayes factor in favour of the

that the Humanities REC statistically provided fewer

Figure 2: Bayes factors in favour of an outlier FoR Code vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

’

n/r outcomes than other panels, but the evidence was not strong (6.6-to-1). There was stronger statistical evidence that the Medical REC gave more n/r outcomes than other panels (34-to-1). Putting these findings another way, they suggest that there is something different about the ERA outcomes allocated by the Humanities and Medical RECs than other RECs, and that there is no discernible difference between the other RECs’ ERA ratings. Importantly, the Humanities REC is found to be statistically less likely to give n/r outcomes (indeed, they provided none), while the Medical REC is found to be statistically more likely to give n/r.

Figure 3: Bayes factors in favour of an outlier REC

In other words, these modelling results suggest that there is something about the processes within

models used to describe simple decisions, to the group

the Humanities REC that means it is less likely to allocate

processes that underpin conflict in Northern Ireland,

n/r to UoEs than other RECs, and that the Medical REC

to the effectiveness of programs to encourage smoking

processes make it more likely to allocate n/r to UoEs.This

cessation, to the impact of mindfulness on mental health.

raises questions about what it is about the composition

Identifying the boundaries of the discipline could be

of and/or processes within these RECs (or the FoRs that

argued to be more difficult than for other disciplines.

they assess) that explains their lesser/greater propensity to generate n/r outcomes.

Analysing ERA processes

There are two aspects of this consideration. The first aspect relates to the types of research in which psychologists are involved. It is very broad. It could be counter-argued that there are similarly other

The above findings are notable, as they challenge the

disciplines that contribute to a broad range of research

suggestion that institutions’ submissions were the sole

areas – such as statistics (FoR 1604) as a method for

cause of not rated outcomes. Clearly, the ratings produced

countless areas, or engineering (two-unit FoR 09) as

by the ERA process are based on the submissions from

a process of building and design in fields diverse as

institutions. The fact that there is a statistically unusual

telecommunications, mining, cityscapes, architecture

allocation of n/r outcomes in Psychology (FoR 17) and

and even social planning, and policy and administration

in the Medical REC suggests, however, that there is

(FoR 1605) relating to all aspects of the natural, social

something about the nature of the psychology discipline

and economic world that governments and societies

and/or Medical REC that is different to other disciplines,

collectively seek to shape and direct – yet these FoRs

and RECs that is independent of institutions’ submissions.

did not generate n/r outcomes.

Due to the black box nature of the ERA process, including

The second aspect relates to the types of research

institutions’ submissions to the ERA and the deliberations

that are regarded as legitimately ‘psychological’ research

of the RECs, it is not possible to directly identify what

concerns,as opposed to have the expertise of psychologists

these are. In the absence of such information, we offer

contribute to a research domain.To illustrate more starkly,

some possibilities in the following.

as statistics is a research method that can be applied almost

Consider first some possible explanations for why

universally to topics of research, statisticians contribute to

Psychology (FoR 17) outcomes are unlike those for other

research in countless FoRs. However, their contribution

disciplinary codes. One explanation is that psychology

to a research domain does not typically contribute to the

is a broad church. People who identify as psychologists

research field of statistics; it does not develop statistics

can study anything from the molecular processes that are

as a body of knowledge or endeavour further. Statistics

affected in the progeny of rats that have been stressed,

acts as a tool to research. It might be argued that what

to the neural correlates of predictive process in early

legitimately counts as psychological research (as opposed

audition, to the mathematical properties of diffusion

to the use of psychological expertise in research) is much

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

wider than what counts as statistical research (as opposed to the use of statistics expertise in research).

’

The principle of ‘administrative fairness’,‘administrative justice’ or ‘due process’, which is a hallmark of modern

These observations in themselves do not directly

democratic public administrations is multi-faceted (Adler,

explain the high likelihood of submissions in psychology

2003; Mashaw, 1985). It requires that administrative rules

recording a n/r outcome than any other field of research.

are clear and transparent, that rules are applied equitably

It firstly suggests, however, that the great diversity in what

and fairly, that decision making processes are open and

counts as psychological research creates confusion and

transparent including explanations for decisions when

debate about where the boundary lies between what is

sought, and that administrative decisions can be appealed

and what is not psychology research. Secondly, it might

(du Gay, 2000; Hunter, 1993; Weber, 2009, pp. 196-244).

mean that obtaining the corresponding psychological

All these dimensions ensure that public administrators

expertise on the REC to cover the breadth could have

remain accountable and that unfair treatment, bias and

posed a difficulty for the ARC, resulting in the FoR

corruption do not occur. These classic administrative

panel, or REC, not feeling competent to award a rating

principles were well understood by Weber over a century

to some submissions. Put another way, the results suggest

ago, and continue today invested in different parlance

that there was a mismatch between the scope that the

including ‘open government’ and ‘open data’ (Lathrop

panel was prepared to admit for the 1701 code and the

& Ruma, 2010). In the light of the above findings, it is

assumptions that multiple universities employed when

important to evaluate how well the ERA 2015 processes

compiling their lists of inputs under this code. Recall that

that led to the overrepresentation n/r outcomes in the

there is nothing to suggest here that submissions were in

Psychology FoR and Medical REC accords with these

obvious breach of ‘the [ERA] rules of submission clearly

fundamental public administrative principles. By doing

stated when released in July 2014’, but rather that there

so, possible amendments to the ERA process can be

are differences in opinion relating to the application of the

identified.

more discretionary elements, notably the ‘reassignment

In relation to the need for clear and transparent

rule’, whereby journal publications can to be assigned to

administrative rules, the ARC has a comprehensive,

other FoRs than those allocated by the ARC’s ERA 2015

published set of rules (ARC, 2014) which also set out

Submission Journal List in certain circumstances.

the processes of evaluation. The rules provide clear

The above analyses are best guesses that try to interpret

requirements and directions, but also provide a level of

the data and processes. Unfortunately, it is not possible

flexibility especially as they relate to the allocation of

to assess the veracity of our analyses given the systemic

FoR codes to evidence submitted by Universities, such as

secrecy of the rating process. The feedback from the

publications and research funding.This is necessary as the

ARC to institutions with n/r UoEs could provide further

boundaries between disciplines (or FoR) are not clear or

evidence to test our interpretation of the process leading

rigid.With much contemporary research being conducted

to some n/r outcomes. Indeed, ARC CEO Professor

by teams of researchers from a variety of disciplines, the

Aidan Bryne explained: ‘Where our Research Evaluation

discipline/s in which a research project or publication is

Committees

located can be difficult to specify unambiguously.

(RECs), our

independent

committees

made up of discipline experts nominated by Australian

It is arguably within this space of discretion that the

universities, have queried data the ARC has communicated

second principle of applying rules equitably and fairly

with that university’ (ARC, 2015). Such communication is

becomes problematic. It is problematic for institutions in

not available to us.

abiding by the rules in applying FoR codes to evaluation evidence, and problematic for ERA evaluators in ensuring

Assessing the quality of ERA assessment processes

they are applied appropriately. To illustrate, consider the ‘reassignment rule’, which states that another FoR code can be used to those specified in the ERA 2015

We can only speculate as to the basis for n/r outcomes,

Submission Journal List when ‘publications which have

but it is clear that systematic problems occurred within

significant content (66 per cent or more) that could best

two universities, and that there are also systemic problems

be described by [that] four-digit FoR code’ (ARC, 2014, p.

within the rating processes in the Psychology FoR. The

33).When, for example, might that be, and how might that

existence of rating system shortcomings whose origins

be determined? By the discipline identity of the authors?

lie in the rating processes rather than the universities has

By the authors’ own sense of the discipline in which the

significant public administration implications.

study is located? By the authors’ institution’s sense of the

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

’

discipline in which the study is located? By the journals

situation that relates to the fourth public administration

where the paper is cited? Another potential challenge

principle which is that administrative decisions be

arises when a publication’s authorship is across different

appealable.

institutions. Should a publication’s FoR assignment be

The ERA process largely fails the administrative

consistent across institutions, or is it based solely on

principle that administrative decisions can be appealed.

the perspective of each institution and authors in each

The scarcity of feedback described above effectively

institution?

prevents appeals. While the ERA submission guidelines

No doubt, the public reporting of Victoria University’s

(ARC 2015) makes no mention of appeal rights regarding

submission suggests that Victoria University breached

ERA outcomes, it is understood that institutions have

these assignment rules. However, University of Wollongong

been advised that ERA outcomes are not appealable, only

publicly contends their submission was ‘in accordance

the ERA processes are appealable when those processes

with the…submission guidelines’, and our modelling of

do not accord with ERA rules, a situation that institutions

n/r outcomes suggests that this would also be the case

are unlikely to know because they are confidential.

for all other institutions allocated a n/r outcome. At the same time, it could be surmised from the n/r modelling that reviewers of the Psychology FoR submissions and

Conclusion and consideration of ERA reforms

the Health REC took a different view on compliance with the rules. This is not to suggest that the REC failed

This paper has analysed,using Bayesian statistical modelling,

to apply rules fairly or equitably, but rather that the rules

the loci of n/r outcomes in the ERA 2015 processes.While

are not sufficiently robust to achieve agreement between

public statements of such outcomes strongly suggest that

all parties on the relationship between FoR codes and

n/r outcomes arise from institutional problems, arguably

research evidence submitted.

from gaming behaviours, our analyses suggest that this

The third administrative principle that decision making

is only part of the explanation. The likelihood of Victoria

processes are open and transparent including explanations

University and University of Wollongong’s n/r outcomes

for decisions when sought, is clearly not evident in

being random is virtually zero. However, there also appears

ERA rating exercises. ERA rating processes are largely

to be systemic differences between the rating processes

secret through systematic nondisclosure. REC members

of the Psychology FoR (1701) and the Medical REC and

and external reviewers (the latter are not publicly

those of other FoRs and RECs that are not attributable to

named) must sign strict confidentiality agreements and

institutional factors. Specifically, the statistical likelihood

institutions’ submissions are not made public despite the

of the n/r outcomes in these areas being random is

bulk of the data – specifically, publications and research

respectively 3900-to-1 and 34-to-1. In relation to this

funding – being already public at researcher level and

finding, we have proposed that psychology’s very diverse

aggregate institutional level. Nor are the bases for rating

research foci combined with the wide discretion given

(or not rating) decisions made public. In relation to n/r

to institutions in attributing research evidence to FoR

outcomes, the ARC has publicly stated that relevant

codes, has led to disagreements between submitting

institutions have had feedback, however anecdotally it

institutions and ERA assessing personnel, resulting in n/r

is understood that the feedback to institutions has been

outcomes. This suggests that some changes in ERA policy,

minimal. It is also stated in the ERA Submission Guidelines

procedures and guidelines are necessary to avoid such

that if the ARC regards part of a UoE as ‘incomplete or

outcomes in future. By reference to recognised principles

inaccurate, or contains false or misleading information’ it

of public administration, we further argued that ERA 2015

may not submit such information to ERA processes and

processes fell short of good public administration.

that the ARC ‘will advise the institution of [such] action

The essential problem of the ERA process is how to

and provide a statement of reasons’ (ARC, 2014: p. 72).

assign research inputs and outputs to FoR codes and to

These are important matters of procedural justice. For if

do so in a way that facilitates agreement between the

an institution does not understand the grounds on which

institutions doing the assigning and the REC evaluators.

they received a n/r outcome, then they are unable to

The ARC’s approach to assigning FoRs to each journal

change their organisational processes and submissions for

is necessarily vexed as it is a proxy for the FoR of each

the following ERA. A further implication of not knowing

article published in that journal. The ARC discovered that

the basis for or process leading to a n/r outcome means

assessing journal article quality (or impact) by a proxy of

that institutions are unable to appeal the decision, a

journal quality (or impact factor) was highly problematic

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

and dropped it. The challenge in this case is more

on awarded ARC and NHMRC projects.This appears to be

problematic as there needs to be agreement between

a significant anomaly.

assigners of FoR to publications and the FoR evaluators of

Machine

Learning

approach.

Allowing

those publications. With this understanding, a number of

assignment of publications to FoR codes on the basis

amendments to the ERA process could be implemented

of either the journals in which they appear or the FoR

in order to strengthen the ERA process and ensure that

assignments of researchers who wrote them would be

institutions can reduce or eliminate the chances of n/r

transparent, but not always entirely adequate. For instance,

outcomes in future:

interdisciplinary journals such as Science or Nature could

Provide Feedback. One straightforward action that

potentially be assigned to many FoR codes, but one might

could be taken is to provide feedback to each institution

not want to allow a publication that appears in these

about a decision to allocate an n/r outcome. If there are

journals to be allocated to just any of the available FoR

particular publications or research funding that have been

codes. An alternative approach would be to develop a

deemed inappropriate for a given FoR code, then these

machine classifier capable of taking the journal, title and

should be highlighted to clarify the interpreted scope of

abstract and assigning FoR codes (Witten & Frate, 2005).

the code.This would enable institutions to modify the way

The classifier could be made publically available allowing

in which they allocate publications in future rounds. If

institutions to test their allocations prior to submission.

there was some other basis for allocating the n/r outcome

The existing database of previous submissions would

then that should be articulated. Some action of this kind

provide a substantial training set on which the classifier

would seem to be a minimal yet effective response.

could be tuned and tested. The performance of the

Institute an appeals process. Mistakes are

classifier could be quantified and, should institutions

sometimes made. Given the high stakes nature of the ERA

find egregious errors the classifier, could be adjusted in a

process, an appeals mechanism would be appropriate

process of continual improvement. Such a classifier would

to ensure no error has occurred and that RECs are

effectively encode a public standard of what should

accountable for their decisions.

appear in a given FoR code and eliminate the personal

Remove the ‘reassignment rule’. Much of the uncertainty that currently pertains and much of the scope

variability and bias that is an inherent aspect of employing human panels to make these determinations.

for “gaming” the system occurs as a consequence of the

It is essential that the ERA processes be strengthened.

reassignment rule. One option then, would be to remove

A lot is at stake for institutions’ reputations when n/r

this provision. Institutions would then be restricted to

outcomes occur, and this is especially unfair if the

allocating publications to FoR codes on the basis of the

outcomes appear to be beyond their control or they

journals in which they appear in the ERA Submission

are unable to rectify in subsequent processes. It is also

Journal List. Provided they conformed to these rules their

essential in order to maintain the confidence of the sector

submissions would be deemed acceptable. Should this

that ERA processes are legitimate and functioning well.

path be adopted, it may be necessary for institutions to be

This is especially pertinent given the expanded remit

able to interact with the ARC to propose changes to the

to measure ‘research engagement and impact’, which is

current assignments, including increasing the maximum

arguably more fraught and contentious than ‘research

number of FoR codes for each publication. If this process

excellence’, in the forthcoming 2018 round.

occurred prior to the actual submission process then uncertainty would be eliminated and for the non-review

Dr Paul Henman is Associate Professor of Sociology and

based panels, there may be no requirement to meet.

Social Policy at the University of Queensland. He has recently

Tighten

the

‘reassignment

rule’.

The

led a five-year ARC Discovery project on performance

‘reassignment rule’ could to be tightened to limit the

measurement in Australia’s health, school and university

scope of reassignments. For example, the rules could

sectors.

require that in cases of publication reassignment to FoR

Contact: p.henman@uq.edu.au

X, it is necessary to have at least one author who has been assigned FoR X. Overall, there could be a higher association

Professor Scott D. Brown is an ARC Future Fellow in the

between submissions and submitted researchers. For

School of Psychology, University of Newcastle. His research

example, currently research income can be submitted

interests include cognitive science, mathematical psychology,

under FoR codes not related to a Chief Investigator’s FoR,

and neuroscience.

and indeed can be inconsistent with the FoR codes listed vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

Professor Simon Dennis is Head of School of Psychology at the University of Newcastle, Australia. His areas of expertise include human memory and computational linguistics.

References Adler, M. (2003). A Socio-Legal Approach to Administrative Justice. Law & Policy, 25(4), 323-352. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2008). Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification, Cat. No. 1297.0, Canberra: ABS. Australian Research Council (ARC). (2014). ERA 2015: Submission Guidelines. Canberra: ARC. Australian Research Council (ARC). (2015). CEO Statement: ERA 2015 Speculation. Retrieved from http://www.arc.gov.au/era-2015-speculation. Bevan, G. & Hood, C. (2006). What’s measured is what matters: targets and gaming in the English public health care system. Public Administration, 84(3), 517-538.

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Geuna, A., & Martin, B. R. (2003). University research evaluation and funding: An international comparison. Minerva, 41(4), 277-304. Haslam, N. & Koval, P. (2010). Possible research area bias in the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) draft journal rankings. Australian Journal of Psychology, 62(2), 112-114. Hood, C. (2006). Gaming in targetworld: The targets approach to managing British public services. Public Administration Review, 66(4), 515-521. Hunter, I. (1993) Bureaucrat, critic, citizen. Arena Journal, 2, 77-101. Jacob, B.A. (2005). Accountability, incentives and behavior: The impact of highstakes testing in the Chicago Public Schools. Journal of Public Economics, 89(5), 761-796. Knott, M. (2015). Warning over ‘gaming’ of research score. The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 November. Kwok, J.T. (2013). Impact of ERA research assessment on university behaviour and their staff. Melbourne: NTEU National Policy and Research Unit. Lathrop, D. & Ruma, L. (2010). Open government: Collaboration, transparency, and participation in practice. New York: O’Reilly Media, Inc.

Bonnell, A.G. (2016). Tide or tsunami? The impact of metrics on scholarly research. Australian Universities’ Review 58(1), 54-61.

Loussikian, K. (2015). Code flaws in ERA submissions. The Australian, 9 December.

Bovens, M., Goodin, R. E., & Schillemans, T. (eds.). (2014). The Oxford handbook of public accountability. Oxford: OUP.

Loussikian, K. (2016). ‘Errors’ in ERA subs behind rejections. The Australian. 16 March.

Congdon, P. (2006). Bayesian statistical modelling. 2nd ed. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Martin, B.R. (2011). The Research Excellence Framework and the ‘impact agenda’: are we creating a Frankenstein monster?. Research Evaluation, 20(3), 247-254.

Du Gay, P. (2000). In praise of bureaucracy: Weber-organization-ethics. London: Sage.

Mashaw, J.L. (1985). Bureaucratic justice. Westford, MA: Yale University Press.

Elton, L. (2000). The UK research assessment exercise: unintended consequences. Higher Education Quarterly, 54(3), 274-283.

Vanclay, J.K. (2011). An evaluation of the Australian Research Council’s journal ranking. Journal of Informetrics 5(2), 265-274.

Gable, A. (2013). ERA and the performance regime in Australian Higher Education: a review of the policy context. Social Policy Unit Research Paper No. 6, Brisbane: University of Queensland.

Weber, M. (2009). From Max Weber: Essays in sociology. London: Routledge.

Witten, I.H. & Frate, E. (2005) Data Mining: Practical machine learning tools and techniques. 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.

When rating systems do not rate Paul Henman, Scott D Brown & Simon Dennis

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

Getting cited: A reconsideration of purpose Martin Davies & Angelito Calma University of Melbourne

Michael Calver’s recent exhortation ‘Please don’t aim for a highly cited paper’ (AUR, 57(1): pp. 45-49) is welcome and a timely reminder of the problems associated with seeking citations at any cost. While not disagreeing with the concerns he raises we offer another way of looking at citation-seeking; thereby outlining a reconsideration of its purpose. We suggest that citations indirectly help to shape the terrain of a discipline. By providing an analysis of citation data from two key higher education journals, we show how citations are a measure of the ‘geography’ of a discipline, i.e., the networks of influence of key thinkers and the keywords that reveal scholarly interests and practices. This, in turn, provides us with information that is revealing about the nature of disciplines themselves. This paper provides a summary of data from an ongoing research program we are conducting that analyses the citation metrics of key journals in the field. Keywords: Citation networks, Gephi™, citation analytics

Introduction

leads to back-scratching in the pursuit of citations, marginalising junior colleagues in writing papers (so

Michael Calver (AUR, 57, No. 1) has recently reminded us

they may cite them later on) and misconduct – e.g.,

of the problems associated with aiming for highly cited

manipulation of research data and violation of ethical

papers. We summarise these as follows:

standards.

