The Academic Profession

A Background in Science Kerri-Lee Harris (2012) Science and science education make vital contributions to Australian society. There are the obvious national benefits that stem from scientific research and innovations, including economic benefits. Importantly, there are also widespread personal and social benefits that arise from ensuring the scientific literacy of the population. As the findings from this study demonstrate, having a background in science is highly valued by individuals and of benefit to their communities. A Background in Science examined the reach of science in Australian society. The study's findings highlight the breadth of influence of science in society. Download PDF

The Australian academic profession in transition Emmaline Bexley, Richard James and Sophie Arkoudis (2011) This study provides a basis for policy-makers and university managers to meet the challenge of building and maintaining a robust academic workforce. One key step, among others suggested at the end of this Executive Summary, is a reconfiguration of the way academic work is conceived, valued and rewarded through recruitment, confirmation and promotion processes. Download PDF

Regenerating the Academic Workforce Daniel Edwards, Emmaline Bexley and Sarah Richardson (2011) This report is the culmination of a project carried out for the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE). The main findings of this report are based on the outcomes from the National Research Student Survey (NRSS) conducted in June 2010 across 38 of the 39 universities in Australia. In total 11,710 Higher Degree by Research students (those enrolled in PhD and masters by research degrees, also referred to simply as ‘research students’ in this report) responded to the NRSS, providing a 25.5 per cent response rate across the country. These response numbers represent the largest collection of survey responses from research students ever undertaken in Australia. Download PDF