Martin Davies
Associate Professor/Principal Research Fellow in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Previously an A/Prof and Director of a unit in Economics and Commerce and lecturer in Philosophy. Interested in topics at the intersection of philosophy and education. Author/Editor of seven books and 90+ scholarly papers. Under contract (with Ron Barnett): *Re-instating Critical Thinking in a Turbulent World: The Ends of Thought in Universities and Higher Education* (Routledge, *World Issues in Theory and Philosophy of Higher Education* book series). Google scholar: h-index: 28; i10 index=38@June 2023.)
Personal website: http://www.martindavies.com.au
Google citations: http://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=Z6tx034AAAAJ
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5137-3638
Phone: 042 574 6523
Address: Melbourne Faculty of Education
The University of Melbourne
Queensberry Street, Parkville 3010
Personal website: http://www.martindavies.com.au
Google citations: http://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=Z6tx034AAAAJ
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5137-3638
Phone: 042 574 6523
Address: Melbourne Faculty of Education
The University of Melbourne
Queensberry Street, Parkville 3010
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Books by Martin Davies
The 2nd edition features:
- New content on managing digital sources, using electronic databases and poster presentation
- Additional activities on referencing and critical thinking
- Practical pointers to help students hit the ground running and quickly get to grips with the expectations and conventions of postgraduate study
This skills-focused book is written for international students completing postgraduate degrees in western tertiary institutions. It outlines what I think all students need to know to survive in the tertiary sector, and is based on my experience in teaching international students over a 30 year period. The book offers a range of relevant exercises, models of good (and bad) practice, and practical suggestions for making the transition from undergraduate to independent, resourceful and self-reliant graduate student. It was first published with Palgrave MacMillan in 2011. Two weeks after its release, it sold over 1600 copies, and become a recommended text in institutions in the UK, Australia, Japan, India and Dubai. It is now being translated into Arabic.
• 'Study Skills for International Postgraduates" is an excellent introduction to the culture and demands of Anglo-American post-graduate education. The sections on how to construct papers are especially useful, even for those already familiar with Anglo-American practices. This is a valuable "how-to" manual for those undertaking study abroad.' – Professor Herman Schwartz, University of Virginia, USA.
• 'Extremely comprehensive and detailed, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is a 'must-have' for all graduate students. The writing is clear and concise, with excellent descriptions and examples provided throughout. Students will find the suggestions for time management, study skills, and oorganizing research and the writing process invaluable.' – Associate Professor Kristen P. Williams, Clark University, USA.
• 'Extensive in its coverage, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is written in a friendly, accessible style and is sure to be a great, practical resource for international students.' Professsor Hayo Reinders, Middlesex University, UK.
• 'The most concrete and practical guide on the market on how to achieve a postgraduate degree, with a maximum of how-to skills and competencies.' Lotte Rienecker, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
*“Davies effectively distils many years’ pedagogic experience with international postgraduate students, within a Western, English-speaking higher education culture, usefully brought up to date by addressing some of the challenges of increasingly prevalent online delivery, informed by the recent COVID-19 related actions forced on HE Institutions. The book therefore delivers wisdom, both historic and forward-looking, making it ideal as a reference tool to take the newly arrived international postgrad, for whom it is primarily intended, from the early days of settling in and making friends, through their academic programme, closing with suggestions about doctoral research. Offering the book to all incoming international students as part of a ‘welcome pack’ would be an excellent idea. … Academics who might be teaching these same international postgraduates would benefit from reading the book, firstly to enhance their knowledge of the challenges faced by their students and secondly to identify approaches which they could incorporate into their future pedagogical approach. Indeed, with international students’ relevance and their importance to many HE Institutions it would make good sense for this book to become required reading for both newly appointed academics, through their PG Certificates in Higher Education or Academic Professional Apprenticeships, so that they could develop their pedagogy from its inception with the international student in mind.” Dr Ivan Newman, Higher Education Specialist. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 24 (2022).
