Vol. 5 No. 1 (2024)

The right to self-determination is enshrined in international law, affirming Aboriginal people have the right to make decisions about matters that affect their lives, including meeting their social, political, cultural and economic needs

The right to self-determination is enshrined in international law, affirming Aboriginal people have the right to make decisions about matters that affect their lives, including meeting their social, political, cultural and economic needs. This paper explores the role of universities in supporting Aboriginal self-determination, including an examination of the importance of the social and cultural determinants of wellbeing and the impacts of assimilation on Aboriginal people’s ability to live in accord with cultural traditions. Insights into how universities can create more culturally appropriate learning environments are also reviewed with a particular focus on the fundamental differences between Western and Aboriginal culture, pedagogy, epistemology, ontology, and axiology. The paper suggests that by undertaking a process of truth telling, universities will be able to create improved learning and research environments for Aboriginal students and staff that better support self-determination. By doing this, universities will leverage their unique position of influence to create improved wellbeing for Aboriginal people and the nation as a whole. This is an invited article based on a HERDSA keynote address, which was presented at the 2024 conference held in Adelaide, 8-11 July. Dr Callaghan was also invited to provide a video introduction to the article. The video link may be found on the ASRHE journal site next to the link to the PDF.

Improving the student educational experience is the purpose of many scholarly studies of learning and teaching. While these studies have great value, there is still a need to further explore, beyond the conceptual, the relationship between

Improving the student educational experience is the purpose of many scholarly studies of learning and teaching. While these studies have great value, there is still a need to further explore, beyond the conceptual, the relationship between what is pedagogically considered as ‘good’ elements of online learning design and what is experienced as ‘good’ learning. This paper presents a study that contributes to this gap by combining an inductive evaluation of online course design with a deductive analysis of students’ level of satisfaction with their learning experiences. This comparison aimed to determine whether students’ experiences align with educators’ and learning designers’ definitions of 'good’ online learning. The paper provides a discussion of the study’s design, which compared findings from students’ feedback on their online subject units and the quality of the sites hosting these units determined using a validated design checklist. It provides an example of the framework’s application and the results in the context of an Australian metropolitan university business school.

Understanding employability for art therapy graduates is crucial for training programs because it allows for tailored teaching approaches and better preparation for students entering the job market. Employability includes student

Understanding employability for art therapy graduates is crucial for training programs because it allows for tailored teaching approaches and better preparation for students entering the job market. Employability includes student attributes such as professional and discipline-specific skills and competencies, as well as contextual or structural factors that influence work abilities. However, there is little evidence on what contributes to employability in art therapy. This study surveyed placement supervisors to identify the strengths and challenges they perceive in student competencies and report on contextual factors impacting employability at their organisations. Thirty placement supervisors from various community and clinical settings completed a 26-item mixed-methods online survey. The findings highlighted the strengths of art therapy students, such as their use of client-centred approaches and engagement in reflective practice. However, the results also pointed to a greater need for work-life balance and knowledge of culturally safe practices. Limited budgets were found to affect employability prospects for recent graduates as well as the need for more advocacy efforts was emphasised to demonstrate the benefits of art therapy in healthcare settings. This paper offers several recommendations for teaching programs and art therapy professional bodies to improve employability outcomes for graduates.

Introduction: Clinical skills education requires commitment from academic staff, clinical supervisors, and the students themselves to ensure the attainment of specific learning goals. The aims of this study were to identify specific skill

Introduction: Clinical skills education requires commitment from academic staff, clinical supervisors, and the students themselves to ensure the attainment of specific learning goals. The aims of this study were to identify specific skill areas that radiography education stakeholders feel are important to develop in Australian radiography students, and to evaluate how frequently the stakeholders believe graduate radiographers demonstrate these skills. Methods: A three-arm Delphi process of consensus development was used to survey radiography academic educators, radiographers, and radiography students as three separate expert groups. Three to four rounds covered the nomination of professional skills important to participants, the rating and ranking of importance of these skills, and identification of how well the stakeholder groups feel graduate radiographers demonstrate these skills. Results: Twenty-four stakeholders participated in the study. Thirty-four professional capabilities were identified as being important by at least one stakeholder group. Six capabilities were rated as being very or extremely important by all groups with no large differences of ratings identified between groups for the remaining capabilities. The student group felt that graduate radiographers demonstrate identified clinical skills more frequently than was perceived by the other groups. Conclusion: The agreement between radiographer education stakeholder groups as to the importance of identified professional capabilities indicates that each group is likely to place similar emphases on the teaching and learning of these skills. Differences of opinion between students and educators around student/graduate performance levels can inform areas for improvement in student performance and educator feedback approaches.

Misinterpretation or ignorance of institutional policies in higher education can lead to inconsistencies and legal risks, particularly concerning assessments. In response, we introduced an innovative approach to engage faculty and

Misinterpretation or ignorance of institutional policies in higher education can lead to inconsistencies and legal risks, particularly concerning assessments. In response, we introduced an innovative approach to engage faculty and administrative staff in understanding the institution's policies related to assessments. We implemented a Ludic pedagogical strategy by transforming assessment-related policies into an interactive escape-room challenge. This themed workshop applied adult-learning theory, was developed based on recommended escape-room guidelines, and immersed staff in multiple policy documents, encouraging cognitive, behavioural, affective, and sociocultural engagement. Assessment policies were integrated into a fictitious narrative with puzzles to promote self-directed (heutagogy) and cooperative learning. The escape-room challenge was conceptualised as a single intrinsic case study that used postcards written by participants as data after successfully 'escaping' the room. These postcards served as reflective tools containing participants’ insights regarding the experience. Thematic analysis was conducted on the postcards, supported by visual data. The workshop yielded a central theme of 'A Whole-Body Human Experience,' reflecting cognitive, affective, and behavioural engagement. The escape room harnessed the interactive nature of games to ensure teamwork, motivation, communication, and problem-solving skills. The workshop, rooted in adult learning principles and designed according to accepted guidelines, effectively engaged participants in learning about assessment policies through an immersive escape-room experience. The diverse expressions of newfound knowledge, emotional engagement, and intentions to alter practices and processes confirm escape rooms as a suitable strategy for faculty development.

Teaching-focused roles provide an ideal opportunity to improve the quality of teaching in higher education. However, such roles are commonly presented as pragmatic solutions for academics not fulfilling research expectations rather than

Teaching-focused roles provide an ideal opportunity to improve the quality of teaching in higher education. However, such roles are commonly presented as pragmatic solutions for academics not fulfilling research expectations rather than quality improvement interventions. Workload allocations can be shifted to ensure that unproductive researchers are not counted as research-active in university ranking assessments and, at the same time, help balance salary budgets. These measures to address underperforming researchers have shifted focus from the potential to improve teaching quality that teaching-focused roles promised. We argue that a successful implementation of a supported approach for teaching-focused academics can help to foster a culture of excellence in teaching that should deliver career development and associated benefits for those in teaching-focused roles. This paper discusses a considered approach to improving teaching in higher education by supporting teaching-focused roles in an Australian university. Strategies to raise the profile of teaching-focused academics included a high-level champion, a merit-based application process, and a development program. These strategies aimed to address mis-focused perceptions and stigma related to teaching-focused positions and contribute to a culture of excellence in teaching. We put this approach forward as a model for institutions wanting to improve teaching quality, implement or enhance teaching-focused career paths or review existing models.