Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): Epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning

The present study builds on earlier work by Meyer and Land (2003) which introduced the generative notion of threshold concepts within (and across) disciplines, in the sense of transforming the internal view of subject matter or part thereof. In this earlier work such concepts were further linked to forms of knowledge that are troublesome, after the work of Perkins (1999). It was argued that these twinned sets of ideas may define critical moments of irreversible conceptual transformation in the educational experiences of learners, and their teachers. The present study aims (a) to examine the extent to which such phenomena can be located within personal understandings of discipline-specific epistemological discourses, (b) to develop more extensively notions of liminality within learning that were raised in the first paper, and (c) to propose a conceptual framework within which teachers may advance their own reflective practice.     

Recruitment of men and women as academics by Australian universities

Entry of men and women to an academic career was studied through a survey of 230 men and women who in 1991 held a full-time appointment at lecturer level or above in Arts and Science disciplines in an Australian university. The women more often than the men had learned about the position they obtained from a source inside the department in which the job was being filled, had been encouraged by senior members of the department to apply, and had gained a position that was filled without advertisement. However, these differences arose because more of the women than the men had been a tutor in the department where they gained a lectureship. There were no differences in terms of how men and women had been recruited when allowance was made for this factor and whether a person had been residing within Australia immediately prior to appointment. The results are discussed with reference to why men have in the past and now do substantially outnumber women among academics in Australian universities. Although the survey suggests men and women who gained positions were recruited on similar bases, successful applicants need to be compared with unsuccessful applicants to obtain comprehensive understanding whether selection practices have disadvantaged women.The survey reported in this article was undertaken while Ray Over held an appointment as Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Education at Griffith University.     

Inclusiveness in higher education in Egypt

In Egypt, before 1952, education, especially higher education, was the province of a privileged few. After the 1952 Revolution, in pursuit of social justice and economic development, Egypt’s leaders eliminated fees, instituted a universal admission examination, promised government employment to all graduates of higher education, and expanded the number of places. Officials expected these policies to increase inclusiveness as enrollments grew. We examine the period from 1988 through 2005, when egalitarian policies remained in place, and during which enrollments continued to expand rapidly. Despite this growth, we find that inclusiveness did not change for males and, at best, modestly improved for females. Young adults from the wealthiest families maintained a substantial advantage in the likelihood of enrolling in higher education. At the same time, females, and notably females from poor families, came to make up a larger share of the higher education community.     

Comment

Although Christian Science can be seen as a unique manifestation of the women's movement, it never became identified with that movement.