An exploration of The Virtues Project: Ontological, educational and cross-cultural inquiries into a moral education program within a Mongolian school setting

This thesis explores The Virtues Project's ontological, educational and cross-cultural dimensions taking Charles Taylor's philosophical perspective of an anthropological account of the self and a phenomenological account of moral life and engagement. The experience of Mongolian schoolteachers implementing this moral education program is analyzed using a narrative inquiry method. The globally attractive project appears in moral education and virtues ethics research and surveys, yet no critical evaluation has been undertaken. Its conceptual features are appraised from a Taylorean perspective. The Listening Guide analysis of teacher experiences is presented in two narratives. The first is about the teachers' implementation experiences of moral flourishing as selves, in relationships and in community. The second is about their experience of becoming Mongolian in their modern day context. In conclusion, the project is coherent, constructive and potentially suitable cross-culturally.

Making connections within the Asia-Pacific region: Case study around the Mentoring for Effective Teaching (MET) program

University strategic plans emphasise the essential nature of partnerships at national and international levels. Along with establishing collaborative research partnerships, providing professional development to key stakeholders is considered a crucial activity for making and sustaining partnerships. Utilising knowledge from professional development in Australian contexts can be managed creatively for making connections internationally. Indeed, knowledge transfer is a cornerstone for the globalisation of education and needs to occur as a multiplex dialogue between participating countries. This paper presents a qualitative study around the Mentoring for Effective Teaching (MET) program, its growth and development nationally (e.g., scope and impact) along with insights into making connections within the Asia-Pacific region. At a national level, we outline how to facilitate a program though relationship building and face-to-face implementation of professional learning. Internationally, we highlight how to mould and shape Australian professional learning for the Asia-Pacific region, particularly with regard to facilitating fluid interactions within environments outside of Australia. The contexts for the study include a university in Hong Kong and another university in the Philippines. In this presentation, examples will be provided from the MET program to demonstrate contextual differences and similarities for implementation in Australian and Asian contexts. For instance, determining strategies for mentoring pedagogical knowledge can elicit viewpoints that align between cultures (e.g., use of specific teaching and questioning strategies) and also present alternative ideas as a result of cultural differences. We have learnt about having a structured program that draws on the research yet has sufficient flexibility to cater for cultures and contexts. With openmindedness, facilitating professional learning can become a two-way knowledge transfer, where learnings from other cultures and contexts can be refined for advancing programs in Australia.

Comparison of baseline information literacy skills of undergraduate and graduate Nurses at the University of Queensland: a pilot study by health librarians

Pilot studies are conducted to explain the baseline information literacy skills prevailing in the undergraduate and graduate nurses at the University of Queensland. The analyses reveal a significant difference between the skills of both the nurses, hence demonstrating the need for the development of new information literacy workshops. The author also presents various teaching strategies that can be adopted for an effective skill development of these nurses.

Australian patients using a cardiac-diabetes web-based intervention program: Contributions to person-centered clinical practice

Rationale, aims and objectives: Patients with both cardiac disease and diabetes have poorer health outcomes than patients with only one chronic condition. While evidence indicates that internet based interventions may improve health outcomes for patients with a chronic disease, there is no literature on internet programs specific to cardiac patients with comorbid diabetes. Therefore this study aimed to develop a specific web-based program, then to explore patients’ perspectives on the usefulness of a new program. Methods: The interpretive approach using semi-structured interviews on a purposive sample of eligible patients with type 2 diabetes and a cardiac condition in a metropolitan hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Thematic analysis was undertaken to describe the perceived usefulness of a newly developed Heart2heart webpage. Results: Themes identified included confidence in hospital health professionals and reliance on doctors to manage conditions. Patients found the webpage useful for managing their conditions at home. Conclusions: The new Heart2heart webpage provided a positive and useful resource. Further research on to determine the potential influence of this resource on patients’ self-management behaviours is paramount. Implications for practice include using multimedia strategies for providing information to patients’ comorbidities of cardiac disease and type 2 diabetes, and further development on enhancement of such strategies

The effectiveness of interventions for improving the research literacy of nurses: A systematic review

