International Higher Education Scholars Program
The International Higher Education Scholars Program, hosted by the Higher Education Research Group, brings internationally renowned scholars to Deakin University to share their expertise and build collaborative relationships with HERG members.
International scholars who would like to discuss taking part in this initiative are warmly invited to contact the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning Futures), Professor Beverley Oliver, email pvc-lf@deakin.edu.au
Dr Bruce Macfarlane
Associate Professor for Higher Education,
The University of Hong Kong
2010
Building a career in higher education research: a tour around the territory
Dr Bruce Macfarlane, Associate Professor for Higher Education, The University of Hong Kong
Bruce Macfarlane is Associate Professor for Higher Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. He has held previous academic positions at four UK universities, as a visiting professor in Japan and as a school teacher in Hong Kong. His research interests are mainly focused on the ethics of academic practice and leadership and his single authored publications include Teaching with integrity: the ethics of higher education practice (RoutledgeFalmer, 2004), The Academic Citizen: the virtue of service in university life (Routledge, 2007) and Researching with integrity: the ethics of academic enquiry (Routledge, 2009). In previous work Bruce has written extensively about business and management education and the teaching of business ethics, in particular. He has also researched the management of dual-sector (FE-HE) institutions resulting in the publication of Challenging Boundaries: Managing the integration of post-secondary education (co-edited with Neil Garrod, Routledge, 2009). He is currently writing a book about intellectual leadership in higher education, to be published in 2011. Bruce is a former Vice Chair of the Society for Research in Higher Education and a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. He is a member of the editorial board of a number of higher education journals including Teaching in Higher Education and Higher Education Quarterly.
Powerpoint presentation (564 KB)
Dr Sarjit Kaur
Associate Professor in the English Studies Section, School of Humanities,
Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang
2009
A qualitative study of postgraduate students’ learning experiences in Malaysia.
Dr Sarjit Kaur, Associate Professor in the English Studies Section, School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang.
Dr Sarjit Kaur is Associate Professor in the English Studies Section, School of Humanities at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. She is on the editorial board of several national and international journals and actively carries out research in the fields of Teaching English as a Second Language, English for Specific Purposes, oral communication, literacy issues and policy research in higher education. She is also Associate Research Fellow at Malaysia’s National Higher Education Research Institute (NaHERI) where she has been involved in research projects encompassing policy research in topical areas such as globalisation and internationalisation of higher education. She co-writes fortnightly Updates on Global Higher Education, published by NaHERI. Her recent co-edited books include Globalisation and Internationalisation of Higher Education in Malaysia and Governance and Leadership in Higher Education (USM Press, 2008). Currently, she is co-editing two books on Quality Assurance and University Rankings in Higher Education in the Asia Pacific. She has represented USM and Malaysia in various stakeholder forums and international conferences in positioning Malaysian higher education in today’s interconnected global knowledge economy. Dr Kaur gave the following as the inaugural International Visiting Scholar Program seminar.
In Malaysia, postgraduate coursework and research training have expanded significantly in attracting both domestic and international students from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The task of evaluating the student learning experience in postgraduate education can point out to researchers and university educators various mismatches that would not be immediately known otherwise. In this study, 83 MA and MEd students in two public universities in Malaysia submitted written narratives to discuss their postgraduate learning experiences. Of this total, 12 respondents also volunteered to be interviewed. The findings of this study showed that the following dimensions impacted on students’ learning experiences: knowledge,values and contacts acquired, professional and personal values acquired and specific learning problems encountered. The implications of the results of this study suggest that public universities in Malaysia can take proactive steps to celebrate learner diversity when addressing students’ difficulties in their continuous effort to further enhance support and facilities for their postgraduate students.
Powerpoint presentation (924 KB)
Reference: Kaur, S. (2009). A Qualitative Study of Postgraduate Students’ Learning Experiences in Malaysia. (129 KB) International Education Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 47-56.
