Publications

Creative approach shapes student perceptions of STEM

Micro-surveys of school student attitudes have shown creative, careers-focused learning programs build aspirations and confidence in science and mathematics. The University of South Australia research, led by Associate Professor Simon Leonard and Dr John Paul Kennedy and funded by the NCSEHE, employed an innovative research method to measure the various impacts of university outreach programs.…

New research: Accessible university pathways empower women in STEM

The strong academic performance of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees could be better reflected in career outcomes by addressing access and post-graduation barriers, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) reports. New research, led by Dr Julie McMillan and funded by the NCSEHE, has found women commonly outperformed their peers in…

The importance of discussions with parents, teachers and friends to support vocational and university pathways.

NCSEHE Adjunct Fellow Dr Lynette Vernon (Edith Cowan University) and NCSEHE Research Fellow Dr Catherine Drane have published the findings from their quantitative study entitled, Influencers: “The importance of discussions with parents, teachers and friends to support vocational and university pathways”. The study examined the role of career discussions, between high school students and significant…

Online Learning

Trust is important for students studying online

Positive relationships between students and instructors are crucial to meeting students’ academic and socio-emotional needs as outlined by the American Psychological Association (APA). As university educators, we contend that trust is an essential ingredient in these relationships. While teaching is inherently relational, we argue that models of “good teaching” must include trust to acknowledge that…

Parental expectations of children’s higher education

The role of parental expectations in determining children’s higher education participation is important in understanding both participation and potential policy responses. Using a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Australian households, providing repeat observations on expectations for individual children, this study extends the literature in several respects. First, it examines the adaptation of parental expectations over…