An Aboriginal way towards curriculum reconciliation

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces the context and design of an institutional educational development grants program, Jindaola, which reflects an Aboriginal way towards reconciling Indigenous and non-Indigenous Knowledges in the Australian higher education curriculum. The program is unique in two ways: it foregrounds the voice of Aboriginal local Knowledge Holders in the design and implementation of the program; and, rather than focussing on embedding predefined ‘packages’ of Indigenous Knowledges and pedagogies into curricula, the approach adheres to Aboriginal methods for conducting business and maintaining knowledge integrity, by taking interdisciplinary teams of academics on a journey towards what we are calling ‘curriculum reconciliation’.     

Higher Education Governance as a Key Policy Issue in the 21st Century

Governance is currently a key issue not only for higher education institutions but for society as a whole. The way organizations are managed, the directions they take and the values they hold send clear signals about their role and functions in society. For this reason, the governance structures of universities were unquestioned for most of the twentieth century. Yet in the final decades of that century significant changes were starting to be felt. The most important of these changes related to the way universities were viewed by governments. In particular, the role of universities in contributing to national economies was being recognized. Greater accountability and more intense scrutiny from the outside meant that the traditional values of universities were being challenged. The task of universities, and for society as a whole, is to develop strategies that will retain the best of what universities have traditionally stood for while responding positively to new pressures and priorities. This paper advances the concept of `deliberative partnerships' as one way to reconstruct university governance in a positive way for the future. Key Words: accountability, education policy, higher education, management, organizational efficiency, public sector, university governance     

Mexican-American and Anglo-American Children's Responsiveness to a Theory-Centered AIDS Education Program

Third, fifth, and seventh graders, most of them Mexican-American, were exposed to an empirically based and culturally sensitive AIDS curriculum designed to replace their intuitive theories with a coherent, scientific account of the causal processes that lead from risk behavior to AIDS symptomatology. Compared to students in control classes, experimental students knew more about AIDS risk factors and AIDS generally, displayed more conceptual understanding of the causes of AIDS and flu, and were more willing to interact with people who have AIDS (although not less worried about AIDS) at posttest and typically at follow-up 10–11 months later. The findings point to the potential value of adopting an intuitive theories approach in assessing and modifying children's concepts of health and illness and suggest, contrary to Piagetian formulations, that even relatively young children can, with appropriate instruction, grasp scientific theories of disease.     

A program to improve elementary teacher preparation in science at Rollins College

Conclusion The goals of this project were to design and implement a series of courses that would better prepare elementary school teachers to teach science and would promote positive attitudes toward science and science teaching. The initial offering of the first series of courses met with moderate success. Although the courses fostered an increase in cognitive knowledge, the magnitude of the improvement was not what we had anticipated. There was no significant improvement in the attitudes of the students toward science or science teaching. The science course has been revised and is currently being offered for both preservice and inservice teachers. The revisions include lengthening the class time, so that the material can be covered at a more relaxed pace, and increasing the amount of active team teaching by the instructors to further emphasize the interrelations between chemistry and biology and to eliminate the fragmentation of the course. It is hoped that these changes will also have a positive impact on the students’ attitudes toward the course and thus toward science in general.     

Successfully using HPT internationally: An international performance model

This article introduces a new international model that focuses on culture while including familiar elements of human performance technology (HPT). HPT adaptation for cultural differences is an essential part of our profession. We must be sensitive and flexible to succeed in an ever‐changing global environment.     

Preparing Young Australians for an Uncertain Future: New thinking about citizenship education

Civics and citizenship education enjoyed a revival in Australia from the mid-1990s onwards. It had bipartisan support from political parties, enjoyed funding for both curriculum materials development and teacher development, and has been given a high profile in all States and Territories. School level practice has been challenged by civics and citizenship education. There has been the need to seek both a place in the school curriculum and a pedagogy that is both engaging and meaningful for students. In themselves, these are significant challenges, but they pale into insignificance when compared with the geo-political realties that have shaken nation-states since 11 September 2001. The education and preparation of citizens must now take center stage if the world is to remain a compassionate and tolerant place in which to live. This paper addresses this issue by examining the threats to democracy that have emerged in the twenty-first century. In the light of these threats, classified as external to the nation-state as well as internal, the nature and purpose of citizenship education programs are discussed with a view to developing outcomes that will help young Australians face an uncertain future. In particular, the issue of developing civic capacity in young people is canvassed.     

