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Research
For ATEM's purposes, research is defined as any activity that investigates a subject of professional interest to tertiary education managers. The aim of this page is to provide ATEM members with a means to share these research activities, to keep up to date with recent research and to alleviate any "reinventing of the wheel".
Items for this section may include PhD research undertaken by members, projects undertaken to improve administrative practice in institutions, reviews of activities and outcomes, experiences of restructurings and reorganisation of institutions, etc. as well as research that relates directly to the work and profession of tertiary education management.
Criteria to determine inclusion on this page are broad. The research:
- should relate directly to tertiary education managers, their work or their profession;
- may be undertaken as part of paid employment, or as part of an award course (eg PhD, MA, MBA project or other Masters project);
- may be work-in-progress;
- can be institution specific or be more generally applicable across institutions or roles; and
- can relate to a single event (eg the introduction of a new appeals process), or to a broader series of events over time (eg the implementation of a new quality management system).
Please complete the online form at www.surveygizmo.com/s/137740/research and email research reports to be included in the library to the ATEM Secretariat ()
ATEM Researchers
Add your research to this list at www.surveygizmo.com/s/137740/research
Heather Davis
Project: Investigating Leadership Literacies for the Knowledge Era in the HE sector, Australia.
RMIT, School of Management; Supervised by Assoc Prof Sandra Jones; PhD or equivalent.
Commenced 2008 - Completed (or expected to be completed) 2011.
Field of Study: Leadership
Is research directly related to the work of professional staff in tertiary education? Yes
Scholarships: APA, ATEM grant
Contact:
Website: www.leadershipliteracies.com
Abstract: This research study is concerned with identifying leadership literacies appropriate for the knowledge era and then testing them against the Higher Education (HE) sector in Australia. The rationale for this research proposal, at its heart, is about the individual and an individual’s capacity to change and influence their wider groupings, be they leaders or followers (or more likely both leaders and followers to some extent) within an organisational setting. The overarching theme of this project is the interrelationship between leadership, language & literacies and learning—not only what they are now, but also what they may become—as the drivers of change in a knowledge intensive era.
Research questions:
- What are the leadership literacies for the knowledge era as defined in the literature?
-
Is there evidence that the Higher Education sector in Australia is taking up these literacies? i.e.
to what extent are leadership literacies appropriate for the knowledge era being theorised and practices in HE in Australia?
Carroll Graham
Project: Support and Success: Contributions of general staff to student outcomes [working title]
UTS; Supervised by Dr Tony Holland (co-supervisor: Prof. Alison Lee); PhD or equivalent.
Commenced 2008 - Completed (or expected to be completed) 2012.
Field of Study: (Higher) Education
Is research directly related to the work of professional staff in tertiary education? Yes
Abstract: The key resource for universities is their academic and general staff, yet little attention has been paid to the work of general staff. Nevertheless, general staff have comprised more than half the workforce in Australian universities since 1996. Such a large workforce (more than 52,800 nationally in 2007) invites a more rigorous understanding of the work undertaken, and the contribution made by general staff to the strategic goals of their institutions. While universities have multiple and diverse stakeholders, students occupy the key stakeholder position in a university’s core business of learning and teaching. Consequently, the interaction of general staff with students has potential to impact on the sustainability of an institution. This research is concerned with developing a better understanding of how general staff make contributions to the key role of learning and teaching within the complex context of higher education.
Shane Kendrick
Project: Building a sustainable relationship with our most important clients ... through an interactive teaching/learning model
Monash University, Melbourne Australia (Graduate School of Business); Supervised by Mr Michael Vincent; Research Project at work.
Commenced 2007 - Completed (or expected to be completed) in or after 2013.
Field of Study: Interactive adult teaching/learning methodologies
Is research directly related to the work of professional staff in tertiary education? Yes
Scholarship: ATEM grant
Abstract: The aim of this study is to propose a dramatic and sustainable improvement in the quality of the teaching and learning within the tertiary education sector by reviewing the teaching methodologies and processes used.
