Literacy for All: Findings from an Australian study

This article summarises some of the major findings of a study published in 2000 for the Commonwealth government of Australia. It argues that school systems in Australia are moving towards the goal of literacy for all and suggests some of the factors that are and may be contributing to its achievement.     

Business sustainability and undergraduate management education: an Australian study

The academic literature arguing that there is an urgent requirement for businesses to become more sustainable is rapidly expanding. There is also a demonstrated need for managers to develop a better understanding of sustainability and the appropriate strategies required to improve business sustainability. In addition, there have been international calls for educators to address sustainability in their programs. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which business sustainability was incorporated into undergraduate business and management courses in Australian universities. The high percentage of international students enrolled in these courses suggests our findings have implications beyond the Australian context. Students currently studying these courses are the managers and leaders of the future and their knowledge and skills will influence the extent to which business sustainability will be achieved. The findings demonstrate that more than half of Australian universities did not explicitly identify sustainability as part of their business/management curricula and those universities that did address sustainability did so, in most cases, only in a limited way.     

Examining how teachers judge student writing: an Australian case study

This paper reports a 3‐year (1999–2001) Australian study of teacher judgement of student writing. It analyses teachers' talk to discover how they arrive at such judgements. It focuses on the processes teachers use as they read and appraise student writing, as distinct from judgements recorded as numerical or letter grades. It identifies and discusses a set of data‐based indexes the teachers rely on to constitute their judgement. In so doing, the ‘global’ standard‐setting of external assessment (judging the quality of student work against stated standards), and the ‘local’ of teacher judgement (based on the richness of what teachers bring to the task) are reconsidered. This study notes how teacher judgement of student coursework may be intertwined with and shaped both by officially authorized curriculum materials, syllabus documents, and assessment practices, and by other essentially private, local ways of knowing.     

Cognitive consequences of contrasting pedagogies: the effects of Quranic preschooling in Morocco

A study was conducted in Morocco to assess the cognitive consequences of Quranic preschooling. 350 6-7-year-old children were selected in a way which allowed contrasts in terms of preschool experience (none vs. Quranic vs. modern), environment (urban vs. rural), maternal language (Arabic vs. Berber), and gender. 6 different memory tests were employed, as well as other cognitive, reading, and math tests. Results indicated specific and positive effects of Quranic schooling on serial memory but not on other memory or cognitive tasks. These findings replicate earlier reports by Scribner and Cole that Quranic schooling affects specific (and not general) memory skills. The reading measures indicated superior performance among those children with urban background, Arabic maternal language, and, to a lesser extent, Quranic schooling. It was concluded that the corpus of research from this and similar studies supports a "practice theory" of culture and cognition.     

A study of an Australian distance education pressure group

This paper examines the development, role, nature and function of a non‐tertiary distance education pressure group in Australia. It describes the activities of the School of the Air Parents and Citizens' Association (P & C) in Carnarvon, Western Australia. It assesses the distance education perspective the parents have; reviews their relationships with the Carnarvon teaching staff and the head office administrators of the Education Department; and indicates the nature, extent and effectiveness of State and Federal parliamentary lobbying. In. particular, it details the alignment of the P & C with the national Isolated Children's Parents' Association and what it has meant in terms of P & C influence and lobbying strategies.     

Handwriting automaticity and writing instruction in Australian kindergarten: an exploratory study

Accumulating evidence indicates handwriting automaticity is related to the development of effective writing skills. The present study examined the levels of handwriting automaticity of Australian children at the end of kindergarten and the amount and type of writing instruction they experienced before entering first grade. The current study involved 177 kindergarten children enrolled in 23 classrooms from seven government-funded primary schools in Western Australia. Individual child level data (e.g., handwriting automaticity and word-reading skills) were collected and teachers were asked to complete a survey assessing the amount of time and types of writing activities developed in their classrooms (e.g., teaching basic skills and teaching writing processes). Hierarchical linear models were conducted to examine total variance attributable to child and classroom levels. Results showed a total variance of approximately 20% in children’s handwriting automaticity attributable to differences among classrooms when gender and word-reading skills were controlled for. Large variability was noted in the amount and type of writing instruction reported by a subset of participating teachers. Handwriting automaticity was associated with the teaching of revising strategies but not with the teaching of handwriting. Implications for writing development and writing instruction are discussed.     

