Dismantling borders and boundaries: capturing the perspectives of the 'other'

Recent discussion in higher education that followed from the Bradley Report (2009) and Masters Report (2008) highlights the importance of supporting first year pre-service teachers' transition to university, particularly in regional universities which have a higher proportion of students from culturally diverse backgrounds including a high proportion of Indigenous students. Kift (2009) contends that a "transition pedagogy" in first year curriculum is particularly important in facilitating a successful first year university experience for diverse student cohorts. A holistic approach involving cross-institution partnerships between academic and support staff is key to enhancing first year experience (Kift, 2009, Kift & Nelson, 2005). This paper reports on the successful collaboration between academic staff, a Faculty librarian and graduating students across disciplinary boundaries in conceptualising and producing a multi-layered, online induction in core academic skills (iCAS) for over 400 first year Education students in James Cook University. The creation of iCAS drew on first year experience literature and cross-institution collaboration with an emphasis on information literacy to enable the development of student research and information access. Cross-institution discourse was focused on the process and outcomes of harnessing different knowledges and perspectives from varying disciplines. Additionally, preliminary survey findings from student feedback on iCAS indicate that students are greatly valuing the presence of a transition pedagogy embedded within the curriculum. A key to the articulation of this 'transition' is the presence of multiple voices and perspectives in making visible the 'hidden curriculum' in university study, with the focus on first year Education students. When engaging students with diverse knowledges, gathering the expertise and perspectives of colleagues from non-education faculties augments the knowledge present in education schools. This article concludes with reflections on the importance and the process of implementation for cross-institution partnerships in teacher education and transition pedagogies