The objectives of this study are to investigate the awareness and application of generally accepted teaching methods, propose an alternative interactive model of learning that will engage students in the learning process and will assist students in achieving many of the graduate attributes, and finally develop an interactive learning platform for studying particular units by incorporating alternative and interactive teaching methodologies.
The benefits of this interactive learning style include dramatically improved levels of retention while building a sustainable adult education model. By utilising the latest technology with social media interaction, multimedia, and the Internet combined with mentoring the levels of retaining information must increase dramatically.
Darlene Sebalj
Project: The Profile, Role and Contribution of University Research Services Staff and their Perspectives on Managing Change in Australian Universities.
University of Newcastle; Supervised by Prof Allyson Holbrook; PhD or equivalent.
Commenced in or prior to 2005 - Completed (or expected to be completed) 2009.
Field of Study: Research Management & Administration
Is research directly related to the work of professional staff in tertiary education? Yes
Scholarship: APA
Contact:
Website: www.newcastle.edu.au/research-centre/sorti/people/darlene-sebalj.html
Abstract: This foundational research aimed to develop a picture of the profile, role and contribution of research services managers and administrators within Australian universities. The contextual backdrop to the study was the lead up to the then planned 2008 implementation of the Australian Research Quality Framework (RQF). Undertaking the study at that time provided the opportunity to capture how staff prepare for, and respond to, significant policy change events. It is hoped that this evidence-based research highlights a particular subset of the work of university administrators, thereby, encouraging the long overdue recognition of this group as a profession in their own right and, more importantly, to increase their visibility as partners to academics in the business of higher education. Such work will advance our understanding of the professional contribution by research administrators to university research and by extension, to Australia’s global competitiveness.
Dr Judy Szekeres
Project: Administrative Staff Experiences in the Corporate University
University of South Australia; Supervised by Elaine Butler; EdD.
Commenced in or prior to 2005 - Completed prior to 2005.
Field of Study: Educational Management & Administration
Is research directly related to the work of professional staff in tertiary education? Yes
Abstract: Four interrelated reports, the first being "The Invisible Workers" which analyses a range of literature - academic, journalistic, government and fictional in the light of four discourses which are part of the meta-discourse of corporate managerialism. The second is "Who keeps the Organisation Running" which analyses a collection of interviews with administrative staff undertaken over a six month period across the three SA universities using a hybrid method based on grounded theory. It focuses on the work they undertake, their experiences of changes to the workplace, experiences with technology and interactions with academic staff. The third is "Tell Me a Story" which uses narrative analysis of stories told in interviews to gain a greater understanding of common experiences of workers located in different workplaces. And the final section is "This is My Song" which is an auto-ethnographic account of the author's work experience interwoven with the experiences of participants and selected literature to link together the findings of the first three sections and draw some conclusions about the management of administrators in universities.
Dr Stephen Weller
Project: A study of organisational justice and participative workplace change in Australian higher education.
Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia; Supervised by Associate Professor Bernadine van Gramberg; PhD or equivalent.
Commenced in or prior to 2005 - Completed 2009.
Field of Study: Industrial relations
Is research directly related to the work of professional staff in tertiary education? No
Contact:
Website: eprints.vu.edu.au/2028/1/weller.pdf
Abstract: This thesis explores employee participation in the management of workplace change through an organisational justice framework within the context of the Australian Higher Education (HE) sector. The thesis examines the extent to which the Australian HE sector makes provisions for participative workplace change, the extent to which participants within the sector perceive participative workplace change as providing fairness, and practices that can facilitate and foster participative workplace change.
The provisions for participative workplace change are examined through a longitudinal study of enterprise bargaining agreements across all public universities in Australia for the period of 1997-2006. The research findings identify a decline in both the degree and form of employee participation in workplace change across this decade.
