BSc(Hons) and PhD (Reading)
Email kerry.shephard@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 8439
About Kerry
I research higher education. I conceptualise this as a part of the discipline of Education, but with a focus on the functioning of universities and on the nature of learning within this domain. I have a background in a different discipline and my present disciplinary perspective (substantially developed in the past 20 years) has been influenced by, and is grounded in, my prior 25 years of research and teaching as a biologist. I think that higher education as a field of enquiry, as a discourse and as a community of practitioners is defined by the diverse backgrounds of its contributors and this sets it aside from other fields within Education.
. My area of interest lies in the affective domain of attitudes, values, dispositions and behaviours. I am fascinated by these attributes: how learners acquire them; how teachers contribute to their acquisition, deliberately or not; how universities assess or evaluate them; and how we can research them. My major research interest in these regards relates to education for sustainability/sustainable development. As higher education grapples with massification, commercialisation and its role as ‘critic and conscience of society’ it needs to address how it impacts on future citizens. My research aims to help higher education understand what it is currently doing, why it may need to change and perhaps how to do it. My research approaches include both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to collect empirical data. I co-supervise PhD candidates, examine others and I am a regular reviewer for a wide range of higher education journals. I also teach on higher education pedagogy programmes.
Teaching
HEDU 504 Academic Leadership in Higher Education
A critical examination of academic leadership using contemporary theories of learning, teaching, mentoring, leadership and change.
Workshops on Critical Thinking, ESD.
Contribution to Otago’s Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development.
Research Interests
My interests span policy and practice in higher education, educational development and aspects of student learning. In particular, I have broad interests in ‘learning in the affective domain’. (Not what students know, nor what skills they have to put their knowledge to effect; rather what they choose to do with the knowledge and skills they learn.) Key interests include community-engaged learning and teaching, academic integrity, education for sustainability and 'the public understanding of science'. Kerry has a background in the biological sciences and extensive experience as a university teacher and researcher.
Supervision
I am happy to co-supervise PhD students in my major research areas within the broad area of Policy and Practice in Higher Education and also to co-supervise multidisciplinary educational projects with colleagues in other departments.
Teaching, learning and research resources
Higher Education for Sustainable Development: promoting intellectual independence.
How can higher education contribute to sustainability whilst nurturing and protecting the next generation’s right to think independently? Most people in higher education accept that higher education has a responsibility to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals, not only through our research but also through our teaching. Many of those who research in this area suggest that our teaching needs to focus on teaching young people to be sustainable, often by teaching sustainability-related competencies that we assume the students do not already have. I call this Plan A and I wish those who promote it every success. My message, and this series of Podcasts, suggest something different. I doubt that the higher education that I know is either able or willing to teach young people how to be sustainable and I think that transformation in this direction is a long way off.
Plan B suggests that we are able and willing to help young people to develop intellectual independence, that currently this is the best that we can do, and that doing this will take us a long way towards a vision of sustainability that at least some of us share. An international generation of intellectually independent global citizens will be well positioned to make different decisions from those made by preceding generations.
If listening to podcasts is not your thing, you can read about Plan B in:
Shephard, K. (2020). Higher education for sustainability: Seeking intellectual independence in Aotearoa New Zealand. Springer, 163p.
Podcasts
- The first 7 podcast episodes analyse Plan A; its successes and its problems
- Episodes 9-11 analyse the possibilities for a Plan B
- Episodes 8 and 12 take stock of each analysis
If you have already targeted Plan B, you could jump directly to Episode 9.
- Introduction
https://echo360.net.au/media/501bcc8f-6c01-445b-b83d-bbe5770d9293/public - Sustainability as a process or a destination?
https://echo360.net.au/media/9711f220-43c9-4c4d-bf99-41723541aed7/public - About Campus sustainability
https://echo360.net.au/media/b6101603-936a-4b60-b501-f31b6aee6a09/public - University teachers as critic and conscience of society
https://echo360.net.au/media/1df19049-9e76-4988-84bb-de65382365ec/public - Environmental education in New Zealand
https://echo360.net.au/media/96551537-a403-4e2a-b4b9-7eb6b2e076f5/public - About the roles and responsibilities of higher education in New Zealand
https://echo360.net.au/media/fcffa660-c2f9-46af-8467-3f36a28c2cce/public - About global perspectives and competitive individualism
https://echo360.net.au/media/bca38c93-7fb4-4ce1-967f-8b6d3381ac4f/public - Taking stock of Education for sustainable development currently managed by New Zealand’s higher education sector and more widely
https://echo360.net.au/media/34d91d06-1905-46fd-965f-ed44275c59d2/public - What guides our beliefs and actions?
