The marginalization of higher learning: an interpretation of current tertiary reform policy in New Zealand

Curzon-Hobson, Aidan

doi:10.1080/1356251042000195349

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…However, even within institutions, attributes such as lifelong learning and global perspectives can be interpreted in many different ways, according to disciplinary traditions and professional and individual perceptions (Green, Hammer, and Star 2009). Without clear guidelines and a common vision, there can be considerable variation in how these graduate attributes that produce work-readiness are envisaged by administrators, taught by teaching staff and understood by students (Barrie 2006;Curzon-Hobson 2004;Green, Hammer, and Star 2009;Tymon 2011).…”

Section: Educationalmentioning

confidence: 98%

Student identity development in higher education: implications for graduate attributes and work-readiness

Daniels

Brooker

2014

Educational Research

127

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Background: As universities in many countries engage more directly with industry, the learning emphasis has moved from the student experience to the work-readiness of the graduate. This focus on the student as potential worker is expressed through graduate attributes: particular sets of employability skills developed by institutions and embedded into the curricula. Main argument: Graduate attributes are problematic, however, since they focus firmly on students' future identity as workers, rather than their current identity as students, and in doing so they offer a simplistic, and -for some -troubling, view of the purpose of universities. In this paper, we advocate a return to consideration of student identity. Conclusion: We suggest that, for students, building an awareness of their student identity as they progress through their higher education experience is not only important for student engagement at university, but is also an integral aspect of shaping their work-readiness as graduates.

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Section: Educationalmentioning

confidence: 98%

Student identity development in higher education: implications for graduate attributes and work-readiness

Daniels

Brooker

2014

Educational Research

127

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“…Academic middle leadership, placed in terms of role positions such as heads of academic department and other academic leaders has been described as a unique form of leadership that is recognised as central to the effectiveness of higher educational organisations. Such leaders have been noted as being essential to the academic success of universities in the USA (Cohen and March, 1991), as indispensable to the effectiveness of Canadian post‐secondary institutions (Jones and Holdaway, 1996), and, in a New Zealand setting, as key players in implementing organisational change (Curzon‐Hobson, 2004). Given the current turbulence in many higher educational environments, Fullan (2007) has argued that academic middle leaders fulfil a particularly prominent role in institutional effectiveness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational middle change leadership in New Zealand: the meat in the sandwich

Marshall

2012

International Journal of Educational Management

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report findings from a larger study into the role of middle leaders of change in New Zealand higher education.Design/methodology/approachIn total, ten middle leaders from the New Zealand higher education sector took part in a recent research project which examined successful change leadership in higher education. As part of that larger study, each middle leader answered questions about their views on being in the “middle” in their change leadership roles and their views on middle leadership in general.FindingsThe ten middle leaders all described their place in their respective organisations in terms of being “caught in between”, or “sandwiched between” senior management to whom they were accountable, lecturers whom they described as colleagues or peers, and subordinates for whom they had some functional and often moral responsibility. The paper discusses the perceptions of being in the “middle” and how change leaders reconcile their position as a subordinate, an equal and a superior. Insight is gained into how educational leaders reconcile their position in the “middle” as they hold management responsibility for both academic and general staff who are hierarchically, beneath them; lead teams of colleagues in collegial decision making; and answer to higher authority in the form of senior organisational leadership.Research limitations/implicationsThe participant contributions of personal observations and unfolding real life stories which meld personal common sense with local meaning have formed a unique local ontology therefore allowing for a deeper understanding of the contributing factors toward being in the “middle”. Some of these perspectives have been used by the author's own organisation in the development of leadership training for future organisational change, particularly those aspects concerning communication and participation that are tailored to meet the unique needs of management and staff.Practical implicationsFor middle change leaders the focussed examination of the working relationship between middle change leaders and staff groups might prove to be a rich area of further study. These relationships take a variety of forms, including where a staff member has risen through the ranks (off the shop floor as it were) to take on the mantle of leadership, or simply where there is a shared understanding based on subject or professional backgrounds which binds the two together. Further investigation into these relationships may provide perspectives that enable leaders to develop a greater understanding of how change occurs.Originality/valueThe paper shows how the participants locate themselves as being “very much” in the middle in terms of line management of both resources and academic matters and often as being caught between competing imperatives, institutional dynamics and institutional structures.

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“…The WRICM has implications for education, industry, professional associations, policy makers and for graduates themselves. The refinement of existing work-ready skills in the literature through qualitative methodology, and further development of the WRICM and the associated WRICM scale has the potential to guide practitioners, and rule out existing variations in how the competencies/skills that produce work-ready graduates are envisaged by administrators, taught by teaching staff and understood by graduates (Barrie, 2006; Curzon-Hobson, 2004; Green et al , 2009; Tymon, 2013). These stakeholders can further adapt the scale in assessing the work-readiness of graduates in different disciplines and educational streams.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work-readiness integrated competence model

Prikshat

Kumar

Nankervis

2019

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise graduate work-readiness (GWR) and to develop a scale to measure it. Design/methodology/approach The methodology entailed the compilation of a literature review and the conduct of qualitative interviews and a focus group to generate items. This study used the “resource-based view” approach to conceptualise a multi-dimensional–“work-readiness integrated competence model (WRICM)”–consisting of four main factors (namely, intellectual, personality, meta-skill and job-specific resources), with a further ten sub-dimensions. Further, a series of tests were performed to assess its reliability and validity. Findings A final 53-item WRICM scale covering four dimensions and ten sub-dimensions of GWR was developed based on the perceptions of 362 HR professionals and managers from seven Asia-Pacific countries. The ten sub-dimensions covering 53 work-readiness skills reflect the perceptions of stakeholders regarding the work-readiness of graduates. The scale was found to be psychometrically sound for measuring GWR. Research limitations/implications Though the WRICM model is based on the inputs of different stakeholders of GWR (employers, educators, policy makers and graduates), the development of the WRICM scale is based on the perspectives of industry/employers only. Practical implications The WRICM model has implications for education, industry, professional associations, policy makers and for graduates. These stakeholders can adapt this scale in assessing the work-readiness of graduates in different streams of education. Originality/value The authors believe that the WRICM model is the first multi-dimensional construct that is based on a sound theory and from the inputs from graduate work-readiness stakeholders from seven Asia-Pacific countries.

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The marginalization of higher learning: an interpretation of current tertiary reform policy in New Zealand

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Student identity development in higher education: implications for graduate attributes and work-readiness

Student identity development in higher education: implications for graduate attributes and work-readiness

Educational middle change leadership in New Zealand: the meat in the sandwich

Work-readiness integrated competence model

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