Australian Universities

Australian Universities: A conversation about public good highlights contemporary challenges facing Australian universities and offers new ideas for expanding public good. More than 20 experts take up the debate about our public universities: who they are for; what their mission is (or should be); what strong higher education policy entails; and how to cultivate a robust and constructive relationship between government and Australian universities. Issues covered include: – How to change a culture of exclusion to ensure all are welcome in universities, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students as well as those from low socio-economic backgrounds. – How "educational disadvantage" in Australia often begins in school and is still the major barrier to full university participation. – The reality that funding for research and major infrastructure requires significant additional funds from non-government sources (e.g. international student fees). – A lack of policy recognition that international university students increase Australia’s social, cultural and economic capital. – Pathways to making policy decisions wide-ranging, consultative, inclusive and inspired rather than politically partisan and ideologically driven. – The impact of COVID-19 on universities, and particularly how the pandemic and governmental responses exacerbated extant and emerging issues. Australian Universities rekindles a much-needed conversation about the vital role of public universities in our society, arguing for initiatives informed by the realities of university life and offering a way forward for government, communities, students and public universities – together – to advance public good.

Analysing the juxtaposition of two trends in universities – corporatisation and environmental sustainability – this book explores how they are more contradictory than compatible. Hans A Baer argues that this contradiction is unavoidable because of the capitalist parameters in which they operate, including a commitment to on-going economic growth which contributes to social inequality, environmental degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions. Drawing on archival sources and Baer’s experiences in university sustainability forums, the book exposes how what universities claim to do in relation to environmental sustainability compares with their research, educational, operational and institutional activities. Presenting a critique of and a radical alternative to the status quo, this book is suitable for academics and students of anthropology, environmental studies and higher education.

This book focuses on essential findings concerning emerging practices of student learning through the teaching and learning benefits of the electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) in a range of disciplines at Australian universities. It explores the latest research on ePortfolios, teaching quality, future research directions for tertiary learning and teaching, institutional agendas in higher education, and the role that the ePortfolios can play in supporting improvements in pedagogic practice and student outcomes. Included in these agendas is research into the development of higher education through the technologising of pedagogy, learner identities in discrete disciplines, and the praxis of individual university teachers. The book covers accounts of academic learning success and challenges across current higher education subject areas. By presenting case study accounts of ePortfolio use, it reveals the importance of defining and documenting how we can meaningfully develop learner portfolios in research, teaching and learning at Australian universities. With an intentional research base, the book draws on work conducted inside and outside Australia and highlights how the ePortfolio can help tertiary staff prepare for the impact of a student-created portfolio on teaching, learning, and subsequent academic scholarship.

In 1857 all of the Arts students at the University of Sydney could fit into a single photograph. Now there are more than one million university students in Australia. After World War II, Australian universities became less elite but more important, growing from six small institutions educating less than 0.2 per cent of the population to a system enrolling over a quarter of high school graduates. And yet, universities today are plagued with ingrained problems. More than 50 per cent of the cost of universities goes to just running them. They now have an explicit commercial focus. They compete bitterly for students and funding, an issue sharply underlined by the latest federal budget. Scholars rarely feel their vice-chancellors represent them and within their own ranks, academics squabble for scraps. Knowing Australia is a perceptive, clear-eyed account of Australian universities, recounting their history from the 1850s to the present. Investigating the changing nature of higher education, it asks whether this success is likely to continue in the 21st century, as the university’s hold over knowledge grows ever more tenuous.

Society, Schools, and Progress in Australia focuses on the principles, methodologies, practices, and measures employed in education in Australia. The book first offers information on historical influences and organization of public education. Discussions focus on local communities and schools, teaching in state schools, administration within states, educational policy, secondary education, geographical and social background, centralization, question of state aid, and background of the education acts. The book then ponders on schools and society, pattern of higher education, and teachers. Topics include economic change, organization of technical education, future development of technical colleges, adult education, diversification of tertiary education, teaching in universities, and reorganization of secondary education. The text examines education and national growth, including changing balance of the federation, social teaching, quality of teachers, aspects of national development, and social change and educational change. The manuscript is a dependable reference for students, teachers, and educators wanting to study the form of education in Australia.

In 2014, Chinese president Xi Jinping said there was an ‘ocean of goodwill’ between our country and his. Since then, that ocean has shown dramatic signs of freezing over. Australia is in the grip of a China panic. How did we get here, and what’s the way out? In this brilliant book, David Brophy takes apart Australia’s China debate – its strange alliances and diplomatic failures. Justified criticism of China has too often given way to paranoia and exaggeration. While the xenophobic right hovers in the wings, some of the loudest voices decrying Chinese subversion come, unexpectedly, from the left. They call for new security laws, increased scrutiny of Chinese Australians and, if necessary, military force – a prescription for a sharp rightward turn in Australian politics. In China Panic, Brophy offers a progressive alternative. Instead of punitive moves and chest-beating that will only make Australia more like China, we need solutions and strategies that strengthen Australian democracy. ‘The most stimulating book I've read on the most important question facing Australian foreign and strategic policy. Brophy is not just answering questions others have asked, he's asking new questions.’—Allan Gyngell, author of Fear of Abandonment ‘Anyone who wants to know how and why Australia’s China narrative has descended to such a dismal point needs to read China Panic.’—Wanning Sun, professor of media and communications, UTS ‘David Brophy dissects the clichés and prejudices . . . China Panic is essential reading.’’—Linda Jaivin, author of The Shortest History of China

Based on the author's 30 years of experience, this humorous book outlines the serious challenges facing women in in Australian universities. The book is a call to arms to women to take matters into their own hands. The first chapter, The Odds are Against You, paints a depressing picture. The numerical odds of women making it to the professoriate, university executive and board positions are outlined. Spoiler alert: they're not good and aren't improving. When almost one-third of Australian vice-chancellors left their posts in 2020, men mostly replaced men.Chapter Two, You're Expected to Be a Good Girl, outlines the gendered expectations, implicit assumptions, unconscious biases and sexism that university women face. Anecdotes of female professors being asked about cakes, carpets, curtains and colours help the reader confront shocking facts about their likely trajectory. The matters of invisibility; man-terruptions; bro-propriation; having the 'wrong' style; and being successful and liked at the same time are explored.In Chapter Three, Get An Attitude, the practical advice begins. The power of working within gendered expectations and avoiding 'unladylike' attitudes is examined. Examples of being a bad girl abound, including when it comes to so-called women's work. This chapter asks readers to start thinking about saying no and being bad at housework - at home and work. Emphasising the need to keep your ambition quiet if you are female, the fourth chapter, Prepare a Secret Strategy, focuses on defining success on your own terms, setting priorities and goals, and taking action. It ups the ante on saying no more often and being very bad at housework and sets some challenges for people-pleasing women.The title of Chapter Five, Do More of What Counts and Less of What Doesn't, gives away its focus. The summary is: do more self-promotion and less housework, but there's a bit of nuance for academic women seeking promotion.The advice to Form a Support Squad in Chapter Six draws on women's talents in building relationships and suggests an unusual approach to this endeavour. Chapter Seven, Beating the Odds, brings it all home with some humour and a shampoo ad.