UniSA Open Journal System (Univ. of South Australia)
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The customer isn't always right: Limitations of 'customer service' approaches to education or why Higher Ed is not Burger King
No full textThe increasingly popular trend of conceptualising education in terms of 'customer service' is, in some ways, attractive. It encourages educators to think in terms of meeting students' needs and to develop innovative ways to deliver their "product." In other ways, however, it fails to convey the essential collaborative, participatory, reciprocal relationship that is central to effective teaching and learning. With respect to academic integrity, the customer service model also obscures students' roles and responsibilities. In this paper, we identify some of the ways this model provides an inappropriate metaphor for understanding the project of teaching and learning (i.e., education) and argue that, when embraced uncritically, the model has the potential both to undermine education and at the same time derail efforts to develop and sustain a culture of integrity. After identifying this model's shortcomings, we suggest ways to develop and promote a more robust model in which faculty and students work together toward a shared purpose while recognising and embracing their interlocking responsibilities.
This is a revised version of a paper presented at the 4th Asia Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity: Creating an Inclusive Approach, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia, 2009
Negotiating identity and integrity on social network sites for educators
No full textDiscussion around the use of social network sites, especially amongst young people, is pervaded by sentiments heralding the decline of privacy. In this context, it is important for scholarship in this area to attend to the array of ways in which individuals are managing their information and identity-projects in these spaces in
highly strategic ways, such as audience segregation. Drawing in part on empirical data collected through an ethnography of young Australian users of MySpace and Facebook, this article seeks to draw out the tension between authenticity and integrity that operates in these spaces. In doing so, I suggest that educators must be especially cognisant of the complexity occurring in the strategic management of these spaces, given the ongoing push for universities and agents within the university to engage with these spaces, along with the tension such engagement can bring to the teacher-student relationship
Well teachers, well students
No full textPromoting self-awareness of wellbeing in beginning teachers will contribute to their longevity and productivity. As the profession ages we are faced with the fact that many teachers are retiring, creating some shortages; increased numbers are leaving the profession prematurely; fewer applicants are entering teacher training; and some argue that the current workforce of teachers cannot relate to current students’ life worlds. For beginning teachers, this raises issues related to their wellbeing and ability to transition and cope, and also justifiably provides challenges and opportunities for school reform, leadership and curriculum renewal. Additionally, teachers must be able to ‘connect’ with children and young people if they are to make a difference in their learning, health and wellbeing. In this paper we argue that the retention of teachers is dependent on having a wellbeing strategy in place that clearly identifies inhibiting and enabling strategies. Beginning teachers need to be able to identify such strategies to remain well – for themselves and the future of our children and young people
Understanding the need: Using collaboratively created draft guiding principles to direct online synchronous learning in Indigenous communities
No full textThis article reports on the experience of members of an Australian Aboriginal community as they used synchronous computer technologies to enhance their literacy learning. The aspiration to learn meaningful and relevant literacy and computer skills was discussed in focus groups, as well as the need to articulate the group's position within the wider community, the value of the wisdom of the Elders, and the importance of the dissemination of traditional language and Aboriginal knowledge. Educational integrity was deeply embedded in the project's approach to the Aboriginal learning experience, and included ensuring respect for cultural needs and traditions, as well as acknowledging the learners as active participants of their own learning. Successful implementation of the project led to the creation of the Community Strength Model (CSM) based on the premise of Henderson's multiple cultural model, which incorporates ethnic minority and Indigenous culture as a cultural logic to be respected and included in the development of Indigenous e-learning activities. The process of the project helped to clarify the importance of Indigenous and cultural contributions to the model while approaching new learning experiences using digital technologies. The research provides a set of principles to guide future researchers and practitioners in working with technology in Indigenous communities in integrative
ways
Implications for academic integrity of using web 2.0 for teaching, learning and assessment in higher education
No full textStudent web 2.0 authoring in higher education involves a number of challenges and opportunities for assessment and academic integrity. In this article we describe an Australian project that is investigating how lecturers are using web 2.0 activities in university assessment tasks. In the first stage of the project we documented current web 2.0 assessment practices by conducting a survey and interviews with lecturers who teach in different discipline areas across Australia. Initial findings from this stage of the project are presented here, with a focus on using examples from the interviews to illustrate the opportunities and challenges that web 2.0 affordances introduce for learning, teaching, and assessment in higher education. Student authoring in web 2.0 environments can be quite different from traditional academic writing tasks. Using web 2.0 technologies, students can publish their work to an open audience, use different communication styles and texts, draw on their unique personal identity and experiences, co-create content with other students, and manage their content outside the confines of the university. Each of these affordances provides opportunities for enhancing students' learning in higher education, while simultaneously imposing new ways of thinking about scholarly writing and assessment that can be challenging for both students and staff
The uses of digital literacy
No full textJohn Hartley's The Uses of digital literacy (2009) is the respectful son to Richard Hoggart's The Uses of literacy (1957), and seeks to update this foundational cultural studies text by examining the contemporary concerns of multimedia and digital communication. Through its eight chapters, Hartley's book covers a number of topics, several of which seem unrelated to the titular issue of "digital literacy". The first chapter is probably the most valuable for teachers, in that it suggests that educational institutions must teach digital literacy skills, and that these skills must necessarily be taught informally. Rather than admonishing students for their "inappropriate" use of Facebook or YouTube while in class, educators can usefully take advantage of the of the existing peer-to-peer knowledge networks of their students.
