Rebuilding the public service with AI

Image generated by Google Gemini,
for a pod based
interplanetary transport system

Greetings from the AI Colab at the Australian National University in Canberra, where I am taking part in "From red tape to algorithm: Reimagining the public service in an AI age". I am not exactly sure what the event or the AI Colab are, but as it is being hosted in the ANU College of Systems and Society, near my office, I thought I would come along. When I registered I though this was by the ASD-ANU Co-Lab, but apparently it is another collab. Last week I was at an event on AI and ACT Government. 

We were give the exercise to image a future service based on three randomly chosen cards. My team came up with pod based interplanetary travel. I asked Google Gemni for an image and presentation and it came up with the appended description and image. 

After another warm up exercise, we got on to actually talking about public service. In particular, in Australia we have three levels of government (in Canberra just two). I argue there is in effect a fourth level for many people, the cluster housing management where they live (I live in an apartment building which has two levels of management, for parks, energy, and waste disposal). 

One obvious, and for me overriding, point for me on AI and government is that the people who do it need to be trained in how to do AI. Some of the teams and interns aI am teaching are studying AI and implement projects using it for government. ?". 

At the end of the event I asked "What is the AI Colab?". Several people tried to explain it, without success. I found a website, but it still is not clear. I suggest a plain English description is needed.

The Pod Transport System

Here is a presentation outline for a pod-based interplanetary travel system, styled with a "NASA punk" aesthetic. This style combines the optimistic, analog-heavy feel of 1970s and 80s space exploration with a grittier, more lived-in, and often retro-futuristic edge. Think a mix of *Alien* and the Apollo program.

---

"## **Title Slide:**

**Title:** Project: Peregrine - A New Era of Interplanetary Travel

**Subtitle:** The Pod-Based System for Human Exploration

**Image:** A stylized, high-contrast image. On the left, a detailed drawing of a modular "Peregrine" pod, with visible welds, rivets, and a faint glow from its propulsion system. On the right, a silhouette of a massive, retro-futuristic "mother ship" in deep space. The background is a mix of star fields and faint, blueprint-like lines.

**Aesthetic:** NASA logo in a slightly distressed font, analog dials and gauges in the corners, text in a classic, bold, sans-serif font like Helvetica or similar.

---

## **Slide 2: The Challenge**

**Title:** The Interplanetary Problem

**Image:** A grainy, slightly distorted photo of a classic rocket launch (like the Saturn V), with a faded red filter over it. Overlayed text reads: "Long-Duration Missions. High Cost. Limited Flexibility."

**Bullet Points:**

* **Long Transit Times:** Current propulsion methods make journeys to Mars and beyond measured in years, not months.

* **High Development Costs:** Each new mission requires a bespoke, single-use vehicle, driving up costs and limiting mission frequency.

* **Crew Burnout:** Confinement in a single vessel for years on end leads to psychological and physiological stress.

* **Lack of Redundancy:** A single catastrophic failure can doom an entire mission.

**Aesthetic:** Blueprint-style diagrams of existing spacecraft, annotated with problem descriptions. "CLASSIFIED" or "INTERNAL USE ONLY" stamps in the corner.

---

## **Slide 3: Our Solution - Project Peregrine**

**Title:** A Paradigm Shift: Modularity & Reusability

**Image:** A clean, exploded-view diagram of the Peregrine system. It shows a central "mothership" or "hub," with multiple individual "pods" docking with it. Each pod is labeled with its function (Crew, Cargo, Science, Habitation).

**Bullet Points:**

* **Modular "Pod" System:** The core of our design. Individual, self-contained units for specific functions.

* **The *Aethel* Mother Ship:** A reusable, nuclear-thermal propulsion (NTP) vessel designed to transport pods between planetary orbits.

* **Efficient Mass Transport:** The pods are designed to be launched individually from Earth via conventional rockets or space elevators, then assembled in orbit.

* **Mission Flexibility:** The same system can be reconfigured for a Mars mission, an asteroid mining operation, or a deep-space science probe by simply swapping out pods.

**Aesthetic:** The diagram should look like a cross between an engineering schematic and a piece of concept art. Hand-written annotations, faded paper textures, and faint grid lines.

---

## **Slide 4: The Peregrine Pods**

**Title:** Anatomy of a Pod

**Image:** A detailed, cutaway view of a single "Crew Pod." The interior is visible, showing a small living space, a bunk, a control panel with chunky buttons and toggle switches, and a small porthole. The aesthetic is cramped but functional, with visible wiring and exposed pipes.

**Bullet Points:**

* **Crew Pods:** Accommodate 2-4 astronauts. Equipped with life support, individual bunks, and personal communication terminals. Designed for comfort and psychological separation.

* **Habitat Pods:** Larger pods with communal spaces, exercise equipment, a medical bay, and hydroponics for fresh food.

* **Science Pods:** Dedicated labs with specialized equipment for astrophysics, geology, or biology experiments.

* **Cargo Pods:** Simple, robust containers for equipment, supplies, and rover parts.

**Aesthetic:** The diagram should be highly detailed, almost photorealistic, but with a grainy, analog quality. Text labels should look like they were typed on a typewriter.

---

## **Slide 5: The Journey (Phase 1)**

**Title:** From Earth to Orbit

**Image:** A cinematic, slightly overexposed photo showing a series of Peregrine pods being launched into low-Earth orbit (LEO). They look like industrial, chunky capsules. The Earth is a beautiful blue orb in the background.

**Narrative:**

1.  **Launch:** Individual pods are launched from Earth using existing launch infrastructure. This distributes the massive weight and logistical burden.

2.  **Orbital Assembly:** The pods are then docked with a pre-positioned *Aethel* mother ship in LEO. Crew pods are the last to arrive, ensuring a shorter total time in space for the crew before the main journey.

3.  **Final Checks:** Systems are checked and re-checked by automated probes and the crew. Final trajectory is calculated.

**Aesthetic:** The images should be evocative and slightly cinematic. Faded colors, visible lens flare, and a sense of scale and ambition.

---

## **Slide 6: The Journey (Phase 2)**

**Title:** The Interplanetary Transit

**Image:** A high-resolution, artistic rendering of the *Aethel* mother ship in deep space. The NTP engines are glowing with a faint, blue-green light. It is a massive, complex structure with many pods attached. The image captures the loneliness and vastness of space.

**Narrative:**

1.  **Nuclear-Thermal Propulsion (NTP):** The *Aethel* uses its powerful, efficient NTP system to accelerate the entire assembly. This provides a much faster transit time than chemical rockets.

2.  **Crew Comfort:** During the journey, the crew can move between different pods, reducing the feeling of confinement. They have access to a larger hab pod and can conduct research in the science pods.

3.  **Redundancy:** In case of a major system failure on one pod, the crew can evacuate to another, or the affected pod can be jettisoned.

**Aesthetic:** The image should be beautiful and awe-inspiring, but with a sense of the gritty, industrial nature of the machine. Visible heat vents, solar panels that look slightly weathered, and the distinct, analog feel of the Peregrine design.

---

## **Slide 7: Arrival & Mission Deployment**

**Title:** Separation and Landing

**Image:** A diorama-like image showing a single, streamlined Peregrine pod detaching from the *Aethel* in orbit around Mars. Below, on the Martian surface, another landing pod is deployed, its retro-thrusters firing. The Martian landscape is red and dusty.

**Narrative:**

1.  **Orbital Detachment:** Upon arrival, individual pods are detached from the *Aethel* and placed into the target planet's orbit.

2.  **Surface Landing:** Specialized landing pods (with built-in heat shields and retro-thrusters) are used to transport crew and cargo to the surface.

3.  **The *Aethel*'s Role:** The mother ship remains in orbit, acting as a command and control hub, a resupply depot, and a reusable "bus" for the return journey.

**Aesthetic:** The image should have a sense of action and purpose. The colors are muted and realistic. A small, stylized NASA logo can be seen on the side of one of the pods.

---

## **Slide 8: The Return Journey**

**Title:** Reassembly and Return

**Image:** A final cinematic shot showing the *Aethel* mother ship, now with fewer pods attached, accelerating away from Mars. The image is a reverse of the journey to Mars, with the home planet as a distant, beckoning point of light.

