Education Commons^™

Mathematical Thinking Of Young Children Through The Eyes Of Preschool Practitioners, Robert Hunting, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

This paper reports on interview responses to three questions seeking preschool practitioners' perceptions of mathematical thinking in very young children. Generally, the interviewees were found to have a good sense of mathematical concepts relevant to babies and toddlers, and they cited evidence of young children's mathematical development. It is concluded that this practical knowledge provides a strong foundation for further professional development. [Author abstract]

Toward Creating Computer-Based Math Learning Favoring High-School Females, Yanghee Kim

Yanghee Kim

Research indicates that teenage females prefer to work and perform better at the learning environment that supports frequent interactions and allows them to build relationships with others. This paper will introduce a computer-based algebra-learning environment MathGirls equipped with pedagogical agents (digital life-like characters) that simulate real-world social interactions and relations. The goal of MathGirls is to help young women of high-school age build positive attitudes toward and self-efficacy in math learning through this simulated social context. To investigate the efficacy of MathGirls, a classroom experiment was conducted with 83 high-school females. The experiment examined the effects of agent attributes (female …

Pathways From School To Work., Phillip Mckenzie, Kylie Hillman

Dr Phillip McKenzie (retired)

Drawing on data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth, this paper examines the main pathways by which young Australians move from school to work. It identifies which young people take which pathways, discusses the mapping of pathways to work using longitudinal data, and outlines some policy challenges.

Enhancing Accountability: Servsafe™ Impact Template Delivers, Renee Boyer, Matthew Benson, Heather Boyd, Mena Forrester, Nancy K. Franz, Karen Gehrt, Patsy Pelland, Kirsten Roan

Nancy K. Franz

Generating statewide impact data from Extension programs can be challenging. To streamline reporting, Extension specialists, with the help of county agents and administrators, generated a statewide impact statement for the ServSafe™ program in Virginia. This template includes knowledge gain, behavior change, and economic impact from participants generated from current standardized evaluation methods used by all Extension educators across the state. Providing this template for agents resulted in easier, more consistent yearly reporting for those agents administering the program.

Pathways For Youth In Australia., Phillip Mckenzie

Dr Phillip McKenzie (retired)

The concept of “pathways” has been a powerful organising idea in Australian education and training over the past 10 years. The imagery of the pathway, with its sense of order and structure, and linked education and training experiences that lead to employment, has had a significant impact on Australian policy. Two related trends have been affecting young people: a rapid decline in the number of fulltime jobs available to 15-19 year-olds; and increasing education participation rates among 15- 24 year-olds. In this environment policy makers have used the pathways concept in pursuing two major objectives: (1) to strengthen or even …

Key International Developments Affecting Australian Education And Training, Phillip Mckenzie

Dr Phillip McKenzie (retired)

Education and training in Australia are increasingly operating in an internationalised environment Overseas students are major sources of funds and enrolments, Australian institutions operate overseas and form a wide range of international partnerships, and holders of Australian qualifications work throughout the world. This paper discusses three sets of international developments and outlines their potential implications for Australian education and training: the development of bilateral Free Trade Agreements between Australia and individual countries in the Asia-Pacific region; the initiatives of groups of countries such as ASEAN and the East Asia Summit to strengthen educational cooperation on a multilateral basis; and, overshadowing …

Using Longitudinal Data For Research On Vet, Phillip Mckenzie

Dr Phillip McKenzie (retired)

Longitudinal studies can provide insights on young people’s transition from education to work that other forms of data cannot. The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) program, which is managed jointly by ACER and the Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA), has now accumulated more than 20 years of data that follow successive cohorts of young Australians as they move through education and training and into the labour market. The data are added to every year. This paper explores the potential of LSAY data for research on VET, and also some of the challenges that VET poses …

School Leadership And Learning : An Australian Overview, Phillip Mckenzie, Bill Mulford, Michelle Anderson

