Tertiary education in Australia is dominated by a division between two large systems of provision: vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE). Over time, these tertiary education sectors have become distinct in several respects, including the way curriculum is conceived and practiced. In VET, competency-based training…

Definitions of disability are changing, shifting from a narrow medical diagnosis to a biopsychosocial model of disability, where disability is conceptualised as a series of relational conditions that can potentially disadvantage individuals within environments. Implications of this new understanding of disability will have significant effects in…

This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of a report by an Australian committee appointed to look into academic awards in advanced education. The committee recommended that a common pattern of nomenclature of awards be instituted in higher learning institutions throughout Australia, and that the institutions and…

Examines the regulations governing Master's degrees in Education at two comparable universities in Canada and Australia, in light of problems concerning equivalencies of admission, program requirements, and areas of postgraduate specialization. Concludes that the increasing international interchange requires attention to academic and professional…

Programs in applied mathematics have been developed with emphasis on application of mathematics to business, economics, and planning. (SD)

The functions of Australian higher education institutions are examined in terms of the knowledge and skill needs of each sector. A new evaluation technique that clarifies the complexity of student thinking required at each level is applied to the programs, producing a rationale for admission and degree structure. (MSE)

Recent government intervention in research higher degree policy across the globe has sharpened universities' focus on the quality of their students' research education experience and on timely completion rates. Studies have sought to highlight the factors that predict research students' timely completion of their studies. Many universities have…

A University of Queensland (Australia) new agribusiness curriculum is described. The curriculum was designed in response to the concerns and wishes of Australian agribusiness employers and government policy of increased international competitiveness. The program's centerpiece is an internship in overseas market research with a commercial firm.…

The main purpose of this paper is to outline the ways educational administrators are prepared in Australia. Universities and Colleges of Advanced Education (CAEs) provide the formal preparation programs in educational administration. An analysis is made of the types of programs generally offered and the role of the universities and the CAEs. The…

Degree requirements in computer science at Monash University are summarized, problems relating to them are discussed, and suggestions for improving them are offered that stress a clearer definition of expectations. (JSR)

Detailed and wide-ranging suggestions are offered for reforming Australia's higher degree requirements. The author, an Australian PhD, compares them with requirements in other countries and finds them "particularly regressive, unenlightened, intellectually counterproductive, undemocratic, and uncivilized." (JSR)

Some of the reasons for the unduly long time required to finish PhDs at the University of Sydney are examined, and two problem areas are noted: the imposition of excessive standards for ulterior motives, and inadequate supervision. Based on questionnaires, five specific reforms are suggested. (JSR)

This paper reviews some emerging trends in applied linguistics in both Australia and New Zealand. It sketches the current scene of (selected) postgraduate applied linguistics programs in higher education and considers how various university programs define applied linguistics through the classes (titles) they have postgraduate students complete to…

This book examines the origin and development of doctoral degrees and offers recommendations for the improvement of doctoral programs and degrees. It discusses the birth of universities and doctoral degrees in medieval Europe and reviews the spread of the degree to the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia. Contemporary concerns about…