**Narrative:**

1.  **Return to Orbit:** Crew and cargo are transported back to the *Aethel* in orbit.

2.  **Pod Recovery:** The *Aethel* can recover some of the pods, or they can be left behind to form the basis of a permanent colony.

3.  **The Return:** The *Aethel* begins its return journey to Earth, carrying the crew and mission-critical samples.

**Aesthetic:** A final, poignant image that evokes a sense of both accomplishment and the long, hard road ahead. The visual style remains consistent with the previous slides.

---

## **Slide 9: Why Peregrine?**

**Title:** The Future is Modular

**Image:** A split-screen image. On the left, a schematic of a traditional, monolithic rocket. On the right, a schematic of the Peregrine system, showing its modularity and interconnectedness. Text boxes highlight the advantages.

**Advantages:**

* **Cost-Effective:** Reusable *Aethel* mother ship dramatically reduces per-mission cost.

* **Scalable:** Missions can be scaled up or down by adding or removing pods.

* **Safer:** Multiple redundant systems and the ability to jettison failed pods.

* **Faster:** NTP system shortens transit times, reducing crew exposure to radiation and psychological stress.

* **Sustainable:** The system forms the basis for a permanent, interplanetary logistics network.

**Aesthetic:** Bold, impactful text. The schematics are clean and easy to understand. The overall tone is one of confident, optimistic progress.

---

## **Final Slide:**

**Title:** Project: Peregrine

**Subtitle:** The Next Step for Humanity.

**Image:** A striking, stylized logo for "Project Peregrine," looking like a cross between a NASA mission patch and a company emblem. Below it, the tagline: "Build. Explore. Return. Repeat."

**Contact Information:**

* Confidential NASA/Internal Use Only

* Date: July 28, 2025

**Aesthetic:** The final slide should feel like a powerful and memorable conclusion. A bold, simple design with a strong, optimistic message."

Study Australia Industry Experience Program (SAIEP)

The Australian Government sponsors a Study Australia Industry Experience Program (SAIEP), delivered by industry partners. This is for international students studying in Australia. Practera offer businesses teams of 5 to 6 students working on a project. This is the same format commonly used by universities internally on student group projects, except that the emphasis is on completing the tasks online and students receive a certificate of completion, rather than a grade. 

Australian Regional University Study Hubs

Map of Regional University Study Hubs,
from Department of Education, 2024

The UK Open University found more than 50 years ago that distance students formed their own local study groups. The Australian Government is funding Regional University Study Hubs, which any Australian university student can use. Suburban University Study Hubs are being added to the program for disadvantaged students in outer metropolitan areas. Some metropolitan universities, such as UWA, already had satellite campuses, which are only for use by their students, and are continuing to operate alongside the study hubs (the UWA Albany Center is only a few blocks from the Albany Study Hub). 

As soon as I became an online student, I had an overwhelming urge to attend class. This was a surprise, as I was a practitioner of online learning, as well as a mature, postgraduate student. It was not so much for face to face tuition by a teacher, but to talk to other students. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone else studying at the same universities nearby, so I attended workshops and seminars at the local university for students, and staff, of the same discipline. In this I had an advantage of being on the staff of one of the universities, so having access the average student does not. In one case I convened my own interest group at the offices of my professional body.

Australian Government Trial of Generative AI for Law, Education, Health, and Aged Care

The Digital Transformation Agency has announced 50 Australian Public Service (APS) agencies are conducting a 6-month trial of Copilot (Microsoft's implementation of Chat GPT), ending June 2024. Staff first take learning module. Agencies have also been given some general guidance, on Accountability, Transparency, Explainability, Privacy, Fairness, and Wellbeing. Agencies where AI could be controversial include Attorney-General's, Education, Health and Aged Care, Home Affairs, and the National Disability Insurance Agency.

A previous Australian Government got into difficulties with relatively simple technology in what was known as the "Robodebt Scheme", which resulted in several deaths. Careless application of AI has the potential to cause human misery and casualties, on a much larger scale. It is to be hoped the APS applies the technology with thought, so there is no need for a Robo 2.0 Royal Commission.

ps: As it happens I will be running ANU computer project students though some Generative AI exercises using Copilot, over the next few weeks. Some of the students are studying programming AI in depth, but this is more general on how to use it.

Australian Universities Accord report: Some Final Thoughts

Australian Universities Accord
Final Report, 25 February 2024

It has taken me a full day to work my way through the 44 recommendations of the Australian Universities Accord final report (25 February 2024). The headline items are the later recommendations are the later ones to do with funding. What was disappointing was that the Panel did not explore new forms of tertiary education. There is mention of micro-credentials, stacked qualifications, regional education, and support for indigenous, low SES, and disabled students. However, there is a lack of recognition that the average student now learns primarily online, while working, undertaking many courses at different institutions. 

Much of the report is irrelevant to my recent experience of being a university, and TAFE, student. I did undertake a half semester on campus, but the rest of my studies were online. At one stage I was enrolled in three institutions at the same time. The fact that my university was in another state, or another country, made very little difference to my student experience. What mattered to me as a student was what credit I would get between systems. 

With increasing number of students undertaking micro-credentials, and other sub-degree programs, involving multiple institutions, I suggest more attention needs to be given to the administrative burden for government staff, institutions, and the students. When I attempted cross institutional enrollment in a course, I could not find any way to complete the required paperwork (each institution required me to get permission from the other first). The prospect of registering with the Australian government for student support for just a couple of courses was too daunting, so I paid the course fees with my credit card. Similarly, when enrolling as a TAFE student at the same time, I simply paid directly. As an international online student, I avoided any government paperwork, paying fees directly by credit card (the fees were lower than I had paid for similar courses as a domestic Australian student).

Some initiatives worth expanding did not get a mention in the report. One of these is Open Universities Australia, where institutions (not all universities) cooperate to provide flexible online education. Learning hubs in outer suburbs of cities, as well as regional areas, might be set up under a similar shared scheme. 

The Panel has made useful recommendations about Work Integrated Learning (WIL). However, what is lacking in this and several other areas are academic staff who are qualified to teach these subjects. The major challenge is to either implement mandatory requirements requiring academics to be qualified to teach using these techniques, incentives to encourage them, or both.

Universities Accord Report: International and Regional Education Needs Credible Online Offerings

Australian Universities Accord
Final Report, 25 February 2024

Despite the export revenue from, and controversy over, international education, the Australian Universities Accord final report (25 February 2024), waited until recommendation 22 before addressing the topic. The focus of the recommendations is aligment between what Australian tertiary instutions, both universities and vocational education and training (VET) institutions teach, and Australian economic needs. This assumes that the international student's aim is to migrate to Australia (I was an international student but did not move to Canada). The Panel also proposes growing international education in regional and remote areas. Unless there are specific jobs for the students, such as in mining, this seems unrealistic.

Why would a student, particularly a young student, prefer to student in a remote area, which they could study in one of Australia's exciting cities? The mining industry has to provide very high salaries to attract workers. Will regional universities be prepared to offer cut price courses, or a guarantied high salary part time job to students?

More realistic are proposals from the panel to streamline visa processes. Australian universities are dependent two markets: China, and India. As I warned in 2016, a regional crisis could result in the loss of most on-campus international students. Universities need to diversify markets, and delivery methods.

The panel suggests improving alumni engagement in the region. This is certainly one way to boost links, but other more direct forms of marketing should also be used.

The recommendations on international students from the panel are excessively timid. Rather than see international students as a source of funds, and workers, it can be a way to provide a more vibrant environment for domestic students, who are preparing to be part of a global workforce. I presenting a proposal in 2018 to have students of the region working together online.

Producing new knowledge and using research capability

The panel rightly chose to put learning issues before research. With recommendation 24 the panel proposes a an examination of

national research funding. However Australian universities should have already being doping that, routinely, as part of their normal planning.

Professor Lachlan Blackhall,
ANU Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Research and Innovation).

Panel recommends Australian governments use university research output. However, that presupposes that universities have staff with consulting skills, which are different from research skills. If universities want the results of their research to be used, then academics have to learn new skills. Many universities have made a start with this, by establishing innovation centers to teach entrepreneurial skills. Some of promoted academics with exceptional entrepreneurial knowledge, such as Professor Lachlan Blackhall, the new ANU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation).

