Authenticity in assessment : reflecting undergraduate study and professional practice

The literature suggests that assessment is a powerful tool for influencing student study habits. It is also recognized that there is a tension between traditional forms of assessment and newer forms of assessment that offer a more authentic representation of practice, but are more complex and expensive to administer. The international trend in undergraduate engineering course accreditation to move to demonstration of attainment of graduate attributes poses new challenges in assessment of learning. A case study based on integrating assessment practices across the year levels of an engineering management studies stream in an undergraduate course is presented. Key features of the assessment portfolio include: the use of assessment in the first year as a foundational tool to establish student study habits and skills; the evolution of assessment tasks by the fourth year to reflect the world of professional practice and to allow students to demonstrate their integration of knowledge and skills; the weighting of assessment tasks to indicate the value attached to particular tasks; the structured inclusion of group work; a concern for student and staff workloads; the recognition of student diversity, in particular the needs of off-campus and mature-age students; and the matching of assessment tasks to professional accreditation requirements.

Individual and organisational factors influencing academics` decisions to pursue the scholarship and teaching of ICT

This paper focuses on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) academics' perceptions of factors that promote and inhibit their pursuit of scholarship in their teaching work. It identifies critical factors that influence academics' attitudes, orientations and behaviours in respect to the scholarship of teaching, and from these builds a framework for understanding the interaction between these factors. We have named this framework the Scholarship of Teaching Support Framework.

During 2001 and 2002 a national project investigated teaching and learning initiatives in the major discipline of lCT in Australia's universities. As part of this project a mini-conference program was devised to elicit academics' perceptions of the factors influencing their teaching work and their participation in scholarly activities around this work. In total 83 ICT teachers from 29 universities participated in the mini-conference program. Attendees included staff members from a range of academic levels.

In discussions of aspects of the scholarship of teaching at the mini-conference participants referred to both attributes and responses of both university teachers and the university institutions. We have categorized these factors into those that relate to the individual academic (Individual domain) and those that relate to the tertiary institutional system (Organisational domain). Many contributions highlighted the interaction between these two domains.

Within the Individual domain, two key factors described by participants as affecting the pursuit of the scholarship of teaching were teachers' motivation towards, and their capabilities in, scholarly activities surrounding their teaching. Within the organizational domain two influential factors also emerged. These were the organizational support provided through allocation of resources and symbolic support reflected in an institution's systems, policies and processes.

Our findings indicate that both the Individual and Organizational domains contribute to university teachers' decisions to pursue (or not to pursue) the scholarship of teaching.

These two domains were seen by participants to interact within university environments to influence whether a particular environment is supportive or unsupportive in terms of the pursuit of the scholarship of teaching. Factors both from and within the individual and the organizational domains were seen to interact with each other forming a web of interrelated factors that appear to influence individuals' decisions to pursue, or not to pursue, the scholarship of teaching. From this complexity four theoretical extremes emerged providing the dimensions and components of the Scholarship of Teaching Support Framework.

We argue that responsive and innovative approaches to university teaching are best supported by academics undertaking scholarly activities around their teaching work, yet this article presents a picture of a university work environment where scholarly activities that focus on teaching and learning are seen as generally unsupported and unrewarded. This perception was identified as commonalities across a university system. Although some exceptions were noted, participants generally agreed that the organisational domain of Australian universities was largely unsupportive of the pursuit of the scholarship of teaching. Similarly, in general, university ICT teachers were not thought to have the backgrounds and capabilities necessary for pursuing the scholarship of teaching, such as familiarity with literature on teaching and learning and skills in educational evaluation. However, despite perceived inhibitors in universities' organisational culture and allocation of resources, and a perceived lack in individuals' skills, participants agreed that scholarly activities and innovation in university teaching and learning do take place, These are largely driven by the intrinsic motivation of individuals. It was recognised that further work is necessary to explore how motivation can be engendered and encouraged.

The Scholarship of Teaching Support Framework is a useful tool for examining how conducive a given university teaching context is to the scholarship of teaching and, therefore, can be used for review purposes within both research and policy contexts. Such tools will become increasingly important as policy changes begin to affect practices in how university teaching work is managed, supported and encouraged.

