Maximising Student Potential
Welcome to my blog!
Here you’ll find my rants, raves, provocations
and research about teaching, education and the educational landscape.
This site contains my personal views about education and teaching.
Latest from the Blog
The Trouble with ‘Useful’ Degrees
In a recent post, I argued that universities do not owe every doctoral graduate an academic job. Completing a PhD gives you the opportunity to compete for academic employment; it does not create an entitlement. Universities should be honest about the prospects, particularly when they train many more doctoral graduates than they will ever employ themselves.…
Ignore the Naysayers (2026 Update): Why Australia’s Education System is Stronger Than You Think
I wrote the first version of this in 2024, back when the doom was slightly quieter and nobody had yet stood at a podium to announce that the reading wars were over. Two years on, the catastrophe headlines have multiplied, the NAPLAN numbers have moved in genuinely mixed directions, and the overclaiming now comes from both…
Academia: Hard to Enter, Harder to Defend, Still Worth It!
There has been no shortage of articles lately warning people to think twice before pursuing an academic career. Most make entirely reasonable points. Academic jobs are difficult to secure, casual employment has become entrenched, permanent positions attract enormous fields of applicants, research funding is scarce, and Australian universities have developed the sort of reputation that now makes “governance…
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Maximising Student Potential 