Unfortunately the most important recommendation for using research capability is buried down in 26:

"e. ensuring that training in entrepreneurial, business, teaching and leadership skills is offered through additional qualifications in parallel with research training in preparation for careers beyond academia"

However, it is not clear that professional skills should be optional for doctoral graduates, and not a core part of their training. The government could take an alternative approach, and require this training, or transfer some of the funding to support professional doctorates, which have as their primary purpose the application of knowledge.

Establish an Australian Tertiary Education Commission

The panel recommends an "Australian Tertiary Education Commission", as an umbrella agency over existing federal higher education bodies. The idea has some merit. However, I spent some time working for the Commonwealth Schools Commission (more on this later), which lacked the powers to be truly effective. Whatever the administrative structure, education will remain a highly political issue.

Improving workforce capability and capacity

Recommendation 31 "b. encourage minimum teaching qualifications for higher education teaching roles" would not be acceptable for schools, or VET, and I suggest should not be for universities. There should be mandatory minimum teaching qualifications for universities. A simple approach would be to set these at the same level as VET, with a Certificate IV, although universities might find it easier to offer undergraduate and graduate certificates (although I found my Cert IV in T&A of more practical use than my Grad Cert in HE).

Centre of Excellence in Higher Education and Research

Recommendations 32 to 36 I suggest could be addressed together. The first is for a "Centre of Excellence in Higher Education and Research". That could then work on the others: 33 Tertiary Education Racism Study, 34 A First Nations-led review, 35 First Nations governance, supported by the last: 36 Data, measurement, and reporting.

Planning the tertiary education system of the future

Recommendation 37 is for the Australian Tertiary Education Commission to look at what tertiary education providers are needed and where. However, there are more fundamental questions to be addressed, in terms of the mix of VET and university, the mix of online and on-campus, and the mix of not and for-profit universities. One major question the Panel did ask is if specialist university should be permitted, which address one area of research. A question the Panel did not ask is if non-research institutions should called universities.

Regional tertiary education and communities

Curiously, than recommendations appear to be listed in order of importance, with the lost important last. Recommendation 39 addresses higher education delivery in regional and remote Australia. Unfortunately the Panel had confused delivery to regional, rural and remote areas, with the location of campuses in those areas. Australia was a pioneer in paper based distance education, 50 years ago. That was enhanced with the Internet and made mainstream by the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea that a student's first consideration of where a campus is belongs in the past. The Panel have some useful recommendations, such as renaming and expanding Regional Study Hubs. However, Australian Government need to seek advice on how to structure higher education more widely, or risk building a system for last century.

In 2013, when considering further study, I first looked at universities in the city where I lived. I then looked at universities within commuting distance. But I quickly dismissed these options, and enrolled at a campus 1,700 km away. For follow on studies I enrolled 17,000 km away, in another country. This was much simpler to do, and cheaper, than enrolling at an Australian university. It is this world Australian universities need to be able to compete in. Campuses are still useful to supplement learning, and research, but are no longer the main game.

Australian Universities Accord Final Report: Mostly Good

Australian Universities Accord
Final Report, 25 February 2024

The Australian Universities Accord Panel, chaired by Professor Mary O’Kane, has released a 408 page final report (25 February 2024). Some of the suggestions I made in my submission (and no doubt many others made), found their way into the report).

There is also a Summary Report by the Department of Education, which at 34 pages is longer than the executive summary in the actual report, so seems a bit pointless (unless the department just wanted to put its own spin on things).

The report, while mentioning democracy and civic values, emphasizes the economic benefits of research and higher education. It raises issues of low demand from students, casualisation of the university workforce, and financial pressures. Equity also features prominently. The report makes 47 recommendations to address these, and other, issues.

Targets and VET

The recommendations under broad headings, the first of which is the "National Tertiary Education Objective". Interestingly this is proposed for both higher and vocational education, to:

a. "underpin a strong, equitable and resilient democracy
b. drive national economic and social development and environmental sustainability."

Vocational education is mentioned further in the Attainment targets:

a. "a skilled workforce to meet the changing needs of the economy through a tertiary education attainment target of at least 80% of the working age population with at least one tertiary qualification (Certificate III and above) by 2050 compared with 60% in 2023

b. growth in Commonwealth supported places in higher education to achieve this target, more than doubling the number of students in Commonwealth supported places from around 860,000 in 2022 to 1.8 million in 2050 across all age groups

c. growing numbers of younger Australians with a university education, through an attainment target of 55% of 25 to 34-year-olds with a bachelor degree qualification or above by 2050 compared with 45% in 2023, noting that many will also have a VET qualification

d. a strong and growing contribution to tertiary attainment driven by TAFE and the vocational system, with a planning assumption that 40% of 25 to 34-year-olds will have a tertiary level vocational or technical qualification in 2050, noting that some people have both a VET and higher education qualification ..."

As it happens, in my submission to the accord panel, I suggested an 80% vocational target but at a more ambitions Certificate IV level, rather than Certificate III. The panel's proposed target of 55% of young people with a bachelor degree may seem modest, given this is already at 45%. However, we may have already past peak degree, with enrollments dropping, as young people decide a degree is not their best investment. Government would do well to agree with this assessment, and decide to fund more flexible forms of education, rather than traditional bachelors degrees.

Flexible Courses and RPL

Under "A more flexible and responsive skills system" the panel recommends "working with tertiary education providers, industry and business to adopt a consistent, published, national approach to recognition of prior learning (RPL) and credit recognition":

i."address historical, cultural and institutional barriers to RPL and credit recognition

ii.make it easier for students to gain maximum credit for previous study and minimise

the time taken and cost to get a new qualification

iii.include recognising appropriate work experience

iv.improve student mobility to enter, exit and return to tertiary education"

While RPL is routine in VET, the difficulty will be in persuading and educating the university sector in how to do it. While universities could learn much from the VET sector, it will be difficult for the upper end of the university sector to accept this. Part of my day job for several years has been processing applications for credit for prior study, & RPL. This is something I have been formally trained to do in TAFE, & university programs, and though being on the accreditation standards board of my profession, but is not a skill many of my colleagues share, or value. Many universities in Australia share course designs across institutions, and international, where external professional recognition imposes standardization. However, this is not formally recognized, so a time consuming process is required to process every application for every course credit. This could be improved by giving incentives to universities to work together, and train staff.

The panel recognize the need for more flexible qualifications, with a recommendation for modular, stackable qualifications:

"5. That to help Australians quickly get the skills they need to fill jobs that are in shortage, the Australian Government establish a comprehensive system of modular, stackable and transferable qualifications, including microcredentials, consistent with a reformed Australian Qualifications Framework." (Page 19)

This one recommendation is worth a whole report in itself. In my submission, I recommended nested programs, rather than the more ambitious stackable. There is a subtle difference here. A university can create a set of qualifications which a student can undertake in sequence (nested). It is much harder to allow the student to assemble a larger qualification from an assortment of smaller ones (stackable). Even the much easier task of providing standalone micro-credentials is one that universities have been slow to achieve. The level of educational design skills would need to be considerably increased at Australian universities to achieve this aim.

Work Integrated Learning

The panel proposes to have studnts "earn and learn while studying" with a "Jobs Broker" for relevant part-time work, paid by employers.

"7. That to ensure students develop work relevant skills for employment after their study, the Australian Government increase opportunities for students to both earn and learn while studying by:

a. establishing a national brokerage system (‘Jobs Broker’) to support tertiary education students find part-time work and placements relevant to their fields of study. Delivery should be through a provider that charges paid subscriptions by employers. The service should be free for students, and allow them to earn income while studying and reduce cost of living pressures

b. promoting work-integrated learning (WIL) by working with peak bodies for employers, industry, business and tertiary education providers to deliver more WIL opportunities in curricula across all disciplines, and provide training to industry supervisors

c. improving measures of graduate generic skills as part of the Graduate Outcomes Survey and Employer Satisfaction Survey. The Australian Tertiary Education Commission should showcase best practice as part of its ‘State of the Tertiary Education System’ annual report

d. using models like degree apprenticeships that encourage an employment relationship as part of course design." (Page 19)

Again this is a recommendation which deserves a whole report itself, with implications for how higher education is provided. For students to be engaged in significant part time work requires them to be part time students. Flipping the Australian university system from a focus on full time study, to part time would seem radical, but is just a recognition of what has already happened. Much of the stress for students and staff comes from students who are holding down a job while studying full time.