1. It narrows the scope of research undertaken. Calver

3. Citations are controversial. Non-existent papers or

reminds us that some areas of worthy research (e.g.

errors in citations can result in high citation rates;

taxonomy) attract few citations. Aiming purposively

deliberately nonsensical papers can too. We are

for high citations is tantamount to choosing ‘hot

reminded of the Sokal Hoax: a paper constructed

topics’ over worthy ones.

using computer-generated semi-literate nonsense

2. It reduces intrinsic rewards and true collaboration and fosters misconduct. He reminds us that intrinsic

that was published in a refereed journal before the hoax was finally revealed.

motivation declines when rewards are offered. Put

4. Successful research careers are based less on highly

simply: researchers are more likely to pursue ‘normal

cited papers and more on persistence and influence.

science’ than ‘revolutionary science’ simply because

While highly cited papers can be influential, it does

the rewards for the former are greater, in the form of

not follow that low-cited papers are not influential.

high citations, and where there is little evident benefit

Indeed, as Calver points out,‘significant influence on

of the latter. Moreover, the ‘contrived congeniality’

a discipline is more likely to follow from consistent

resulting from reduction in intrinsic rewards

performance’ (p. 47). He uses the example of more

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Getting cited: A reconsideration of purpose Martin Davies & Angelito Calma

’

influential novelists (Hemingway, Faulkner) who sold

and this has a number of benefits. We provide examples

fewer copies than their less influential peers.

of this from two key higher education journals: Studies

5. Citation counting impedes innovation. Obsession

in Higher Education (based in the UK) and Higher

with citations leads to obsession about one’s output

Education (a European journal based in the Netherlands).

and narcissism both about oneself and one’s career.

We suggest that these data are revealing about the nature

This mitigates against good research as it focuses on

of scholarly practices. We use the discipline of higher

quantity rather than quality, and loses sight of the

education in what follows but the same analysis can be

immeasurable benefits of working on important topics,

applied to any discipline, from Astrophysics to Zoology.

irrespective of their output in terms of citations.

Surprisingly, this has not been attempted before to

Calver’s conclusion from all this is the exhortation:

our knowledge – at least, not for the discipline of higher

‘please don’t aim for a highly cited paper’. His argument is:

education. The only exceptions to this have been studies

High citations lead to problems so don’t aim for a highly

that are fragmentary.These studies are noted below.

cited paper.

• Westbury analysed the citation data over a ten-year

We agree with all of the above as far as it goes.

period for the Journal of Curriculum Studies using

However, we’d like to offer a corrective to the argument

only six years of available data (1972-78) (Westbury,

while not implying that we disagree with Calver’s

1980). He found, amongst other things, that the journal

concerns. Aiming for high citations ne plus ultra is not

did not show expected widespread evidence of

an end in itself. However, it does not follow that data on

influence across national boundaries.

excessive citation rates are useless. Indeed, we think that

• Budd (1990) investigated the published material

citation data can help reveal the nature of the scholarly

commonly cited in the higher education literature and

enterprise. Let us explain.

the most frequently cited. Basing his analysis exclusively on US journals, he determined that US-based academics

‘Geographies of Influence’

Astin, Pascarella, Feldman, Centra and Cameron were the most commonly cited authors in the discipline of

For decades now, the aim of collecting citation data has

higher education.

been mainly for administrative purposes, and a way of ‘bean

• Budd and Magnuson (2010) followed-up this study two

counting’ the output of staff. It has been used secondarily

decades later and found some expected variation in the

for hiring and firing decisions. This is widespread, and

most cited authors, but still US-based academics (Astin,

academic staff are required to obtain points for their

Pascarella,Tinto, Kuh, Cabrara).

publications in an effort to meet requirements for

• Kandlbinder (2012) assessed the citations from 15

decisions about tenure and promotion. Citation metrics

consecutive issues over a five-year period of the

have also been used to provide ‘league tables’ of scholarly

Australian

journals in an attempt to steer research output into areas

and Development (1982-1986). He compared this

journal

of specialisation. The now abandoned ERA ranking tables

to 16 issues published in a second tranche (2008-

was an example of this (Moosa, 2011).

2010). Comparing three prominent journals (Higher

Higher

Education

Research

However, recently there has been a move in some

Education (HE), Studies in Higher Education (SHE),

disciplines to use citation data to tell us something

and Teaching in Higher Education) with the data from

about the character and history of scholarly disciplines

HERD, he found that one author (Biggs) appeared in

themselves (in much the same way, perhaps, as animal

all four journals. He also noted that Marton, Entwistle

droppings tell us something about the diet and social life

and Ramsden appeared in three of the journals. Other

of animals). This work broadly falls under the emerging

highly-cited authors – namely, Clark, Becher, Barnett,

field of citation network analysis, itself a sub-field of

Boud, Slaughter, and Rowland – featured in one or

research analytics.

other journal, but not all four. Unlike Budd’s studies,

We submit that networks of citation data, if analysed

Kandlbinder’s data suggested no nationality bias.

through the entire life cycle of a journal’s history, can tell

• Tight (2008) attempted a synoptic, longitudinal

us a great deal about the ‘geography’ of a discipline. This

study over one year of publication looking at several

gives another reason for seeking high citations for papers

higher education journals. Investigating 17 English

besides personal aggrandisement. High citations, and

language higher education journals published outside

citation networks are more than a (flawed) measure of

North America in the year 2000, he found that Clarke,

influence; they also tell us about the terrain of a discipline,

Ramsden, Becher, Biggs and Boud occupied the top-five

Getting cited: A reconsideration of purpose Martin Davies & Angelito Calma

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

Figure 1: Clusters of relationships among selected authors (Tight, 2008) positions of ‘most cited’ authors. A disproportionately

discipline (Fig. 2). Drawn from experience, rather than

large Australian-based contingent of scholars featured in

hard data, he notes a division in ‘policy’ research and

the top 20 ‘most cited’ (Ramsden, Biggs, Boud, Prosser,

‘teaching and learning’ research – each forming ‘islands’

Trigwell). Tight proposed that scholarly influence can

of scholarship that have little to do with each other.

be seen in terms of ‘clusters of relationships’, with

Between them a ‘sea of disjuncture’ has formed, and

some researchers lying outside the major spheres of

various ‘reefs’ associated with specialist areas such as

influence. See Figure 1 (circles have been added to

‘identity’, ‘philosophy’ and ‘professional development’.

show the clusters).

MacFarlane’s map is presented in Figure 2.

• Finally,

MacFarlane

(2012)

devised

tongue-

We decided to bring empirical data to bear on

in-cheek ‘map’ of the field of higher education

MacFarlane’s ‘archipelago’ and Tight’s ‘clusters

from

relationships’. We also decided to go further than the

his

recollections

from

working

the

Figure 2: Macfarlane’s higher education research archipelago (2012) vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Getting cited: A reconsideration of purpose Martin Davies & Angelito Calma

’

fragmentary analyses of Westbury, Budd, Budd and Magnusen, Kandlbinder and Tight. We wanted to analyse all citations from all extant volumes and issues of some key journals in the field, both in terms of what was published, and who cited whom (in the case of SHE we also looked at which keywords were used). Naturally, we had to narrow our focus so we chose two of the key journals in the field, SHE and HE.What would we find, and what might it tell us about citation practices? What would it tell us about key influences? Key scholars? What would it tell us about nationality biases, if any? What would the terrain of the discipline look like?

Studies in Higher Education (1976-2013) SHE is one of the leading journals in higher education. To

Figure 3: A detailed section of the doctoral education sub-network in SHE.

analyse it, 38 years of data was available, from the journal’s inception in 1976 until our arbitrary cut-off point of 2013

and Argyris, are connected to, or were cited by, a number

(see Calma & Davies, 2014).

of other authors. It is fair to infer from these clusters that

We analysed 32,738 references from 1,056 articles using Web of ScienceSM and Excel, and visualised them as network diagrams using the software Gephi™. The

research topics are shared; this assumes authors cite only articles relevant to their research. We drew the following conclusions from the data:

search was performed in July 2013 to include all SHE

• Most published. We found out that Richardson, Kember,

publications from the default year of 1900 to July 2013.

Becher, Boud and Elton have been the most published

In order to create a citations network for analysis, ‘nodes’ and ‘edges’ files were prepared. The nodes contained all citing authors and cited authors while the edges file

in the journal’s history. • Most cited. The most cited, on the other hand, were Entwistle, Martin, Ramsden, Biggs and Becher.

contained information about the relationship between

• Single or multiple authorship. There is a trend away

the two. Nodes and edges files were prepared in Excel

from solo towards multiple authorship. Single author

and imported into the Gephi™ software for each of the

works accounted for a greater proportion of articles in

‘authors’ and ‘keywords’ Gephi™ files.

the 80s/90s than in recent decades. The demands from

Unlike the authors’ Gephi™ files, the keywords files

academics to publish under a ‘publish or perish’ regime

were incomplete. This is because only articles from 2010

may have changed how researchers reconceptualised

onwards appeared to have associated keywords, leaving

the value of working with peers.

us only 218 articles with keywords. However, this still

We recently ran another analysis using Web of Science

represents the entire list of SHE articles with keywords.

on 9th June 2015, using the years 1900–July 2013. We

The keywords Gephi™ file resulted in 1,248 nodes and

found 1,132 articles and the following presents some

991 edges.

additional information about the data:

The result was a complex web of authors and cited

• Top countries. The top publishing countries – in

references too big to fit on paper. (For those interested in

decreasing order – are England, Australia, Scotland, USA

the gritty detail we provide a dynamic web-based version of the author data at http://tinyurl.com/pnby8xq). The diagram shows the entire history of the journal in

and South Africa. • Top years. The top publications years are 2013, 2012, 2009, followed by 2011 and 2010.

terms of its citation networks (i.e. who cited whom). It is,

We did another analysis of keywords. The online

as it were, the citation ‘geography’ of Studies in Higher

diagram (see http://tinyurl.com/p39cs3e) shows all the

Education. To see how these connections clustered, we

keywords and their connections to authors. (Discrete,

focus on just a few authors with family names starting

marginally or unconnected keywords – i.e. those used

with A. The resulting image is also available online for

only once by a single author – appear at the periphery of

detailed viewing: http://tinyurl.com/p3olkr6.

the circle, with the most strongly connected, most used

Drilling down further in this online diagram, we can see that authors such as Adelman, Anderson, Andrews, Archer

keywords appearing in the centre.) We found the following:

Getting cited: A reconsideration of purpose Martin Davies & Angelito Calma

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Table 1: Top 10 publishing countries No.

Country/Territory

Records

USA

431

Australia

3 4

’

Table 2: Top 10 publishing institutions

% of 2,167

No.

Institution

19.889

Open University

2.077

358

16.521

University of Lancaster

2.030

England

344

15.874

Monash University

1.523

Canada

126

5.814

University of Sydney

1.477

Netherlands

114

5.261

University of Twente

1.384

South Africa

3.692

University Melbourne

1.384

Israel

3.230

University of New England

1.246

Scotland

2.584

University of Queensland

1.200

Sweden

2.400

University of Cape Town

1.200

Spain

2.307

University of Hong Kong

1.154

• Most discussed. The most frequently listed keywords

Records

% of 2,2167

identity, university leadership and student experience

(since their inception) throughout the journal’s history

(See Figure 3).

(excluding the keyword ‘higher education’) were

The subtle patterns of influence deserve more analysis

doctoral education, assessment, phenomenography,

than we can attempt here. Indeed, mining these data to

student learning and identity. From this we infer that

show the precise relationships has the potential to be a

these describe the most frequently discussed topics.

cottage industry.

• Top topic. Doctoral supervision is the single most discussed topic in SHE. A dynamic, interactive version

Higher Education (1972–2014)

of our keywords data-map is available online (http://

We also analysed the entire history of publication in

tinyurl.com/oqt59w4) (a fragment is provided above).

the journal HE. This amounted to 2,176 articles and

By zooming in, a detail of the doctoral education topic

68,009 references. Like SHE, we were interested in the

network shows that it branches out to sub-networks of

most published authors and the most cited authors. We

authors who coined the topic and the specific topics

have not yet done a keyword analysis. Instead, we were

of interest of those authors. It reveals a cluster of

particularly interested in the most cited articles, the top

seven major sub-topics/issues: university management,

publishing countries, the top publishing institutions and

assessment, transition and internationalisation, student

the top publishing years.

Table 3: Top 10 most cited articles No.

Publication year

Clark, B. R. (1983). Higher education system: academic organisation in cross-national perspective.

109

.160

Marton, F. & Saljo, R. (1976). On qualitative differences in learning (I, II): outcome and process. British Journal of Educational Psychology, v46.

103

.151

Slaughter S. & Leslie, L. (1997). Academic capitalism: politics, policies and the entrepreneurial university.

.122

Entwistle N. J. & Ramsden, P. (1983). Understanding student learning.

.121

Gibbons, M., Limoges, C., Nowotny, H., Schwartzman, S., Scott, P. and Trow, M. (1994). The new production of knowledge: the dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies

.119

Clark, B. R. (1998). Creating entrepreneurial universities: organisational pathways of transformation

.085

Becher, T. (1989). Academic tribes and territories: intellectual enquiry and the cultures of disciplines.

.083

Becher, T. and Trowler, P. (2001). Academic tribes and territories: intellectual enquiry and the cultures of disciplines.

.076

Prosser M. & Trigwell, K. (1999). Understanding learning and teaching: the experience in higher education.

.068

Biggs J. B. (1987). Student approaches to learning and studying

.066

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

No. of citations

% of 68,009

Getting cited: A reconsideration of purpose Martin Davies & Angelito Calma

Table 4: Top 10 most cited authors (as single or first author)

’

Table 5: Most published authors No. Author

As first or single author

No. of times cited % of 68,009

As coauthor

% of 2,167

No.

Author

Entwistle, N. J.

472

.694

Meyer JHF

.784

Clark B. R.

396

.582

Kember D

.646

Marton, F.

391

.575

Richardson JTE

.554

Biggs, J.

369

.543

Enders J

.508

Ramsden, P.

258

.379

Prosser M

.508

Becher, T.

222

.326

Kyvik S

.461

Slaughter, S.

189

.278

Trigwell K

.415

Prosser, M.

117

.172

Marginson S

.415

Gibbons, M.

107

.157

Watkins D

.415

DiMaggio, P.J.

.088

Teichler U

.369

Altbach PG

.369

Harman G

.369

Over R

.369

We found that USA, Australia and England make up 52 per cent of 2,167 articles while Open University, University of Lancaster and Monash University provided the greatest number of published articles (122 of 2,167).

the terrain captured from the citation data from one key

Further, the top 20 universities included 10 from Australia

journal in the field. We found Meyer, Kember, Richardson

– indicating, again, a disproportionate influence. Higher

as the most published authors, while Enders and Prosser

Education also achieved its greatest annual output of

share the fourth spot.

articles in 2012 followed by 2009 and 2011.The top eight years of annual article output were all from the 2000s

Further findings

while 1973 ranked ninth and 1994 tenth. B.R. Clark’s 1983 article ‘Higher education system:

Besides showing the geography of influence in two of

academic organisation in cross-national perspective’ was

the best higher education journals, SHE and HE, we also

the most cited article in the entire history of HE (109

discovered something else. Our investigation showed

citations). See Table 3. Another article by Clark in 1988,

that the lists of ‘most cited’ authors in Australian and UK/

‘Creating entrepreneurial universities: organisational

European journals were almost identical (see Table 6). In

pathways of transformation’ can be seen in Table 3, also

Table 6 also illustrate the considerable overlap between

belonging to the top 10, and ranks 6th.

the findings in our two studies and those conducted by

From Table 4, Entwistle is the single most cited author (472 times) followed by Clark, Marton and Biggs.

Kandlbinder and Tight. Surprisingly, when comparing these studies with that

Empirical evidence is brought to bear on Macfarlane’s

of US journals we found that there was an international

notion of an ‘archipelago’. It shows the ‘islands’ of

‘split’ among ‘most cited’ authors. It appears there are

influence and the geography of the discipline – or at least

regional differences when comparing US journals to

Table 6: Most cited authors comparison between US, UK and Australian journals US

Australian

Budd (1990)

Budd and Magnuson (2010)

Tight (2008)

Kandlbinder (2012)

Calma and Davies (2015)

Calma and Davies (2017)

Astin

Clarke

Marton

Entwistle

Pascarella

Ramsden

Biggs

Marton

Clark,

Centra

Tinto

Becher

Ramsden

Marton

Baldridge

Kuh

Biggs

Entwistle

Biggs

Feldman

Cabrara

Boud

Prosser

Becher

Ramsden

Getting cited: A reconsideration of purpose Martin Davies & Angelito Calma

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

UK/European and Australian journals. US journals tend

If an academic’s work does not feature as part of the

to exclusively cite US-based authors. They are parochial

landscape of a discipline, it is unclear to what extent he

in their citation patterns.

or she is making a difference – or even whether they are working in areas that count. The key question to ask

Implications of this finding

about citations, is not ‘how many do I have?’ but ‘are my citations part of an important, and growing, terrain in my

Calver jokes that ‘a narrowing of research diversity is as

discipline?’ It is only by analysing citation data that we

valuable to scholarship as atherosclerosis is to the cardiac

can make this determination. Aiming for high citations is

patient, yet one follows citation hunger as surely as the

important.*

other follows a fatty diet’.

*NB: No unnecessary citations have been used in the production of this paper.