https://echo360.net.au/media/ea06cff7-0462-4c90-aae4-5b5d92c90c08/public - On deep, critical and independent thinking and why it is so challenging for higher education to teach these things
https://echo360.net.au/media/afd407bc-f47d-4a71-abc9-2f02b7979a6d/public - Changing our practices: community engagement, empowering students and knowing if we are on the right track
https://echo360.net.au/media/bdec6db9-0031-41fb-991c-ef4aadb44fc5/public - Future prospects for Education for sustainable development with a focus on promoting intellectual independence and researching our practices
https://echo360.net.au/media/afe65f6c-6fc5-491b-881d-52a75c7bafd0/public
Some references mentioned in the podcasts
Facione, P. A. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction. Retrieved July 26, 2019, from https://www.insightassessment.com/article/expert-consensus-on-critical-thinking.
Leopold, A. (1949). A sand county almanac. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Scriven, M., & Paul, R. (1987) Cited by the foundation for critical thinking. Defining Critical Thinking. Retrieved February 21, 2019. https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining- critical-thinking/766.
Shephard, K. (2015). Higher education for sustainable development. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Shephard, K. (2016). Discovering tertiary education through others’ eyes and words: Exploring submissions to New Zealand’s review of its tertiary education sector. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2016.1254430.
Shephard, K., Bourk, M., Mirosa, M., & Dulgar, P. (2016). What global perspective does our university foster in our students? Environmental Education Research. doi.org/10.1080/ 13504622.2015.1126806
Shephard, K., & Egan, T. (2018). Higher education for professional and civic values: A critical review and analysis. Sustainability, 10(12), 4442. doi.org/10.3390/su10124442.
Acknowledgement: I emphasise that any points of view expressed in these podcasts are my own, and not necessarily those of my employer, the University of Otago, or of the many wonderful academic colleagues with whom I have researched over the years. To my colleagues, I acknowledge the vital contribution that you have all made to the ways that I currently understand the international mission of education for sustainability. Researching with you all has been a great privilege. The University of Otago is the oldest in New Zealand, and certainly a privilege to work in. This institution has afforded me the opportunity to undertake the research that has led to this book and podcasts, the academic freedom to ensure that my work will contribute to the international public debate on higher education for sustainability and the expectation that I will make my findings and viewpoints known widely. I express here deep gratitude to the University of Otago for its support and encouragement.
Publications
Gannon, P., Anderson, R., Plumb, C., Hacker, D., & Shephard, K. (2022). Engineering faculty views on sustainability and education research: Survey results and analyses. International Journal of Engineering Education, 38(3), 611-620.
Wolff, L.-A., Shephard, K., Belluigi, D. Z., Vega-Marcote, P., Rieckmann, M., Skarstein, F., & Cheah, S. L. (2022). Transformative learning, teaching, and action in the most challenging times. Frontiers in Education, 7, 1041914. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2022.1041914
Shephard, K. (2022). Researching your teaching practices: An optional extra or a scholarly obligation? In M. Anakin, R. Bird, N. Flack, Q. Liu, J. McCallum-Loudeac & T. McLennan (Eds.), Proceedings of the Sciences Education and Health Professions Education Symposium. (pp. 7). Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/14192
Shephard, K., Townsend, S., Allan, A., Luong, H., & Trotman, T. (2022). Student attendance: Before, during and after a pandemic. In E. Heinrich, A. Jolley & L. Rowan (Eds.), Proceedings of the Tertiary Education Research in New Zealand (TERNZ) Conference. (pp. 66-68). HERDSA Aotearoa/New Zealand. [Abstract]
Shephard, K., & Blanch, K. (2022). I did it my way: Academic-decision-making explored through a Bourdieusian social-theory lens. In E. Heinrich, A. Jolley & L. Rowan (Eds.), Proceedings of the Tertiary Education Research in New Zealand (TERNZ) Conference. (pp. 64-65). HERDSA Aotearoa/New Zealand. [Abstract]
Shephard, K. (2020). Higher education for sustainability: Seeking intellectual independence in Aotearoa New Zealand. Singapore: Springer, 163p. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-1940-6
Authored Book - Research
Shephard, K. (2015). Higher education for sustainable development. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 131p. doi: 10.1057/9781137548412
Authored Book - Research
Shephard, K. (2005). Presenting at conferences, seminars and meetings. London, UK: Sage, 184p.
