What makes a successful transition to school? Views of Australian parents and teachers

This paper reports a survey of 355 parents and 166 teachers of young children starting school in New South Wales, Australia. Parents and teachers were asked to rate a list of 20 items in answer to the question 'How important are the following for deciding whether a child has had a successful first two terms of school?' The results are presented in relation to individual items as well as broad categories, with comparisons between the perceptions of teachers and parents. Overall, teachers placed most emphasis on the areas of children's adjustment to the school context and their dispositions or feelings about being at school. Less emphasis was attributed to areas such as knowledge. Parents were more likely than teachers to focus on knowledge, as well as children's dispositions. Implications are drawn for collaborative interaction between parents and teachers as children start school.     

A descriptive study of community college teachers’ attitudes toward online learning

The data gathered provided valuable insights into the attitudes of teachers in relation to distance education. Most of the participants of the survey felt that with adequate training, technology could be a valuable tool in education. The confidence of the respondents in their own computer skills was rather high, although it was apparent that this confidence did not cover the application of their computer skills to the development of online instruction. None of the respondents currently use a course Web site, and most had little interest in doing so. There was also a strong feeling that there was little support from administration, which made the incentives for providing online instruction low. The survey also raised additional questions such as what type of incentives would be required to make distance education a desirable option for a teacher, or whether they would be interested in receiving training on preparing distance course materials. Further research into possible correlation between the subject matter taught and feelings towards online instruction would be beneficial.     

The Regular Education Initiative in the U.S.: What Is Its Relevance to the Integration Movement in Australia?

A NEW THRUST for the integration of students with a mild disability has been initiated by special education scholars and Federal government officials in the U.S. The “regular education initiative” is based upon the assumption that mildly disabled students’ educational and social needs can be better served in regular education settings. Proponents of the regular education initiative are seeking “waivers for performance” that would allow school districts to experiment with alternative service delivery models and the allocation of resources without being Financially penalized under the current funding systems. Critics argue that the strength of the research base used to support REI is insufficient to warrant wholesale changes in current service delivery systems. They are sceptical of the argument that REI type programs can eliminate the effects of labeling by better integrating students who need supplemental educational resources. An analysis of the REI proposals and their conceptual relevance to the Australian context is presented.     

Causes of Educational Failure among Elementary School Students in Brunei Darussalam as Perceived by Mathematics and Science Teachers

This study investigated causes of school failure among elementary school students in Brunei Darussalam. Fifty-two specialist mathematics and science teachers were involved in the investigation using a questionnaire. The student factor identified to be the most important was related to students' poor command of the English language. Lack of interest in learning was another important influencing factor in students' failure. Parental factors perceived to be the most important were lack of supervision of their children's activities at home and reluctance to make school visits to see teachers about their children's academic progress. The influence of teacher factors on educational failure was perceived to be less important.     

Reflections on infusing evidenced-based inclusion practices in early childhood community college programs through a collaborative professional development model

ABSTRACT

Inclusion means that students with disabilities have access to high-quality and effective instruction, as well as specialized services as needed, within least restrictive environments. We believe there are no limits on who can or should participate in and benefit from inclusion and we were interested in perceptions resulting from professional development designed to support including young children with disabilities in classrooms with their natural neighbors and peers. We present reflections from application of a community of practice model in which university-based faculty worked closely and collaboratively with community college instructors to infuse ideas, concepts, and content from the field of special education into associate degree early childhood education coursework.     

Teachers’ and school leaders’ perceptions of commercialisation in Australian public schools

This paper explores teachers’ and school leaders’ perceptions of commercialisation in Australian public schools, reporting on findings from an open-ended survey question from an exploratory study that sought to investigate teacher and school leader perceptions and experiences of commercialisation. Commercialisation, for the purposes of this paper, is understood as the creation, marketing and sale of education goods and services to schools by for-profit providers and often includes (but is not limited to) the provision of curriculum content, assessment services, data infrastructures, digital learning, remedial instruction, professional development and school administration support. Our account highlights that commercialisation is prevalent in the day-to-day practice of Australian public schools. The perceptions of teachers and leaders suggest that commercialisation is complex, with both affordances and challenges. Respondents acknowledged that aspects of commercialisation are necessary for successfully running schools and classrooms in the 21st century, but also noted that there is a fine line beyond which these seemingly innocuous services become perilous. Concerns focused on how particular services are leading to the deprofessionalisation of teachers as they have less autonomy over what to teach and how to teach it. Moreover, teachers and school leaders reported being perturbed by the idea that commercial providers and services might work to replace teachers in the future. Drawing on these data we argue that growing commercialisation in Australian public schools clearly requires an ethical debate that schools, education professionals, policy makers and interested publics are yet to have.     

Author Index

Authors Index

Author index     

Accountability and Control: a sociological account of secondary school assessment in Queensland

This paper analyses sociologically the current form of school‐based secondary assessment in Queensland which is criterion‐referenced to Year 10 and a hybrid criterion/norm referenced form at the end of Year 12. Habermas’ arguments are used to suggest that this assessment pattern will give the state potentially greater ‘steering capacity’ over education by ‘rationalising’ it — the ‘scientisation of schooling’. This form of assessment fits within the accountability discourse of the economically parsimonious 1980s while meeting selection demands. However, the approach does meet some educational demands. The paper also reflects upon the role of the state and expert knowledge in policy formulation.

     

Assessment of aerobic endurance: a comparison between CD-ROM and laboratory-based instruction

Traditional approaches to teaching exercise physiology are costly in terms of staff time and consumable expenses. Ethical considerations, large student numbers and availability of technical expertise magnify the delivery problems. In an attempt to overcome these problems, a CD-ROM version of a basic course in exercise physiology was designed and delivered to a group of undergraduate sport and exercise science students. It simulated five tests of aerobic endurance which are traditionally taught using laboratory methods. A controlled experiment was conducted to compare the two delivery methods, as part of an independent, formative evaluation. Although there were equal knowledge gains and the CD-ROM design and content were well rated by students who used it, this approach has engendered less student interaction, commitment to wider reading and in-depth understanding. Tutorials and other approaches designed to promote more active learning are now being introduced to accompany the use of the CD-ROM.