ERIC Number: EJ766136
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jul
Pages: 16
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1360-080X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
"An Alignment of the Planets": Mapping the Intersections between Pedagogy, Technology and Management in Australian Universities
Snyder, Ilana; Marginson, Simon; Lewis, Tania
Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, v29 n2 p187-202 Jul 2007
The research interrogates the connections between information and communication technologies' (ICTs') use and change processes in Australian higher education. The empirical investigation focuses simultaneously on three domains of practice: the educational, the technological and the organizational, with a particular interest in their overlaps and intersections. There were 15 case studies, covering three discipline clusters (Medicine/Health Sciences, Economics and Business, English/Cultural Studies/Communications) in each of five different types of Australian university. The main research technique was semi-structured interviews with academic, executive and administrative staff, supplemented by focus groups with students and the study of curriculum and strategy documents. The main findings of the study were that the most effective use of ICTs in universities occurs when educational and organizational objectives are in harmony; when ICTs innovations are dominated by corporatist objectives at the expense of pedagogical objectives, benefits are limited and tensions evident; and pedagogical initiatives by discipline-based ICTs "champions" require central support if they are to add value on a sustained basis. The optimal conditions for ICTs innovations in teaching and learning are disciplinary independence and capacity, conditions present in only one of the 15 case studies.
Descriptors: Sciences, Organizational Objectives, Focus Groups, Case Studies, College Faculty, Foreign Countries, Astronomy, Higher Education, Educational Objectives, Educational Environment, Interviews, Universities, Constructivism (Learning), Computer Mediated Communication
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Australian Research Council.
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A