Communication as a discipline has a curious double life, being both disavowed in favor of something else, yet remains as a conceptual anchor point for a diverse range of intellectual projects. This argument focuses upon four challenges, or "turns," that communication as a field has experienced: the "cultural turn" associated…

This study examined how opportunities to incorporate numeracy across different primary curriculum areas and grade levels are highlighted in the Australian Curriculum v9.0. A document analysis approach was used to track the numeracy opportunities in the document across different curriculum areas and grade levels. The results showed that Science has…

The three-dimensional design of the Australian Curriculum includes the cross-curriculum priorities (CCPs), learning areas and general capabilities (GCs). Geography teachers are uniquely positioned to address the CCPs through the subject's disciplinary focus on interrelationships between physical features of the earth with individual, social and…

This edited book considers the impact of neoliberalism on music teaching, research and scholarship in a higher education context. As a subject that bears little resemblance to other university practical disciplines, and fares poorly in a model driven by economics, the book considers whether musicology is a 'public good' or a threatened species. It…

Interdisciplinary research is frequently viewed as an important component of the research landscape through its innovative ability to integrate knowledge from different areas. However, support for interdisciplinary research is often strategic rhetoric, with policy-makers and universities frequently adopting practices that favour disciplinary…

In response to the current demands and trends within education, the disciplines as one of the core long-standing organizing structures within knowledge production and transmission are questioning and shifting what and how they teach. Universities are increasingly offering interdisciplinary subjects and programmes as an alternative to or alongside…

Inherent in most school curricula is some sort of curriculum hierarchy--that is, an assumption that some school subjects are more valuable than others. This paper examines the epistemological assumptions that underpin one such curriculum hierarchy, which I refer to as "the traditional curriculum hierarchy". It is a pervasive and…

In the English-speaking world, university Schools of Education are usually heavily involved in the professional preparation of teachers. Yet, in England and the USA in particular, the role of universities in teacher education has increasingly seemed under threat as alternative providers of training have come on the scene, often with the overt…

This country note presents the results of an analysis of undertake Portugal undertaken within the Labour Market Relevance and Outcomes of Higher Education Partnership Initiative project. The project was implemented by the OECD with the support of the European Commission with the aim of helping policy makers and higher education institutions…

This paper sets out the main findings of the International Instructional Systems Study (IISS), conducted by the UCL Institute of Education and funded by the Center on International Education Benchmarking (CIEB). The study examined the instructional systems and intended curricula of six "high performing" countries and two US states. The…

Framed in Michele Foucault's theories of discipline and technologies of the self, this paper explores the possibilities for teaching and researching across disciplinary boundaries within the academy. In Foucault's studies of systems of thought, he conceptualized practices--like sexuality--to be instances of what is possible to be, think, and do…

Given that postsecondary institutions are increasingly seen as sites to promote health, critical scholars are calling attention to how the contemporary Western weight-centred health paradigm reinforces a "size matters" message that is fueling harmful attitudes towards and judgments of bodies. As such, research that highlights strategies…

The concept of "STEM" (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) has influenced many education and workforce strategies and policies with the intention of improving innovation, productivity and international competitiveness. Generally, the focus has been on how the school and university sectors can help equip the workforce with…

Over the last 10 years the higher education sector has undergone a myriad of changes both in student demographics and the influx of international students. With these changes, concerns about the ability of students to meet the English language and academic demands of tertiary study have come to the forefront. This paper reports on a project of…

Australia's current attempt to develop a process to evaluate the quality of research (Excellence in Research for Australia--ERA) places a central emphasis on the disciplinary organisation of academic work. This disciplinary focus poses particular problems for Applied Linguistics in Australia. This paper will examine Applied Linguistics in relation…