Moments in time: investigating a national history curriculum in early childhood settings and primary classrooms. The focus of this project will be the teaching and the learning of History in early childhood settings and primary classrooms located in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Findings from the project will provide evidence-based curricular and pedagogical theorising of effective and productive teaching and learning of History in those contexts.
Naming the world: early years literacy and sustainability learning. The project seeks to produce knowledge about new forms of literacy emerging in sustainability education. For children born in the 21st century, the enmeshing of natural and human forces in the survival of the planet requires conceptual and practical innovation. Early childhood education can be a fundamental driver in this process. This project aims to integrate literacy and sustainability to produce powerful new learning for you ....Naming the world: early years literacy and sustainability learning. The project seeks to produce knowledge about new forms of literacy emerging in sustainability education. For children born in the 21st century, the enmeshing of natural and human forces in the survival of the planet requires conceptual and practical innovation. Early childhood education can be a fundamental driver in this process. This project aims to integrate literacy and sustainability to produce powerful new learning for young children. It plans to theorise new forms of literacy emerging in sustainability education, articulate innovative pedagogies, and inform national and international policy and practice to address 21st century learning imperatives.Read moreRead less
Peopling educational policy: realising the new Australian English and mathematics curricula. Implementation of Australian curricula in English and mathematics provides an opportunity for school systems to re-examine practice. This project will identify resources and teacher learning opportunities needed to facilitate implementation of these curricula and use findings to develop interventions identified as likely to optimise implementation.
Storythread pedagogy: transforming teachers' and students' knowledge and values regarding environmental sustainability. In this project an innovative teaching method, Storythread, is investigated as an effective way of developing in primary school-aged students a commitment to the values and practices of sustainability. Acquiring knowledge about the environment is important but not sufficent to transform everyday practices and values. Storythread not only assists students to develop relevant kno ....Storythread pedagogy: transforming teachers' and students' knowledge and values regarding environmental sustainability. In this project an innovative teaching method, Storythread, is investigated as an effective way of developing in primary school-aged students a commitment to the values and practices of sustainability. Acquiring knowledge about the environment is important but not sufficent to transform everyday practices and values. Storythread not only assists students to develop relevant knowledge, but links that knowledge to specific actions and consequential decisions that people make with regard to the environment. By assisting teachers to use Storythread effectively with diverse groups of students, this project will provide a way of developing future citizens with clear environmental values and practices so necessary in contemporary society. Read moreRead less
Constructing a rich curriculum for all: ‘Insights into practice’ . Not all students in Australia have access to the same high quality curriculum. The curriculum is often differentiated in ways designed to make outcomes achievable for marginalised young people. While this is often well meant, it has worked against the interests of these young people by denying them from a young age the same levels of access to curriculum options as their peers. This narrows the range of their future opportunities ....Constructing a rich curriculum for all: ‘Insights into practice’ . Not all students in Australia have access to the same high quality curriculum. The curriculum is often differentiated in ways designed to make outcomes achievable for marginalised young people. While this is often well meant, it has worked against the interests of these young people by denying them from a young age the same levels of access to curriculum options as their peers. This narrows the range of their future opportunities. This project aims to provide the foundations for strategies that can be implemented by teachers, schools and systems to address this problem. This projects works closely with teachers to determine a framework that can encourage pedagogical approaches that make a rich curriculum accessible to all. Read moreRead less
Investigating the relationship between teacher expectations, student persistence and the learning of mathematics. There is a culture in many classrooms in which teachers are encouraged by students to pose easy tasks. The project will explore what is needed to encourage students to embrace challenges and to persist even when tasks are difficult. The outcome will be enhanced mathematics learning and improved student confidence.
A qualitative and quantitative study of Indigenous content in curriculum. The Indigenous curriculum content in the Australian Curriculum, is tasked as the latest attempt to improve outcomes for Indigenous students. This project aims to investigate how teachers approach this cross-curriculum mandate, consider teachers’ attitudes regarding the teaching of Indigenous content, and identify the complex factors that act as barriers to the success of teaching this content. Employing an innovative desig ....A qualitative and quantitative study of Indigenous content in curriculum. The Indigenous curriculum content in the Australian Curriculum, is tasked as the latest attempt to improve outcomes for Indigenous students. This project aims to investigate how teachers approach this cross-curriculum mandate, consider teachers’ attitudes regarding the teaching of Indigenous content, and identify the complex factors that act as barriers to the success of teaching this content. Employing an innovative design that combines policy analysis, survey research and qualitative research to consider the structural, epistemic and curriculum factors impacting on the success of this policy mandate. This will illuminate the affordances and constraints of new ways of understanding the inclusion of Indigenous content into the curriculum.Read moreRead less
Building on rural knowledges to unlock the potential of rural students. This project aims to advance understanding of the distinctive knowledges that rural students bring to school and develop teaching practices that build on these rural knowledges to unlock the potential of this significant student population. The project involves collaborating with rural primary schools, teachers, students and communities to identify rural knowledges, study classroom practices in detail, and develop sustainabl ....Building on rural knowledges to unlock the potential of rural students. This project aims to advance understanding of the distinctive knowledges that rural students bring to school and develop teaching practices that build on these rural knowledges to unlock the potential of this significant student population. The project involves collaborating with rural primary schools, teachers, students and communities to identify rural knowledges, study classroom practices in detail, and develop sustainable teaching practices that help students connect rural knowledges and school knowledge. Expected outcomes include a framework of place-based teaching practices and resources that will benefit rural schooling, teacher education, and the education of communities crucial to the nation’s future wealth and welfare.Read moreRead less
Recruit to Retain: From Medical School to Rural Practitioner. In order to make use of assets and resources the Government is providing for medical training and to address the problem of inequitable distribution of GPs in Australia this project aims to develop a theoretical yet practical understanding of the personal attributes of medical students, residents, registrars and general practitioners that are directly applicable to their recruitment and retention into rural practice. Application of th ....Recruit to Retain: From Medical School to Rural Practitioner. In order to make use of assets and resources the Government is providing for medical training and to address the problem of inequitable distribution of GPs in Australia this project aims to develop a theoretical yet practical understanding of the personal attributes of medical students, residents, registrars and general practitioners that are directly applicable to their recruitment and retention into rural practice. Application of this theoretical perspective will inform and help modify existing training for medical professionals at all levels who have opted for a rural pathway in order to better equip and retain them for life in rural practice.Read moreRead less
Numeracy, ICT and equity: A study of numeracy and ICT practices in primary schools. Numeracy and ICT are key lifeskills. However, not all students gain equal access to, and success in, these key areas. This project researches the numeracy practices of primary school students and their use of ICT; identifies effective pedagogical strategies for teaching ICT in and for numeracy learning; and then uses these knowledges to develop strategies to support and enhance learning of students who traditiona ....Numeracy, ICT and equity: A study of numeracy and ICT practices in primary schools. Numeracy and ICT are key lifeskills. However, not all students gain equal access to, and success in, these key areas. This project researches the numeracy practices of primary school students and their use of ICT; identifies effective pedagogical strategies for teaching ICT in and for numeracy learning; and then uses these knowledges to develop strategies to support and enhance learning of students who traditionally are most at risk of failing in numeracy. The project produces new knowledge about numeracy as a social practice at both theoretical and practical levels in order to support numeracy outcomes for indigenous, remote and economically-disadvantaged students.Read moreRead less