Education Commons^™

Buk Bilong Pikinini Literacy Program Evaluation 2018: Evaluation Report, Dan Cloney, Prue Anderson

Dr Dan Cloney

Buk bilong Pikinini (BbP) provides access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs with a specific focus on English language literacy for children from vulnerable communities in Papua New Guinea. This is highly relevant, given the fact that there is likely an over-representation of illiteracy in disadvantaged households and few opportunities for children within those households to be ready for a school system with English as the language of instruction. Established in 2007, BbP has been in operation for more than 10 years and has opened 17 library sites in that time. This evaluation provides evidence about the likely …

Development Of Reporting Scales For Reading And Mathematics: A Report Describing The Process For Building The Uis Reporting Scales, Ross Turner, Ray Adams, Ursula Schwantner, Dan Cloney, Claire Scoular, Prue Anderson, Alexander Daraganov, Jen Jackson, Sandra Knowles, Gayl O'Connor, Pam Munro-Smith, Stavroula Zoumboulis, Pauline Rogers

Gayl O'Connor

As a technical partner of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, ACER-GEM has created reporting scales for reading and maths, with the intention of enabling countries to examine and report the outcomes of their assessment activities using a common framework. This report gives the theoretical and contextual background to the scales, and describes the steps in the drafting process.

Development Of Reporting Scales For Reading And Mathematics: A Report Describing The Process For Building The Uis Reporting Scales, Ross Turner, Ray Adams, Ursula Schwantner, Dan Cloney, Claire Scoular, Prue Anderson, Alexander Daraganov, Jen Jackson, Sandra Knowles, Gayl O'Connor, Pam Munro-Smith, Stavroula Zoumboulis, Pauline Rogers

Dr Claire Scoular

As a technical partner of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, ACER-GEM has created reporting scales for reading and maths, with the intention of enabling countries to examine and report the outcomes of their assessment activities using a common framework. This report gives the theoretical and contextual background to the scales, and describes the steps in the drafting process.

Development Of Reporting Scales For Reading And Mathematics: A Report Describing The Process For Building The Uis Reporting Scales, Ross Turner, Ray Adams, Ursula Schwantner, Dan Cloney, Claire Scoular, Prue Anderson, Alexander Daraganov, Jen Jackson, Sandra Knowles, Gayl O'Connor, Pam Munro-Smith, Stavroula Zoumboulis, Pauline Rogers

Professor Ray Adams

As a technical partner of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, ACER-GEM has created reporting scales for reading and maths, with the intention of enabling countries to examine and report the outcomes of their assessment activities using a common framework. This report gives the theoretical and contextual background to the scales, and describes the steps in the drafting process.

Development Of Reporting Scales For Reading And Mathematics: A Report Describing The Process For Building The Uis Reporting Scales, Ross Turner, Ray Adams, Ursula Schwantner, Dan Cloney, Claire Scoular, Prue Anderson, Alexander Daraganov, Jen Jackson, Sandra Knowles, Gayl O'Connor, Pam Munro-Smith, Stavroula Zoumboulis, Pauline Rogers

Dr Ursula Schwantner

As a technical partner of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, ACER-GEM has created reporting scales for reading and maths, with the intention of enabling countries to examine and report the outcomes of their assessment activities using a common framework. This report gives the theoretical and contextual background to the scales, and describes the steps in the drafting process.

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools: Literature And Policy Review, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

This literature and policy review outlines the complex context related to STEM learning in Australian schools and focuses on student outcomes, the teacher workforce and the curriculum. This paper also sheds light on possible policy directions by examining lessons from other countries. STEM education is a broad enterprise that starts in early childhood education, continues through the years of schooling and extends into tertiary education supported by contributions from extracurricular and enrichment activities, science centres and museums. However, the focus in this document is on primary and secondary schooling. Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that are contributing to one another. Student engagement and performance in STEM are declining, but we do not have the supply of qualified teachers we need to improve learning. The STEM curriculum is unbalanced and fragmented, leading to less interest among students. It is not possible to break out of the downward cycle from within the current system and it requires policy changes that address the issues raised in this report. This means developing well-considered, systemic and joined-up policies that address the following challenges: Improving student outcomes, building the STEM …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Dr Paul Weldon

Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that are contributing to one another. Student engagement and performance in STEM are declining, but we do not have the supply of qualified teachers we need to improve learning. The STEM curriculum is unbalanced and fragmented, leading to less interest among students. It is not possible to break out of the downward cycle from within the current system and it requires policy changes that address the issues raised in this report. This means developing well-considered, systemic and joined-up policies that address the following challenges: Improving student outcomes, building the STEM …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools: Literature And Policy Review, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Dr Paul Weldon

This literature and policy review outlines the complex context related to STEM learning in Australian schools and focuses on student outcomes, the teacher workforce and the curriculum. This paper also sheds light on possible policy directions by examining lessons from other countries. STEM education is a broad enterprise that starts in early childhood education, continues through the years of schooling and extends into tertiary education supported by contributions from extracurricular and enrichment activities, science centres and museums. However, the focus in this document is on primary and secondary schooling. Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Pru Mitchell

Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that are contributing to one another. Student engagement and performance in STEM are declining, but we do not have the supply of qualified teachers we need to improve learning. The STEM curriculum is unbalanced and fragmented, leading to less interest among students. It is not possible to break out of the downward cycle from within the current system and it requires policy changes that address the issues raised in this report. This means developing well-considered, systemic and joined-up policies that address the following challenges: Improving student outcomes, building the STEM …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools: Literature And Policy Review, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Pru Mitchell

This literature and policy review outlines the complex context related to STEM learning in Australian schools and focuses on student outcomes, the teacher workforce and the curriculum. This paper also sheds light on possible policy directions by examining lessons from other countries. STEM education is a broad enterprise that starts in early childhood education, continues through the years of schooling and extends into tertiary education supported by contributions from extracurricular and enrichment activities, science centres and museums. However, the focus in this document is on primary and secondary schooling. Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools: Literature And Policy Review, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Dr Michael J Timms

This literature and policy review outlines the complex context related to STEM learning in Australian schools and focuses on student outcomes, the teacher workforce and the curriculum. This paper also sheds light on possible policy directions by examining lessons from other countries. STEM education is a broad enterprise that starts in early childhood education, continues through the years of schooling and extends into tertiary education supported by contributions from extracurricular and enrichment activities, science centres and museums. However, the focus in this document is on primary and secondary schooling. Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Dr Michael J Timms

Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that are contributing to one another. Student engagement and performance in STEM are declining, but we do not have the supply of qualified teachers we need to improve learning. The STEM curriculum is unbalanced and fragmented, leading to less interest among students. It is not possible to break out of the downward cycle from within the current system and it requires policy changes that address the issues raised in this report. This means developing well-considered, systemic and joined-up policies that address the following challenges: Improving student outcomes, building the STEM …

Development Of Reporting Scales For Reading And Mathematics: A Report Describing The Process For Building The Uis Reporting Scales, Ross Turner, Ray Adams, Ursula Schwantner, Dan Cloney, Claire Scoular, Prue Anderson, Alexander Daraganov, Jen Jackson, Sandra Knowles, Gayl O'Connor, Pam Munro-Smith, Stavroula Zoumboulis, Pauline Rogers

Dr Dan Cloney

As a technical partner of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, ACER-GEM has created reporting scales for reading and maths, with the intention of enabling countries to examine and report the outcomes of their assessment activities using a common framework. This report gives the theoretical and contextual background to the scales, and describes the steps in the drafting process.

System-Level Assessment And Educational Policy, John Cresswell

Dr John Cresswell (retired)

Education ministries throughout the world are integrating educational assessment into their education reform processes. Education reform is not a straight-line activity, and assessment can both inform the discussion on policy reform and give an indication of the effectiveness of policies that have been implemented. Three different types of assessment are used in the educational process: classroom assessment, examinations and system-level assessment. Each type has a different purpose. While the focus of both classroom assessments and examinations is to measure the learning outcomes of individuals, for system-level assessment the focus is to describe the characteristics of the population as a whole …

Understanding Pisa And Its Impact On Policy Initiative: A Review Of The Evidence, Petra Lietz, Mollie Tobin, Dita Nugroho

Dr Petra Lietz

School Policies, Leadership, And Learning With Technologies : An International Comparative Study, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

Little research has been conducted into the links or intersections between school leadership, teaching and learning with technologies, and the quality of students' outcomes at school. While it is recognised that principals hold a central position in leading schools pedagogical and administrative practices, little is known about what is the role of the school principal in implementing policies that are aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning in schools, or to achieve smart student learning outcomes. These issues are examined in this paper by reviewing and analysing national school education policies from Singapore, Finland and Hong Kong: countries …

'Are We There Yet?' Revisiting The Digital Education Revolution, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

Is School Reform Working?, Geoff N. Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Partnerships, Policies And Professional Learning: Experiences From An Australian Government-University Partnership, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

No abstract provided.

