Dr Anna Bennett
Head Research and Development
Centre for English Language and Foundation Studies
- Email:anna.bennett@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:(02) 4921 5378
Disrupting entrenched inequalities in higher education
Challenging everyday taken-for-granted assumptions and unrecognised historical habits is key to achieving more equitable education systems.
Sociologist Dr Anna Bennett works to identify the underlying powerful, but often ‘invisible’, assumptions that serve to continue enduring inequities in higher education. Identifying and then disrupting these assumptions and habits is the goal of her research.
Dr Bennett believes education systems have a responsibility to the people they serve - to challenge inaccurate, socio-culturally biased and outdated assumptions at broader systematic and everyday levels rather than continuing to better serve those already more advantaged in society.
“Inclusion, social justice and mutual engagement need to be front-and-centre of higher education and central to the design and delivery of course content,” Dr Bennett said.
Dr Bennett explains that mainstream education is still based on a relatively narrow and linear notion of performance to indicate ability and that it is becoming more focused on measurement rather than learning. This limits, rather than develops, opportunities to benefit from education.
“The elephant-in-the-classroom is the set of presumptions made about who is suitable for higher education. It is very concerning that judgements about who is academically able, or not, are continuing to be made very early in children’s lives. This approach limits opportunities for students who have had educational challenges in the past for many different reasons and it undermines what education is about: opportunities and learning for all in systems that do not limit future success only to those who have already been judged ‘academically capable’ early in school,” Dr Bennett said.
Along with Professor Penny Jane Burke, Dr Bennett has also led research on the notion of time and its impact on regional and rural students through a project funded by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education.
CAPABILITY IS RELATIONAL
In a recent study, Capability Belonging and Equity in Higher Education (2015), Dr Bennett and colleagues found that there are serious consequences to deeply held, widespread assumptions and related stereotypes about who belongs and is capable in higher education and who is not, because this fosters fears of incapability and a sense of a lack of belonging for many students.
“Our assumptions about what education is, and especially what capability, talent and potential are, are currently disconnected from the significance of our relationships with others, location, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, and recognition of the importance of change in meeting new needs specific to historical context,” Dr Bennett said
“We need to reconsider and redraft educational frameworks to suit new approaches to learning that better serve our diverse populations. The expertise and alternatives are there, and drawing on these features and principles to lead the way is not difficult,” she added.
EVIDENCE OF IMPACT
Dr Bennett explains that evidence collected through a major national study she recently led shows that the most effective equity programs are student and stakeholder-centred and context-specific. Conducted with colleagues from the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University, the Equity Initiatives in Australian Higher Education study was commissioned by the Australian Government and identifies initiatives that provide evidence they are effective, from school outreach through to postgraduate programs.
“It is the first national rigorous review to capture effective initiatives across Australian higher education. Importantly, the study also shows that research is very important for evaluating equity programs to ensure that money invested is money well spent” Dr Bennett said.
Dr Bennett is Head of Research Engagement and Development within the English, Language and Foundation Studies Centre (ELFSC) at the University of Newcastle (UON) and works closely with colleagues to increase the research capacity of the Centre.
“Staff in ELFSC conduct both disciplinary and enabling education research, with support provided to develop both, which helps to highlight the amazing outcomes from our rich history of programs that have provided 40,000 students with access to enabling education for over 43 years,” said Dr Bennett.
Dr Bennett is also editor of the Open Access Journal, International Studies in Widening Participation.
