Higher education has been actively encouraged to find more effective and flexible delivery models to provide all students with access to quality learning experiences yet also meet institutional imperatives for efficiency and accountability. Blended learning, commonly defined as an integration of traditional face-to-face and online approaches to instruction (Garrison & Kanuka, 2004;Graham, 2006;Macdonald, 2008), is now proposed as one solution that addresses both student learning and higher education organisational needs. Successful blended learning, however, is more than a simple integration of information and communication technologies with face-to-face approaches. This paper proposes, describes and evaluates a pedagogical approach to blended learning focused on learners and learning. First, we interrogate the literature related to blended learning to show how various constructions of blended learning may be driven by teacher-centric or learnercentric conceptions. Next, planning a learner-centric blended learning design for a core unit in a first year higher education course is described. The design is then evaluated using a mixed methodology in which the students' voices illuminate their experiences of blended learning unit design with regards to engagement, learning and self-determination. IntroductionHigher education has been actively encouraged to find effective and flexible delivery models to provide all students with more convenient access to quality learning experiences than is possible with traditional on-campus offerings alone. Time-poor students with commitments to family, earning, wellness, sport, technology and other interests are demanding a range of access points to learning and information. At the same time, universities are bound by community and professional standards including academic integrity, organisational efficiency, student retention and community demands for the technologically-savvy worker of the knowledge society. Blended learning has been proposed as one solution that can enhance student learning and engagement, improve access and flexibility and address organizational and institutional imperatives in higher education (

Personalised learning is now broadly endorsed as a key strategy to improve student curricular engagement and academic attainment, but there is also strong critique of this construct. We review claims made for this approach, as well as concerns about its conceptual coherence and effects on different learner cohorts. Drawing on literature around differentiation of the curriculum, self‐regulated learning, and ‘relational agency’ we propose a framework for conceptualising and enacting this construct. We then report on an attempt to introduce personalised learning as one strategy, among several, to improve student academic performance and wellbeing in four low SES regional secondary schools in Australia. We report on a survey of 2407 students’ perceptions of the extent to which their school provided a personalised learning environment, and a case study of a programme within one school that aimed to apply a personalised approach to the mathematics curriculum. We found that while there were ongoing challenges in this approach, there was also evidence of success in the mathematics case.

Internationally, there is a commitment to inclusive education for students with disability. In Australia, equality of access to mainstream schools is a key policy feature, with educational exclusion of children with disability being unlawful. In this review, the aim was to identify and analyze contemporary documents that point to failures in inclusive policy and legislation in Australia and the state of Victoria by demonstrating educational exclusion of school students with disability. A search of the gray literature was conducted to identify relevant documents from 2010 to 2017. Reference lists of retrieved documents were also searched for other sources. The review included 23 documents and findings demonstrated that the needs of children and families are often not met, with a disconnection evident between inclusive educational policy, legislation, and practices that exclude children with disability from mainstream education. Restrictive practices and gatekeeping act to dissuade families from enrolling children in mainstream education, with many seeking enrolment in special schools. However, concerns with special school practices, such as the use of restrictive interventions have been documented. Parents have resorted to homeschooling, with associated emotional and economic consequences. Tensions between schools and parents were evident, with parents not always having the opportunity to be fully involved in decision-making processes and planning. The key finding of this review was a clear gap between policy and legislative intentions and practices in schools. Lack of clarity on reasonable adjustments and an underpinning research evidence base to policy results in schools being left to develop their own practices. Strong leadership is needed from principals, and a whole of school commitment, to traverse policy practice gaps that continue to impact on the ability of children with disability to be well-supported in accessing mainstream schools.

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