The perceptions of participative workplace change are examined through an altitudinal survey of management and union executives within all public universities in Australia. The research findings identify considerable divergence between management and union executives in relation to employee participation, workplace change and organisational justice.
The practices for participative workplace change are examined through twenty semi-structured interviews with management and union executives drawn from amongst the respondents to the attitudinal survey. The research findings identify areas of convergence around organisational justice dimensions and workplace change practices between management and union executives.
The thesis concludes that it is a combination of fair processes and fair interactions which are most effective in facilitating workplace change and fostering employee participation in the Australian HE sector and which in turn are seen to be able to contribute to shared perceptions of organisational justice.
Library
| Downloads | Format |
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Partnerships between Administrative and Academic Managers: How Deans and Faculty Managers Work Together |
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Wilson, Ann; Pitman Leeanne; and Isabella Trahn
"Best Practice for Australian Academic Libraries"
Abstract:
'Best Practice for Australian University Libraries' is a federally funded project which has investigated current 'best practice' activities
within Australian academic libraries and made reference to relevant best practice activities at selected international sites. In this project, the
term 'best practice' encompasses the extent of the implementation of quality frameworks and the use of benchmarking and performance measurement as tools
for the continuous improvement of products, processes and services. Staff competencies and training required for the effective application of these
frameworks and tools were also investigated. Recommendations on the practical application of this knowledge in support of effective future best practice
have been made. These recommendations include the conversion of information from the project into a 'Best Practice Handbook for Australian University
Libraries' which will form the basis for an ongoing source of reference for all university libraries.
Anne Wilson (Northern Territory University)
Email:anne.wilson@ntu.edu.au
Leeanne Pitman (University of Ballarat), Isabella Trahn (University of New South Wales)
Relationships Between Academics and Administrators
Conway, Maree
"Neighbouring Professions? Academics and Administrators in Higher Education"
Abstract:
The professional relationship between academics and administrators is characterised by tension and conflict and is often misunderstood,
misinterpreted or misconstrued. The relationship exists in an environment where work is changing rapidly and where traditional ways of operating
are no longer effective. The nature of the working relationship between the two groups has shifted from that of "master-servant" to one of interdependency
and, for administrators, their role in university management has expanded greatly. However, recognition of their expanded role by academics in particular,
but also by institutions and government generally, has not been forthcoming. This research analyses the professional relationship between academics and
administrators in selected Australian universities to define the changing nature, boundaries and context of the administrative role in order to explore where
and in what ways academic and administrative work is blurring. This analysis will inform the development of scenarios to describe how university work might
be conducted in the future. The work is in progress and will be submitted to examiners for the award of a PhD by The University of Melbourne.
Maree Conway mconway@swin.edu.au
Higher Education Division
Swinburne University of Technology
Student Services
Promnitz, J & Germain, C
"Student Support Services and Academic Outcomes: Achieving Positive Outcomes"
Abstract:
To obtain direct empirical evidence of a link between the existence of student support services and enrolment attrition or positive academic
outcomes is difficult, due to the many extraneous variables which have an impact on the lives of students. To help clarify the link between support
services and academic outcomes, this project examined student experiences with actual and contemplated withdrawal and usage of support services. The
method used was a questionnaire administered to enrolled and recently withdrawn students, and a series of focus groups with students nearer graduation.
Participants responded to questions about their financial support and motivations for seeking a degree. Detailed comments were provided on factors or
circumstances which influenced contemplation of withdrawal, as well as actions taken which led to continued enrolment or actual withdrawal.
It was concluded that the experiences of students generally support the positive role which support services play in both the prevention of attrition and the enhancement of student's experiences whilst at university. Recommendations were made to facilitate social, emotional and academic adjustment, given findings on student financial difficulties, motivations for enrolment and attrition risk factors.
Dr Jenny Promnitz Jennifer.Promnitz@jcu.edu.au
Director of Counselling
James Cook University of North Queensland
