Dancing between diversity and consistency: Improving assessment in postgraduate studies in dance
This project aims to refine a code of assessment for postgraduate research studies in dance in Australia, encompassing the two primary modes of investigation, written and practice-based theses, their distinctiveness and their potential interplay.
The objective of the project is to facilitate best practice in assessment for higher degree studies in dance and related creative arts’ disciplines.
The team, led by Dr Maggi Phillips, in collaboration with Associate Professor Cheryl Stock, Queensland University of Technology; Dr Kim Vincs, Deakin University; Nanette Hassall, Tertiary Dance Council of Australia; Julie Dyson, Ausdance (Australian Dance Council); and affiliated international bodies, set out to consider multiplicities, and to take into account the perspectives of networks in which professional aspirations intersect with academia.
The project was supported by dance academics who practise and write, research assistants who understood the intersections of the two modalities, as well as the Tertiary Dance Council of Australia (TDCA), the Australian Dance Council (Ausdance), and affiliated international associations like the World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific Chapter (WDAAP).
Experts in the field, Associate Professor Allyson Holbrook (education research) and Professor Susan Melrose (UK specialist in multi-modal degrees) also contributed to the project.
What is crucial to emphasise in the recommendations and discussions is that we offer a view from a particular moment in time, condensed perspectives that relate to the ‘now’, but are offered with a consciousness that the whole question of knowledge, especially at the higher degree level, is dynamic.
The project was funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council’s Priority Project grants (2006/8)
Researchers
Associate Professor Maggi PhillipsAssociate Professor Cheryl Stock
Dr Kim Vincs
Ms Nanette Hassall
Ms Julie Dyson