I have a love/ hate relationship with university graduate capabilities statements. You know, those ubiquitous institutional claims about the attributes of their graduates, and the skills, knowledge, values and dispositions their degrees impart. For example: Our students will enter a globalising world of major environmental change and resource constraints, of scientific and technological advance and … Continue reading Less-than-perfect capabilities
Author: agnesbosanquet
Celebrating bluestockings
This week is Bluestocking Week, organised by the National Tertiary Education Union to celebrate women's achievements in education. You can read more about it here. 'Bluestocking' was originally a derogatory term to describe intellectual or literary woman, as Jeannie Rea writes: The term originates from the latter part of the 18th century as women started … Continue reading Celebrating bluestockings
Naughty
Lately the kids and I have been listening to the soundtrack to Matilda: the Musical, and we've been humming or singing one song more or less continuously: Naughty. We're told we have to do what we're told but, surely, sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty. Just because you find that life's not … Continue reading Naughty
Reading and wondering
This week colleagues and I submitted a journal article. Collectively and individually, we did a lot of reading. The following papers will prove important for future writing, but they didn't make it into the list of citations this time. The process of writing together sent the paper in new directions. I was inspired by educational … Continue reading Reading and wondering
Universities as utopias
My presentation at the recent HERDSA conference was entitled Peer review of teaching: A showcase of messy practice. My co-author Rod Lane and I are redeveloping it as a book chapter, in which we will share our learning about the risks and complexities of ‘insider research’ (or researching practices within one’s own institution). Presenting about an … Continue reading Universities as utopias
Which university? Which self?
Barbara Grant’s keynote from HERDSA has been haunting me. It was a pleasure to listen to, and has rewarded slow consideration. Entitled A Thousand Tiny Universities, Barbara challenged the audience to think about ourselves, our universities, hope and the future. In writing this post, I am relying on memory, my sketchy notes and some brief … Continue reading Which university? Which self?