Organized Learning In The 21st Century: Pressures And Opportunities For Change, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

No abstract provided.

Technologies, Democracy And Digital Citizenship: Examining Australian Policy Intersections And The Implications For School Leadership, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

There are intersections that can occur between the respective peak Australian school education policy agendas. These policies include the use of technologies in classrooms to improve teaching and learning as promoted through the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians and the Australian Curriculum; and the implementation of professional standards as outlined in the Australian Professional Standard for Principals and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. These policies create expectations of school leaders to bring about change in classrooms and across their schools, often described as bringing about ‘quality teaching’ and ‘school improvement’. These policies indicate that Australian children …

Informing Policy And Practice, John Ainley

Dr John Ainley

Comparing results from large-scale assessments can usefully inform education policy and planning, and educational practice in schools and classrooms, as John Ainley explains.

Informing Policy In Developing Countries, Petra Lietz, Mollie Tobin

Dr Petra Lietz

Petra Lietz and Mollie Tobin discuss the impact of large-scale assessment programs on education policy in developing countries.

Filtering Children’S Access To The Internet At School, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

Countries differ in their policy responses to the question: “Should children’s access to the Internet be filtered?” Countries such as the UK, U.S. and Australia do filter online content with software on servers, and countries such as Denmark, Sweden and The Netherlands, do not. The differences between these respective countries’ school policies are philosophical and political. This paper discusses intersections between the aims and purposes of schools, the political economy and the use of electronic filters on the Internet, for educational purposes. The paper concludes with a reflection of the implications of these issues for school leaders.

Can Health Insurance Reduce School Absenteeism?, Ryan Yeung

Ryan Yeung

Enacted in 1997, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) represented the largest expansion of U.S. public health care coverage since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid 32 years earlier. Although the program has recently been reauthorized, there remains a considerable lack of thorough and well-designed evaluations of the program. In this study, we use school attendance as a measure of the program’s impact. Utilizing state-level data and the use of fixed-effects regression techniques, we conclude that SCHIP has had a positive and significant effect on state average daily attendance rates, as measured by both SCHIP participation and eligibility rates. …

Queensland Teachers’ Conceptions Of Assessment: The Impact Of Policy Priorities On Teacher Attitudes, Gavin Brown, Robert Lake, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

The conceptions Queensland teachers have about assessment purposes were surveyed in 2003 with an abridged version of the Teacher Conceptions of Assessment Inventory. Multi-group analysis found that a model with four factors, somewhat different in structure to previous studies, was statistically different between Queensland primary and (lower) secondary teachers. Primary teachers agreed more than secondary teachers that ‘assessment improves teaching and learning’, while the latter agreed more that it ‘makes students accountable’. The inter-correlation of ‘assessment is irrelevant’ to ‘makes students accountable’ was statistically stronger for primary teachers. Teacher beliefs reflected the differing practices of assessment by level of schooling.

Linking Stakeholders With Policy Development, Robert Simons

Dr Robert Simons

No abstract provided.

Total Cost Of Ownership & Total Value Of Ownership, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

School leaders are regularly required to make decisions concerning the effective integration of ICT into their schools’ teaching and learning programs. School leaders however, face challenges about the processes to use to inform their decision-making. These challenges include knowing which data to draw upon; how to collect the data and how to analyze it so that meaningful decisions can emerge. As such, this chapter examines some recent activities aimed at using data to inform leadership and management strategies in schools as they pertain to teaching and learning with educational technologies, and focuses in particular on total cost of ownership and …

What Is The Value Of Educational Technologies In Schools?: Initial Findings From The International Research Project ‘Measuring The Value Of Educational Technologies In Schools’, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

Understanding the costs as well as the value of educational technologies in schools is important for school leaders to be able to strategically lead school development processes. This paper outlines some of the findings from the first case studies emerging from the international project, Measuring the value of educational technologies in schools, involving a school in each of USA, UK and Australia. The Measuring the value of educational technologies in schools research project is examining the relationships that exist in schools between educational technologies or ‘tangible information technology (IT) assets’, and ‘intangible assets’ such as the capabilities of teachers and …