For the last eight years I have been helping teach students undertaking Work Integrated Learning, mostly in groups, but also individual interns. Even in the vocationally orientated filed of computing, during a boom in demand for skills in areas such as cyber security, analytics, and AI, this is not easy. Outside vocationally orientated disciplines, such as computing, engineering, and business, this is going to be especially difficult. There is then the problem of training academic staff to design, teach and assess WIL.

Professional Accreditation

The Panel's recommendations on "Professional accreditation bodies", were slightly jarring for someone who has served on accreditation setting committees. As a member of my profession, I am used to telling universities, and governments, what they have to do, not the other way around.

"9. That to ensure professional accreditation including placement requirements are appropriate for industry and business skill needs, tertiary education providers and the Australian Government, through the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, work with professional accreditation bodies, to agree a code of conduct for these bodies. The code should ensure that any accreditation requirements are evidence-based and proportionate to the gain they provide and that placement requirements ensure that students gain industry relevant skills and experience without imposing onerous placement length and conditions." Page 20

That accreditation requirements should be evidence based is reasonable, and work placements not onerous. However this should be a mutual obligation, with the universities required to show they are teaching & assessing work relevant skills.

One example of where WIL assessment can go wrong is with e-portfolios. Students are told to reflect on what they learned on their placement, without training in how to write reflectively. The approach I have been using for the last few years is to frame the reflective e-portfolio in the form of an application for a job, so it is relevant to the student, and have the careers staff teach this.

Participation targets for First Nations, Low SES, Regional, Rural, Remote and Students with a Disability

In recommendation 10, the panel proposes participation targets for undergraduate university students by 2035: 3.3% First Nations, 20.2% low SES, 24.0% regional, rural, and remote, and current rate for students with disability. These are very modest targets, but even so no penalties for non-achievements, or incentives are proposed. Also by emphasizing university this may not be be in the best interests of studnts woH might benifit from attending VET first.

Building aspiration including through increasing readiness for tertiary education and providing career advice

In Recommendation 11, the panel proposes work by federal, and state governments on "... outreach programs designed to develop familiarity with tertiary education". Harder is to "... ensure post-school pathways are visible and integrated into secondary schooling ...".

Fee-free preparatory courses

The Panel calls for free university preparatory courses. One way to fit this in the current system, I suggest, would be to have the preparatory courses run by the VET sector.

Support to participate and succeed in learning

In recommendation 13 the Panel proposes funding for under-represented groups, to meet the targets set in Recommendation 10. It would have been a bit easier to follow the recommendations, if these had been together. No specific amounts are mentioned, or if this additional funding is to come out out of that already provided to universities. Also there is no mention of developing curricular, materials, delivery techniques to suit these students. As an example, it is likely many of the studnts would benifit from blended programs, delivered in part remotely at home, and on country. Also the content of courses may need to be different. Such course content and delivery techniques would also greatly enrich the leanring experience of other students.

Financial support for placements

The panel proposes in recommendation 14 government funding for work placements in nursing, care and teaching professions. The argument presented, that this would reduce financial hardship, makes no sense, unless the government support is extended to all disciplines.

Student income support

In recommendation 15 the panel asks the federal government increasing allowances and loosening rules. Hard to argue with that, except perhaps to suggest abolishing some of the rules.

Reducing student contributions and reforming HELP repayment arrangements

Of most interest to students will be the panels recommendation 16, to reduce the burden of HELP loans, and in particular the effect of the Job-ready Graduates (JRG) package. At the time it was introduced, many warned charging humanities students as a way to direct them to what the then government saw as more vocationally relevant programs would not work. It did not work, and the studnts should not be further punished for past bad government policy.

While previous recommendations were not specific about money, recommendation 17 proposes universities charging "high fees" (over $40,000) for graduate coursework (I assume a Masters), "be required to re-invest a proportion of income earned back into scholarships and bursaries to support students from under-represented backgrounds to access these courses". This Robinhood approach doesn't appear to be proposed for undergraduate courses, or for international student fees. Also it is a relatively mild levy, being retained within the institution.

Ensuring student safety and experience

The Panel calls for a National Student Ombudsman to handle complaints in recommendation 18. The Australian Government recently announced such an office would be established. It is usual for an industry ombudsman to be funded by the industry members, but there is no mention of funding in the announcement.

More controversial is recommendation 19, calling for student unions funded from student fees. This would go counter to the previous government's approach of cutting off funding to student unions. As an online student for seven years, I was slightly annoyed by services and amenities charges, when they went to the upgrading of facilities I had never seen, and would never use, because they were a thousand kilometers away.

Early at-school offers

Recommendation 20 reads like a cartel wanting to maintain the market share of its members. The panel recommends "early at-school offers for 2025 and 2026 should not be issued before September" to "maintain the integrity of senior secondary certificates". However, if universities are able to determine which students are likely to succeed at studies without certificates, they do not have integrity. If the certificates are no longer of value to universities, they should be modified to suit other users, such as employers, and VET. This would also certificates to emphasize work relevant skills.

Quality learning and teaching

Recommendation 21 shows the Panel placing hope over available evidence, by suggesting measures to "prepare the higher education sector for growth in student numbers". I suggest a further decrease in domestic student numbers is more likely, and would be a better outcome in terms of public policy. However, in any case I agree with the panel about "using proven innovative learning approaches which embrace online and hybrid teaching modalities". However, what is lacking is any proposal for university teachers being required to be qualified to teach. Paradoxically, while universities teach the highest level teachers they have the lowest requirements for teaching qualifications. The panel is not proposing to change that.

International education

At this point, it is time for a break ...

Broad Skills Needed for AUKUS

The Australian government has announced $128M for 4,001 STEM students with skills needed for the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine project. It should be noted most of the training, and jobs, will not be related to nuclear technology. The initial submarines will be purchased built from the USA and largely supported by US personnel. In my opinion, it is unlikely the followup AUKUS submarines will ever be built. By that time conventionally armed crewed submarines will have been rendered obsolete by drones. However the STEM skills the graduates learn in these courses will be critical to designing and building drone submarines as part of the evolved and expanded AUKUSJSK.

Professor Andrew Norton has criticized the level of funding, as it assumes a 25% attrition rate per year. He points out this is higher than is typical. This may reflect the demand for skills in industry. Universities may have difficulty keeping students in the program, when they could be earning in industry after only completing part of the program, especially those in the AUKUS courses who will be required to meet security vetting requirements. One approach would be to have nested work integrated programs, where students study while working on AUKUS, with their work being submitted for assessment. Students could complete the first part of the program, and be awarded a qualification to get them an entry level job. They would be then study while working for a promotion.

Funding Indigenous Students is Worthwhile if Suitable Courses Are Provided

The Australian Government has extended study funding of indigenous students to those in urban areas, as part of a package of changes in response to the  Interim Report of the Australian Universities Accord inquiry. Professor Andrew Norton has asked if it will make much of a difference? I suggest funding for indigenous students will be beneficial, but only if there are courses, & services, for their needs. As Professor Norton points out, indigenous Year 12 completion rates are low, so bridging will be needed, but the Australian Government is not going to pay for them. I suggest that problem can be sidestepped, by building the needed training into the degree curriculum. This will help all students: urban, rural, indigenous, non-indigenous, domestic, and international.

Professor Norton points out that sub-bachelor programs were excluded from funding previously. But there is an easy workaround which universities use for other studnts, the Professor did not mention: tell the student to enroll in a Bachelor program, then exit early with a diploma (or now the option of a certificate). However, at present such a sub-degree program will likely be just the introductory units of the bachelors degree. What is needed are enabling courses on how to study, and communicate. Such courses would also be of use to non-indigenous, domestic and international students. Particularly in STEM programs, there is a tendency to do the hard science first, and leave the communication and teamwork skills to second and third year. I suggest reversing this for all students, teaching them how to work and learn at the start.

