Research capacity-building: the development of Australian PhD programs in national and emerging global contexts. PhD programs in universities are the principal means by which new researchers are prepared for work in the knowledge economy. This project develops a comprehensive coded database of every PhD awarded in Australia since the first programs in the 1940s. It the will study fourteen different PhD programs that have developed during this period in four universities. The project focuses on ....Research capacity-building: the development of Australian PhD programs in national and emerging global contexts. PhD programs in universities are the principal means by which new researchers are prepared for work in the knowledge economy. This project develops a comprehensive coded database of every PhD awarded in Australia since the first programs in the 1940s. It the will study fourteen different PhD programs that have developed during this period in four universities. The project focuses on how these programs develop research capacity within disciplines and how these are related to the changing social, cultural and economic needs of Australia. The project will assist in planning future PhD programs and research capacity development.Read moreRead less
Assessing new learning spaces: learning, governance and outcomes. Supporting learning amongst 'at risk' individuals is an urgent global challenge, given changes in work and society. New learning spaces are emerging in response. They target the 30% of Australians not served by traditional education and training. New learning spaces are based in social partnerships. They offer distinctive learning relationships, and scope for localised governance and decision-making. They promise enhanced life cha ....Assessing new learning spaces: learning, governance and outcomes. Supporting learning amongst 'at risk' individuals is an urgent global challenge, given changes in work and society. New learning spaces are emerging in response. They target the 30% of Australians not served by traditional education and training. New learning spaces are based in social partnerships. They offer distinctive learning relationships, and scope for localised governance and decision-making. They promise enhanced life chances for individuals and improved community-building. This project will (1) build theory to understand new learning spaces; (2) document how they reshape learning relations and practices; and (3) assess claims that they improve learning, governance and outcomes.Read moreRead less
Working students: reconceptualising the doctoral experience. Doctoral education is traditionally conceptualised in policies and practices as about young, full-time students with no work or related commitments. However, nowadays, doctoral candidates constitute a diverse population working in various institutional, community and industry sites. Government, universities and students' associations need to reconceptualise contemporary doctoral candidates' working relationships to enhance doctoral edu ....Working students: reconceptualising the doctoral experience. Doctoral education is traditionally conceptualised in policies and practices as about young, full-time students with no work or related commitments. However, nowadays, doctoral candidates constitute a diverse population working in various institutional, community and industry sites. Government, universities and students' associations need to reconceptualise contemporary doctoral candidates' working relationships to enhance doctoral education and to realise its full potential in society. Using quantitative and qualitative approaches, the project breaks new ground through two related comprehensive and systematic studies of the doctoral-working experiences of full-time and part-time students. It will generate new conceptual frameworks, and tools for data collection and analysis.Read moreRead less
Telling Tales from the Bush: Gender, rurality and post-school transitions. The completion of formal schooling is a critical point of decision-making for all young Australians, but it is particularly critical for young men and women from the bush, who are often already disadvantaged in the quality of schooling they receive, and their access to facilities and opportunities. This longitudinal study will address a significant research gap in this area, by analysing the potentially limiting effect g ....Telling Tales from the Bush: Gender, rurality and post-school transitions. The completion of formal schooling is a critical point of decision-making for all young Australians, but it is particularly critical for young men and women from the bush, who are often already disadvantaged in the quality of schooling they receive, and their access to facilities and opportunities. This longitudinal study will address a significant research gap in this area, by analysing the potentially limiting effect gender constructs can play in the decision-making and life trajectories of these young adults. By so doing, the study contributes directly to the national interest by improving the social and economic futures of rural Australians.Read moreRead less
Reconnecting Disaffected Youth through Successful Transition to Work. According to the ABS (2006) more than 15% of Australia's youth receives employment benefits at a cost that the Department of Family and Community Services (2000) estimated between $44 000 and $46 000/person/year. High rates of offending and repeat arrests are prevalent within the group at a cost to the youth concerned and to the nation. The Productivity Commission estimated in 2004 that outlay to keep someone in prison was bet ....Reconnecting Disaffected Youth through Successful Transition to Work. According to the ABS (2006) more than 15% of Australia's youth receives employment benefits at a cost that the Department of Family and Community Services (2000) estimated between $44 000 and $46 000/person/year. High rates of offending and repeat arrests are prevalent within the group at a cost to the youth concerned and to the nation. The Productivity Commission estimated in 2004 that outlay to keep someone in prison was between $67,000 and $85,0004 per year. We seek to short-circuit the human and economic costs of the failure cycle by improving individuals' capacities to gain and retain work, and to have healthy lifestyles and positive self-concept, and thereby to contribute to their positive participation in society. Read moreRead less
