Thirteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Globalisation, knowledge-based economies, new technologies, and global competitiveness have been noted by scholars as the main drivers for rapid transformations in universities worldwide. The impacts of these drivers are reflected in the nature and quality of student learning, matters that are traditionally central to academic identity and self-perception. Academics, correspondingly, are inclined to reflect critically on their experience of the changing nature of the university learning environment, and, specifically, its impact on the quality of student learning This paper draws on data from a current research project exploring experiences of academics in Australian universities related to the changing nature of learning environments in universities. A qualitative research approach is adopted in the study which enables the research to be inductive and open to the potential of generating new theory emerging from the data. The data collection method consists of in-depth, one–on-one, face-to-face interviews with academics employed at public universities located in South Eastern Australia. To accomplish a detailed exploration and analysis of personal meaning and lived experiences of participants, an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) is used in the study. The findings identify diverse learning enrichment for students, as well as concerns about the quality of student learning outcomes arising from rapid transformations in university learning environments. This paper outlines a theme emerging from the data: the effects of increased online teaching; changing academic–student relationships, and the quality of student learning.