We think this is a gloomy assessment of the situation. True, aiming for high citations as an end in itself is not

Martin Davies is Principal Fellow in Higher Education at

necessarily a good thing for the reasons he mentions.

the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University

However, there is another way to look at the enterprise

of Melbourne, Australia and Senior Learning Advisor at

of an academic seeking citations. The narrowing of

Federation University, Australia

research diversity also means the refinement and shaping

Contact: wmdavies@unimelb.edu.au

of the entire enterprise of scholarship. To use a different metaphor, like the forces of nature of erosion by wind

Angelito Calma is a Senior Lecturer at the Williams Centre for

and water, citations effectively provide a useful map

Learning Advancement, Faculty of Business and Economics,

of the ‘geography’ of a discipline. The democracy of

The University of Melbourne.

citation making ensures good ideas become of central importance, and less worthy ideas become marginalised or ignored altogether. This provides a measure of the history of a discipline – where it has been, and potentially where it is headed. They arm us with useful information about what academics find important. Citation maps also provide a concrete representation of key influences. If an idea – no matter how old – becomes influential, it has the potential to change the landscape of the discipline.To use Calver’s analogy, narrowing of research interests does not ‘clot’ a discipline as much as shape its geography, free it from unwanted rubble, allow it to grow in productive directions. Of course, it is true that important work can be infrequently cited, and contrariwise, frequent citations need not equate to influence or importance,as Calver notes (Calver, 2015, p. 47). Non-existent papers can also be cited through referencing errors, misinterpreted information can be promulgated, and citations can be ‘inessential and perfunctory’ (Calver, 2015). This is no doubt the case, especially in the short-term. In the main, however, these infelicities are usually addressed in the normal process of slow, methodical, self-correcting scholarship and attrition. Over longer time spans ‘the truth will out’ (we don’t see

References Budd, J. M. (1990). Higher Education Literature: Characteristics of Citation Patterns. Journal of Higher Education, 61(1), 84-97. Budd, J. M., & Magnuson, L. (2010). Higher Education Literature Revisited: Citation Patterns Examined. Research in Higher Education, 51(3), 294-304. Calma, A., & Davies, M. (2017). Geographies of Influence: A Citation Network Analysis of Higher Education 1972-2014. Scientometrics, doi:10.1007/s11192016-2228-3.. Calma, A., & Davies, M. (2015). Studies in Higher Education 1976–2013: a retrospective using citation network analysis. Studies in Higher Education, 40(1), 4-21. Calver, M. (2015). Please don’t aim for a highly cited paper. Australian Universities’ Review, 57(1), 45-49. Kandlbinder, P. (2012). Recognition and Influence: The Evolution of Higher Education Research and Development. Higher Education Research and Development, 31(1), 5-13. Macfarlane, B. (2012). The Higher Education Research Archipelego. Higher Education Research and Development, 31(1), 129-131. Moosa, I. (2011). The demise of the ARC journal ranking scheme: An ex post analysis of the accounting and finance journals. Accounting and Finance 51(3), 809-836. Tight, M. (2008). Higher education research as tribe, territory and/or community: a co-citation analysis. Higher Education, 55(5), 593-605. Westbury, I., (1980), The Impact of the Journal of Curriculum Studies: A Citation Analysis. Curriculum Studies, 12(2) 149-156.

citations anymore to phlogiston research, phrenology, luminiferous aether, or a host of other previously viable, and quite legitimate, research domains.) An adequate understanding of the worth of cited information, can only be conducted longitudinally surveying the entire landscape of a discipline – as we have tried to do here. vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Getting cited: A reconsideration of purpose Martin Davies & Angelito Calma

’

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Dialectic relations between the neoliberal think-tank movement and academia in Australia Lester Thompson Southern Cross University

David Wadley University of Queensland

The context of contemporary universities restrains their ability to drive public policy. Yet, currently, they confront the relative success of a global network of neoliberal institutes, referred to as think-tanks, promoting freedoms derived from particular ideologies. Neoliberal reasoning has so moulded classical ideas of individual freedom into a radical hegemony of market supremacy that, in one application, it discounts scientific acknowledgement of anthropogenic climate change and seeks to deny its existence. This article links think-tanks, commercial and government media within a neoliberal alliance, which aims to ‘balance’ public information through ideological promulgations. It further contends that, largely of their own making, universities lack the philosophical positioning, will and the organisation effectively to meet this challenge. Situational analysis, strategy formulation and changes to practice are required before any meaningful response can be contemplated. Keywords: neoliberalism, think-tanks, public policy, academia, hegemony

The neoliberal view Becoming liberated Some years ago, Pierre Bourdieu (2003, p. 21) reflected that academia, was a failing ‘edifice of critical thought’ and ‘in need of reconstruction’. He saw a global hegemony of

one billion subscribers to News-linked programming. … He’s never changed his fundamental principles … [regarding] greater personal responsibility, smaller government, fewer regulations and support for open societies ... Rupert Murdoch is a corporate citizen of many countries, but above all else, he’s one of us. Most especially ... he’s a long-serving director of the IPA, as was his ... celebrated father, Sir Keith. (Abbott, 2013a)

neoliberal ideas emerging largely unscathed by critique from

Though liberal post-Enlightenment thought elevates

these increasingly isolated enclaves. Reflecting Bourdieu’s

empiricism over doctrine, Murdoch evidences his editorial

concerns, academia’s apparent irrelevance in Australian

influence and supports his media’s role both in agenda-

policy-making emerged when the 2013-15 Prime Minister,

setting on economic ideas (Karoly et al., 2012; McKnight

Tony Abbott, addressed the neoliberal Institute of Public

2013a; Denniss, 2015; Monbiot, 2016) and in disputing

Affairs’ (IPA) 70th Anniversary Dinner. He acknowledged

the academic consensus on climate change (McKnight,

the dominance of partisan information sources and the

2013b; Manne, 2013). In light of bio-physical and growth

ascendency of conservative agendas by arguing that:

issues, and impacts on public beliefs (Garnaut Institute,

Rupert Murdoch is probably the Australian who has most shaped the world through the 45 million newspapers that News Corp sells each week and [through] the

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Lester Thompson & David Wadley

2011; Dunlap & McCright, 2008; Hmielowski, et al., 2014), this article examines neoliberal dissemination with reference to Murdoch’s 59 per cent share of the Australian vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

print market (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

became ‘strongly related to political preferences, voting

FactCheck, 2013). In contrast to this powerful ideational

behaviours and gender’ (Garnaut Institute, 2011), due

project, a disparate and self-critical academic world

to the co-ordinated activities of a climate change ‘denial

is seen, on one hand, to be bound up in complex and

movement’ and its media wing (Dunlap & McCright, 2008;

sometimes incomprehensible ideas (Hmielowski et al.,

Hmielowski, et al., 2014, p. 867). Politicisation within the

2014, p. 867). On the other, and despite the efforts of

dominant media presents anthropogenic climate change

individual academics, it appears organisationally unable to

findings as flawed left-wing ideology (Denniss, 2015;

match the impact of the think tanks.The case is examined

McKnight, 2010, 2013b; Manne, 2013) and likewise as

in the domain of climate change.

‘left-wing bias’, when presented factually by the Australian

Climate change The divergence between ideological advocacy and

public broadcaster (ABC) (Chubb & Nash, 2012; Happs, 2013). Where did these discrepancies all begin?

reliably-evidenced approaches comes into sharp relief

Globalising an ideology

regarding the health of the global environment, since:

Angus Burgin’s (2012) historical work traces the roots

multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 per cent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree [that in 2013] climatewarming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities (NASA, n.d.).

of the neoliberal social project to the classical-liberal (or

Overwhelming academic concern about human-induced

the first think tank, the Mont Peleron Society (MPS).

climate change contrasts with contemporary Australian

They were also aware of the rise of socialism and of John

survey findings that ‘only 50 per cent of respondents

Maynard Keynes’ economic interventionism. Anthony

... [agreed that] human activity ...[was] driving climate

Fisher, a war hero, organised to meet Hayek to discuss his

change’ (Garnaut Institute, 2011). This finding poses the

(libertarian) ideological battle for individual freedom. As a

questions, ‘what does the public know that the academic

foundational anti-socialist warrior and as an instigator of

experts don’t?’ and ‘how did they find out?’

the MPS, Hayek (1980) seems so to have acknowledged

laissez faire) ideals of the ‘Depression era’ and thinkers such as Karl Popper, Bertrand de Jouvenel,Wilhelm Röpke, Ludwig Von Mises, Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. After the Second World War, these figures aligned to form

Earlier this decade, former PM Abbott was describing

Keynes’ (1936, pp. 383-84) opinion about the power of

concern about climate change as ‘crap’ (Readfearn, 2014)

academic ‘ideas’ that he and Fisher planned a movement to

and carbon pricing as a socialist plot (Holmes, 2013).

promote their more classically-liberal, economic thoughts.

Similarly, the IPA was denying any scientific consensus (Qiu,

Hayek discouraged Fisher’s political aspirations, while

2015) about environmental change because the ‘modern

assisting him to found private institutes furthering

climate is jogging along well’ (Carter, 2013). Recognising

economic discovery and influencing scholarly opinions.

that all 10 United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Mainstream politics was sidestepped when Hayek (1980,

Administration (NOAA, 2015) indicators had previously

p. 1) judged ‘the future of civilisation’ as dependent upon

shown ‘unequivocally that the Earth is warming’ (Wight,

capturing ‘the ear of a large enough part of the upcoming

2015 n.p.), scientific opinion regarding anthropogenic

generation of intellectuals all over the world’ to displace

climate change was strengthening (Carlton et al., 2015).Yet,

socialist notions from politics. According to Friedman

Australian public opinion about ‘climate change happening’

(n.d.), Hayek asked Fisher to ‘get the ideas of the public at

fell back from 84 (2008) to 73 per cent (2010) (Garnaut

large changed [in order] to change the general atmosphere

Institute, 2011; Chubb & Nash, 2012).This retreat is reason

of belief.’ Friedman presents the ideational change agenda

enough to scrutinise the disjunction between academic

as a public project, rather than as academic research

(Carlton et al., 2015) and public opinion (Cook et al., 2013).

and education. Fisher started with the establishment of

In 2012, Simon Copland of ‘Science Communication’

the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) in the United

(Australian National University) exposed the very strong

Kingdom, a body to which Friedman attributes the credit

bias against scientific evidence about climate change

for altering the ‘intellectual climate of Britain’ and for

within Murdoch articles. Later, Readfearn (201) reiterated

convincing Margaret Thatcher that neoclassical economic

that ‘the vast majority of news stories and opinion columns

(neoliberal) ideas should focus public policy. By the 1980s,

published by the dominant Murdoch press in Australia ...

Milton Friedman (n.d.) was applauding the ideational

promote long-debunked fringe views on climate science.’

transformation that neoliberal institutions had achieved

Lay beliefs, rather than reflecting scientific discovery,

in international economic policy.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Lester Thompson & David Wadley

’

This IEA was the first of many think tanks which

which they could found ‘epistemic communities.’ Ironically,

Hayek (1980) saw as essential to saving the world from

theirs was a philosophical movement which eschewed

destruction.Today, they are networked by Fisher’s creation,

relativist perceptions, preferring an absolutist value base

the Atlas Foundation. In Australia, this alliance includes,

and accepting the ‘sacrosanct truth of certain basic beliefs’

inter alia, the IPA, the Centre for Independent Studies,

(Plehwe & Mills, 2012). It challenged the modernist view

the Australian Libertarian Society, the Australian Taxpayers

that humanity is increasingly apprehending, and developing

Alliance, the Bert Kelly Research Centre, and the Mannkal

better governance of, society and the environment. The

Economic Education Foundation. Globally, there are

neoliberals also disputed the Cartesian rationalism unifying

nearly 400 neoliberal bodies like North America’s CATO,

scientific discovery, preferring a more elemental philosophy

Heartland and Fraser institutes. Yet, counter to Hayek’s

of truth and ascendancy of individualism. This position

strategy, not all are respected research institutes focussed

came to represent a fundamental, individualist libertarian

upon informing academic opinion. (Past conservative

view underpinned by negative rights, property rights,

Australian) Prime Minister John Howard (2013) has

religious freedom and self-determination (Plehwe & Mills,

implied that organisations such as the IPA ‘try and

2012). Such absolutist ideas, though initially overt about

condition the public attitude.’ Likewise, Friedman (n.d.)

self-determination, self-interest, and freedom from coercion,

once remarked that:

were increasingly politicised by influential capitalists

The importance ... is that ... [CATO and thus other think-tanks are] today performing the kind of function that the Institute of Economic Affairs performed so well in Britain... in trying to alter the climate of opinion...

rather than purified by intellectual debate (Burgin, 2009,

Though Hayek thought this movement important in

liberal ideas of John Stuart Mill and early libertarians to

catching the ear of young intellectuals, Friedman saw

a collective view of the ‘market’ imbued with a virtuous,

the agenda as propagandising public views and values,

unassailable capitalist utopianism. This elevation involved

a project in which the various institutions have been

inherent contradictions which other authors have ably

remarkably effective (Crook, 2013).As such, the successful

identified (Gibson-Graham, 1996;Webber & Rigby, 1996).

pp. 164-65). That is to say, in the seeds of the movement was a rejection of academic rigour in favour of an ideology which capitalists edged towards political influence (Burgin, 2009; Monbiot, 2016). Hereby, they enlarged the classical

work of the Australian IPA (Miller & Schneiders, 2013)

Logically, the movement had to reject environmental-

and others in the region represents not only a media

conservationism, if only because freedom, interpreted

triumph but a potentially important learning process

through self-interest, property rights and an unregulated

for the disparate academic institutions which support

market, cannot

scientific pursuits. The relative dominance of neoliberal

restraint and regulations for the greater good (Monbiot,

ideas (Brenner & Theodore, 2002; Bourdieu, 2003) against

2016). In the virtuous neoliberal circle, growth becomes

the ineffectiveness of academic dissemination is reason

the overriding mantra: more investment allegedly

for considering the strategy that has led think tanks from

creates more jobs, enhances productivity and can thus

marginality to colonisation of news and government

increase supply: thereafter, more people are needed to

agendas (Crook, 2013; Manne, 2013). It is important first

provide the demand to consume the greater supply (cf.

to understand the messages that the neoliberal movement

Hamilton, 2003). Free markets are the vehicle through

seeks to convey, second to assess the logic of pursuing

which the immediate and longer-term needs of society

a predefined, unquestioned set of axioms and, third, to

are best addressed. Once ‘market freedom’ became the

comprehend factors behind the seeming flaccidity of the

movement’s paramount value, efforts to expose evidence

academic response.

of market externalities (including humans’ ecosystem

Redefining the agenda

countenance

arguments

requiring

damage) were constructed as socialistic threats to liberty (Monbiot, 2016). Seen as capable of providing solutions to

The change in public opinion which Hayek and Fisher

human issues, the market became central to a pervasive,

created and Friedman applauded was, according to Harvey

secular ideology.

(2005, p. 64), Heywood (2012) and Thompson and Coghlan (2015) underpinned by individualistic beliefs which

Neoliberal constructs

MPS members judged as fundamental to human society

In its own words, the global Atlas Network of ‘free-market

(Friedman, n.d., 2). For Plehwe and Mills (2012), early

organisations in over 80 countries [is committed] to the

neoliberals strived to develop basic norms and values upon

ideas and resources needed to advance the cause of liberty’

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Lester Thompson & David Wadley

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

(Atlas, n.d.). However, the ‘cause of liberty’ is described in

Balancing the account

economic rather than individual terms, using concepts such

The agenda of Australia’s neoliberal movement can be

as those of the associated Economic Freedom Network’s

understood by examining a local (IPA) case-study. The

‘market freedom project’ (Fraser Institute, n.d.). The latter

Institute describes itself as:

is ‘devoted to promoting economic freedom around the world’ and ‘has member institutes in over 87 nations.’ Its agenda is presented as important to the IPA (Novak, 2014) and as uniting many network members. Now, rather than being informed by classical liberal philosophy, the members

an independent, non-profit public policy think tank, dedicated to preserving and strengthening the foundations of economic and political freedom. Since 1943, the IPA has been at the forefront of the political and policy debate, defining the contemporary political landscape. (IPA n.d.).

of this project consider that: The cornerstones of economic freedom are (1) personal choice, (2) voluntary exchange coordinated by markets, (3) freedom to enter and compete in markets, and (4) protection of persons and their property from aggression by others. Economic freedom is present when individuals are permitted to choose for themselves and engage in voluntary transactions ... The use of violence, theft, fraud, and physical invasions [is] not permissible in an economically free society, but otherwise, individuals are free to choose, trade, and cooperate ... In an economically free society, the primary role of government is to protect individuals and their property from aggression by others. The [Economic Freedom of the World] EFW index is designed to measure the extent to which the institutions and policies of a nation are consistent with this protective function… [or] identify how closely the institutions and policies of a country correspond with a limited government ideal, where the government protects property rights and arranges for the provision of a limited set of ‘public goods’ such as national defense [sic] and access to money of sound value, but little beyond these core functions (Gwartney et al., 2015, pp. 1-2).

Yet, its stated influence on political debate should be qualified if, as Beder (2006, p. 134) suggests, it: was set up in 1943 by a group of Melbourne businessmen concerned that the use of government intervention to regulate Australian society during the war might be extended .... The IPA’s mission was to oppose the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and assist with the establishment of the Liberal Party and the development of policies for it. Even if the IPA has, since the 1980s, refocussed upon a free-market agenda, it was founded on anti-interventionist stance and has strongly maintained party political links (Beder, 2006; Sourcewatch, 2011; Crook, 2013; Donovan, 2014). Hamilton (2012) suggests that much of its funding comes from the oil and mining industries and, hence, its policy advocacy towards economic development and climate change aligns with their interests. Beder’s (2006, pp. 134-36) work exposes close ties among certain Australian think tanks, the MPS, and American

The EFW project follows its absolutist philosophy by

think tanks beholden to business lobbies. Recently,

awarding its highest league rankings to democratically-

Hamilton (2012) saw similar political bias in the IPA’s

limited states such as Hong Kong and Singapore. It thus

‘long-running involvement in the climate debate’ (see

elevates economic over democratic freedom. Individual

also Sourcewatch, 2011; Chubb & Nash, 2012; Copland,

freedom is further downgraded in the manner of Hayek’s

2012). Commitment to the neoliberal agenda logically

preference for violent economic-liberal dictatorships (such

means that all environmentally-conscious restrictions on

as Pinochet’s Chile) over democracy judged as ‘devoid of

the free-market, especially those opposing the mining

liberalism’ (i.e. socialist organisation) (Monbiot, 2016).

industry, are against the interests of IPA corporate donors,

Hong Kong and Singapore, once again, occupy the top two positions ... [followed by] New Zealand, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Jordan, Ireland, Canada, and the United Kingdom and Chile... (Gwartney et al., 2015, p. vi).

are a threat to liberty, and are socialistic in character.

Business freedom subsumes individual freedom, an

of climate change. The text challenges the reliability of

absolute passed down by the MPS. This corporatist bias

research by most climate scientists and positions itself

is notable since there might once have been justification

as the ‘truthful’ exposé of their misinformation campaign

for academic collaboration with a project that promotes

about carbon-based environmental damage. Though

the free exchange of ideas, freedom of opinion and choice

NASA (2015) has found that ‘the 10 warmest years in the

as the best approach to factual and truthful argument.

instrumental record, with the exception of 1998, have now

Instead, free-market fundamentalism must be judged as a

occurred since 2000,’ Ian Plimer (2015) argues in the text

counterpoise to academic integrity.

that, for the last 18 years, carbon dioxide emissions have

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

To exemplify its stance, the IPA promotes a text entitled Climate Change: The Facts edited by its recent employee Alan Moran (2014). It features authors largely unrespected or unpublished (in refereed publications) in the field

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Lester Thompson & David Wadley

’

been increasing but there has been no subsequent rise in

articles expressing environmental concern about carbon

global atmospheric temperatures. The thesis purports to

dioxide emissions, the IPA campaigned against it as biased

provide the definitive position, in that published, refereed

against the fossil fuel industry (Patterson, 2014 a, b, c).

explanations of human-induced climate change do not

The IPA commissioned an Australian private sector media

hold up to scrutiny, since contemporary temperature

analysis firm to carry out an ‘assessment of ABC bias by

increases are part of natural variation. Thus, in what

examining the ABC’s coverage of Australia’s energy choices.’

seems history’s greatest academic fraud, the huge array

It found against the ABC, since ‘the dominant message

of climate scientists is misleading the public out of self-

broadcast by the ABC about CSG [coal seam gas] and coal

interest. If correct, Climate Change would be an extremely

mining was that the industries have a negative impact on

important text and should generate a host of supportive

the environment’ (Patterson, 2014c). The Institute saw

appraisals by research institutes and unbiased scholars.

environmental reporting as biased because it ignored

Yet, it has not achieved public or academic acclaim and an

unrelated economic issues.

online Google search for book reviews finds mainly those

Likewise, Chubb & Nash (2012) demonstrate how the

written by contributing authors, other neoliberal think

esteemed climate scientist, James Hansen, while attending

tanks and obscure bloggers.

a speaking tour in Australia, was relatively ignored in

In climate science, the academic desire to promulgate

favour of the sceptic, Christopher Monckton, who had

‘truth’ has thus been politicised and marginalised towards

poor credentials regarding knowledge of climate science

denial, portrayed as ‘facts.’ Think tanks self-publish

and had inflated his résumé. The issue of ‘newsworthiness’

literature to oppose market intervention or climate

seems important even to public broadcasters and now they

action; they align with dominant commercial media

must evaluate the politics of presenting information before

(Abbott, 2013b; Crook, 2013; Donovan, 2014) and collude

it is aired. Any sensational ‘othering’ of climate scientists is

with industries which benefit from inaction (Beder, 2006;

newsworthy, whereas academic discovery is less so.

Hamilton, 2012). Since laypeople are influenced less by

Within the ‘conversation’ -- one which could actually

contemporary (and often complex) empirical research

be about the future of humanity -- absence of a counter

and more by predispositions and populist arguments,

to scientific opinion becomes ‘media bias’, even though

scientists and academics seem undermined, rather than

Goldenberg (2013) found that ‘conservative billionaires’

supported, by neoliberal interventionism.

secretively provided ‘nearly $120m (£77m) to more than

In the 1990s, Friedman (n.d.) argued that ‘at the

100 groups casting doubt about the science behind

moment we [neoliberals] have not won the argument in

climate change.’ If public information is being infiltrated

practice, but I think in the long run ideas will dominate,

by ideas from neoliberal think tanks and if academia’s

and I think we will win the argument in practice as well

information processes are attacked as having negligible

as on the intellectual level.’ The agenda is evidenced by

value, then, paradoxically, any libertarian desire for a free-

Millar and Schneiders’ (2013) finding that, between 2001

market of ideas will be supplanted by fixed precepts.

and 2013, the number of Australian media mentions of the

According to Burgin (2009, p. 164-65):

IPA rose from (approximately) 350 to 2,300 (per annum). This increased exposure assists the neoliberal movement in ‘conditioning’ the public view that some ideas set forth by scientists and public media are socialistic and therefore untrustworthy and, more particularly, the domain of the

The achievements of the neoliberal movement in the years following its emergence might be perceived … as manifestations of successful tactics and a failed philosophical project. In an irony of history, ideas tend to achieve political success through the very refusal to contest their own assumptions.

