Education Commons^™

State Differences In Achievement Among Secondary School Students In Australia, Gary Marks, John Cresswell

Dr John Cresswell

A number of recent national studies of student achievement in secondary school have reported differences between the Australian states and territories. State differences are often viewed as insubstantial or as simply reflecting sociodemographic factors, or differences between the states in the grades or ages of the students sampled. In this article, the authors show that state differences are larger than generally assumed and cannot be attributed to socioeconomic and demographic factors. Generally, student achievement in reading, mathematics and science are higher in New South Wales than the other states, once demographic and grade differences are taken into account. Of concern, …

Pathways Through Tafe: Entry, Progress And Outcomes, Julie Mcmillan, Sheldon Rothman

Dr Sheldon Rothman

No abstract provided.

Transition To Further Education: The First-Year Experience, Julie Mcmillan, Kylie Hillman

Kylie Hillman

Look at tertiary study in terms of academic failure and attrition, and research clearly identifies the first year of study at university or TAFE as the year of highest risk. Put otherwise, completion of the first year is 'more than half the battle' when it comes to the completion of a degree or diploma. Since that's the case, it's worth developing a fuller understanding of young people's experiences and perceptions of their first year of tertiary study, particularly to understand why people change their course of study, why they discontinue their studies and how they develop as lifelong learners, which …

Leadership In Catholic Schools : Development Framework And Standards Of Practice, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Elizabeth Kleinhenz

This study emphasises the connections between the work of leaders and the core functions of schooling. It draws these connections in the context of the values and beliefs of the Catholic Church and the mission of Catholic schools in their communities. The Framework has been developed with two main purposes in mind. The first is to guide the professional learning and development of aspiring leaders and to encourage teachers to consider movement into leadership positions. The second is to unite Catholic schools around a vision of agreed leadership practices for leaders – 'the standards' – and to provide a foundation …

Australian Skills For The 21st Century, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

An overview of the changes which are occurring in Australia and the work that has been undertaken related to ICT in the VET sector. Also to be discussed are the skills in ICT that will be needed for Australia to be successful in a global society.

Learning Environment Design For Learners And Teachers, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

This paper proposes that for elearning to be taken up widely by teachers and learners, a broadly purposed or designed elearning environment of essential educational elements needs to be available. It suggests that the work of preparing online learning programs involves seven different elements which can be organised into seven distinct digital online services layers. Further, from research conducted into educational usage of the internet in the Global Gateways (2003) report, there would appear to be four different types of educational users of Web services to be taken into account when constructing educational online environments.

Political Efficacy And Expected Participation Among Lower And Upper Secondary Students. A Comparative Analysis With Data From The Iea Civic Education Study., Wolfram Schulz

Dr Wolfram Schulz

The process of political socialisation of adolescents includes more than the acquisition of knowledge about society, citizenship and the political system. In a democracy, citizens are expected to participate actively in the political process. Active participation, however, requires citizens to believe in their own ability to influence the course of politics, in other words, to feel politically efficacious. Therefore, enhancing control beliefs and the willingness to act politically could be viewed as important areas of civic and citizenship education. This paper examines changes in levels and relationships regarding efficacy and expected participation using data from students at different stages of …

What's In A Name? Why We Can't Learn With Mobile Phones, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

A team from the University of Melbourne is exploring the potential of mobile camera phones to support learning in schools and TAFE colleges. This article discusses some of the findings of the study.

Are There National Patterns Of Teaching? Evidence From The Timss 1999 Video Study, Karen Givvin, James Hiebert, Jennifer Jacobs, Hilary Hollingsworth, Ronald Gallimore

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

Why do teachers today teach as they do, and why has teaching evolved in the way that it has evolved? In order to improve teaching, it is important to understand why teaching looks the way that it now does and how its general form can be explained. One way to address this question is at the classroom level. In this article we build on ethnographic research by using the 1999 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) video archives. Here we consider two possible explanations for the general patterns that have developed in school teaching. One explanation is that there …

Designing Assessment Tasks For Deep Thinking, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

I want to present some ideas about how a valid and reliable process for assessing deep thinking is not a function of the assessment regime (such as external or internal, standardised or teacher-devised), but is actually a product of the successful application of certain design criteria and the interplay of three essential elements. The argument I present rests on one simple belief that I hold: the capacity to design good assessment tasks is a vital part of an extensive professional repertoire and, as such, demands space and time, ritual and respect. (Teacher–assessors should not let anybody tell them that designing …

Are Learning Technologies Making A Difference? A Longitudinal Perspective Of Attitudes, Katherine Dix

Dr Katherine Dix

Mathematics Self-Efficacy And Student Expectations. Results From Pisa 2003., Wolfram Schulz

Dr Wolfram Schulz

Student performance is generally viewed as the main criterion variable when analysing equity in the outcomes of education. However, there is evidence that even with increasing equity in achievement, inequity in other important learning outcomes might still prevail. Self-beliefs like mathematics self-efficacy, i.e. students’ judgements of their own ability to solve tasks in mathematics, are often viewed as crucial learning outcomes, which affect the process of learning and are an important predictor of educational career choices. The second survey of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2003) provides data on self-related cognitions, motivations, learning behaviours and student performance in …

