The Grattan Institute has released
Taking university teaching seriously [
PDF] by Andrew Norton, arguing that -
Australia has national debates about the quality of teaching in our
schools. We worry about who is recruited to teach, what
qualifications they have, and how well their students learn.
Teaching quality in universities has received much less attention.
As higher education enrolments expand towards 40 per cent of
young people, university teaching needs to be taken much more
seriously.
Universities now enrol students who would once have gone
straight into work or vocational education. About a quarter of
students entering university on lower ATARs never complete their
degree. By comparison, university drop-out rates for the most
able school leavers are below 10 per cent. The time, talent, and
money of a large group of students are going to waste.
Student surveys indicate whether students in Australian
universities have conditions and experiences that are conducive
to learning. Despite improvements since the 1990s, there is room
to do better. Australian students rarely report being pushed to do
their best work, are often not actively participating in classes, and
have little interaction with academic staff outside of class.
Academics are typically appointed for their subject expertise, with
much less attention given to their teaching skills. Most academics
have no training in teaching or have taken only short courses.
Universities outsource large amounts of teaching to casual staff.
Many academics prefer research to teaching.
Better research does not necessarily lead to better teaching.
Original empirical analysis conducted for this report investigated
the effect of research on teaching. It found that students in highresearch
departments have very similar experiences to students
in low-research departments.
Teaching-only universities are occasionally proposed as a
solution. But this report’s findings suggest that removing research
would not on its own solve the teaching problem. Departments
that research less have not compensated by building
specialisation in teaching. They have similar staffing profiles and
practices to departments that research more.
While strong university leadership will ultimately drive quality
improvements, government has a modest but important role.
Among other things, it should continue to sponsor surveys of
students’ learning experiences. It should maintain a competitive
student funding system, so students can leave courses with poor
teaching.
This report recommends a new, cost-neutral scheme to hire 2,500
teaching-focused staff at all academic levels across twelve
universities. Teaching-focused roles can better recruit, develop
and recognise effective teachers. A critical mass of skilled
university teachers would act as a circuit breaker to research
dominance.
Universities have long required research qualifications, sought
research talent, and promoted their most able researchers.
Teaching-focused academics can help lead a university culture
shift that will make teaching an equal partner with research.
