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
Impact of Developmentally-based Qualitative Assessment Practices in English, Mathematics, and Science on School Policies, Classroom Instruction, and Teacher Knowledge. This project aims to investigate and analyse issues concerning qualitative assessment techniques that measure students? understandings in English, Mathematics and Science, Years 7 to 10, in Government Schools in NSW. The significance lies in the advice that will be provided to school systems, subject departments and teachers on h ....Impact of Developmentally-based Qualitative Assessment Practices in English, Mathematics, and Science on School Policies, Classroom Instruction, and Teacher Knowledge. This project aims to investigate and analyse issues concerning qualitative assessment techniques that measure students? understandings in English, Mathematics and Science, Years 7 to 10, in Government Schools in NSW. The significance lies in the advice that will be provided to school systems, subject departments and teachers on how assessment information can improve the learning environment for students. Expected outcomes include details on how to utilise qualitative and quantitative assessment practices; detailed longitudinal analyses of teacher growth and perceptions as a result of using theoretically-based assessment practices within the social context of NSW classrooms.Read moreRead less
Disciplinarity and classroom practice: Epistemological issues in the analysis and improvement of teaching and learning. Demands on levels of content and technical knowledge are accelerating from many employment sectors in Australia and elsewhere. In addition, there is an increasing need to apply knowledge to complex problems in innovative and flexible ways and in authentic settings not readily simulable in traditional schooling. The proposed project addresses fundamental questions about epistemo ....Disciplinarity and classroom practice: Epistemological issues in the analysis and improvement of teaching and learning. Demands on levels of content and technical knowledge are accelerating from many employment sectors in Australia and elsewhere. In addition, there is an increasing need to apply knowledge to complex problems in innovative and flexible ways and in authentic settings not readily simulable in traditional schooling. The proposed project addresses fundamental questions about epistemology, curriculum, and everyday classroom practice. It offers novel and evidence-based approaches to the building of discipline-based knowledge, and thus has powerful implications for the revitalising of Australian education to meet the urgent requirements of new economic, technological, and cultural times put pressures on education. Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0668285
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$48,570.00
Summary
Testing Ground: Investigating Indigenous Knowledge Programs and Indigenous Research Methodologies in Higher Education. This project will contribute to Australian social cohesion through the non-divisive Indigenous Knowledge approach to the teaching of Indigenous issues. Indigenous Knowledge Research is a new methodological development that will afford research in many cross-cultural contexts including those where literacy and numeracy skills are low. This research methodology has national and co ....Testing Ground: Investigating Indigenous Knowledge Programs and Indigenous Research Methodologies in Higher Education. This project will contribute to Australian social cohesion through the non-divisive Indigenous Knowledge approach to the teaching of Indigenous issues. Indigenous Knowledge Research is a new methodological development that will afford research in many cross-cultural contexts including those where literacy and numeracy skills are low. This research methodology has national and community significance because it fosters social cohesion in investigating problematic contexts through methods that bridge across groups and build community capacities to engage, identify and implement self-owned solutions. This research will facilitate the instigation of informational gathering structures in the most marginalized sectors of the Australian community.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
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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Vocational Education and Training in Schools: Cultural Resistance and the Academic Tradition. This study seeks to relate how well different models of VET in Schools delivery (in different settings) work towards achieving the objectives of improved participation, more effective transitions and engagement of reluctant learners. It also seeks to assess how effectively the different ways of delivering VET are meeting governments' objectives to build Australia's skills base and provide young people w ....Vocational Education and Training in Schools: Cultural Resistance and the Academic Tradition. This study seeks to relate how well different models of VET in Schools delivery (in different settings) work towards achieving the objectives of improved participation, more effective transitions and engagement of reluctant learners. It also seeks to assess how effectively the different ways of delivering VET are meeting governments' objectives to build Australia's skills base and provide young people with effective pathways. This study will provide education and training systems with valuable data on the effectiveness of this major policy innovation for different student groups. It will do so by analysing three major school leaver data-bases, followed up by qualitative studies in 12 schools in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.Read moreRead less
The VCE: Social Access and Transition Effectiveness. Education authorities in Australia face difficulties in reforming school programs to make them both equitable and effective in terms of learning experiences and outcomes. This project examines the extent to which young people from different family backgrounds access different "locations" within the curriculum, the quality of their instructional experience, and the post-school destinations connected with the places they held in the curriculum. ....The VCE: Social Access and Transition Effectiveness. Education authorities in Australia face difficulties in reforming school programs to make them both equitable and effective in terms of learning experiences and outcomes. This project examines the extent to which young people from different family backgrounds access different "locations" within the curriculum, the quality of their instructional experience, and the post-school destinations connected with the places they held in the curriculum. The broad objective is to make the curriculum much more transparent with respect to its underlying social patterns and processes, and thus to make it more accessible to the remedial action of both teachers and curriculum and assessment authorities.Read moreRead less
Vocational studies in school - does it matter if I'm a girl and if I'm poor? The growth of VET in Schools has been associated with government policy to promote an innovation culture and economy, to increase secondary retention, and to strengthen transition from school to tertiary study, training and work. This study seeks to examine the effectiveness of VETiS, from a gender and SES perspective, in strengthening participation, fostering student engagement and facilitating effective transition. It ....Vocational studies in school - does it matter if I'm a girl and if I'm poor? The growth of VET in Schools has been associated with government policy to promote an innovation culture and economy, to increase secondary retention, and to strengthen transition from school to tertiary study, training and work. This study seeks to examine the effectiveness of VETiS, from a gender and SES perspective, in strengthening participation, fostering student engagement and facilitating effective transition. It does so by analysing national VETiS data, followed up by a longitudinal study of students in 12 schools (small, large, single sex, co-educational, metropolitan and non-metropolitan). It uniquely combines a system-wide perspective with a detailed and qualitative school-level view.Read moreRead less