‘loony left’ (Greenslade, 2005). There is thus a conflation of protective ideas about the environment as an anti-

One issue in the apparent collaboration between

capitalist, socialistic, irrational agenda (Antonio & Brulle,

Australia’s IPA, the federal coalition government and an

2011; Goldenberg, 2013; Musil, 2013).

aligned media empire is that influence is essentially covert.

The public media, in the form of the ABC, has been subject

Of additional concern is that those who are unaware that

to sustained criticism by the IPA and aligned journalists for

they are being propagandised are impressionable and

its ‘left-wing’ bias (Warby, 1999 a, b; Manne, 2003; Hamilton,

therefore at risk of having their freedom of decision-

2012; Donovan, 2014; Patterson, 2014 a, b, c). To appear

making curtailed (Collison, 2003). This sort of ideological

balanced, it must match any exposure of environmental

hegemony was the reason for the founding of Hayek’s

or social ideas with neoliberal, free-market ones (Chubb &

‘freedom’ movement in the first place. The philosopher,

Nash, 2012; Happs, 2013). For example, after the ABC ran

de Jouvenel, of the MPS long ago recognised the tyranny

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Lester Thompson & David Wadley

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

implicit in monopolistic control over information. ‘We

The Philosophical stance

are of course in danger of doing what the Socialists have

Invalidating the think tanks’arguments can be conceptually

done,’ he acknowledged. ‘The criticism of Capitalism

problematic, especially when dealing with ‘wicked

was their battle horse and they gave little thought to the

problems’ of indefinite futures and intergenerational

problems of Socialism.... we must not fall into the same

equity found in environmental science and politics. From

error’ (cited by Burgin, 2009, p. 164). Burgin adds that it

the outset, academia is effectively hamstrung by certain

is easier to agree in criticism of a ‘common enemy’ than

of its own philosophical precepts. First, as is widely

constructively to disagree.

accepted, theories can: simplify complex phenomena (scientific reductionism); suggest frameworks for ordering

The academy’s view

data and information; and help explain observations. Via these means, the academy regularly presents supporting

Rear guard positioning

evidence for anthropomorphic climate change. Yet,

Just as medicine and law have been challenged by para-

Haggett and Chorley (1967, p. 24) argue that theory

professionals and disruptive technologies, academia has

cannot be judged as ‘true’ (or ‘false’), nor can science ever

effectively lost its monopoly on fact, rigour and truth.

‘prove’ anything, since doubt is the driver of discovery.

Yet, Jason Wilson (2014) of the Swinburne Media Centre

The quest for explanation, in pursuit of ‘truth’, never ends

argues that the ‘freedom’ agenda of the IPA and fellow

and theories merely help in understanding reality. Hence,

travellers actually presents opportunities:

science cannot assert facts with the absolute certainty

A more vibrant and confident left might actually welcome the IPA’s prominence, for this really is the best that Australia’s intellectual right can do. IPA commentators (along with their colleagues in the Centre for Independent Studies) mostly incant the same old prescriptions for deregulation, marketisation and small government that have circulated through what Philip Mirowski calls the ‘neoliberal thought collective’ for decades. Whenever they stray from this familiar territory, their limitations quickly become apparent.

which could otherwise refute think-tank claims. Deniers

The academy’s challenge is to deal with think tanks

Fish (2016) explains that a material world exists prior to

in that that they have relegated environmental and

our descriptions of it, but that our observational capacities

social science as either ‘left agendas’ (i.e. biased), or

are limited and our descriptions rely on disciplinary

intellectually-conformist

(Plimer,

vocabularies. In the human process of ‘framing’ issues

2015). Academia faces a significant ideological force

(Leach et al., 2010), different vocabularies deliver different

which is consolidating worldwide. The intent now is

worlds. Thus, no neutral vantage point exists from which

to analyse the positioning of individual academics as

to achieve factual understanding. In practice, this means

distinct from the institutions of higher education and

not only that people can hold different opinions, but that

the public research sector. It will identify a number of

some actually dispute the relevance and substance of

hindrances and inconsistencies, viz.:

the firmest of evidence. They also reject the authority of

• Many academics aspire to pursue scientific and other

disciplinary frameworks and the stability and standards

‘truths’ or explanations in their work to the betterment

which they reflect. Thus, deniers argue that climate

of humanity

science is dominated by an institutional conformity into

(i.e. questionable)

• Yet, in attempting to counteract claims based on secular (market) ideology, academics cannot claim absolute truth in science • Their potency has been further diminished by

co-opt doubt as justification for their narratives and appoint contrary authorities to support their contentions. In this context, empirically-thin arguments permit ongoing controversy around strongly-supported evidence regarding global warming, greenhouse gases, the onset of the ‘anthropocene’, and the extent of human influence. Second, the social sciences have admitted postmodern thinking which fosters diversity and poly-vocality. Stanley

which experts must fit and with which their own ideas courageously contrast (Plimer, 2015). Historically, the Enlightenment transposed the power to define reality from divine authority to individual

postmodern interpretations in social science and the

reason

humanities

situated the locus of knowledge within individual

(Pomerantsev,

2016);

thereafter,

Descartes

• In leaning towards neoliberalism themselves, academic

human minds. Schopenhauer argued that the world was

institutions might lack the will or the organisation to

understood according to individual representations,

support individual researchers who dispute the think

but postmodernists subsequently added the argument

tanks’ prescriptions.

that reality is interpreted according to power and

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Lester Thompson & David Wadley

’

influence. Mass media can now empower vocabularies

from being damaged; subsequently, the neoliberal project

which challenge empirically-strong theory, and sponsor

can condition academic behaviour and compromise

alternative ideological views. Though reality still exists

‘independence’ (Hil, 2015a). Corporatised institutions

and academia still seeks rigorously to discover it, captured

become focused on growth and managerial power

knowledge can reflect oppressive power. Postmodern

expands relative to academic autonomy. Constructive

critique thus removes the capacity for the definitive

‘public intellectuals’ are those who achieve grants,

demolition of empirically-unsupported logic. Savvy

international

politicians and media can authoritatively recruit public

Contrarians and critics achieve isolation and, accordingly,

support for illogical, emotional argument about biased

the rewards for confrontation with agencies promoting

science and left-wing conspiracies.The emotional realities

public misinformation are scant. Such discourse is judged

of climate change are unappetising and people might

inferior to the aspiration of academic institutions seeking

shrink from the ‘truth’.

higher international acknowledgement and private sector

awards

assist

private

enterprise.

Writers who acknowledge postmodern critiques have

sponsorship. As Fisher and Hayek’s ideational project

become soft targets for outsiders hostile to the academic

approaches Friedman’s benchmark of success, these

enterprise (Hil, 2015a, p. 13). Indeed, the social sciences

influences on academia can act to de-motivate academics

may be pilloried in respect of the topics for which their

and thereafter proceed without undue scrutiny.

members receive research grants (cf. Carr, 2016).To avoid external criticism, managerial institutions might redirect

Organisational factors

funds towards practically-oriented and instrumentalist

Now that their former monopoly on process and knowledge

endeavours that display ‘innovation.’ Recursively, such

is disputed, how can universities and public research

universities reduce their ability to counter the think tanks,

bodies better deploy information? Recent corporate

the domain of which is centrally within the social, rather

practice has been problematic, judging first by two higher-

than the hard, sciences.This step also moves the academy

level examples which require attention before we progress

away from a mission to pursue (and promote) ‘truth’

to frontline activities in Australia’s 42 universities.

which, though elusive, has long motivated academics. Since, in the mass media, ideology needs only a consistent and positive spin to attract public support, it becomes possible to overlook the use of evidence, and the underpinnings of reason (cf. O’Grady, 2002). Policy must not jettison reason in favour of affect, nor should ‘spin’ replace logic in public problem solving. Recall that 97% of climate science academics understand the implications of anthropomorphic change, have concerns about what the ‘truth’ might be, and take their role seriously.

Climate change is inevitably controversial, even barring the input of neoliberal think tanks. In one notable imbroglio, the Abbott government [recently] found $4m for the climate contrarian Bjørn Lomborg to establish his “consensus centre” at an Australian university, even as it struggled to impose deep spending cuts on the higher education sector (Taylor, 2015). Lomborg’s published work on climate has been evaluated by the Union of Concerned Scientists as ‘seriously flawed’ and failing ‘to meet basic standards of credible scientific

Lacking the will

analysis’ (UCS, n.d.). Meanwhile, the Abbott Government’s

Though think tanks commonly claim to be ‘independent’

chief executive appointee to the Commonwealth Science

as if immaculately funded, they are in practice beholden

and Industry Research Institute (CSIRO), Larry Marshall

to their donors (Beder, 2006; Hamilton, 2012). Once,

(ex Silicon Valley), quickly announced up to 175 job cuts

universities, too, claimed to be autonomous and

to its oceans and atmosphere division, because ‘the climate

independent. Yet in recent years, they have started to

changing... question has been answered’ (Pitman, 2016).

extol their virtues regarding access to private student

His incursion, since moderated, prompted a worldwide

fees, outside

philanthropy.

outcry among climate and other scientists who recognise

Problematically for motivated academics, these extra-

the value of CSIRO modelling (Hannam, 2016; Thodey,

mural sources can be diverse, involving institutional

2016). These two macro illustrations point to political

connections and obligations which extend globally or

disruptions engulfing whole institutions which reduce

corporately and which might relegate well-evidenced

their public credibility.

research

funding

and

concerns about local community welfare.

Notwithstanding

scholars’

continuing

aspirations

In the globalised university, argumentation and

towards ‘truth’, the lower-level issue of academic voice

campaigns are avoided to prevent administrative ‘brands’

becomes challenging. It exists in an organisational work

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Lester Thompson & David Wadley

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

context which assumes ubiquitous,self-seeking rationalism

either advertise to attract students (Hil, 2015b) or direct

and, which, within its schools and departments applies

media enquiries to individual researchers with minimal

managerialism both to reward standardised pursuits

support, unless corporate funding is a likely outcome.

(Cupples & Pawson, 2012; Rea, 2016) and discourage non-

Cupples and Pawson (2012) use Foucauldian analysis

conformity (Giroux, 2010). Society is told that markets can

to argue that the culture of the academy contains

solve problems of the public good, and academia applies

contradictions which make managerial auditors incapable

this instrumental rationality somewhat uncritically in

of adequately defining outcomes for academic activities in

reproducing employment-ready, ‘competent’ graduands

a market society. More simply:

and knowledge products (Giroux 2010; Hil, 2015b). Now, particularly in the United States, it is allegedly infantilising students in teaching practice (Lukianoff & Haidt, 2015; Sherlock, 2015). This tendency can only diminish the robust intellectual atmosphere (‘without fear or favour’) which universities officially trumpet and which might act

the centre has lost its authority, not devolved it, because the dispersal of power leads to a fragmented, disjointed and messy outcome where agencies and individuals begin to negotiate their own interests, reinterpret the lines of accountability and exploit the ambiguities inherent in the evaluation and assessment process (Cupples & Pawson, 2012, p. 20).

to counter the arguments of some of the think tanks. For their part, think-tanks remunerate activist roles

Assuming that the reach of the think tanks will in

following the neoliberal agenda and in consort with

future grow rather than recede, the questions which arise

aligned media. Rather than waiting months or years for

from this organisational appraisal are threefold: (a) to

grants with low chances of success, they have the ability

what extent should the universities (and public scientific

quickly to mount special-focus projects, using existing

outlets) reorganise to meet forthcoming challenges; (b)

staff, calling on their sponsors, or crowd-sourcing to

have they the desire to do so or are they now themselves

create the necessary resources. A task force approach

co-opted as part of an unstoppable neoliberal project;

can be directed to focussed and applied research or

and (c) is some accord with selected think tanks socially

critique, just as managed democracies achieve success

desirable, given the collateral which the latter have

within global economics. In this contest of ideas, the

accumulated? Answers will determine whether there is

teaching and research (T and R) academic is hampered.

space for contestation and redefinition of goals within

Getting involved in public politics can be stressful and

the academy and negotiation of better accountability

distracting. If fortunate and productive, s/he might

measures for recognising the public good. There is little

achieve uninterrupted research on a half-sabbatical basis:

point in rushing into putative strategies until due analysis

otherwise, the regular course is to work up to 40 per cent

and these fundamental responses are to hand. To do so

of full time equivalence on ongoing investigations. Solo

would contravene the measured, scientific principles on

projects might indicate personal ‘potential’, but can be

which academia stands.

risky career-wise; alternatively, the assembly of project teams could take months before any (grant) progress

Conclusion

occurs. Basic research attracts significant institutional effort but will likely escape popular commendation or

We have discussed how a very effective global movement

even influence. Research institutes might have more

latterly committed to a strong ideology of market

opportunities, but much of their activity proceeds

freedom has shaped public understanding of significant

under tied contracts with limited scope for vicarious

issues affecting the future of humanity. Rather than

engagement. Moreover, around 80 per cent of research-

lively participation, the academic response has lagged

only, full-time equivalent staff, throughout universities,

(Bourdieu 2003). Maxwell (2014) perceives universities as

work under fixed-term contracts (Rea, 2016).

organised rationally for pursuing knowledge, rather than

Though keen to praise individual academics who

for solving the problems of a complex world. By contrast,

receive teaching and, sometimes, research awards,

Bawden (2007, pp. 299-300) seeks cognitive strategies to

universities are unlikely to advocate a corporate position

address the contemporary ecological and political ‘mess’

or encourage disputation with particular social or

we face. His prescription is intellectually demanding, in

political movements. Hence, the think tanks and their

that ‘we can’t solve problems by using the same level

media partners can operate comfortably in the thick of

of cognitive development we used to create them’, thus

politics. Their strategic advantage additionally overcomes

requiring a constant renewal of ‘systems of knowledge and

university marketing and information departments, which

systematic processes of knowing.’ Such advances require

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Lester Thompson & David Wadley

some coordinated international networking (cf. the Atlas

’

Contact: lester.thompson@scu.edu.au

Foundation) of universities along disciplinary lines, and national strategies for accessing empirically-supportable

Dr David Wadley lectures in the School of Earth and

knowledge through shared databases and informed

Environmental Sciences at The University of Queensland.

spokespersons (i.e. science educators or communicators).

His research interests lie in studies of rationality and its

One interpretation of Bawden’s (2007) analysis is that

alternatives applied to global and local issues.

there is need for actions that are creative (cognitivelydeveloped), cooperative

(strategically

focussed

structural reforms) and collectivist (socially organised for the common good), perhaps ironically reproducing the strategic success of the neoliberal movement. It established the MPS as a core for informing its precepts, then developed a plethora of well-resourced, activist think-tanks strategically linked to the market agenda, and finally created a collectivist network which supported its structures with moral goals, connective projects and internationalist credentials. Many

academics

are

individually

isolated

and

overwhelmed by the teaching, research and administration accountabilities (Chatterton et al., 2010; Kliewer, 2013). Nonetheless, the consequences of ignoring the external neoliberal agenda are significant. Even the world’s lesser governments are now acting on climate change and, if they can mobilise, then why can academia not? Its solution might begin with a meta-analysis involving general recognition of the success of the neoliberal movement. The think tanks must be seen not as upstarts but as a valid object of study; the mission of the academy internationally must be discussed; and planning processes which define research objectives must include efforts to promulgate lines of enquiry more effectively and efficiently in the public domain. The agenda moves beyond the current promotion of scholarly supernovas: in the contemporary neoliberal context, both corporate and self-protection is required if academics are to promote discovery that is too complex, contested, methodologically challenging and therefore difficult for management to acknowledge as valid effort. Through activism and collective bargaining, recognised activity might expand to include the analysis and rebuttal of public misconceptions (Giroux, 2010; Hurst & Wall, 2011). The needs of democracy require that the output of departments and research institutes more thoroughly acknowledge integrated information dissemination, policy reform and wider academic advocacy. These various lines should be the subject of future research enquiry. Dr Lester Thompson is a Senior Lecturer at Southern Cross University (Coolangatta, Australia). He currently teaches in the Master of Social Work program, focussing upon social policy and law and community work studies.

Ideology, ‘truth’ and spin Lester Thompson & David Wadley

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Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities A mixed methods pilot study Michelle Gander Murdoch University

This article confirms the reliability of a protean and boundaryless career attitudes scale, tested in a pilot study. Additionally, it summarises the results of this study into the career attitudes of professional staff in Australian and UK universities. A mixed methods approach was taken using a survey consisting of both closed questions on a 5-point Likert type scale, and an open text question that asked for respondents’ career stories. The convenience sample consisted of 19 staff from Australia and 12 from the UK. The findings suggest that professional staff create a hybrid approach to managing their career, showing aspects of protean, boundaryless and traditional career attitudes and that there are no significant differences between the career attitudes of these staff in Australia and the UK. There is a clear need for further research to test these results, which could be used to inform universities’ human resource strategies. Keywords: Professional staff, career theory, protean, boundaryless, hybrid, mixed methods

Introduction

which are commonly identified with different names including administrators, professional (services) staff,

Universities, as large businesses in their own right,

or academic-related staff. In this paper, I use the term

are required to have effective academic and business

professional staff to encompass the wide range of

management to ensure successful teaching, research

activities these staff undertake ranging from, for example

and business-related outcomes. With massification and

accountants, registrars, human resource professionals, and

increased regulation there are considerable numbers

librarians. In 2014/15 these staff numbered 95,870 or 23.7

of non-academic staff working in Australian and UK

per cent of the total staff population in the UK (Higher

universities. For example, in Australia in 2015 there were

Education Statistics Agency, 2016; there is no number for

65,739 non-academic staff or 55.4 per cent of the total

this cohort of staff from Australia).These staff are typically

population; in the UK the figure for 2014/15 was 205,500

at least graduates (or are required to hold equivalent

or 51 per cent of the total population (Department of

qualifications or have equivalent experience, for example

Education and Training, 2016; Higher Education Statistics

accounting or human resource qualifications) who hold

Agency (HESA), 2016).

positions of varying authority and responsibility in their

According to the HESA in the UK, non-academic staff

universities. However, limited empirical research has been

include ‘managerial, professional and technical’ staff

carried out on the careers of these staff as it is suggested

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

they are ‘unseen and unsung’ (Eveline, 2004, p. 138).

