Curriculum Policy,Values and Changes in Civics Education in Australia

Civics education in Australia has experienced a dramatic transformation in the past few years. This change has been driven by several educational policy initiatives at both federal and state levels in response to a perceived need for a more active, participatory citizenry. A key feature of the new policies has been the deliberate inclusion of a set of values based on concepts of democratic citizenship. This article examines these developments in Australia, with particular emphasis upon values initiatives, as a new form of civics emerges.

This article was prepared as part of a project funded by the Pacific Basin Research Center and Soka University.     

CyberConnect: Use the internet with Big6® skills to achieve standards

Conclusions Information seeking strategies can be taught more effectively in collaboration with a classroom teacher in conjunction with a specific assignment. The Big6 Skills(tm) help organize a long-term project into manageable pieces. Using the Internet for research can help students achieve information literacy and NETS standards.     

The Algebraic Nature of Students’ Numerical Manipulation in the New Zealand Numeracy Project

The New Zealand Ministry of Education has introduced a Numeracy Project for students aged 5–14 years in selected schools. The project encourages the adoption of flexible strategies for solving numerical problems, and discourages reliance on standard computational algorithms. One potential benefit of the project is that the methods students acquire in the project may provide a foundation for algebraic thinking through the use of quasi-variables in numerical operations. In order to evaluate this possibility, we constructed a 21-item test of numerical manipulation that required an underlying awareness of the presence of quasi-variables. The test was administered to 431 12-year-old students who participated in the project and to 468 students who did not. The test consisted of six sections, each of which examined the application of a different aspect of reasoning to numerical problems. The results showed that students who participated in the Numeracy Project solved numerical problems that required manipulation with more success than did students who had not participated in the project. This proved to be the case for three different levels of analysis: for the test as a whole, for each of the six sections of the test, and for every individual item of the test. The results were interpreted as showing that the project fostered students awareness of numbers as quasi-variables and thus provided an early indicator of algebraic thinking.     

Civics and Values in the Asia‐Pacific Region

The Asia‐Pacific region has witnessed a substantial and frequently profound surge of interest in civics and democratic citizenship in recent years. This change has been driven by global forces and educational policy initiatives at national level in most countries and more localized levels in others. In turn these policies have been driven by a perceived need for a more active, participatory citizenry in a time of accelerated capitalism and globalization. A key feature of the policies in the region has been the deliberate inclusion of a set of values based on concepts of the ‘good’ citizen and democratic citizenship. This article examines these developments in selected countries within the region, with particular emphasis upon the values initiatives taken, in an attempt to make sense of the changing scene in civics education.

This article was prepared as part of a project funded by the Pacific Basin Research Center and Soka University.     

The Relation between Individual Differences in Fantasy and Theory of Mind

The relation between early fantasy/pretense and children's knowledge about mental life was examined in a study of 152 3- and 4-year-old boys and girls. Children were interviewed about their fantasy lives (e.g., imaginary companions, impersonation of imagined characters) and were given tasks assessing their level of pretend play and verbal intelligence. In a second session 1 week later, children were given a series of theory of mind tasks, including measures of appearance-reality, false belief, representational change, and perspective taking. The theory of mind tasks were significantly intercorrelated with the effects of verbal intelligence and age statistically controlled. Individual differences in fantasy/pretense were assessed by (1) identifying children who created imaginary characters, and (2) extracting factor scores from a combination of interview and behavioral measures. Each of these fantasy assessments was significantly related to the theory of mind performance of the 4-year-old children, independent of verbal intelligence.     

Taking stock of sustainability in higher education: a review of the policy literature

Abstract

This paper provides a review of the current literature that examines the uptake of sustainability policies in higher education. Articles were retrieved from both ERIC and Scopus databases and then manually reviewed to ensure that they focused on each of: higher education; sustainability; and policy. A total of 91 articles were analysed using a multi-stage process that involved sorting data according to typologies (i.e. temporal, terminology, methodology, geography), coding the text of the articles based on topical content, and an indexing method used to label data for further analysis and the development of broader code categories. Results suggest that drivers and barriers associated with the integration of sustainability policy in higher education are well known; yet increased research is needed to understand best practices and processes by which sustainability can be furthered through higher education policy. In addition, findings demonstrate the need for future research to focus on various aspects of the policy process, including policy development and enactment, and on implications of policy for practice. While there have been some reviews of sustainability policy in higher education research to date, this review contributes to this literature by highlighting research primarily focused on sustainability policy within higher education.     

Anatomical Sciences Education Vol. 5, Issue 3, 2012 Cover Image

Medical students at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada, learn clinical facts about the hepatobiliary system as transplant surgeon Dr. Vivian McAlister (at the far right) demonstrates Whipple's procedure in the anatomy laboratory. In this issue of ASE, Ullah and colleagues describe an extracurricular student initiative known as the Surgically Oriented Anatomy Program (SOAP), which aims to deliver anatomy teaching from a surgical perspective through the philosophy of “education through recreation”.     

Learning surgically oriented anatomy in a student-run extracurricular club: an education through recreation initiative

Didactic and laboratory anatomical education have seen significant reductions in the medical school curriculum due, in part, to the current shift from basic science to more clinically based teaching in North American medical schools. In order to increase medical student exposure to anatomy, with clinical applicability, a student-run initiative called surgically oriented anatomy prosectors (SOAP) club was created within the extracurricular program at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. SOAP invites surgeons and residents from various surgical specialties to demonstrate, on a cadaver, a surgical procedure of their choosing. During the demonstration, the anatomy, as it relates to the surgical procedure, is discussed. The students then break into smaller groups to examine the relevant anatomy on the cadavers, during which time the discussion is broadened. The group continues the conversation in a social environment with refreshments. SOAP is one of the most popular extracurricular clubs with 65% of first and second year medical students registered as members. The high demand for SOAP, along with the positive participant feedback, may be due to its utilization of the principle of education through recreation, which seeks to provide opportunities for learning seamlessly throughout all facets of life. It also demonstrates the desire, amongst certain medical students, to learn applied anatomy, particularly within a surgical context.     

Developing a community of research practice

Writing journal articles is essential for academics and professionals to develop their ideas, make an impact in their fields and progress in their careers. Research assessment makes successful performance in this form of writing even more important. This article describes a course on writing journal articles and draws on interviews with participants one year after the course in which they identified persistent challenges. These writers’ accounts make visible some of the processes of writing for publication that are often tacit and identify key writing strategies. However, they also identify barriers to writing in academic workplaces and those professional workplaces where academic writing is produced. This article concludes by suggesting that while research assessment values written outputs over almost everything else, it is equally important to legitimise writing processes—and to be able to articulate the development of these processes—in communities of research practice.