Building what are normally part of enabling courses into degree programs will go some way to solve funding programs. Professors will grumble that all this non-core stuff is at the expect of core subjects. But learning very technical content is of no use if the graduate can't communicate it, can't work in a team, or can't get to graduate because they don't know how to learn. As I have discussed previously in this Blog, these communication, teamwork, and leadership skills are key to the success of any professional.

Another way to support indigenous and other studnts is with online and mobile learning. Students learn best when in the community, not on a campus. Universities can provide all courses online, by default. This allows studnts to meet work and cultural commitments more easily, while studying.

First Legislative Response to the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report

The Australian Government has reacted remarkably quickly to the Interim Report of the Australian Universities Accord inquiry, with legislation: "Response to the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report) Bill 2023". This abolished the rule that said a student had to pass 50% of their courses to keep getting government funding. But Professor Andrew Norton has raised concern about the measures added to ensure universities help these at-risk students may be a burden. However, I suggest good course and assessment design can reduce the need to provide special help to students, & better target when needed. For example regular small assessment tasks can be used to identify students needing help, but with a flexible assessment scheme which doesn't penalize them. Also students can be routinely provided with an online option for their studies (failing to do that, I suggest may breach anti-discrimination law).  

"Providers must have a support for students policy

             (1)  A higher education provider must have a policy (a support for students policy ) that deals with the support provided to the provider’s students to assist them to successfully complete the units of study in which they are enrolled.

             (2)  A higher education provider’s support for students policy must:

                     (a)  include information on:

                              (i)  the provider’s processes for identifying students that are at risk of not successfully completing their units of study; and

                             (ii)  the supports available from or on behalf of the provider to assist students to successfully complete the units of study in which they are enrolled; and

                     (b)  comply with any requirements specified in the Higher Education Provider Guidelines.

             (3)  Without limiting paragraph (2)(b), the requirements may relate to the following:

                     (a)  requirements for the higher education provider’s support for students policy to include specified information;

                     (b)  requirements about the presentation, format and availability of the policy.

Provider to comply with support for students policy

             (4)  A higher education provider must comply with its support for students policy.

Provider must report on compliance with support for students policy ..."

Offering help to studnts may be ineffective, if the studnts do not know it is available, don't know they are eligible for it, don't know they need it, or don't want to take it. As an example, it was only long after being a student I realized I fell into several of the disadvantaged categories. It would have never occurred to me to ask, or accept, help. I would have, and did, rather fail a course, than seek help. Later, with more maturity, I realized I could withdraw from a course before failing, but that was a very confronting, lonely experience. 

Australian Higher Education Review

Professor Mary O’Kane

The Australian government has tasked Professor Mary O’Kane, and a panel of six other eminent Australians to conduct a Higher Education Review, as part of the Australian Universities Accord. The term "accord" is one Labor governments favour for broad  agreements with sectors of the economy (most famously used for a 1980s agreement with unions). The review's terms of reference emphasises an economic role for universities, including alignment with the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, and international education. Submissions have been invited by 19 December 2022.

From the terms of reference

"Key areas for review:

1. Meeting Australia’s knowledge and skills needs, now and in the future

- Enhance the delivery of quality education that meets the needs of students across all stages of lifelong learning and develops the skills needed now, and in the future. This will include recommendations for new targets and reforms recognising that more than nine in ten new jobs will require post-school qualifications, and fifty per cent of new jobs are expected to require a bachelor’s degree or higher.

2. Access and opportunity

- Improve access to higher education, across teaching, learning and research. This will include recommendations for new targets and reforms to support greater access and participation for students from underrepresented backgrounds (including First Nations Australians, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, people with disability, and regional and rural Australians).

3. Investment and affordability

- Explore funding and contribution arrangements that deliver equity, access, quality and longer-term investments to meet priorities in teaching, research, workforce and infrastructure. This will include a review of the Job-ready Graduates Package.4. Governance, accountability and community

-Enhance regulatory and workplace relations settings to support universities to meet their obligations to both staff and students.

-Explore the contribution that higher education makes to the Australian community, national security, and sovereign capability.

5. The connection between the vocational education and training and higher education systems

- Explore possible opportunities to support greater engagement and alignment between the vocational education and training (VET) and higher education systems. In particular, the panel will have regard to the experience of students in navigating these systems and ensuring a cohesive and connected tertiary education system.

6. Quality and sustainability

-Examine the challenges faced by domestic and international students and staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary and permanent impacts on the way the higher education sector works.

-Support a competitive and resilient international education sector, reflecting the important role international students play in our society and economy, and Australia’s interest in deepening partnerships abroad.

7. Delivering new knowledge, innovation and capability

- Support a system of university research that delivers for Australia, securing the future of the Australian research pipeline, from basic and translational research to commercialisation. In doing so, the Accord will explore relevant initiatives and other opportunities and to further boost collaboration between universities and industry to drive greater commercial returns.

- The review will synchronise with the ARC review and consider issues raised through that review and other areas of government that impact on the capacity of the higher education system to meet the nation’s current and future needs."

From Terms of Reference,  Review of Australia’s Higher Education, Australian Government, 10 November 2022

ANU DVC on the Future of Learning

Professor Maryanne Dever, ANU Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education & Digital), delivered the keynote at the opening of EdTechPosium 2021 in Canberra this morning, with a gentle dig at the Australian Government: "We are not helped by the revolving door around the Minister for Education".

But the PVC started on the tech side about providing suitable leaning management systems, then the need to help staff to use them effectively. She moved the broader topics of offering international students to option of studying online at first before comping to Australia to work and study. As someone who has spent the last ten years teaching online and three years as an international online student, much of what the DVC envisaged has been my daily life for all that time. So I suggest aiming for even more flexibility. Australian universities can offer all students, not just international ones, the option of studying wherever they happen to be for must of their study. In practice students will still want to come to campus, and my rule of thumb is this will be about 20% of the time.

"Massive digital disruption of the pace and scale we have seen was not on the agenda for our higher education system. While Australian universities have managed with varying degrees of success to deliver emergency online learning in the wake of COVID19, most of us are still processing what the last 18 months mean for the future of university learning and teaching. In this presentation I will draw on my experience managing change across this period to explore some of the opportunities offered by this new normal, reflect on the comfortable assumptions that have been shattered, and question what it might take if we are to emerge from this moment in better shape than we went in."

Government Australia Digital Summit 2021

The FST Government Australia Digital Summit 2021 is about to get underway online from Canberra. I am going along virtually, to see what is happening with training computer professionals for government. The keynote is by Sharon Ng, CIO, GovTech Singapore. My worry is that it is assumed government just has to buy stuff from companies, but people in government, & those who support them in the companies, need to know about technology and public administration.

New Australian Public Service Academy Opens With 113 Courses

The Australian Public Service Academy (APSA) was set up in July 2021, by the Australian Government, for the training of employees. I joined the government as a programmer's assistant ,and retired 19 years later, as a senior IT policy advisor, having been trained mostly in-house, with some courses at ANU (where I am now a lecturer). Ideally  APSA will be able to integrate practical experience with formally accredited education. 

APSA is headed by Grant Lovelock who was previously with the National Careers Institute. Based at old Parliament House in Canberra, there are currently 113 courses listed. Of those listed, 80 courses are facilitated, with 47 of those online (using Zoom), plus another  33 self directed.

The courses are grouped into six categories. Some introductory ones are free, while more advanced course are several hundred dollars. The courses are from hours to several days equivalent. There is no indication who can enroll, but in the past similar programs have been open to state public servants and a limited number of people from the private sector, as well as federal public servants. 

There is no accreditation of courses indicated, credit for vocational or university programs, or alignment with the Australian Qualifications Framework. With the addition of suitable assessment, it would appear feasible to assemble these courses into micro-credentials, and gain credit toward a formal recognized qualification.

APSA Course Categories:

1. Engagement & Partnership: 9 courses, on building relationships, designing public deliberation, stakeholder engagement. Most interesting sounding is "Influence, Negotiation and Persuasion Skills for Executive Levels".
2. Implementation & Services: 22 courses, 9 for Comcover on risk management, some "Craft Conversations" general panel discussions, project and financial management, and human centered design
3. Integrity: Only one course "Integrity in the APS".
4. Leadership & Management: 24 courses, including "Leading in a Digital Age".
5. Strategy, Policy & Evaluation: 15 courses, including 5 on data literacy.
6. Working in Government: 42 courses on decision making and communication skills.

