Towards a transformative model: re-shaping transitions between school and post-school life. This project aims to transform senior schooling to support students with limited levels of educational achievement secure productive transitions to lives beyond school. Starting with understanding what productive transitions means for past-students, the project engages with current students, teachers, school leaders, community organisations and employers to develop, trial and evaluate effective senior sch ....Towards a transformative model: re-shaping transitions between school and post-school life. This project aims to transform senior schooling to support students with limited levels of educational achievement secure productive transitions to lives beyond school. Starting with understanding what productive transitions means for past-students, the project engages with current students, teachers, school leaders, community organisations and employers to develop, trial and evaluate effective senior school experiences for those young adults. The researchers will work collaboratively with four school communities and local employers. Through engagements with students, workplaces and community settings outside of schools, the project will identify, promote and support achieving productive post-school transitions for these students.Read moreRead less
Creating musical futures in Australian schools and communities: Refining theory and planning for practice through empirical innovation. This proposal forms a logical and much needed extension of the Commonwealth Government's (2005) National Review of Music Education. It will establish international leadership for Australian music education research by constructing the most complete picture of children's motivation to study music ever attempted. A series of interconnected studies will refine theo ....Creating musical futures in Australian schools and communities: Refining theory and planning for practice through empirical innovation. This proposal forms a logical and much needed extension of the Commonwealth Government's (2005) National Review of Music Education. It will establish international leadership for Australian music education research by constructing the most complete picture of children's motivation to study music ever attempted. A series of interconnected studies will refine theory in ways that can be used to mobilize public awareness of the life-long sense of wellbeing and enjoyment that artistic appreciation and participation in music can offer, and future efforts to promote more effective strategies for the provision of music education for all young people in Australia and beyond.Read moreRead less
Protect, prepare and engage: Does extracurricular activity participation offer sustained benefits for youth? Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and music have the potential to promote healthy development and to reduce the levels of risk behaviours in teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight ....Protect, prepare and engage: Does extracurricular activity participation offer sustained benefits for youth? Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and music have the potential to promote healthy development and to reduce the levels of risk behaviours in teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight into the long-term benefits of making a diverse selection of organised activities available to Australian teenagers, and will improve our understanding of which aspects of participation are most likely to enhance their social and educational opportunities.Read moreRead less
Salience, Organisation and Management of Anxiety towards Time in Children with ADHD: A new model and intervention. ADHD is a major educational and public health problem in Australia. In the past decade, prescriptions of medication for individuals with ADHD rose 26% nationwide, representing enormous human and economic liabilities. Over 25% of individuals with ADHD also suffer comorbid anxiety disorders. In such cases, the efficacy of stimulant treatment is significantly reduced. Addressing the ro ....Salience, Organisation and Management of Anxiety towards Time in Children with ADHD: A new model and intervention. ADHD is a major educational and public health problem in Australia. In the past decade, prescriptions of medication for individuals with ADHD rose 26% nationwide, representing enormous human and economic liabilities. Over 25% of individuals with ADHD also suffer comorbid anxiety disorders. In such cases, the efficacy of stimulant treatment is significantly reduced. Addressing the role of time management and anxiety in the chaotic, impulsive, disorganised lives of young people with ADHD, this project offers significant benefits to the everyday functioning of children and adolescents in school and home, as well as substantial reductions in community expenditure on pharmacological interventions.Read moreRead less
Emotionally Provoking Events in Classrooms and During Transitions: Developing Self-Regulatory Programs for Children Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Deficiencies in inhibitory control seen in those with ADHD cause problems in self-regulation of emotion. Consequently, children with ADHD are more impulsively emotional and less able to regulate their emotional responses to emotionally provoking events. Few studies, however, have systematically examined the emotional response ....Emotionally Provoking Events in Classrooms and During Transitions: Developing Self-Regulatory Programs for Children Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Deficiencies in inhibitory control seen in those with ADHD cause problems in self-regulation of emotion. Consequently, children with ADHD are more impulsively emotional and less able to regulate their emotional responses to emotionally provoking events. Few studies, however, have systematically examined the emotional responses of this population in the classroom and during transitions. Through a series of studies the proposed research will identify events which are emotionally provoking for primary and secondary school-aged ADHD children, and then develop and evaluate emotion self-regulation programs (in combination with/without medication) which assist ADHD children to manage emotionally provoking events.Read moreRead less
