High Possibility Classrooms as a pedagogical framework for technology integration in classrooms: an inquiry in two Australian secondary schools*

Understanding how well teachers integrate digital technology in learning is the subject of considerable debate in education. High Possibility Classrooms (HPC) is a pedagogical framework drawn from research on exemplary teachers’ knowledge of technology integration in Australian school classrooms. The framework is being used to support teachers who teach various stages of schooling to take ‘pedagogical steps’ in their practice with technology. This article focuses on the use of the HPC conceptual framework in a study of seven teachers and their students at two secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia. Analysis confirms the practicality of this conceptual framework for technology integration in secondary school classrooms. This inquiry has implications for addressing the reluctance of teachers to integrate technology in curriculum. The article concludes by suggesting that more schools might consider using conceptual frameworks like HPC to support secondary school teachers to enhance student learning with technology.     

Leadership Succession in New South Wales Catholic Schools: Identifying potential principals

This article reports research conducted on leadership succession in New South Wales Catholic schools. Using a specially developed instrument, the Impediments to Leadership Succession Inventory (ILSI), hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted using data collected from 943 middle management and senior management staff located in Catholic schools throughout New South Wales. A four cluster solution was accepted. One cluster consisted of 182 respondents who did not see major impediments to becoming a principal in the future. While short-term targeting of this subpopulation could be an effective strategy in the recruitment of principals, it is necessary to address the underlying impediments to leadership succession in New South Wales Catholic schools.     

Leading with intent: cultivating community conversation to create shared understanding

School improvement is a central focus for school leaders. Whilst measures such as high-stakes testing and other government accountability agendas have at times marred the discourse of school improvement, how schools develop their capacity to ultimately improve the core business of student learning remains important. As an extensive area of scholarship, much has been written to support leaders in improving learning and teaching in their school. Indeed, studies demonstrate the value of establishing schoolwide goals and expectations and the importance of using evidence to improve teaching practice. This article presents qualitative data from 4 independent schools in the state of New South Wales (NSW) Australia which suggest that whilst the concept of school improvement is not new, the capacity of schools to embrace some key concepts found in this area of study is limited. The article proposes that through cultivating conversations within their communities, schools can foster shared understanding and enhance their capacity for improvement.     

Training needs of rural school council members

School councils have operated successfully in non-government schools for many years. By contrast, the establishment of school councils in the government school sector has had a much shorter history. In New South Wales, school council members are elected representatives of the broader school community. This study focused on government schools in rural areas of southern New South Wales and specifically examined the professional development and training needs of these school council members. The findings indicated that school council members expressed concern about their inexperience as council members. Further, they identified the following areas within which they should specifically seek professional development and training: i) identifying and analysing the educational needs of the school and its community; ii) enhancing and facilitating better communication between the school and its community; iii) assisting the principal to understand local community politics; and iv) promoting public education within the local community. These priority training needs have relevance for policy makers and professional development leaders at the systemic or departmental level.     

School teacher parents and the retreat from public secondary schooling: A view from the Australian Census, 1976–2001

This article uses data from the Australian Censuses of 1976 and 2001 to measure the extent to which the children of school teachers participated in the middle class shift from public to non-government secondary schooling of the closing decades of the last century. It builds on recent work by Craig Campbell and Geoffrey Sherington on the history of the New South Wales Public comprehensive high school, as well as recent analyses of the relationships between the middle classes and public institutions by sociologists such as Michael Pusey (for Australia) and Stephen Ball (for the United Kingdom). School teachers are of particular interest for a number of reasons including their historically uneasy status relative to other professional occupations and their complex roles as both providers and consumers of school education. The article finds that while school teachers collectively moved their children out of government high schools in common with other middle class parents over the period, there were differences within the category according to parent’s gender and sector of employment.     