Disrupting entrenched inequalities in higher education
Dr Anna Bennett is challenging everyday taken-for-granted assumptions and unrecognised historical habits to achieve more equitable education systems
Career Summary
Biography
Dr. Anna Bennett has a PhD in Sociology and applies sociological theory and concepts to better understand issues in higher education. Current research areas include: deconstructing discourses of access, participation and equity in higher education, capability, time, exploring identities and subject positions in higher education, equity programme evaluation, and implications of neoliberalism. In addition to leading the Critical Interventions Framework Part 2 (2015), Anna is involved in various research projects, including the recent NCSEHE project about student capability and belonging (2015). Highlighted publications include ‘Excavating widening participation policy in Australian higher education: subject positions, representational effects, emotion’ (2014) and her book entitled The Power Paradox (2012) develops conceptual tools for studying power relations. Anna’s latest (2015) book is a co-edited collection entitled Widening Higher Education Participation: A Global Perspective, which includes two co-authored chapters called ‘Interrogating assumptions of rational choice in Australian widening participation discourse: theoretical counterpoints’ and 'Global Perspectives on Widening Participation: Approaches and Concepts'.
Research Expertise
Anna is Editor of the International Studies in Widening Participation journal.
Anna is a member of the editorial board for Teaching in Higher Education
Anna is co-facilitator of the NAEEA Research Development and Collaboration Special Interest Group and the 2017 OFFA and CEEHE sponsored national widening participation writing programme (both with Professor Penny Jane Burke).
Teaching and Administrative Expertise
Anna is Head of ELFSC Research Engagement and Development at the University of Newcastle. ELFSC offers enabling programs that are open entry and enable people to qualify for entry into various degree programs across Australia through the UAC.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales
- Bachelor of Social Studies, University of Sydney
- Bachelor of Arts (Honours), University of Newcastle
Keywords
- Sociology
- Sociology of Education
Languages
- English (Fluent)
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 160899 | Sociology not elsewhere classified | 50 |
| 160809 | Sociology of Education | 40 |
| 169999 | Studies in Human Society not elsewhere classified | 10 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
| Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|
| Senior Lecturer | University of Newcastle Centre for English Language and Foundation Studies Australia |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Book (2 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |
Shah M, Bennett A, Southgate E, Widening Higher Education Participation: A Global Perspective, Chandos Publishing, Oxford, 264 (2016)
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| 2012 | Bennett AK, The Power Paradox: A Toolkit for Analyzing Conflict and Extremism, University Press of America, Lanham, MD, 137 (2012) [A1] |
Chapter (4 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |
Southgate E, Bennett AK, 'University Choosers and Refusers: Social Theory, Ideas of "Choice" and Implications for Widening Participation', Widening Higher Education Participation: A Global Perspective, Elsevier Chandos, Amsterdam 225-240 (2016) [B1]
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| 2015 |
Shah M, Bennett Southgate Shah, 'Global Perspectives on Widening Participation: Approaches and Concepts', Widening Higher Education Participation A Global Perspective, Elsevier, Amsterdam 241-253 (2015)
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| 1999 | Bennett AK, 'Feminismos y pedagogías en la vida cotidiana', Feminismos y pedagogías en la vida cotidiana, Ediciones Morata, Madrid, Spain (1999) | |||||||
| Show 1 more chapter | ||||||||
Journal article (12 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
Bennett AK, Burke P, 'Re/conceptualising time and temporality: an exploration of time in higher education', Discourse-Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, (2017)
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| 2017 |
Southgate E, Brosnan C, Lempp H, Kelly B, Wright S, Outram S, Bennett A, 'Travels in Extreme Social Mobility: how first-in-family students find their way into and through medical education', Critical Studies in Education, 58 242-260 (2017) [C1]
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| 2017 | Bennett AK, 'Policy Approaches, ¿Problems¿ and ¿Solutions¿: Working to Ensure Equity of Access and Widening Participation in Australian Higher Education', international studies in widening participation, 5 (2017) | ||||||||||
| 2016 |
