Authors
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Jillian L. Fox
James Cook University
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Tania Aspland
Kaplan Australia and New Zealand
Abstract
A look at social media platforms and media headlines, confirms that public discourse feature matters pertaining to well-being, altruism, benevolence, compassion, and community health. In our complex and rapidly changing world, the importance of kindness in society has become increasingly evident. A surge of interest in kindness can be aligned to the 2019-2022 pandemic, during which the global community sought avenues to demonstrate kindness to others and themselves. Whilst the concept of kindness dates to the 13th century, it has increasingly permeated everyday conversations, particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic. Despite its popularity, kindness lacks a precise scholarly definition, leaving uncertainty about its impact on teaching, learning, and research in higher education contexts. This paper aims to explore this gap by (a) reviewing existing research on kindness in higher education and (b) proposing a research agenda to guide future investigations. A systematic literature review (SLR), guided by the frameworks of Fox and Diezmann (2007, 2017) and Fox and Smith (2023), was conducted to examine the presence of kindness in higher education research literature and identify any prevailing themes.
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Author Biographies
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Jillian L. Fox, James Cook University
Associate Professor Jillian Fox has engaged at all levels of the education system – prior-to-school through to postgraduate education for over 30 years nationally and internationally. She has led academic and administrative teams in research and scholarship in professional learning; teacher education; work integrated learning; policy and government review and higher education partnership initiatives building an extensive knowledge of contemporary influences in higher education. Jillian researches, publishes and presents on topics such higher education partnerships, kindness, and graduate skills and employability.
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Tania Aspland, Kaplan Australia and New Zealand
Emeritus Professor Tania Aspland holds the post of Vice President (Academic) with Kaplan (ANZ). She is an expert in higher education curriculum development and research in teacher education. She has advised the Australian government on educational policy for many years and currently contributes to higher education policy development in Singapore. Previously she was Dean and Professor, at Australian Catholic University (2013-2019). From 2009 she was Dean of Education at the University of Adelaide (2009-2013). She was President of the Deans of Education for three terms (2013-2020). Tania has fulfilled roles in higher education across a number of universities since 1980.
