She’s done alright for a girl : strategies for teaching women artists

While evidence suggests that up to 65% of visual arts graduates in Australia are women, women artists are still dramatically under-represented in most sectors of the industry, from institutional exhibitions through to commercial gallery representation. Gender awareness in art school education was a prominent aspect of second wave feminist activism in this country, however the outcomes for women artists, particularly as their careers proceed, often remain discouraging. Over approximately the past ten years, the Visual Arts discipline at Queensland University of Technology has integrated a range of gender awareness strategies into its teaching program across both studio practice and history/theory areas, with relatively strong outcomes amongst female graduates, both as artists and arts workers. Employing practitioner reflection and praxis-based research, this paper takes stock of the approaches that have been trialled over this period and reflects on the combination of both explicit and implicit strategies employed, as well as student responses to them.

Embedded creative workers and creative work in education

This article is concerned with the many connections between creative work and workers, and education work and industries. Employment in the education sector has long been recognised as a significant element in creative workers’portfolio careers. Much has been written, for exam- ple, about the positive contribution of ‘artists in schools’ initiatives. Australian census analyses reveal that education is the most common industry sector into which creative workers are ‘embedded’, outside of the core creative industries. However, beyond case studies and some survey research into arts instruction and instructors, we know remarkably little about in which education roles and sectors creative workers are embedded, and the types of value that they add in those roles and sectors. This article reviews the extant literature on creative work and workers in education, and presents the findings of a survey of 916 graduates from creative undergraduate degrees in Australia. The findings suggest that education work is very common among creative graduates indeed, while there are a range of motivating factors for education work among creative graduates, on average they are satisfied with their careers, and that creative graduates add significant creative-cultural and creative-generic value add through their work.

Creative graduate pathways within and beyond the creative industries

This special issue explores the nuances of graduate creative work, the kinds of value that creative graduates add through work of various types, graduate employability issues for creative graduates, emerging and developing creative career identities and the implications for educators who are tasked with developing a capable creative workforce. Extent literature tends to characterise creative careers as either ‘precarious’ and insecure, or as the engine room of the creative economy. However, in actuality, the creative workforce is far more heterogeneous than either of these positions suggest, and creative careers are far more complex and diverse than previously thought. The task of creative educators is also much more challenging than previously supposed. In this introductory article, we commence by providing a brief overview of the creative labour debates, and the evidence for each position. We present the latest literature in this area that starts to speak to how diverse and complex the landscape of creative work actually is. We then introduce each of the articles in this special issue and indicate how they contribute to a more multi-faceted picture of creative activity, and the lives and career trajectories of graduates from creative degrees.

Enriching community engaged learning through interdisciplinary collaboration

Twenty first century society presents critical challenges for higher education (Brew 2013, 2). The challenges facing modern communities require graduates to have skills that respond to issues at the boundaries of, and intersections between, disciplines. Mounting evidence suggests that interdisciplinary curriculum and pedagogies help students to develop boundary-crossing skills and a deeper awareness of the student’s domain-specific knowledge (Spelt et al. 2009; Strober 2011). Spelt et al. (2009) describe boundary-crossing skills as the ability to engage with different discourses, take account of multiple perspectives, synthesise knowledge of different disciplines, and cope with complexity. In this chapter we investigate emerging conditions, practical processes, and pedagogical strategies that are enabling the Lab stakeholders, the community, the university, and students to participate in interdisciplinary community-engaged learning. Aspects of the Lab that are considered in this chapter include building trust, sharing values, establishing learning goals that are reflected in learning experiences and assessment, and employing strategies that define and attend to relationships and roles. The case study, “The Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Australian Constitution”, a QUT collaborative project with the Social Justice Research Unit Anglicare Southern Queensland, describes the collaborators, processes, outcomes, and the lessons learned through one Lab project over three semesters. The issues illustrated in the case study are then further explored in a critical discussion of the strategies supporting interdisciplinarity in community-engaged learning across university/community collaboration, within and across the university, and for student participants

Teaching manufacturing engineering at tertiary institutions in conjunction with engineering design and engineering materials

Tertiary institutions now face serious challenges. Modern industry requires engineering graduates with strong knowledge of modern technologies, highly practical focus, management skills, ability to work individually and in a team, understanding of environmental issues and many other skills and graduate attributes. Institutions in the tertiary sector change courses and modify curriculum to reflect challenges of the modern industry and make engineering graduates better prepared for the “real world”. Queensland University of Technology in the recent years introduced an innovative structure of engineering courses with a common core for Bachelor of Engineering Mechanical, Infomechatronics and Medical, where manufacturing is taught in conjunction with engineering design and engineering materials. In this paper we discuss the innovative curriculum structure, teaching and learning approaches of coherent delivery of manufacturing in conjunction with engineering design and

Creative labour and graduate outcomes : Implications for higher education and cultural policy

One of the principal ways that cultural and higher education policy and practice intersect is over a shared concern with the supply of talent and its employability and career sustainability. This article considers the multidisciplinary contributions to these debates, and then engages with these debates by drawing upon research from analyses of national Census data, and via granular empirical survey research into Australian creative arts graduates’ initial career trajectories. In so doing, it seeks to paint a more nuanced picture of graduate outcomes, the significance of creative skills and by extension creative education and training, and the various kinds of value that creative graduates add through their work. This evidence should assist in a closer affinity between the differing approaches to creative labour and the creative economy, and has implications for cultural and higher education policy.

