COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on higher education globally and has heralded times of rapid and often confounding change. Academics struggle to maintain their life balance and well-being alongside championing equity in higher education and providing a student-centred pedagogy of care which is much needed in these times. This article…

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of implementing a creative art activity in a problem-based learning (PBL) course on occupational therapy (OT) students and their tutors. A qualitative-ethnographic study was conducted during 2016-2017. In one meeting of a PBL course, 126 first year OT undergraduate students were asked to create a…

This article considers higher education's role in climate crisis, reflecting on the potential of action-oriented pedagogy. As a reflection on practice, the authors consider a new postgraduate course, Climate Crisis and Action (CCA), launched in 2022 as one of a suite of new courses using inside-out pedagogy in one of the oldest (and most recently…

This paper elaborates on a number of key criticisms of Mezirow's transformative learning theory as well as providing arguments that validate it. Our paper exemplifies how Mezirow's theory can help adult educators and prospective school teachers understand that social structures and belief systems can influence student learning, that learners make…

This paper reports on a longitudinal project examining how a group of students from diverse backgrounds succeeded in higher education. The project explored participants' pathways into higher education, how they managed their studies, and their reflections at course completion. In this paper, the concept of perspective transformation is used to…

The Whole of Community Engagement (WCE) initiative commenced in July 2014, led by the Office of Pro Vice Chancellor of Indigenous Leadership at Charles Darwin University (CDU). WCE aimed to build the aspiration, expectation and capacity of six remote and very remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory to participate and achieve in…

Enrolment in university enabling programs has expanded dramatically in the last decade as universities strive to increase enrolments, particularly of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Offering enabling study by distance education has been part of this expansion with the benefit of providing access to a wider enrolment base. The purpose…

This paper provides insight into the experience of Clemente humanities education for six regional and rural Australian women living around Ballarat. Each took part in an audio-taped semi-structured interview which explored the impact that university study had on their lives. Their responses suggest that Clemente Ballarat was life-giving. The…

A 2006 survey of programs at Unitec, New Zealand concluded that, in the main, Unitec programs and courses were not meeting student needs in the area of foundation and bridging education. Invoking international research and practice, a report was compiled proposing a number of recommendations to remedy this situation. Academic Board, in accepting…

Whatever the course, mode of delivery or type of institution, most characteristics of good teaching remain the same. The teacher's ability to convey personal enthusiasm for learning is crucial in arousing and sustaining students' interest and curiosity in their discipline and beyond. This love of learning can be liberating and empowering as the…

When adult learners return to formal education after a period of absence, coping with change is a constant and often omnipresent challenge. As they come to break down previous barriers to success in an educational arena, many adult learners are able to change the perceptions they have of themselves as learners. Previously held assumptions are…

This paper is based on findings from the first phase of a longitudinal project examining how a group of students from diverse backgrounds succeed in higher education. The concept of perspective transformation is used to explore students' stories about factors that influenced them on their journey to university, including socio-economic background,…

As the number of adult students enrolled within higher education programs increases, educational institutions must respond by addressing their needs on a continual basis. Adult learners possess a wide variety of characteristics which are not common to a traditional student, including personal life barriers, financial responsibilities and different…

Australian universities need to maintain their high reputation for quality in order to attract and retain buyers of Australian education-related products. Learners are becoming increasingly discerning in terms of what they are buying and why they should buy it. Thus, quality is a critical issue for Australian university programs in general as well…

The author's tertiary learning journey began as a research assistant reviewing educational literature. Among the mountain of lifelong learning literature, the author could find nothing that explained why people are or are not lifelong learners. Eventually he found the British work of Gorard and Selwyn (2005). Mindful of Osborne's (2002) caution…