Using and creating knowledge in the high school years: Performance, production, process and value-adding in electronic curricular literacy. Success in the emerging communicational demands of high-school learning is crucial for cultural cohesion, economic productivity, and employment. It also minimizes inter-generational exclusion and alienation for at-risk socio-economic and cultural groups. No research exists into the products and processes associated with high-school students' engagements in e ....Using and creating knowledge in the high school years: Performance, production, process and value-adding in electronic curricular literacy. Success in the emerging communicational demands of high-school learning is crucial for cultural cohesion, economic productivity, and employment. It also minimizes inter-generational exclusion and alienation for at-risk socio-economic and cultural groups. No research exists into the products and processes associated with high-school students' engagements in electronic curricular literacy practices (ECLs), so 'standards' frameworks for ECL cannot be developed. This project will provide an empirical map of students' expected achievements in ECLs in key curricular areas at various year levels. It aims to inject a practical and a futures orientation into research, debate and policy formation in literacy education.Read moreRead less
Schooling the nation in an age of globalization: National curriculum, accountabilities and their effects. The research will contribute to the development of Australia's human capital through the enhancement of knowledge concerning the policy settings necessary at national and state systemic levels for achieving higher quality and more equitable student outcomes. The research will advance understandings of how education federalism can best be utilized to achieve such outcomes. Analyses of NAPLAN ....Schooling the nation in an age of globalization: National curriculum, accountabilities and their effects. The research will contribute to the development of Australia's human capital through the enhancement of knowledge concerning the policy settings necessary at national and state systemic levels for achieving higher quality and more equitable student outcomes. The research will advance understandings of how education federalism can best be utilized to achieve such outcomes. Analyses of NAPLAN and PISA data will also provide policy and practice relevant knowledge for systems and for schools. The project will strengthen Australia's research capacity in education policy studies and its reputation in the academic field, and contribute to improved research-based policy making in education.
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Generating Science Content Knowledge through Digital Animation in a Knowledge-building Community of Preservice Teachers. Sustaining Australia's growth and prosperity is dependent on continuous innovation in the teaching of science. Yet science is one of the least taught subjects in the primary curriculum because teachers lack content knowledge and confidence. This research engages preservice primary teachers in using new technologies to develop their understanding of science content knowledge th ....Generating Science Content Knowledge through Digital Animation in a Knowledge-building Community of Preservice Teachers. Sustaining Australia's growth and prosperity is dependent on continuous innovation in the teaching of science. Yet science is one of the least taught subjects in the primary curriculum because teachers lack content knowledge and confidence. This research engages preservice primary teachers in using new technologies to develop their understanding of science content knowledge through digital animation and to collaborate with other preservice teachers interstate and internationally. The products and processes of digital animation will help maintain and expand Australia's base as a knowledge economy as well as provide a social benefit of improved science teaching in schools. Read moreRead less
Designing technology-enriched pedagogy in secondary mathematics education. The Australian Government's "Agenda for Action" emphasises the need to foster innovation in mathematics teaching and teacher education, and encourages teachers to embrace technologies that enhance student learning. Yet international research shows that successful innovation in teaching with technology has been elusive. This project will develop new theoretical understanding of why technology-related innovation in secondar ....Designing technology-enriched pedagogy in secondary mathematics education. The Australian Government's "Agenda for Action" emphasises the need to foster innovation in mathematics teaching and teacher education, and encourages teachers to embrace technologies that enhance student learning. Yet international research shows that successful innovation in teaching with technology has been elusive. This project will develop new theoretical understanding of why technology-related innovation in secondary school mathematics teaching takes hold in some educational settings but not others. The findings will lead to practical recommendations for design of teacher professional development programs, and shed light on reasons why teachers may embrace or reject educational change.Read moreRead less
Engaging economically disadvantaged adolescent girls in physical activity and healthy eating to improve health and prevent obesity. Secondary school represents the final opportunity to influence individuals as they develop adult lifestyle behaviours and enter a transitional period in their lives. Considering the increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases among Australian adults and increases in the prevalence of obesity among young Australians, targeting health-promoting behaviours in adolescent ....Engaging economically disadvantaged adolescent girls in physical activity and healthy eating to improve health and prevent obesity. Secondary school represents the final opportunity to influence individuals as they develop adult lifestyle behaviours and enter a transitional period in their lives. Considering the increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases among Australian adults and increases in the prevalence of obesity among young Australians, targeting health-promoting behaviours in adolescents is clearly a national priority. Furthermore, rates of obesity are much higher in economically disadvantaged areas, with girls more susceptible to the SES disadvantages. This project has the potential to develop a knowledge base and improve the health behaviours of current and future Australians most at risk for the development of lifestyle diseases.Read moreRead less