When I arrived in Australia a while ago to pursue my master’s degree in TESOL at the University of Technologies, Sydney, I stood as an outsider on the outskirts of the higher education landscape, marvelling at the reasons that attracted millions of international students like me. The 300-day-of-sunshine weather, stunning beaches, multicultural atmosphere, vibrant lifestyle, and of course the iconic Sydney Opera House painted a clear path that led us to this country. A decade later, when I began my professional journey in the tertiary industry, my curiosity about this tertiary education system coupled with my eagerness to contribute to the institutional empire that drew countless students from around the world grew. Now, I’m standing inside the majestic Great Hall of the University of Sydney, contemplating on how we can expand access to higher education for more students from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, and strengthen Australia’s 40 universities’ intellectual foundations.
Yes, you heard it right! In this vast ‘continent country’ where sheep outnumber humans and 40% of the landmass remains uninhabitable, we have a modest count of 40 Australian universities. It sounds as if our collective brainpower has been on an extended holiday to the ‘outback’. Does this imply that Australians are solely a nation of sheep farmers, shark spotters, and crocodile hunters, as rumours have it? If we were to judge solely based on the number of universities and create a national IQ index from it, we would find ourselves in a rather troubling situation, wouldn’t we? The reality, fortunately, is far from the stereotypical outsider perception of Australia and its intellectuality. Let’s not be too quick to judge based on the sheer quantity of universities. Despite the ‘smallness’ odds, Australia’s tertiary education system is anything but ordinary. Behind the sunny façade lies a wealth of academic excellence, ground-breaking research, and a commitment to nurturing bright minds. Australia is ‘down under’ on the world map, but the sky is the limit for their higher education sector.
What makes the Australian higher education system uniquely capable?
‘Education is our largest services export and the biggest product we don’t source from the ground’ – Catriona Jackson – CEO Universities Australia
Despite the small number of institutions, the quality of higher education in Australia is exceptional. It serves as the backbone for the country’s export income, ranking among the top three export industries – a rarity compared to many other OECD countries. In 2022, international students, including those enrolling in online courses, contributed a remarkable $29 billion dollars to our economy amid the global impacts of Covid-19 (Universities Australia, 2023). In the latest QS Global Universities ranking of 2023, Australia can take pride in having 5 universities in the top 50.
The Australian National University (ANU) secures the 30th spot, while Melbourne University follows closely at 33rd. Notably, Sydney University claims the top spot for employability within the country and achieves an impressive 4th position globally in this category. Sydney University campus is also considered in the top 10 most beautiful campuses in the world.
It’s not surprising, considering the above-mentioned statistics, to notice that Australian universities stand out due to their numerous globally renowned qualities. Two key features shine brightly: the aesthetically pleasing campus facilities that contribute to a remarkable learning environment and the future-work-readiness focussed curriculum. I think these special aspects are what make this tertiary education system exceptionally appealing to students, both domestically and internationally.
The natural blessings of Australia together with well-equipped facilities, the aesthetic appeal of traditional universities architect and state-of-the-art additions of lab rooms and buildings create an exceptional campus environment and provide students with a conducive learning atmosphere, fostering creativity and productivity. If you visit Sydney University, Queensland University, UTS, Tasmania University, Melbourne University, and University of New England, to name a few, you will experience how the impacts of beautiful beach vibe, natural sandstone infrastructure blended with state-of-the art technologies and sophisticated studying spaces have on our students’ learning experience.
The second feature is Australian universities are uniquely and practically focus their teaching curriculum and learning emphasis around future-work readiness. Not only have universities moved away from the out-dated funnelling knowledge lecture-style teaching and traditional rote learning, but they also Universities launch into adopting more practical and industry-oriented approach in their respective curriculums by providing a wide range of career-relevant opportunities for students with their Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs. These activities include work placement, which is the most common experience for 43% of students, industry projects (23%), and fieldwork (10%). Many students have also expressed their learning satisfaction through industry simulations (13%) where they get the opportunity to go to court if they study laws or clinical hospitals for medical study. These are the highlights of how Australian universities apply their innovative moves and diversify their teaching ‘modus operandi’ (Universities Australia, 2017).
What has been done to foster critical thinking skills at the university level: when soft-skills become solid-assets.
“In a world where ‘fake news’ is spreading with increasing ease and speed, where labour markets are changing quickly, and where there are great challenges to open democratic government; critical thinking is a vital skill.” – Bastiras, 2019
Recent research reveals an interesting finding that when it comes to making good life decisions, critical thinking plays a more important role than intelligence. It is believed that individuals who think critically are more likely to avoid financial dilemmas like debt or bankruptcy. In healthcare, professionals using critical thinking provide better outcomes to patients. Not only beneficial for life, finance, and health, critical thinking is extremely valued in careers with studies saying that there has been a significant increase of 158% in demand for critical thinking skills among new graduates over just three years (Foundation for Youth Australia, 2019).
Australian higher education is known for their ‘down-to-earth’ workplace readiness or graduate employability where they prioritise the development of critical and creative thinking skills to prepare students for real-life career challenges. Most universities have made remarkable adaptation of this ‘thinking skills training’ priority into their teaching and assessment design and implementation. They satisfactorily do this by applying Interactive Teaching Methods (ITM), where crowded lectures are gradually replaced with smaller scale workshops, seminars, or interactive sections; where students are encouraged to actively participate in course discussions, group projects, and case studies. These practices promote critical thinking skills, and the ability to incorporate creativity thinking with teamwork.
