Work-integrated learning (WIL) can significantly benefit student employability, institutional graduate outcomes, and quality talent pipelines. However, there are many caveats to this, such as course-wide flexible and scaffolded design, sustained external partner engagement, adequate resourcing, and ongoing evaluation that informs quality,…

This article introduces a framework for transforming Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through Heterotopic Affinity Spaces (HAS). Our model suggests HAS can shift traditional power dynamics by enhancing learner agency. Drawing on studies of affinity spaces and heterotopias, we present these spaces as free from the restrictions of formal…

Existing science evidence sustained that students' preferences for a learning approach (i.e., deep or surface learning) depend on several contextual variables. In this study, we used the network psychometrics perspective to investigate the interactions between the elements that define students' learning preferences. We aimed to understand which…

This paper reports outcomes of a study focused on discovering qualitatively different ways students experience problem-based learning in virtual space. A well-accepted and documented qualitative research method was adopted for this study. Five qualitatively different conceptions are described, each revealing characteristics of increasingly complex…

While natural disasters have been reported internationally in relation to the injury burden, role of rescuers and responders, there is little known about the impact on education in adult professional populations. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake affected the Canterbury region of New Zealand on 4 September 2010 followed by more than 13,000 aftershocks in…

The present study investigates the direct and indirect influence of motivation for learning, as understood by the self-determination theory, on students' approaches to learning. Concerning the direct influence of motivation, results show that autonomous motivation is positively related to a deep approach to learning and negatively to a surface…

In this paper I report on 625 student responses and analyse student perceptions of Problem-Based Learning during their first semester at university. The data I present outlines the scope of the implementation at six entry-level units for the years 2007 to 2009 and is followed by a qualitative analysis of student responses. Eight themes are…

One of the paradoxes confronting higher education teachers and other staff supporting students is that despite their perception that they offer students opportunities for support, students do not take advantage of them. Our research was based on the desire to understand the ways students cope and what resources they draw on. To this end, we…

A short version of the Approaches to Studying Inventory administered to 169 college psychology students in early semester revealed that scores for meaning orientation did not predict academic performance in any way, whereas there was a very small negative correlation between reproducing orientation and academic achievement. Internal reliability of…

Approaches to Studying Inventory was administered to 503 adult students, most returning to study after many years. Results indicate low internal consistency for seven subscales. Comparison with results of mathematics instructional unit suggests learning orientations are fundamental and identifiable in students returning to study after long…

Learning outcomes in higher education are of considerable interest to students, teaching staff, researchers, tertiary education institutions and funding authorities. To improve the quality of learning outcomes may require a better understanding of what happens in the learning process from the perspective of the learner. This study makes use of a…

Globally, universities today are attracting students from widely diverse language and cultural backgrounds. However, whilst there are many well-intentioned and supportive institutional endeavours under way, in most cases, it is still apparent that students with certain background characteristics are more successful than others. Disparities that…

An extension of an earlier study of 842 college students' conceptions of learning draws on in-depth analysis of the experiences of 12 individuals. It was found that individual comments about learning are only understood when viewed within the larger context, highest-achieving students were those who were most reflective in learning, some students…

A study of 21 adult and 104 traditional-age undergraduate teacher education students at an Australian university found significant age differences in learning and study strategies, with mature students using more effective strategies more often. Significant correlations were found between students' strategies and their self-reported level of…