Dr Phillip McKenzie (retired)

This paper draws together findings from a recent major review of school leadership in Australia. In 2006, DEST commissioned an ACER team to prepare the Country Background Report as part of Australia's contribution to the OECD's international activity Improving School Leadership. Preparation of the report provided a timely opportunity to consult with key stakeholders and reflect on school leadership issues in Australia. The research confirms that leadership is important for student learning: academic achievement, academic self-concept and engagement in learning are shaped by teacher and school practices that are influenced by school leadership. Leaders contribute to student learning through their …

Patterns Of Success And Failure In The Transition From School To Work In Australia, Stephen Lamb, Phillip Mckenzie

Dr Phillip McKenzie (retired)

This report maps the pathways of a sample of young Australians in their transition from school to work. It focuses on the pathways for those who do not obtain a university degree or TAFE associate diploma or above (or who are not enrolled for such qualifications in the seventh post-school year). By focusing on this group the analysis concentrates on those for whom getting a job was a key concern immediately upon leaving school.

Variance In Performance Between Students Within Schools And Between Schools, Petra Lietz

Dr Petra Lietz

The Review Of Teacher Education For Languages Teachers : Final Report, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Jenny Wilkinson, Margaret Gearon, Suzanne Fernandez, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This report produces a comprehensive national picture of the nature and effectiveness of teacher education and re-training opportunities for languages teachers. The report investigates course entry requirements, course content and structure for primary and secondary languages teachers; identifies structural impediments relating to the development of languages teachers' linguistic and pedagogical competency; and explores the potential application of the Professional Standards for Accomplished Teaching of Languages and Cultures, developed by the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers (AFMLTA), in teacher education for languages teachers.

An Evaluation Of The Bachelor Of Learning Management At Central Queensland University, Lawrence Ingvarson, Adrian Beavis, Charlotte Danielson, Louise Ellis, Alison Elliott

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

The term 'learning management' was created to capture the increased importance of individual learning in the knowledge society. The over-arching purpose of the degree is to graduate 'Learning Managers' who have a significantly different perspective and skill/knowledge base than in the past. Bachelor of Learning Management graduates will have a 'quality guaranteed' capacity to manage the learning of students and will be able to work collaboratively with other teaching professionals, a range of other supporting professionals and the community. The Bachelor of Learning Management is a distinctive approach to pre-service teacher preparation that has widespread education industry support. A feature …

Teacher Education Courses In Victoria: Perceptions Of Their Effectiveness And Factors Affecting Their Impact, Lawrence Ingvarson, Adrian Beavis, Elizabeth Kleinhenz

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

Investment in teacher education is a major strategy to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in our schools. Agencies, such as the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), with responsibility for the accreditation of teacher education, can use feedback about the effectiveness of different modes of teacher preparation to support providers. It is vital that data for this purpose be valid and reliable. The Future Teachers Project (FTP) was designed to collect such data. It was designed to address two major questions: What are the perceptions of stakeholders (beginning teachers and their employers) about the effectiveness of current teacher education …

An Evaluation Of The Getting It Right: Literacy And Numeracy Strategy In Western Australian Schools, Marion Meiers, Lawrence Ingvarson, Adrian Beavis, John Hogan, Elizabeth Kleinhenz

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This evaluation report is presented in two volumes. Volume 1, Evaluation of the GiR-LNS is focused mainly on the survey component of the evaluation. The complete data set from the surveys undertaken in 2003 and 2004 is analysed, and conclusions drawn from these analyses. The concluding sections draw on the survey data, some research literature and the illustrative case studies to report on the effectiveness of the GiR-LNS as a strategy for professional development, and as a strategy for change. Volume 2, Getting it Right in Context, presents the findings from the illustrative case studies. Twenty schools from across Western …

Standards For Advanced Teaching : A Review Of National And International Developments, Lawrence Ingvarson, Elizabeth Kleinhenz

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This report provides a review of national and international developments in relation to advanced standards and certification processes for teaching. It also considers the implications of current research on teaching for the development of advanced teaching standards and related improvements in teaching and learning.

