Daniel Edwards is a Senior Research Fellow in the Transitions and Post-School
Education and Training research program at the Australian Council for Educational
Research. He was appointed in January 2008 to help develop ACER’s higher education
research. 

Dr Edwards’ research encompasses a range of educational issues, with particular emphasis
on access to university in Australia. He has a keen interest in all aspects of education
policy and has explored issues relating to demand for higher education places (both
amongst students and employers), student achievement and aspirations in the final years
of schooling, and educational ‘choice’ theories. He has also had experience researching
wider social issues regarding social stratification and demographic change. 

Dr Edwards’ has expertise working with large data bases and matrices extracted from the
various sources including the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace
Relations, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and other government departments and
organisations. Dr Edwards has also been involved in a number of evaluation projects
involving widespread stakeholder consultation. 

Dr Edwards has experience in conducting survey-based research, having designed
administered a number of surveys and analysed larger national survey data such as the
Graduate Pathways Survey (GPS), the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE),
the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Postgraduate Research Experience
Questionnaire (PREQ). 

Dr Edwards’ PhD thesis, completed in 2007, explored the increasing competition in the
school education market in Victoria and the influence of this competition on pathways to
university. Prior to joining ACER, he held a Research Fellowship at Monash University. 

Dr Edwards is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Centre for Population and Urban
Research at Monash University. He also coordinates the course Issues in Public Policy,
which is part of the Masters of Applied Social Research, in the Department of Sociology
at Monash University.

Articles (refereed)

Link

Supply issues for science academics in Australia: now and in the future (with Fred Smith), Higher Education (2009)
 

Link

Keeping it local : geographic patterns of university attendance, Australian Universities Review (2009)
 

Link

The Bradley Review and access to higher education in Australia (with Bob Birrell), Australian Universities Review (2009)
 
Increasing competition for university and the challenge of access for government school students--case study, Australian Journal of Education (2008)
 

Link

What happens when supply lags behind demand? Disadvantaged students and the ever increasing competition for university places, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management (2008)
 

View More »

Articles

Link

Issues Facing Scientific Research Employment in Australia, Issues (2009)
 

Link

Half of Australian youth aged 18-20 are not in training (with Bob Birrell), University World News (2007)
 
Across the qualitative/quantitative divide? Reflections from two research fields (with Martin Forsey), Nexus (2007)
 
The consequence of increasing university competition for the educationally disadvantaged, Nexus (2007)
 

Misc. Documents

PDF

Competition and choice: Determinants of access to university places via the Victorian school system, PhD (Monash University) (2007)
 

Conference Papers & Presentations

Address to the Annual General Meeting, ‘Science and Maths Postgraduates in Australia – Project outcomes and update, Australian Council of Deans of Science AGM (2008)
 
Enhancing international student engagement in Australian higher education - Evidence from the 2007 Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (with Hamish Coates), Australian International Education Conference (2008)
 

Link

AUQF2008 : Quality & standards in higher education : making a difference, AUQF2008 : Quality & standards in higher education : making a difference (2008)
 
The hidden trends in school enrolments, TASA & SAANZ Joint Conference (2007)
 
Gathering quality data for management: capturing your catchment, Recognising Our Role, a Summit for Registrars & Enrolment officers in schools (2007)
 

View More »

Reports

PDF

The attractiveness of the Australian academic profession : a comparative analysis (with Hamish Coates, Ian Dobson, Tim Friedman, Leo Goedegebuure, and Lynn Meek), Higher Education Research (2009)
 
A new national University in regional Australia FEASIBILITY STUDY (with PhillipsKPA) (2009)
 

Link

Supply, Demand and Characteristics of the HDR Population in Australia (with Ali Radloff and Hamish Coates), Higher Education Research (2009)
 

Link

Engaging College Communities: The impact of residential colleges in Australian higher education (with Hamish B. Coates), Dr. Hamish Coates (2009)
 

PDF

The 2008 graduate pathways survey : graduates education and employment outcomes five years after completion of a bachelor degree at an Australian university (with Hamish Coates), Higher Education Research (2009)
 

View More »