Judging Universities by Papers Published and Grants Got is a Really, Really, Bad Idea

The Australian Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is considering how to measure the quality of research undertaken at a university. This is important, as Australian law does not allow for teaching only universities. If an institution doesn't have quality research, it can't be a university, regardless of the quality of the education provided. 

TEQSA's draft  proposed legislative instrument includes the volume of citations in peer-reviewed journal papers. Ironically, there is a considerable body of peer-reviewed literature to say citations are not a good measure of research quality. 

Australia's first university was established  to advance "... religion and morality and the promotion of useful knowledge ..." and  provide professionals with "... proficiency in literature, science and art ..." (Sydney University Act, October, 1850). The aims of universities to the present day are similar, for cultural and useful knowledge, plus the training of professionals. Publications in peer reviewed journals may go some way to do some of this, but I suggest measures of how useful the research carried out at universities is and how widely its is disseminated beyond the academic community.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the value of the professional training provided by university, with medical researchers and professionals key to combating the disease. However, this has also shown limitations. The paper review process has been unable to respond quickly enough to need, with un-reviewed papers being relied on. Also the dangers of scientific research being misunderstood, and in some cases deliberately misrepresented has been seen.

Global warming is another instance where scientific publications have been of limited value. Researchers have show a lack of ability, and willingness, to engage publicly, thus making their research of far less value.

I suggest that universities need to be judged on the value of their research output to the community and on the effectiveness of their researchers to communicate the results. The quality and quantity of research graduates should also be part of this measure.

ps: Any discussion of research quality quickly gets philosophical, putting me in mind of Pirsig. ;-)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig, 2006

"... the real university exists not as the physical campus, but as a body of reason within the minds of students and teachers ..." From Chapter 13, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig, 2006

Australian Government Misses the Point on Innovation and Research

Dan Tehan, Australian Minister for Education, has announced an expert panel to provide advice on accelerating the commercialization of university research. While the panel is made up of eminent experts from research and industry, the government seems to have missed a key point on how innovation actually happens. 

Calling this "Better commercialising university research", indicates a lack of understanding of the innovation process. It is rarely the case that an academic at a university stumbles across a key discovery, and hands the finding over to business to "commercialize". What most successful projects do is have researchers work with business from the start, to identify what research directions are likely to yield useful results. Some of the researchers acquire business skills, so they can form the link between university and commerce.

In a series of talks in 1998 I suggested adopting an approach which evolved around Cambridge University (UK). In the decades since then, Australian state and territory governments, in partnership with universities and professional bodies, have set up centers at or near universities around Australia, to teach innovation and foster links. The Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN), adjacent to the Australian National University in Canberra and at the center of a cluster of start-ups, is an example of this approach. University staff and students are formally trained in business development techniques at CBRIN, helped to undertake their own startups and make business contacts.

The government panel is made up of:

1. Professor Michelle Simmons AO, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology
2. Dr Alan Finkel AO, Chief Scientist of Australia
3. Ms Laura Tyler, Chief Technical Officer, BHP
4. Mr Dig Howitt, CEO and President, Cochlear
5. Professor Paul Wellings CBE, Vice-Chancellor, University of Wollongong
6. Ms Shemara Wikramanayake, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Macquarie Group
7. Professor Deborah Terry AO, Vice-Chancellor, University of Queensland
8. Mr Jeff Connolly, Chairman and CEO, Siemens Australia and New Zealand
9. Mr Andrew Stevens, Chair, Industry Innovation and Science Australia

Does Australia Need a Microcredentials Marketplace?

The Australian government is to build a and online microcredentials marketplace, but I am not sure it is needed. The existing Courseseeker website is adequate for searching among 344 relatively homologous short courses, which have similar outcomes, duration, mode of delivery, and credit point value. 

This project is not quite as exciting, or complex, as it might first appear. The "micro-credentials" the Australian government is currently funding are not really microcredentials, they are conventional university bachelor and graduate certificates, requiring a half year of study. To be eligible for funding the government required the courses to be delivered online. They were required quickly to retrain people made jobless by COVID-19, and so are made up of introductory courses from existing university degrees. As a result there will not be much for students to choose from in terms of outcomes, duration, mode of delivery, or credit point value between the qualifications from different providers. This, of course, assumes the suppliers will be limited mostly to not-for-profit universities.

There is no reason why VET sector institutions, both government and private sector (non and for-profit), could not offer such certificates. The VET sector might be able to bring some innovation to this category of qualification, which is lacking in the university sector. VET has a more flexible approach to education, with recognition of prior learning and competency based assessment.

Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Learning During COVID-19

The Australian Parliament is holding an inquiry into Education in Remote and Complex Environments and wants to hear about the impact of COVID-19 on learning and teaching. There have already been 49 submissions on other aspects of education.

"‘The Committee has been examining how education meets the learning needs of students and how barriers in the education journey are overcome. The response of Australian schools to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for rapid adaptation to home and online learning, has clearly accelerated the importance of flexible and well-supported responses,’ Mr Laming said.

‘We want to expand our range of evidence into specific lessons and consequences of rapid and flexible home and online learning and teaching. The Committee hopes to learn more about how these new flexible approaches might continue to be applied in remote and complex environment long after schools return to ‘normal’ face-to-face teaching,’ Mr Laming said."

From: Home learning and teaching during COVID 19, Media Release, House of Representatives, 14 May 2020. http://www.medianet.com.au/releases/release-details.aspx/?id=931917&k=1145358

Five Reports on the Impact of Remote Learning on Vulnerable Children

The Australian Government commissioned five reports on the  impact of remote learning on vulnerable children during the  COVID-19 emergency. These were done very quickly, but are by Australian researchers who have extensive knowledge and experience.

Brown, Te Riele, Shelley, and Woodroffe found that nearly half students are at risk of significantly compromised learning, and this is not confined to low socio-economic status families. They call for a social workers, psychologists, speech pathologists, and school nurses to be on site when students return to school. This seems to me to be unrealistic, and it is likely help will be by professionals who now provide online support.

Drane, Vernon and O’Shea  estimated 20% of students would face "long-term educational disengagement, digital exclusion, poor technology management and increased psychosocial challenges". They cite UNESCO's "COVID-19 : 10 Recommendations to plan distance learning solutions" (2020).

Masters pointed out that younger children need more scaffolding and support, particularly those who are vulnerable. This is supported by Lamb, who also points out the challenges for indigenous students, who had less less experience with ICT before COVID-19.

Clinton recommends increased digital inclusion. I suggest that while the focus should be on teaching return to the classroom quickly, the potential benefits for all students from online learning to supplement classroom education should not be neglected.

While the government has relied on these reports to justify the reopening of schools, the reports themselves were made difficult to find on the Department of Education's website, so here they are:

1. Brown, N., Te Riele, K., Shelley, B. & Woodroffe, J. (2020). Learning at home during COVID-19: Effects on vulnerable young Australians. Independent Rapid Response Report. Hobart: University of Tasmania, Peter Underwood Centre for Educational Attainment. URL https://www.dese.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/learning_at_home_during_covid_-_utas_natalie_brown.pdf
2. Masters. G. (2020). Ministerial Briefing Paper on Evidence of the Likely Impact on Educational Outcomes ofVulnerable Children Learning at Home during COVID-19, Australian Council for Educational Research. URL https://www.dese.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/ministerial_briefing_paper_covid19_and_vulnerable_children_acer_22april2020.pdf
3. Clinton, J. (2020). Supporting Vulnerable Children in the Face of a Pandemic: A paper prepared for theAustralian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment. Centre for Program Evaluation, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne. URL https://www.dese.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/clinton_-_supporting_vulnerable_children_.pdf
4. Lamb, S. (2020). Impact of learning from home on educational outcomes for disadvantaged children: Brief assessment. Centre for International Research on Education Systems, Victoria University. URL https://www.dese.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/lamb_-_impact_of_learning_from_home.pdf
5. Drane, C., Vernon, L., & O’Shea, S. (2020). The impact of ‘learning at home’ on the educational outcomes of vulnerable children in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Literature Review prepared by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University, Australia. URL https://www.dese.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/literature_review-learning_at_home_-_covid19_0.pdf

While online learning is now taking place on a scale not seen before, it is worth keeping in mind it is not new. The impact of distance education is a well researched field. There thousands of studies over decades, most involving just a few dozen, or a few hundred students, but some with thousands, or tens of thousands. I had to sift through a lot of this stuff as a graduate student of education. I have attended education conferences with, and talks by, many of the people who wrote these reports, and it is not like they just started think about the implications of e-learning in the last few weeks.