Primary school playgrounds as spaces of inclusion/exclusion in New South Wales,Australia

The purpose of this study was to determine how the design and organisation of primary school playground spaces may result in the inclusion or exclusion of some groups of children. Two primary school playgrounds in rural New South Wales, Australia, were selected for this investigation. Data were collected through observations and unstructured interactional interviews. Data analysis revealed the design and organisation of primary school play spaces may lead to segregation among school children. Gender, safety concerns and school rules were also established as factors restricting full use of the playground space. The identification of these factors is vital in guiding future school reform programmes and policies aimed at enhancing participation in play and a sense of belonging for all children. The results suggest that there is need to promote schools’ understandings of the significance of playground spaces in children’s social lives so children can fully benefit from the time they spend in school playgrounds.     

Talking in class: a study of socio‐economic difference in the primary school classroom

In this paper, I consider the relationship between socio‐economic background and the school experience of two groups of children. I seek to establish whether or not there are identifiable differences in the language of primary school children living in two demographically contrasting geographical areas and, if there are differences, how these differences might impact upon a child's capacity to access learning. In investigating these relationships, I conducted semi‐structured interviews with the two groups using the work of Bernstein as a starting point. I found that while the children in the first school, located in a largely less affluent area of Bristol, appeared to lack confidence, extended vocabulary and often clarity in their speech, the children in the second school, located in a middle class, affluent area of the city appeared articulate, self‐ confident and in possession of a varied and extended vocabulary. While it is not appropriate to generalise from this small scale study, these findings raise questions about the language children experience from an early age both in the home environment and at school and suggest that there is a significant part for schools to play in ensuring that they are not excluding some groups of children from participation.     

Working‐class parents' views of secondary education

Parents of upper‐secondary students in public schools in New South Wales, Australia, gave accounts of their experience of education and their wider thinking about educational issues. Working‐class families are bearers of educational histories which are often difficult or truncated, leaving parents with little familiarity with upper‐secondary or post‐school pathways. General views of education are strongly positive, sometimes diffuse and sometimes articulated, and are by no means narrowly instrumental. A mixture of criticism and praise for teachers responds to current family experiences with schools, parents' views often following the outlines of teachers' own perceptions. A fund of working‐class support for public education has thus survived recent educational upheavals; at the same time, working‐class families very much depend on the service and guidance provided by the schools.     

Gender Differences in Pupil Attitudes to the National Curriculum Foundation Subjects of English,Mathematics, Science and Technology in Key Stage 3 in South Wales

The attitudes of pupils in South Wales to mathematics, English, science and technology were tested using a Likert‐type attitude scale. Pupils were selected from National Curriculum Key Stage 3, specifically Year 9 (age 13‐14 years). Schools were selected by their position in the 1992 National League tables produced by the Welsh Office, the schools being placed into one of four bands. The number of schools involved was 34 and the number of pupils 4263. This represents 15.3% of the total population of school children of age 13‐14 years in the region (Welsh Office, 1993). The results show gender differences in attitudes to English, mathematics, science and technology and some between school differences. The results are subjected to a factor analysis and are discussed in relation to groups of statements reflecting key aspects of each subject scale.     

The relationship between first‐year achievement and the pedagogical‐didactical fit between secondary school and university

Central in this study is the degree to which the pedagogical‐didactical approach in undergraduate programmes aligns with the pedagogical‐didactical approach in secondary schools, and how this is related to first‐year achievement. Approaches to teaching at secondary schools and in first‐year university programmes were examined by interviewing school management, school teachers and university lecturers. The teaching approaches found within the schools were contrasted against the academic teaching approaches, resulting in four types of fit. With multiple regression analysis the relationships between these four types of fit, gender, prior achievement and first‐year achievement were examined. The results showed that prior performance is positively related to first‐year achievement, as well as a fit characterised by more student‐centred teaching in the first year compared to the approach to teaching at secondary school.     

Attitudes of School Psychologists Towards the Integration (Mainstreaming) of Children with Disabilities

SCHOOL psychologists serving primary and secondary schools in New South Wales were surveyed to ascertain their attitudes towards the main‐streaming of children with a wide range of disabilities. They were also asked to identify the resources required to meet the needs of these children in regular classrooms and to indicate their perceived role in the process of mainstreaming. Results indicated that school psychologists appeared to have a fairly optimistic perspective with regard to mainstreaming when compared with teachers. Comparisons of factor analyses of attitudes also suggested that school psychologists tended to group disability characteristics more in terms of traditional handicapping categories than with regard to the educational demands made upon teachers. While children with learning and behavioural difficulties represented psychologists’ largest case load, they did not always feel they had the skills to assist this group and were even less confident about other categories of disability. School psychologists also saw their roles with regard to mainstreaming as consultative rather than interventionist and attached little importance to knowledge of classroom techniques to facilitate the mainstreaming of children with disabilities. Implications of these data for the training and practice of school psychology were subsequently discussed.     

