The priorities established among data sources when instructional designers revise written materials

The objective of the study was to investigate the priorities instructional designers establish among data sources when they revise written materials and the relationship of their practice to standard models of formative evaluation. Two modules of printed instructional material were revised by each of eight experienced instructional designers under three treatment conditions, using a counterbalanced design. Data were collected using a think-aloud procedure. The think-aloud protocol was segmented, coded and analysed. Results show that instructional designers were significantly more likely to incorporate their own knowledge into revisions than to use feedback data, and when they did use feedback data, they preferred learner comments. They did not accurately assess their use of their own knowledge or of feedback data; they thought they used feedback data more than the results showed. These instructional designers reflected some aspects of the standard instructional design model when they revised instructional materials, but their experience has caused many of the procedures to become internalized, so they are invisible in the protocols. This research was funded in part by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.     

The Leaking Pipeline: Women Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers in Australia

This paper explores the leaking pipeline in women's participation rates from Bachelor to postgraduate research programmes. In examining projects at two Australian universities to identify and implement strategies to improve women's participation in research higher degrees, it focuses on three points of leakagebetween Bachelor and Bachelor with Honours degree programmes, Bachelor degree with Honours and postgraduate research programmes, and completion of postgraduate research and taking up a postdoctoral position, and the links between them. It examines three important consequences of women not undertaking or completing postgraduate research: entering academia at lower levels or in casual positions, often while doing postgraduate research part-time; tending to focus on teaching rather than research; and, due to under-representation at middle levels, not achieving a critical mass in senior academia. The paper suggests ways in which university policy may impact on women's participation in postgraduate research programmes through implementation of university-wide and departmental policies encompassing the strategies identified in these studies.     

A Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) approach to pre-service teacher professional experiences in Australia: organisational friendships

This study explored how students (pre-service teachers) benefit from the support of having a peer with them during their first professional experience in preschool contexts, utilising a PAL (Peer Assisted Learning) approach. International students at a large Australian University were interviewed as part of this qualitative study. We found that peer engagement facilitated the development of friendships and social support among participants. Discussion is situated within a sociological framework of organisational friendship. This study extends conceptions of organisational friendships beyond managerial imperatives and peer relationships are highlighted as supportive, not competitive, engagements. The PAL approach highlights the benefit of collaborative professional learning.     

Senior secondary school assessment and standard-setting in Queensland,Australia: social context and paradigmatic change

ABSTRACT

This article draws on three assessment paradigms – psychometrics, outcomes-based and curriculum-based assessment – to discuss paradigmatic changes in senior school assessment and achievement standard-setting in Queensland, Australia, over the last 50 years. These include radical reforms in 1970 from university-controlled examinations to school-based assessments applying normative standard-setting, to subsequent reforms in 1978 introducing competence(curriculum)-based assessment and standards. From 2019, a new reform introduces a combination of school-based and external assessment with procedures for establishing standards still in progress.

Changes to Queensland assessment and standard-setting are discussed in terms of three preconditions for paradigm change – dissatisfaction, an alternative acceptable paradigm, and majority acceptance of change. Influence of paradigmatic origins of reformers is discussed. The amalgam of curriculum-based assessment and psychometric paradigms in the new Queensland system is considered in terms of theoretical compatibility and potential impact on the new standards.     

A review of research into stakeholder perspectives on inclusion of students with autism in mainstream schools

Increasing numbers of students with autism are being educated in mainstream schools. However, outcomes for students with autism are poor when compared to typical students and students with other developmental disabilities. In order to better understand facilitators and barriers to success at school for students with autism, research into the attitudes of key stakeholders, educators, parents, people with autism, to inclusion in mainstream schools for students with autism, was reviewed. Key themes emerging included attitudes to inclusion, the characteristics of autism and social communication in particular and interaction with the school environment, and consequent student problem behaviour. Level of knowledge and understanding of school staff emerged as the primary issue with all stakeholders identifying the need for more training. Other support needs identified included the need for structural support, resources and funding. Parents, in particular, identified the need for a collaborative approach to the education process. The findings highlight the need to translate theory into practice to increase capacity in schools to provide effective educational programmes for students with autism.     

Teachers as metacognitive role models

This paper draws on data collected during a longitudinal collaborative project with teachers in England from schools and further education colleges. The project investigated ‘Learning to Learn’ in partnership with teacher–researchers with a focus on how metacognitive awareness can be improved by enquiring into creative combinations of pedagogy, environment and learners’ dispositions. The paper is an attempt to make clear the theoretical underpinnings of our belief that the project teachers were enacting something different, something metacognitive. We present a pragmatic model of metacognition development based on ideas collaboratively produced across the project. The five cycles of development are exemplified from the pedagogic and the professional learning perspective with quotes, vignettes and case study excerpts. We show a catalytic relationship between the pedagogies used by the teachers to develop their students’ metacognition and the teachers’ own learning and metacognitive knowledge and skilfulness.     

Quality and Equity in Australian Universities: Contradictions and Challenges

There is no apparent relationshipd bettwen the outcome of 1993 CQAHE quality ratings and universities’ standing on several measures of equity performance. Further, there is no relationship between the overall quality ratings and the content of universities’ submissions referring to equity issues.     

Formatively assessing prospective teachers’ skills in leading mathematics discussions

Educational Studies in Mathematics - Mathematics discussions are important for helping students to develop conceptual understanding and to learn disciplinary norms and practices. In recent years,...     

The murder of children by fathers in the context of child abuse

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the backgrounds of fathers who fatally abuse their children and the contexts within which these homicides occur. The type of relationship between victim, perpetrator, and the victim's mother was a particular interest. METHODS: Data were gathered from 26 cases of fatal child abuse perpetrated by fathers derived from the wider Murder in Britain study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from extensive prison case files of men serving life sentences for child murder. RESULTS: This was a group of undereducated, underemployed men with significant criminal histories. All except one victim had been subjected to previous violence by the offender, almost three-quarter of whom had also perpetrated violence against their intimate partners (the child's birth mother). Many men had unreasonable expectations and low tolerance levels of normal childhood behaviors, and many appeared jealous and resentful of these young children. All 26 victims were under 4 years of age. Sixty-two percent of the offenders were stepfathers and in only four cases was the perpetrator a birth father married to the birth mother. Stepfathers had more disrupted and disadvantaged backgrounds and experiences than birth fathers. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that fathers who perpetrate fatal child abuse have a propensity to use violence against children in their care and intimate partners, raising questions about the gender dynamics and generational boundaries operating in these families. The nature and type of intimate relationship (whether married or cohabiting) and fathering relationship (whether birth or de facto) were important differentiating factors in these homicides as well as characteristics of the offender. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Professionals working in child protection strive to provide effective services to children and families, ever vigilant to the possibility of the death of a child as a consequence of an assault. By and large, fathers (either biological or de facto) as the perpetrators of such assaults have received minimal attention in both policy and practice. Findings from this study suggest that practitioners need to be cognizant of men's attitudes towards and expectations of fathering (particularly stepfathering) which may present increased levels of risk to both children and intimate partners.