This is not an entirely new, or unanticipated situation. After SARS, educational institutions in the region planned how they would switch to e-learning if students where quarantined at home.

The level of preparation by Australian education departments and institutions, might be a useful area for any Royal Commission into the pandemic to explore. This would be along with an investigation of the general preparedness by Australian governments, and if Ministers exercised their duty of care by initiating, and participating in, pandemic preparedness exercises.

Some excerpts from the reports:

Brown, N., Te Riele, K., Shelley, B. & Woodroffe, J. (2020). Learning at home during COVID-19:Effects on vulnerable young Australians. Independent Rapid Response Report. Hobart: University of Tasmania, Peter Underwood Centre for Educational Attainment.

Executive summary

FINDINGS

Nearly half the national school student population are at risk of having their learning and wellbeing significantly compromised by not being at school because they are either an early years’ student or are in a vulnerable group. As soon as health restrictions permit there is an urgent need to reconnect these students to the physical context of school-based learning to support their learning and
wellbeing outcomes. Concurrently there is a need to invest rapidly in developing significant capability in schools to deliver education both online and on-site. ...

HOWEVER, THE HOME-BASED, ONLINE MODEL IS HARMING LEARNING, ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY
YEARS AND IN VULNERABLE GROUPS

Nearly half (46%) of Australian children and young people are at risk adverse effects on their educational outcomes, nutrition, physical movement, social, and emotional wellbeing by being physically disconnected from school.

It is already clear that nationally, children and young people are experiencing learning losses. This means that there will not be the expected cognitive gains for these students over the period of learning at home. These losses will cause a delay in cognitive gain and achievement in some students and result in others being lost to the education system. ...

The reason for these losses is that many families lack the physical spaces, technology and other resources to support learning at home. Additionally, many parents and caregivers lack the time needed to support their children’s learning. This is occurring irrespective of socio-economic status, with full-time waged and sole parent-waged families reporting difficulties. ...

A TARGETED STRATEGY OF PHYSICAL RE-ENGAGEMENT AT SCHOOL COULD MITIGATE MANY OF THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

There is a need for a coherent cross-jurisdictional communications strategy and implementation plan to incentivise and support vulnerable students to physically attend school. The strategy should:

• Ensure schools have the safety protocols in place for physical reconnection of a significant number of students including ensuring that allied professional staff (social workers, psychologists, speech pathologists, and school nurses) are able to provide services on site where possible.

• Where full time reconnection of significant number is not going to be possible for safety or logistical reasons plan for a blend of on-line and physical presence through a week.

• Encourage universal full-time on-site attendance for pre-school to year 2 nationally

• Utilise direct and personalised invitations to specific vulnerable school students and their families/carers to see those students attend school and complement this group with invitations to a balanced cohort of students to reduce stigmatisation of specific groups and ‘normalise’ attendance.

• Enable universal on-site attendance at dedicated Flexible Learning Options, Schools for Special Purposes and Re-Engagement Programs nationally.

• Invest in targeted and personalised learner engagement for students who are not physically attending and who cannot access online learning, are not engaging in learning, or are at risk of disengaging over the short and long term

• Invest in, and support, teachers:

- to manage the increased workload of teaching both offline and online by providing additional staffing on a short-term basis: teachers, teacher assistants, and social/youth workers; and
- with professional learning for skills and expertise in the creation of non-school based learning strategies, such as high-quality online content, lower technology radio, as well as television content; and
- for re-engagement and trauma-informed approaches for the most vulnerable students.

Recognising the necessary input from parents to support learning at home goes beyond physical provision of resources. Many families require additional support beyond the current web-based material (eg. utilisation of television and radio, as well as outreach through community networks, and support in the moment).

THIS STRATEGY HAS ONLY MODERATE COST AND REGULATORY ISSUES
 
Most of the cost will likely be related to additional resourcing at the commencement of the strategy and short to medium terms, as well as for teams with ongoing responsibility for implementation and oversight of operations, and reporting. Immediate investment can achieve social impact through maximising the value created by Commonwealth Government and State and Territory Government spending on education.

The financial costs may include:

• provision for teachers to have time to enhance skills in, and implement, online pedagogy;
• additional resources for allied professionals within schools;
• co-construction and implementation of an Indigenous strategy;
• attendance incentivisation strategies;
• resources to facilitate learning in the home (eg. a national hotline for parents supporting their children’s learning; TV and radio content; enabling part-time employment for a period with Commonwealth support to sustain full-time equivalent superannuation entitlements); and
• provision to effectively resource and implement Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) safety regimes.

There could be a consideration of regulatory changes to enable final year pre-service teachers to work on Limited Authority to Teach or as Teacher Assistants; and counting those hours worked towards practicum. This group may provide a valuable additional resource for schools.

THERE ARE KEY RISKS AND SENSITIVITIES TO THE STRATEGY

There are risks and sensitivities in targeting specific groups to attend school as it can be stigmatising and counterproductive. The risk of stigmatisation does not only include students who may be classified as ‘at risk’ or vulnerable, but also children of essential workers, who may be perceived by other parents/children to be carrying the virus.

• States and Territories may resist elements of a national approach. Integrating the communications plan with known positions can mitigate this risk.
• Negotiating a consistent cross-sectoral approach (public, Catholic and independent schools) will alleviate parent and care-giver confusion.
• There is a risk that employers are unable to effectively meet workplace health and safety and other industrial relations obligations on school sites.
• There is a risk of industrial disputes if changed practices are not effectively negotiated and lawfully implemented. ..."

Masters. G. (2020). Ministerial Briefing Paper on Evidence of the Likely Impact on Educational Outcomes of
Vulnerable Children Learning at Home during COVID-19, Australian Council for Educational Research. URL https://www.dese.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/ministerial_briefing_paper_covid19_and_vulnerable_children_acer_22april2020.pdf

"Summary points

● Vulnerability in this paper is considered from two interrelated perspectives: social and educational.
● Socially vulnerable children are over-represented among the group of students who are educationally vulnerable.
● The negative impact of educational vulnerability on students’ capacity to learn across all areas of the curriculum is exacerbated by their reduced access to resources at home (e.g., adequate food and shelter, ICT, a quiet place to work, books, learning support from parents), and is associated with social vulnerability. This is, in effect, a continuous cycle of disadvantage.
● While parents play a crucial role in remediating educational disadvantage, the level of education, socioeconomic status, and consequent capacity to provide home learning support and resources for students is lower among parents of educationally disadvantaged students than in the broader community.
● The likelihood of any positive impact of educational programs on vulnerable students will be greatly increased if support is also provided to deal with their basic needs.
● The basic profile of educationally vulnerable children appears to be consistent across students, regardless of their age.
● While this paper focuses on vulnerable students, it is important to note that high proportions of primary-school children are not able to work independently when using technology, and need scaffolding and support. The level of support needed is higher for younger students and those who are vulnerable.
● Schools and teachers play a vital role in supporting vulnerable children. However, most schools do not have the requisite infrastructure to support remote learning, and many teachers do not currently have the confidence or skills to manage remote learning and require support.
● While access to digital technologies and the internet is high in Australia, there is still evidence of a digital divide, with poorer Australians and those in remote locations being relatively disadvantaged.
● Many remote-learning programs exist and may be leveraged to help support the learning of vulnerable students at home. However:

○ the basic human needs of students must first be met in order for education programs to be able to succeed;
○ there is no one-size-fits-all approach that can work; and
○ programs should be tailored to meet the specific needs of vulnerable students."

