Artificial intelligence in education: Democratising policy. The rapid introduction of artificial intelligence into education is occurring with inadequate policy support. Additionally, there is a lack of stakeholder input into decisions about the use of AI in education. Utilising social science and data science approaches, this project aims to democratise policy about AI in education by building tools to monitor policies, and developing collaborative policy making methods. The expected outcomes i ....Artificial intelligence in education: Democratising policy. The rapid introduction of artificial intelligence into education is occurring with inadequate policy support. Additionally, there is a lack of stakeholder input into decisions about the use of AI in education. Utilising social science and data science approaches, this project aims to democratise policy about AI in education by building tools to monitor policies, and developing collaborative policy making methods. The expected outcomes include publicly available policy resources to anticipate, and respond to, the role of AI in education, and participatory frameworks for policy making. The benefits include informed stakeholder engagement, and concrete policy recommendations that are globally relevant and adaptable to the Australian context.Read moreRead less
Pathways or cul-de-sacs: the causes, impact and implications of part-time senior secondary study. The research will investigate the factors contributing to the relatively high proportion of SA students who undertake their senior secondary studies part-time, and explore the implications for the students and their communities in terms of educational and employment outcomes. It will also map the geographic, gender and socio-economic dimensions of this phenomenon and identify whether there is a rela ....Pathways or cul-de-sacs: the causes, impact and implications of part-time senior secondary study. The research will investigate the factors contributing to the relatively high proportion of SA students who undertake their senior secondary studies part-time, and explore the implications for the students and their communities in terms of educational and employment outcomes. It will also map the geographic, gender and socio-economic dimensions of this phenomenon and identify whether there is a relationship between part-time senior secondary study, early school leaving and re-entry pathways. The project will draw on recent state and national research, and educational policy analyses, together with qualitative and quantitative data analysis at the state and regional level, to enhance understandings of these issues and inform the development of educational and youth policy at the state and national levels.Read moreRead less
School Exclusionary Policies and Practices and their Impact. This project aims to investigate how and why Australian schools use exclusionary practices to manage disorderly students. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of school discipline about the extent and impact of these practices. It will provide a detailed analysis of the political, legislative and policy frameworks that impact on exclusion rates. Expected outcomes of this project include alternative policy and prac ....School Exclusionary Policies and Practices and their Impact. This project aims to investigate how and why Australian schools use exclusionary practices to manage disorderly students. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of school discipline about the extent and impact of these practices. It will provide a detailed analysis of the political, legislative and policy frameworks that impact on exclusion rates. Expected outcomes of this project include alternative policy and practice recommendations for legislatures and education systems. This should provide significant benefits, such as reducing youth alienation from schooling; creating inclusive schools; reducing the financial burden of exclusion on individuals and governments; and improving the health and wellbeing of young people.Read moreRead less
Knowledge/economy/society: a sociological study of an education policy discourse in Australia in globalising circumstances. Education policies that fuse knowledge, economy and society are globally influential. Such policies seek to promote economic and social enhancement. Yet critics claim that these policies have a narrow view of knowledge, society and the economy, and of current trends. This study adopts inventive methodologies to assess such critics' claims in the light of research by leading ....Knowledge/economy/society: a sociological study of an education policy discourse in Australia in globalising circumstances. Education policies that fuse knowledge, economy and society are globally influential. Such policies seek to promote economic and social enhancement. Yet critics claim that these policies have a narrow view of knowledge, society and the economy, and of current trends. This study adopts inventive methodologies to assess such critics' claims in the light of research by leading sociologists. It explores the ways that the knowledge/economy/society discourse is interpreted in national and supranational policy texts, by senior policy agents and in innovative educational programs in different educational settings. The research findings will enrich education policy research and benefit national education policy.Read moreRead less
Early career teacher induction: Supporting precarious teachers. This project aims to investigate the ways in which Australian induction policies support precariously employed early career teachers to effectively manage student classroom behaviour. This project expects to generate new knowledge of workforce development and induction experiences of early career teachers employed on casual and short-term contracts. Expected outcomes of this project include alternative policy and practice recommenda ....Early career teacher induction: Supporting precarious teachers. This project aims to investigate the ways in which Australian induction policies support precariously employed early career teachers to effectively manage student classroom behaviour. This project expects to generate new knowledge of workforce development and induction experiences of early career teachers employed on casual and short-term contracts. Expected outcomes of this project include alternative policy and practice recommendations to support the transition of insecure replacement teachers within the profession. The benefits of this research include, improving teachers’ classroom management practices; the retention of new teachers; improving teacher workforce development; and building a healthier education system. Read moreRead less
Education Investment in Australian Schooling: Serving Public Purposes. The public purposes of schooling are central to the social and economic health of Australian society, since they provide a basis for realising the goals and aspirations of that society. This project will use the insights and current practices of many school communities to establish how the purposes of schooling are currently understood and enacted. This clarification will be used as the basis for (a) a reassessment and refine ....Education Investment in Australian Schooling: Serving Public Purposes. The public purposes of schooling are central to the social and economic health of Australian society, since they provide a basis for realising the goals and aspirations of that society. This project will use the insights and current practices of many school communities to establish how the purposes of schooling are currently understood and enacted. This clarification will be used as the basis for (a) a reassessment and refinement of such policy statements as the National Goals of Schooling; (b) professional development activities and resources and sharing of good practice; and (c) the development of instruments for assessing the achievement of public purposes.