’

Literature review

This is a significant oversight, as research suggests that staff who are engaged, are satisfied with their job, and

The traditional organisational career was arguably

embedded in their organisation are more committed to

the major form of employment until the early to mid-

their organisation and potentially more productive, with

1990s with employers (both private and public sectors)

the positive effect of reduced staff turnover (Martin &

providing long-term employment and guaranteed benefits

Roodt, 2008; Mitchell et al., 2001).The literature that does

in return for high-commitment and high-productivity.

exist suggests that there are a number of antecedents that

Extensive economic changes in the 1970s and 1980s led to

contribute to their affective organisational commitment

organisations downsizing and de-layering to reduce costs,

including

opportunities,

with many shifting from a vertical to a more horizontal

learning and skills development and utilisation, and the

organisational design, with the perceived need to develop

work itself (Meyer et al., 2002).

generalists, and not just specialists, in order to respond to

remuneration,

promotion

A report by the Leadership Foundation for Higher

instability and change (Kanter, 1977, p. 325; Lent & Brown,

Education in the UK (LFHE, 2010, p. 6) on a study of

2006; Peiperl & Baruch, 1997). It has been argued that from

12,000 higher education staff, found that professional staff

the 1980s organisational design changed from the modern

were attracted to the sector by the ‘opportunity to use

to the postmodern, which then needed to be reflected

skills/experience’, ‘a friendly work environment’, ‘career

in new career models and major new conceptual models

security’ and ‘salary’; senior staff also placed emphasis

were developed based on constructivist approaches to

on sector values. Once recruited, they were committed

career theory. That individuals constructed their own

to staying within their organisation and agreed to a ‘high’

social realities was seen as the most important aspect of

extent that higher education offered a worthwhile career.

understanding people’s decision-making processes and

They reported that their current salary could induce them

career stories (Nichols, 2007, p. 61; Sharf, 2013, p. 15).Two

to leave, as could an opportunity to develop their career. In

new conceptual models were developed to understand

Australia, a report published in 2012 (Strachan et al., 2012)

contemporary careers: protean and boundaryless.

which surveyed 32,983 general staff (which includes clerical and technical staff) in 19 universities, showed that

The protean career model

75 per cent of respondents ‘strongly or somewhat agreed’

The protean career is both an attitude, and a process,

that they were satisfied with their job. However, 42 per

which the individual, and not the organisation, actively

cent said there was a 5-50% chance that they would leave

manages. A person’s career consists of all of their

their job voluntarily in the next 12 months; 63 per cent

varied experiences including education and training,

were satisfied with career opportunities at either their

work history, changes in positions and sectors etc. The

own university or in the sector and 54 per cent said

protean career focuses on intrinsic success resulting

that within the next five years they would like to be in a

from individual decisions and the meanings given to

higher-level role.

the work rather than extrinsic organisational career

This paper explores career theory applied to

achievements such as financial and hierarchical rewards

professional staff in Australian and UK universities through

(Arthur & Rousseau, 1996; Hall, 2004; Peiperl & Baruch,

the use of a multi method survey instrument. Baruch

1997). It centres on values-driven attitudes to employees’

(2014) and Briscoe et al. (2006) highlighted the need to

own careers rather than organisational requirements, and

develop applicable measures of the contemporary career

individuals showing high levels of self-directed vocational

and highlighted the importance of validation studies.

behaviour. The protean career also involves mobility,

Although Baruch’s (2014) work was critical of Briscoe

a whole-life perspective, developmental progression,

et al. (2006) 14-item measure that split protean career

continuous self-directed learning, autonomy, flexibility,

attitudes into two factors – self-directed and values-driven

and self-fulfilment (Briscoe & Hall, 2006). Therefore, the

– he did note that the items captured the nature of the

first two hypotheses for the present study would be as

protean career attitude. It is critical to test for evidence of

follows:

internal reliability and validity of constructs and this paper

H1 Professional staff will show a self-directed career management attitude

describes the testing of Briscoe et al. (2006) two-factor protean and boundaryless (explained below) constructs through a pilot study, before embarking on a larger study,

H2 Professional staff will show a values-driven attitude to their career

on university professional staff in Australia and the UK.

Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

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The boundaryless career model

and boundaryless careers intersect, but that some

The original theory of the boundaryless career viewed

individuals enact hybrid careers, which contain elements

individuals as free agents – not bounded by one

of traditional and contemporary careers (Sullivan &

organisational career – but moving easily between

Baruch, 2009). For example, Granrose and Baccili (2006)

organisations as well as careers (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996,

found that the majority of employees valued job security

p. 3-20) across varying industries, not all reliant on the

and upward mobility (traditional) but also training

traditional organisational employment contract. However,

relevant both internally and externally (boundaryless)

this original definition did not take account of whether

to the organisation and an open, trusting and mutually

these moves were voluntary or not, vertical or lateral, the

respectful work environment (protean). Previous research

duration, or if they were organisation- or self-directed

has shown that professional staff value job security and

(Sullivan & Baruch, 2009). More recently boundaryless

promotion opportunities (LFHE, 2010; Strachan et al.,

careers have been seen as dualistic, consisting of both

2012) so this leads to the final hypothesis:

psychological and geographical mobility (Arthur et

H5 Professional staff will show hybrid career attitudes

al., 2005; Segers et al., 2008; Sullivan & Baruch, 2009). Geographic mobility, most easily understood, has been

Method

the most researched factor but has resulted in contested outcomes, due in part to not taking the above duality

The study utilised a cross-sectional survey design to collect

into consideration. Psychological mobility, which has

quantitative and qualitative data via an online survey in

been defined as ‘the perception of the capacity to make

May 2015. For this pilot study a convenience sample was

transitions’ (Sullivan & Arthur, 2006, p. 21) has been

used to gather a suitable number of responses quickly

under-researched. Employees will vary in their attitude to

which could be achieved by exploiting the author’s

working outside of their own organisation, which does

LinkedIn connections (220). LinkedIn is a social media-

not necessarily correlate with an intention to leave their

networking site that allows colleagues to connect to each

current role to work for another organisation.

other in relation to work and professional interests; it

Boundaryless individuals are primarily motivated

was launched in 2003 and now has 300 million members

by intrinsic success but also by hierarchical success –

worldwide (LinkedIn, 2015). It is widely used in higher

albeit with more than one employer. Characteristics

education with most universities in Australia and the

of this career type are: mobility, flexibility, the need for

UK having a presence as well as the Australian and UK

meaningful work, skill utilisation, work-life balance

professional bodies for professional staff – the Association

and fulfilling relationships across organisations, and at

of Tertiary Education Managers and Association of

the same time not giving importance to organisational

University Administrators, respectively. Little research

promotions and career paths (Briscoe et al., 2006; Forrier

has been done on the use of LinkedIn as a sampling

et al., 2005). It assumes that an individual’s career would

design, although one study did highlight that of all the

be comprised of hierarchical and lateral moves, plateauing,

social media platforms used (Facebook, Twitter, blog) and

periods outside of the labour market and career changes;

traditional media, LinkedIn had the lowest participant

they therefore require external marketability.This leads to

recruitment rate (Middleton et al., 2014).

the next two hypotheses:

As this was a pilot study, a convenience sample was

H3 Professional staff will show a psychologically mobile attitude

appropriate as data analysis would be used to test the

H4 Professional staff will show a geographic mobile attitude

survey items (de Vaus, 2002, p. 90; Zikmund et al., 2003, p.

reliability, internal consistency and construct validity of the 305-308, 396) and to explore the data responses, therefore 30 or more responses was considered adequate. Of these

Hybrid theory

LinkedIn connections, not all would be appropriate as the

The two career theories outlined above have often been

population – or the participant identity – was specific,

used interchangeably, due to the cross-over in identifiable

that of professional staff in Australia (Higher Education

factors, and the fact that the protean career attitude could

Worker level 7 and above; Fair Work Ombudsman, 2010)

of course result in multiple organisational contracts;

and the UK (salary spinal point 30 and above; University

additionally a person with a boundaryless attitude is

and College Union, 2001).

also more likely to act in a protean fashion (Briscoe &

A new multi method survey instrument was constructed

Hall, 2006). Not only have studies shown that protean

consisting of items measuring demographics such as age,

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

Table 1: The demographic characteristics of the participants (n=31) Australia Gender – Female Gender – Male Ethnicity Median age range Highest educational level

’

Table 2: The employment characteristics of participants (n=31)

Australia

Contract – permanent

Contract – fixed term

White/Caucasian White/ n=17 Caucasian =12 50-59

40-49

Professional qualification n=1 PhD n=2

PhD n=1

High school graduate n=3

Masters n=8

Masters n=6

Graduate n=3

UK 13

Full time

Part time

3 (all female)

1 (female)

Median salary range (n=17)

$105,000+

£50,00059,0001

Employed in current position

<5 years n=9

<5 years n=11

5-10 years n=6

10+ years n=1

10+ years n=4

Graduate n=7

Employed in current university

<5 years n=9

<5 years n=3

5-10 years n=6 5-10 years n=4 gender, educational attainment, and ethnicity, and items relating to work environment such as salary, number of promotions, and employment terms. To ascertain the perceptions of professional staff of their careers,previously

Intention to leave within 12 months

validated questions were used. Firstly, questions relating

The next section included items from a questionnaire by Raeder et al. (2009) to test employees’ needs from the organisation, based on psychological contract measures. The final career question was a free text box asking participants to relate their ‘career story’. The free text

10+ years n=5

Yes n=5

Yes n=1

No n=13

No n=11

1 invalid response

to aspects of protean and boundaryless careers, using a 5-point ratings scale were included (Briscoe et al., 2006).

10+ years n=4

Are you considering applying for promotion or a higher graded job in the next 3 years

Yes n=10

Yes n=8

No n=9

No n=4

1 Roughly equivalent

question was used to supplement the closed questions, to

0.78) or values-driven attitudes, although question 13 (I

provide an area of exploration into this subject area and

navigate my own career based upon my personal priorities

to triangulate the quantitative data (Creswell and Plano

as opposed to my university’s priorities) was removed due

Clark, 2011, p. 71).There were 34 responses; three of these

to cross-loading to self-directed (α = 0.76). CFA was carried

were partial and were excluded from the analysis. There

out on the boundaryless mindset components, which

were then 31 full responses with 19 participants from

confirmed that the items loaded onto psychological (α =

Australia and 12 participants from the UK.

0.90) or physical mobility preference (α = 0.81).

The quantitative survey data were analysed using SPSS v.22 and the qualitative data were analysed through

Demographic and employment data

manual coding, first using a number of a priori codes

The demographic and employment characteristics of the

informed by the literature followed by emergent codes

participants are shown in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. It

derived from the respondents’ stories (Barbour, 2008).

can be seen that the samples are skewed towards the older median age range, due, one would infer, to the

Results Instrument analysis

LinkedIn connections of the researcher. The participants are mainly white/Caucasian, and just over 50 per cent were women (Table 1).

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out on

Table 2 shows key employment data for the participants.

the protean career items, which agreed with the original

Thirty-two per cent of the participants in Australia were

analysis that the questionnaire items had internal reliability

on fixed term contracts compared with 100 per cent of

and clearly belonged to either of the two factors: self-

the UK staff being on permanent contracts. The majority

directed career management (Cronbach’s alpha (α) =

of staff in both countries were in full-time employment

Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Table 3: Descriptive statistics for the composite variables self-directed, values-driven, psychologically mobile and geographic mobile career attitudes (n=31). Selfdirected Mean

4.15

Valuesdriven 3.81

Psychologically mobile 4.24

Geographic mobile 3.65

’

promotion. However, they also value job security, which has been shown to enhance career-enhancing strategies (Nabi, 2003), values-driven work, and challenging work. Self-efficacy: H1 (self-directed) career attitude

This is an important aspect of contemporary careers with both protean and boundaryless theories having self-

Std. Deviation

0.55

0.60

0.57

0.74

efficacy at their root. Proactive individuals approach their

Skewness

-0.46

-0.52

-0.28

-0.97

job to increase the likelihood of high job performance and

Std. Error of Skewness

0.43

0.42

engage in career enhancing activities (Nabi, 2003). Seibert

Kurtosis

0.74

-0.14

-0.80

1.85

proactive personalities and salary, number of promotions

Std. Error of Kurtosis

0.83

0.82

Minimum

2.60

2.33

3.00

1.40

Maximum

5.00

4.67

5.00

et al. (1999) showed a modest correlation between and career satisfaction. Eby et al. (2003) showed that proactive personality, openness to experience and personal insight were all significantly related to perceived career success and marketability. The data show that professional staff strongly related to statements concerning self-directed attitudes (µ=4.15),

(specified as greater than 30 hours per week) and towards the top end of the salary scale, indicating middle to senior management positions. For example, 11 of the 17 respondents from Australia indicated their salary was above $105,000 and nine of the 12 UK respondents indicated their salary was above £50,000. Staff in Australia reported that they had been employed both in their current university and in their current role for similar timeframes; whilst in the UK the participants had

for example: I expect myself to take responsibility for my career and in identifying skills development (Female, 40-49, UK) …this [advice from a senior manager] prompted me to take control of my career… (Male 40-49, UK) My career choices and directions have been mine (Male 50-59, Australia)

seemingly moved around within their universities more. Most staff had no intention to leave their jobs in the next

Values-driven career attitude: H2 (values-driven)

12 months although the majority did intend to apply for

career attitude

promotion within three years.Table 4 also shows that the

A career driven by personal values rather than

majority of staff in both countries deem organisational

organisational rewards is another key aspect of protean

loyalty, job security, opportunities for promotion, and

careers (Hall, 2004). The fact that these staff work in

opportunities for a career important.

universities suggests that they value work that has societal

Table 3 provides the means, standard deviations,

impact consistent with staff working in, for example the

skewness, and kurtosis data for the self-directed, values-

public sector (Sargent & Domberger, 2007). Professional

driven, psychologically and geographic mobile career

staff show values-driven (µ=3.81) career attitudes:

attitudes. A Shapior-Wilk test for normality showed that the data come from a normal distribution.

Career attitudes Research has shown that there are a number of

I am not prepared to sacrifice that [loyalty, integrity, making a difference] to be bored or frustrated at work, and I would still seek to leave if my values or my need to be challenged at [sic] not being met (Male 40-49, Australia)

organisational and individual characteristics that increase the likelihood of career success as defined by promotions

Mobility: H3 (psychologically mobile) and H4 (geo-

– self-efficacy, job rotation, and learning agility (Briscoe

graphically mobile) boundaryless career attitudes

& Hall, 2006; Çakmak-Otluoğlu, 2012; Dries, et al., 2012;

Career development opportunities within organisations

Karaevli & Tim 2006). The results from this study align

can include job placements, secondments or rotations

with some of these findings, as it shows that professional

to provide employees with varied work experiences.

staff exhibit self-efficacy, and prioritise job rotation

The argument is that people who spend most of their

and learning opportunities, career development and

career in one job, organisation or even sector have

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

limited knowledge and sets of competencies. Having a variety of experiences is necessary for employees to be able to extract general principles and transfer these to new situations (Dries et al., 2012). Karaevli and Tim

’

Table 4: Perceived requirements from the employing university Requirements from university

Percentage of staff that ‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’ Australia

(2006) argued that managers’ variety of career experience

of functional areas plus a breadth of institutional

Loyalty

context understanding would be positively associated

Job security

A career

Opportunities for promotion

with promotion, salary and skill acquisition. They also suggested that getting a ‘deep’ understanding of an area is important so employees internalise the experiences, but that rotation after a few years avoided a person becoming too narrow in scope.

productivity and loyalty in its employees. As organisations

Professional staff related with the psychologically

have changed from a traditional to a contemporary

mobile boundaryless mindset (µ=4.24), which points to

design and the concomitant change to employment

H3 being supported. However, they showed a less positive

contracts and individuals’ expectations, one would

attitude towards a geographically mobile attitude, as this

postulate that employers and employees had embraced

factor showed the lowest mean score (µ=3.65) of all

this contemporary view of the workplace. However, Dries

factors, and with a higher standard deviation (SD=0.74)

and Pepermans (2007) showed that both employees and

showing a larger range of opinions. However, Table 2

human resource representatives had traditional views of

shows that many of the respondents moved around

careers i.e. they expected staff to progress hierarchically,

their own university in order to obtain new learning

and Walton and Mallon (2004) showed that aspects of

opportunities and/or promotions:

both traditional (e.g. advancement) and contemporary

I am now on secondment in a professional service department which I wanted to undertake to gain new insights, perspectives and see how other departments worked (Male 40-49, UK)

careers (e.g. enjoyment) were used in individual sense-

I have worked in the tertiary sector for more than 25 years across 3 different universities. I never stay in one position for more than 3 to 4 years before moving on (White female 50-59, Australia)

and experiences that develop a series of end-state skills.

I am hoping for a change in role if not promotion to keep me learning and motivated (Female 40-49, UK)

found that learning-agility ratings were unrelated to who

I very much motivated about learning new areas, taking on challenges and responsibilities (Female 30-39, Australia)

learning agility ratings performed better once promoted.

…looking for things that interest me and seeking out new challenges when my current role/organisation has ceased to provide them (Male 50-59, Australia)

opportunities. However, there is some difference between

This may have been due to a lack of clarity between

with the requirements of loyalty, job security, and an

psychologically

mobile

and

geographically

making of the participants’ careers. Career success as viewed as promotions to more senior roles, could be viewed as a journey undertaking demanding transitions Spreitzer, et al. (1997) found that end-state competency plus learning-orientated dimensions predicted executive potential. However, Eichinger and Lombardo (2004) received a promotion but that those employees with high Table 4 shows that professional staff in both countries value job security, an organisational career, and promotion the respondents from Australia and the UK, with those from Australia generally showing a weaker agreement

mobile

organisational career. This difference could be due to the

attitudes as geographic mobility would include moving

more senior staff that responded. In Australia above Level

from one job to another within the university as well

10 on the HEW classification (Fair Work Ombudsman,

as moving to a new university. This lead to H4 being

2010), staff are usually employed on fixed term contracts

provisionally supported.

(FTC) for three or five years (although they may continue to hold permanency at the lower level if promoted within

Job security and promotion: H5: Hybrid career

their own institution). This is a key difference compared

attitude

with senior staff in the UK who would be permanently

The traditional career perspective had at its most

employed regardless of grade. In Australia an argument

fundamental a need for job security and career pathways

for the FTC approach is that staff can have a higher

provided by the organisation, to ensure high job

salary than on the HEW agreement, which is negotiated

Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

at institutional level. In the UK staff above salary point

and/or sampling error (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994, p.

51 (University and College Union (UCU), 2001) have

133). Integrating the qualitative data from the participants’

different pay scales than the UCU agreed national salary

career stories does go some way further to validating the

scales, which are institution specific, allowing for a greater

internal reliability of the questionnaire (Creswell & Plano

degree of flexibility. Indeed, some senior staff, especially in

Clark 2011, p. 62). The data from the pilot survey provide

professional areas such as finance and marketing, where

evidence, for the next stage of the research, that the scales

universities often employ from private or public sectors,

are reliable to test the true nature of the protean and

salary often reflects external salary scales.

boundaryless career attitudes.

The qualitative data support the value that respondents

This study also advances our understanding of the

put on the requirements, indicating that, overall,

attitudes of professional staff within universities in

professional staff value aspects of both contemporary and

Australia and the UK to their careers and their expectations

traditional careers and, therefore that H5 is supported:

from their employers.This study showed that self-directed

My stage in life is such that I would very much prefer employment stability as my two children move through secondary education (Male 40-49, Australia)

and values-driven aspects of the protean career attitudes

I expect my university to value my contribution and to provide opportunities for development and promotion (Female 40-49, UK)

contrast to Baruch’s (2014) study that did not confirm

Career progression opportunities are similarly limited in this space and I have found that moving institutions is the only effective way to progress (Male 30-39, Australia)

were significantly correlated (r=0.450, p=<0.05) which agreed with Briscoe et al. (2006) results. This is in the two-factor model of the protean construct. The psychologically and geographically mobile boundaryless mindsets were not significantly correlated, which also agreed with Briscoe et al. (2006) results. This supports a number of previous studies that suggested that employees might be psychologically, but not geographically mobile.

Career progression depends on both the organisational

Data that highlights labour turnover statistics show

environment in terms of learning opportunities provided

that turnover has not increased (Inkson et al., 2012).

as well as an individual’s characteristics in terms of their

The self-directed protean career attitude also showed

own learning behaviour (Van der Sluis & Poell, 2003).

significant correlation to the geographically mobile

Professional staff showed that they valued learning

boundaryless mindset (r=0.496, p=<0.01). Professional

opportunities and as mentioned above this in part

staff show a strong affiliation for being psychologically

provides higher income and job performance, due to the

mobile but not for geographic mobility. It may be that

increase in skills and knowledge of the organisation:

for these staff they conceptually and physically cross

Mutual respect, learning and opportunity to contribute to the big picture motivates me (Female 30-39, Australia)

intra-organisational boundaries, which is evidenced by

I am motivated mainly by the opportunity to learn and to make a difference (Male 40-49, UK)

to position themselves better to gain a promotion, they

some of the quantitative and qualitative data. That is, in order to both continue feeling fulfilled in their work, and move between roles and/or projects to gain a breadth of experience. This may have also become more important

Independent-samples t-tests were run for all hypotheses

with the opening of the labour market in universities as

that showed there was no significant difference between

part of the introduction of new managerialism (Nickson,

respondents from Australia or the UK.