For more details and reviews, see: http://martindavies.com.au/publications/
"The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education edited by Martin Davies and Ronald Barnett is a comprehensive and systematic treatment of critical thinking with philosophical approaches balanced by chapters that address its teaching and incorporation in the curriculum, and the relation of critical thinking to culture, to the cognitive sciences, to the professions and to society. In short, it is an indispensable guide and state-of-the-art compendium of critical thinking in the academy." - Michael A. Peters, Professor of Education, University of Waikato, New Zealand, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, USA
"A sweeping, landmark collection of perspectives on theory and practice from key thinkers and practitioners. This is a must read book for anyone who wants to know what critical thinking is, or might be, in higher education." - Richard James, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Director, Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne, Australia
"'Critical thinking' is one of the key aims of higher education. But what is it? And, does it mean the same thing in all fields, disciplines and cultures? While insisting on the importance of critical thinking in higher education, this book problematises and debates what it means, and how it may be developed and implemented in curriculum. It fills a key gap in the literature, and in curricular and policy debates." - Leesa Wheelahan, William G. Davis Chair in Community College Leadership, Ontario Institute of Studies for Education, University of Toronto, Canada
This book is about interdisciplinary higher education. The book comes at a time when interdisciplinary higher education is enjoying a resurgence of interest globally. As one of the contributors to this book puts it, ‘Talk of interdisciplinarity it seems, is everywhere in higher education – no matter what the discipline, profession or field of inquiry’ (Peseta et al.). Arguments for the necessity of interdisciplinarity in university teaching and learning and more broadly are made throughout the chapters included in this volume. These arguments include the need for interdisciplinary approaches to global issues that are too complex to be managed within one disciplinary domain and the need for knowledge economy graduates who can work within and across multi-disciplinary and multi-professional teams. The book is the first attempt, to our knowledge, to document interdisciplinarity in higher education with an emphasis—though not exclusively—on the Australasian and South-East Asian region.
The book includes dual foci – on ‘perspectives’, that is, chapters focused on definitional and theoretical aspects of interdisciplinary higher education, and ‘practicalities’, that is, chapters presented as vignettes of current interdisciplinary practice across a range of contexts. This range ensures that there is something for a wide range of readers – from those experienced in the notion of interdisciplinary higher education to those who are earlier in their journey of becoming familiar with interdisciplinarity. The books objectives are to provide critical discussion of interdisciplinarity from a range of perspectives and to outline and provide responses to some of the practical challenges inherent in interdisciplinary endeavours. The points of difference for this book are the focus on the Oceania region and the dual foci on conceptions and pragmatic concerns.
Some of the prominent themes in interdisciplinary higher education include: the necessity to have good reason to introduce and pursue interdisciplinarity in higher education; the benefits and challenges of collaboration in interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning; the importance of institutional and other systems to support interdisciplinary endeavours; the centrality of disciplines per se and in various aspects of interdisciplinarity; the balance of disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity; and the place of interdisciplinarity in graduate outcomes and attributes. Together, the chapters in this book address all of these critical themes.
For more details and reviews, see: http://martindavies.com.au/publications/"
MacMillan in 2011.
Two weeks after its release, it sold over 1600 copies, and become a recommended text in institutions in the UK, Australia, Japan, India and Dubai. It is now being translated into Arabic.
• 'Study Skills for International Postgraduates" is an excellent introduction to the culture and demands of Anglo-American post-graduate education. The sections on how to construct papers are especially useful, even for those already familiar with Anglo-American practices. This is a valuable "how-to" manual for those undertaking study abroad.' – Professor Herman Schwartz, University of Virginia, USA.
• 'Extremely comprehensive and detailed, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is a 'must-have' for all graduate students. The writing is clear and concise, with excellent descriptions and examples provided throughout. Students will find the suggestions for time management, study skills, and organizing research and the writing process invaluable.' – Associate Professor Kristen P. Williams, Clark University, USA.
• 'Extensive in its coverage, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is written in a friendly, accessible style and is sure to be a great, practical resource for international students.' Professsor Hayo Reinders, Middlesex University, UK.
• 'The most concrete and practical guide on the market on how to achieve a postgraduate degree, with a maximum of how-to skills and competencies.' Lotte Rienecker, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
For more details and reviews, see: http://martindavies.com.au/publications/"
Theory of Knowledge or TOK is a holistic endeavour: it aims to make connections between the ways of knowing and various areas of knowledge studied during the International Baccalaureate. In conventional philosophical terms, it might be termed practical epistemology (“epistemology” = study of knowledge). In contrast to the dry debates with which philosophers of knowledge concern themselves, TOK attempts to understand knowledge as an organic process involving situated knowers in a world of facts and information, which require interpretation. The knower begins to interpret this information by means of various ways of knowing and drawing upon, and influencing, a number of areas of knowledge.
The four ways of knowing are emotion, reason, language, and sense perception. It is taken for granted in TOK that each of these facets of knowing is crucial for determining our knowledge and knowledge claims. Knowledge is more than rationality, though reason too is a vital part of knowing. Quite often we base our judgements on things other than reason, as this book will make plain. The means by which each of these ways of knowing contribute to what we take to be knowledge is a matter of considerable importance to both individual human life and civilization. An understanding of these processes, and the role they play in knowledge, is part of what it means to be an “educated person”. Hence the importance of TOK for the International Baccalaureate.