Toward A Pragmatic Discourse of Constructivism: Reflections on Lessons from Practice

Although New York's highest court granted children the constitutional right to a meaningful high school education in Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York, equitable funding has yet to be implemented. The state of New York continues to stall on revising the funding formula statewide, despite the many indications that this must be done if the state is to satisfy the Court of Appeal's 2003 ruling. Although some factors that affect children's performance in school, such as lead poisoning and poverty, lie beyond the control of the schools, schools are nevertheless required to remediate their effects by providing special education. Equitable funding based on obtaining good educational outcomes for all children would help create conditions under which children could improve their life chances through education. After equitable funding has been obtained, defining the markers of a meaningful high school education will be the next task for school reformers in New York.     

Inclusion of students with special needs: Benefits and obstacles perceived by teachers in new South Wales and South Australia

Abstract

This study compares the views of primary teachers from South Australia and New South Wales on selected aspects of inclusive education. The questionnaire administered in the study probed the following issues: (i) the numbers and types of students with special needs in inclusive classes; (ii) any benefits that had occurred as a result of including children with disabilities in mainstream classes; (iii) the types of disability or , ‘special educational need’ most difficult to cater for in the regular classroom; (iv) the teachers’ level of satisfaction with the personal and material support available within their schools; and (v) the amount of special education training each teacher received during their pre‐service and in‐service experience. The questionnaire was sent to a representative sample of schools listed in the Disadvantaged Schools and Country Areas Programs in both states. Seventy‐seven (77) responses were received and analysed, comprising forty‐one (41) from teachers in South Australia and thirty‐six (36) from teachers in New South Wales. The overall patterns of responses from teachers in NSW and South Australia were similar. Major findings indicate that approximately one third of teachers in both South Australia and New South Wales report definite benefits associated with having students with disabilities enrolled in their classrooms. However, teachers in both states also report that the major difficulties they encounter are ‘lack of time’, combined with difficulty balancing the demands of all students. Specific obstacles to implementing inclusive practice included class size, lack of appropriate teaching resources, behaviour problems exhibited by some students (resulting in a need for constant behaviour management), and lack of appropriate professional training in inclusive methods. The article discusses these and other factors reported by the teachers. This investigation adds usefully to Australian research into problems and practices associated with inclusion.

Peter Westwood is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education, University of Hong Kong, where he teaches and researches in the field of special education. For twenty‐five years he was a teacher, lecturer and researcher in Australia. He is author of the recent books Commonsense methods for children with special needs (published by Routledge), Spelling: approaches to teaching and assessment, and Numeracy and learning difficulties (both published by Australian Council for Educational Research).

Lorraine Graham is senior lecturer in Special Education at the University of New England. After some years as a primary teacher in Queensland, she completed her Masters and Ph.D. at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. Lorraine is particularly interested in ways to foster the literacy skills of students with learning difficulties. Her current projects focus on cognitive strategy instruction, inclusive education and automatkity in basic academic skills.     

Neoliberalism and Pedagogical Practices of Alienation: A Case Study Research on the Integrated Curriculum in Greek Primary Education

In this article, we present insights from an ethnographic research that investigated the concept of citizenship in primary schools in Greece. We explored children’s experiences of citizenship in school approaching citizenship as a set of habits that prescribe what is considered ‘legitimate’ in the public sphere. We focused on structures and agents inside and outside the school classroom and the way they may interfere with pedagogical practices and relationships. This work reveals a vicious circle of asymmetrical relationships and hierarchical structures between the society and the school that entrap teachers in assessment-oriented pedagogical practices. We argue that the emergent loyalty of the educational system to traditional pedagogical approaches premised on competition fosters pupils’ incomprehension of the importance of social solidarity. It also contributes to their withdrawal from the public sphere, undermining the transformative potential of education. With the use of a diverse sample, we highlight the shortcomings of the integrated curriculum introduced in 2001, in successfully promoting critical thinking and participatory learner-centred pedagogy, and we discuss the implications for the transformative potential of education arising from the adherence to the implementation of European education policy that is discerned in the text of the newly introduced Curriculum of the ‘New School’.     