The role of arts education in advancing leadership life skills for young people

This paper contends that the arts provide a foundation for the intensifying effort that leadership, creative aptitude and expertise are making to existing and emerging professions. Participation in arts-based (school and/or community) programs 'have proven to be educational, developmentally rich, and cost-effective ways to provide students the skills they need to be productive participants in today's economy' (Psilos, 2002, p. 2). In particular, this paper explores the relationship between leadership development in young people through their engagement with arts education experiences, specifically the capacity of the arts to develop the generic skills of communication, team work, problem-solving and creative interpretation-skills considered essential for productive participation in today's economy and skills that augment leadership potential.

Mature workers, training and using TLM frameworks

Mature workers have been at the centre of policies aimed at encouraging higher workforce participation, longer working life and enhanced savings for retirement. Low mature age workforce participation rates reflect labour market withdrawal in the face of multiple barriers to participation for many. Their apparent voluntary joblessness conceals the fact that mature workers endure longer periods of unemployment, discrimination, redundancy and other barriers to employment (hence the drift to 'early retirement'). The policy dilemma is not just about addressing discrimination barriers, access to appropriate retraining or skills enhancement for mature workers, but what this tells us about lifelong learning as a means of managing and mitigating risk. The mismatch between work opportunities/skills shortages and the low education and skills base of many mature workers, means it is simplistic to think that working longer might be a short term way to address skills shortages; without an enormous investment in the current ageing cohort. Drawing on Transitional Labour Market (TLM) theory and European reform agendas, this article argues that the link between investment in lifelong education/ skills training and stronger labour market participation needs attention; not just for current cohorts of excluded or underemployed mature workers but to position strategically for future generations.

Crossing boundaries between learning and research : doctoral programs at a distance

Australian distance education, from school to university contexts, typically concerns teaching people the knowledge, values and skills that constitute their chosen courses of study; whereas doctoral courses principally concern candidates learning how to produce – through producing – significant original new knowledge. This paper considers the history and contemporary practices of Australian off-campus doctoral education and argues that these are at the forefront internationally. It is argued that understanding the provision of quality doctoral education at a distance requires a form of conceptual boundary crossing by policymakers, distance educators, and (especially) doctoral education practitioners, in order to develop and/or enhance future practices.

Understanding requirements engineering process: a challenge for practice and education

Reviews of the state of the professional practice in Requirements Engineering (RE) stress that the RE process is both complex and hard to describe, and suggest there is a significant difference between competent and "approved" practice. "Approved" practice is reflected by (in all likelihood, in fact, has its genesis in) RE education, so that the knowledge and skills taught to students do not match the knowledge and skills required and applied by competent practitioners.

A new understanding of the RE process has emerged from our recent study. RE is revealed as inherently creative, involving cycles of building and major reconstruction of the models developed, significantly different from the systematic and smoothly incremental process generally described in the literature. The process is better characterised as highly creative, opportunistic and insight driven. This mismatch between approved and actual practice provides a challenge to RE education - RE requires insight and creativity as well as technical knowledge. Traditional learning models applied to RE focus, however, on notation and prescribed processes acquired through repetition. We argue that traditional learning models fail to support the learning required for RE and propose both a new model based on cognitive flexibility and a framework for RE education to support this model.

Students perceptions of learning outcomes from group-based, problem-based teaching and learning activities

Objective: A study aimed at exploring the variation in perceptions of learning outcomes reported by undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a problem-based learning subject in a pre-registration Bachelor of Nursing course (BN).
Method: Students were asked to respond to four open-ended questions which focussed on their learning outcomes in the different teaching/learning modalities of the subject. Data were analysed in two phases using a modified phenomenographic analysis. In the first phase a set of categories of description were developed from the student responses to questions related to the learning modalities. In the second phase the individual responses were classified in terms of the categories. Finally, correlations between the learning modalities were identified. In this paper the approach to analysis, the process of category identification and the correlations between the learning modalities will be described and the implications for further research and teaching will be discussed.
Results: The findings indicated that there were two distinct groups of student responses. Inward focussed students who described outcomes in terms of their own learning and students whose focus was outward i.e. describing learning in terms of patient care and how learning relates to that care. Another important result shows the relationship between the learning modalities and outcomes. From the students' perspective, the most sophisticated outcomes of the lectures and laboratories were ideas and skills to be used and applied in clinical settings. Whereas, the group-based activities in which clinical problems were presented to the students in the form of Situation Improvement Packages (SIPS) focussed their attention on the clinical setting which constituted a preparation for the realities of clinical practice.
Conclusion: The findings from this study indicate that students perceive their learning in the group based teaching/learning modality (SIPS) as effective in focussing them on the reality of their role in the clinical practice environment while lectures and laboratories provided the skills and knowledge required for this setting.