This is a book for specialists and those particularly interested in nineteenth-century thought, especially in the Australasian region, and pre-emptive, early work in cognitive science. It outlines the thought of the incredibly obscure Sir William Mitchell, who should really be better known. A Commendatory Foreword by J. J. C. Smart is provided. It was described in one review as "changing the landscape of Australasian Philosophy" (I think that's a bit far-fetched, but they are nice words to hear!) I am providing the Introduction here. Comments welcome, but I have moved on from the topic.The book is best read with a stiff whiskey like Laphroaig.
Papers by Martin Davies
The 2nd edition features:
- New content on managing digital sources, using electronic databases and poster presentation
- Additional activities on referencing and critical thinking
- Practical pointers to help students hit the ground running and quickly get to grips with the expectations and conventions of postgraduate study
This skills-focused book is written for international students completing postgraduate degrees in western tertiary institutions. It outlines what I think all students need to know to survive in the tertiary sector, and is based on my experience in teaching international students over a 30 year period. The book offers a range of relevant exercises, models of good (and bad) practice, and practical suggestions for making the transition from undergraduate to independent, resourceful and self-reliant graduate student. It was first published with Palgrave MacMillan in 2011. Two weeks after its release, it sold over 1600 copies, and become a recommended text in institutions in the UK, Australia, Japan, India and Dubai. It is now being translated into Arabic.
• 'Study Skills for International Postgraduates" is an excellent introduction to the culture and demands of Anglo-American post-graduate education. The sections on how to construct papers are especially useful, even for those already familiar with Anglo-American practices. This is a valuable "how-to" manual for those undertaking study abroad.' – Professor Herman Schwartz, University of Virginia, USA.
• 'Extremely comprehensive and detailed, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is a 'must-have' for all graduate students. The writing is clear and concise, with excellent descriptions and examples provided throughout. Students will find the suggestions for time management, study skills, and oorganizing research and the writing process invaluable.' – Associate Professor Kristen P. Williams, Clark University, USA.
• 'Extensive in its coverage, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is written in a friendly, accessible style and is sure to be a great, practical resource for international students.' Professsor Hayo Reinders, Middlesex University, UK.
• 'The most concrete and practical guide on the market on how to achieve a postgraduate degree, with a maximum of how-to skills and competencies.' Lotte Rienecker, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
*“Davies effectively distils many years’ pedagogic experience with international postgraduate students, within a Western, English-speaking higher education culture, usefully brought up to date by addressing some of the challenges of increasingly prevalent online delivery, informed by the recent COVID-19 related actions forced on HE Institutions. The book therefore delivers wisdom, both historic and forward-looking, making it ideal as a reference tool to take the newly arrived international postgrad, for whom it is primarily intended, from the early days of settling in and making friends, through their academic programme, closing with suggestions about doctoral research. Offering the book to all incoming international students as part of a ‘welcome pack’ would be an excellent idea. … Academics who might be teaching these same international postgraduates would benefit from reading the book, firstly to enhance their knowledge of the challenges faced by their students and secondly to identify approaches which they could incorporate into their future pedagogical approach. Indeed, with international students’ relevance and their importance to many HE Institutions it would make good sense for this book to become required reading for both newly appointed academics, through their PG Certificates in Higher Education or Academic Professional Apprenticeships, so that they could develop their pedagogy from its inception with the international student in mind.” Dr Ivan Newman, Higher Education Specialist. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 24 (2022).
For more details and reviews, see: http://martindavies.com.au/publications/
"The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education edited by Martin Davies and Ronald Barnett is a comprehensive and systematic treatment of critical thinking with philosophical approaches balanced by chapters that address its teaching and incorporation in the curriculum, and the relation of critical thinking to culture, to the cognitive sciences, to the professions and to society. In short, it is an indispensable guide and state-of-the-art compendium of critical thinking in the academy." - Michael A. Peters, Professor of Education, University of Waikato, New Zealand, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, USA
"A sweeping, landmark collection of perspectives on theory and practice from key thinkers and practitioners. This is a must read book for anyone who wants to know what critical thinking is, or might be, in higher education." - Richard James, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Director, Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne, Australia
"'Critical thinking' is one of the key aims of higher education. But what is it? And, does it mean the same thing in all fields, disciplines and cultures? While insisting on the importance of critical thinking in higher education, this book problematises and debates what it means, and how it may be developed and implemented in curriculum. It fills a key gap in the literature, and in curricular and policy debates." - Leesa Wheelahan, William G. Davis Chair in Community College Leadership, Ontario Institute of Studies for Education, University of Toronto, Canada
This book is about interdisciplinary higher education. The book comes at a time when interdisciplinary higher education is enjoying a resurgence of interest globally. As one of the contributors to this book puts it, ‘Talk of interdisciplinarity it seems, is everywhere in higher education – no matter what the discipline, profession or field of inquiry’ (Peseta et al.). Arguments for the necessity of interdisciplinarity in university teaching and learning and more broadly are made throughout the chapters included in this volume. These arguments include the need for interdisciplinary approaches to global issues that are too complex to be managed within one disciplinary domain and the need for knowledge economy graduates who can work within and across multi-disciplinary and multi-professional teams. The book is the first attempt, to our knowledge, to document interdisciplinarity in higher education with an emphasis—though not exclusively—on the Australasian and South-East Asian region.