The professional development needs of staff in Wales on behaviour management and attendance: findings from the NBAR Report

This paper presents the evidence collected for the National Behaviour and Attendance Review (NBAR) in Wales on the professional development needs of staff on behaviour management and school attendance. These data were collected in two stages between 2006 and 2008. At Stage 1, data were collected from four pre‐selected professional focus groups who met throughout Wales to consider specific topics relating to the behaviour of children and young people in schools at the present time (n = 121). At Stage 2, relevant professional focus groups were established to specifically examine the themes of professional development and training in behaviour management and attendance in both North and South Wales (n = 62). This latter group activity built on the preliminary work of the NBAR review group’s own sub‐group on professional development and training. The paper considers the outcome of all these findings and their implications for future practice in Wales.     

The struggle for legitimacy: language provision in two ‘residual’ comprehensive high schools in Australia

Despite the contemporary policy rhetoric of global citizenry and the importance of languages and intercultural capabilities, language learning in Australian schools struggles for recognition and support. The curriculum marginalisation of languages, however, is uneven, affecting some school sectors more than others. In this article, we examine the provision of languages in two government comprehensive high schools, both low socio-economic status, located in urban areas in New South Wales, Australia’s largest state. They are termed ‘residual’ high schools because they cater for the students remaining in the local schools while others attend either private or selective government high schools. We provide a qualitative picture of language provision in these two schools from the perspectives of key stakeholders – school principals, teachers, students and parents. We also draw on observational data of language classes. The aim is to provide, within a largely social class framework, an understanding of the state of language provision in these schools. We argue that currently students in these schools are experiencing unequal access to the linguistic and cultural capital associated with language learning relative to students in more privileged communities and schools.     

Facilitating Learnscape Development,Maintenance and Use: Teachers' perceptions and self-reported practices

Learnscapes are a recent initiative of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training (NSW DET). They are generally school ground features, e.g., an edible garden, a poetry corner or a wildlife corridor, where a learning program has been designed to permit users to interact with the environment. The learning programs are to meet syllabi learning outcomes including environmental education. Learnscape design, development, and use are to involve students, teachers and the community. Teachers' perceptions of the value and impact of learnscapes in two NSW DET pilot schools are reported, as well as their self-reported involvement and use. These varied considerably, despite the majority of teachers extolling the value of learnscapes. Several 'barriers' to the effective use of learnscapes surfaced. The relationship of learnscapes to environmental education was not uppermost in most teachers' minds. Explanations are suggested and pedagogical implications discussed.     

Profiling as a Possible Management Aid: Some Considerations

A schoolwide language assists the mapping of subject content, supports teachers to discuss teaching and learning issues and enables a shared understanding of school leadership to emerge, so that student learning is improved. This article presents findings from a mixed methods study investigating Leadership for Learning (LfL) in independent schools in the state of New South Wales, Australia. By being intentional about the language used for learning and leadership, schools are more likely to establish LfL as a community-wide activity that is inclusive, collaborative and distributed. These findings also reinforce the critical role played by school principals in leading learning.     

Changes in education in the U.K. and Australia: Common imperatives,predictable outcomes

This paper draws comparisons between the U.K. and Australia (with particular reference to New South Wales) with regard to proposals to a changed school curriculum together with proposed changes in Higher Education. The authors note that the content of the proposed common core curriculum in U.K. schools is very similar to the New South Wales proposal. Further there seems to be little change in the U.K. at least from what was offered there in 1904. In looking at the parallels between the two education systems it is suggested by the authors that there is a hidden agenda particularly in the U.K. Does this hold for Australia as well? The implication is that Australia is following this path. The authors conclude that a divided society is too high a price for us to pay in Australia.