Rob Gilbert

The generic skills debate in research higher degrees

Generic or transferable skills as outcomes of research higher degrees have been the subject of considerable development and debate in universities in recent times. The development of generic skills has been motivated by the belief that there are skills which all graduates should possess, and which would be applicable to a wide range of tasks and contexts beyond the university setting. This paper reviews these developments and debates drawing on a literature from the USA, the UK, with particular reference to Australia. It cites examples of generic skills programs and considers evidence of students’ responses to them. Reviewing criticisms which have been levelled at the idea of generic skills in research higher degrees, the discussion identifies a number of questions which need to be addressed if this development is to succeed.

A framework for evaluating the doctoral curriculum

This paper proposes a framework for evaluating the doctoral curriculum. Noting that much previous research and evaluation in doctoral education have focused on the outputs of the degree or the supervisory process, the paper identifies the content of the training students receive in particular fields of study, the doctoral curriculum, as in need of further scrutiny. Based on concepts from curriculum evaluation, a framework is proposed to identify the research questions and data sources which might guide such a study.This paper proposes a framework for evaluating the doctoral curriculum. Noting that much previous research and evaluation in doctoral education have focused on the outputs of the degree or the supervisory process, the paper identifies the content of the training students receive in particular fields of study, the doctoral curriculum, as in need of further scrutiny. Based on concepts from curriculum evaluation, a framework is proposed to identify the research questions and data sources which might guide such a study.

Masculinity, inequality and post-school opportunities: disrupting oppositional politics about boys' education

Popular discourses about ‘boys education’—both in Australia and internationally—have often been drawn from oppositional storylines that construct ‘boys’ at school as a new disadvantaged group. This paper rejects such a construction, arguing that it fails to take account of the economic and social advantages that boys, as a single group, still experience in the post-schooling years; that it fails to differentiate within the category of ‘boy’, to examine how particular groups of boys fare far less well than do other groups of boys; and that it neglects the impact of constructs of masculinity upon boys lives at school. The paper considers four issues of significance for boys at school: narrow and stereotypical subject choice; unruly and risk-taking behaviours; poor literacy achievement; and low school retention rates. However, it demonstrates that these issues predominantly affect boys who are unprotected by economic and social privilege.

Productive Pedagogies: A Redefined Methodology for Analysing Quality Teacher Practice.

This paper identifies the ways in which the Productive Pedagogies framework has been refined as a research tool for evaluating classroom practice within a current study into issues of school reform in Queensland. Initially emerging from the landmark Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study (1998–2001), the Productive Pedagogies has been taken up widely in Australia and internationally as both a research tool and metalanguage to support teachers to critically reflect on their practice. In this paper, following a brief description of the model’s four dimensions, we detail how we have addressed some methodological concerns in using and modifying the framework for the present study. In response to critiques by other researchers and debates within our own research team, we justify our use of the framework. To these ends, we present a refined methodology that addresses the importance of pedagogical process, substantiates the inclusion of particular items within the framework, supports a critical approach to issues of difference, includes students’ perspectives and recognises the significance of content knowledge in the assessment of quality pedagogy.

Citizenship, Education and Postmodernity

Abstract This paper explores the significance for citizenship education of claims that Western society is undergoing a major cultural reorientation, known by its protagonists as postmodernism, which is said to have wide‐ranging implications for knowledge, morality, politics and individual identities. In particular, the posited changes raise doubts about the future of citizenship, and the discussion reviews two responses to these questions: Heaters optimistic proposal for a return to the classical ideal, and Wexlers pessimistic assessment of the prospects for citizenship in a society dominated by television and the consumption of images. A third perspective is suggested, based on the expansion of the idea of citizenship from civil, political and welfare entitlements to greater participation in the cultural and economic dimensions of everyday life. It is argued that such a concept can inform a comprehensive and coherent approach to citizenship, and a successful curriculum in citizenship education.

Text and context in qualitative educational research: Discourse analysis and the problem of contextual explanation

Abstract Qualitative educational research upholds the importance in explanation and interpretation of the social context of any event or situation. This article reviews approaches to contextual explanation in models of ethnographic research commonly used in education, and finds them wanting. Problems lie in the arbitrary way in which contexts are referred to, and in an inadequate theory of language that often leads research from the emic perspective to neglect the historically institutionalised nature of language and meaning. Critical discourse analysis as outlined by Fairdough is explored as an analytical framework that goes some way towards resolving these problems.

Boys performing English

This article explores the gender dynamics of boys responses to one particular aspect of English teaching: oral performance work. It focuses on the possibility that the requirement to perform publicly in dramatic and other oral tasks may be an important factor in the rejection of English by many boys, and may contribute to boys relatively poor achievement in English. The article provides a study of boys engagement in English oral activities in two classrooms, and identifies a number of factors influencing boys English learning. In particular, it shows that there is no simple relation between the performance requirements of English learning activities and boys disengagement with English.

Can history succeed at school? Problems of knowledge in the Australian history curriculum

Successful curriculum development in any school subject requires a clear and established set of elements: agreed and widely appreciated goals; effective criteria for the selection of important knowledge content; and an explicit and well-integrated explanatory base for authentic problem-solving related to the subject goals. The article shows that the history discipline faces particular challenges in meeting these requirements. The diversity of approaches to history complicates the task of establishing consensus around a clear set of goals. Its association in popular discourse with facts and narrative predisposes history to a descriptive approach, and is not helpful in clarifying the foundational ideas on which historical explanation is based. The article considers each of these issues and the extent to which they are resolved in the development of the Australian history curriculum. It concludes that these issues remain a challenge that could put at risk high-quality curriculum outcomes in history.

Teaching and the Boy Problem

Education has traditionally institutionalized the dominant social and economic role of men in society, and the early history of teaching in schools and universities in the English speaking world is largely one of preparing ‘gentlemen’ for positions of leadership. However, there is now a concern in many education systems that boys are not succeeding in school as much as they should. This has led to a concerted focus in education policy and debate on boys’ achievement in school, with numerous research studies and government inquiries seeking to understand this issue.

Great Expectations: Political Education and Political Culture in Australia

These words, describing the last Australian Prime Minister and his government, and written by his speechwriter and close confidant, offer a rare inside glimpse of Australian political culture. They crystallize an important challenge to citizenship educators involved in introducing the political system to young people. While the practices they describe are unlikely to be unique to Australia, the attention recently given to citizenship education in Australia makes them particularly pertinent.