How Can Professional Standards Improve The Quality Of Teaching And Learning Science?, Lawrence Ingvarson, Anne Semple

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

After extensive national consultation the recent Review of Teaching and Teacher Education announced an agenda for action in its report 'Australia's Teachers: Australia's Future. One of its central themes was a call to revitalise the teaching profession. In this vein, the purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of preliminary work at ACER, conducted in collaboration with the Australian Science Teachers' Association, to develop a standards-guided professional learning system that would lead to professional certification for highly accomplished teachers of science. This paper describes ASTA 's progress towards developing a system of certification, beginning with the development …

Training Great Teachers, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

Teacher education is high on the political agenda in Australia, with several government inquiries on the topic currently underway. These inquiries reflect, in part, dissatisfaction among many school principals with the preparedness of graduates. Dr Lawrence Ingvarson asks how well new teachers feel they have been prepared for their vital role.

Getting Professional Development Right, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This paper examines the Western Australian Getting it Right reform as a strategy for professional learning and compares it with research on the characteristics of effective PD. The Getting it Right Strategy is clearly a comprehensive and well-resourced reform strategy with its main emphasis on building professional capacity among teachers and principals. The data we gathered as part of the evaluation, through school and classroom observations, interviews and surveys, left us in no doubt that the strategy was highly regarded by teachers and principals and was having a significant impact on practice. This paper will focus mainly on GiR work …

Evaluation Of The Standards And Professional Learning Project 2003, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Lawrence Ingvarson, Charlotte Danielson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

In February 2003, the Victorian State Minister for Education and Training launched the ‘Standards and Professional Learning Project’ as the first major policy initiative of the new Institute. The brief of the project was: to develop professional teaching standards for full registration, and to support new teachers (who were mostly newly graduated teachers from tertiary teacher education programs) to move from provisional to full registration at the end of their first year of teaching. This involved designing and implementing evidence based assessment processes to show that the standards had been met. These assessments would provide guarantees of teacher quality to …

Evaluating The Quality And Impact Of Professional Development Programs, Lawrence Ingvarson, Marion Meiers, Adrian Beavis

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

The purpose of this paper is to review recent work that ACER has been doing to improve the usefulness of evaluations of professional development programs. This work includes the development of research-based instruments to measure: the nature and quality of the processes used to promote teacher learning; the impact of programs on teacher knowledge, practice and student outcomes; the relationships between these process and impact measures. The paper is based on approaches developed as part of four recent evaluations of professional development programs. These include: three evaluations of the Commonwealth Government’s Quality Teacher Program, as implemented in three separate states: …

Evaluating Australian Teachers, Lawrence Ingvarson, Elizabeth Kleinhenz

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

ACER researchers Lawrence Ingvarson and Elizabeth Kleinhenz have investigated current Australian policies and practices in teacher evaluation and their relation to the improvement of teaching and learning.

Research On Performance Pay For Teachers, Lawrence Ingvarson, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Jenny Wilkinson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This report falls into three main sections, in accordance with the project brief. The first provides an overview of current pay arrangements and collective enterprise bargaining agreements for teachers in Australian schools. Within these arrangements, the report gives particular attention to provisions for performance-based pay schemes and to identifying potential impediments to the introduction of performance-based pay for teachers. The second part of the brief called for an overview of recent Australian and international research on the attitudes of stakeholders to performance-based pay schemes for teachers and the impact of these schemes on, for example, teacher retention, improved teaching standards, …

Standards For School Leadership : A Critical Review Of The Literature, Lawrence Ingvarson, Michelle Anderson, Peter Gronn, Andrew Jackson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This document contains the review of literature, which maps recent and current developments in relation to standards for school leadership, professional learning and purposes for standards, such as professional development and certification, in Australia and overseas. It also provides a brief review of contemporary theory and research on leadership relevant to leadership standards. There is widespread concern about the recruitment, preparation, continuing professional development and recognition of school leaders. Leadership standards are a central component of most proposals for addressing these concerns.

