Teaching educational leadership and administration in Australia

Despite the ubiquity of programmes in educational administration and leadership little is known about the resources used to teach them. This article reviews the sources currently employed in such programmes in Australia by examining the textbooks, book chapters and journal articles specified for 53 separate units (papers) offered at 15 of the key institutions that responded to requests for copies of their reading lists. Surprisingly, few of the units prescribed textbooks (35), relying instead on book chapters (243) and journal articles (362). While there was a very eclectic spread of sources across institutions, 10 major themes emerged. However, there appeared to be little emphasis on Australian research on educational leadership and little reference to major Australian authors of the previous decades. This may be because the field has become global. The second part of the article therefore examines an audit of the contributions made by Australian authors to the global literature represented by leading journals in the field. The audit shows that during the period 1977–2007 an average of 12–13% of papers in key journals were contributed by Australian authors, perhaps more than might be expected given the comparative size of the Australian community.     

Product design engineering – a global education trend in multidisciplinary training for creative product design

Product design is the convergence point for engineering and design thinking and practices. Until recently, product design has been taught either as a component of mechanical engineering or as a subject within design schools but increasingly there is global recognition of the need for greater synergies between industrial design and engineering training. Product design engineering (PDE) is a new interdisciplinary programme combining the strengths of the industrial design and engineering. This paper examines the emergence of PDE in an environment of critique of conventional engineering education and exemplifies the current spread of programmes endorsing a hybrid programme of design and engineering skills. The paper exemplifies PDE with the analysis of the programme offered at Swinburne University of Technology (Australia), showing how the teaching of ‘designerly’ thinking to engineers produces a new graduate particularly suited to the current and future environment of produce design practice. The paper concludes with reflections on the significance of this innovative curriculum model for the field of product design and for engineering design in general.     

Evaluating the individual and combined impact of national leadership programmes in England: perceptions and practices

The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) was launched in 2000 with a remit to supervise and further enhance educational leadership development initiatives in England and Wales. Its corporate plan for 2003–07 set out a series of key objectives, which include a commitment to demonstrate the impact of the NCSL on school leadership. Some empirical evidence is beginning to emerge regarding the efficacy and impact of programmes delivered under the aegis of the NCSL but systematic studies of the ways in which school effectiveness is enhanced in schools that have been subject to multiple interventions in leadership development are less visible in the literature. This article reports on a study that included both a questionnaire survey and case studies of 10 schools which required school leaders, at all levels from middle managers to headteachers, to reflect on the impact that national programmes, both individually and cumulatively, were having on their personal professional development and on their schools as a whole. Findings of the study suggest that there is evidence that national leadership programmes are impacting positively on leadership in schools although the level of impact appears to be variable across programmes. The paper is offered as one contribution to the International Study of the Preparation of Principals (ISPP) project based at the University of Calgary.     

Engineering design skills coverage in K-12 engineering program curriculum materials in the USA

ABSTRACT

The current K-12 Science Education framework and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the United States emphasise the integration of engineering design in science instruction to promote scientific literacy and engineering design skills among students. As such, many engineering education programmes have developed curriculum materials that are being used in K-12 settings. However, little is known about the nature and extent to which engineering design skills outlined in NGSS are addressed in these K-12 engineering education programme curriculum materials. We analysed nine K-12 engineering education programmes for the nature and extent of engineering design skills coverage. Results show that developing possible solutions and actual designing of prototypes were the highly covered engineering design skills; specification of clear goals, criteria, and constraints received medium coverage; defining and identifying an engineering problem; optimising the design solution; and demonstrating how a prototype works, and making iterations to improve designs were lowly covered. These trends were similar across grade levels and across discipline-specific curriculum materials. These results have implications on engineering design-integrated science teaching and learning in K-12 settings.     

