Vol. 22 No. 9 (2025): Enabling Education

International students may encounter culture shock, a state of confusion or disorientation that arises as they adapt to an unfamiliar culture and leave behind their familiar one (Amos & Lordly, 2014). Since international students in Canada

International students may encounter culture shock, a state of confusion or disorientation that arises as they adapt to an unfamiliar culture and leave behind their familiar one (Amos & Lordly, 2014). Since international students in Canada come from diverse countries, their perceptions of post-secondary education can vary greatly, often leading to academic challenges. This qualitative study, drawing on Acculturation Theory, explores how post-secondary institutions can more effectively address international students' needs. Data was collected through four focus group interviews with faculty, staff, and international students at a Western Canadian post-secondary institution. Students shared personal and academic needs while faculty and staff discussed their awareness of these needs and resource utilization. Findings emphasized the importance of promoting intercultural competence and personalizing learning experiences. Faculty and staff expressed a need for additional training and resources. The key implication is that effective support requires institutions to understand students' home-country educational perspectives and provide appropriate campus resources.

The integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into higher education has recently become a significant topic of discussion, especially in Enabling Education. Enabling Education programs are designed to prepare students for

The integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into higher education has recently become a significant topic of discussion, especially in Enabling Education. Enabling Education programs are designed to prepare students for undergraduate studies by developing foundational literacy skills. However, many educators grapple with whether GenAI is an appropriate tool for supporting students' learning needs or whether it undermines the development of core academic literacies. This study comprises a survey with academics from Enabling programs at 14 universities across Australia. The survey explores educators’ perspectives toward GenAI tools, including their own use of AI-generated content in teaching and their views on students utilising these tools. Our findings show that educators’ perspectives can be categorised as Traditionalist (GenAI’s disruption viewed as a threat to learning), Progressive (GenAI’s opportunities viewed as beneficial to learning), and Ambivalent (GenAI viewed with uncertainty or a mixture of Progressive and Traditionalist ideas). However, these perspectives are expressed in complex and nuanced ways, with educators often holding a range of views that reveal the complicated impact of GenAI. Understanding these perspectives is crucial for addressing potential barriers and facilitating the effective implementation of GenAI in Enabling education.

In Australia, government-funded Enabling programs provide equitable pathways to higher education for students from diverse backgrounds, including increasing numbers of recent school-leavers. This collaborative autoethnographic study

In Australia, government-funded Enabling programs provide equitable pathways to higher education for students from diverse backgrounds, including increasing numbers of recent school-leavers. This collaborative autoethnographic study explores six Enabling educators’ lived experiences across five universities to understand how they perceive and cultivate self-efficacy among school-leaver students. Thematic analysis revealed three overarching areas: educators’ perceptions of students’ readiness for higher education, strategies used to develop self-efficacy, and barriers that constrain this work. Findings highlight the complexity of fostering self-efficacy in younger cohorts, who often display both overconfidence and low academic self-belief. Educators identified the importance of pedagogies of care, growth mindset, scaffolded mastery experiences, and supportive learning communities. However, their efforts are challenged by limited time, high workloads, and significant emotional labour. The study underscores the need for institutional recognition, professional development, and systemic support to sustain educators’ capacity to build student self-efficacy within Enabling education.

The evolution of Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) institutions has significantly broadened access to higher education for historically marginalised (equity) groups. However, despite these advancements, persistent challenges undermine

The evolution of Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) institutions has significantly broadened access to higher education for historically marginalised (equity) groups. However, despite these advancements, persistent challenges undermine student success, particularly in accounting education, where rigorous academic demands intersect with socioeconomic and technological barriers. This study explores how ODeL institutions, focusing on the University of South Africa (UNISA), can enhance meaningful access and improve success rates for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Guided by Moore’s Transactional Distance Theory, the study employs a qualitative approach, incorporating interviews with students and educators to examine the barriers to academic achievement. Key findings highlight administrative inefficiencies, communication breakdowns, technological limitations, and programme rigidity as significant impediments. The paper concludes by offering targeted recommendations for institutional reforms, including enhanced technological infrastructure, improved administrative support, and structured academic interventions to foster student autonomy and engagement. Addressing these issues is crucial for ensuring that ODeL institutions fulfil their social justice mandate and contribute to the transformation of the accounting profession.

