Social justice and equity in higher education. Practical advice and theoretical models
Workshops are being offered to disseminate the findings and resources from two recently completed and aligned Australian Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) funded projects.
Time: Workshop 1: 9-12pm (includes morning tea)
Workshop 2: 1-4pm (includes afternoon tea)
Venue: M. E. Wood Theatre, St Catherine’s College, University of Western Australia, Stirling Highway, Crawley
Location details: http://www.stcatherines.uwa.edu.au/about-location
RSVP and inquiries: Tracy Creagh: [email protected] - by Friday 21st of March, 2014
Workshop 1 (9am-12pm): Workshop leader/s: Professor Sally Kift (JCU), Ms Liz Smith (CSU) and Professor Karen Nelson (QUT)
The national OLT funded project Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds: Resources for Australian higher education (SP10-1838 2011-2012) focused on identifying and making explicit a series of succinct guidelines to assist the teaching and support of students who come to university with varying diversity in terms of their preparedness for higher education, and social and cultural capital. Two major resources were produced in the form of practical advice institutional policy makers and leaders and practical advice for teaching staff which highlighted the policy frameworks, programs and practices that had facilitated the success of students from LSES backgrounds. The findings are applicable to a range of higher education contexts and appropriate to be taken up to enhance the teaching and support of all students, irrespective of their background.
Workshop participants will have the opportunity to actively engage with the practical advice and guidelines that arose from the project and to consider the application of these findings to their institutional contexts.
Workshop outcomes
- An understanding of the social cultural incongruity conceptual framework.
- An understanding of the key themes emerging from the data.
- An understanding of how to apply the findings in your context/institution.
Workshop 2 (1-4pm): Workshop leader: Professor Karen Nelson, QUT
The concept of student engagement is a key factor in student achievement and retention. Knowing this, many Australasian universities design and implement initiatives that monitor student activities for signs that students are at risk of disengaging and to make timely support interventions to encourage (re)engagement. The national OLT funded project CG10-1730 Good practice for safeguarding student learning engagement in higher education institutions led the establishment of good practices for the Australasian higher education sector in monitoring student learning engagement (MSLE) consistent with the notions of equity and social justice. The key deliverable from this project – the Good Practice Guide contains the Social justice Framework, a set of social justice principles and suite of resources including case studies from the eight participating institutions and examples of their good practice and artefacts that exemplify the framework in action. This workshop provides participants with the opportunity to engage with the framework and apply the principles to institutional programs and practices of relevance in their contexts.
Social justice and equity in higher education: Practical advice and
theoretical models.
Workshop outcomes:
- A review of the relevant literature and evidence underpinning the social justice framework.
- A philosophical and applied understanding of each principle.
- Understanding how to achieve good practice in MSLE in your context/institution.
Workshop participants will be provided with resources developed from the projects as well as examples of practice related to the guidelines and ideas for applying guidelines and advice within your context/institution.
Workshop numbers are limited so please indicate with your RSVP which workshop you would like to attend. If attending both please note that cafes, restaurants and bakeries are within walking distance of St Catherine’s for the purposes of lunch.
Supported by the Australian Government and the OLT