Background Internationally, a considerable body of research exists examining why nurses do not use evidence in practice. Consistently, the research finds that lack of knowledge about research or discomfort with understanding research terminology are among the chief reasons given. Research education is commonly included in undergraduate nursing degree programs, but this does not seem to translate into a strong understanding of research following graduation, or an ability to use it in practice. Aim The objective of this review was to identify the effectiveness of workplace, tertiary-level educational, or other interventions designed to improve or increase postregistration nurses’understanding of research literature and ability to critically interact with research literature with the aim of promoting the use of research evidence in practice in comparison to no intervention, other intervention, or usual practice. Methods A wide range of databases were searched for quantitative studies of registered nurses receiving educational interventions designed to increase or improve their understanding of research literature in tertiary or workplace settings. Two reviewers working independently critically appraised the relevant papers and extracted the data using Joanna Briggs Institute instruments. Data are presented as a narrative summary as no meta-analysis was possible. Results Searching identified 4,545 potentially relevant papers, and after the sifting of titles and abstracts, 96 papers were selected for retrieval. On examination of full-text versions, 10 of the 96 retrieved papers were found to meet the inclusion criteria. Included studies were low to moderate quality. Interactive or activity-based learning seems to be effective in terms of improving research knowledge, critical appraisal ability, and research self-efficacy. Utilizing a program with a strong base in an appropriate theory also seems to be associated with greater effectiveness, particularly for workplace interventions. Linking Evidence to Action The included studies strongly favored interactive interventions, and those utilizing theory in their construction. Therefore, these types of interventions should be implemented to improve the effectiveness of research education for nurses as well as their research literacy.

An Aboriginal nurse-led working model for success in graduating Indigenous Australian nurses

Australia needs more Indigenous nurses. This is widely recognised in both academic literature and government policy. In 2012, only 0.8 percent of the Australian nursing workforce was Indigenous (AIHW, 2012). In spite of the clear need, there is little discussion about how to successfully recruit, retain and graduate Indigenous nursing students. This paper describes a successful program being implemented at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Between 2000 and 2012, USQ graduated 80 Indigenous nurses and midwives, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In this paper, the authors outline the journey they undertook to develop the successful program at USQ: the Indigenous Nursing Support (INS) Model: Helping Hands. They argue that four elements underpin success for Indigenous nursing students: the availability of Indigenous academics, Indigenous health content in the nursing curriculum, Indigenous-specific recruitment materials, and individual mentoring and nurturing of Indigenous students.

Motivation and behavioural patterns of students accessing a peer-facilitated support for learning program

This paper describes the development and use of personas, a Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research methodology, within the STIMulate peer learning program, in order to better understand student behaviour patterns and motivations. STIMulate is a support for learning program at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. The program provides assistance in mathematics, science and information technology (IT) for course work students. A STIMulate space is provided for students to study and obtain one-on-one assistance from Peer Learning Facilitators (PLFs), who are experienced students that have excelled in relevant subject areas. This paper describes personas – archetypal users - that represent the motivations and behavioural patterns of students that utilise STIMulate (particularly the IT stream). The personas were developed based on interviews with PLFs, and subsequently validated by a PLF focus group. Seven different personas were developed. The personas enable us to better understand the characteristics of the students utilising the STIMulate program. The research provides a clearer picture of visiting student motivations and behavioural patterns. This has helped us identify gaps in the services provided, and be more aware of our assumptions about students. The personas have been deployed in PLF training programs, to help PLFs provide a better service to the students. The research findings suggest further study on the resonances between some students and PLFs, which we would like to better elicit.

A holistic, institution-wide approach to building sessional staff capacity

Sessional Academics enhance students’ learning experience by bringing a diverse range of perspectives and expertise into the classroom. As industry specialists, research students, and recent graduates who have excelled in their courses, they complement the discipline expertise of career academics. With increasing casualization of the academic workforce, Sessional Academics now deliver the majority of face-to-face undergraduate teaching in Australian Universities. To enable them to realize their full potential as effective contributors to student learning and course quality, universities need to offer effective training and access to advice and support and facilitate engagement in university life. However, in the face of complex and diverse contexts, overwhelming numbers, and the transitory nature of sessional cohorts, few universities have developed a comprehensive, systematic approach. During the past three years at QUT, we have set out to develop a multifaceted approach to Sessional Academic support and development. In this paper I will explain why and how we have done so, and describe the range of strategies and programs we have developed. They include a central academic development program, which is structured and scaffolded with learning objectives and outcomes, and aligned with a graduate certificate in Academic Practice; a Sessional Academic Success program, which deploys experienced, school-based sessional academic success advisors to provide local support, build a sense of community, and offer discipline focused academic development; an online, dialogic communication strategy; and opportunities to present and be acknowledged for good learning and teaching practices. Together, these strategies have impacted on sessional academics’ confidence, learning and teaching capacity, reflection and engagement.

Teacher Education for High Poverty Schools in Australia: The National Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools Program

This chapter focuses on teacher education for high-poverty schools in Australia and suggests that a contextualization of poverty is an important step in identifying solutions to the persistent gaps in how teachers are prepared to teach in schools where they can make a lasting difference. Understanding how poverty looks different between and within different countries provides a reminder of the complexities of disadvantage. Similarities exist within OECD countries; however, differences are also evident. This is something that initial teacher education (ITE) solutions need to take into account. While Australia has a history of initiatives designed to address teacher education for high-poverty schools, this chapter provides a particular snapshot of Australia’s National Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools program (NETDS), a large-scale, national partnership between universities and Departments of Education, which is partially supported by philanthropic funding.