Culture and Concepts of School Leadership and Management: Exploring the impact of CPD on aspiring headteachers

In the current UK policy context increased attention is being given to the use of continuing professional development (CPD) as a mechanism for reforming and redefining the professionalism of teachers in the schools' sector. This, in turn, has focused attention on measuring the impact of professional development on practice and, in particular, pupil outcomes. This is a difficult task even where a CPD initiative is focused on changing classroom practice. It becomes even more difficult where programmes focus on the development of school leaders and managers. Nor does measuring impact, in itself a thorny issue, necessarily help us to understand why and how experienced practitioners change their practice. Without some further understanding of what 'impact' entails and the processes involved in achieving it we are unlikely to move further forward in designing and providing effective learning opportunities for serving teachers.     

Cooperative Trends in Digital Archiving: An Open Discussion

In putting together the NASIG strategy session “Cooperative Trends in Digital Archiving,” the three panelists, Daviess Menefee (Elsevier), Eileen Fenton (Portico), and Marilyn Geller (Lesley University), discussed issues they faced in their own organizations. All three panelists shared concerns about the need for archiving in general and for archiving born digital journals specifically, and about core organizational values that led them to pursue digital archiving. They had common concerns about who should be involved in digital archiving projects and how it should be accomplished. There were some interesting parallels in the decision making process within each organization. In this presentation, each of the panelists discussed how and why they came to their decisions, and how they all relied on the CLIR report, E-Journal Archiving Metes and Bounds, ¹ 1. For more information, please see http://www.clir.org/PUBS/abstract/pub138abst.html View all notes to measure their progress and determine the next steps.     

Commentary

H. L. Goodall, Jr.: The 2003 Recipient of NCA's Gerald M. Phillips Award for Distinguished Applied Communication Scholarship

The breadth and heuristic merits of Harold (Buddy) Goodall's scholarship exemplify the teachings and influence of Gerald Phillips. One nominator applauds Goodall's leadership and dedication to furthering the visibility and utility of applied communication. Goodall's research is also widely used in other fields such as sociology and anthropology, demonstrating that his influence is interdisciplinary. A supporter cogently encapsulates the noteworthy contributions of Dr. Goodall that exemplify the ideas of this award and help perpetuate the great legacy of Dr. Gerald Phillips, saying, “Throughout his career as a teacher, administrator and researcher, Dr. Goodall has distinguished himself as a remarkably insightful investigator, a creative problem solver, and a prolific scholar who has the imagination to define important, original projects and the discipline, as well as the resourcefulness to translate them consistently into articles in top‐tier, refereed journals and monographs from respected publishing houses.” Through this enthralling approach to scholarship, Goodall has pushed us beyond typical scholarly boundaries, enabling future generations of scholars to probe into everyday life, to prompt readers to care, and to propel them to action. Theoretically and methodologically, Goodall has enriched our discipline and our work as applied scholars. (Source: Award Ceremony Narrative)     

Print Media/Journalism

Charles A. Goodrum's The Library of Congress (New York: Praeger, 1974—$10.00)

Richard E. Huss' The Development of Printer's Mechanical Typesetting Methods: 1822-1925 (Charlottesville, University Press of Virginia, 1973—price not known)

Bruce M. Kennedy's Community Journalism: A Way of Life (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1974—price not known)

Louis E. Ingelhart's The College and University Campus Student Press: An Examination of its Status and Aspirations and Some of the Myths Surrounding It (send to Dr. John A. Boyd, National Council of College Publications Advisors, TMU 300, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana 47809—$2.00, paper)

Dan D. Nimmo and Charles M. Bonjean's Political Attitudes and Public Opinion (New York: McKay, 1972—$6.95, paper)