Purpose: This study provides insight into the nature of peer-mentoring opportunities for teacher candidates, including common challenges and benefits that can be used to inform best practices for implementing peer-mentoring programs by higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative interviews were conducted to glean…

University student volunteering is prevalent in Western countries, but has rarely been critically evaluated by researchers. Little is known about the different ways in which student volunteer programmes are organised. Using a matrix constructed from the publicly available websites of all Australian universities, and 60 interviews with key…

Feedback from companies forming a community of practice in Tasmania, Australia, is that there is a need for a framework for self-directed action learning within each organisation as well as across the action learning community. Senior management report that there is a 'falling away' after a facilitated action learning intervention concludes and,…

Increasingly, educational technology is identified as crucial to addressing many scale issues around higher education learning and teaching. However, such projects are often run with the technical project goals achieved but the educational goals unrealised. Further, in an age of austerity, all investments must be closely scrutinised as to their…

In 2007-8 the Australian Catholic University (ACU National), undertook a project to develop new resources to provide training and support in eLearning for staff and students. The project was undertaken by a multidisciplinary team drawn from all six campuses and was led by an externally contracted Project Manager/eLearning specialist. This…

Reasons for increasing fund-raising efforts among Australian colleges and universities are outlined. Theories of fund-raising are contrasted with current practice, and a model is developed that includes specific suggestions and considerations for administrators in planning an advancement program. (MSE)

A new conceptual framework for comparative analysis of distance higher education systems, called the Systems Analysis, Typology and Shaping Mechanism (SATS), was used to compare the structures and functions of the DE systems of Australia (which includes external studies and open learning components) and China (which includes correspondence…

University of the Third Age (U3A) programs in Australia and New Zealand were examined through data collected from 126 U3A groups in Australia and 20 in New Zealand. The 24,870 responses and 2,002 responses obtained in Australia and New Zealand, respectively, represented 76% and 77% of U3A group members in the two countries. Data were collected…

The impact of research and development (R&D) on decision making and managers in vocational education and training (VET) was examined through a review of recent Australian studies in VET and health care. The framework adopted to analyze the relationships between R&D and decision making distinguished between the decision-making domain, the…

The Australian engineering company, Jaques, and Swinburne University of Technology conducted a joint project to write more than 190 operating instructions for the company's 77 employees. First, the university's Workplace Skills Unit (WSU) interviewed 75 production workers to identify their language, literacy, and training needs. The WSU negotiated…

This book, which is designed for human resource practitioners and students in courses on professional development and adult and vocational learning, examines strategies for effective practice in workplace learning. The introduction discusses interest in and ambivalence toward workplace learning and key premises of workplace learning. The following…

This book provides an overview of vocational-technical education and training (VTET) in the 10 member countries of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SAMEO). The book begins with an introduction explaining the objectives and methodology of the cooperative research project on which the study was based. Each of the 10…