Clinton, J. (2020). Supporting Vulnerable Children in the Face of a Pandemic: A paper prepared for theAustralian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

 "Executive summary

This paper particularly focuses on factors that will impede access to quality education, of the effects on the more vulnerable groups, and it outlines models of support and recovery that evidence suggests are useful. This brief synthesis draws parallels from literature on natural disasters and school interruptions such as school holidays, teacher strikes, economic downturn, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

According to the Productivity Commission, disadvantage in Australia needs to be assessed against three metrics: relative income poverty, material deprivation (inability to afford life’s essentials), and social exclusion. Children experiencing these metrics can include those living very low SES contexts, jobless households, children with special needs either physical or psychological, children with language other than English backgrounds and refugee populations, rural and remote contexts, and Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait islanders. Recently, low digital inclusion has been considered an additional category particularly when this interacts with the other categories.

It is useful to consider the impact of the current pandemic from a Population Life Course perspective which illustrates the determinants of Education and its efforts in in reducing vulnerability. The figure below illustrates the trajectory for those in the existing vulnerable, the potential vulnerable and the protected categories within the population along with those determinants of education that drive the curve up or down.

Australian children living in poverty will experience exacerbated risk as a consequence of the COVID-19 school interruption. For children at risk of missing approximately 10 weeks of in school education, (with the possibility of further disruption over a longer period), given the context in that they live; it’s probable that there will be a significant interruption of learning, access to support for health and well-being, a decrease in the development of individual protective factors, and a lack of surveillance systems to identify issues that school provides.

Subsequently, the equity gap will increase and for many, the chance of recovery from the impact of living in these vulnerable contexts will be diminished. Essentially, there is the probability that across this education life course, the size of the vulnerable group will increase. Those on the cusp of vulnerability will have the greatest movement.

Currently we can define our major disadvantaged groups, and it is expected that students with the following characteristics (Table 1) are most likely to be affected by the current suspension of normal schooling. We expect that these students will experience an interactive effect of CoVID19 and any prior disadvantage. Specifically, as a consequence of the pandemic, students are likely to experience:

1. Increased stress, social and emotional concerns with possible behavioural issues arising.

2. Struggle with low self-regulation to maintain learning progression, that has been highly dependent on the teacher

3. No access to quality learning strategies and guidance necessary to promote development

4. Less educational resources and activities relative to peers in particular in relation to limited digital engagement

5. Continued and reaffirming experience of past lack of progress in school

6. Will have little concept of themselves as a learner at school, and likely the same at home. Hence impacting on future engagement in schooling such as absenteeism and dropouts

7. Lack of facility in critical reading and numeracy skills to move to the next level, and more likely to become part of the ‘low Matthew effect’

8. Living in homes which are not safe havens (for many of these students, school is the safe haven), there will be an exacerbation of physical and emotional health issues

9. Parents who have low capacity or desire to engage them in the schoolwork at home and who ignore or permit no engagement with schoolwork.

10. Upper high school preparing for high stakes exams will lose the opportunity to engage

The Table below attempts to summarise the depth of ‘risk exacerbation’ as a consequence of the pandemic by indicating with Green for a minimum effect, Orange for a medium effect, and Red, for the greatest level of exacerbation. The figure demonstrates the relationship between exiting risk categories and like area of impact.

Many of these students are likely to be already ‘at risk.’ The absence from regular class, and support suggests that the level of risk and the number of comorbidities is likely to be exacerbated. Hence the recovery will be much more difficult.

It must also be acknowledged that within these categories there are subsets of students who are successful despite the categorisation of some level risk and in fact some will do better as a consequence of the current crisis.

Recovery and Support: what does the evidence suggest? The are many ideas and much rhetoric about recovery, however there is little consolidated evidence on the support needs for vulnerable children and families in times of crisis. The following present a brief over of a number recommendation gleaned from multiple sources.

Recovery takes time There are many national and international frameworks that provide a foundation for recovery after a disaster. The UN Disaster Risk Reduction model (UN, 2015) for example, conceptualises disaster risk relief as a “Build Back Better” system.

This model argues that resilience emerges from a continual, interplaying dynamic cycle between response (immediate) recovery (short-term) and preparedness (medium-term). The domains of action include teaching & learning; capacity and capability; engagement, coordination, and communications; infrastructure; assessment, policy, and planning.

Recovery measures must redress damage & develop resilience-building measures (Shah, 2015).

Disaster response and management has several phases and it is worth drawing on these phases to consider educations response to the current COVID-19 crisis and beyond. In many recovery programs, the government-assisted stage can be separated into distinct but overlapping phases that delineate an early recovery phase. This is important as it stresses the transition from the immediate response to recovery efforts over time, as in the figure below (The Community Recovery Handbook, 2018, p. 32).While the framework below, is based on a community response model it provides a valuable template for the school sectors phased response to the current crisis and particularly for vulnerable students.

Invest in Support community & cultural engagement Evidence based multisectoral approaches Students stay home with contact options and suggestion of activity digital or otherwise.

...

Understand the context: Successful recovery is based on an understanding of the community context.

1. Recognise complexity: Successful recovery is responsive to the complex and dynamic nature of both emergencies and communities.

2. Use community-led approaches: Successful recovery is community-centred, responsive and flexible, engaging with communities and supporting them to move forward.

3. Excellent diagnosis of every student comparing their expected growth prior to COVID-19, to detect where extra attention and programs is needed.

4. Coordinate all activities: Successful recovery requires a planned, coordinated and adaptive approach based on continuing assessment of impacts and needs.

5. Communicate effectively: Successful recovery is built on effective communication between the affected community and other partners.

6. Recognise and build capacity: Successful recovery recognises, supports and builds on individual and community strengths.

Ultimately, it is important that education recovery operations must draw attention to incorporating “children’s unique mental health, physical health, educational, childcare, and juvenile justice needs into all phases of the disaster life cycle”.

Recommendations

1. Recovery needs a collective response that builds long term relationships
2. Success is dependent on teachers and schools
3. Shift the focus and build adaptive resilience through the provision of services to support socially and emotionally
4. Ensure ongoing communication with vulnerable children and families
5. Support and professional learning for teachers is essential
6. Provision of targeted content
7. Consider the investment in multiple forms and mode of resources for all.
8. Increase digital inclusion
9. Building an evidence basis: Evaluation assessments, monitoring data linking "

Lamb, S. (2020). Impact of learning from home on educational outcomes for disadvantaged children: Brief assessment.

"The situation for indigenous Australians also presents challenges. ICT inclusion of indigenous Australians remains lower than the national average and while it has risen in the past year, the rate of this rise is slower than the national average (Thomas et al., 2019). Indigenous students tend to have less experience with ICT, with only 37 per cent of indigenous students reporting more than seven years of computer experience, compared with 51 per cent of non- Indigenous students (Fraillon et al., 2013). Fewer indigenous students report using computers at least weekly at school compared with non-indigenous students (ACER, 2013)"

Drane, C., Vernon, L., & O’Shea, S. (2020). The impact of ‘learning at home’ on the educational outcomes of vulnerable children in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"... Globally, while some countries have opted for a mass school shut-down, many schools remain open for more vulnerable students (UNESCO, 2020a). This "partial closure" is not only to enable learning in smaller targeted groups but also to offer a "safe" sanctuary for those who desperately need a regulated and secure environment including the provision of "free" hot food and also, company.

In summary, currently within Australia if there were mass school closures there is potential for around four million students to be affected: 

• In 2019, there were 3,948,811 students enrolled in 9,503 schools, with 2,263,207 primary students and 1,680,504 secondary students.
• If 20 per cent of these young people are living in financially disadvantaged or low socioeconomic status (SES) communities and are required to study off campus then around 800,000 will be subjected to a range of barriers and/or risks including:
  • long-term educational disengagement
  • digital exclusion
  • poor technology management
  • increased psychosocial challenges.

UNESCO (2020b) have developed 10 key recommendations to ensure that learning remains uninterrupted during the COVID-19 crisis (see Appendix One). There is global evidence of countries adopting, to some degree, at least seven of these recommendations during mass closures, which include:

• examining the readiness of the school for closure (including the technology available)
• ensuring distance learning programs aim for inclusivity
• prioritising solutions to address psychosocial challenges before teaching
• providing support to teachers and parents on the use of digital tools
• blending appropriate approaches and limiting the number of applications and platforms used
• developing distance learning rules and actively monitoring students’ learning process
• creating communities that enhance connection."