Adolescent Gambling: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Opportunities for Controls and Interventions. This research will contribute to both scientific knowledge and public policy in an area of considerable public concern. It will measure the prevalence of gambling among adolescents in the ACT, and identify the proportion of youth with actual or potential gambling problems. It will assess their degree of exposure to gambling advertising and their awareness of services for young problem gamblers. The p ....Adolescent Gambling: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Opportunities for Controls and Interventions. This research will contribute to both scientific knowledge and public policy in an area of considerable public concern. It will measure the prevalence of gambling among adolescents in the ACT, and identify the proportion of youth with actual or potential gambling problems. It will assess their degree of exposure to gambling advertising and their awareness of services for young problem gamblers. The project will also identify risk factors for problem gambling, and protective factors and policy opportunities for the reduction of problem gambling. It will also contribute to methodological knowledge by assessing the validity of multiple measures of problem gambling.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
Patterns of Distributed Leadership in Australian Schools. Using fieldwork methods, this project documents new forms of distributed leadership in Australian schools. It will account for the recent emergence of distributed leadership, distinguish typical distributed models and highlight the institutional and systemic implications of these formations. The research is significant because it provides a pioneering qualitative analysis of the evolving division of labour in management and leadership in ....Patterns of Distributed Leadership in Australian Schools. Using fieldwork methods, this project documents new forms of distributed leadership in Australian schools. It will account for the recent emergence of distributed leadership, distinguish typical distributed models and highlight the institutional and systemic implications of these formations. The research is significant because it provides a pioneering qualitative analysis of the evolving division of labour in management and leadership in self-managing schools. Its focus on collectively co-ordinated activities should also prompt a re-definition of senior level school responsibilities. Moreover, the research outcomes will account for recent career recruitment difficulties experienced by employers, and stimulate improved career profiling, recruitment and development.Read moreRead less
Performance-based assessment of professional standards for school leaders. Descriptions of school principals' professional standards are common in the English speaking countries. These standards, however, are rarely accompanied by adequate methods for making judgements about performance against the standards.
The project will apply both substantive and modern test theory innovations to construct scales, develop test items, and operationalise and verify scoring rubrics to demonstrate assessabl ....Performance-based assessment of professional standards for school leaders. Descriptions of school principals' professional standards are common in the English speaking countries. These standards, however, are rarely accompanied by adequate methods for making judgements about performance against the standards.
The project will apply both substantive and modern test theory innovations to construct scales, develop test items, and operationalise and verify scoring rubrics to demonstrate assessable variation in leaders' performance within a standards framework. To enhance performance, these outcomes and the variation in accomplishment that leaders may be expected to display, will be made available to assessors, leaders and aspiring leaders as characteristics of accomplished performance.
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Principal Aspirations and Recruitment amidst Leadership Disengagement. The research addresses the problem of principal shortages in a climate of leadership disengagement and why the principalship is becoming a less attractive career option for teachers. It will establish whether the principalship is part of teachers' professional goals and identities, and identify the factors conducive to, or inhibitory of, teachers' principalship aspirations. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be used ....Principal Aspirations and Recruitment amidst Leadership Disengagement. The research addresses the problem of principal shortages in a climate of leadership disengagement and why the principalship is becoming a less attractive career option for teachers. It will establish whether the principalship is part of teachers' professional goals and identities, and identify the factors conducive to, or inhibitory of, teachers' principalship aspirations. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to ascertain teachers' anticipated career profiles and leadership role perceptions in Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland. Research outcomes should lead to a review and possible redesign of the principal role, and influence significantly the states' succession planning policies and leadership development strategies.Read moreRead less
International comparative study of successful school leadership: Successful school leadership in Australia. There is renewed focus by government on education, facilitated by the move to a knowledge society and the realisation of the importance of good education to Australia's prosperity. School principals are key to how schools function. With an ageing principalship and a high principal retirement rate, there is renewed interest in developing current and future principals as evidenced by the est ....International comparative study of successful school leadership: Successful school leadership in Australia. There is renewed focus by government on education, facilitated by the move to a knowledge society and the realisation of the importance of good education to Australia's prosperity. School principals are key to how schools function. With an ageing principalship and a high principal retirement rate, there is renewed interest in developing current and future principals as evidenced by the establishment of the National Institute for Quality Learning and School Leadership. This research is about successful school principals and is part of an international effort to better understand school leadership, particularly that of schools that have undergone dramatic improvement. It holds the promise of transforming leadership preparation and support.Read moreRead less
Investigating standards-driven reform in assessment in the middle years of schooling. This project addresses the Australian Government's call for standards-referenced reporting of student achievement. Its focus on standards, teacher judgement, and inclusion ensures that the project is responsive to the diversity of student cohorts, including those in rural and remote areas. Reliable teacher judgement and clear reporting are vital in ensuring timely interventions for students at educational risk ....Investigating standards-driven reform in assessment in the middle years of schooling. This project addresses the Australian Government's call for standards-referenced reporting of student achievement. Its focus on standards, teacher judgement, and inclusion ensures that the project is responsive to the diversity of student cohorts, including those in rural and remote areas. Reliable teacher judgement and clear reporting are vital in ensuring timely interventions for students at educational risk and for accelerated provision for high performing students. This project is significant as it will provide a large-scale evidential base of how teachers judge and moderate quality. Australia's social well being and economic international competitiveness hinge on maximising outcomes for all students.
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The Chinese Knowledge Diaspora and the International Knowledge Network - Australian and Canadian Universities Compared. For Australia, one of the key contemporary challenges is to understand China, in ways that maximise mutual benefits. This includes the key arena of education, where the growing number of Chinese intellectuals working in Australian (and Canadian) universities, can assist in replenishing an ageing domestic academic work force,as well as forging international research networks. T ....The Chinese Knowledge Diaspora and the International Knowledge Network - Australian and Canadian Universities Compared. For Australia, one of the key contemporary challenges is to understand China, in ways that maximise mutual benefits. This includes the key arena of education, where the growing number of Chinese intellectuals working in Australian (and Canadian) universities, can assist in replenishing an ageing domestic academic work force,as well as forging international research networks. The bi-cultural, bi-lingual expertise of this Chinese knowledge diaspora constitutes a key resource with which to build trans-national research and knowledge networks,with the diverse and growing Chinese scholarly community, worldwide. The advantages, prospects and difficulties of such trans-national networks are explained. Read moreRead less
Equity and access: analysing the level and pattern of funding of teaching and learning resources in Australian schools. The project will develop indicators and evidence of best practice that will enable educators and schools to make improved and more informed decisions on how to support learners in the provision of teaching and learning resources.
Governing International Trade in Higher Education: A Comparative Study of International Education Policy Development. Australia is a major exporter of education, yet the cumulative social and economic impacts of large-scale commercial international education on our trading partners are not well researched. This project will assist in understanding the similarities and differences between Australian and other governments' objectives in relation to the growing international market in education, an ....Governing International Trade in Higher Education: A Comparative Study of International Education Policy Development. Australia is a major exporter of education, yet the cumulative social and economic impacts of large-scale commercial international education on our trading partners are not well researched. This project will assist in understanding the similarities and differences between Australian and other governments' objectives in relation to the growing international market in education, and the means governments use to regulate educational trade. This can help inform bilateral and multilateral relations between governments, educational institutions, educational peak bodies and other stakeholders.Read moreRead less