[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-594607-105":59,"doc-detail-594607-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","australian-universities-review-is-the-university-system-in-australia-producing-deep-thinkers","Australian Universities’ Review - Is the University System in Australia Producing Deep Thinkers?","","Teaching and learning research since the 1980s has tracked shifts from surface learning toward deeper learning as students mature. This study revisits those patterns using the revised two-factor questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) and evaluates whether graduates are becoming “deep thinkers” as the university population ages. The findings indicate that changes in surface and deep approaches relate more to other factors than to age alone, and school leavers do not show weaker trends toward deep learning than mature-age students.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/australian-universities-review-is-the-university-system-in-australia-producing-deep-thinkers/594607/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/australian-universities-review-is-the-university-system-in-australia-producing-deep-thinkers/594607.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Ben ","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-25","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the study investigate about university students’ learning approaches?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It examines whether the Australian university system is producing more deep thinkers by analyzing trends between surface and deep learning approaches across different student age groups.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What questionnaire methods are used in the research?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The study uses the revised two-factor questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) and revisits earlier findings based on Biggs’ Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ).",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Does age directly determine students’ shift toward deep learning?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The study suggests that shifts between surface and deep learning approaches are more related to other factors rather than age per se.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},594607,1792167554,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":29,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},2336478951081,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nIs the university system in Australia producing deep thinkers?  \nWarren W Lake & William E Boyd  \nSouthern Cross University  \nTeaching and learning research since the 1980s has established a trend in students’ learning approach tendencies, characterised by decreasing surface learning and increasing deep learning with increasing age. This is an important trend in higher education, especially at a time of increasing numbers of older students: are we graduating more deep learners? In revisiting these trends, our study elaborateson the past model by using the revised two-factor questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). The current study suggests that trends in the shift between surface and deep learning approaches are more related to other factors rather than to age per se. Importantly, school leavers do not exhibit significantly weaker trends towards deep learning approaches than do mature-age students.  \nKeywords: surface learning, deep learning, university teaching, mature-age students  \nIntroduction  \nUniversity students, along with all members of the university community, have to respond increasingly to the changing nature of university life. Recent studies record, for example, increasing numbers of students studying full time while working part time and studying off-campus and/or on-line (Allen & Seaman, 2010; Hall, 2010) . Importantly, mature-age students, that is, those over the age of 25, represent approximately a quarter of all university students in Australia (Chesters & Watson, 2013) . In the new generation of universities,(such as ours and other regional universities) mature-age students account for around a half of all students. The effects of these changes on how students learn are important, and may be a significant factor when it comes to university participation by older students and the quality of graduates from universities.  \nSeminal studies from the mid-1980s and the 1990s (for example, the study by Biggs, 1987) demonstrated  \nthat for Australian post-secondary (university and college of advanced education) students, there was an age relationship for both a declining propensity for surface learning and an increasing propensity towards deep learning. It was argued that older students are more likely to learn concepts at university at a deeper level than their younger counterparts. Gow and Kember (1990), for example, highlighted that older students are less likely to adopt a surface approach to learning and more likely to implement a deep approach compared to younger students. Such studies thus supported the idea that age is an important factor in determining what approach a student will take towards their learning. It may be argued, therefore, that with an ageing university student population, there is a sector-wide increase in deep learning graduates.  \nHere we consider the implications of such a view, testing it against more recent data captured using the revised two-factor study process questionnaire, gained from a student cohort with a broader age distribution  \n54 Is the university system in Australia producing deep thinkers? Warren W Lake & William E Boyd vol. 57, no. 2, 2015  \nA U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nthan was available to researchers such as Biggs. As universities become increasingly required to produce work-ready graduates (Eraut, 1994; Orrell, 2004; Hughes et al., 2013), it may be expected that, given the scholarly nature of university education, part of that work readiness should be the development of the ability for deep thinking. Assuming a student’s preferred approach to learning is a reasonable predictor of their tendency towards deep thinking, an examination of age-learning approach relationships and the patterns of graduation by age provides valuable insight into the potential habits of university graduates in Australia.  \n1980s and 1990s – Biggs’ Study Process Questionnaire  \nHere we examine the relationship betwee","cbCaibSd4fPwtLtq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibSd4fPwtLtq","pdf",526134,"English","# Introduction\n# 1980s and 1990s – Biggs’ Study Process Questionnaire\n# Revised Two-Factor Approach and Research Questions","[{\"question\":\"What does the study investigate about university students’ learning approaches?\",\"answer\":\"It examines whether the Australian university system is producing more deep thinkers by analyzing trends between surface and deep learning approaches across different student age groups.\"},{\"question\":\"What questionnaire methods are used in the research?\",\"answer\":\"The study uses the revised two-factor questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) and revisits earlier findings based on Biggs’ Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ).\"},{\"question\":\"Does age directly determine students’ shift toward deep learning?\",\"answer\":\"The study suggests that shifts between surface and deep learning approaches are more related to other factors rather than age per se.\"}]","Australian Universities’ Review - Is the University System in Australia Producing Deep Thinkers? | PDF",1792079479,15]