Gender inclusive Curricula: A focus on two responses

One of the requirements of the New Zealand Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Education, 1993a) is that all curricula developed in New Zealand must be gender inclusive. Developers of the recently released science curriculum, and the draft technology curriculum, have responded to this requirement in different ways. In this paper I discuss a theorisation of the term ‘gender inclusive’ within national curriculum development generally, and explore and analyse these different responses within the specific context of the science and technology curriculum developments. Particular emphasis is placed on the historical difference between science education and technology education in New Zealand schools, and on the impact theoretical discourses have on the way in which terms such as ‘gender inclusive curricula’ are conceptualised, and viewed as appropriate, or not, for specific purposes. Specializations: feminist theory, science education, technology education, technology curriculum development.     

Wiki: Using the Web Connections to Connect Students

The present study reports on action research conducted using a resource wiki. Participants included 48 certified teachers and pre-service teachers enrolled in a face-to-face graduate course supplemented with online activities. Data collected include student reflections that indicate the use of a wiki at the university level is a feasible means of online collaboration, facilitates constructing new knowledge, and provides a medium of modeling technology integration into the classroom.     

Foods for health: Involving organizations in planned change

The development of effective strategies for planned change presents a challenge to an organization operating in a modern, complex society. A change agency often faces two barriers to the diffusion of innovations —the lack of direct contact with individual receivers on a daily basis, and limited and perhaps shrinking resources. Two strategies which help a change agency address these barriers are: a) the use of co‐change agencies in innovation development and b) the diffusion of innovations through other organizations at the system‐receiver level. The use and effectiveness of these modifications to the traditional diffusion model are illustrated in the development and diffusion of a health education program called Foods for Health.     

Exploring ways that ePortfolios can support the progressive development of graduate qualities and professional competencies

Since the late-1990s, the University of South Australia has embedded seven Graduate Qualities across all programs. Subsequently, the higher education landscape has changed dramatically in terms of national policies and standards, as well as technologies available to support learning and teaching. Most higher education institutions now have their own list of qualities or attributes developed by graduates. Further changes in Australia include quality assurance accredited through a national body, such as the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, and the development of disciplinary Threshold Learning Outcomes under the Learning and Teaching Academic Standards project. Similar changes are underway internationally. A multi-disciplinary research project at University of South Australia explored how ePortfolios might enhance this learning environment with a focus on aligning standards, Graduate Qualities and professional requirements. This paper outlines approaches taken in Engineering and Law undergraduate programs using two different ePortfolio tools (PebblePad and Mahara), where we sought to discover if this would empower learners to articulate their achievements and to understand professional frameworks. Lessons learnt and evaluation data are presented, along with recommendations to support a progressive developmental approach across programs. Whilst the experiences relate to two disciplinary areas, the approach taken can be adapted for other programs. Many of the insights gained also apply to strategies that exclude ePortfolio tools.     

El uso de una tecnología interactiva de vídeo-disco para la enseñanza en el lenguaje por señas americano y en inglés escrito

La simultaneidad de códigos y lenguajes es una de las potencialidades más sugerentes del ordenador y su uso resulta decisivo en las didácticas de segundos lenguaces o de sistemas de comunicación alternativos.     

Mothers’ Depressive State ‘Distorts’ the Ratings of Depression they give for their Sons with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

Depression is highly prevalent in children who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), potentially confounding accurate diagnosis and treatment planning. Although information about the depressive status of a child is often collected from parents, there is evidence of distortion in parental assessments of their offspring’s depression. This distortion was investigated in a sample of 132 mothers of boys with an ASD. Results indicated that, as predicted from previous studies, there was a significant correlation between the depressive state of the mothers and the ratings they gave for their sons’ depression. However, in contradiction to the expected influence direction, mothers who were minimally depressed under-estimated their sons’ depression when cross-validated by structured clinical interviews for depression conducted by a third party, rather than mothers who were more severely depressed exaggerating their sons’ depression. Implications for clinical assessment of the presence of depression in boys with an ASD are discussed.