Making the transition from pharmacy student to pharmacist: Australian interns' perceptions of professional identity formation

Objectives The experience of transitioning from university to practice influences professional identity formation. It is unclear how this transitioning experience influences pharmacy interns' professional identities. This study aims to examine pharmacy interns' perceptions of their transition from university to the workplace and the influence this had on their pharmacist identities. Methods A qualitative approach using in-depth interviews was adopted for this study. Fifteen interns (community and hospital) from one school of pharmacy in Australia were interviewed. Questions were asked about the nature of their current intern role, their university experiences, how they saw themselves as pharmacists and their perceptions of the transition to practice. Key findings The interns interviewed entered the workplace valuing patient-focused aspects of practice and contributing to patient care. The nature of work meant there were limited opportunities to enact these aspects of their professional identities. The interns were challenged by interactions with patients and doctors, and experienced difficulties reconciling this with their university-derived professional identities. Also, the interns lacked the confidence and strategies to overcome these challenges. Some were exploring alternative ways of being pharmacists. Conclusions This paper argues that graduates' experience of the transition to practice was challenging. This was due to nascent professional identities formed in university and a lack of workplace experiences enabling patient-centred practices. The interns' formation of professional identities was highly responsive to the context of work. To facilitate the development of Australian patient-centred pharmacy practice, supporting professional identity formation should be a focus within pharmacy education.

The Australian Qualifications Framework for bachelor degree in property economics

The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) requires every course in Australia to be reviewed and compliant by 2015. This paper compares the difference between AQF level 7 and level 8 and outlines the paradigm shift in course development, improvement and quality assurance. The AQF requires an outcome oriented process which influences the development, monitoring and implementation of AQF courses. Firstly the graduate profile is defined to underscore the direction of the property course development. Required graduate attributes are then defined, together with course learning outcomes. Each unit/subject assessment is then designed to reflect the desired learning outcomes, and then finally the unit/subject content is backfilled. This reverse engineered process will ensure that all students have been taught and assessed on the graduate attributes which will form the graduate profile. Therefore, monitoring the inclusion of learning outcomes on unit/subject level during course restructure and development is crucial to achieve the course learning outcomes. This paper recommends that further evaluation needs to be conducted in the course development phases by involving professional accreditation bodies, industry representatives, students and recent graduates in this course development process. It also discusses challenges for developing an undergraduate property course.

Accolades or achievement? Addressing the unforeseen consequences of therapeutic pedagogy

Commentary "We have found little to indicate that indiscriminately promoting self-esteem in today’s children or adults, just for being themselves, offers society any compensatory benefits beyond the seductive pleasure it brings to those engaged in the exercise. (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, & Vohs, 2005)" In June this year, Wellesley High School became a focus of attention worldwide, following a graduation speech made by a teacher at the school. Departing from the traditional rhetoric of such ceremonies, English teacher David McCullough told the assembled graduates that they were neither special nor exceptional, but may well believe they were because they had been ‘pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, and bubble-wrapped, feted and fawned over’, an effect, he argued, of Americans’ ‘love of accolades more than genuine achievement’ (Christakis, 2012, p. 1). This assertion struck a chord not only in his home country, but more widely in the Western world, with many educators, childcare workers and parents experiencing a sense of unease about the extent to which this claim was justifiable, and if so, what sort of corrective might be needed.

Learning experiences for the transition to professional work

A better educated workforce contributes to a more informed and tolerant society with higher economic output, and this is also associated with higher levels of personal health, interpersonal trust and civic and social engagement. Against this backdrop, the role of universities has expanded, as university learning has moved beyond providing an education to preparing students for leadership positions within society. This article examines the effectiveness of final-year learning experiences from the perception of recent graduates. The aim is to improve undergraduate curriculum to facilitate the transition to professional employment. An online quantitative and qualitative survey instrument was developed to investigate graduates’ perceptions of their different learning experiences and assessment types in their senior year. Four hundred and twelve alumni from five universities completed the survey. Our results indicate that graduates value case studies, group work and oral presentations, and that graduates rate lectures and guest lectures from practitioners as the least important in their transition to work. The results validate the use of graduate capability frameworks and mapping the development of the skills over the curriculum. These results are useful for curriculum designers to assist with designing programmes on the transition to professional work.

