Doctorates downunder : keys to successful doctoral study in Australia and New Zealand

Presents a comprehensive collection of essays designed to guide current and prospective doctoral candidates through the amazing journey of doctoral study. Includes chapters on beginning candidature, selecting a supervisor, countering isolation, engaging support structures, and more.

New Zealand higher education in the age of technological convergence

There are competing discourses within New Zealand higher education on the impact of the converging 'forces' of technology, globalisation and corporatisation. Educational leadership in NZ exhibits a demonstrably weaker response compared with the literature and elsewhere. The current behaviour of media organisations may be indicative of any future educational response.

The function and needs of schools of education in universities and colleges,

Mode of access: Internet.

New graduate occupational therapists feelings of preparedness for practice in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand

Aim The development of competent future allied health professionals through academic programmes, professional support and practical education is continually evolving. The aim of this study was to explore the feelings of newly graduated occupational therapists in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand regarding their education and work preparedness. Methods Newly graduated occupational therapists from Australia (n = 178) and Aotearoa/New Zealand (n = 53) who had completed their occupational therapy studies in 2007 were recruited. Participants completed an online survey which explored their preparedness for work; based on professional competencies. Results Most newly graduated occupational therapists felt somewhat prepared for practice. However, only 17.1% of Australian new graduates, and even fewer (8.5%) of Aotearoa/New Zealand new graduates felt very well prepared. Participants felt more prepared for the competencies required for ‘managing inwards’ (including interpersonal skills) and less prepared for those required for ‘managing outwards’ (including evidence-based practice). Conclusions This study provides the first international comparison into the feelings of competence and preparedness for practice of new graduates of occupational therapy from Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Given the importance of competencies, such as evidence-based practice to the progress of the profession, there is a need to further explore methods to increase feelings of preparedness in these areas.

Mature women and the New Zealand qualifications framework : realising the potential of recognising prior learning

Against a background of 'second-wave' lifelong learning in Aotearoa New Zealand a new framework for post-compulsory national qualifications was introduced. The resulting competency-based system was argued to present a number of benefits for mature women including flexibility in curriculum and delivery and portability across educational sectors. Competency-based education was to include provision for recognition of prior skills and knowledge gained in formal learning environments and the workplace as well as informal learning environments such as the home and the community. Such recognition was a significant factor in gaining support from women’s groups given the potential to recognize and value the domestic labour of women and the skills and knowledge that flow from it. This article explores the rhetoric around recognition of prior learning and discusses approaches to realise its potential. It then draws on research undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand to suggest that the potential of recognition of prior learning is yet to be realised.

Restructuring the architecture of state regulation in the Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand cleaning industries and the growth of precarious employment

This paper examines changes in the commercial cleaning industry in Australasia which are occurring against a backdrop of significant transformation in the mode of labour market regulation in both countries. Specifically, whereas for most of the twentieth century both Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia had systems of labour market regulation in which the state provided minimum wage and work protections through the interventions of arbitration courts, in the past few years these courts have either been abolished (in the case of New Zealand) or severely restricted in their ambit (in the case of Australia), all as part of a neoliberal effort to introduce “flexibility” into labour markets. The result has been an erosion of wages and a worsening of conditions of employment for cleaners and many other groups of workers. At the same time, this transformation in the architecture of labour market regulation poses significant challenges to unions seeking to represent cleaners and other low-paid service sector workers.

Directory of purchasing offices, Illinois state government, universities and colleges /

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