2014). There is evidence from these results to suggest that these staff moderate their geographic mobility as

Discussion

the majority have no intention to leave their employer, perhaps due to the need for job security in an increasingly

The results of this pilot study into the reliability of the

unsecure and competitive labour market.

protean and boundaryless questionnaire scales indicate a

Contemporary career theory argues that employees

good level of internal reliability, in line with Nunnally and

do not value an organisational type career and, as part

Bernstein’s (1994, p. 252) recommendation that the alpha

of taking responsibility for their own careers, are not

coefficients are over the 0.70 threshold. Due to the small

bound to one organisation, they are highly mobile and

scale of the study,however,these results should be read with

value work-life balance (Briscoe & Hall, 2006; Forrier et

caution as the small number of participants mean that the

al., 2005). Conversely, previous research has indicated that

results can be significantly affected by data transformations

organisational careers and aspects of contemporary careers

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

’

Tra d it io n a l c a re e r a t t it u d e Em p lo y e r- d e p e n d e n t , jo b s e c u rit y , h ie ra rc h ic a l a d v a n c e m e n t , lo w m o b ilit y, s t at us , f rin g e b e n e f it s , o rg a n is a t io n a l c o m m it m e n t , lo w c a re e r s e lf-e ffic a c y

Bo u n d a ry le s s c a re e r a t t it u d e Em p lo ye r-ind e p e nd e n t , m a rke t a b ilit y, c a re e r s e lf - e f f ic a c y , s kill u t ilis a t io n , in t e ro rg a nis a t io na l re lat io ns h ip s , fle xib ilit y, wo rk-life b ala nc e , m e a n in g f u l w o rk, o rg a n is a t io n a l p o s it io n , h ig h m o b ilit y , s t a t u s

Hy b rid c a re e r a t t it u d e Pro t e a n c a re e r a t t it u d e Em p lo ye r ind e p e nd e nt , jo b s a t is fa c t io n, c a re e r s e lf - e f f ic a c y , wo rk-life b ala nc e , v a lu e m a t c h , d e ve lo p m e nt a l p ro g re s s io n, le a rn in g o p p o rt u n it ie s , p ro fe s s io na l c o m m it m e nt , m e a n in g f u l w o rk, fre e d o m , g ro w t h

Figure 1: The hybrid career attitude of professional staff (bold text shows attitudes shown by professional staff)

are complementary (Baruch, 2006; Dries & Pepermans,

an organisational career, but they also show aspects of

2007; Walton & Mallon, 2004) or that individuals take

protean and boundaryless career management attitudes

hybrid approaches to their careers (Sullivan & Baruch,

including learning opportunities, skills utilisation, and

2009). For example, Walton and Mallon (2004) showed

challenging work – that is they show hybrid career

that aspects of both traditional (e.g. advancement) and

attitudes (Fig. 1).

contemporary careers (e.g. enjoyment) were used in

It could be argued that this hybrid approach to career

individual sense-making of employees’ careers. Research

management has resulted from the rapid change in

by Çakmak-Otluoğlu (2012) showed that having a

universities in both countries towards new managerialism

boundaryless mindset could co-exist with organisational

(Nickson, 2014) which could result in changes to the

commitment and did not necessarily equate with mobility

careers of those within universities (Clarke, 2012; Inkson

and Baruch (2014) noted that protean and traditional

et al., 2012). Professional staff may have adopted self-

career attitudes were not always opposing.These previous

directed approaches to career management to cope with

studies support a more nuanced approach to career theory

these new realities, organisational restructures, short-

and this current research suggests that professional staff

term contracts, and external labour market competition

value aspects of traditional organisational careers such

for example, but still require a work environment that is

as loyalty, job security, opportunities for promotion and

intrinsically motivating.

Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

Management, 25(19), 1–22. doi:10.1080/09585192.2014.896389.

Implications The implications of this validated scale applied to professional staff in universities is significant for future research, as contemporary career theories have not been tested on professional staff previously; this scale offers a reliable, concise and practical measure to test employee attitudes. Further research needs to take place to test these early results to fully understand the interplay between protean, boundaryless and traditional career attitudes in this sector and employee cohort. This research highlights a need for universities’ human resource departments to spend further time investigating the attitudes of their professional staff, as there is a clear tension at work in this cohort of staff in terms of their career needs. On the one hand you have professional staff with protean and boundaryless career attitudes: requiring responsibility in the work task, meaningful work, learning opportunities, skills utilisation, and ongoing challenging work assignments. These needs may lead to mobility as employees move around their organisation to continue to feel challenged and motivated. On the other hand, they show the traditional career requirements of loyalty, job security, promotion opportunities and an organisational career. Universities can use this scale to evaluate their employees’ career orientations, which have implications for job design, professional development and career planning. Michelle Gander is currently a PhD student at Murdoch University, Perth, Australia where she also tutors on research methods for business, and foundations of management units. Previously, she worked as a professional staff member as Director of the University Secretary’s/COOs office at the Open University in the UK.

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Contact: m.gander@murdoch.edu.au

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Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

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Careers of professional staff in Australian and UK universities Michelle Gander

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

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Promoting leadership in Australian universities Andrew P Bradley, Tim Grice & Neil Paulsen University of Queensland

In this paper we review current practices for developing and promoting academic leadership in universities. We consider the forms of leadership that are appropriate for academic organisations, while exploring the types of leadership favoured by recruitment and promotion committees. Using the Australian higher education context as a case study, we critique the current situation as promoting a restricted form of leadership focused on technical leadership within an academic discipline, rather than the broader array of leadership skills necessary for effective academic leadership. We go on to consider a number of ways in which this broad range of leadership skills can be fostered and developed within academe. Keywords: Leadership, leadership development, mentoring, public service management, universities

Introduction

Yet perhaps a more fundamental and pervasive manifestation of this increased scrutiny has been the move

In the last four decades, the Australian higher education

to corporatised governance structures and management

system has undergone considerable change. Fuelled

approaches to administer the ‘business’ of academic

by a confluence of social, economic and demographic

institutions (Blackmore & Sachs, 2000; Deem & Brehony,

pressures, successive governments have introduced

2005; Gosling, Bolden & Petrov, 2009; Jones et al., 2012;

educational policies in Australia that have encouraged

Kligyte & Barrie, 2014). Universities are expected to be

greater participation rates in post-secondary education

models of efficiency and cost effectiveness, to be flexible

and training, including higher education. As more and

in their course offerings, and increasingly responsive to

more students attend universities, there has been an

student needs and expectations. The relatively recent

expectation of increased accountability to government

innovation and commercialisation zeitgeist–whereby

funders (Jones, 2011; Yielder & Codling, 2004), with

research value is defined in terms of its more immediate

a broad, but often ill-defined, dictum that universities

‘real-world’ outcomes–has served to reinforce this more

contribute to the economic and social goals of society

corporatised model of academic research and teaching

(see Fearn, 2010). Since universities receive public funds,

(e.g., Suresh, 2015). These changes have resulted in

their employees, including academic staff, are often

an epochal shift in the academic landscape that has

seen to be ‘public servants’ who must acquiesce to the

influenced the balance of teaching and research, and

expectations and reporting processes put in place by

even the type of research undertaken (Abbott et al.,

government (Jones, 2011). The litany of quantitative

2010). Further, the insistence upon the relevance of

performance metrics is one visible sign of these increased

universities for the economic flourishing of society may

expectations of accountability in academe (see for

have, somewhat ironically, resulted in the pursuit of

instance Van Noorden, 2010).

increasingly ‘ivory tower’ behaviours (Jones, 2011).

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Promoting leadership in Australian universities Andrew P Bradley, Tim Grice & Neil Paulsen

’

Some commentators have also noted that these

departments within the same organisation (Kligyte &

developments have resulted in a crisis of leadership and

Barrie, 2014; Langland, 2012). For instance, Bolden et al.

identity in the university sector (Bryman, 2007; Drew,

(2015) highlight some of the problems with assuming

2006; Jones et al., 2012; Jones, 2011; Kligyte & Barrie,

a corporate leadership model in academic institutions,

2014; Lumby, 2012;Winter, 2009;Yielder & Codling, 2004).

observing that ‘the move towards a more corporate

Although universities undoubtedly share many features

approach is associated with an intensification of formal

with corporations–such as the requirements for good

management processes… and the potential fragmentation

governance, strategy formulation and execution–the

and erosion of informal academic and self-leadership’.

corporate ideal of leadership has contested applicability

This then causes a loss of ‘a coherent sense of academic

to academe (Bolden et al., 2015; Kligyte & Barrie, 2014;

values, identity and purpose that, in turn, are key to the

Lumby, 2012). While academics value and desire an

production of high-quality academic work’ (p.11). Top-

enabling form of leadership, many currently believe that

down leadership, with connotations of ‘power-over’ and

they are constrained by overly bureaucratic administrators

inequality, is also problematic for academics who value

and managers who lack the necessary interpersonal and

academic independence above all else (Bolden et al.,

strategic analysis skills to lead their academic colleagues

2015).

(Ball, 2007; Drew et al., 2008; Lumby, 2012).

Despite such objections to the wholesale adoption

Within this changing landscape, we explore the forms

of the ‘corporate approach’ to leadership in academe,

of leadership that are appropriate to the particular

there is limited consensus on what constitutes effective

context of academia, and whether (and in what form)

‘academic leadership’. In universities, senior executives

leadership is considered by academic recruitment and

administer resources and determine policies, while

promotion committees. We discuss whether current

senior academics define the university’s intellectual

practices promote purely technical leadership within

authority (Jones, 2011; Karmel, 1990; Kligyte & Barrie,

an academic discipline, or take into consideration the

2014). Clearly, without intellectual authority universities

broader array of leadership skills necessary for effective

undermine their ‘brand’ and market position. However,

academic leadership (Bryman, 2007; Goffee & Jones, 2005;

most universities are large and complex organisations that

Walumbwa et al., 2008). Finally, we consider a number of

require professional managers to set direction, coordinate

ways in which a broad array of leadership skills can be

efforts, oversee day-to-day operations, and control

fostered and promoted within universities. In line with

finances. The challenge, therefore, is to work with both

current scholarship that critiques our ‘obsession… with

academic and non-academic staff to get the balance right

individual leaders’ (Bolden et al., 2015, p. 12. See also Day,

between the administration of resources on one hand,

2001; Day et al., 2014), we focus less upon ‘intrapersonal’

and the enhancement of intellectual authority through

leader development, and more upon the ‘interpersonal’

the promotion of scholarly pursuits on the other (Karmel,

enhancement of leadership capacity. Throughout our

1990; Kligyte & Barrie, 2014).

analysis we draw from our experience in Australian

To this end, there is evidence that shared or distributed

universities and focus on academic leadership more so

leadership may be an appropriate model for academic

than leadership of professional staff within universities.

institutions (Bolden et al., 2015; Jones, 2011), with administrative tasks delegated to non-faculty staff, while

Towards a definition of Academic Leadership

academic leaders, such as department heads and leaders in research and teaching streams, focus on advancing academic values and goals.This perspective of distributed

Empirical inquiry into organisational leadership has

leadership posits a ‘filtering out’ of bureaucratic demands

established that effective leadership results in positive

so that academics are better able to pursue teaching and

outcomes

alike,

research, while also developing the requisite skills to

including improved employee performance (Carter et al.,

enable strategic leadership and operational effectiveness

2013), organisational commitment (Hulpia et al., 2012),

(Drew et al., 2008). For instance, Bryman (2009) argues

job satisfaction (Gunnarsdóttir, 2014) and employee

that university leaders need to ‘create an environment or

retention (Burke et al., 2006; Caproni, 2012; Katzenbach

context for academics and others to fulfil their potential

& Smith, 2005). However, there is also recognition that

and interest in their work’ (p.66), noting the need for

what constitutes ‘effective’ leadership may vary in

leaders to ‘consult; to respect existing values; to take

different kinds of organisations, or even among different

actions in support of collegiality; to promote the interests

for

employees

and

organisations

Promoting leadership in Australian universities Andrew P Bradley, Tim Grice & Neil Paulsen

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

of those for whom the leader is responsible; to be involved

The prevalence of this ‘blended’ model of leadership

in the life of the department/institution; to encourage

and management is emphasised by recent research,

autonomy; and not to allow the department/institution to

which suggests that, whether by choice or circumstance,

drift’ (p.68). Such leadership has more in common with

those who currently occupy formal university leadership

management by objective than management by control

roles tend to engage in institutional management roles

(Larson & Gray, 2011). This notion of leadership that is

rather than exercise broader forms of leadership (Lumby,

both formal and informal, and also dispersed (Ball, 2007,

2012; Kligyte & Barrie, 2014). As a result, many heads of

Bolden et al., 2015; Ladyshewsky & Flavell, 2011), has a

departments and other senior academics do not have

number of similarities to the distributed leadership in

sufficient time, resources, or authority to engage with and

primary and secondary schools described by Lumby

influence academic work (Bolden, Gosling & O’Brien,

(2012):

2012), and often find that they are ‘so busy complying with

‘If heroic top-down leadership is at one end of a theoretical spectrum and organised anarchy is at the other, distributed leadership sits in between. It acknowledges the presence and necessity for individual, hierarchical leadership by the few and also accounts for its inadequacy in both theory and practice to capture the multifaceted, simultaneously intentional and emergent phenomenon of organisational leadership by the many’ (p. 9).

bureaucratic and reporting procedures… (and) dealing

In a recent review, Denis et al. (2012) outlined a range

with being head of school outweigh the perceived rewards

of perspectives that address the notion of ‘leadership

and benefits of the position (Williams et al., 2010; Scott et

in the plural’, including those approaches that explore

al., 2008). Furthermore, ‘the presence of formal research

the spread of leadership across levels and over time.

leaders does not necessarily mean that the leadership of

Jones and colleagues (2012) outlined a framework for

academics in research will occur’ (Ball, 2007, p.74).Another

taking action under a distributed leadership approach

issue is that department headship is often rotated through

in universities, and Fraser and Harvey (2008) report

senior academic staff, and therefore not much time is

on a project designed to develop multi-level academic

devoted to gaining leadership skills that may only be used

leadership across the institution through a distributed

temporarily (Ladyshweksy & Flavell, 2011).

with complaints… that they have little time left to lead or to think and operate strategically’ (Scott et al., 2008, p. xiv). Confounding this issue, or perhaps caused by it, is the fact that leaders in the middle of the university hierarchy are sometimes reluctant leaders (Floyd, 2012; Jones, 2011; Ladyshewsky & Flavell, 2011). Indeed, there are indications that many academics think that the pressures associated

leadership and participatory action research model.

The current situation of ‘managing-not-leading’ brings

Bolden and colleagues (2015) also note that leadership

to the fore the questions of what academics expect or

is a ‘group quality… a set of functions which must be

desire from their leaders. In part, such expectations may

carried out by the group’ (p. 17). From this perspective,

relate to each individual’s perceptions of their identity and

distributed leadership is a way to connect the

intellectual authority as an academic. Generally, it seems

multifaceted roles required within a university to deliver

that academics ‘identify leadership in relation to values

teaching and research programs. However, despite its

and identity, not in the allocation of tasks’ (Bolden et al.,

apparent suitability to the sector, distributed or shared

2012, p. 14), which indicates that transformational and

leadership is not common in academic institutions

authentic theories of leadership may also be applicable to

(Lumby, 2012). Moreover, there is significant divergence

academic departments (Drew et al., 2008; Goffee & Jones,

between rhetoric and reality among higher education

2005; Pounder, 2001; Walumbwa et al., 2008). The notion

institutions that espouse a distributed leadership

of intellectual authority reinforces the idea that academics

approach (Gosling et al., 2009). Instead, universities

are typically highly individualistic and desire, or perhaps

tend to adopt a ‘blended’ view of university leadership,

require, academic freedom to function autonomously

within which it is difficult to distinguish between

(Karmel, 1990). There is also the problem that, again

leadership and management roles (Lumby, 2012). As a

due to the individualistic nature of many academics,

consequence, academic leaders appear to be primarily

‘leadership’ implies ‘followership’–the latter being a role

focused on organisational management, as reinforced

that many academics see as anathema (Bolden et al.,

via hierarchical (top-down) management structures. In

2015).This level of academic autonomy has been referred

other cases, academic leaders are required to manage

to as ‘self-leadership’ and defines not only an academic’s

‘up’ and ‘down’, leading some to comment that they feel

ability to determine their own objectives and how to

like they are in a ‘sandwich’ (Scott et al., 2008).

achieve them, but also their ability to influence junior

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Promoting leadership in Australian universities Andrew P Bradley, Tim Grice & Neil Paulsen

’

academics and their peers (Ball, 2007; Lumby, 2012). The

the perceived effectiveness of leaders (Lumby, 2012), or

concept of self-leadership is important as it implies self-

on the ways in which academic leadership differs from

insight, which is a prerequisite for understanding others

leadership in other organisations (Kligyte & Barrie, 2014;

and a foundation for the development of authentic

Scott et al., 2008). In our analysis below, we discuss the

leadership (Goffee & Jones, 2005; Katzenbach & Smith,

more applied considerations of whether recruitment and

2005).Therefore, ideally university leaders should balance

promotion practices select for leadership in its broadest

bureaucratic requirements with the need to create

sense and what forms of leadership development are best

a climate that encourages the intellectual authority

suited to academic institutions.

and self-leadership skills of their colleagues. From this transformational approach (Ball, 2007; Drew et al., 2008;

Promoting Academic Leadership

Floyd, 2012), leadership is attentive to allowing and respecting independence and enabling others to act,

Promotion in universities rewards academic staff for the

while modelling best practice in research and teaching

quality, quantity and impact of their work by advancing

(Bolden et al., 2015, Jones, 2011).

that person’s position (level) within the organisation.

