Naomi Augar, Carolyn J Woodley, Despina Whitefield and Maxwell Winchester
The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of academics’ approaches to managing team assessment at an Australian University with a view to informing policy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of academics’ approaches to managing team assessment at an Australian University with a view to informing policy development and assessment design.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted using a single exploratory case study approach focussing on the team assessment approach of academics teaching in two colleges at an Australian University. A desktop audit of publicly available assessment policy from 38 Australian universities was conducted alongside a review of relevant college subject guides. The findings of this review framed a subsequent focus group and online survey of academic staff.
Findings
Results suggest that staff have adopted highly diverse and idiosyncratic approaches to team assessment and have mixed views about varied approaches to managing and assessing teamwork. Findings identify a need for explicit guidance and professional development on designing, managing and grading team assessments. Institutional limits and criteria should be introduced to ensure a whole-of-course approach to developing teamwork skills and ensure students are not burdened with an excessive number of team assessment tasks in a degree.
Research limitations/implications
The paper reports results from an exploratory case study at a single Australian University. As such, the results are not generalizable.
Practical implications
The findings could inform guidelines, policies or support resources for designing team assessment tasks.
Originality/value
The research explores a challenging area for academics: team assessment, which the research indicates is not currently adequately managed through university policy and procedure. The findings highlight options for universities to consider when developing policies and procedures to manage team assessment. The study also provides recommendations for academics to consider when developing and managing team assessment.
Details
Keywords
Despina Whitefield and Louise Kloot
The definition of individual generic skills is problematic, despite the pressure for the development of such skills during accounting degrees coming from government and employers…
Abstract
Purpose
The definition of individual generic skills is problematic, despite the pressure for the development of such skills during accounting degrees coming from government and employers. This study aims to present definitions to allow academics to establish a point of reference when designing accounting curricula to encompass such skills.
Design/methodology/approach
The skill classification of explicit curriculum content is straightforward, and is undertaken by using content analysis to record objectives and/or tasks that are clearly stated in the curriculum documents. The classification of implicit skills was developed by setting, as clearly as possible, internal criteria that are used to determine whether a task embodied a particular behavioural skill.
Findings
The results show that not all 22 personal and interpersonal skills which should be developed during an accounting degree, according to the Australian professional accounting bodies, are in fact developed. The higher order and difficult skills of: think creatively and innovatively; handle conflict; handle challenges; handle change and empathy are not present in either the explicit or implicit curricula.
Originality/value
Concepts and understandings of many of the behavioural skills are abstract and a range of interpretations exists. Although the definition of each skill presented in this study is not as extensive or exhaustive as a lexicographer's compilation, this study is unique in that it offers clearer and more acceptable definitions for accounting educators to use than has previously been available.
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Kieran James, Chris Tolliday and Rex Walsh
The purpose of this paper is to review the cancellation of Australia's National Soccer League (NSL) competition and its replacement in 2004 with the corporatist A‐League which is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the cancellation of Australia's National Soccer League (NSL) competition and its replacement in 2004 with the corporatist A‐League which is based on the North American model of “one team one city”, no promotion and relegation, and private‐equity clubs. The authors believe that one of the aims of the A‐League and its “ground‐zero” ideology was to institute exclusion of the ethnic clubs that had formed the backbone of the NSL for 30 years.
Design/methodology/approach
Extensive literature search, participant‐observation, one personal interview and two group interviews were employed. People interviewed were the President of the Croatian community's Melbourne Knights Football Club, the Club Secretary of Melbourne Knights, and three leaders of Melbourne Knights’ MCF hooligan firm.
Findings
The authors observe the Football Federation Australia hiding behind the perceived scientific nature and technical veracity of budgeted accounting numbers to set the financial bar too high for the ethnic clubs to find a place in the brave new world that has been called “Modern Football”. However, capitalism creates its own discontents. Online forums and homemade fence banners are the new vehicles for dissent for the supporters of “Old Soccer”.
Originality/value
There is still only a small academic literature on Australian football and most of this has been written by humanities lecturers. The paper offers a business school perspective.