Rachel Barber

Thesis Name

Thesis Abstract

This qualitative case study investigates how first-year undergraduate students in Initial Teacher Education at CQUniversity experience disciplinary learning and the role embedded academic language and learning (ALL) plays in their academic development. Framed by social justice perspectives on higher education equity, my research explores three central questions: What aspects of disciplinary learning do students struggle with? How effectively do different ALL approaches support their learning? Where are the opportunities for enhancing ALL within disciplinary contexts?

My case study is bound by three core first-year Education units common across undergraduate Bachelor of Education programs at CQUniversity. Using a phased approach to data collection, I have gathered secondary data (demographics, assessment frameworks, and ALL teaching materials) and primary data from focus groups with Education staff and Academic Learning Advisers, and semi-structured interviews with students. Currently in the analysis stage, this research offers critical insights into how embedding academic language and learning into disciplinary curricula can not only enhance student success but also foster systemic educational reform and equity for diverse learners.

Why My Research is Important/Impacts

The expansion of higher education access has brought increasing diversity among students, who enter university with varied levels of academic preparedness shaped by distinct educational, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds. Despite this reality, university responses to student diversity in academic language and learning (ALL) often rely on generic, decontextualised ‘study skills’ approaches, perpetuating deficit views that locate the problem within the student rather than the educational system. 

My research makes an important contribution to the academic language and learning (ALL) knowledge base by advancing frameworks for embedding ALL within disciplinary curricula, moving beyond traditional, generic models towards intentional and inclusive teaching practices rooted in intentional curriculum design. By deepening our understanding of how embedded ALL approaches directly support students’ disciplinary learning, the research strengthens the evidence base necessary to drive systemic reform in higher education. Specifically, it provides a critical foundation for institutional strategies aimed at improving student success, equity, retention, and academic progression. Dissemination of the findings is intended to support sustained, widespread adoption of seamless, deeply embedded ALL approaches, thereby ensuring equitable academic outcomes for diverse student cohorts and helping universities fulfil their commitments to inclusive education.