Care : what nurses say and what nurses do

Caring is neither simply a set of attitudes or theories, nor does it comprise all that nurses do. Nursing care is determined by the way nurses use knowledge and skills to appreciate the uniqueness of the person they are caring for (changing the care noun into a caring verb). The purpose of this article is to present a range of contemporary nurse theorists' ideas on caring and to examine these ideas using the backdrop of nursing as practiced in both Australia and Canada to demonstrate a range of national and international similarities and theoretical beliefs. Caring relationships set up the conditions of trust that enable the one receiving the care to accept the help offered, underpinning the nurse-patient relationship or the therapeutic relationship. Caring is always specific and relational such as that found in the nurse-patient relationship. We believe that caring theory has much to offer nursing practice worldwide. Caring must be considered in the caring context because the nature of the caring relationship is central to most nursing interventions. Nurses need to be able to actually practice caring rather than just theorize about it-using caring theories to inform their practice.

Professional carers' knowledge and response to depression among their aged-care clients : the care recipients' perspective

Depression is an under-diagnosed disorder among the elderly, even in those who are in receipt of aged-care services. One factor associated with this under diagnosis has been identified as a reluctance amongst the elderly to discuss their mood and emotions with their medical practitioners. The current study focused on why depression is not recognised and acted on by those providing residential or home-based care to older people. We interviewed 15 elderly people residing in high-level or low-level aged-care facilities, and three elderly people who were receiving personal care in their homes. All participants had been identified by their care agencies as depressed. Participants reported their perceptions of their personal carers' knowledge and practices in managing the residents' depression. Although the participants described their carers in positive terms, they were critical of their knowledge and skills in recognising depression, and indicated that the communication between personal carers and care recipients about depressive symptomatology was seriously flawed. Training for personal carers in these areas, and efforts to change organisational culture are recommended.

Perceived sports competence mediates the relationship between childhood motor skill proficiency and adolescent physical activity and fitness : a longitudinal assessment

Background: The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether perceived sports competence mediates the relationship between childhood motor skill proficiency and subsequent adolescent physical activity and fitness.

Methods: In 2000, children's motor skill proficiency was assessed as part of a school-based physical activity intervention. In 2006/07, participants were followed up as part of the Physical Activity and Skills Study and completed assessments for perceived sports competence (Physical Self-Perception Profile), physical activity (Adolescent Physical Activity Recall Questionnaire) and cardiorespiratory fitness (Multistage Fitness Test). Structural equation modelling techniques were used to determine whether perceived sports competence mediated between childhood object control skill proficiency (composite score of kick, catch and overhand throw), and subsequent adolescent self-reported time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness.

Results: Of 928 original intervention participants, 481 were located in 28 schools and 276 (57%) were assessed with at least one follow-up measure. Slightly more than half were female (52.4%) with a mean age of 16.4 years (range 14.2 to 18.3 yrs). Relevant assessments were completed by 250 (90.6%) students for the Physical Activity Model and 227 (82.3%) for the Fitness Model. Both hypothesised mediation models had a good fit to the observed data, with the Physical Activity Model accounting for 18% (R2 = 0.18) of physical activity variance and the Fitness Model accounting for 30% (R2 = 0.30) of fitness variance. Sex did not act as a moderator in either model.

Conclusion: Developing a high perceived sports competence through object control skill development in childhood is important for both boys and girls in determining adolescent physical activity participation and fitness. Our findings highlight the need for interventions to target and improve the perceived sports competence of youth.

Mobile phones and children : an Australian perspective

Mobile phones in Australia record one of the world’s highest rates of ownership among children under 18. This paper examines issues of mobile phones and Australian children and the various discourses (systematic frames) used in discussing their effects. These are the optimistic (gains); pessimistic (losses, costs or harms); pluralistic (technology per se is neutral but how it is used matters); historical development (importance and skills learnt); futuristic predictions (promises and dangers); current uses (connectivity, convergence and interactivity); and techno-realist view (as a mixed blessing). Taking the Justification View of Technology that sees technological adoption as a gamble and borrowing from Joshua Meyrowitz, it examines how mobile phones have eroded parental power over how, when, where and with whom their children communicate, while at the same time, becoming a ‘digital leash’ for parents to re-establish their control and an ‘umbilical cord’ of children to remain connected with parents at all times.