Innovations in Clinical Education for Physiotherapy Students. Australia has workforce shortages and an ageing population. Physiotherapists are key players in promoting and maintaining good health through their leadership in physical activity and rehabilitation to retain Australians in the workforce and to ensure quality of life for our ageing population. There is a national shortage of physiotherapists. Increasing numbers of physiotherapists are being trained, requiring new models of clinical tr ....Innovations in Clinical Education for Physiotherapy Students. Australia has workforce shortages and an ageing population. Physiotherapists are key players in promoting and maintaining good health through their leadership in physical activity and rehabilitation to retain Australians in the workforce and to ensure quality of life for our ageing population. There is a national shortage of physiotherapists. Increasing numbers of physiotherapists are being trained, requiring new models of clinical training as there is no capacity in conventional training to cope with student numbers. This research will develop and evaluate new models of training incorporating standardised patients (actors) and simulators (mannequins) which increase education capacity. Models are transferable to other health professions.Read moreRead less
Sustaining older workers' competence: Informing policy and practice. Maintaining the effective working life of older Australian workers is central for sustaining the economic and social health of the nation and for their workplace efficacy and sense of self as productive members of the community. This project will identify and recommend practices and policies for both Australian workplaces and educational institutions to sustain and develop further the skills of Australia's growing number of ol ....Sustaining older workers' competence: Informing policy and practice. Maintaining the effective working life of older Australian workers is central for sustaining the economic and social health of the nation and for their workplace efficacy and sense of self as productive members of the community. This project will identify and recommend practices and policies for both Australian workplaces and educational institutions to sustain and develop further the skills of Australia's growing number of older workers and effectively manage their work transitions. These outcomes will also be used to inform processes and practices to develop the capacities of older Australians in maintaining personally and economically productive working lives.Read moreRead less
Australian doctoral graduates' publication, professional and community outcomes. The project produces benefits to government, universities, Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies and those with a scholarly interest in doctoral education. It identifies, quantifies and explains the relationship between PhD graduates' thesis outcomes (especially, publications) and their professional and community outcomes up to ten years from graduation. The findings will be disseminated as universities, governmen ....Australian doctoral graduates' publication, professional and community outcomes. The project produces benefits to government, universities, Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies and those with a scholarly interest in doctoral education. It identifies, quantifies and explains the relationship between PhD graduates' thesis outcomes (especially, publications) and their professional and community outcomes up to ten years from graduation. The findings will be disseminated as universities, government and academies debate the RQF outcomes and whether the quality and impact of doctorates be included in the next RQF. The findings enable universities to enhance policy and practice to ensure worthwhile outcomes from doctoral programs and graduates. The project advances scholarship about doctorates and research education.Read moreRead less
Workplace participatory practices: Learning through and for work. The project aims to examine the relationship between individuals? participation in and their learning through paid work. This is warranted because current conceptions of learning throughout working lives fail to fully account for the reciprocal processes of workplace affordances and individual engagement that together shape participation in and learning from work. The study seeks to illuminate participatory practices across differ ....Workplace participatory practices: Learning through and for work. The project aims to examine the relationship between individuals? participation in and their learning through paid work. This is warranted because current conceptions of learning throughout working lives fail to fully account for the reciprocal processes of workplace affordances and individual engagement that together shape participation in and learning from work. The study seeks to illuminate participatory practices across different kinds of workplaces and also those within workplaces for different categories of workers. The procedures comprise an investigation of the participation in and learning of 6 groups of workers employed in distinct kinds of work over an eighteen month period.Read moreRead less
Learning and mentoring in high performance sports coaching. Effective coaching is held responsible for Australia's international sporting performance. Yet little is known about how best elite sports coaches learn effective and innovative high-performance coaching practices. This project aims to identify and contribute to effective elite sport coaching development in Australia. This will be achieved through understanding how best current elite coaches learn through their coaching work. Implicatio ....Learning and mentoring in high performance sports coaching. Effective coaching is held responsible for Australia's international sporting performance. Yet little is known about how best elite sports coaches learn effective and innovative high-performance coaching practices. This project aims to identify and contribute to effective elite sport coaching development in Australia. This will be achieved through understanding how best current elite coaches learn through their coaching work. Implications here extend across sport and to other domains of human activity. The contribution of sport to Australian national identity is well established and the economic benefit of sport and more specifically sporting success in Australia is also well recognised.Read moreRead less