A detailed review of the education sector in Australia as in the data provided by the 2006 edition of the OECD's annual publication, 'Education at a Glance' is presented. While the data has shown that in almost all OECD countries educational attainment levels are on the rise, with countries showing impressive gains in university qualifications, it also reveals that a large of share of young people still do not complete secondary school, which remains a baseline for successful entry into the labour market.

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Education at a Glance

What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

There is increasing pressure for Higher Education institutions to undergo transformation, with education being seen as needing to adapt in ways that meet the conceptual needs of our time. Reflecting this is the rise of the flipped or inverted classroom. The purpose of this scoping review was to provide a comprehensive overview of relevant research regarding the emergence of the flipped classroom and the links to pedagogy and educational outcomes, identifying any gaps in the literature which could inform future design and evaluation. The scoping review is underpinned by the five-stage framework Arksey and O'Malley. The results indicate that there is much indirect evidence emerging of improved academic performance and student and staff satisfaction with the flipped approach but a paucity of conclusive evidence that it contributes to building lifelong learning and other 21st Century skills in under-graduate education and post-graduate education.

The use of flipped classrooms in higher education: A scoping review

Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge

Equality of Educational Opportunity.

In this section we present a preliminary overview of the outcomes of the Australian CAP survey. We must emphasize that this indeed is a first run through the data, that a full analysis has not been possible due to the limited time available since the closing of the survey, and that we still are in the process of coding the open questions. We therefore can only present some initial results. Since our responses are evenly distributed across males and females, and representative of the target population, we have chosen to present the results not in terms of the “average Australian academic” but rather in the persona of Colin and Cheryl (two popular names in 1960, the average year of birth of our respondents). When they are addressed as a couple, the outcomes pertain to the overall mean score on the item; when addressed separately, the outcomes obviously reflect the male and female positions. Percentages in brackets in the text indicate the mean score. The reader is referred to the questionnaire for the individual questions and their relevant response categories. This questionnaire is available from http://www.une.edu.au/chemp/projects/cap/resources.php

The Australian academic profession in 2007 : a first analysis of the survey results

Assessing student learning in ways that offer students, institutions and systems with sound information is a considerable challenge for higher education. Despite demonstrable progress, a disconnect remains between methods used for assessing learning, improvement and accountability. This muddled situation is illustrated through a review of contemporary practice in the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand. To advance research and practice, this paper contributes a structured set of criteria that practitioners can use to evaluate whether an assessment functions effectively across different levels of practice. These technical and practical criteria touch on issues such as sampling, the viability of aggregation, reporting and cost–benefit considerations. The paper tests these criteria by considering their capacity to drive multi-level improvement in education quality. It is contended that the criteria provide perspective and structure for reconciling the quantitative assessment of higher education qu...

Linking Assessment for Learning, Improvement and Accountability.

Quality assurance conventions are being challenged by emerging business scenarios with alluring economies. This paper analyses shaping contexts, resulting hybridised forms of higher education, and consequences for quality assurance. It devotes sustained attention to unpacking what, as a result of contemporary reconfigurations, would appear to be pressing current change/differentiation frontiers—engineering an engaged learning experience, and authenticating learning outcomes. These parameters are analysed, with consideration of development options. The paper concludes by emphasising the consequent and urgent imperatives for workforce development.

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Threshold Quality Parameters in Hybrid Higher Education.

This is a publisher’s version of a report published by Australian Universities Quality Agency in 2009. This version is reproduced with permission from AUQA. http://www.auqa.edu.au/

Setting and monitoring academic standards for Australian higher education: a discussion paper

The global context of contemporary higher education demands international benchmarks. Quality assurance of teaching and learning would benefit from the insights gained from cross-cultural assessments. If cross-cultural assessments are used it is imperative that equivalence is assured, requiring attention to the technical standards used. In this paper we draw on our experiences implementing the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) Feasibility Study across 17 countries. We consider the key standards required in a number of core technical areas to achieve equivalence. We discuss how different elements were achieved in the AHELO Feasibility Study. These include the development of assessment materials for use across languages; selection and engagement of students; delivery of assessment materials and analysis of assessment data.

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Hamish Coates

Papers

The Australian academic profession in 2007 : a first analysis of the survey results

Linking Assessment for Learning, Improvement and Accountability.

Threshold Quality Parameters in Hybrid Higher Education.

Setting and monitoring academic standards for Australian higher education: a discussion paper

Essential Foundations for Establishing Equivalence in Cross-National Higher Education Assessment.