Authored Book - Research
Shephard, K. (2022). On the educational difference between being able and being willing. In P. Vare, N. Lausselet & M. Rieckmann (Eds.), Competences in education for sustainable development: Critical perspectives. (pp. 45-52). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-91055-6_6
Chapter in Book - Research
Shephard, K. (2021). Higher education for sustainable development: Learning gains or learning losses? In C. Hughes & M. Tight (Eds.), Learning gain in higher education [International perspectives on higher education research volume 14]. (pp. 117-130). Bingley, UK: Emerald. doi: 10.1108/S1479-362820210000014009
Chapter in Book - Research
Brogt, E., Shephard, K., Knewstubb, B., & Rogers, T. L. (2020). Using SoTL to foster a research approach to teaching and learning in higher education. In R. C. Plews & M. L. Amos (Eds.), Evidence-based faculty development through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). (pp. 143-160). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi: 10.4018/978-1-7998-2212-7.ch008
Chapter in Book - Research
Shephard, K. (2019). Higher education pedagogy. In S. A. Fincher & A. V. Robins (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of computing education research. (pp. 276-291). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108654555.011
Chapter in Book - Research
Shephard, K. (2015). Individual change: Researching educational outcomes achieved by higher education for sustainable development. In M. Barth, G. Michelsen, M. Rieckmann & I. Thomas (Eds.), Routledge handbook of higher education for sustainable development. (pp. 261-272). London, UK: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315852249.ch17
Chapter in Book - Research
Shephard, K., Harraway, J., Lovelock, B., Skeaff, S., Slooten, L., Strack, M., & Jowett, T. (2012). Monitoring changes in the sustainability attributes of higher education students in a New Zealand university. In W. L. Filho (Ed.), Sustainable development at universities: New horizons. (pp. 117-126). Frankfurt, Germany: Peter Lang.
Chapter in Book - Research
Shephard, K. (2006). Learning and teaching. In P. Dale, M. Holland & M. Matthews (Eds.), Subject librarians: engaging with the learning and teaching environment. (pp. 49-63). Aldershot, U.K: Ashgate.
Chapter in Book - Research
Shephard, K., & Matthews, M. (2006). Changing relationships in the university. In P. Dale, M. Holland & M. Matthews (Eds.), Subject librarians: Engaging with the learning and teaching environment. (pp. 89-100). Aldershot, U.K: Ashgate.
Chapter in Book - Research
Gannon, P., Anderson, R., Plumb, C., Hacker, D., & Shephard, K. (2022). Engineering faculty views on sustainability and education research: Survey results and analyses. International Journal of Engineering Education, 38(3), 611-620.
