Research into Higher Education
Deakin University’s Higher Education Research Group (HERG) provides a mechanism for participation and collaboration in research, scholarship and consultancy in the field of higher education, including university teaching and learning and higher education policy. HERG is a cross-portfolio entity, contributing to both the collegial teaching and learning environment at Deakin University and to the research endeavours of the university. The members of HERG are Deakin University staff who share a common interest in higher education research.
Higher education is a field of professional practice and a field of inquiry. Many different perspectives, orientations, theories, philosophies and conceptions are brought to bear on scholarship and research in higher education. Research in higher education is undertaken using a range of conceptual and theoretical models drawn from the disciplines and we encourage staff to draw on their own disciplinary epistemologies as appropriate and to conduct research of the highest quality.
The research of the members of HERG incorporates a wide range of areas, themes and topics. Much of it falls into the following categories:
- Teaching and learning, and the many sub-dimensions of this area;
- Curriculum and course design;
- The student experience, including student engagement;
- Academic work, including its changing nature;
- Institutional management;
- Quality, including quality assurance and enhancement;
- Equity; and
- Policy, including policy around any and all of the above (Adapted from Tight, 2004).
HERG members have had significant achievements since the inception of the group in June 2008, including winning Australian Research Council (ARC) and Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) grants. Many HERG members have also won funding from the Deakin University Strategic Teaching and Learning Grant Scheme (STALGS) to undertake research in the field of higher education and have subsequently contributed to the scholarship of teaching and learning within and beyond Deakin University. HERG members have also published numerous articles in high-ranking international peer-reviewed journals as well as in print and online media outlets.
For more information about HERG, please contact Lisé Baker or visit the Higher Education Research Group web site.
