Education Commons^™

Auqf2008 : Quality & Standards In Higher Education : Making A Difference, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

The use of data for benchmarking purposes in the higher education sector has increased in recent years, especially in relation to monitoring student perceptions of the university experience. Data sets that enable institutional and national analysis of the course perceptions of specific groups of students are now more valuable than ever. This paper examines the course experiences of international fee-paying graduates from Australian universities as they were articulated through the Graduate Careers Australia Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE). These students have become an increasingly important group within the Australian university sector over the …

What Happens When Supply Lags Behind Demand? Disadvantaged Students And The Ever Increasing Competition For University Places, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

Competition for entry to university has escalated in Australia over the past decade. This rise in competition is attributable to a number of factors, a major one being that the provision of university places has not kept pace with growth in the population of university-aged persons. Using the city of Melbourne as a case study, this article highlights the impact that rising competition for university has had on two disadvantaged groups; those from the Government school sector and those from areas of low socioeconomic status. It finds that the opportunities for university entrance among tertiary applicants in these two groups …

Graduate Course Experience 2007 : The Report Of The Course Experience Questionnaire, Daniel Edwards, Hamish Coates, B Guthrie, S Nesteroff

Dr Daniel Edwards

This report analyses the course experience perceptions of those graduates who completed the requirements for a coursework degree from an Australian higher education institution in 2006 and who responded to the 2007 Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). It is the fifteenth report in a series that began in 1993 but it may also be considered to be the sixth in a new series of reports on the expanded CEQ because the structure of the questionnaire since 2002 differs considerably from earlier versions. Several further revisions have been incorporated into this report, such as a greater emphasis on results pertaining to postgraduate …

Gathering Quality Data For Management: Capturing Your Catchment, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

Half Of Australian Youth Aged 18-20 Are Not In Training, Bob Birrell, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

The authors undertake a detailed analysis of data from the 2006 Census. The data reveal that a substantial proportion of Australia's 18 to 20 year olds are not participating in any form of education. In addition, of those non-attendees, labour force participation is also remarkably low. A supplementary table to the report, which shows education participation rates by Australian federal electorates is also available.

The Impact Of Increasing Competition For University On Disadvantaged Government School Students, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

The influence of socioeconomic status on academic outcomes has been well documented in literature exploring post school pathways. Such accounts of educational disadvantage exist in relation to Melbourne, Australia as they do in other cities across the developed world. However, over the past decade in Melbourne there has been an increased stratification of educational outcomes that cannot necessarily be explained by any parallel increase in social inequality. This differentiation of outcomes has been the result of growing competition for university places – stemming from growth in the school aged population and rising retention rates, but accompanied by no equivalent increase …

Do All Young Victorians Have Equal And Genuine Access To A University Education?, Daniel Edwards, Bob Birrell

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Growing Competition For University On Student Outcomes And School Specialisation In Melbourne, 1996 To 2004, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

The Rising Competition For University In Melbourne And Its Impact On Disadvantaged Students, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

The Widening Gap Between Demand For And Supply Of University Graduates In Australia, Daniel Edwards, Bob Birrell, Ian Dobson

Dr Daniel Edwards

The rapid growth in demand for university-trained personnel over recent years has mainly been filled by growth in the skilled migration program. The authors argue that more domestic students should be trained. The Coalition Government does not agree. It claims that 'unmet demand' from prospective university students has been met and that additional subsidised places are to be created. This article scrutinises these claims and concludes that they are not correct. The authors point to a shortfall in domestic higher education training. Over the period 1995-96 to 2005-06 there has been little or no growth in domestic undergraduate commencements (growth …

The Vocational Fate Of Government Secondary Schools, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

In the mid-1980s the Victorian Government abolished the technical school system in order to erase class divisions between government high schools and technical schools. High schools then became de facto comprehensives, in principle dedicated to equality of opportunity for all. In fact, subsequent policies and growing competition from independent schools have forced government secondary schools to specialise. For most, the only feasible path has been to offer more technical and vocational subjects, for example the new Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL). Consequently, academically-inclined students at many government schools are now less favourably placed to compete for declining numbers of …

