Building professional learning communities in a large Australian school district: School leadership within an information and communications technology (ICT) environment. Recent school restructuring in Australia has centred on devolution and the development of self-managing schools. In another layer of workplace complexity for school leaders, the past decade of educational restructuring has also been characterised by increased implementation and reliance upon ICT within the educational system, s ....Building professional learning communities in a large Australian school district: School leadership within an information and communications technology (ICT) environment. Recent school restructuring in Australia has centred on devolution and the development of self-managing schools. In another layer of workplace complexity for school leaders, the past decade of educational restructuring has also been characterised by increased implementation and reliance upon ICT within the educational system, schools and classrooms. Through a unique collaboration between a University and an entire School District as an industry partner, this study examines leadership attributes in an ICT rich environment. The study will provide information about how to maximize leadership skills in ICT-rich environments by developing an empirically-based innovative professional development model for Australian schools.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354816
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Development of the Foundations for a Research Network for Schooling the Knowledge Society. This initiative will develop the foundations for a network of researchers and practitioners by identifying and establishing directions for research required for schooling the knowledge society. The initiative will engage research leaders across a number of fields, early career researchers and trainee researchers in a collaborative strategy that harnesses the power of information and communications technolo ....Development of the Foundations for a Research Network for Schooling the Knowledge Society. This initiative will develop the foundations for a network of researchers and practitioners by identifying and establishing directions for research required for schooling the knowledge society. The initiative will engage research leaders across a number of fields, early career researchers and trainee researchers in a collaborative strategy that harnesses the power of information and communications technologies (ICT) to make smart use of research knowledge and to make it available to innovation teams in schools as they respond to the emerging challenges. The initiative will use a leading-edge learning communities Internet platform that is itself the product of an international collaborative effort for which the Commonwealth Government has provided funding of $1.3 million over the last 3 years.
The outcome of the initiative will be the development of the foundation for a fully-fledged Research Network, identification of the key research questions and directions for the next decade, a web-based resource to support the Research Network, and an archive of relevant research for researchers, policy makers and educational practitioners to utilise in enhancing the impact of research on everyday practice and the economic productivity of the nation.Read moreRead less
Protect, prepare and engage: Does extracurricular activity participation offer sustained benefits for youth? Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and music have the potential to promote healthy development and to reduce the levels of risk behaviours in teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight ....Protect, prepare and engage: Does extracurricular activity participation offer sustained benefits for youth? Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and music have the potential to promote healthy development and to reduce the levels of risk behaviours in teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight into the long-term benefits of making a diverse selection of organised activities available to Australian teenagers, and will improve our understanding of which aspects of participation are most likely to enhance their social and educational opportunities.Read moreRead less
The role of extracurricular activity participation in promoting healthy development of Australian youth. Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and art have the potential for promoting healthy development and reducing the risks faced by teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight into the importanc ....The role of extracurricular activity participation in promoting healthy development of Australian youth. Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and art have the potential for promoting healthy development and reducing the risks faced by teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight into the importance of making a diverse selection of organized activities available to Australian teenagers, and will improve our understanding of which aspects of participation are most likely to enhance their social and educational opportunities.Read moreRead less
Middle Years Transition, Engagement and Achievement in Mathematics - The MYTEAM Project. It is a Commonwealth policy objective that all students attain essential numeracy skills. In reality, 30% of 15 year olds do not attain these skills. Alongside this are declining enrolments in mathematics, a trend away from advanced mathematics courses, and an emerging 'skills shortage' in mathematics-related pathways. The MYTEAM project provides new solutions to national problems associated with disengageme ....Middle Years Transition, Engagement and Achievement in Mathematics - The MYTEAM Project. It is a Commonwealth policy objective that all students attain essential numeracy skills. In reality, 30% of 15 year olds do not attain these skills. Alongside this are declining enrolments in mathematics, a trend away from advanced mathematics courses, and an emerging 'skills shortage' in mathematics-related pathways. The MYTEAM project provides new solutions to national problems associated with disengagement, under-participation and underperformance in mathematics and empowers more individuals to aspire to and realise mathematics-related employment opportunities. Addressing such a shortfall in the labour market will have a positive impact on the future economy, the nation's social well-being, and individuals' pathways beyond school.Read moreRead less
