Thesis
Co-operative education partnerships: Australian universities in a turbulent environment
Southern Cross University, Faculty of Education, Work and Training
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
1996
Metrics
27 Record Views
Abstract
In comparison to linear or simple homeostatic models Systems Theory (Emery and Trist, 1965) posits that there is a dynamic two way interaction between systems and their environments so that each has an effect on each other. One type of environment described by Emery and Tri st ( 1965) is called Turbulent in which there is rapid change and complex interaction among systems themselves. It is also argued within Systems Theory (Crombie, 1995; Emery, 1974) that systems may respond to turbulence in either adaptive or maladaptive ways.
From 1983 to March 1996 a Federal Labor Government presided over an Australian economy faced with a Turbulent environment in which there was, inter alia, rapid globalisation, increased awareness of the competition and opportunities in its immediate vicinity, the rise of the Asian tigers, and a decline in western style economies including its own. The response to this situation was to establish industrial stability and to increase Australia's economic capability though a campaign of workplace and training reform. Universities were not excluded from the agenda as a succession of Labor education ministers from Dawkins through to Crean consistently demanded that the higher education sector become more involved in the nation's economic imperatives by adopting a more outward focus. In particular, universities were asked to become more involved with the education and training needs of industry. Universities also underwent perhaps the most significant restructuring in their history with the implementation of the Unified National System under John Dawkins. Thus academe found itself to be faced with turbulence on a grand scale in which liberal traditions came under threat from the demand for more instrumental aims.
The studies conducted here were designed to investigate the adaptive and maladaptive responses of Australian universities to turbulence using the example of co-operative education partnerships with the workplace. Following an extensive literature review the first study involved 12 case studies of these types of partnerships using an approach described by Glaser and Strauss (1967) in which those factors necessary for success were identified. A number of maladaptive responses by academe to these partnerships were also identified lending support for Systems Theory. The findings of this survey, the literature review and a modified Delphi Technique were used in a second study in which a questionnaire was completed by 238 academics (41.5% response rate) working in four different types of universities and by 18 Vice-Chancellors. Factor analysis revealed four reliable factors: Responsiveness to the Workplace; Flexible Organisation and Delivery; Entrepreneurship; and Low Concern for Traditional Education. There were differences on these factors between: the academics in the four universities; academics involved in management and those not; male and female academics; academics who had spent significant time working outside higher education; and academics who had spent more time in universities than those who had spent less time.
Taken together these studies provide some evidence that universities must undergo a good deal of change in order to develop satisfactory partnerships with the workplace. More broadly it is suggested that universities need to adopt a more pluralistic approach to their activities so that the ideals of the liberal university and the imperatives of instrumentalism can be met. Due to certain limitations in these studies further research is suggested that might determine the generalisability of some of the findings as well as shed light on other ways in which universities might adopt a more pluralistic approach.
Details
- Title
- Co-operative education partnerships: Australian universities in a turbulent environment
- Creators
- Stewart Hase
- Contributors
- Alan Thomas Davies (Supervisor) - Southern Cross University
- Awarding Institution
- Southern Cross University; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Theses
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
- Publisher
- Southern Cross University, Faculty of Education, Work and Training
- Number of pages
- vii, 211
- Identifiers
- 991012958499302368
- Copyright
- © Stewart Hase 1996
- Academic Unit
- School of Education
- Resource Type
- Thesis