Factors Influencing Reading Achievement In Germany And Spain : Evidence From Pisa 2000, Petra Lietz, Dieter Kotte, Maria Lopez

Dr Petra Lietz

This article examines the factors fostering and inhibiting student achievement in Germany and Spain at the 15-year-old level in the OECD Programme on International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2000. Both countries performed significantly below the OECD average not only in Reading but also in Mathematics and Science on this occasion. Since the two countries are similar in average levels of student achievement, it is of interest to consider whether similar patterns exist in the ways in which factors operate to influence student achievement in these two countries. Preliminary analyses were carried out with PLSPATH and subsequent two-level models were analysed …

Lesson Study : A Professional Learning Model That Actually Makes A Difference, Hilary Hollingsworth, Delwyn Oliver

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

Over the past year, a group of mathematics teachers from one Victorian school engaged in a process of professional learning called Lesson Study. In bi-weekly meetings that focused on the development of a single exemplary lesson, they questioned, pondered, discussed, debated, explored, and examined mathematics, and the teaching and learning of mathematics. This paper describes the process and the outcomes of what these teachers consider to be the most powerful professional learning they have experienced.

Teachers' New Roles In School-Based Communities Of Practice, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

School classrooms can be conceptualised as bounded communities of practice made up of teachers and students working together to learn and build knowledge. The widespread use of information and communication technologies enables these communities to create knowledge, cross boundaries and build up intellectual capital. This paper, based on a qualitative study of thirty-two teachers in Victorian state schools, offers a model of four teachers’ roles that reflects the current situation, and suggests ways in which these roles might be developed to enhance knowledge building. It argues that safe, knowledgeable communities within boundaries, together with active boundary-crossing, can provide the conditions …

Longitudinal Pathways Linking Family Factors And Sibling Relationship Qualities To Adolescent Substance Use And Sexual Risk Behaviors, Patricia East, Siek Toon Khoo

Dr Siek Toon Khoo

This 3-wave, 5-year longitudinal study tested the contributions of family contextual factors and sibling relationship qualities to younger siblings' substance use, sexual risk behaviours, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease. More than 220 non-White families participated (67 percent Latino and 33 percent African American), all of which involved a younger sibling (133 girls and 89 boys; mean age=13.6 years at Time 1) and an older sister (mean age=17 years at Time 1). Results from structural equation latent growth curve modelling indicated that qualities of the sibling relationship (high older sister power, low warmth/closeness, and low conflict) mediated effects from several family …

Beyond The Horseless Carriage: Harnessing The Potential Of Ict In Education And Training, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

This paper suggests that the use of ICT has changed our conventional way of understanding learning and proposes the need to rethink education in terms of a more current context. Beyond the Horseless Carriages was first published as a paper for the Board of education.au limited on 28 January 2005, and following wide consultation has been republished for general readership.

Manual And Automatic Estimates Of Growth And Gain Across Year Levels, Petra Lietz, Dieter Kotte

Dr Petra Lietz

Users of statistical software are frequently unaware of the calculations underlying the routines that they use. Indeed, users, particularly in the social sciences, are often somewhat adverse towards the underlying mathematics. Yet, in order to appreciate the thrust of certain routines, it is beneficial to understand the way in which a program arrives at a particular solution. Based on data from the Economic Literacy Study conducted at year 11 and 12 level across Queensland in 1998, this article renders explicit the steps involved in calculating growth and gain estimates in student performance. To this end, the first part of the …

The Myth Of Too Many University Students, Bob Birrell, Daniel Edwards, Ian Dobson, T Smith

Dr Daniel Edwards

The Coalition Government has recently asserted that too many young Australians are training to become professionals and not enough as traditional tradespersons. By implication, there is a surfeit of young professionals. This article challenges these assertions. It shows that there has been a substantial increase in the employment of professionals since the Coalition came to power in 1996. Yet over the same period, the number of domestic students in Australian universities at the undergraduate level has hardly increased at all. All of the increase in professional training at the undergraduate level in Australian universities has been directed at overseas students. …

The Development Of A Single Scale For Mapping Progress In Mathematical Competence, Ross Turner, Gayl O'Connor

Gayl O'Connor

The authors’ intention is to develop a progress map that describes increasing mathematical competence. The main purpose of this chapter is to describe the means by which the research team has been able to use the data from a longitudinal testing program to build and refine a picture of growth in mathematical competence. In this chapter, conceptualisation of the underlying variable to be measured in developing a mathematical progress map is considered, and approaches to its development are discussed. The approach adopted is described and the results of the application of that methodology to the data generated through this research …

Feedback Improves Learning, Marion Meiers

Marion Meiers

How does formative assessment support students' learning? A recent international study conducted by the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) makes it clear that the ongoing interactive assessments within classrooms play a key role in identifying students' needs and in planning future teaching. The author looks at the place of feedback in formative assessment.