Educational Leadership Reconsidered: Re-Invoking Authority in Schools

By far the most challenging task faced by schools in post-apartheid South Africa, has been the distance educational leaders were mandated to put between the educational institutions and the apartheid legacy of racial discrimination and exclusion. It is therefore not surprising that there are two dominant approaches to educational leadership, namely the transactional and transformational leadership paradigms that were considered as apposite to ensure the implementation of new educational policy and curriculum developments. Indeed, the theoretical debates about educational leadership have extended expositions of the concepts of transactional and transformative leadership that are often perceived as forms of educational leadership that can enhance the democratisation of educational institutions, such as schools. However, after the demise of apartheid all attempts to move beyond authoritative practices have been shown to be undesirable; and the transactional and transformative forms of educational leadership might have too hastily and prematurely abandoned authoritative forms of leadership. Therefore, in this article the authors argue in defence of authority as constitutive of transformative leadership in schools by reflecting on current leadership practices in schools.     

A documentary analysis of the support services offered to adult learners with dyslexia in higher education

ABSTRACT

The National Student Survey (NSS) seeks to measure how ‘satisfied’ students are with their programmes of study and educational experience. Ongoing NSS data demonstrates that global satisfaction scores are increasing; however, when this is separated into disabled and non-disabled students, downward satisfaction trends for disabled students are apparent. Around half of these students will have dyslexia. This ‘snapshot’ documentary analysis evaluates the currently publicly available information outlining the support services that are available for students with dyslexia. The survey focuses upon a sample of higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. Findings indicate that there are notable differences in the types and consistency of support offered across the sample institutions. The most frequently used model is that of additional learning support (ALS), where support is provided outside of the usual class contact time. Mentoring provides benefits for students with dyslexia but fewer than half of the institutions surveyed offered this. Subject specialist mentoring is particularly beneficial but there is little evidence of this taking place. There is a level of support in all the institutions that appears to meet the requirements of the Equality Act (2010) but this does not necessarily indicate that dyslexic students are supported in the most effective way.     

On analysis of electrical engineering programme in GCC countries

Electrical engineering (EE) curricula in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region have gone through an evolutionary process, and are now approaching a maturity level. In order to address academic and local industrial needs in a unified way, a need has been felt to investigate EE curricula in a way that highlights theoretical understanding, design experience and skills development. This paper focuses on a comparative study of electrical EE programmes offered in various GCC region universities. The general and some focused programmes are analysed with respect to their breadth and depth. Using cluster analysis, we identify five major distinct EE programme clusters, each grouping a set of universities. This outlines where EE programmes in the GCC region are headed.     

The faculty perspective on holistic and systems thinking in American and Australian mechanical engineering programmes

This research effort examined current mechanical engineering educational programmes in America and Australia to determine the degree of holistic, systems thinking of each programme. Faculty from ten American universities and ten Australian universities participated in online surveys and interviews. Resulting data analysis and interpretation suggest that holistic, systems thinking is present in both American and Australian engineering educational programmes, although it is more prevalent in Australian programmes. Specific examples of educational opportunities (courses, projects, extracurricular activities, research experiences) that integrate complex systems study are described in the full paper. This study is currently limited a small sample size within two countries, but it would be very useful to expand the study to a larger population and to include European sites to gain a fuller picture of the state of holistic, systems thinking in higher education.     

Becoming a female leader in higher education: investigations from a regional university

Issues of gender imbalance in leadership have long been a significant issue in universities, as is the case across most industries. This paper explores the experiences of seven females who have successfully achieved senior leadership positions at a regional university in Australia. While the experiences of these women differ in many ways, there are certainly similarities in the challenges and adversities that they have faced, and their perceptions of what has allowed them to experience success in their leadership roles. This paper provides a number of recommendations for women aspiring to be leaders in higher education, such as committing to ongoing development, taking opportunities when presented, developing resilience, developing a track record, and seeking support, and also recommendations for institutions.     

Leadership training in science,technology, engineering and mathematics education in Bulgaria

This synthesis paper explores current leadership training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Bulgaria. The analysis begins with discussion of global factors influencing the implementation of leadership training in STEM education in general and then presents information about the current status of leadership training in Bulgaria with emphases on the country's economics, politics and geographical location as specific factors influencing leadership education. A short background of Bulgaria is presented with regard to population, gross domestic product, educational system, engineering force and possible need for leaders in industry in Bulgaria and the European Union. The paper provides an overall view about the current status of leadership training in all Bulgarian universities offering STEM education and concentrates specifically on two major universities by examining their currently offered programmes. As part of the discussion, similar training elements in other European countries and the USA are presented.     