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K. (2022). On intellectual independence: The principal aim of universities in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s40841-022-00250-7
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Kalsoom, Q., Gupta, R., Probst, L., Gannon, P., Santhakumar, V., Ndukwe, I. G., & Jowett, T. (2021). Exploring the relationship between dispositions to think critically and sustainability concern in HESD. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 22(5), 1166-1185. doi: 10.1108/IJSHE-07-2020-0251
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Thondhlana, G., Wolff, L.-A., Belluigi, D. Z., Rieckmann, M., & Vega-Marcote, P. (2021). On the nature of quality in the contexts of academic publication and sustainability. Frontiers in Education, 6, 634473. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2021.634473
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Rogers, T., & Brogt, E. (2020). Impacts of engaging in research into teaching and learning on academics’ conceptions of their development as teachers and on the roles of academic developers. International Journal for Academic Development, 25(3), 205-217. doi: 10.1080/1360144X.2020.1731814
Journal - Research Article
Brown, K., Connelly, S., Lovelock, B., Mainvil, L., Mather, D., Roberts, H., Skeaff, S., & Shephard, K. (2019). Do we teach our students to share and to care? Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 24(4), 462-481. doi: 10.1080/13596748.2019.1654693
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Brown, K., Guiney, T., Deaker, L., & Hesson, G. (2019). Exploring the use of social media by community-engaged university people. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, 56(5), 558-568. doi: 10.1080/14703297.2018.1557069
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Rieckmann, M., & Barth, M. (2019). Seeking sustainability competence and capability in the ESD and HESD literature: An international philosophical hermeneutic analysis. Environmental Education Research, 25(4), 532-547. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2018.1490947
Journal - Research Article
Strack, M., Shephard, K., Jowett, T., Mogford, S., Skeaff, S., & Mirosa, M. (2019). Monitoring surveying students' environmental attitudes as they experience higher education in New Zealand. Survey Review, 51(366), 257-264. doi: 10.1080/00396265.2017.1399526
Journal - Research Article
Innes, S., Shephard, K., Furnari, M., Harraway, J., Jowett, T., Lovelock, B., Strack, M., & Skeaff, S. (2018). Greening the curriculum to foster environmental literacy in tertiary students studying human nutrition. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 13(2), 192-204. doi: 10.1080/19320248.2016.1255693
Journal - Research Article
O'Byrne, C., McIntyre, G., Townsend, S., Schonthal, B., & Shephard, K. (2018). Can ‘pooling teaching tips’ be more than ‘pooling teaching tips’? Tertiary Education & Management, 24(4), 351-361. doi: 10.1080/13583883.2018.1465117
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., & Egan, T. (2018). Higher education for professional and civic values: A critical review and analysis. Sustainability, 10(12), 4442. doi: 10.3390/su10124442
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Brown, K., Guiney, T., & Deaker, L. (2018). Valuing and evaluating community-engaged scholarship. Tertiary Education & Management, 24(1), 83-94. doi: 10.1080/13583883.2017.1395904
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K. (2017). Discovering tertiary education through others' eyes and words: Exploring submissions to New Zealand’s review of its tertiary education sector. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 39(1), 4-19. doi: 10.1080/1360080X.2016.1254430
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., & Brown, K. (2017). How democratic is higher education for sustainable development? Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 38(5), 755-767. doi: 10.1080/01596306.2016.1150254
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Bourk, M., Mirosa, M., & Dulgar, P. (2017). What global perspective does our university foster in our students? Environmental Education Research, 23(3), 398-414. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2015.1126806
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Brown, K., & Guiney, T. (2017). Researching the professional-development needs of community-engaged scholars in a New Zealand university. Sustainability, 9, 1249. doi: 10.3390/su9071249
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Brown, K., Connelly, S., Hall, M., Harraway, J., Martin, J., Mirosa, M., Payne-Harker, H., Payne-Harker, N., Rock, J., … Stoddard, I. (2017). Empowering students in higher-education to teach and learn. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 52(1), 41-55. doi: 10.1007/s40841-016-0072-x
Journal - Research Article
Brown, K., Shephard, K., Warren, D., Hesson, G., & Fleming, J. (2016). Using phenomenography to build an understanding of how university people conceptualise their community-engaged activities. Higher Education Research & Development, 35(4), 643-657. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2015.1137880
Journal - Research Article
Ott, C., Robins, A., & Shephard, K. (2016). Translating principles of effective feedback for students into the CS1 context. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 16(1), 1. doi: 10.1145/2737596
