A cross-national study of the relative impact of an oral component on PhD examination quality, language and practice. High quality doctoral degrees call for the most effective forms of assessment. This project investigates the role of oral examination in PhD assessment, common internationally but not in Australia, and is the first to compare the relative impact of oral and 'no oral' models on examination quality, language and practice.
Innovations in Clinical Education for Physiotherapy Students. Australia has workforce shortages and an ageing population. Physiotherapists are key players in promoting and maintaining good health through their leadership in physical activity and rehabilitation to retain Australians in the workforce and to ensure quality of life for our ageing population. There is a national shortage of physiotherapists. Increasing numbers of physiotherapists are being trained, requiring new models of clinical tr ....Innovations in Clinical Education for Physiotherapy Students. Australia has workforce shortages and an ageing population. Physiotherapists are key players in promoting and maintaining good health through their leadership in physical activity and rehabilitation to retain Australians in the workforce and to ensure quality of life for our ageing population. There is a national shortage of physiotherapists. Increasing numbers of physiotherapists are being trained, requiring new models of clinical training as there is no capacity in conventional training to cope with student numbers. This research will develop and evaluate new models of training incorporating standardised patients (actors) and simulators (mannequins) which increase education capacity. Models are transferable to other health professions.Read moreRead less
Engagement in early childhood education in the context of disadvantage. This research responds to enduring inequalities in children’s participation in high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Contemporary families face precarious labour markets and a childcare system with stringent workforce participation requirements. This project will illuminate the affordances of everyday life for families most challenged by these emergent conditions and develop understandings of how to calibr ....Engagement in early childhood education in the context of disadvantage. This research responds to enduring inequalities in children’s participation in high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Contemporary families face precarious labour markets and a childcare system with stringent workforce participation requirements. This project will illuminate the affordances of everyday life for families most challenged by these emergent conditions and develop understandings of how to calibrate services accordingly. Findings will support universal ECEC access through knowledge translation about contemporary disadvantage to policy and practice forums. A strong Indigenous component contributes to researcher training and knowledge about effective practice for Indigenous children and their families.Read moreRead less
Learning and mentoring in high performance sports coaching. Effective coaching is held responsible for Australia's international sporting performance. Yet little is known about how best elite sports coaches learn effective and innovative high-performance coaching practices. This project aims to identify and contribute to effective elite sport coaching development in Australia. This will be achieved through understanding how best current elite coaches learn through their coaching work. Implicatio ....Learning and mentoring in high performance sports coaching. Effective coaching is held responsible for Australia's international sporting performance. Yet little is known about how best elite sports coaches learn effective and innovative high-performance coaching practices. This project aims to identify and contribute to effective elite sport coaching development in Australia. This will be achieved through understanding how best current elite coaches learn through their coaching work. Implications here extend across sport and to other domains of human activity. The contribution of sport to Australian national identity is well established and the economic benefit of sport and more specifically sporting success in Australia is also well recognised.Read moreRead less
Improving Regional Low SES Students' Learning and Wellbeing. This study aims to address the learning and wellbeing needs of over 7000 predominantly low socio-economic status students in regional Australia by researching the conditions that enable refinement and extension of a successful curricular and wellbeing program. The current low educational performance of this student cohort has significant negative effects on individual employment prospects and broader national productivity. Their under- ....Improving Regional Low SES Students' Learning and Wellbeing. This study aims to address the learning and wellbeing needs of over 7000 predominantly low socio-economic status students in regional Australia by researching the conditions that enable refinement and extension of a successful curricular and wellbeing program. The current low educational performance of this student cohort has significant negative effects on individual employment prospects and broader national productivity. Their under-achievement and disengagement from schooling also contribute to many antisocial, harmful short-and long-term outcomes for individuals, with significant health and other costs to the broader community. Outcomes from the project have the potential to improve these current outcomes and to be applicable to similar settings.Read moreRead less
Innovative financing mechanisms for higher education. Advances in statistical modelling are used to highlight the potential to apply creatively income contingent loans for the expansion of Australian and international higher education. Alternative student loan mechanisms for income support and tuition are critically analysed, and new arrangements are proposed for equitable reforms in higher education.
School principals’ diminishing wellbeing. School principals’ diminishing wellbeing. This project aims to investigate the effect of State Education Departments’ policy interventions designed to improve school principals’ flagging wellbeing. Increasing competition, accountability and public scrutiny make principals stressed; since their influence on students is second only to teachers’, this threatens Australia’s socioeconomic outcomes. The project will map policy interventions to changes in princ ....School principals’ diminishing wellbeing. School principals’ diminishing wellbeing. This project aims to investigate the effect of State Education Departments’ policy interventions designed to improve school principals’ flagging wellbeing. Increasing competition, accountability and public scrutiny make principals stressed; since their influence on students is second only to teachers’, this threatens Australia’s socioeconomic outcomes. The project will map policy interventions to changes in principals’ motivation and wellbeing, and share information about the most productive and cost effective interventions with key stakeholders across Australia. This research could reverse the declining wellbeing of Australia’s school leaders.Read moreRead less
Active citizenship of young people through electoral enrolment. Some 300,000 eighteen to twenty-four year old Australians are not enrolled to vote in federal elections, despite compulsory voting. Consequently they do not exercise their rights, and their responsibilities, as citizens in this way. The Australian Ele ctoral C ommission and the researchers will determine why these young Australians are not enrolled and do not vote. We will identify the characteristics of non-participants particularl ....Active citizenship of young people through electoral enrolment. Some 300,000 eighteen to twenty-four year old Australians are not enrolled to vote in federal elections, despite compulsory voting. Consequently they do not exercise their rights, and their responsibilities, as citizens in this way. The Australian Ele ctoral C ommission and the researchers will determine why these young Australians are not enrolled and do not vote. We will identify the characteristics of non-participants particularly those from rural and regional areas. Outcomes include identification of non-enrolled youth and appropriate interventions to engage young Australians to become active, democratic citizens....Read moreRead less
To flee or not to flee: surviving on incomplete information. Even lowly animals, like the Australian fiddler crabs we will be investigating, are surprisingly competent in making the right decisions in complex situations. They actively acquire information and make good use of it to assure their immediate safety and their long term gains. Animals are exquisitely honed by evolution and we would benefit greatly by understanding what makes them so competent: on a theoretical level, we may learn about ....To flee or not to flee: surviving on incomplete information. Even lowly animals, like the Australian fiddler crabs we will be investigating, are surprisingly competent in making the right decisions in complex situations. They actively acquire information and make good use of it to assure their immediate safety and their long term gains. Animals are exquisitely honed by evolution and we would benefit greatly by understanding what makes them so competent: on a theoretical level, we may learn about efficient rules of good decision making and on a practical level, we may be able to design more flexible, robust and clever machines. Besides being useful in this wider context, the results of our research will thus also contribute to a new and 'sophisticated' appreciation of the cognitive design of animal.Read moreRead less
Polymer optical fibres with controlled molecular orientation for photonic applications. The objective of the proposed research is to boost the advantage of Australian scientists and engineers working in the field of photonics by investigating new physical principles and new ways of fabricating specialty plastic optical fibres. Such fibres can be used in optical devices, to improve transmission and processing of signals in data communications, for improving efficient operation of power industry, ....Polymer optical fibres with controlled molecular orientation for photonic applications. The objective of the proposed research is to boost the advantage of Australian scientists and engineers working in the field of photonics by investigating new physical principles and new ways of fabricating specialty plastic optical fibres. Such fibres can be used in optical devices, to improve transmission and processing of signals in data communications, for improving efficient operation of power industry, in biophotonics.
Read moreRead less