Qualified to lead? A comparative,contextual and cultural view of educational policy borrowing

Abstract

Background: Around the globe, education policy borrowing remains pervasive and prevalent. The strategies, interventions and innovations of education systems that perform well, in international assessments, are enthusiastically borrowed and copied in the anticipation of similar educational performance and outcomes.

Purpose: This purpose of the article is to highlight some of the implications and consequences of policy borrowing by comparing the preparation and development programmes for school leaders in various education systems. The article explores the way in which the leadership programmes and models are being adopted and developed by different countries.

Sources of evidence: The article draws upon findings from a contemporary, comparative study of leadership preparation and development across seven different education systems (Seven System Leadership Study). This large-scale, mixed-methods, comparative research study is collecting quantitative and qualitative data about the nature and impact of leadership development and preparation programmes in seven different education systems.

Main argument: The findings from the study reinforce how leadership preparation and development programmes are increasingly becoming standardised as a result of education systems borrowing and adapting from each other. This article also argues that in the contemporary policy discourse, important cultural and contextual influences that significantly affect subsequent implementation and outcomes are increasingly being side-lined and ignored.

Conclusions: This article highlights some of the limitations and unintended consequences of educational policy borrowing. It concludes that adopting some of the design features of effective interventions rather than simply borrowing policies or strategies, in part or in their entirety from very different contexts, may be a more productive way forward.     

Postgraduate programmes on environmental water resources engineering and management in Greek universities

The management of complex water problems is nowadays being practised through new ways and approaches. Therefore, water engineers, planners and managers should be appropriately educated through modern undergraduate curricula and by well-designed postgraduate specialisation programmes. Within this framework, a study of the specific characteristics of an ensemble of 14 postgraduate programmes in various fields of environmental water resources engineering and management, offered by Greek universities, is presented. Detailed information and data regarding the formats, structures, educational processes and curricula contents of these programmes are analysed and critically discussed. Similarities and differences among them are depicted and synthesised, in order to reveal individual as well as collective qualities and deficiencies in relation with the overall current needs for engineering postgraduate specialisation in water-related issues.     

Unequal opportunities in accessing employability-related programmes: South Asian graduates' experiences in Australia

Limited scholarly work has been conducted on obtaining equal opportunities to participate in employability-related programmes by international students while studying in Australia. Drawing on a qualitative study, 20 South Asian postgraduates were interviewed to explore their experiences in accessing employability-related programmes. Based on the findings, South Asian graduates have experienced unequal opportunities in accessing employability-related programmes as postgraduate international students in Australia. They are disadvantaged by generic career advice and resume assistance offered by their university career office, and companies invited to university career fairs offer internships, placements or graduate programme opportunities mostly to domestic students. As a result, South Asian graduates were unable to gain employment in their field of studies. South Asian graduates have also offered several useful recommendations to facilitate more equal chances of developing employability and thereby gaining successful employment in Australia. These include partnerships with companies in providing employment opportunities, diversification of university career office roles, and establishing connections with alumni. The paper also discusses implications for Australian higher education institutions and higher education policy and practice in Australia.     

Barriers to student success in engineering education

In the UK, the USA and Australia, there have been calls for an increase in the number of engineering graduates to meet the needs of current global challenges. Universities around the world have been grappling with how to both attract more engineering students and to then retain them. Attrition from engineering programmes is disturbingly high. This paper reports on an element of research undertaken through an Australian Learning and Teaching Council-funded Fellowship that investigated the factors leading to student attrition in engineering programmes, by identifying barriers to student success. Here, we contrast a review of the literature related to student barriers and success with student perceptions, gathered through a series of focus groups and interviews at three Australian universities. We also present recommendations for action to try to remove barriers to student success.     