Australian higher education third party arrangements: an independent institute case study

Tertiary Education and Management - The marked increase in transnational higher education third party arrangements in recent years represents globalizing forms of education. Third party...     

Children,Stressful Life Events and School Adjustment: an Australian study

A sample of 1,114 urban children ranging in age from 5‐13 years was assessed for the occurrence of 25 stressful life events across the life span. Children reported an average of six events during their lifetimes. Developmental trends and gender differences were noted in terms of certain stressful life events (SLEs). The children were also rated by their teachers on a number of measures of adjustment to school. Children who had experienced three to eight serious SLEs were rated as less well adjusted on a variety of behavioural measures than those children who had experienced no such serious life events.     

Social justice and curriculum renewal for Samoan students: an Australian case study

This paper examines the construction of ‘socially just’ curriculum renewal initiatives for Samoan students in a low socio-economic secondary school. Basil Bernstein's concept of recontextualization is used to investigate the implementation of Queensland's Social Justice Strategy at the school level. Interview data provided by the school's first two ‘social justice coordinators’ is analysed, focussing on the categorizations of students and discourses operative within the reform initiatives. Shifts in what counted as socially just curriculum for Samoan students are documented. The focus is on the varying strength of the boundaries of cultural categories (i.e. ‘Samoan’) and on tensions over the emphasis on the cultural knowledge of community representatives and the professional knowledge of school educators. The findings make explicit implications for the distribution of discursive resources to the Samoan students and, hence, life chances in a world in which English is a tool needed by young Australians irrespective of their cultural background.     

Building social capital in early childhood education and care: an Australian study

Mounting research evidence demonstrates that effective ‘early childhood education and care’ (ECEC) has short‐term and longer‐term social and educational benefits for children and families. An allied body of evidence attests to the contribution of social capital (i.e. social networks and relationships based on trust) to such benefits. The research reported in this article bridges these two bodies of evidence by researching the social capital of children, their families and community members in the context of a state‐wide initiative (in Queensland, Australia) of integrated early childhood and family hubs. Drawn conceptually from the sociology of childhood, a methodological feature of the research is a broadened focus on children, not just adults, as reliable informants of their own everyday experience in ECEC. Some 138 children (aged 4–8 years) in urban and rural/remote localities in Queensland participated in research conversations about their social experience in and beyond ECEC. Children's social capital was found to be higher in the urban community than in the rural community, highlighting the potential of child and family hubs to strengthen children's social capital in those communities with few social facilities.     

Australian academics and transnational teaching: an exploratory study of their preparedness and experiences

Australia is now the third largest provider of education to overseas students. Between 1994 and 2000 the number of overseas students taught by Australian universities increased by 150% to 107,622. It is estimated that 41% of the recent growth in international education has been in offshore enrolments, with each of Australia’s 38 universities now providing offshore education. This paper reviews recent Australian literature on transnational teaching and presents an overview of a study with academics who teach transnationally and who are drawn from nine Australian universities. The study covers the professional development and teaching experiences of these academics and their perceptions of the induction/orientation and ongoing professional development needed to support the delivery of quality trans‐cultural education offshore.     

The problem with autonomy: an ethnographic study of neoliberalism in practice at an Australian high school

The research reported here demonstrates the need for greater subtlety in the practice of policy than appears to be evident in many parts of the globe. Based upon an ethnographic study of school reform, this paper heeds Appadurai's call for those researching the ‘global diaspora of ideas’ to pay attention to the contextual conventions governing their translation. This allows us to contemplate how beliefs and practices produced as part of a global swirl of ideas are adapted to meet local conditions. In other words, it is study of neoliberalism in practice. A single-minded focus on neoliberal ideals, in particular on the apparent need for individual autonomy, caused various key players to lose sight of the pragmatic realities of running an education system catering for a diverse population spread unevenly across an enormous expanse of land. Contrary to a commonsense view of the public service as a stultifying force, I argue it can, and does, play a significant role in maintaining some level of commitment to equity.     

