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
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
Assessing the development, well-being, and community connectedness of children in the middle years: The Middle Development Instrument for Australia. This project develops the Middle Development Instrument (MDI) which gives children a voice, an opportunity to communicate to adults about what their experiences are inside and outside of school. The MDI has great potential to provide educators, parents, researchers, and policy makers with much needed information about the psychological and social wo ....Assessing the development, well-being, and community connectedness of children in the middle years: The Middle Development Instrument for Australia. This project develops the Middle Development Instrument (MDI) which gives children a voice, an opportunity to communicate to adults about what their experiences are inside and outside of school. The MDI has great potential to provide educators, parents, researchers, and policy makers with much needed information about the psychological and social worlds of children.Read moreRead less
Addressing the teacher exodus: Enhancing early career teacher resilience and retention in changing times. This research will produce new knowledge, strategies, models and recommendations that will help to keep early career teachers in the profession in regional, rural and remote areas. In doing so it will address the problem of teacher shortage that is currently threatening the nation's educational, economic and social outcomes. The research outcomes will have particular credibility at the natio ....Addressing the teacher exodus: Enhancing early career teacher resilience and retention in changing times. This research will produce new knowledge, strategies, models and recommendations that will help to keep early career teachers in the profession in regional, rural and remote areas. In doing so it will address the problem of teacher shortage that is currently threatening the nation's educational, economic and social outcomes. The research outcomes will have particular credibility at the national level because they will be the result of dialogue and collaboration across three universities and six industry partners who are the key stakeholders in teacher employment in two states. In addition, the collaborative approach will facilitate implementation of recommendations at the local, state and national levels.Read moreRead less
From high school to higher education: Gendered pathways in information, communication and computer technology education. Serious gender-based disparities exist in participation in the Information, Communication, and Computing Technologies (ICCT) field, in both higher education and industry, with a 2004 review of Australian university participation rates identifying women as an equity target group in this field. A multi-method, multi-stage project has been design to identify the processes that le ....From high school to higher education: Gendered pathways in information, communication and computer technology education. Serious gender-based disparities exist in participation in the Information, Communication, and Computing Technologies (ICCT) field, in both higher education and industry, with a 2004 review of Australian university participation rates identifying women as an equity target group in this field. A multi-method, multi-stage project has been design to identify the processes that lead to this gender gap. Specifically, the project will focus on students' experiences and decisions at secondary school in three states to ascertain why so few girls choose to enter university-level ICCT courses, and what strategies could be implemented in schools to remedy this problem. Read moreRead less
Evaluating the long-term costs and benefits of community-based initiatives. The ultimate benefit from the research is a more efficient allocation of public funds to provide public services, i.e. an increase in the gain derived from the government budget. The relative advantages of alternative methods of delivering government services are subject to significant uncertainty, which means that policy decisions are often poorly informed. Improvements in the accuracy of predicting the costs and benefi ....Evaluating the long-term costs and benefits of community-based initiatives. The ultimate benefit from the research is a more efficient allocation of public funds to provide public services, i.e. an increase in the gain derived from the government budget. The relative advantages of alternative methods of delivering government services are subject to significant uncertainty, which means that policy decisions are often poorly informed. Improvements in the accuracy of predicting the costs and benefits of complex community-based initiatives will help policymakers identify the set of initiatives that provide the best outcomes for the community they serve, as well as informing the optimal specification of the individual initiatives.Read moreRead less
An action research project to strengthen inter-professional learning and practice across the ACT health system. There are 14 beneficial reasons why this project is vital to the fabric of our nation. These include: the economic benefits of a more efficient health-care system; the social benefits of more responsive and resilient workplaces; the research benefits of better knowledge about how professionals can work together effectively; the consumer benefits of improved patient care; health sector ....An action research project to strengthen inter-professional learning and practice across the ACT health system. There are 14 beneficial reasons why this project is vital to the fabric of our nation. These include: the economic benefits of a more efficient health-care system; the social benefits of more responsive and resilient workplaces; the research benefits of better knowledge about how professionals can work together effectively; the consumer benefits of improved patient care; health sector benefits in assisting health reforms to be more effective; and education sector benefits in understanding how professionals from different disciplines can learn together more collaboratively. The benefits are transferable to other industries and professional groups, as well as to Australia's international partners.Read moreRead less
Childhood obesity, physical activity and wellbeing: Discovering the influence of children's understandings and experiences of places, spaces and communities. The study aims to discover 3-13 yr old children's understandings, perceptions & experiences of physical activity & associated places & spaces. Childhood obesity is a modern 'epidemic' & governments agree that low physical activity levels contribute significantly. Epidemiological & clinical research has been undertaken, but we lack Australia ....Childhood obesity, physical activity and wellbeing: Discovering the influence of children's understandings and experiences of places, spaces and communities. The study aims to discover 3-13 yr old children's understandings, perceptions & experiences of physical activity & associated places & spaces. Childhood obesity is a modern 'epidemic' & governments agree that low physical activity levels contribute significantly. Epidemiological & clinical research has been undertaken, but we lack Australian studies that systematically listen to & understand the pivotal voices of children themselves. Failure to develop such theoretically sound, practice-based understandings may mean ineffective interventions that misunderstand children's worlds. This collaborative study unites highly experienced researchers, practitioners & policy makers who will actively involve children in creating & using new knowledge.Read moreRead less