The construction and production of youth ‘at risk’

Following the Commonwealth Government funding cuts in 1986, a hiatus has developed in in‐service teacher education in Australia. Recent curriculum innovations and expanding stresses in the educational environment have generated in‐service education needs which are possibly greater than at any other time in the recent past. The trend in other industrialized countries has been to encourage or even require teachers in primary and secondary education to achieve postgraduate qualifications. Similar pressures are currently mounting in Australia. The combination of the stresses and new emphasis, calls for a rethinking of existing approaches and policies. The restructuring of the education system in a number of States, the difficulties which have become apparent in solution‐centred in‐service programmes and the continuing unsatisfactory ad hoc arrangements for the design and delivery of such programmes across Australia indicate that the need for different policies and provisions in teacher professional development is acute. After analysing the state of the art of in‐service training in Australia, this paper provides possible rationales for such policies and programmes and suggests the development of a multiprogramme policy package which could assist the teachers to ensure a better quality and cost‐effective educational service.     

The International Baccalaureate in Australia: trends and issues

The presence of International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes in Australia has grown significantly over the past decade. Despite this, little critical research exists on the IB in Australia. This article provides an analysis of the IB currently in Australia, outlining the trends in growth across the various IB programmes over the last decade and compares this to international trends, including those of the Asia-Pacific region in which Australia is located. This profile is then contrasted against the profile of research that has been conducted into the IB in Australia during this same period. A discrepancy is apparent between implementation of the IB and critical analysis of that implementation. Much of IB practice in Australia therefore remains unresearched. Suggestions for future research to address this discrepancy are offered.     

Planning for Flexible and Distance Learning in Engineering: Indian Experience

Speed of technology modernization at the workplace has brought a need for opportunities for professional development for those at work. Distance education in engineering provides a viable alternative to meet this learner need. In concrete terms, this calls for employment‐related, flexible programme structures, where course content design, self‐instructional material preparation and student support services for course delivery are planned and implemented in a collaborative endeavour between distance teaching institutions, conventional, academic institutions and industry. While detailing the distance education programmes in science, computer applications and nursing education at the Indira Gandhi National Open University, India, the paper presents the above networking approach to the design and implementation of flexible programme structures as developed by IGNOU in implementing its engineering programmes.     

Common elements of capstone projects in the world's top-ranked engineering universities

‘Capstone’ is a metaphor used to describe a final achievement that builds upon previous works and encapsulates them. Capstone projects are included in engineering curricula to integrate multi-disciplinary subjects and teach professional skills that are difficult to impart in a traditional lectured course. Since these projects serve to transition students into professional engineers, they have a direct impact on a university's industry reputation and ranking. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study the capstone programmes implemented at the world's top-ranked engineering universities to discover common elements which characterise them. In this paper, common elements of the capstone programmes implemented in mechanical and aerospace engineering undergraduate programmes in the world's top-ranked engineering universities are identified and analysed to determine established best practices. These practices can be modelled and applied to the pedagogy of engineering programmes at universities around the world to improve the development of professional skills of future graduates.     

美国硕士学历“领导型教师”培养的改革与创新———High Tech High教育研究生院“教师领导”专业探析

硕士学历的＂教师领导＂课程传统上主要由大学提供,而在美国近来的教育改革中出现了由私立特许教育机构创办＂教师领导＂硕士学历专业的变革,HTH是率先尝试者。其＂教师领导＂专业在培养目标、入学条件、学程设计、课程设置、教学方法和评估方式上都贯穿了自己特有的教育理念,形成了强调个性、注重实践等五个方面的特点的培养模式,对我国＂领导型教师＂的培养有一定的借鉴意义。     

Unique Characteristics, Leadership Styles, and Management of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Historically Black colleges and universities play a significant role in our nation's higher education system. Currently, there are 105 historically Black colleges operating in the United States. Over the years there have been many challenges for these institutions. Given the importance of these institutions, the purpose of this article is to explore and understand the leadership styles and management of the institutions and provide insight into how they might adapt their leadership styles to ensure that they not only survive but prosper. This article also highlights strategies suggested by former presidents of historically Black Colleges to ensure educational opportunities for African-American students and others.