Brosnan C, Southgate E, Outram S, Lempp H, Wright S, Saxby T, et al., 'Experiences of medical students who are first in family to attend university', Medical Education, 50 842-851 (2016) [C1] © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education. Context: Students from backgrounds of low socio-economic status (SES) or who are first i... [more] © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education. Context: Students from backgrounds of low socio-economic status (SES) or who are first in family to attend university (FiF) are under-represented in medicine. Research has focused on these students¿ pre-admission perceptions of medicine, rather than on their lived experience as medical students. Such research is necessary to monitor and understand the potential perpetuation of disadvantage within medical schools. Objectives: This study drew on the theory of Bourdieu to explore FiF students¿ experiences at one Australian medical school, aiming to identify any barriers faced and inform strategies for equity. Methods: Twenty-two FiF students were interviewed about their backgrounds, expectations and experiences of medical school. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Findings illustrate the influence and interaction of Bourdieu's principal forms of capital (social, economic and cultural) in FiF students¿ experiences. Results: The absence of he alth professionals within participants¿ networks (social capital) was experienced as a barrier to connecting with fellow students and accessing placements. Financial concerns were common among interviewees who juggled paid work with study and worried about expenses associated with the medical programme. Finally, participants¿ ¿medical student¿ status provided access to new forms of cultural capital, a transition that was received with some ambivalence by participants themselves and their existing social networks. Conclusions: This study revealed the gaps between the forms of capital valued in medical education and those accessible to FiF students. Admitting more students from diverse backgrounds is only one part of the solution; widening participation strategies need to address challenges for FiF students during medical school and should enable students to retain, rather than subdue, their existing, diverse forms of social and cultural capital. Embracing the diversity sought in admissions is likely to benefit student learning, as well as the communities graduates will serve. Change must ideally go beyond medical programmes to address medical culture itself.
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| 2015 |
Buchanan RA, Southgate E, Bennett A, 'Editorial: Social justice in the enterprise university: global perspectives on theory, policy, ethics and critical practice', International Studies in Widening Participation, 2 1-3 (2015) [C3]
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| 2014 |
Southgate E, Bennett A, 'Excavating widening participation policy in Australian higher education: subject positions, representational effects, emotion', Creative Approaches to Research, 7 21-45 (2014) [C1]
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| 2012 |
Bennett AK, Hodges BE, Kavanagh KO, Fagan SJ, Hartley JH, Schofield NJ, ''Hard' and 'soft' aspects of learning as investment: Opening up the neo-liberal view of a programme with 'high' levels of attrition', Widening Participation & Lifelong Learning, 14 141-156 (2012) [C1]
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| Show 9 more journal articles | |||||||||||
Conference (20 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 |
Burke P, Bennett AK, 'Pedagogies of and for Difference: Recognising and Developing Student Capability', Johannesburg, South Africa (2018)
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| 2017 |
Bennett A, Motta S, Hamilton E, Burgess C, Relf B, Leroy-Dyer S, et al., 'Theorising enabling pedagogies', Theorising enabling pedagogies, SCU, Gold Coast (2017)
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| 2017 |
Bunn M, Burke P, Bennett AK, 'Economising Time: Investment in study, temporal equity and the experience of regional students', Canberra, ACT (2017)
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| 2017 |
Burke P, Bennett AK, Burgess C, 'A CPD Resource for Recognising and Developing Capability in Higher Education', Sydney (2017)
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| 2017 |
Bennett AK, Burke P, Burgess C, 'Re/cognising and Developing Student Capability', SCU Gold Coast (2017)
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| 2015 |
Burke PJ, Bennett AK, 'Capability, belonging and mis/recognition in higher education', SRHE Annual Conference Papers, Newport, UK (2015) [E1]
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| 2015 |
Brosnan CJ, Southgate E, Outram S, Kelly B, Harris G, Saxby T, et al., ''It all seemed a bit too big for little old me': Understanding the experiences of medical students who are first in the family to attend university.', Newcastle (2015) [E3]
