Research capacity-building: the development of Australian PhD programs in national and emerging global contexts. PhD programs in universities are the principal means by which new researchers are prepared for work in the knowledge economy. This project develops a comprehensive coded database of every PhD awarded in Australia since the first programs in the 1940s. It the will study fourteen different PhD programs that have developed during this period in four universities. The project focuses on ....Research capacity-building: the development of Australian PhD programs in national and emerging global contexts. PhD programs in universities are the principal means by which new researchers are prepared for work in the knowledge economy. This project develops a comprehensive coded database of every PhD awarded in Australia since the first programs in the 1940s. It the will study fourteen different PhD programs that have developed during this period in four universities. The project focuses on how these programs develop research capacity within disciplines and how these are related to the changing social, cultural and economic needs of Australia. The project will assist in planning future PhD programs and research capacity development.Read moreRead less
Australian doctoral graduates' publication, professional and community outcomes. The project produces benefits to government, universities, Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies and those with a scholarly interest in doctoral education. It identifies, quantifies and explains the relationship between PhD graduates' thesis outcomes (especially, publications) and their professional and community outcomes up to ten years from graduation. The findings will be disseminated as universities, governmen ....Australian doctoral graduates' publication, professional and community outcomes. The project produces benefits to government, universities, Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies and those with a scholarly interest in doctoral education. It identifies, quantifies and explains the relationship between PhD graduates' thesis outcomes (especially, publications) and their professional and community outcomes up to ten years from graduation. The findings will be disseminated as universities, government and academies debate the RQF outcomes and whether the quality and impact of doctorates be included in the next RQF. The findings enable universities to enhance policy and practice to ensure worthwhile outcomes from doctoral programs and graduates. The project advances scholarship about doctorates and research education.Read moreRead less
Future Proofing Schools: using smart green integrated design approaches to prefabricated learning environments. This project draws on multi-disciplinary approaches to set the groundwork of major transformations of prefabricated classrooms, with the use of advanced materials, smart information systems embedded in the classrooms, better placement on sites, and use of more efficient construction techniques, allowing a transformation of this Australian industry. Our research will promote an innovati ....Future Proofing Schools: using smart green integrated design approaches to prefabricated learning environments. This project draws on multi-disciplinary approaches to set the groundwork of major transformations of prefabricated classrooms, with the use of advanced materials, smart information systems embedded in the classrooms, better placement on sites, and use of more efficient construction techniques, allowing a transformation of this Australian industry. Our research will promote an innovation culture and economy within the school and for future generations, and will have flow-on effects into promoting a healthy start to life in which smart, green, and educational imperatives are aligned. This will assist in strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. Read moreRead less
Smart Green Schools: Educational and Environmental Outcomes of Innovation in School Building Design. The research touches upon many of the key National Research Priorities. Children spend a large proportion of their waking hours within a school environment. A healthy school environment which efficiently uses energy resources and information technology will help ' strengthen Australia's social economic fabric' in the longer term and support student engagement. Children's inhabitation of virtual s ....Smart Green Schools: Educational and Environmental Outcomes of Innovation in School Building Design. The research touches upon many of the key National Research Priorities. Children spend a large proportion of their waking hours within a school environment. A healthy school environment which efficiently uses energy resources and information technology will help ' strengthen Australia's social economic fabric' in the longer term and support student engagement. Children's inhabitation of virtual space as 'native' users of information rich 'frontier technologies' will be complemented by buildings acting as 3D textbooks educating children about an 'environmentally sustainable Australia' and providing feedback on design innovations intended to save 'water' and 'minimise environment impacts' on land and climate.Read moreRead less
Environmental Education and Marine Ecosystem Degradation: The Role of Site-specific Art as Communicative Strategy within Community Awareness-raising Programs. This project investigates a potential application of art as a medium of environmental education. In the context of a World Fish Center sustainable community fisheries project in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, we will deploy works of fine art specifically to communicate ideas and values concerning marine ecosystem degradation. An experienced ecolo ....Environmental Education and Marine Ecosystem Degradation: The Role of Site-specific Art as Communicative Strategy within Community Awareness-raising Programs. This project investigates a potential application of art as a medium of environmental education. In the context of a World Fish Center sustainable community fisheries project in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, we will deploy works of fine art specifically to communicate ideas and values concerning marine ecosystem degradation. An experienced ecological artist will project the issue into the public domain via large-scale video and trans-media installations. Visitor interviews will assess the impact of various modes of visual communication. We believe that visual communication can assist the development of environmental responsibility by shifting perceptions and is, then, of considerable policy value.Read moreRead less
Preschool children's constructions of cultural and 'racial' diversity. This project seeks to study how 60 preschool children understand cultural and 'racial' diversity. The preschool years are critical in forming cultural and 'racial' understandings and Australian data about children's understandings of diversity is scarce and poorly theorised. Given the national debate engendered by Australia's cultural and 'racial' diversity an urgent need exists to redress this and to improve understandings a ....Preschool children's constructions of cultural and 'racial' diversity. This project seeks to study how 60 preschool children understand cultural and 'racial' diversity. The preschool years are critical in forming cultural and 'racial' understandings and Australian data about children's understandings of diversity is scarce and poorly theorised. Given the national debate engendered by Australia's cultural and 'racial' diversity an urgent need exists to redress this and to improve understandings about achieving cultural and 'racially' inclusive curriculum in the crucially formative early years. This trailblazing study is uniquely placed to generate these improved understandings and to lead international thinking about effecting greater 'racial' and cultural justice through early education.