Across The Qualitative/Quantitative Divide? Reflections From Two Research Fields, Daniel Edwards, Martin Forsey

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

Competition And Choice: Determinants Of Access To University Places Via The Victorian School System, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

The provision of secondary school education in Victoria has changed substantially over the past 50 years. This thesis examines the consequences of these changes for the academic opportunities of government school students. In the 1950s and 1960s, unprecedented numbers of students and near-universal school participation provided a challenge to governments in relation to education provision. As a result, the comprehensive ideal for organising government secondary schooling was adopted. This system became an important vehicle for providing educational opportunities for many students who previously had limited access to the post-primary years. In the 1970s, funding for schooling in Australia received a …

Rising Competition For University In Melbourne And Its Impact On Disadvantaged Students, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

Competition, Specialisation And Stratification: Academic Outcomes Of The Government School System In Melbourne, Australia, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

Following the increase in the school-aged population as a result of the post-war baby boom, Australia, like many other nations, established a large comprehensive public school system. This system was not only designed to cope with the growth in school enrolments, but also to provide a well rounded education and promote social cohesion. However, unlike many other comparable nations, Australia’s non-government school sector has also played an extensive role in the provision of school education – a role which has grown substantially over the past couple of decades.

Since the mid-1990s, enrolments in government secondary schools have been decreasing. As …

Growth, Competition And Stratification In Melbourne’S Government Schools, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of The Socioeconomic Characteristics Of The Mallee And Evaluation Of Chances For Children Program, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

Chances For Children : Analysis Of Socioeconomic Indicators Of North West Victoria And South West New South Wales And Recipient And Community Perceptions Of The Program, Daniel Edwards, Bob Birrell

Dr Daniel Edwards

The Chances for Children program was established in Mildura in 2001. The program aims to provide opportunities to children and young people in the region in order to ensure that there are no economic barriers preventing them from achieving their potential through education and training.

Change, Competition And Specialisation: The Demise Of The Comprehensive Secondary School And Its Implication, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

The Myth Of Too Many University Students, Bob Birrell, Daniel Edwards, Ian Dobson, T Smith

Dr Daniel Edwards

The Coalition Government has recently asserted that too many young Australians are training to become professionals and not enough as traditional tradespersons. By implication, there is a surfeit of young professionals. This article challenges these assertions. It shows that there has been a substantial increase in the employment of professionals since the Coalition came to power in 1996. Yet over the same period, the number of domestic students in Australian universities at the undergraduate level has hardly increased at all. All of the increase in professional training at the undergraduate level in Australian universities has been directed at overseas students. …

Unequal Access To University Places : Revisiting Entry To Tertiary Education In Victoria, Daniel Edwards, Bob Birrell, T Smith

Dr Daniel Edwards

Access to university is becoming increasingly important as a determinant of occupational outcomes for young people. If there is to be genuine educational opportunity, then all young people in Victoria with the requisite talent should have an equal chance to compete for a university place. The findings of this report show that this is not the case currently. This report explores changes in the outcomes of Victorian Year 12 completers between 1993 and 2003. It is based on unpublished tertiary applicant data for all Victorian Year 12 VTAC applicants. The findings show that there has been a growing divergence in …

From Place To Place : School Location And Access To University Education In Victoria, Bob Birell, Virginia Rapson, Ian Dobson, Daniel Edwards, T Smith

Dr Daniel Edwards

This study investigates the VCE outcomes for Victorian Year 12 students by school sector and location, and the consequences for university selection. The key finding is that students in Victorian government schools are performing poorly at Year 12 level relative to their counterparts in the Catholic and other Independent schools. The overall median ENTER for Independent schools students was 84.20, compared with 69.65 for Catholic schools and 62.80 for government schools. The percentage of students who began Year 12 in 2000 and actually enrolled in a Victorian university in 2001 were 31% (Government), 48% (Catholic) and 60% (Independent).