Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Western Branch Meeting 2024-5 of the Royal Society of NSW — 23 October 2024
"Equity within the Academy: Rethinking the ‘why’ of higher education"
Distinguished Professor Sarah O’Shea
Dean, Graduate Research, Charles Sturt University
https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/western-nsw-branch-meeting-2024-5/
This lecture was a joint presentation of Charles Sturt University, as part of its Provocations Public Lecture Series, and the Western NSW Branch of the Royal Society of NSW
The presentation commences at 02:28
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the Speaker: Ms Tracy Ryan MRSN, Deputy Chair, RSNSW Western NSW Branch
00:02:28 Presentation: Professor Sarah O'Shea
00:39:27 Audience Q&A: moderated by Tracy Ryan
00:59:23 Meeting Close
Summary: Globally, higher education is undergoing a period of significant change, including a collective drive to grow the numbers and diversity of students accessing tertiary institutions. Within Australia, this transformation has been foregrounded by the recent ‘whole of sector’ review led by Professor Mary O’Kane, which has led to critical debate about the role and purpose of our universities. The resulting Accord report rightly places equitable student participation front and centre in its deliberations, reminding us that attaining a ‘higher’ education should never be a choice demarcated by postcode, wealth, or family biography but rather, conceived as a universal human right. However, embedding ‘equity’ within our tertiary system is a complex undertaking requiring fundamental shifts in how universities are structured and organised. This Provocations talk critically interrogates these calls for ‘higher education equity’ relative not only to social and political factors, but also the ‘lived experience’ of university attendance for students from more diverse backgrounds. By questioning some of the assumed or taken-for-granted aspects of our tertiary education sector, this presentation will discuss how we might ‘reconsider’ the why or purpose of universities, particularly in the context of the current ambitious equity policy agenda.
Western Branch Meeting 2024-5 of the Royal Society of NSW — 23 October 2024
"Equity within the Academy: Rethinking the ‘why’ of higher education"
Distinguished Professor Sarah O’Shea
Dean, Graduate Research, Charles Sturt University
https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/western-nsw-branch-meeting-2024-5/
This lecture was a joint presentation of Charles Sturt University, as part of its Provocations Public Lecture Series, and the Western NSW Branch of the Royal Society of NSW
The presentation commences at 02:28
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the Speaker: Ms Tracy Ryan MRSN, Deputy Chair, RSNSW Western NSW Branch
00:02:28 Presentation: Professor Sarah O'Shea
00:39:27 Audience Q&A: moderated by Tracy Ryan
00:59:23 Meeting Close
Summary: Globally, higher education is undergoing a period of significant change, including a collective drive to grow the numbers and diversity of students accessing tertiary institutions. Within Australia, this transformation has been foregrounded by the recent ‘whole of sector’ review led by Professor Mary O’Kane, which has led to critical debate about the role and purpose of our universities. The resulting Accord report rightly places equitable student participation front and centre in its deliberations, reminding us that attaining a ‘higher’ education should never be a choice demarcated by postcode, wealth, or family biography but rather, conceived as a universal human right. However, embedding ‘equity’ within our tertiary system is a complex undertaking requiring fundamental shifts in how universities are structured and organised. This Provocations talk critically interrogates these calls for ‘higher education equity’ relative not only to social and political factors, but also the ‘lived experience’ of university attendance for students from more diverse backgrounds. By questioning some of the assumed or taken-for-granted aspects of our tertiary education sector, this presentation will discuss how we might ‘reconsider’ the why or purpose of universities, particularly in the context of the current ambitious equity policy agenda.