A complication of increased scope and freedom is that

Given the diverse political, cultural and economic forces

academics may have their own personal objectives that

that influence university governance and policy globally,

may, or may not, relate to the objectives of the university.

it is perhaps not surprising that even within one country,

In situations where personal objectives conflict with the

such as Australia, distinctive and diverse promotion and

objectives of the university, the identity claims that arise

performance management systems have developed (Morris,

from the competing values of ‘traditional’ academics and

2011; Scott et al., 2008). Nevertheless, promotions are still

‘contemporary’ managerial academics, may give rise to

typically decided by a combination of staff and/or central

unproductive intergroup behaviour (Winter, 2009). For

committees based upon a written application, referee

instance, where department heads are seen as overly

reports, and interviews. Universities provide information

bureaucratic, many researchers create their own informal

and guidelines for both applicants and promotion

research networks, including people ‘both within and

committees that are intended to clarify expectations about

beyond their own institution’ (Bolden et al., 2015, p. 6).

performance without forcing inappropriate rigidity. The

In such situations, academics tend to become increasingly

interview with the promotion committee supplements

disaffected with university leadership, resulting in a feeling

the written application and provides an opportunity for

of being ‘disengaged and demotivated’ (Bolden et al.,

the applicant to present their case for promotion, answer

2015, p. 6). This loss of collegiality within universities has

questions from the committee and clarify any procedural

profound effects on morale and also strikes at the heart of

matters. Promotion to a leadership position, such as

academic culture (Kligyte & Barrie, 2014). If, as Kligyte and

full professor, head of department or head of program,

Barrie (2014) observe, collegiality is the ‘behavioural norm

requires evidence to support the applicant’s international

that…shapes the culture of the organisation’ (p.162), then

reputation in academic leadership in their discipline. In

the role of a leader is to foster a shared identity and sense

addition, an applicant must demonstrate a contribution

of collegiality, whether inter- or intra-departmental. This

to the governance and collegial life of the university, to

shared identity assists in maintaining the culture, values,

continuing education, and to research.

vision, and goals of the university’s ‘strategic vision’ (Jones,

Universities have a clear expectation that academics

2011, p. 281), while still allowing intellectual freedom and

will take on greater responsibilities throughout their

connection to individual disciplines (Ball, 2007).

tenure (Vardi & Quin, 2011), typically focusing on some

Therefore, for the purposes of this paper, academic

aspect of teaching, research, or service (Winchester et

leadership is defined as ‘the distributed practice of

al., 2006). Leadership in these academic domains may

carrying out the institution’s strategic vision while

be demonstrated to promotion committees in a range of

supporting the development of intellectual authority and

different ways. For instance, one person may demonstrate

a shared identity that fosters collegiality’. This definition

leadership through activities that have broad influence

of academic leadership can be thought of in contrast to

on practices, policies, programs and their profession;

‘management’, which is concerned with the efficient use

another may provide evidence of effective leadership,

of resources to plan (Jones 2011; Langland, 2012; Lumby

management and development of the staff who teach

2012). Previously, much of the research on academic

within their unit (Vardi & Quin, 2011). Recruitment and

leadership in the university environment is based upon

promotion decisions are also influenced by staff strengths

100

Promoting leadership in Australian universities Andrew P Bradley, Tim Grice & Neil Paulsen

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

and requirements, as well as the overall objectives of

• Six of the eight give only limited advice on how best

the university. For instance, if an academic is fulfilling a

to evidence (soft) leadership skills such as mentoring

perceived gap in core expertise in a particular discipline;

colleagues, managing staff, or strategic management.

or if a particular teaching or research program is prioritised

Typically this advice is aimed at applicants already in

within the strategic plan of a university, then promotion

formal leadership roles and consists primarily of self-

and recruitment decisions may be influenced by these

reflection and/or references from peers.

strategic considerations. However, in practice universities

• All eight request examples of specific outcomes as

often have a strong bias towards leadership in discipline-

evidence of leadership skills, e.g., new programs,

specific research when making decisions about academic

curricula, policies, or procedures. However, a focus on

recruitment and promotion. The ‘publish or perish’

outcomes reveals little about what type of leadership, if

trope encapsulates this perceived bias towards research

any, was required to achieve these outcomes.

productivity in academic career progression (Hesli et al.,

• None explicitly measure leadership as a standard part

2012), with the amount of publications by an academic,

of the promotion procedure. The University of Western

relative to opportunity, considered critical to both

Australia’s ILS does have a suite of leadership measures,

recruitment and promotion outcomes

(Gardner

Blackstone, 2013). Whether or not research and other publications are a useful proxy

for

leadership

academic is

treated

but these are not part of the

While the accuracy with which these measures reflect the underlying quality or impact of the academic’s work is debatable, they clearly serve as poor surrogates for leadership in its broadest sense.

promotion procedure.   From

this

current

situation

promotion reflect

survey, the appears

Peter

commonly

with to

Drucker’s

cited

quote,

as a separate and often

‘what’s measured improves.’

unexplored

Research productivity can

question

recruitment and promotion committees. This is despite

be measured via an academic’s number of publications,

the fact that leadership roles in universities require a broad

journal impact factors, number of citations, and their

range of knowledge and skills; for instance, knowledge

h-index. Likewise teaching effectiveness can be measured

about finance or academic policies, and interpersonal

with

skills such as communication and emotional intelligence

commendations (Vardi & Quin, 2011). While the accuracy

(Scott et al., 2008;Yielder & Codling, 2004).

with which these measures reflect the underlying quality

teaching

evaluations, teaching

awards, and

While promotion criteria are well studied, especially in

or impact of the academic’s work is debatable, they clearly

relation to gender equality (Hesli et al., 2012; Winchester

serve as poor surrogates for leadership in its broadest

et al., 2006) and the scholarship of teaching and learning

sense. For example, two academics with exactly the same

(Vardi & Quin, 2011), researchers have not directly

research and teaching outcomes may have achieved

examined how well recruitment and promotion criteria

these outcomes with very different levels of funding,

select for effective leadership, or what those criteria

resources, or collaborative leadership skills; and may differ

might look like. A review of the promotion policies and

significantly on leadership potential.

procedures for the Group of Eight (Go8), a coalition of

Problematically, guidelines and policies often provide

comprehensive and research intensive universities in

only a limited discussion of ‘leadership in’ or ‘leadership of’,

Australia, reveals the following observations:

and so the form of leadership required, and how it is best

• All eight specify leadership as a criterion for promotion,

evidenced, remain unclear to recruitment and promotion

either explicitly or as part of the research, teaching, and

committees. For example, the University of Queensland’s

service criteria. Leadership is most often discussed

‘Guidelines for confirmation and promotions committee

in relation to the service criteria in an academic’s

members’, does not contain any mention of leadership, or

discipline, community, or university.

any advice as to what leadership might mean, or how it

• Only one, the University of Western Australia, includes

should be demonstrated. One explanation for this might

a definition of leadership that highlights both hard

be that committee members know what leadership is and

and soft leadership skills. The definition is based on

how it can be appropriately evidenced. However, it seems

the Australian Public Service Commission’s Integrated

unlikely that all committee members would have the

Leadership System (ILS) (Australian Public Service

same experiences and opinions of leadership – especially

Commission, 2004)

given that even the literature on leadership does not

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Promoting leadership in Australian universities Andrew P Bradley, Tim Grice & Neil Paulsen

101

’

have a universally agreed definition of what constitutes

benefits of formal leadership training. For instance, the

leadership (Allio, 2005; Lumby, 2012). In addition,

University of Wollongong recently developed a formal

‘hard’ forms of leadership, such as technical leadership,

leadership ‘Program for Preparing Early Leaders’ (PROPEL;

measured by innovation, impact, and reputation, are much

Lovasz et al., 2012).This program highlighted two distinct

easier to evidence than ‘soft’ forms of leadership, such as

sets of attributes that were considered important for

people skills and emotional intelligence (Parrish, 2011).

an effective academic leader: those that can be readily

Moreover, there is little evidence to suggest that selection

taught (e.g., understanding the university context, rules,

and recruitment processes incorporate any formal

management of risk, feedback) and those that are difficult

assessments of whether new staff will have the ability to

to teach (e.g., passion for their discipline, personal

move into leadership roles (Buckley et al., 2010). In some

values, emotional intelligence, interest in staff, resilience).

cases, the terminology of recruitment advertisements has

The university identifies ‘career-track managers’ who

changed to reflect the need to recruit ‘leaders’ (see for

are at a formative point in their career and score well

instance The Association of American Medical Colleges in

in the ‘difficult to teach’ attributes. This group of future

Buckley et al., 2010).Although these guidelines emphasise

leaders then undertakes a formal program of leadership

the need to recruit those with leadership qualities, there

development that targets six interrelated components:

is little guidance or criteria as to what these leadership

mentoring, networking, big-picture, leadership skills,

qualities might entail, or how they should be assessed

active leadership, and reflective leadership (Lovasz et

(Buckley et al., 2010).

al., 2012). The program discusses multiple models of

Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that an

leadership, giving participants the opportunity to reflect

applicant’s leadership experience, as evaluated in the

on a range of leadership styles that may be of interest or

current recruitment and promotion processes, is likely

suited to their personality and desired future position.The

to reflect ‘hard’ leadership: that is, technical or discipline

program also provides support for participants in the form

leadership. While technical leadership is undoubtedly

of teaching relief and an opportunity to interact with and

important in universities, as it is the prime source of

learn from senior leaders in their organisation. A review

intellectual authority, it may be of little practical use when

of the PROPEL program by Lovasz and colleagues (2012)

a senior academic becomes the leader of an organisational

concluded that leadership development programs can

unit. In such roles, softer leadership skills, which are harder

enable both succession planning and effective leadership

to teach and measure (Lovasz et al., 2012; Walumbwa et

skill development.

al., 2008), are perhaps more directly relevant. Despite

Outside of the Australian context, the Samuel Merrit

this, the existing guidelines and criteria for selection and

University in Oakland offered a leadership development

promotion committees in universities seem to provide

program to prepare interested academics for future

little or no emphasis on the types of ‘soft’ leadership skills

leadership positions (Berman, 2015). The program arose

that would promote effective academic leadership.

out of the experiences of academics that were ‘thrust into’ leadership positions, and has an emphasis on

Developing Academic Leadership

administrative and managerial skills. As such, the program was focused more on academic ‘management’ rather than

Traditionally, universities nurture and develop leaders in

‘leadership’ as defined in this paper. Berman describes the

one of two ways, or a combination of both: formal training,

program components, reports on participant experiences,

and experiential learning methods such as learning from

and evaluates the effectiveness of the program. The

others, learning on-the-job, and learning from critical

most appreciated aspect of the program was having

incidents (Berman, 2015; Drew et al., 2008; Hernez-

a peer cohort to learn with and from (Berman, 2015).

Broome & Hughes, 2004). Perhaps not surprisingly, those

The consensus of the participants was that they better

in academic leadership positions tend to express a desire

understood, and felt better equipped to deal with, the

for leadership ‘classes’ taught in much the same way as

challenges that leadership would bring. In Australia,

other university courses (Scott et al., 2008). Despite this,

similar results were reported from an academic leadership

formal leadership development programs in academe are

program at Curtin University in Perth (Ladyshewsky &

the exception not the norm, with most academic leaders

Flavell, 2011). In this case, the need to build collegiality

tending to learn on-the-job (Drew et al., 2008; Inman, 2011).

was built into the program, along with components that

However, there are a few examples of academic

addressed the demands of each participating department.

leadership programs which illustrate the potential

The delivery consisted of both experiential and classroom

102

Promoting leadership in Australian universities Andrew P Bradley, Tim Grice & Neil Paulsen

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

(seminar) components, and, as with the program at Samuel

both formal programs and experiential learning as

Merrit University, participants expressed their particular

appropriate to the culture of the university and discipline

appreciation of the peer-learning aspect (Ladyshewsky &

area, as well as to the individual developmental needs of

Flavell, 2011).

the leader.

Experiential learning is typically more focused on the organic growth of leadership skills via mentoring,

Conclusions

on-the-job training and the sharing of lessons learnt. Ladyshewsky and Flavell (2011) suggest that leadership

Defining ‘effective’ academic leadership is complicated

development should include ‘the opportunity to learn

by the peculiarities of the academic context. It does

through experience in a supportive culture that allows for

seem clear though that current university recruitment

growth and change’ (p.129) within programs developed

and promotion procedures have not yet found a way to

specifically for the particular circumstances of academia.

adequately select for leadership experience and potential.

This process of experiential learning supports distributed

Current practice still tends to prioritise and reward

models of academic leadership as it fosters delegation,

technical achievements within an individual’s discipline,

ownership and responsibility within organisational units.

based on their research and teaching outcomes, as a

The process of experiential learning with colleagues has

surrogate for leadership. The implication of this is that

the added benefit of developing mutual trust within an

academic leaders are usually recruited and promoted

academic unit (Hurley, 2006). Mentoring can also assist

without a full assessment of their interpersonal skills and

with the process of informal leadership development,

strategic and operational competence. This must surely

through the socialisation of new staff members into the

exacerbate the current situation where academics believe

role and culture of the organisation (Drew et al., 2008;

they are being over-managed and under-led, potentially

Inman, 2011), as well as the development of emotional

resulting

intelligence through a cyclic approach that focuses on

within many organisational units. Moreover, the focus

reflection on what does and does not work (Parrish, 2011;

on technical performance in teaching and research does

Petriglieri et al., 2011). Critically, some form of support

not promote the broader forms of academic leadership

and mentoring for new leaders is essential. Just as new

advocated in this paper, namely the practice of carrying

academics often feel alienated and unsupported in their

out the institution’s strategic vision while supporting

work, so do new leaders (Drew et al., 2008). Therefore,

the development of intellectual authority and a shared

in addition to formal leadership development training,

identity that fosters collegiality.

under-performance

and

dissatisfaction

universities can usefully invest in more informal leadership

In the short term, this situation can be ameliorated

development initiatives that are designed to prepare and

with on-the-job leadership training and mentoring.

develop both future and existing leaders (Parrish, 2011).

In the longer term, universities need to develop a

Moreover, because learning about leadership is a gradual

much stronger emphasis on leadership development;

and ongoing process, it is important that academic

one that takes account of the need to facilitate the

institutions nurture those in leadership roles from day

development of leadership capability across levels and

one, and expose them to different types of experiences

over time. Universities should have explicit processes

(Inman, 2011).

to acknowledge and reward effective leaders through

These few case studies of formal and experiential

their recruitment and promotion procedures, without

leadership development demonstrate that, just as

sacrificing the special qualities that differentiate academic

no consensus exists as to what constitutes effective

environments from other sectors. The desired outcome

leadership in academia, no consensus has been reached

is to promote university leaders who are seen to be

regarding the best way to develop leaders (Drew et al.,

leading more than they manage, constructing supportive

2008). What we do know is that leadership development

environments in which their autonomous staff produce

is simultaneously multilevel and longitudinal, involving

desirable, high quality outcomes, and in which intellectual

multiple formal and informal initiatives (Day et al., 2014).

authority and collegiality are preserved. In short,‘learning

Critically, though, it is unlikely that universities can apply

to lead is a lifetime responsibility’ (Drew et al., 2008, p.

a ‘one size fits all’ approach to leadership development as

15) for both universities and academics and it is only by

discipline cultures, even within the same university, vary

properly promoting and developing academic leadership

considerably (Floyd, 2012). With this is mind, universities

that universities can effectively realise their vision for the

need to tailor leadership development programs, blending

future.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Promoting leadership in Australian universities Andrew P Bradley, Tim Grice & Neil Paulsen

103

Andrew P Bradley is an ARC Future Fellow and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The University of Queensland, Australia. He is a Senior member of the IEEE and a Chartered Professional Engineer, Engineering Executive. Contact:bradley@itee.uq.edu.au Tim Grice is an Honorary Senior Fellow at The University of

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Deem, R. & Brehony, K.J. (2005). Management as ideology: the case of ‘new managerialism’ in higher education. Oxford Review of Education, 31, 217235. Denis, J.L., Langley, A. & Sergi, V. (2012). Leadership in the plural. The Academy of Management Annals, 6, 211-283. Drew, G.M. (2006). Balancing academic advancement with business effectiveness? The dual role for senior university leaders. International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, 6, 117-125.

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Neil Paulsen is based in the Business School at the University

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Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute and the Founding

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REVIEWS

I fought the law, and the law won… (Bobby Fuller Four, 1965) Higher Education and the Law by Sally Varnham, Patty Kamvounias & Joan Squelch (eds). ISBN 978 176002 025, Federation Press, 259 pp. (incl. index), 2015. Reviewed by Pamela O’Connor University academic and administrative managers operate

which, pursuant to the market-driven model, give central

in a highly complex legal and regulatory environment.

importance to the student experience and student voice.

While universities are established under separate Acts

Indigenous academics Irene Watson and Marcelle Burns

which confer wide powers on them, they are subject

contribute a chapter on the development of strategies

to many constraints imposed by other statutes and the

and policies for embedding indigenous knowledges in

general law. Universities face significant challenges in

university curricula. Gaby Ramia’s chapter shows how the

educating their office bearers and staff about the sources

regulation of educational services marketed to overseas

and limits of their powers and the nature of their legal

students has driven regulatory reforms benefiting both

duties. Higher Education and the Law was published

domestic and international students, while the welfare of

to serve the need for a comprehensive work that

international student welfare in extramural areas such as

surveys the variety of legal principles and issues which

work rights is neglected. Helen Fleming concludes Part I

arise in the governance and management of Australian

with an examination of the large array of administrative

universities.

statutes to which universities are subject as public

The editors are legal academics with a particular interest in the law as it applies to higher education. The

authorities, and finds that universities have responded with a risk management approach.

other 23 contributing authors are drawn from a range of

Based on these broad themes, Part II comprises 20

backgrounds and include academics from the disciplines

chapters by different authors, each examining one area

of law, education and public policy, university in-house

of law as it applies to higher education and noting any

counsel, barristers and legal practitioners who advise or

unresolved questions. Francine Rochford’s chapter goes

litigate in relevant matters, student ombuds, investigators,

to the heart of the relationship between universities and

mediators and adjudicators, student representatives and

their students, asking whether it is governed wholly or

advocates. The book seeks to do more than provide an

partly by contract. The relationship was traditionally

overview of the relevant areas of law. It highlights the

considered to be one of ‘status’, in which a student was

challenges for law in redefining the relationships between

a member of the university and subject to its governing

universities, government, staff and students in a time of

rules. Disputes were resolved by the university visitor or,

rapid regulatory and social change.

more recently, by a court applying university legislation

The broader context and themes are established by Part

and administrative law. Rochford finds no authoritative

I, which starts with Joan Squelch’s overview of the legal

ruling in Australia which confirms the widely held

framework for the regulation of universities in Australia,

assumption that a contract exists. An opportunity to

encompassing the principal State and Commonwealth

consider the point was missed in Griffith University v

Acts and statutory instruments, regulatory agencies and

Tang (2005) 221 CLR 99, as both parties agreed that the

funding. Sally Varnham’s chapter on university governance

enrolment of Ms Tang as a PhD candidate of the University

summarises the trend of recent changes to the sector as

did not give rise to a contractual relationship (although

‘massification, commodification and corporatisation aided

Justice Kirby suggested, at para 30, that ‘detailed evidence

by the accelerating impact of technology’, associated with

might have shaken this’). Rochford concludes that a

the move to a ‘market-driven model, commercialisation

contractual relationship remains a ‘theoretical possibility’,

and competition’ (pp. 16-17). In her chapter co-authored

but questions the reliance placed upon the contractual

with Jade Tyrrell, Varnham examines regulatory changes

analysis (pp. 90-91).

106

ISBN 978 176002 025, Federation Press, 259 pp. (incl. index), 2015.

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Seven chapters of Part II examine the legal regulation of the relationship between universities and their students.

’

some guidance on the scope of the duty is gleaned from cases in the compulsory education sector.

Penny Kamvounias’ chapter discusses the application of

Five chapters of the book shift the focus to the

the Australian Consumer Law 2011 to the relationship,

relationship between the university and its staff. In their

including the provisions relating to unfair contract terms,

chapter on employment law, Jacquie Seemann and Katie

consumer guarantees and misleading and deceptive

Kossian observe that the relationship differs significantly

conduct. She observes that the relationship must be

from other employment relationships due to factors

contractual for the Australian Consumer Law to apply,

which are peculiar to the university context.These include

and agrees with Rochford that there is overseas authority

the special nature of universities as corporations with

but no clear Australian authority that this precondition is

academic functions, the status of academics as members

satisfied (pp. 93-94).

of the university, and the provisions for academic

In his chapter on Student Conduct and Discipline,

freedom. The authors discuss how the courts have taken

Bruce Lindsay finds that while universities have wide

account of these unique features, and give examples of

delegated law-making powers to maintain order through

recent decisions of industrial tribunals in the university

disciplinary rules, the law sets limits to the scope of what

employment context.

can be designated ‘misconduct’. The understandable

In the next chapter, Joan Squelch outlines the model

desire of universities to conduct disciplinary proceedings

Work Health and Safety Act which represents a co-operative

in an informal manner may lead then to adopt procedures

federalism initiative towards a national legislative scheme

which may fall short of what natural justice requires in

which has been adopted by most Australian jurisdictions.

some circumstances. The

procedures

two for

Nigel Stobbs’ chapter on academic freedom explores chapters

internal

respectively resolution

examine

one unique aspect of the university employment

student

relationship

complaints, and the external resolution of complaints

instruments,

which

recognised

against the public universities by public sector

agreements and university codes of conduct. Stobbs

ombuds. Kamvounias reports that the number of

cautions that ‘disputes about perceived or actual breaches

complaints reaching the ten external ombuds is small

of academic freedom tend to arouse passions and cause

but increasing. Ombuds can recommend redress for

damage disproportionate to the incident which triggered

individuals, systemic changes and some can undertake

the dispute’ (p. 204). He suggests that managers should

investigations of their own motion, such as the

take seriously staff perceptions of threats to academic

Victorian Ombudsman’s 2011 investigation into how

freedom, and seek to reframe the debate about the

universities deal with international students. A related

scope of academic freedom to focus on the dignity of all

chapter by Myles Stillwell recommends that consensual

members of the university (p. 212). In the current climate

dispute resolution processes should be emphasised in

of increasingly polarised public debate, universities would

dealing with disagreements between members of the

do well to heed Stobbs’ advice.