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A case study: Do discipline-based programmes improve student learning outcomes?
No full textThis paper contributes to the growing body of knowledge that supports a disciplinebased approach to academic and language development. To address the academic literacy needs of both international English as an Additional Language (EAL) and domestic students, universities are moving from generic to embedded models of teaching. This project was motivated by the realisation that students had unmet needs in terms of the academic competence required for successful tertiary study. This demonstrates a lack of educational integrity on behalf of the universities to ensure that students gain sufficient academic and language skills for success in firstyear university study. This paper reports on the use of a teaching and learning model which demonstrates the effectiveness of embedding the development of academic and language skills within a particular discipline for EAL students and others. The unique contribution of this paper is that it uses a team-taught approach across two disciplines. It shows that discipline management specialists working in conjunction with English language specialists provide a reconsideration of teaching and learning strategies and modes of assessment that lead to better outcomes for both students and staff. Success of the programme was indicated by student assessment, attendance data, student evaluations, and reflection of peer teaching practices. Finally, the paper makes recommendations for the inclusion of embedded programmes in first-year university study using a diagnostic tool to determine specific student needs. Longitudinal studies need to be undertaken to ascertain specifically whether the benefits of discipline-based programmes are sustained in the longer term and additionally why many “at risk†students do not participate in the programme
Academic motivation and misconduct in two cultures: A comparative analysis of US and Ukrainian undergraduates
No full textThe present study explored differences between United States (US) and Ukrainian undergraduates (N=378) in terms of their academic motivation and its relation to their beliefs and behaviours related to academic misconduct. Specifically, this study investigated differences between US and Ukrainian students' task value, goal orientations, moral beliefs about cheating and engagement in cheating behaviour. Results revealed several significant differences between US and Ukrainian students. While similar in their level of academic task value and mastery goal orientation, Ukrainian students had reported being less performance goal oriented than their US counterparts. Ukrainian students also reported lower judgments about the wrongness of cheating and higher levels of engagement in cheating behaviour than US students. Finally, regression analyses revealed a significant culture x task value interaction on both cheating beliefs and behaviours: among Ukrainian undergraduates, increases in task value both strengthen beliefs about the wrongness of cheating and reduce engagement in it. These results and their theoretical and educational significance are
discussed
Stop plagiarism: A guide to understanding and prevention
No full textWho would not be attracted by a book title such as Stop Plagiarism: A Guide to Understanding and Prevention? If you are a teacher, learning advisor or librarian, any clues you can find to help prevent plagiarism would be welcome. If you do judge a book by its cover (or by those details that can be gleaned in the first few pages) you might be attracted or repelled by the fact that that it has such an assertive title and by the fact that it originates in the United States. Are your concerns well-founded?
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Social supports among college students and measures of alcohol use, perceived stress, satisfaction with life, emotional intelligence, and coping
No full textIn this study I examined three domains of social supports among college students (close friends, casual friends and safe adults to turn to) in relation to indices of wellbeing and coping. Measures of positive wellbeing were most strongly associated with the safe adults domain of social support followed by the close friends domain of social support. Casual friends were associated only with measures of problem alcohol consumption but not with indices of wellbeing. Students with five or more safe adults to turn to as compared to four or fewer reported significantly lower perceived stress, greater satisfaction with life, higher emotional intelligence, better academic performance and lower problem drinking scores. The domain of safe adults was associated with the largest array of wellbeing indices of all three social support domains. Future research should examine additional measures of wellbeing that may be associated with distinct domains of support