Journal - Research Article
Löfström, E., Trotman, T., Furnari, M., & Shephard, K. (2015). Who teaches academic integrity and how do they teach it? Higher Education, 69(3), 435-448. doi: 10.1007/s10734-014-9784-3
Journal - Research Article
Ott, C., Robins, A., Haden, P., & Shephard, K. (2015). Illustrating performance indicators and course characteristics to support students’ self-regulated learning in CS1. Computer Science Education, 25(2), 174-198. doi: 10.1080/08993408.2015.1033129
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., & Dulgar, P. (2015). Why it matters how we frame "education" in education for sustainable development. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 14(3), 137-148. doi: 10.1080/1533015X.2015.1067577
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Harraway, J., Jowett, T., Lovelock, B., Skeaff, S., Slooten, L., Strack, M., & Furnari, M. (2015). Longitudinal analysis of the environmental attitudes of university students. Environmental Education Research, 21(6), 805-820. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2014.913126
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Harraway, J., Lovelock, B., Mirosa, M., Skeaff, S., Slooten, L., Strack, M., Furnari, M., Jowett, T., & Deaker, L. (2015). Seeking learning outcomes appropriate for 'education for sustainable development' and for higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(6), 855-866. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2015.1009871
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Trotman, T., Furnari, M., & Löfström, E. (2015). Teaching research integrity in higher education: Policy and strategy. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 37(6), 615-632. doi: 10.1080/1360080X.2015.1102823
Journal - Research Article
Tolich, M., Scarth, B., & Shephard, K. (2015). Teaching sociology students to become qualitative-researchers using an internship model of learner-support. Journal of Social Science Education, 14(4), 53-63. doi: 10.4119/UNIBI/jsse-v14-i4-1314
Journal - Research Article
Jowett, T., Harraway, J., Lovelock, B., Skeaff, S., Slooten, L., Strack, M., & Shephard, K. (2014). Multinomial-regression modeling of the environmental attitudes of higher education students based on the Revised New Ecological Paradigm Scale. Journal of Environmental Education, 45(1), 1-15. doi: 10.1080/00958964.2013.783777
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Harraway, J., Lovelock, B., Skeaff, S., Slooten, L., Strack, M., Furnari, M., & Jowett, T. (2014). Is the environmental literacy of university students measurable? Environmental Education Research, 20(4), 476-495. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2013.816268
Journal - Research Article
Tolich, M., Paris, A., & Shephard, K. (2014). An evaluation of experiential learning in a sociology internship class. New Zealand Sociology, 29(1), 119-134.
Journal - Research Article
Mann, S., Harraway, J., Broughton-Ansin, F., Deaker, L., & Shephard, K. (2013). Seeking richer descriptions of learners’ sustainability attributes and learning needs. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 14(1), 90-100. doi: 10.1108/14676371311288976
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., & Furnari, M. (2013). Exploring what university teachers think about education for sustainability. Studies in Higher Education, 38(10), 1577-1590. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2011.644784
Journal - Research Article
Strack, M., Jowett, T., Shephard, K., & Harraway, J. (2013). What impact do higher-education experiences have on the environmental attitudes of surveying students? New Zealand Surveyor, 302, 36-42.
Journal - Research Article
Tolich, M. B., Shephard, K., Carson, S., & Hunt, D. (2013). Co-managing the sustainability of University internship programmes in brownfield sites. New Zealand Sociology, 28(1), 156-170.
Journal - Research Article
Harraway, J., Broughton-Ansin, F., Deaker, L., Jowett, T., & Shephard, K. (2012). Exploring the use of the revised New Ecological Paradigm scale (NEP) to monitor the development of students' ecological worldviews. Journal of Environmental Education, 43(3), 177-191. doi: 10.1080/00958964.2011.634450
Journal - Research Article
Buissink-Smith, N., Mann, S., & Shephard, K. (2011). How do we measure affective learning in higher education? Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 5(1), 101-114. doi: 10.1177/097340821000500113
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., & Knightbridge, K. (2011). Exploring presentation styles in higher education teaching and research situations: Distance and face-to-face. Open Learning, 26(3), 223-236.
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Harland, T., Stein, S., & Tidswell, T. (2011). Preparing an application for a higher-education teaching-excellence award: Whose foot fits Cinderella's shoe? Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 33(1), 47-56. doi: 10.1080/1360080X.2011.537011
Journal - Research Article
Shephard, K., Mansvelt, J., Stein, S., Suddaby, G., Harris, I., & O'Hara, D. (2011). Professional development for e-learning: Researching a strategy for New Zealand's tertiary sector. International Journal on E-Learning, 10(4), 461-481.
Journal - Research Article