The use of Web 2.0 Technologies to promote higher order thinking skills

During 2007 several independent Victorian secondary schools participated in a study exploring the ways in which the use of learning technologies can support the development of higher order thinking skills for students. This paper focuses on the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) including Web 2.0 technologies for promoting effective teaching and learning in science. A case study methodology was used to describe how individual teachers used ICT and Web 2.0 in their settings. Data included interviews (focus group and individual), questionnaires, monitoring of teacher and student use of smart tools, analysis of curriculum documents and delivery methods and of student work samples. The evaluation used an interpretive methodology to investigate five research areas: Higher-order thinking, Metacognitive awareness, Team work/collaboration, Affect towards school/learning and Ownership of learning. Three cases are reported on in this paper. Each describes how student engagement and learning increased and how teachers’ attitudes and skills developed. Examples of student and teacher blogs are provided to illustrate how such technologies encourage students and teachers to look beyond text science.

Developing student transferable skills through reflective porfolios

The development of transferable skills in students, ie those relevant to any future employment, is a common goal of degree programmes. Reflection is a mechanism frequently used in the training of medical and teaching professionals to develop self-awareness of personal skills levels that enable participants to become self-reflective practitioners. The intention in this research was to trial reflection for construction management and architecture students through a series of interventions to engage students in the explicit development of transferable skills and self-awareness. Students were required to keep a ‘diary’ or journal under specific skills headings: communication (involving active listening, conflict resolution, negotiation), team building, problem solving, report writing and presentation skills based on their experiences at university, work and in social situations. A range of learning resources were made available to assist students. The journals were analysed according to a recognised coding for the depth of their reflection . At the end of the semester, students were required to “apply” for a job description that required explication of the knowledge and skills that were intended to be further developed during the unit. In practice, few students appreciated the journaling and some were even hostile to the process, but all students demonstrated good appreciation of their abilities and skills in the job application – essentially a mechanism that required reflection. In conclusion, explicit reflection through journaling is not a universally popular practice, but tasks that appear to have some foundation in practicality that require reflection are more likely to be appreciated. Students depth of reflection was found to improve through practice.

Education and training as a social science : some empirical evidence in the Rosebank Business Precinct of Auckland New Zealand

Tertiary institutions should seek continuous feedback from industries to keep track of the needs of businesses to provide education and training. Academics should stay in touch with businesses by networking and consulting. Holland and De Cieri (2006) refer to theories of child learning (pedagogy) to inform their understanding of andragogy, the study of adult learning. Adult learners would be continuous learners and would move in and out of formal education according to individual needs or life circumstances, job requirements or career development. In designing programmes and up-grading curricula, these are important factors to bear in mind so that programmes “cater” for these learners as well.

This study was financed by Auckland City Council focussing on Auckland’s Rosebank Business Precinct (ARBP). The surrounding communities, particularly Mäori, Pacific peoples and recent migrants, experience disparities in employment. Our research questions were:
• Is there a skills match between the present-day workforce and actual business needs over the medium term?
• What can these data tell us about Rosebank’s trajectory as a skilled business cluster and about its future workforce requirements?
• What education and training will be necessary for these organisations to maintain their competitive advantage and profit margins?

The target population were the 500-600 businesses operating on Rosebank Road. A total of 529 businesses were identified. Interviews with 102 companies with a 36-question questionnaire were conducted. The sampling frame was owner-managers (senior, non-shareholding managers). Of the respondent firms, 68.75% had vacancies for up to 3 months and 31.24% vacancies for 6 months.

This paper highlights areas identified in the ARBP for developing programmes and curricula for tertiary institutions to provide employable students with the right knowledge, skills and attributes (KSAs) to grow existing ventures. A fine balance must be struck between human and organisational needs. In the analysis and discussion we point out what education or training is necessary for the ARBP to provide greater efficiencies and subsequent improvement to their profit levels by current and future employees entering the workforce; well “equipped” employees with knowledge and skills to add value in their organisations. Recommendations, future perspectives and conclusions form the last part of this paper