Commonwealth

international

legislation,

enterprise

university, both staff and students, and that universities

Two chapters deal with intellectual property issues.

should support these processes through in-house

Mary Wyburn considers the nature of the intellectual

mediation services and staff training.

property rights likely to arise from commercialised

Two chapters are devoted to examining the obligations

research by universities, and discusses the legal principles

of universities to students under equal opportunity

applied in determining claims to the rights. Universities

law. Joy Cumming and Ralph Mawdsley conclude that

commonly make their own rules for ownership of

universities should be able to withstand a challenge

intellectual property created by their staff and incorporate

based on direct discrimination in undertaking special

the

measures to address disadvantage and need. However,

represents one type of intellectual property right. Michael

they will need to ensure that students admitted under

Fraser’s chapter deals with the ownership of copyright in

special measures are then supported to succeed.

materials generated by university employees. He argues

Elizabeth Dickson considers the scope of the university’s

that university policies and contracts should disclaim

duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for students with

university ownership of teaching materials, as they

a disability in accordance with the Commonwealth’s

generally do in relation to scholarly works.

rules

into

employment

contracts. Copyright

Disability Standards for Education (2009). While she finds

A chapter by Robert Horton, Kerry Smith and Abigail

no litigated cases involving higher education providers,

Tinsley discusses the extent of a university’s potential

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

Reviewed by Pamela O’Connor

107

’

liability in the tort of negligence, in relation to students

The book provides a handy reference for university

and other persons. The authors discuss the Civil Liability

counsel, advisers, managers, committee members, and

Act regimes introduced by most Australian states in 2002-

student advocates. The links between topics covered by

03. They find relatively little Australian authority on the

the different chapters are explained, and cross references

scope of a university’s duty of care to its students. The

included.While there is no bibliography, footnotes provide

chapter includes an interesting discussion about whether

references to additional sources.

a university may be liable in negligence for failure to educate a student to an appropriate standard.The authors

I will be very glad to take a copy of the book to meetings of university committees.

find that, while such ‘educational negligence’ claims have been rejected in the US on public policy grounds,

Professor Pamela O’Connor is Head of the USC Law School,

a claim on behalf of a school student with disabilities has

Faculty of Arts, Business and Law, University of the Sunshine

succeeded in the UK.

Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Teaching by design? Design by teaching? Studio teaching in higher education by Elizabeth Boling, Roland A Schwier, Colin M Gray, Kennon Smith & Katy Campbell ISBN-978-1-138-90243-5 (pbk), London, UK, Routledge, 300 pp., 2017. Reviewed by Andrys Onsman This is an excellent book. It covers the history, present

has moved well past that. Indeed, its subtitle is ‘Selected

and possible future of studio teaching in higher education.

Design Cases’ and none of the editors is an architect. Most

Most importantly, it points out what pretends to be studio

of the chapters are concerned with how to teach in a

teaching but isn’t and why that is a bad idea. And as a

studio rather than what to teach. Content still has a place

bonus, it has a section on pedagogic approaches that

of course but skills is an equal partner.

work best in a studio setting. By way of disclaimer, I should

One of the biggest obstacles to good design teaching

point out that studio is the fundamental way of teaching

in studios is finding and holding onto appropriate spaces.

in the Melbourne School of Design (MSD).

Even in the MSD’s brand spanking new, award winning

Much has been written over the last three or four

building, space is already at a premium as student

decades on the history of studio teaching – especially

numbers grow. Studios need to be big enough and well

from architecture. For example, Joan Ockman’s edited

equipped enough to allow students to think, prototype, to

collection ‘Architecture School: three centuries of

fail, to be critiqued and to feel comfortable in it. And the

educating architects in North America’ is a pretty solid

next group after needs the same. And the group after that.

introduction to the state of play in the US and Canada.

Storage room becomes essential. So does lighting, security,

It seems that as studio teaching is spreading to other

space, tables, internet reliability, 24 hour access. Studio

disciplines, architecture is keen to claim it as its own

teaching disturbs the linear curriculum and subverts the

pedagogic approach. But time and tide waits for no one

straight-jacketing of regular rooms, regular behaviour, and

and the development of the internet has created the

regular hours. It’s hard to be innovative and experimental

virtual studios, which could be argued to be missing the

when everything in the learning space conspires against

basic point of studios but is at the heart of where things

that. Many of the contributors directly or indirectly make

are headed.

and illustrate the point.

This book is a case in point. It acknowledges the

All the important aspects of studio get a good

studio’s history in architecture but assumes that design

mention: design thinking, collaborative problem solving,

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Teaching by design? Design by teaching? Reviewed by Andrys Onsman

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

communication and research that isn’t stultified by

to fool anyone for long. He urges us to engage with the

methodologies sclerotised by the physical sciences in

epistemological aspects – the physical environment, the

their blinkered drive for reductionist truths. Importantly,

pedagogic strategies, the disciplinary context – that make

the issues are raised and analysed by way of example

studio teaching a rich learning experience. It’s a call to

and reflection on actual events, failures and re-workings

arms that needs to be taken up.

feature as much as successes and triumphs. In that sense, it is an inspirational collection of tales. The last chapter in the book is Colin M Gray’s

This is an excellent book: everyone even vaguely interested in art, design, creativity, expertise and learning should read it.

discussion on where studios might be going (he’s not afraid to embrace human-computer interaction) in which

Andrys Onsman lectures at the Melbourne School of Design,

he warns that simply calling something studio isn’t going

University of Melbourne, Australia.

HETL be all right on the night! Creative learning in higher education by Linda S Watts & Patrick Blessinger. ISBN-978-1-138-96236-1 (pbk), Routledge, 245 pp., 2017. Reviewed by Andrys Onsman

Patrick Blessinger is the founder and executive director

creatively actually entails: despite having done a PhD

of the International Higher Education Teaching and

on the topic and having read this book. But nonetheless,

Learning Association (commonly known as HETL) and

this collection has stimulated some thinking – albeit at

Linda Watts is the organisation’s secretary. HETL supports

times in opposition to the ideas espoused therein. That,

pedagogical pluralism, diversity of learning, sustainable

apparently, was one of the aims – to stimulate the reader’s

learning and world peace. While such ambitions may, at

imagination. Job done, I guess.

first blush, seem somewhat hippyish, in fact, education by

The foreword is by Norman Jackson, whose excellent

way of secular schooling is probably the most likely way

book ‘Developing creativity in higher education: An

of achieving world peace, so more power to them. I don’t

imaginative curriculum’ took a pretty good crack at

know whether ‘hippyish’ actually is a word – beyond the

pushing creativity to the forefront in higher education

Humpty Dumpty Thesis on Semantics – but it sprang to

but who is best known for his defence of Kuhn’s notion

mind on a few occasions in the reading of the essays and

of paradigmatic incommensurability, an activity that was

reports in this collection. Whilst most avoid floating off

always going to be highly contested. Jackson favoured

into the esoteric bandwidth, some skirt perilously close to

the idea that teachers ought not to define what creativity

the murky waters of ephemerality, and one or two of them

is in order to get the students to take that definition on

dive in head first. But – and with apologies to women and

board but to get them to articulate and substantiate their

vegetarians – one man’s meat is another man’s poison and

own individual ideas of what their creativity could be.

HETL is a broad church where all are welcome.

As far as I know, Jackson hasn’t ever really talked about

My overall concern is that there does not seem to be

what creative learning is but we get a clue in the final

an underlying conceptual framework that tells us what

sentence of the introduction, which concludes with ‘…

creative learning actually is. Does it refer to learning

our understanding of creative learning and learning to

something creatively or to learning to be creative? It

be creative’. Do we then assume that the two are the

seems to be the former and therein lies the rub. Learning

same? Earlier he says that he particularly likes the book’s

something creatively suggests that it is an activity in

‘emphasis on “creative learning” and the many different

opposition to learning non-creatively and I have no idea

interpretations that are offered’. But then he goes on to

what that could be as a process. On the other hand,

cite Vygotsky and assert that Comrade Lev Semyonovich

I also have no clear idea of what learning something

positioned creativity ‘firmly in the act of learning’, which

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HETL be all right on the night! Reviewed by Andrys Onsman

109

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is at best a contestable interpretation of the great man’s

case studies that exemplify various strategies used by

notion of a cultural-historical psychology. Jackson had

instructors to help students get to their own creative

earlier, in a similar vein, pressganged first Carl Rogers and

solutions. But I take issue with the first sentence in the

then Gregory Bateson into his argument, with a similar

summary: ‘This chapter addressed creative learning in

lack of persuasiveness.

higher education’ because it didn’t. It addressed guiding

Blessinger and Watts’ introductory chapter – History

students to broadening the range of possible solutions to

and Nature of Creative Learning – begins with the best

a set problem.The chapter holds a swag of good ideas and

supported sentence I’ve ever read. No fewer than 25

tips for teaching but essentially there is nothing new in

papers are cited as supporting the claim that creativity is

terms of learning. If anything, it champions using design

process and outcome oriented, domain and field specific,

thinking as a fundamental approach to problem solving.

and embedded in culture. It is a clear summary of where

While that is undoubtedly a very good message, it doesn’t

creativity sits in knowledge generation, and I have no

really articulate what creative learning actually is. But I

doubt that it will be used extensively as a springboard

agree with the idea that it takes resilience, perseverance

for more detailed or focused work. If I am allowed to

and ‘grit’ to succeed at learning – even if that’s not all that

photocopy only one chapter of the book to use in my

creative.

own teaching, this will be it. But what it doesn’t do is

Kanta

Kochar-Lindgren’s

chapter,

‘Participatory

to lay out a definition of creative learning. The closest it

Choreographies, our Future Cities, and the Place of

comes is to state that ‘Creative learning is an intentional

Creative Learning in International Arts Exchanges’, tracks

act’, which doesn’t get us very far because so, presumably,

a Indo-US collaborative dance, theatre-music and mixed

is non-creative learning. Instead, the chapter has argued

media project on the theme of water – the Periyar River

(and done so very well) that creativity is an intentional

in India and the Mississippi in the US. Given that it is hard

act, an argument that has been substantiated by those 25

to make any real comment on what was achieved because

papers cited earlier and a whole army more. Only the most

I haven’t seen the performance, it sounds quite wonderful

devoutly religious amongst us maintain that creativity is a

– given that I am one of those advocating a broader

gift bestowed by God on a lucky few, or if you’re Keith

paradigm than only the scientific for understanding the

Richards, the product of illegal mind-altering substances.

environment. I am sure that the handful of specially

Seeing that the chapter makes up all of Part I Principles

selected students involved in the project learnt to exceed

and Concepts, the lack of a conceptual framework is

their reach, and I have no doubt that art as a research

somewhat disconcerting.

methodology is a rigorous and legitimate way to gain new

Part II Successful Practices in Creative Learning Cases

knowledge. For the participants, the axes of the learning

may provide a framework the reader can hang his or her

were collaboration and exploratory thinking, crossing

hat on. It consists of 8 chapters, taking on such issues as

knowledge domain boundaries at will, distilling essential

collaborative learning, play, meaningful learning spaces,

reflexive and reflective responses into a work of art, as

innovative pedagogy, participatory choreographies and

legitimate as any essay or experiment. But again, I wonder

interdisciplinarity – all of which are currently warm to

how that is ‘creative’ learning. The students and artists

hot topics in international discourse. Fredricka Reisman

were not learning to be creative – they already were.

equates creativity with innovation pedagogy; that is,

They weren’t learning the science and mathematics in a

supporting students to experiment with and utilise their

creative way – they were learning it as and when they

own creativity to solve problems. The main diagnostic

needed it for a particular purpose. Of course, the cherry-

tool used in the study is the Reisman Diagnostic Creativity

picked students involved had a wonderful opportunity

Assessment (RDCA), an app that taps 11 ‘creativity

to increase their artistic skills, their approaches and

characteristics’: originality, fluency, flexibility, elaboration,

their conceptions through working with talented and

tolerance of ambiguity, resistance to premature closure,

committed artists but I can’t see how their learning was

convergent thinking, divergent thinking, risk-taking,

creative even though the output was undoubtedly artistic.

intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Variations

The next essay by Gray Kochar-Lindgren is called

on that list abound, and few would argue about its

‘Configuring Interdisciplinarity’and discusses the common

constitution in general terms. Reisman acknowledges

core at the University of Hong Kong. He concludes his

that her preferred definition of creativity (that proffered

description of what is happening at HKU with stating

by Paul Torrance) is entirely a personal choice. So far, so

that ‘Creative learning, in this context, is an interactive

good but then comes a change of tack. Seven illuminative

multiscalar practice that actively constructs connections

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vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

’

between sites, questions, capacities, materials, methods

illustrate the point. Giles and McCarthy place that point

and experiences that, incrementally shaping collective

in a conducive learning environment. It’s an interesting

and individual dispositions, creates a tendency toward.’ So,

chapter and especially of interest to teacher education

that’s creative learning, then.

and how teaching creatively is a great skill to have up your

The notion of interdisciplinary connectivity is all

sleeve.There’s not a lot about creative learning, though.

the rage these days, isn’t it? Few if any universities still

Chapter 6 by Nives Doisak and Cinnamon Hillyard

trumpet in their advertising rhetoric that they are

promises to set the record straight because it’s titled

retaining their ‘silos’ because that’s what has worked in

‘Creative Learning Strategies’ and surely here we will

the past.We know that students learn best in collaborative

find what it is. On the one hand, it is disappointing

teams – well, not those who prefer and thrive working

to be thwarted once again – there is really nothing

under a more defined structure or those with clearly

about creative learning per se – but on the other, it is

defined goals or those with socialisation difficulties but

an excellent and affirming chapter on the benefits of

most of the others, probably – that are set well-thought-

collaborative learning and how to go about setting that

out problems to solve and are encouraged to do so

up in your teaching environment. It’s not so much about

creatively or scientifically or by way of design, whichever

how students can collaboratively learn to be creative or

is the best fit. Finding connections between apparently

even creatively learn to be collaborative but more about

disparate things is more or less how we’ve always done

how working collaboratively is more effective and better

that in the real world, and academia is finally catching up.

for the students’ well-being. The authors claim that the

All of that is well and good but I’m still unsure as to what

activities they discuss are examples of creative learning

about constructing a tendency toward – italicised or not

but that’s a long bow to draw because collaborative

– is creative in terms of learning.

learning is as much dependent on expertise as it is on

I admit to trepidation when I read any essay that starts

creativity. In essence, all meaningful learning is.

with how long the writer has been doing what he or she

Halfway through the book and I’m giving up on finding

is writing about – ‘In my ninety years as a butcher, I’ve

out what creative learning actually is and how it differs

learnt a thing or two…’ and when two authors start with

from other types of learning. So far, there’s been a lot of

‘As teachers with more than thirty years of experience…’

really interesting stuff to consider. In Linda Watts’ chapter

I start to worry. I mean, is that 30 years between them,

on ‘Mindful Assessment in Higher Education’ I read that HE

which would make 15 each at best, or 30 each, which

is shifting from ‘what is taught’ to ‘what is learnt’ and ‘what

would mean that they trained in the pre-digital age, when

mindful practice might offer this paradigm shift in terms

caning children wasn’t yet a crime? And how does being a

of creative learning’. Well, since you ask, mindful practice,

teacher of advanced years relate to university teaching for

as far as I can tell, is learning things apprehendingly

students who will need to find jobs in 2020. I don’t know;

and comprehendingly, a notion for teaching poetry put

maybe I’m over-thinking this. Still….

forward by Nora Mitchell in 1999, an article difficult to

The central argument of the chapter by David Giles and

find and one that doesn’t seem to have gained much

Clare McCarthy – ‘Creating Meaningful Learning Spaces

traction in the field. Generally, the chapter seems to

through Phenomenological Strategies’ – is posited at the

suggest that people in the ‘Helping Professions’ should

onset: ‘We will argue in this chapter that the teacher-

learn to be both affectively empathic and cognitively

student relationship is always mattering within our

sympathetic and somewhat as an after-thought, preferably

teaching-learning experiences, whether we attend to this

do that creatively.

or not.’ (p. 66) Apparently in an earlier publication David

The following chapters follow much the same line – no

Giles argued that ‘the teacher-student relationship is

one seems prepared to say clearly what creative learning

experienced as an improvised play that has uncertainties

is. It seems to be one of those ideas that everyone initially

for both the teacher and the student’. I think I know what

agrees with but when it comes to a workable definition,

that means – even if ‘mattering’ isn’t really a word – but

no one has quite the same understanding of it. Perhaps

it seems to be somewhat of a truism to say that teachers

that is the point but if it is, it seems either so obvious as

who approach their practice as a relational rather than a

to be meaningless or so ephemeral as to be little more

dictatorial activity are more likely to nurture students who

than puffery.

think widely. The point, by deduction at least, seems to

Part III of the book consists of three essays, including

be that thinking widely is the basis of thinking creatively.

one by Robert Kaplan entitled ‘Developing Creative

There are four interesting if rambling case-studies to

Competencies Through Improvisation – Living Musically’,

vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

HETL be all right on the night! Reviewed by Andrys Onsman

111

’

which, as a Music teacher, caused me a great deal

students learn. We learn that creativity is not a gift, not a

of consternation. I have trouble understanding how

choice, not a skill, not a practice but, depending on the

appropriating ‘the history of the Holocaust as a lens to

particular instance, a contextual and dynamic imbroglio

scrutinise one’s own life story’ will make me realise ‘the

of all four. Watts and Blessinger identify 10 principles,

foundations to [my] own moral response to such evil’

with the proviso that these are not to be considered as

because ‘a large percentage of the people who oversaw

procedural elements (which would go against the thesis

the murder of six million Jews had doctoral degrees from

of creative learning): playfulness, improvisation, rhythm,

some of the ‘great’ universities of the era’ (pp. 191-2).

resourcefulness/innovation, resilience, responsiveness,

Mordecai Schreiber in his book Explaining the Holocaust:

reflection, reciprocity and irreverence. Well, that just

How and Why It Happened, states that ‘more than a few

about covers everything – except, of course, science, ICT,

[rather than ‘a large percentage’] in the Nazi hierarchy

mathematics, statistics and a whole chunk of design.

had PhDs’ but then adds that ‘Many were raised in God-

There is a lot in this book that is worth considering,

fearing Catholic or Lutheran families’ (p. 46), loved their

even though or even because, as the editors acknowledge,

families and pets. Schreiber states definitively that the one

many of the contentions have become ‘flashpoints for

thing they had in common was that they were all racist

controversy’ (p. 229). Few of us working in the sector

(and, not to forget, anti-Semitic, homophobes, antiziganists

would argue with the idea that we want students to

and not overly keen on communists, artists or free-

become life-long, independent and curious learners. The

thinking intellectuals). I’m not sure why PhDs are singled

book seems to argue that the role of the HE educator

out – surely being a good Catholic or Lutheran with the

is to help students use their inherent creativity in their

concomitant philosophy of not killing is more apt? Still,

learning, and that that will go a long way to achieving it,

apparently the way to prevent such atrocities to ever

and it exemplifies a lot of ideas that may help achieve it.

happen again is to ‘live musically’. Or maybe I misread it.

But there is also a lot of narrative that provides little of

Finally, part IV is by Watts and Blessinger and considers

value beyond ‘show-and-tell’, case studies and examples,

the future of creative learning by synthesising the

and they muddy the waters rather than exemplify good

preceding chapters. It sets out clearly what creative

practice.

learning is – fanning the vital flame of independent

Perhaps a discussion on why a clearer framework

learning and an ardent desire for truth, ‘whether

would be problematic at the onset may have counteracted

accomplished by efforts from the student, the instructor,

the after-taste of conceptual equivocation but overall it’s

the learning environment or, in the best scenarios, a

a worthwhile addition to the discourse on learning in the

combination of the three’ (p. 213) – and what it leads to –

tertiary sector.

‘unconventional perspectives, new questions, innovative research, imaginative findings and changed outlooks’ (p.

Andrys Onsman still lectures at the Melbourne School of

214) – which one hopes is in addition to all the other things

Design, University of Melbourne, Australia.

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vol. 59, no. 1, 2017

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