The benefits of enabling education programmes have been recognised by students and research for decades, yet understanding how enabling education creates space for educator professional development is less well-known, particularly

The benefits of enabling education programmes have been recognised by students and research for decades, yet understanding how enabling education creates space for educator professional development is less well-known, particularly regarding understanding and implementing Indigenous pedagogies. The unique characteristics of enabling education, which often include lower staff to student ratios, higher contact hours and time allocated for pastoral care, arguably facilitate more holistic approaches to student engagement, retention, and success. These characteristics ensure educators have more time to spend with students, enabling them to learn who their students are, and how to encourage their participation, and enhance their learning and self-efficacy. This environment also provides real opportunities for educators to critically self-reflect on their positioning with respect to teaching, learning, and engagement. Many students enrolled in Aotearoa New Zealand’s enabling foundation and bridging programmes come from strategically undervalued groups, including Māori students and Pacific students who may not have thrived in the predominantly western settler-colonial educational contexts. These programmes aim to increase and provide broader access to higher education for marginalised groups, an important focus for us. In this article, we critically reflect on our experiences as non-Indigenous educators in foundation and bridging education. Using critical auto-ethnography, and interview data from our doctoral research, we share stories of our pedagogical shifts to encompass and reflect Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing. Our narratives illustrate a diverse repertoire of possibilities for other educators to draw upon when considering enabling practice and pedagogy that ultimately enhance engagement and success of all students.

Educational access and degree completion highlight gaps in student equity (Department of Education, 2024). Australian enabling programs offer insight supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds through to graduation. These

Educational access and degree completion highlight gaps in student equity (Department of Education, 2024). Australian enabling programs offer insight supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds through to graduation. These pathways demonstrably improve outcomes for students from government-defined equity groups, in areas such as undergraduate transition and retention (Pitman et al., 2016, p. 4), and undergraduate success (Syme et al., 2022). This research asks how enabling pedagogy shapes learning for students beyond the pathway program. Semi-structured interviews of two-to-three hours’ duration were held with five graduates from underrepresented backgrounds who entered Australian university via a one-year enabling program (or part-time equivalent). Careful design and purposive sampling ensured strong representation of equity groups, alongside diverse career aspirations and life experience. Interview data was analysed using critical pedagogy to understand systemic marginalisation (Freire, 2004) and thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) to generate deep understanding of how programs support students. Building upon a mixed-methods case study, this research utilises the ADEPT framework for enabling pedagogy (Stokes, 2023) as a theoretical lens for analysing graduate vignettes. This paper articulates how enabling pedagogy better supports these students, providing insights applicable for widening university participation at all levels.

This study introduces the Knowledge Flow framework, a living systems, neuroscience-based learning model designed to enhance inclusion, engagement, and academic performance for diverse students in large university courses. Moving beyond

This study introduces the Knowledge Flow framework, a living systems, neuroscience-based learning model designed to enhance inclusion, engagement, and academic performance for diverse students in large university courses. Moving beyond linear learning models, this approach reconceptualizes learning as energy flow within interconnected systems, specifically addressing barriers faced by first-generation students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The framework comprises seven Knowledge Catalysts that create structural foundations and four Knowledge Currents that describe the resultant dynamic energy flow within a living systems classroom model, informed by neuroscientific concepts about how the brain grows and learns. Foundational catalysts Meet Me (scaffolding) and See Me (belonging) are discussed as essential for inclusive learning environments, and the torus is introduced as a new model to visualize the learning process. Knowledge Flow implementation in a large introductory neuroscience course demonstrated significant improvements in student performance compared to traditional lecture formats. Undergraduate teaching assistants served as valuable bridges between instructors and students, enhancing classroom community while developing their own pedagogical skills. This approach offers a practical framework for transforming large introductory courses from potential barriers to gateways for success among underrepresented student populations, directly addressing the "wicked problem" of educational inequality and supporting wider participation in higher education in a novel way. This learning approach is theoretically framed as a potential pathway to greater well-being in students within education.

In 2021, less than half of Australian universities considered Indigenous perspectives in curriculum development, with only 15% ensuring Indigenous content in all courses (Universities Australia, 2021). Literature acknowledges that a

In 2021, less than half of Australian universities considered Indigenous perspectives in curriculum development, with only 15% ensuring Indigenous content in all courses (Universities Australia, 2021). Literature acknowledges that a strengths-based approach to the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives, enhances representation and decolonises curriculum (Ah Chee et al, 2024; AIATSIS, 2022; Lukey et al., 2022; Fogarty et al., 2018). In 2020, Noongar elder Vivienne Hansen, and John Horsfall created Noongar Bush Medicine, detailing the medicinal use of Indigenous plants. Yeshi et al. (2022) noted that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities use native plants for health purposes. However, there is limited data on the therapeutic efficacy of these plants. In 2024, the Science Unit Coordinator in ECU’s UniPrep enabling program (located on Whadjuk Noongar boodja and Wadandi boodja) designed a module examining the medicinal properties of indigenous plants, engaging students with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge as a core component of science. The experiment involved testing the medicinal use of: moorngan/Tea tree (Melaleuca radula), Eucalyptus (combination of species), uilarac/waang/ wolgol/wollgat/Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum), and honey using nutrient agar microplates inoculated with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. This paper details the module’s design, experiment, and outcomes. Preliminary findings suggest that this initiative enhances student engagement and fosters appreciation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems and STEM. This inclusive, hands-on learning module also addresses barriers faced by students from non-traditional backgrounds in accessing STEM, highlights the underrepresentation of Indigenous knowledge and science-focused curriculum in enabling education research.