Students' responses to the RACQ docudrama program

Young people are over-represented in road crashes and school-based education programs, including the RACQ Docudrama program, represent initiatives aimed at improving road safety among this high-risk group. The aim of the study was to apply an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour framework to understand more about the extent to which the program influenced individuals‟ intentions to speak up to a driver engaging in risky behaviours (e.g., speeding). Senior high school students (N=260) from 5 Queensland schools completed a survey in class. The study included a Control group (n = 86) who responded to the survey prior to completing the Docudrama program and an Intervention group comprising an Intervention-Immediate (n=100) and an Intervention-Delayed group (n = 74) who completed the survey after having participated in the program either on the day or up to a week later, respectively. Overall, the findings provided support for the beneficial effects of the program. Some of the study’s key findings included: (i) Intervention group participants consistently reported significantly stronger intentions to speak up than participants in the control group; (ii) among the significant predictors of intentions, a notable finding was that the more individuals anticipated feeling regretful for not having spoken up to a risky driver, the stronger their intentions were to speak up, and; (iii) the level of fear reported by students significantly decreased and was lowest at the conclusion of the program, following facilitated group discussion. The implications of the results for future research, program development and practice are discussed.

Building creative connections: An analysis of a creative arts widening participation program

Widening participation or outreach agendas have been a major part of higher education policy since the early 2000s. These policies and programs seek to increase marginalised groups’ access to further study through activities, tutoring programs, workshops, and other provisions. Some programs openly state their intention to assist people from low socioeconomic backgrounds to become more civically engaged and socially mobile by improving their education, which creates an immediate link between education and social capital (see Morley 2012; Hillmert and Jacob 2010). Social capital refers to the ‘connections among individuals’ and the consequent value of the things they do together (Putnam 2000; Gauntlett 2011). Media and creative arts widening participation programs, arguably, are better equipped to build social capital than any other form of outreach, due to their relationship-building capacity (Gauntlett 2011; Kinder and Harland 2004). This article analyses Queensland University of Technology’s Creative Industries Widening Participation Program. It investigates social capital and its relationship with higher education in outreach initiatives in order to identify how media and creative arts widening participation programs have the capacity to influence the attitudes of low socioeconomic background students towards higher education.

Widening participation creatively: Creative arts education for social inclusion

University participation among students from low socio-economic backgrounds in Australia is low and nationwide strategies are in place to help bridge the gap. This article presents a preliminary evaluation of a creative arts-based outreach program to raise awareness and aspiration for university study among students from low-income backgrounds. The program is part of a national Australian federally funded initiative, the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program. It reviews an outreach advertising program facilitated by a Brisbane university. We argue that arts education has a particular role in provoking attitudinal change, due to the self-reflective, meaning-making and expressive characteristics of arts-based disciplines. In evaluating the advertising program, the value of creativity and trust as techniques of student engagement is considered. Evaluation occurred in two outer suburban high schools in Brisbane (a State capital city), using surveys and ethnographic fieldwork. The findings support an engagement model that employs creativity and uses student facilitators (undergraduate and postgraduate) to deliver the program, to meet the program's aims.

Informed learning in the undergraduate classroom: The role of information experiences in shaping outcomes

This research aimed to inform the design of effective information literacy lessons in higher education. Phenomenography, a research approach designed to study human experience, was used to explore the experiences of a teacher and undergraduate students using information to learn about language and gender issues. The findings show that the way learners use information influences content-focused learning outcomes, and reveal an instructional pattern for enabling students to use information while becoming aware of the topic they are investigating. Based on the findings, a design model is offered in which learning outcomes are realized through targeted information literacy activities.

An investigation into drink driving among aboriginal and Torres strait islander peoples in regional and remote Queensland and the development of the 'Hero to Healing' program

This program of research investigated the factors facilitating drink driving in Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland. Drink driving-related road crashes are a significant health burden for Indigenous people, as they die in road crashes at three times the rate of other Australians and are 30% more likely to be seriously injured. This research provided information to develop and pilot a culturally-specific program, 'Hero to Healing'. The main motivation to drink drive was related to 'kinship pressure; where drivers were pressured by family members to drive after drinking. The underlying responsibility for transporting family members was related to cultural values and involved responding to family needs as a priority. Exposure to older family members drink driving was considered to play a role in normalising the behaviour, leading to imitation into adulthood. The research highlighted the need to treat drink driving as a community issue, rather than an individual phenomenon.