Are the changing discourses of lifelong learning and student-centred learning relevant to considerations of the first year experience as foundation?

Utilising tools mainly provided by Foucault this paper explores how “lifelong learning” and “student-centred learning” have developed in neo-liberal times. An exploration of these discourses has particular relevance to the first year experience because their changing emphasis provides insight into how university qualifications are seen as a gateway to improved job prospects rather than valued as an opportunity to develop better educated citizens. I suggest these issues are imperative when considering the first year at university as a foundation year

Games played on Australian university alliance websites as they collaborate and compete

As competition for funding, staff and students increases and the game becomes more complex, universities across the sector are required to identify new and more elaborate ways of competing. The development of university ranking systems has encouraged this competitive game. The relevance of university rankings is discussed. The paper concludes with a reflection on why, despite their apparent importance as capital these international and national rankings are predominantly absent from the alliances’ websites. These explorations provide an insight into the complex games universities play in order to collaborate and to compete for government, private and research funding and for staff and students

Beyond the economics, benefit and cost of higher education: First in family student perspectives

This article is open access under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY).Internationally, higher education is considered key to individual and societal economic success. Using a narrative inquiry approach, this paper broadens our understanding of the benefit and cost of participating in higher education (HE) beyond employment opportunities and tuition fees. The qualitative study on which this paper is based explores the lived experience of eighteen First in Family (FiF) students to create a collection of narrative accounts. On the basis of this evidence, we argue that the benefit of HE extends to encompass the strengthening of FiF students’ sense of competencies and confidence, contributes towards broadening of social experiences, and transforms perspectives. Furthermore, associated non-monetary costs of HE includes the requirement to balance competing life demands and the adoption of poor health behaviours. The study highlights the importance of both monetary and non-monetary factors when assessing overall return on investment of HE

Widening participation: does cultural capital really make a difference for first year students?

Paper reproduced with permission of the publisherGovernment policy to widen participation at university is aimed at producing significant changes in the student demographic. This will likely increase the number of students from non-traditional backgrounds such as those with low socio-economic status and those from rural or isolated areas. Many of these commencing students will also be the first member of their immediate family to attend university. By drawing on Bourdieu’s (1991) notion of cultural capital the convenors will lead a discussion of how prior knowledge and experience of tertiary education can impact upon student’s understandings and expectations of university study. In particular, the discussion will examine the debate in the literature as to whether first in family students are significantly disadvantaged and compare these outcomes with findings from a large multi institutional ALTC project examining the expectations and experiences of over 3000 first year students

Final Report: Preparing Academics to Teach in Higher Education

This work is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial- ShareAlike 2.5 Australia Licence. Under this Licence you are free to copy, distribute, display and perform the work and to make derivative works. Support for the original work was provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

First in family students – what they say about being at university

This article is open access under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY).Exploring what students say in semi-structured, open-ended interviews provides a rich and personal understanding of their encounters with the university. The opportunity to discuss the experiences of First in Family (FiF) students as they progress through their degree or reach its end allows us to gain insight into their reasons for attending university, their determination to stay and what they believe helped them succeed. This paper discusses the three main themes related to the FiF student experience we uncovered as a result of a detailed literature review and through our interviews. These themes are, their ‘journey’ into and through higher education; their position as ‘student’ which includes the demographic aspects as well as their own concepts of themselves as students; and, the ‘networks’ they have used and developed to succeed at university. The students’ insights may be used to encourage and help future FiF students to complete their studies

The significance of being first: A consideration of cultural capital in relation to “first in family” student’s choices of university and program. A Practice Report

The is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY).This presentation explored the differences between expectations of first in family students and students who have immediate family members (parents, care givers, or siblings) who have attended university before them. The authors draw on Bourdieu’s notion of cultural capital to examine how being first in family influences student expectations. Data from a large survey of over 3,000 first year students conducted in 2010 across the three South Australian universities is used to explore the demographic make-up of first in family students, and the choices they make as to what type of university and program they enroll in. Based on qualitative and quantitative data, the authors compare choices of first in family students with those made by non-first in family students. Determining these differences provides opportunities for staff at universities to consider how they may better support students who have the ability, drive and determination to succeed at university but lack the cultural capital and may therefore be thwarted by unforeseen hurdles

What do commencing undergraduate students expect from first year university?

The expectations of students entering their first year of undergraduate study in South Australia were investigated. Responses from 3,091 students allowed a comprehensive understanding of students’ expectations. Most respondents (70%) were entering university directly from secondary school and most (78%) were studying in their program of first choice. The major factor in program choice was interest in the topic, followed by career prospects. The need to understand the expectations of students commencing university is becoming even more important with many universities aiming to increase participation from previously under-represented groups. Only 30% of students had realistic expectations about the amount of study required to succeed at university. Most students felt that feedback on submitted work, and on drafts of work, would be important for their learning. Having easy and convenient access to teaching staff outside of face-to-face teaching was seen as an important factor in success. Ninety-one percent of students felt that having friends studying at the same university would provide support, but 25% did not know anyone studying at the same university

Formally calling the CoPs for staff working with first year students

Drawing on both Community of Practice (CoP) and First Year in Higher Education (FYHE) literature this nuts and bolts session will explore whether the FYHE community may be identified as a CoP. This discussion will be used as a springboard to a presentation on the development of CoPs that support the FYHE teaching community in other Australian universities and the establishment of the CoP for staff who work with first year students at Flinders University. The presentation will outline why a CoP was established to support first year teaching and how the initiative is progressing. Participants will be provided with time to either consider the CoPs at their own institutions or to consider whether investing in one is an appropriate strategy to support staff who work with first year students

Learning analytics experience among academics in Australia and Malaysia: A comparison

Several studies have been conducted to evaluate the experience and involvement of academics in learning analytics (LA) due to its potential for improving teaching and learning. However, findings often reflect an educational culture which is indicative of the institutional or national context where the study has occurred, resulting in bias regarding LA perspectives. Therefore, this study seeks to compare and contrast the experiences of LA among academics in Australia and Malaysia, with intentions to learn from each other's experience. Areas of comparison were: (1) academics' involvement in LA activities; (2) academics' responses to the institutional capacity in supporting LA; and 3) academics' concerns about the ethical issues surrounding LA. A survey of 353 Australian and 224 Malaysian academics revealed similarities and differences. It is evident from these results that the context and infrastructure for LA are at different stages of development in both countries. Nevertheless, the results provide an interesting reflection on academics' needs, institutional understanding, policies, and educational cultural biases in applying LA in teaching and learning in higher education institutions