This paper explores the results of a survey that was conducted with 277 pre-service teachers studying at two regional university campuses in Victoria, Australia in 2014. Data showed that participants expressed high level of satisfaction with the quality of their undergraduate courses in education including the flexible teaching and learning…

Many universities have graduate attributes, sometimes referred to as generic skills, soft skills or work ready skills. This paper reports a study of the professional work experiences of recent Australian Information Technology (IT) graduates who identified that communication, time management, teamwork, working with people, working across cultures,…

Although there is a clear body of evidence supporting the idea that undergraduate students benefit from participation in original research projects, many units of study--particularly in the creative arts and humanities--have been slow to embrace curriculum renewal along these lines. In this paper, we detail a pragmatic approach to meeting this…

This article will outline the development of an Information Literacy Strategy in 2009 as part of an overall program of curriculum review and renewal at La Trobe University, Australia. Current information literacy programs at La Trobe University Library employ a diverse range of approaches and delivery methods. However, they are limited in scope…

This article explores how insights from the broader education literature on threshold concepts and conceptions can be applied to improve the teaching of undergraduate introductory management courses. The authors propose that these courses are underpinned by the threshold conception, or "underlying game," that management is a practice…

The diverse range of academic, social and cultural challenges experienced by Asian students when studying at Western universities is well documented. This research involved a pre-departure curriculum designed to ease the intercultural transition and adjustment for Chinese international students to a new learning environment in Australia. Moving…

Graduates with well-developed capabilities in finance are invaluable to our society and in increasing demand. Universities face the challenge of designing finance programmes to develop these capabilities and the essential knowledge that underpins them. Our research responds to this challenge by identifying threshold concepts that are central to…

Purpose: A modern business graduate is expected to have strong disciplinary skills as well as the soft skills of communication and team work. However today's business graduate needs to be more than the traditional "I-shaped" graduate of the past and more of the "T-shaped" graduate employers are looking for. Many undergraduate…

Australian national statements describing a quality 21st century education prioritize creativity and sustainability as essentials for global and economic survival and for individual wellbeing. However, data gathered from 114 pre-service teachers commencing undergraduate study indicates their limited experience and skills in the arts, and lack of…

Today's graduates need the skills to enable them to "persevere in the face of complexity and unresolvability" (McWilliam and Haukka 2008: 660), and to respond creatively in work environments that are increasingly dependent on digital technologies (Cunningham 2006). However, although many higher education institutions (HEIs) acknowledge…

The Honours undergraduate degree in Australia is unlike that in most other countries. It has taken on a particular significance as a qualification, as a pathway to and a pre-requisite for direct entry into doctoral programs. This paper explores the outcomes of a study that suggests that the aims, outcomes, curriculum, pedagogical practices,…

Objectives: The aim of this study was: (1) to investigate the feasibility of incorporating the Triple A programme into the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum; (2) to compare the effect of the Triple A programme versus problem-based learning methods on the asthma knowledge of final-year pharmacy students and their perceived confidence in dealing…

In 2013, Facebook was used in learning and teaching clinical problem solving in a Pathology and a Clinical Sciences course delivered at a South Australian university. It involved first- and second-year Medical Radiation students and second-year Nursing students, Of the 152 students enrolled in the Pathology course, there were 148 students who…

Geographers are increasingly grappling with the theoretical and practical implications of integrating an ethics of reciprocity into undergraduate learning and teaching. This paper draws on the unexpected experiences of a third-year human geography research methods fieldtrip to examine the process of balancing undergraduate student learning and…

In this essay, the authors consider the unique position of honours within undergraduate programs in Australian universities and the consequent implications for constructing pathways to research. A tension arises in academic disciplines that see honours as a fourth-year skilling program focused on the workplace when, at the institutional level,…