Conceptualizing curriculum management in an effective secondary school: a Western Australian case study

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the linkages between management processes and the curriculum using an academically effective secondary school as a case study. The aims of the study are twofold. First, in view of the acknowledged importance governments and others place on the quality of school leadership and management on the one hand and curriculum, teaching and learning reforms on the other, there is a need for empirical data as to how school leaders and managers work to secure improvements in curriculum, teaching and learning. This study purports to provide such data. The second aim acknowledges the need to develop conceptual frameworks and data collection instruments as aids to better understanding of complex relationships within school organizations.two deputy principals do play an indirect and important part in promoting academic performance by reinforcing school values in a wide variety of ways. Third, curriculum management is the responsibility of senior teachers and there is tight linkage between both senior teachers and teachers and high quality teaching and learning. Finally, the loose linkage between departments, and also between departments and senior management, provides little opportunity for a school‐wide approach to curriculum matters. It is evident that a whole‐school curriculum management perspective is absent in this school.     

Teaching practices that re-engage early school leavers in further education: an Australian study

Re-engaging young adults who have ‘dropped out’ of school is an important and challenging task for educators. The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching practices that encourage young people to re-engage in further learning. Through interviews with teachers and students, the study identified five major interrelated teaching strategies that were effective in re-engaging young adults in education. These strategies were: strong concern for student welfare; positive teacher–student relationships; relevant course content; a mastery-based approach to learning; and an overarching goal of building students’ confidence in their ability, and more generally, in themselves. Together, these strategies address the behavioural, emotional and cognitive components of student engagement.     

Strategic Teaching Frameworks: an Australian perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses the concern that much educational multimedia is currently based upon technology rather than sound educational principles. The Strategic Teaching Frameworks (STFs) is a constructivist instructional strategy informed by two theories: anchored instruction and cognitive flexibility. This was deployed in the development of a CD‐ROM in an Australian University. The paper describes the development of a STF prototype and provides the reasoning behind decisions that had to be made. The authors outline some of the problems involved in their study and suggest implications for the use of STFs for teacher education and in the production of multimedia.     

Mathematical Education of Engineers: an Australian perspective

A series of surveys provide the basis for comments on the mathematical education of engineers in Australia. The respondents were graduates and employers. This paper summarises their views and contrasts undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The former tend to be traditional and structured. There is a need for more course work with the latter with more emphasis on mathematical modelling. Desirable professional attributes which should come from education with mathematics rather than mere training in mathematics are listed as they are seen in the milieu of the market place.     

Perceptions of the relevance of mathematics and science: Further analysis of an Australian longitudinal study

The media portray girls' achievement in mathematics and science as equal to or better than male performance. This paper reports on a longitudinal study based on Years 7–12. One of the disturbing features of these data is the extremely poor perceptions that students, both male and female, have of performance in mathematics and science in the earlier years of high school. These data suggest the need to examine students' changing perceptions in the transition years from primary school to high school. Despite there having been substantial improvement in girls' perceptions of how they have performed in mathematics and science, proportionately fewer females elect to undertake studies at the higher levels of mathematics, physics and chemistry. The data suggest that year 9 is crucial. The perspective that girls have unequivocally arrived has been challenged.     

Globalisation,transnational academic mobility and the Chinese knowledge diaspora: an Australian case study

The master discourses of economic globalisation and the knowledge economy each cite knowledge diasporas as vital ‘trans-national human capital’. Based on a case study of a major Australian university, this article examines the potential to deploy China's large and highly-skilled diaspora in the service of Chinese and Australian scientific and technological development. It finds that at a time when much of the world is deeply mired in a global financial crisis, this treasured resource of highly-skilled intellectuals assumes even greater significance. Meanwhile, there are key challenges to be confronted to fully utilise China's overseas talent. It argues that the Chinese knowledge diaspora are a modern kind of cosmopolitan literati, and could contribute actively to higher education internationalisation in both Australia and China.     

Competing priorities in professional development: an Australian study of teacher professional development policy and practice

This paper argues that neoliberal and managerial pressures external to the teaching profession, as well as more progressive and democratic approaches internal to the profession, have simultaneously influenced professional development policy and practice in Australia. In making this case, the paper reviews the nature of the teacher professional development that is supported in federal Australian policies associated with the recently defeated Liberal/National Coalition government (1996–2007) and research into how professional development has been enacted in practice in Australia, during this government's tenure. While acknowledging the significant impact of more neoliberal and managerial approaches and how such policy emphases contribute to the continuation of traditional, systemic/employer provided workshops, the paper also provides evidence of competing, more teacher‐centred approaches.