Getting Performance Pay Right, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

Performance based pay has recently swung into the political spotlight as one way to 'revitalise' Australia’s teaching profession. Dr Lawrence Ingvarson reviews current pay structures in Australia and around the world, the impact of performance pay schemes already in existence, and the possibilities for performance pay. Recognition, remuneration and reward in teaching came under extensive review in an ACER report commissioned by the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). The report examined current pay systems for teachers and evidence on the impact of different kinds of performance pay arrangements in Australia and several countries around the world, and …

Primary Teacher Work Study Report, Jenny Wilkinson, Lawrence Ingvarson, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Adrian Beavis

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This research was conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in 2005. The study was a result of the New Zealand Primary Teachers Collective Agreement 2004-2007 which specified that a workload study be complete to consider how the work of a teacher could be better structured, resourced and organised to support more effective classroom teaching. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the nature and patterns of primary teachers' work. The research was commissioned by the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

A Review Of Standards Of Practice For Beginning Teaching, Lawrence Ingvarson, Elizabeth Kleinhenz

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This paper aims to provide a critical review and comparison of the following sets of standards of practice for teachers: The Victorian Interim Teacher Class Standards (ITCS), especially Interim Teacher Class Standards for Beginning Teachers; Professional Standards for Teachers (developed by the Queensland Education Department for use in state schools); The National Competencies for Beginning Teaching; The Ontario College of Teachers Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession; The Teacher Training Agency in England (TTA) standards for 'Quality Teacher Status and Induction;' The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC); Praxis III/Pathwise. …

Standards For School Leadership, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

ACER has examined national and international developments in school leadership standards and assessment for prospective and established school leaders to assist in identifying options for a national system for assessment. Lawrence Ingvarson explains. In recent years, school leaders' work has been characterised by increasing complexity in expectations and greater demands for accountability. The introduction of self managing schools has entailed the devolution or decentralisation of a number of new responsibilities to school leaders.

The Vit Program For Supporting Provisionally Registered Teachers : Evaluation Of Implementation In 2005., Lawrence Ingvarson, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Siek Toon Khoo, Jenny Wilkinson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

The VIT’s Program for Supporting Provisionally Registered Teachers and its registration procedures are increasingly seen as valid and fair. The Program is generally perceived as leading to improvements in teaching practice. Principals and mentors were very positive about the program, and consistently reported high levels of satisfaction with its implementation. Research has repeatedly found that significant reforms are often accompanied by a degree of unease and resistance, and this has been the case with the introduction of the VIT standards and registration requirements. School leaders play a vital role in leading their schools through these changes. This study has found …

Standards For Leadership : Gateway To A Stronger Profession?, Lawrence Ingvarson, Michelle Anderson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

Recruitment, preparation, continuing professional learning and recognition of school leaders are widespread concerns for policymakers and practitioners. Standards for school leadership are a notable development in Australia and overseas for addressing these concerns. In Australia, many quality sets of standards for teachers and school leaders have been developed but they are not profession-wide. This paper is based on a project ACER was commissioned to undertake by Teaching Australia in June 2005. Our brief was to review approaches to standards and options for a national system for assessment against school leadership standards for prospective and established school leaders. The review examined …

Building A Learning Profession, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This paper is presented in two main sections: an overview of contemporary research on effective professional learning for practising educators, and recommendations for action to promote effective learning for practicing educators. It argues that we need to build capacity for learning, not only at teacher, school and system levels, but also at the level of the profession. Evidence is provided that the profession is ready and able to undertake this task. Policies are needed that will support the profession in building a national framework for continuing learning, from registration to advanced certification, guided by professional standards and assessments, and supported …