A Clustering Algorithm Based On An Estimated Distribution Model, L Tan, D Taniar, K Smith

Dr Ling Tan

This paper applies an estimated distribution model to clustering problems. The proposed clustering method makes use of an inter-intra cluster metric and performs a conditional split-merge operation. With conditional splitting and merging, the proposed clustering method does not require the information of cluster number and an improved cluster vector is subsequently guaranteed. In addition, this paper compares movement conditions between inter-intra cluster metric and intra cluster metric. It proves that, under some conditions, the intersection of convergence space between inter-intra cluster metric and intra cluster metric is not empty, and neither is the other subset in the convergence space. This …

Changes In Calcineurin Expression Induced In The Rat Brain By The Administration Of Antipsychotics, W. Rushlow, Y. Seah, Daniel Belliveau, N. Rajakumar

Daniel J. Belliveau

Calcineurin (CN) was recently identified as a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia as well as showing altered RNA expression levels in the post-mortem brains of individuals with schizophrenia. CN knockout mice show a number of behaviours associated with schizophrenia, including deficits in sensorimotor gating, suggesting a link between CN and psychosis. Concurrently, we found, using genome screening techniques, that antipsychotics alter CN expression levels. Therefore, western blotting, in situ hybridization, immunocytochemistry and phosphatase assays were employed to determine what effect antipsychotics have on CN. The results indicate that clozapine, risperidone and haloperidol cause substantial reductions in the A subunit of CN …

Pathways Through Tafe: Entry, Progress And Outcomes, Julie Mcmillan, Sheldon Rothman

Julie McMillan

No abstract provided.

Nerve Growth Factor Increases Connexin43 Phosphorylation And Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication, P. Cushing, R. Bhalla, A. Johnson, W. Rushlow, S. Meakin, Daniel Belliveau

Daniel J. Belliveau

The function of gap junctions is regulated by the phosphorylation state of their connexin subunits. Numerous growth factors are known to regulate connexin phosphorylation; however, the effect of nerve growth factor on gap junction function is not understood. The phosphorylation of connexin subunits is a key event during many aspects of the lifecycle of a connexin, including open/close states, assembly/trafficking, and degradation, and thus affects the functionality of the channel. PC12 cells infected with connexin43 (Cx43) retrovirus were used as a neuronal model to characterize the signal transduction pathways activated by nerve growth factor (NGF) that potentially affect the functional …

Mathematics Teaching In The United States Today (And Tomorrow) : Results From The Timss 1999 Video Study, James Hiebert, James Stigler, Jennifer Jacobs, Karen Givvin, Helen Garnier, Margaret Smith, Hilary Hollingsworth, Alfred Manaster, Diana Wearne, Ronald Gallimore

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999 Video Study examined eighth-grade mathematics teaching in the United States and six higher-achieving countries. A range of teaching systems were found across higher-achieving countries that balanced attention to challenging content, procedural skill, and conceptual understanding in different ways. The United States displayed a unique system of teaching, not because of any particular feature but because of a constellation of features that reinforced attention to lower-level mathematics skills. The authors argue that these results are relevant for policy (mathematics) debates in the United States because they provide a current account of what …

All Is Happening, With Numeracy Included, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

The Adult Literacy and Lifeskills (ALL) Survey (formerly known as the International Life Skills Survey (ILSS)) is a large-scale, comparative survey that goes beyond previous international literacy studies. In addition to the literacy skills measured in the previous International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), ALL is designed to identify and measure a broader range of skills in the adult population in each participating country. The skills to be directly measured are: prose and document literacy; numeracy; problem solving/analytical reasoning. In addition the assessment will be accompanied by a comprehensive Background Questionnaire, which will collect participant information and indirectly measure two other …

Teachers Matter : Attracting, Developing And Retaining Effective Teachers, Phil Mckenzie, P Santiago, P Sliwka, H Hiroyuki

Dr Phillip McKenzie

In April 2002 the OECD Education Committee launched the major Activity Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers. This is a collaborative project to assist governments design and implement teacher policies to improve teaching and learning in schools. The project was concluded in June 2005 with the publication of the final synthesis report.

Mathematics Recovery : Frameworks To Assist Students' Construction Of Arithmetical Knowledge, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

Mathematics Recovery was the outcome of a three-year research and development project at Southern Cross University, conducted in 1992-5. The project received major funding from the Australian Research Council and major contributions in the form of teacher time, from regional government and Catholic school systems. Over the 3-year period, the project involved working in 18 schools with 20 teachers and approximately 200 participating first-grade students. MR can be regarded as consisting of two distinct but interrelated components. One component concerns an elaborated body of theory and practice for working with students, that is, teaching early number knowledge. The second component …

The Forthcoming Adult Literacy And Lifeskills (All) Survey, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

The Adult Literacy and Lifeskills (ALL) Survey is a large scale, comparative survey that goes beyond previous international studies. The skills to be measured are prose and document literacy, numeracy, and problem solving/analytical reasoning. Two other skill domains will also be measured: teamwork, and information and communication technology (ICT) literacy.