Alienating curriculum work in Australian vocational education and training

Competency-based training (CBT) is a curriculum model employed in educational sectors, professions and industries around the world. A significant feature of the model is its permeability to control by interests outside education. In this article, a ‘Neoliberal’ version of CBT is described and analysed in the context of Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET). In this version of the model, a division of curriculum labour is instituted that, from the perspective of Neoliberal theory, allows the interests of educators to be limited in accordance with the belief that they will neglect the interests of students and other stakeholders if they have control over the whole curriculum construction process. But this version of CBT denigrates the expertise of educators by forcing them to set aside their own judgement about what is important to teach and implement a pre-existing picture of an occupation that may or may not be an effective representation. Empirical evidence is reviewed that suggests curriculum work in VET is indeed alienating for educators. Existing critiques of CBT are considered and found to have overlooked the specifically Neoliberal form of CBT in VET analysed in the article.     

Can massive communities of teachers facilitate collaborative reflection? Fractal design as a possible answer

This paper explores the possibility that virtual communities of teachers with large numbers of members (referred to as massive communities of teachers) can offer support to novice teachers by means of collaborative reflection. The paper examines and conceptualises some problems found in professional massive communities and proposes that massification can dilute what some authors have called social presence or engagement. It is argued that this dilution, among other problems, very much hinders collaborative reflection among members of the community. Collaborative reflection is argued to be a crucial part of the support that novice teachers need in their first years in the profession. Therefore, a challenge is envisioned for massive communities of teachers to avoid the dilution of social presence or engagement. The authors argue that this dilution can be overcome by the use of multiple layers within a platform, referred to as fractal design.     

An interview with Robert Lawler

Robert Lawler is one of the key figures in the development of thinkable models and educational games. In this interview, dedicated to Seymour Papert, Marvin Minsky and Oliver Selfridge, he comments on his research notes and provides fascinating insights into the early days of artificial intelligence applications in education.     

School attendance problems and youth psychopathology: structural cross-lagged regression models in three longitudinal data sets

This study tests a model of reciprocal influences between absenteeism and youth psychopathology using 3 longitudinal datasets (Ns = 20,745, 2,311, and 671). Participants in 1st through 12th grades were interviewed annually or biannually. Measures of psychopathology include self-, parent-, and teacher-report questionnaires. Structural cross-lagged regression models were tested. In a nationally representative data set (Add Health), middle school students with relatively greater absenteeism at Study Year 1 tended toward increased depression and conduct problems in Study Year 2, over and above the effects of autoregressive associations and demographic covariates. The opposite direction of effects was found for both middle and high school students. Analyses with 2 regionally representative data sets were also partially supportive. Longitudinal links were more evident in adolescence than in childhood.