Preparing the classroom environment to promote literacy during play

The purpose of this study was to determine if the voluntary literacy behaviors of children could be increased in type and quantity through design changes by including reading and writing materials in dramatic play areas. Thirteen preschool classes were distributed into one control group and three different experimental groups: one in which thematic play with literacy materials was guided by teachers, one in which thematic play with literacy materials was not guided by teachers, and one in which books, pencils and papers were supplied in unthemed dramatic play areas with teacher guidance. The type and quantity of literacy behaviors in each of the three experimental settings were determined by direct observation prior to intervention, during intervention, and after a delayed period of time. Literacy behaviors increased significantly in all the experimental groups over the control group. Thematic play with teacher guidance yielded greatest gains; the provision of books, pencils and paper with teacher guidance yielded the next greatest gains; and thematic play without teacher guidance yielded third greatest gains. The effect of the treatments continued after a delayed period of time.     

Towards internationalizing the curriculum in a context of globalization: comparing policy processes in two settings

The primary focus of this paper is two case study schools, one in Singapore and one in Australia, which have both been actively pursuing an agenda to build a unique internationally‐oriented curriculum, in a context of globalization, but also within the constraints set by national/State curriculum frameworks, examinations and league tables. Interviews were used to collect data in each school, and then cross‐case analysis was conducted to reveal both similarities and differences in the way the two schools are moving towards internationalizing their curriculum. Emergent meta‐level conceptual themes around policy for ‘internationalization’ of the curriculum are discussed: enablers and constraints; the issue of whether such internationalization fosters a market ideology; changing power relationships; and the relevance of distinctions between internationalization and globalization. The paper concludes by pointing to the contribution of the ‘sociology of knowledge’ and ‘critical policy analysis’ in disrupting the potentially hegemonic economic discourses associated with internationalizing the curriculum.     

Students' understanding of concepts related to plant growth

This paper reports on an investigation into students' understanding of the concept of plant growth. There are three aspects to the research. First, responses of Australian primary students to questions concerning plant growth are compared with those identified in British research (Russell & Watt, 1990). Second, the answers of secondary students, Year 7-Year 12, to questions concerning plant growth were analysed and common categories of responses were identified. Finally, the response categories were considered within the framework offered by the SOLO Taxonomy of Biggs and Collis (1982, 1991). In particular, interest was focused on whether the findings of an earlier study (Levins, 1992) in which cycles of development in the understandings of the concept of evaporation were established, might be observed in the concept of plant growth. Specializations secondary science curriculum, biology and chemistry teacher education. Specializations secondary mathematics curriculum topics, the SOLO Taxonomy, student cognitive growth.     

WIST — A science and technology access programme for rural women: The determinants of success

The University of Central Queensland access programme, Women Into Science and Technology (WIST), has successfully attracted and retained a large number of rural women as students. Careful analysis of the needs of rural women has resulted in a distance education mode programme which is community based, has a consultative approach to programme development and monitoring and strong student support systems. These systems include elements of both peer and institutional support. Strong feelings of ownership and belonging, which WIST women have, have contributed to the low drop‐out rate and continuing programme growth.     

Postgraduate Supervision Practices: Strategies for Development and Change

This paper describes strategies for enhancing postgraduate supervision procedures and practices developed at Sydney University in response to a national focus upon improving the quality of postgraduate research education. The results of needs analyses conducted in Departments and Faculties and amongst postgraduate coordinators, supervisors and students are reported, and the subsequent development of an ongoing and systematic training program for supervisors of postgraduate students is described. The structure of the program, training methods adopted, and participant evaluations of the constituent workshops and seminars are discussed. Finally, consideration is given to aspects contributing to or militating against the success of the program and to alternative or complementary strategies for improving the quality of postgraduate research supervision.     

Valuing Teaching: A Strategy For Changing the Organisational Culture of an Academic Department

Although government funding initiatives can provide an immediate incentive for the development of good teaching practices, ongoing and widespread improvement in the quality of teaching and learning is likely to occur only when the organisational culture of academic departments is such that good teaching is held in those departments to be a fundamental and shared value rather than primarily an individual responsibility. This paper describes the organisational development strategies used within one large academic department to bring about a reassessment of the role and practice of teaching and support the subsequent implementation of teaching‐related reforms. It examines the role of leadership, devolved responsibility and consultation in effecting change in both the practice of teaching and the organisational culture of a department.     

Improving engagement in an early career academic setting: can existing models guide early career academic support strategies?

ABSTRACT

Early career academics (ECAs) represent the future of the academic workforce, but competition and career uncertainty is resulting in disengagement and burnout. In professions outside academia, increased engagement is associated with perceived organisational support and fair recognition and rewards, as well as opportunities to meet basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. In contrast, decreased engagement is linked with increasing demands on effort and over-commitment to work. The current study used multiple linear regression to test whether comparable relationships were observed in a sample of 151 ECAs in an Australian university. Opportunities to build and demonstrate competence at work, the presence of meaningful relationships and perceived organisational support were independent and statistically significant predictors of engagement. The need for autonomy and fair rewards and recognition appeared to be correlated but not statistically significant predictors of engagement. Contrary to prediction, increasing effort and over-commitment to work did not predict decreases in engagement. These results are discussed in light of implications for programs designed to support the development of ECAs into various career pathways.     

Reading comprehension,working memory and higher-level language skills in children with SLI and/or dyslexia

This study examined (1) whether working memory and higher-level languages skills—inferencing and comprehension monitoring—accounted for individual differences among Chinese children in Chinese reading comprehension, after controlling for age, Chinese word reading and oral language skills, and (2) whether children with specific language impairment (SLI) or dyslexia showed deficits in these skills. Eighty-two Cantonese Chinese-speaking children between the age of 7; 8–9; 5 were assessed. Regression analyses on the full sample offered support for the first question. The children were also classified into four groups: Typically-developing (TD; N = 34), specific language impairment-only (SLI-only; N = 18), SLI-dyslexia comorbid (SLI-D; N = 22) and dyslexia-only (D-only; N = 8). Pair-wise comparisons focusing on the second question revealed that both the SLI-only and the D-only group performed worse than the TD group in reading comprehension after controlling for age and nonverbal intelligence. The SLI-only and the D-only group showed a different profile of deficits: only the SLI-only group performed worse than the TD group in working memory, comprehension monitoring, and inferencing. The SLI-D comorbid group did worse than the SLI-only, but not the D-only group, in reading comprehension. The SLI-D comorbid group did not do worse than either single diagnosis group in the higher-level language skills associated with reading comprehension. These findings suggested adopting different intervention approaches for reading comprehension difficulties in children with SLI versus children with dyslexia.