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Building the capabilities of school communities to improve their wellbeing. Wellbeing remains an issue for all education systems and for the nation. One indicator of this is that, on average, one in six Australian students experience affronts to their wellbeing through bullying or harassment at least once a week. Teacher wellbeing is also an issue of national importance as education systems face issues of teacher retention. This project will provide a model that can be used by other schools and ....Building the capabilities of school communities to improve their wellbeing. Wellbeing remains an issue for all education systems and for the nation. One indicator of this is that, on average, one in six Australian students experience affronts to their wellbeing through bullying or harassment at least once a week. Teacher wellbeing is also an issue of national importance as education systems face issues of teacher retention. This project will provide a model that can be used by other schools and educational systems for development of interventions that address wellbeing issues of social competence, learning and leadership for key groups in school communities. Read moreRead less
Young people's understandings of the relation between work, the labour market and education: Their origins and effects. Young people's pathways between school and work have become much more diverse and complex than in the past. Yet the impact of family background on their education and employment outcomes has hardly changed. This project focuses on young people's perceptions of the relation between work, education and the labour market and the pathways open to them. Taking account of recent m ....Young people's understandings of the relation between work, the labour market and education: Their origins and effects. Young people's pathways between school and work have become much more diverse and complex than in the past. Yet the impact of family background on their education and employment outcomes has hardly changed. This project focuses on young people's perceptions of the relation between work, education and the labour market and the pathways open to them. Taking account of recent major changes in the youth labour market, the research aims to understand the role of these perceptions in shaping young people's choices and pathways, how these vary according to social background and experience, and how they affect employment outcomes.Read moreRead less
Mandated literacy assessment and the reorganisation of teachers' work. The study will inform practitioners, teacher educators and educational policy-makers about the ways that teachers' work is being changed by the introduction of mandated standardised assessment and reporting processes. The research will provide insights into the ways in which teachers need to adapt standardised processes and policies to account for the varied student and community populations they serve. This is significant fo ....Mandated literacy assessment and the reorganisation of teachers' work. The study will inform practitioners, teacher educators and educational policy-makers about the ways that teachers' work is being changed by the introduction of mandated standardised assessment and reporting processes. The research will provide insights into the ways in which teachers need to adapt standardised processes and policies to account for the varied student and community populations they serve. This is significant for educational policy as recent international studies of students' literacy performance suggest Australia is lagging in terms of equity for low SES students. Read moreRead less
Teaching reading in Australia: An historical investigation of early reading pedagogy, the figure of the teacher and literacy education. This project will make a distinctive national and international contribution to reading pedagogy and literacy research by reconceptualising debates about the teacher of reading and establishing an historical foundation for the study of reading pedagogy in teacher education and professional development practices. Teacher education, already a site of national conc ....Teaching reading in Australia: An historical investigation of early reading pedagogy, the figure of the teacher and literacy education. This project will make a distinctive national and international contribution to reading pedagogy and literacy research by reconceptualising debates about the teacher of reading and establishing an historical foundation for the study of reading pedagogy in teacher education and professional development practices. Teacher education, already a site of national concern, will be reinvigorated by new insights and frameworks for training through access by teacher educators to the corpus of data on a website and through publications and conference presentations that will provide a new vision of the complex processes involved in teaching reading.Read moreRead less