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Negotiating Staff-Parent Relations in Culturally Diverse Early Education Settings. The Australian federal government invests nearly $A1.25 billion annually in childcare and more than 1.6 million children attend some form of childcare. There is an international consensus that parental involvement in early childhood programs enhances their economic and social benefits, including improved educational outcomes, enhanced employment opportunities and increased social participation. This project increa ....Negotiating Staff-Parent Relations in Culturally Diverse Early Education Settings. The Australian federal government invests nearly $A1.25 billion annually in childcare and more than 1.6 million children attend some form of childcare. There is an international consensus that parental involvement in early childhood programs enhances their economic and social benefits, including improved educational outcomes, enhanced employment opportunities and increased social participation. This project increases the likelihood that an increasingly culturally diverse Australia wil.l attain those benefits by offering a radical approach to improving staff-parent relations in culturally diverse settings and helping to reduce the occupational stress often linked with those relations
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Enabling place pedagogies in rural and urban Australia. This project will tell us how children and adults learn about place in the local areas where they live and work. The findings will be applied in action research with teachers in early childhood, school, and adult education settings, and in the preparation of teachers. It will address two Research Priority areas, 1: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia and 2. Strengthening AustraliaÍs economic and social fabric, which we argue are insepa ....Enabling place pedagogies in rural and urban Australia. This project will tell us how children and adults learn about place in the local areas where they live and work. The findings will be applied in action research with teachers in early childhood, school, and adult education settings, and in the preparation of teachers. It will address two Research Priority areas, 1: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia and 2. Strengthening AustraliaÍs economic and social fabric, which we argue are inseparable. Incorporating the findings into the curricula of teacher education will ensure that the project will have sustained long term benefits as well as the immediate application built into the study.Read moreRead less
Youth-led learning: local connections and global citizenship. Focussing on social connections across racial and religious boundaries, the project directly addresses two areas of immediate national concern: young peoples' wellbeing, and Australia's relationship with its neighbours. The project will generate a new model of sustainable partnership across NGOs and learning institutions to provide youth-led, global education programs for school-aged youth, promoting learning from a local basis about ....Youth-led learning: local connections and global citizenship. Focussing on social connections across racial and religious boundaries, the project directly addresses two areas of immediate national concern: young peoples' wellbeing, and Australia's relationship with its neighbours. The project will generate a new model of sustainable partnership across NGOs and learning institutions to provide youth-led, global education programs for school-aged youth, promoting learning from a local basis about global issues. In creating this shared evidence base the project will benefit two industry sectors (NGOs and Education) and facilitate the development of effective processes toward young people's greater participation in social life.Read moreRead less
Community Engagement for Localised Greenhouse Reduction: a local government demand-management model for business and household water, energy and waste reduction. New integrated community strategies are needed to deal with the imperative of reducing Australia's carbon footprint. With an explicit focus on enhancing community engagement for localised greenhouse reduction, this project will generate important analysis and policy prescriptions for demand reduction strategies. The development of endur ....Community Engagement for Localised Greenhouse Reduction: a local government demand-management model for business and household water, energy and waste reduction. New integrated community strategies are needed to deal with the imperative of reducing Australia's carbon footprint. With an explicit focus on enhancing community engagement for localised greenhouse reduction, this project will generate important analysis and policy prescriptions for demand reduction strategies. The development of enduring sustainable environment attitudinal and behavioural change is central to the National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development, which sees a clear role for governments, business and individuals in progressing ecologically sustainable development. The results will contribute to developing new place-based integrated eco-sustainability models for implementation by local/state governments.Read moreRead less