Determinants of Attraction,Retention and Completion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Degree Research Students: A Systematic Review to Inform Future Research Directions

Expanding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian (hereafter respectfully Indigenous) talent pool to undertake valuable roles in business, health, education, academia, government, policy development and community development is critical for addressing current disparities between Indigenous and other Australians. Parity of access and engagement with education plays a key role in facilitating participation in these roles but has not yet been attained. This article provides an initial systematic review of literature on the state of the evidence regarding access/attraction, retention and completions for Indigenous Higher Degree Research (HDR) students. This article identifies the quantity (number examined), nature (e.g. focus of study), quality (peer reviewed and evidence of methodological rigour) and characteristics (e.g. publication type, authorship) of the limited publications. Using specific search strings (words or phrases of relevance to the topic), a systematic review methodology was employed to search nine databases and grey (non-peer reviewed) literature from 1995 to 2015. The resultant 12 publications were mined with quality assessed and a predetermined framework used to extract and synthesise the characteristics from individual publications. This research contributes to existing literature about Indigenous Peoples in HDR programs internationally in identifying significant cultural and institutional barriers and highlighting institutional enablers which can contribute to attraction, retention and completion. Building on the prior limited research reported in the review, the article highlights the need for further research and provides an initial agenda of directions for universities and government to redress the disparity in entry and completion of Indigenous Peoples in HDR programs.

     

Secondary school educational practitioners’ experiences of school attendance problems and interventions to address them: a qualitative study

School attendance problems are associated with a range of adverse consequences, and educational practitioners play a role in identifying and responding to attendance problems. This qualitative study explored educational practitioners’ experiences of working with students with attendance problems and interventions to address them. Focus groups were conducted with sixteen practitioners across three secondary schools. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Attendance problems were considered resource-intensive and emotionally challenging. Practitioners expressed difficulty understanding causes, although individual/family factors were emphasised over school factors. A range of interventions were described, including adaptations to school context and providing emotional support. Views on punitive approaches were mixed. Individualised interventions implemented at the first sign of problems, and a team approach, were considered important. Findings highlight the important role of educational practitioners in identifying attendance problems and implementing interventions. Recommendations include early intervention, team-work, and emotional support for students with, and staff responding to, attendance problems.     

Reading and genetics: an introduction

Recent years have brought about rapid advances in our understanding of how genetic factors influence reading development and reading disorder. The purpose of this special issue is to summarise what has been learned, and to highlight some of the issues and questions currently at the forefront of research. This paper sets the scene for the special issue by introducing relevant methodology and background information.     

Practicing Formative Assessment for Computational Thinking in Making Environments

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Making activities and environments have been shown to foster the development of computational thinking (CT) skills for students in science, technology,...     

Empirical Performance of Covariates in Education Observational Studies

This article summarizes results from 12 empirical evaluations of observational methods in education contexts. We look at the performance of three common covariate-types in observational studies where the outcome is a standardized reading or math test. They are: pretest measures, local geographic matching, and rich covariate sets with a strong theory of treatment selection. Overall, the review demonstrates that although the pretest often reduces bias in observational studies, it does not always eliminate it. Its performance depends on the pretest's correlation with treatment selection and the outcome, and whether preintervention trends are present. We also find that although local comparisons are prioritized for matching, its performance depends on whether comparable no-treatment cases are available. Otherwise, local comparisons may produce badly biased results. In cases where researchers have a strong theory of selection and rich covariate sets, observational methods perform well, but additional replication studies are needed. Finally, observational methods that rely on demographic covariates without a theory of selection rarely produce unbiased treatment effects. The article concludes by offering education researchers empirically based guidance on covariate selection in observational studies.     

'They don't give us our marks': The role of formative feedback in student progress

This paper presents the results of an experimental evaluation of a change in assessment practice in one comprehensive secondary school. The school divided 104 Year 7 pupils into four mixed-ability teaching groups. One of these was given enhanced formative feedback on their work for one year, but no marks or grades. The other three groups were given marks and grades with minimal comments, which was the usual prior practice in this school (and many others). Using data derived from assessment, prior attainment, pupil attitudes and background information, we conducted a contextualized analysis of progress in the four teaching groups for all subjects. This showed that progress in the treatment group (formative feedback only) was substantially inferior to that of the other three groups. In this paper, we also use data from observation of the process and from group interviews with the students involved, to help explain these results. Our findings are relevant to a consideration of the often lessened impact of research findings when 'rolled' out into wider practice, and what may be done about this.