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
Learning-rich leadership for quality improvement in early education. This project aims to establish Australia's first evidence base to inform quality improvement in early childhood education services through the development of educational leaders. Effective leadership is essential to ensuring the effective implementation of the Australian government's national quality standards for early childhood education. A new theory of 'learning-rich' leadership for quality improvement will be developed to ....Learning-rich leadership for quality improvement in early education. This project aims to establish Australia's first evidence base to inform quality improvement in early childhood education services through the development of educational leaders. Effective leadership is essential to ensuring the effective implementation of the Australian government's national quality standards for early childhood education. A new theory of 'learning-rich' leadership for quality improvement will be developed to influence leadership education in the early childhood sector. Expected outcomes from this project have potential benefits for the increased effectiveness in service quality for early childhood education.Read moreRead less
Making a digital difference? An investigation of new technologies in secondary schools. This project addresses the long-standing question of why digital technologies have largely failed to have a consistent impact on the core processes of schools and schooling. The overarching aim of the project, therefore, is to identify the socio-technical adjustments that might be made within schools to facilitate ‘better’ uses of digital technology. Using an innovative combination of large-scale surveying, i ....Making a digital difference? An investigation of new technologies in secondary schools. This project addresses the long-standing question of why digital technologies have largely failed to have a consistent impact on the core processes of schools and schooling. The overarching aim of the project, therefore, is to identify the socio-technical adjustments that might be made within schools to facilitate ‘better’ uses of digital technology. Using an innovative combination of large-scale surveying, in-depth ethnographic study and critical participatory design, the project will: provide rich insights into why digital technologies are often not being used to their full potential in schools; and actively collaborate with school communities in experimenting and constructing alternatives.Read moreRead less
Student retention beyond the compulsory schooling years in rural, regional and disadvantaged communities. This project will incorporate longitudinal mixed-methods study to investigate the factors that influence student retention in schooling beyond the compulsory years in rural, regional and disadvantaged communities. Research outcomes will identify best-practice educational strategies to enhance retention in such communities across Australia.
Innovative partnerships for youth engagement in education and work. The project is a partnership between two universities and eight school system agencies across three states. The project will examine how collaboration between schools system, employers and other providers can enhance applied learning in secondary schools and build youth engagement with education and work.