The book includes dual foci – on ‘perspectives’, that is, chapters focused on definitional and theoretical aspects of interdisciplinary higher education, and ‘practicalities’, that is, chapters presented as vignettes of current interdisciplinary practice across a range of contexts. This range ensures that there is something for a wide range of readers – from those experienced in the notion of interdisciplinary higher education to those who are earlier in their journey of becoming familiar with interdisciplinarity. The books objectives are to provide critical discussion of interdisciplinarity from a range of perspectives and to outline and provide responses to some of the practical challenges inherent in interdisciplinary endeavours. The points of difference for this book are the focus on the Oceania region and the dual foci on conceptions and pragmatic concerns.
Some of the prominent themes in interdisciplinary higher education include: the necessity to have good reason to introduce and pursue interdisciplinarity in higher education; the benefits and challenges of collaboration in interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning; the importance of institutional and other systems to support interdisciplinary endeavours; the centrality of disciplines per se and in various aspects of interdisciplinarity; the balance of disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity; and the place of interdisciplinarity in graduate outcomes and attributes. Together, the chapters in this book address all of these critical themes.
For more details and reviews, see: http://martindavies.com.au/publications/"
MacMillan in 2011.
Two weeks after its release, it sold over 1600 copies, and become a recommended text in institutions in the UK, Australia, Japan, India and Dubai. It is now being translated into Arabic.
• 'Study Skills for International Postgraduates" is an excellent introduction to the culture and demands of Anglo-American post-graduate education. The sections on how to construct papers are especially useful, even for those already familiar with Anglo-American practices. This is a valuable "how-to" manual for those undertaking study abroad.' – Professor Herman Schwartz, University of Virginia, USA.
• 'Extremely comprehensive and detailed, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is a 'must-have' for all graduate students. The writing is clear and concise, with excellent descriptions and examples provided throughout. Students will find the suggestions for time management, study skills, and organizing research and the writing process invaluable.' – Associate Professor Kristen P. Williams, Clark University, USA.
• 'Extensive in its coverage, Study Skills for International Postgraduates is written in a friendly, accessible style and is sure to be a great, practical resource for international students.' Professsor Hayo Reinders, Middlesex University, UK.
• 'The most concrete and practical guide on the market on how to achieve a postgraduate degree, with a maximum of how-to skills and competencies.' Lotte Rienecker, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
For more details and reviews, see: http://martindavies.com.au/publications/"
Theory of Knowledge or TOK is a holistic endeavour: it aims to make connections between the ways of knowing and various areas of knowledge studied during the International Baccalaureate. In conventional philosophical terms, it might be termed practical epistemology (“epistemology” = study of knowledge). In contrast to the dry debates with which philosophers of knowledge concern themselves, TOK attempts to understand knowledge as an organic process involving situated knowers in a world of facts and information, which require interpretation. The knower begins to interpret this information by means of various ways of knowing and drawing upon, and influencing, a number of areas of knowledge.
The four ways of knowing are emotion, reason, language, and sense perception. It is taken for granted in TOK that each of these facets of knowing is crucial for determining our knowledge and knowledge claims. Knowledge is more than rationality, though reason too is a vital part of knowing. Quite often we base our judgements on things other than reason, as this book will make plain. The means by which each of these ways of knowing contribute to what we take to be knowledge is a matter of considerable importance to both individual human life and civilization. An understanding of these processes, and the role they play in knowledge, is part of what it means to be an “educated person”. Hence the importance of TOK for the International Baccalaureate.
This is a book for specialists and those particularly interested in nineteenth-century thought, especially in the Australasian region, and pre-emptive, early work in cognitive science. It outlines the thought of the incredibly obscure Sir William Mitchell, who should really be better known. A Commendatory Foreword by J. J. C. Smart is provided. It was described in one review as "changing the landscape of Australasian Philosophy" (I think that's a bit far-fetched, but they are nice words to hear!) I am providing the Introduction here. Comments welcome, but I have moved on from the topic.The book is best read with a stiff whiskey like Laphroaig.