What teachers do with the official curriculum: A quantitative study of factors influencing the curriculum-in-use. The Federal Government has declared 'the education revolution' as a key focus of reform. In response to public debate, it has called for a National Curriculum and a policy focus on teacher quality. This project is the first large-scale state survey of teacher engagement with and use of official curriculum documents. It will document how teacher expertise and preparation, systemic and ....What teachers do with the official curriculum: A quantitative study of factors influencing the curriculum-in-use. The Federal Government has declared 'the education revolution' as a key focus of reform. In response to public debate, it has called for a National Curriculum and a policy focus on teacher quality. This project is the first large-scale state survey of teacher engagement with and use of official curriculum documents. It will document how teacher expertise and preparation, systemic and professional support influence how teachers interpret and use the curriculum. The project will provide a new evidence-base for state and national policy reform in: curriculum, teacher education, and professional development. Read moreRead less
Academic Curriculum and School Setting : How school subjects live different lives in different schools. What is it about some schools that enables success to occur even in the most unlikely settings? This project will investigate differences in how the senior school subjects of mathematics, English and chemistry are 'delivered' in particular settings, despite curricula that are centrally determined and examined. It will explore the impact of factors such as school organisation, teaching and asse ....Academic Curriculum and School Setting : How school subjects live different lives in different schools. What is it about some schools that enables success to occur even in the most unlikely settings? This project will investigate differences in how the senior school subjects of mathematics, English and chemistry are 'delivered' in particular settings, despite curricula that are centrally determined and examined. It will explore the impact of factors such as school organisation, teaching and assessment methods, teaching resources and student background characteristics on students' experience of, and success in, these subjects. This project will identify the changes in curricula, school organisation and teaching needed for more students to successfully complete their senior secondary education.Read moreRead less
Outcomes-focused Learning Environments, Affective Outcomes and Achievement Standards in Senior School Classes in Western Australia. Given the controversy in the media about outcomes-focused education and the acute lack of research into its implementation and effectiveness, this research is timely and useful. It could have far-reaching implications for educational systems about how to effectively create outcomes-focused learning environments and whether educational standards are being maintained. ....Outcomes-focused Learning Environments, Affective Outcomes and Achievement Standards in Senior School Classes in Western Australia. Given the controversy in the media about outcomes-focused education and the acute lack of research into its implementation and effectiveness, this research is timely and useful. It could have far-reaching implications for educational systems about how to effectively create outcomes-focused learning environments and whether educational standards are being maintained. It will provide information about how teachers can use action research, involving feedback from students, to guide the improvement of learning environments. Training opportunities will be provided for one Master's and two doctoral students.Read moreRead less
Assessment practices: Empowering mathematics and science teachers in rural areas to improve student learning and curriculum implementation. The philosophy behind this research is that assessment needs to be informative and useful for both teacher and learner. For this to happen, there has to be a ?constructive alignment? of curriculum content, pedagogy, and assessment. This research employs empirically-based qualitative assessment techniques, which complement traditional assessment practices, ....Assessment practices: Empowering mathematics and science teachers in rural areas to improve student learning and curriculum implementation. The philosophy behind this research is that assessment needs to be informative and useful for both teacher and learner. For this to happen, there has to be a ?constructive alignment? of curriculum content, pedagogy, and assessment. This research employs empirically-based qualitative assessment techniques, which complement traditional assessment practices, as the foundation for teachers to make this synthesis in mathematics and science in rural schools in NSW. The significance of the research is in the insights it offers to how teachers can improve the learning environment for their students by addressing more appropriately student needs and higher learning outcomes.Read moreRead less
The International Baccalaureate in Australian schools: a sociological case study. The International Baccaluareate is being adopted by many Australian schools seeking an alternative to state curricula. In current debates over a national curriculum, there has been federal government and media support for the IB as a prototype for policy reform. This project will provide the first documentation on the spread of the IB, its target student/family cohorts, school implementation issues, student experie ....The International Baccalaureate in Australian schools: a sociological case study. The International Baccaluareate is being adopted by many Australian schools seeking an alternative to state curricula. In current debates over a national curriculum, there has been federal government and media support for the IB as a prototype for policy reform. This project will provide the first documentation on the spread of the IB, its target student/family cohorts, school implementation issues, student experiences and outcomes. It will evaluate its claims about the preparation of students for new economies, global citizenship and identity.
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