Levy grant training scheme evolution : focus on Fiji and Singapore

This thesis examines the evolution of national training policy in Fiji since 1973 with a particular emphasis on the national levy-grant scheme that was introduced in Fiji in that same year. Developments in the Fiji National Training Council (FNTC) levy-grants scheme since its inception, including substantive amendments to the legislation in late 2002, form part of the scholarship. The thesis will provide an analytical narration of the training policy objectives and their transformation over a time span of almost three decades in the context of a small island nation. To inform this study, it was considered essential to compare the Fiji experience of levy grants schemes with other levy grants scheme. The author decided to use as the focal comparative benchmark the case of the Skills Development Fund (SDF) in Singapore. The SDF has been increasingly portrayed, by the World Bank, the International Labour Organisation and other influential agencies, as the best practice case when it comes to managing a training levy grants scheme. The thesis adopted a qualitative approach that utilized elements of case study, historical research, and key person interviews. The challenges of doing 'insider* research were explored because of its pertinence to the study. Because the study also involved the comparison of the policy experiences of two distinct countries, it was imperative to consider the issues and challenges of undertaking comparative research with particular reference to training matters- Given that training is often enmeshed with other human resources management issues, cognisance was taken of some of the broader debates in this regard. Following consideration of the methodological issues, the research paper explores the objectives of national training strategies and, in particular, issues relating to national competitiveness and skills development. The purpose is to situate the issue of training and skills development within the broader discourse of national development. Alternative approaches to the strategic role of training are considered both at the national and organisational level and some of the classic and current debates surrounding human capital investment are visited. The thesis then proceeds to examine the forms of, and rationale for government interventions in the area of training. One of the challenges both in practice and theoretically is to arrive at a consensual definition of training because of the constantly evolving context and boundaries in which training policies are fashioned. This provides the setting to examine the role that governments can and do play in skills development and how levy-grant schemes, in particular, contribute to the process. Three forms of levy grants schemes are identified and examined: levy-generating; levy-exemption; and levy-grant and reimbursement schemes. The levy-grant and reimbursement variant is the basic thrust of this thesis. In this regard, the UK experience with the levy-grant system from 1964 to 1981 is also reviewed. Some of the issues in relation to training levies are scrutinized including the levy as a sheltered source of training finance, levy rates, duration of levy, impact of levy on the quality and quantity of training, benefits to small businesses, links between training and strategic business objectives, repackaging of training to qualify for grants, and the process by which training levy policies are devised. In looking at the policy formulation, it was necessary to unpack the processes involved and explore the role of the state further. In relation to policy development and implementation, the consultation processes, role of bureaucrats, the policy context, and approaches to policy transfer are examined. In looking at the role of the state in policy development, the alternative roles of government are explored and the concepts of the 'developmental state' and the 'corporatist state* evaluated. The notion of the developmental state has particular relevance to this study given the emphasis placed by the Singaporean government on human resource development policies. This sets the scene for a detailed examination of the role of levy-grant training schemes in Fiji and Singapore. The Skills Development Fund in Singapore was developed as an integral component of national economic policy when the Singaporean government decided to break out of the 'low-skills' trap and move the economy towards a higher value adding structure. The levy-grant system was designed to complement the strategy by focusing on upgrading the skills of employees on lower incomes, the assumption being that employees on lower remuneration were more likely to need skills upgrading. The study notes that the early objectives of the SDF were displaced when it was revealed that the bulk of SDF expenditure was directed at higher level supervisory and management training. As a result, the SDF had to refocus its activities on small and medium enterprises and the workers who were likely to miss out on formal training opportunities. The Singaporean context also shows trade unions playing a significant role in worker education and literacy programmes financed under the SDF. To understand this requires some understanding of the historical linkages between the present Singaporean government and trade union leadership. Another aspect of the development of the SDF has been the constant shifting of the institutional responsibility for the scheme. As late as September 2003, the SDF was again moved, this time to the newly created Singapore Workforce Development Agency, with the focus turning to lifelong learning and assisting Singaporeans who are unemployed or made redundant as a result of the economic restructuring. The Fiji experience with the FNTC scheme is different. It evolved in the context of perceived skills shortages but there was a degree of ambiguity over its objectives. There were no specific linkages with economic policy. Relationships with other public training institutions and more recently, private training providers, have been fraught with difficulties. The study examines the origins of the policy, the early difficulties including perceived employer grievances, and the numerous external assessments of the Fiji levy-grant scheme noting that some of them were highly critical. The thesis also examines an attempted reform of the scheme in 1992-93 that proved unsuccessful and the more recent legislative reforms to the scheme in 2002 that have expanded the role of the scheme to encompass, inter alia, national occupational standards and accreditation activities. The thesis concludes by comparing the two schemes noting that the SDF is well entrenched as a policy instrument in Singapore whilst the FNTC is facing a struggle to assert its legitimacy in Fiji.