How do qualifications delivered by enterprises contribute to improved skill levels and other benefits for companies, workers and the nation? This project investigates the role of employer-based qualifications training in developing the skills and prospects of the Australian workforce and the competitive capabilities of companies. It focuses on enterprises that are accredited to deliver qualifications to their own workers, providing data to improve and expand this form of training.
Improving court processing of protection applications for young children in the Children's Court of Victoria. The project applies collaborative expertise to improve "healthy starts" (National Research Priority Goal) for vulnerable children with child protection applications in their first 3 years. They need the courts to decide on means of protection and stability. For rural as well as urban areas, the project will identify factors that support or delay provision of stable environments for child ....Improving court processing of protection applications for young children in the Children's Court of Victoria. The project applies collaborative expertise to improve "healthy starts" (National Research Priority Goal) for vulnerable children with child protection applications in their first 3 years. They need the courts to decide on means of protection and stability. For rural as well as urban areas, the project will identify factors that support or delay provision of stable environments for children needing security in their early years. The project provides an evidence base for analyses and case flow management. By analysing court processes, it contributes data on protection cases that are lacking in Australia. This will be a lasting system for the Children's Court that can be generalised to other age groups and jurisdictions. Read moreRead less
Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular imag ....Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular images of work with young children as easy and instinctual, or of teaching as only school based, mislead potential workforce entrants and erode the status of educators, leading to attrition. This project’s audit and description of exemplary educators’ work, across each level of mandated qualification, will inform strategies to sustain a high quality early childhood workforce into the future.Read moreRead less
Building futures for young Australians at risk: a coordinated measurement framework and data archive. This project will build a national data base of evidence about and for programs that address the needs of the 16 per cent of young Australians currently at risk of school non-completion. It will generate important knowledge for program improvement and sustainability and coordination of evidence across diverse and fragmented programs.
Redefining body image for young women: Development of an Australian bibliotherapy program for adolescent girls. Body image dissatisfaction poses a serious health risk for adolescent girls and young women. Whilst this construct is highly prevalent amongst female populations, there are some who remain immune to the pervasiveness and subsequent development of these self-negating attitudes. However, little is known about the resilience processes utilised by those who are immune. This study aims to ....Redefining body image for young women: Development of an Australian bibliotherapy program for adolescent girls. Body image dissatisfaction poses a serious health risk for adolescent girls and young women. Whilst this construct is highly prevalent amongst female populations, there are some who remain immune to the pervasiveness and subsequent development of these self-negating attitudes. However, little is known about the resilience processes utilised by those who are immune. This study aims to develop an understanding of these resilience processes and utilise them in the construction and delivery of an innovative preventative program for adolescent girls. The outcomes of this research will provide young girls with an alternative voice, de-emphasising the objectification of self as a component of female identity formation and stem ongoing development of associated psychosocial risks.Read moreRead less
Assessment and treatment software for developmental disabilities based on neuroscientific theories for information processing. Performance on tasks relating to fluency of reading, language and sensory motor integration is impaired to some degree in children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and intellectual disability (ID). Thus our aim is to develop and test, to the point of commercial release, software for assessment of visual and auditory performance relating to social, language and literacy diff ....Assessment and treatment software for developmental disabilities based on neuroscientific theories for information processing. Performance on tasks relating to fluency of reading, language and sensory motor integration is impaired to some degree in children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and intellectual disability (ID). Thus our aim is to develop and test, to the point of commercial release, software for assessment of visual and auditory performance relating to social, language and literacy difficulties for young children. Furthermore software which aims to train attention and improve speed of visual object recognition will be developed and if effective as a treatment to improve reading and social interactions in ID, will be released by Fildes Foundation as an easily accessible multi-media based home/school therapy.Read moreRead less
Improving the operation of large-scale irrigation networks through automation. Channel networks for irrigation are critical infrastructure. Efficient operation is important in terms of sustainability and food security. This project aims to deliver automatic control techniques for improving system-wide performance. The research outcomes will secure Australia's place at the forefront of irrigation network automation technology.
Senior secondary certification: meeting the national agenda? Senior secondary certificates are subject to multiple sets of national demands that create the risk of weakening their important historical roles and undermining stakeholder support. This project will provide a deeper understanding of the nature of the tensions that need to be balanced within the design and management of the certificates and provide information for future design options in the context of national developments in secon ....Senior secondary certification: meeting the national agenda? Senior secondary certificates are subject to multiple sets of national demands that create the risk of weakening their important historical roles and undermining stakeholder support. This project will provide a deeper understanding of the nature of the tensions that need to be balanced within the design and management of the certificates and provide information for future design options in the context of national developments in secondary and tertiary education. The project has the potential to assist state and territory agencies that are responsible for senior secondary curriculum and certification in making their contributions toward the national goals and targets for education participation set by the Australian Government.Read moreRead less
Enhancing learning capacity and academic outcomes using novel game technology in primary school children with developmental disabilities. Childhood inattention has been linked with poor academic outcomes and reduced social inclusion. In children with developmental disabilities improving poor attention skills is essential. The project aims to provide a novel and engaging evidence-based intervention program delivered as a portable, interactive game accessible in rural and urban communities.
Would more highly-qualified teachers and trainers help to address quality problems in the Australian vocational education and training system? This project examines whether and how higher-level qualifications for vocational education and training (VET) teachers would improve quality in the VET system. Government documents and public commentary indicate that the VET sector suffers from some fairly serious quality problems. This is significant because VET provides training that underpins all Austr ....Would more highly-qualified teachers and trainers help to address quality problems in the Australian vocational education and training system? This project examines whether and how higher-level qualifications for vocational education and training (VET) teachers would improve quality in the VET system. Government documents and public commentary indicate that the VET sector suffers from some fairly serious quality problems. This is significant because VET provides training that underpins all Australian industries. Most VET teachers are qualified only to a Certificate IV level. A more highly qualified VET teaching workforce is likely to lead to improvements in quality; however there is currently no firm evidence to establish this link, as the 2011 Productivity Commission report on the VET workforce pointed out. This project aims to provide much-needed evidence to guide policy.Read moreRead less