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| 2013 | Bennett AK, 'The non-traditional student within the higher education marketplace: an analysis of student expectations of Enabling university programs', NAEEA Conference Program, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne (2013) [E3] | ||||
| 2013 | Bennett AK, Fagan S, 'Beyond self-doubt: techniques to counter the ¿Impostor-Syndrome'', National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia Conference, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne (2013) [E3] | ||||
| 2012 | Hodges BE, Bedford T, Bennett AK, Hartley JH, Kavanagh KO, Klinger C, et al., 'Enabling retention: Understanding and improving student retention rates in Australian university enabling programs', Conference Handbook. Foundation & Bridging Educators New Zealand Inaugural Conference 2012, Auckland, New Zealand (2012) [E3] | ||||
| 2012 | Bennett AK, 'Alternative pathways to higher education in Australia: The importance of enabling and empowerment beyond mainstream conventions', Conference Handbook. Foundation & Bridging Educators New Zealand Inaugural Conference 2012, Auckland, New Zealand (2012) [E3] | ||||
| 2012 |
Bunn RJ, Bennett AK, Southgate EL, Cooper SA, Kavanagh KO, ''Wow, I didn't know that!' The benefits of taking a collaborative approach to transition experiences of enabling students into Undergraduate Education Programs', Conference Handbook. Foundation & Bridging Educators New Zealand Inaugural Conference 2012, Auckland, New Zealand (2012) [E3]
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| 2011 | Bennett AK, 'A case study of perceptions of power: Clubs Australia, pokies and the politics of 'spin'', Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Conference: Local Lives/Global Networks, Newcastle, NSW (2011) [E3] | ||||
| 2011 | Bennett AK, Burgess CA, 'Challenges at the cultural interface: The hidden academic cultural curriculum', Proceedings of the 1st International Australasian Conference On Enabling Access To Higher Education, Adelaide, SA (2011) [E1] | ||||
| Show 17 more conferences | |||||
Other (3 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Bennett AK, 'Programs-that-prepare-students-for-university-study-may-no-longer-be-free', (2017) [O1] | ||||
| 2015 |
Bennett A, Buchanan R, Southgate E, 'Editors: Social justice in the enterprise university: global perspectives on theory, policy, ethics and critical practice', ( issue.2) (2015)
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| 2013 | Brosnan C, Southgate E, MacQueen S, Kelly B, Outram S, Rubin M, et al., 'Faculty of education and arts strategic networks and pilot projects scheme', Equity in Elite Degrees: social difference, institutional practice and processes of change (2013) |
Report (7 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 |
Bennett AK, Motta S, Hamilton E, Burgess C, Relf B, Gray K, et al., 'Enabling Pedagogies: A participatory conceptual mapping of practices at
the University of Newcastle, Australia', Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education (2018)
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| 2018 |
Bennett A, Motta SC, Hamilton E, Burgess C, Relf B, Gray K, Leroy-Dyer S, 'Conceptualising Enabling Pedagogies at the University of Newcastle', Centre for Excellence in Education in Higher Education, 250 (2018)
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| 2017 |
Wood D, McLeod M, Viragh K, Devlin M, Hill A, Harvey A, et al., 'A comparative study of the equity strategies employed by Australian universities', HEPPP NPP, 200 (2017)
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| Show 4 more reports | |||||
Grants and Funding
Summary
| Number of grants | 8 |
|---|---|
| Total funding | $517,192 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20163 grants / $210,827
A comparative evaluation of the efficacy of the equity strategies employed by Australian universities$156,686
Funding body: Department of Education
| Funding body | Department of Education |
|---|---|
| Scheme | Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2016 |
| Funding Finish | 2016 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Aust Competitive - Commonwealth |
| Category | 1CS |
| UON | N |
It's About Time: working towards more equitable understandings of the impact of time for students in higher education$34,191
Funding body: National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE)
| Funding body | National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Professor Penny Jane Burke, Doctor Anna Bennett, Professor Jacqueline Stevenson |
| Scheme | Research Grants Program |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2016 |
| Funding Finish | 2016 |
| GNo | G1600939 |
| Type Of Funding | C2110 - Aust Commonwealth - Own Purpose |
| Category | 2110 |
| UON | Y |
Enabling Pedagogies and Transitions $19,950
Funding body: Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education
| Funding body | Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Bennett, A., Motta, S., Burgess, C., Gray, K., Hamilton, E., Relf, B., Leroy-Dyer, S. and Albright, J. |