Gearing up academics for collaborative Building Information Modelling (BIM) education

Building information modelling (BIM) radically changes the practices in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) and creates new job opportunities. Many governments, such as the United Kingdom, have made BIM a mandatory requirement. This substantially drives the demand for a BIM-literate workforce. Universities are facing the challenge to incorporate BIM into their curricula and produce “BIM ready” graduates to meet the needs of the industry. Like other universities, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is at the heart of this change and aspires to develop collaborative BIM education across AEC. Previous BIM education studies identify that inadequate BIM awareness of AEC academics is one of the challenges for developing a BIM curriculum and there is a dearth in the learning and teaching support for academics on BIM education. Equipping the AEC academics for a more BIM focused curriculum is all the while more important. This paper aims to leverage knowledge drawn from a Learning & Teaching project currently undertaken at QUT. Its specific objectives are to: 1) review the existing learning and teaching initiatives on BIM education; and 2) briefly describe the learning and teaching activities on collaborative BIM education at QUT. Significance of the paper lies on revealing the importance of building up the capacity of AEC academics for collaborative BIM education. The paper contributes to sparking the interests in better equipping AEC academics to understand what curriculum changes would assist in BIM uptake within the relevant courses to provide context for changes in units; and how the use of BIM can improve the understanding by students of the large amounts of professional knowledge they need to function effectively as graduates.

Employability skills: Perspectives from a knowledge-intensive industry

Purpose: While the global education debate remains focused on graduate skills and employability, the absence of a shared language between student, academic and industry stakeholder groups means that defining industry skills requirements is both essential and difficult. The aim of this study was to assess graduate skills requirements in a knowledge intensive industry from a demand perspective as distinct from a curriculum (supply) viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach: Skills items were derived from a breadth of disciplines across academic, policy and industry literature. CEOs and senior managers in the innovation and commercialisation industry were surveyed regarding perceptions of skills in graduates and skills in demand by the firm. Two rounds of exploratory factor analyses were undertaken to examine employers’ perceptions of the skills gap. Findings: First order analysis resolved 10 broad constructs that represent cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills domains as applied in this industry. Knowledge, leadership and interprofessional collaboration feature as prominent skills. Second order analysis revealed employers’ perceptions of graduate skills specifically centre on organisational fit and organisational success. An over-arching theme relates to performance of the individual in organisations. Research limitations/implications: Our findings suggest that the discourse on employability and the design of curriculum need to shift from instilling lists of skills towards enabling graduates to perform in a diversity of workplace contexts and expectations centred on organisational purpose. Originality/value: In contrast to the heterogeneous nature of industry surveys, we targeted a homogenous sector that is representative of knowledge intensive industries. This study contributes to the broader stakeholder dialogue of the value and application of graduate skills in this and other industry sectors.

The peer leader capacity building model: A student learning journey

The benefits of peer leader experiences in building graduate skills and capabilities, is well documented and recognised in the higher education sector (Ender & Kay, 2001; Lindsey, Weiler, Zarich, Haddock, Krafchick, & Zimmerman, 2014; Shook & Keup, J., 2012). While benefits are acknowledged, responsibility for identifying, structuring and recording the learning experiences and learning outcomes is charged to the student. This poster describes a framework ‘The Peer Leader Capacity Building Model’ that purposefully structures the peer-leader’s learning journey providing: timely training, moments of critical reflection and goal setting. The model articulates the fundamental interplay of learning and peer leader service which forms the peer ‘learnership’. The journey begins with the ‘aspiration’ phase where students come to understand their leadership opportunities, progressing through ‘enabling’ and ‘mastering’ phases where students shape their learner-leader experience, and finally, to the ‘contributing graduate’ phase where students emerge as competent graduates able to confidently participate in their communities and workplaces. In shifting from a program centric approach that priorities the needs of the mentees, the Peer Leader Capacity Building Model focuses on the individual as a peer leader encouraging the student to shape their individual ‘learnscape’ through consciously navigating both their curricula and co-curricular learning experiences.

A student-centred approach to support, reward and recognition of student peer ‘learnership’

The benefits for university graduates in growing skills and capabilities through volunteering experiences are gaining increased attention. Building leadership self-efficacy supports students develop their capacity for understanding, articulating and evidencing their learning. Reward and recognition is fundamental in the student’s journey to build self-efficacy. Through this research, concepts of reward and recognition have been explored and articulated through the experiences and perceptions of actively engaged student peer leaders. The research methodology has enabled a collaborative, student-centred approach in shaping an innovative Rewards Framework, which supports, recognises and rewards the learning journey from beginning peer leader to competent and confident graduate.

Where is spatial information and science in your world?

Skills in spatial sciences are fundamental to understanding our world in context. Increasing digital presence and the availability of data with accurate spatial components has allowed almost everything researchers and students do to be represented in a spatial context. Representing outcomes and disseminating information has moved from 2D to 4D with time series animation. In the next 5 years industry will not only demand QUT graduates have spatial skills along with analytical skills, graduates will be required to present their findings in spatial visualizations that show spatial, spectral and temporal contexts. Domains such as engineering and science will no longer be the leaders in spatial skills as social sciences, health, arts and the business community gain momentum from place-based research including human interactions. A university that can offer students a pathway to advanced spatial investigation will be ahead of the game.