Education Commons^™

What Does 'Public School Education' In Australia Mean In The 21st Century, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

What does 'public school education' mean in Australia in the 21st century, with its past tradition of free, compulsory and secular schooling, and the present school sector policies urging the widespread use of digital technologies? This paper starts from the premise that histories and traditions underpin the provision of public school education in Australia. The author argues that the recognition of the nature of these histories and traditions is important to acknowledge for their sustainability: so they are not taken for granted; are subjected to investigation and are debated; and where appropriate can be maintained. In addition, acknowledging the role …

Assessment Conversations, Marion Meiers

Marion Meiers

Assessment is a central aspect of the professional lives of teachers. The author reminds us that classroom observations, conversations, and informal and formal assessment activities provide teachers with ways of understanding and guiding learning journeys.

Participation In Senior Schooling: The Vocational Alternative And The Role Of Vet, Julie Mcmillan, David Curtis

Julie McMillan

Participation in senior secondary schooling increased substantially between 1980 and the early 1990s, but has been static since that time. Since the mid 1990s curriculum offerings in the senior school years have been broadened in order to cater for a wider range of student interests and aptitudes. The offering of vocational courses in schools has been a prominent component of this curriculum broadening. At the same time, changes have occurred in the post-school VET landscape with rapid growth in traineeships. The labour market context has also changed with a decline in full-time youth employment accompanied by growth in part-time youth …

Fulfilling The Dream : An Online Early Childhood Teacher Education Course, Pauline Taylor

Associate Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy

Teacher Education And Development Study In Mathematics (Teds-M) : Policy, Practice, And Readiness To Teach Primary And Secondary Mathematics : Conceptual Framework., Maria Tatto, John Schwille, Sharon Senk, Lawrence Ingvarson, Ray Peck, Glenn Rowley

Ray Peck

TEDS-M is a collaborative effort of worldwide institutions to study the mathematics preparation of future primary and secondary teachers. This study investigates whether what future teachers learn in teacher education leads to more effective knowledge of mathematics and mathematics for teaching. The lead centre is the International Study Center at Michigan State University, which along with the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), the Australian Council of Educational Research, and national research centres (NRCs) in 17 countries, is analysing the costs of becoming a teacher prepared to teach mathematics, the policies governing mathematics teacher education (including recruitment, …

Developing Tests And Questionnaires For A National Assessment Of Educational Achievement, Prue Anderson, George Morgan

Prue Anderson

The authors introduce readers to the activities involved in the development of achievement tests, including developing as assessment framework, writing multiple choice and constructed response type items, pretesting, producing test booklets, and handscoring items. A section on questionnaire construction features designing questionnaires, writing questions, coding responses, and linking questionnaire and test score data. The final section covers the development of a test administration manual, selecting test administrators, and contacting sampled schools. A companion CD contains examples of released items from national and international tests, sample questionnaires, and administrative manuals. [Back cover, ed]

Career Advice And Career Plans: Sources, Satisfaction, And Realisation, Sheldon Rothman, Kylie Hillman, Julie Mcmillan, David Curtis

Julie McMillan

The literature on career decision-making suggests that students make their decisions based on the degree of match between their own attributes and certain perceived characteristics of occupations and that these perceptions are generally accurate (Gottfredson, 2002). However, in Australia, there is also evidence that students have misunderstandings about the status of some occupations, including trades (Alloway, Dalley, Patterson, Walker, & Lenoy, 2004). The sources of career advice available to middle-secondary students and their satisfaction with that advice was found through a survey of a representative sample of Australian 15-year-old students. Nearly all Year 10 students reported that they had received …

Staff In Australia's Schools : Teacher Workforce Data And Planning Processes In Australia., Susanne Owen,, Julie Kos, Phil Mckenzie

Dr Julie Kos

This report forms part of the Australian School Teacher and Leader project which was commissioned by the former Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) in June 2006. The purpose of the project is to provide a detailed picture of the Australian teacher workforce and to gather information to assist future planning on teacher supply. This particular report focuses on longer-term approaches to workforce data and processes. The project also included the Staff in Australia's Schools survey, a national data collection involving all States and Territories and school sectors. [p.4]

Education Research With Electronic Focus Groups, Kathryn Moyle, R Fitzgerald

Professor Kathryn Moyle

An emerging trend in education research methods is to integrate digital technologies into the research process. Electronic focus groups represent one such innovation. Drawing on four examples of research and practice undertaken using a synchronous, digital system, this chapter reflects on how an innovative tool can assist in focus group research in the fields of school and higher education. The examples presented illustrate how some of the theoretical, practical and ethical problems that have arisen with traditional approaches to focus groups research can be overcome. It is anticipated that reflecting on such experiences and building upon the findings of these …

Stand Up And Be Counted : Who'd Be A Maths Teacher?, Mark Butler

Mark Butler

Teaching is not easy, but everyone who has never done it seems to think they can do a better job - just as comedians are often offered so- called 'good' jokes by non-comedians. The author of this article, who taught secondary school mathematics for five years, provides an amusing account describing the similarities between a maths teacher and a stand- up comedian.

Perceptions Of Parental Involvement In Schooling, Student Milieu And Student Achievement In Mathematics, Nicole Wernert

Nicole Wernert

This study builds on recent research that has found that teacher perceptions of parental involvement in schooling are an important influence on student outcomes, in addition to the effects of parent reports of their involvement. Using data from TIMSS 2003, this study explores the relationship between principal perceptions of parental involvement and student milieu and the impact of both on student achievement in mathematics. Moderated multiple regression analyses were used to explore these relationships. A significant relationship was found for mean school mathematics achievement regressed on principals’ perceptions of parental support and involvement at both Grades 4 and 8. However, …

Pisa 2003—Mathematical Literacy And Learning In The Americas, John Dossey, Sharon Mccrone, Ross Turner, Mary Lindquist

Ross Turner

Rounds, Levels, And Waves: The Early Evolution Of Gameplay Segmentation, Jose Zagal, Clara Fernandez-Vara, Michael Mateas

Jose P Zagal

This article explores the early evolution of the structure and management of gameplay in videogames. We introduce the notion of gameplay segmentation to capture the role that design elements like level, boss, and wave play in videogames, and identify three modes of segmentation. Temporal segmentation limits, synchronizes and/or coordinates player activity over time. Spatial segmentation breaks the game’s virtual space into sub-locations. Challenge segmentation presents the player with a sequence of self-contained challenges. We describe each mode, and additional sub-modes, by analyzing vintage arcade games. Our analyses illustrate how these games represent a “primordial soup” in which many current game …

Early Challenges In Evaluating The Kidsmatter National Mental Health Promotion Initiative In Australian Primary Schools, Helen Askell-Williams, Alan Russell, Katherine Dix, Phillip Slee, Barbara Spears, Michael Lawson, Laurence Owens, Kelvin Gregory

Dr Katherine Dix