| Scheme | Grant |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2016 |
| Funding Finish | 2017 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Internal |
| Category | INTE |
| UON | N |
20152 grants / $234,952
Critical Interventions Framework Part 2$205,262
Funding body: Department of Education
| Funding body | Department of Education |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Doctor Anna Bennett, Ms Belinda Munn, Professor Geoff Whitty, Laureate Professor Jennifer Gore, Professor Max Smith |
| Scheme | Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2015 |
| Funding Finish | 2015 |
| GNo | G1501186 |
| Type Of Funding | C2110 - Aust Commonwealth - Own Purpose |
| Category | 2110 |
| UON | Y |
Capability, Belonging and Equity in Higher Education: Developing Inclusive Approaches$29,690
Funding body: National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE)
| Funding body | National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Professor Penny Jane Burke, Doctor Anna Bennett, Associate Professor Seamus Fagan, Mrs Cathy Burgess, Aprof JANE Maguire, Associate Professor Erica Southgate, Doctor Shamus Smith |
| Scheme | Research Grants Program |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2015 |
| Funding Finish | 2015 |
| GNo | G1500360 |
| Type Of Funding | Other Public Sector - Commonwealth |
| Category | 2OPC |
| UON | Y |
20142 grants / $62,336
Overcoming limiting notions of academic capability: strategies to improve the participation and completion rates of students from non-traditional and low socio-economic backgrounds$47,336
Funding body: University of Newcastle
| Funding body | University of Newcastle |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Anna Bennett |
| Scheme | Special Project Grant |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2014 |
| Funding Finish | 2014 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Internal |
| Category | INTE |
| UON | N |
FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND ARTS STRATEGIC NETWORKS AND PILOT PROJECTS SCHEME$15,000
Funding body: University of Newcastle - Faculty of Education and Arts
| Funding body | University of Newcastle - Faculty of Education and Arts |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Caragh Brosnan |
| Scheme | Strategic Networks Grant |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2014 |
| Funding Finish | 2014 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Internal |
| Category | INTE |
| UON | N |
20121 grants / $9,077
Establishing effective and sustainable links between Enabling and undergraduate programs by examining the transitions of ELFSC students$9,077
Funding body: University of Newcastle
| Funding body | University of Newcastle |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Anna Bennett |
| Scheme | CTL grant |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2012 |
| Funding Finish | 2012 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Internal |
| Category | INTE |
| UON | N |
Research Supervision
Number of supervisions
Total current UON EFTSL
Current Supervision
| Commenced | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | PhD | Notions of Success in Australian Enabling Education | Education, University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
| 2016 | PhD | Professional identities and third space roles in Australian universities | Sociology, University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
| 2016 | PhD | It Takes a Village: Uncovering the Hidden Work in Online Program Development | PhD (Sociology & Anthropology), Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
Research Collaborations
The map is a representation of a researchers co-authorship with collaborators across the globe. The map displays the number of publications against a country, where there is at least one co-author based in that country. Data is sourced from the University of Newcastle research publication management system (NURO) and may not fully represent the authors complete body of work.
| Country | Count of Publications | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 6 | |
| Canada | 2 | |
| United Kingdom | 2 |
News
Programs that prepare students for university study may no longer be free
May 19, 2017
University deadlines affecting student engagement
April 28, 2017
Dr Anna Bennett
Position
Head Research and Development
Centre for English Language and Foundation Studies
Academic Division
Contact Details
| anna.bennett@newcastle.edu.au | |
| Phone | (02) 4921 5378 |
Office
| Room | MCLG62 |
|---|---|
| Building | McMullin |
NEWS • May 19.2017
Programs that prepare students for university study may no longer be free
For the first time, students may have to pay up to A$3271 for “enabling” courses, designed to prepare students for university study.
NEWS • Apr 28.2017
University deadlines affecting student engagement
New research from the University of Newcastle reveals equity students in higher education are challenged by institutional expectations about time.