In addition, real-world assignments, and case studies projects are examples of assessments that mirror real-life work situations. Students are tasked with projects that require them to apply theoretical knowledge to practical scenarios. This hands-on approach in assessment enables students to develop problem-solving skills, the ability to think critically and creatively in complex career contexts.
In a study conducted by a group of educational experts from various Australian universities, it is affirmed that students value these innovative and practical approaches used in Australian universities as 88% of them recognise the importance of soft skills for their future careers (Allen et al., 2020). They believe that these skills including complex problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity are the most vital soft skills for career success amid the ever-evolving development of technological advances namely artificial intelligence and other technological advances. Therefore, it is crucial that tertiary educators integrate the teaching of these skills into their courses to ensure the creation of work-ready graduates who can thrive in a competitive job market. ‘Critical thinking is an essential subject in any education because it teaches you how to teach yourself’ (University of Adelaide, 2019).
Access & Equity – bridging the gap.
Last month, we had the privilege of attending the launch of ‘Australian Universities: A Conversation about Public Good’ at Sydney University. The insightful book brings together the perspectives of over 20 leading educational experts in Australia, shedding light on the critical challenges faced by our universities. Notably, the issue of ‘access’ and ‘equity’ in the higher education landscape emerged as the most prominent concern (McMahon & Harwood, 2022). As someone who has lived in both identities as student and professional within this environment, I have keenly observed the pressing need to address educational equity. I have highlighted, in my other article about the Australian school system, the same issue of educational equity in primary and secondary schools. It is with a sense of urgency that I reiterate the significance of these hurdles in the realm of tertiary education.
Last month, I also had the privilege of teaching a group of teacher-training students from Aichi Prefecture University. We engaged in various conversations about anything and everything educational possible. On the last day of their program, my students asked about the number of universities in Australia and whether they shared the same enchanting yet modern atmosphere as our campus, reminiscent of the Harry Potter’s Hogwarts’s school. Upon hearing the answer, I could recall my students’ ‘astonishing’ faces so vividly as they thought we would have a significantly higher number than what I told them. Let’s put the statistics in perspective. In Japan, with a population of approximately 125 million, there are over 800 universities. This translates to roughly 1 university for every 156,250 people. On the other hand, for a population of 25 million, Australia has 40 universities or approximately 1 university per 625,000 people. This means that four times more people have access to higher education in Japan than in Australia. Or if we look at numbers in a different angle: Japan is 5 times more populated than Australia, and 20 times more substantial in the number of universities. The difference couldn’t be more pronounced, numerally.
Access to higher education, and this is certainly not the case of needing more universities, remains a significant concern in Australia. Three decades ago, the Australian government established national goals to increase university participation for marginalised groups, including First Nations Australians, students from low socio-economic backgrounds, those from regional or remote areas, people with disabilities, and non-English speaking backgrounds. The aim was to ensure a university student population that reflects the diversity of Australian society and promote equal access and equity to higher education. However, recent data (Cunningham et al., 2021) showed a disappointing revelation: a much lower proportion of tertiary enrolment of the above under-represented groups compared to the general population, except for students with disabilities. Merely 17% of students come from low socio-economic backgrounds, only 2.4% identify as Indigenous Australians, and 21% are from regional or remote areas. Acknowledging this disheartening truth, Australian Education Minister, Jason Clare, candidly admitted that ‘when it comes to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, we failed’ (2022). He passionately re-ignited this issue only a few days ago in the Parliament speech saying:
“I want more people from poor backgrounds to go to university, I want more people from the regions to go to university, I want more people to go from the bush to university, I want more Indigenous Australians to go to university”.
It is imperative that we strive to establish a more robust support system with inclusiveness at its core. This involves creating an environment where students from diverse backgrounds have equal opportunities to access and thrive in the higher education system, enabling them to excel on chosen academic paths.
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References:
Allen. HE Employability (2020). The Australian student voice on the soft skills needed for the future and how universities can integrate these skills into their teaching. Oxford University Press. https://www.oup.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/172194/HE_Employability-Whitepaper_2020_DIGITAL_Singlepages.pdf
Chishom, A.(2023). Supporting higher education and vocational opportunities for all Australians. https://ministers.education.gov.au/chisholm/supporting-higher-education-and-vocational-opportunities-all-australians
Clare, J. (2022). Greater funding to support student equity in higher education. https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/greater-funding-support-student-equity-higher-education
Cunninghame, I., Costello, D., & Trinidad, S. (2016). Facilitating Student Equity in Australian Higher Education. Make Tomorrow Better. Curtin University.https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Facilitating-Student-Equity-in-Australian-Higher-Education.pdf
Higher Ed IQ. (2017). 6 strategies Australian Universities are using to design and develop collaborative and flexible learning spaces. https://higherediq.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/6-strategies-australian-universities-are-using-to-design-and-develop-collaborative-and-flexible-learning-spaces/
McMahon, S., & Harwood, V. (2022). Beyond “access” and “affordability”: Young people talk about university participation. In J. Horne & M. A. M. Thomas (Eds.), Australian Universities: A conversation about public good (pp. 87–102). Sydney University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv31svrqv.12
The Conversations. (2016). What is critical thinking? And do universities really teach it?
https://theconversation.com/what-is-critical-thinking-and-do-universities-really-teach-it-69046
‘I want more people to go to university’: Education Minister. (2023, June 1). https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/i-want-more-people-to-go-to-university-education-minister/video/d65d1de826063e2c1faee5006d51c2be
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