This article critically investigates the impact of a program of professional learning for education-focused academics (EFAs) in an Australian university, focused on developing their education research capability. The 'Higher Education Research' (HER) program employed a three-pronged strategy: skills development workshops; sustained small group…

Over recent decades, peer review of teaching has become an important mechanism for improving the quality of teaching in higher education. While there is considerable international research on peer review of teaching outcomes, these are not widely reported within Australian universities. This paper reports on a systematic review of published…

Enabling education is an enactment of Australia's attempts to address inequity in higher education (HE), offering free, alternative pathways to students who do not enter through the 'traditional' school-university pathway. Each Australian enabling program is different in terms of size, design, curricula and length, meaning that there is…

The growth of the doctorate in recent decades has spawned concerns about programme quality and external relevance. This article reports findings from research conducted in Australia that was shaped by the view that the doctorate remains in need of educational clarification and design. The research generated insights that can be used to modernise…

The term 'peer assessment' may apply to a range of student activities. This imprecision may impact on the uptake of peer assessment pedagogies. To better describe peer assessment approaches, typologies of peer assessment diversity were previously derived from the education literature. However, these typologies have not yet been tested with…

There has been significant interest in developing academics through Teaching Scholar Development Programs across the USA, Canada, the UK, and more recently in Australia. At their core, such programs develop academics across teaching scholarship, leadership, promotion, and award opportunities, where universities reap the benefits of developing such…

An approach to college faculty development based on the perceived needs of the faculty is recommended over the traditional faculty development approach for its capacity to accommodate varied needs and changing circumstances. A concerns-based program model in place at Massey University (New Zealand) is offered as illustration. (Author/MSE)

An Australian study investigated the structure of a master's program in education and examiners' concerns about theses, focusing on the most common criticisms. The study was based on information about 125 part-time students' theses over a 4-year period. The examiners' criticisms raised questions about the thesis supervisor's role. (MSE)

A study investigated models of faculty instructional support offered in universities in Victoria (Australia), including support unit location, sources of funding, nature of the support offered (for example, discipline-specific workshops, materials development, accredited courses, and study skills course components), student population receiving…

Discusses the role of educational development units (EDUs), which support improvement of teaching in Australian universities, focusing on the tension between the individual faculty consultation function and the unit's role at an institutional level. Suggests these two levels of action should be considered complementary and necessary. Describes…

A study investigated effectiveness of a University of Southern Queensland (Australia) program to improve access to higher education for disadvantaged groups. Results suggest that, although the program improves access, it has inherent inequities, does not provide adequate student support, and does not consider student readiness for the demands of…

A study compared characteristics of New South Wales (Australia) nursing students in 1986 (n=447) and 1995 (n=512). Results show no significant socioeconomic differences overall, only for females. Certain family characteristics also differed, including number of siblings and mother's income. It was also found that new public policy does not…

Discusses work-based learning in the United Kingdom and traces its history, examines the shift from work experience to work-based learning, and the nature of current work-based learning. Key variables that appear to distinguish different styles of work-based learning are identified, and attention is given to the nature of the relationship between…