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Full-Text Articles in Education

Infographic: Principal Demographics, Dominique Russell May 2021

Infographic: Principal Demographics, Dominique Russell

Teacher infographics

The annual Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey collects information on the experiences of school leaders and their state of health and wellbeing. Part of the survey includes collecting demographic data on survey respondents. Here, we look at the age distribution of over 1800 respondents in 2020.


Infographic: Principal Wellbeing – Sources Of Stress And Support, Dominique Russell May 2020

Infographic: Principal Wellbeing – Sources Of Stress And Support, Dominique Russell

Teacher infographics

The latest Principal Health and Wellbeing Survey reveals 19 sources of stress for school leaders. In this infographic, we look at the top 10 sources of stress reported by school leaders, and their top 5 sources of support.


Infographic: Principals’ Working Time, Jo Earp Apr 2020

Infographic: Principals’ Working Time, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

The latest cycle of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2018) asked principals in Australia about the time they allocated to various tasks throughout the year, including curriculum-and teaching-related tasks and meetings, administrative tasks and meetings, and student interactions. This infographic takes a look at the results.


Book Excerpt: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Teachers – The Heroes Of Real India, S Giridhar Apr 2020

Book Excerpt: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Teachers – The Heroes Of Real India, S Giridhar

Teacher India

In his book ‘Ordinary people, extraordinary teachers’, S Giridhar describes how teachers in government schools are determined to work beyond the call of duty based on a strong belief that ‘every child can learn’.


Conceptions And Factors Associated With Effective School Leadership, Anaghaa Wagh Jan 2020

Conceptions And Factors Associated With Effective School Leadership, Anaghaa Wagh

Teacher India

Anaghaa Wagh discusses the school leadership phenomenon from the school leaders’ perspective.


Karmel Oration: Leading Schools And School Systems In Times Of Change: A Paradox And A Quest, Toby Greany Aug 2017

Karmel Oration: Leading Schools And School Systems In Times Of Change: A Paradox And A Quest, Toby Greany

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The ‘paradox’ in this title refers to a set of contradictions that sit at the heart of education policy in many school systems. Policymakers in these systems want things that, if not inherently at odds, are nevertheless in tension— such as a tightly defined set of national standards and a broad and balanced curriculum; academic stretch for the most able and a closing of the gap between high and low performers; choice and diversity and equity; and so on. The ‘quest’ is for leaders and leadership to resolve these tensions in practice. School autonomy policies have placed huge power in …


Leadership That Transforms Schools And School Systems, Brian Caldwell Aug 2017

Leadership That Transforms Schools And School Systems, Brian Caldwell

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

This paper will report on the findings of four international research projects on leadership in high-performing school systems around the world. The paper will focus on building the capacity of school leaders to exercise professional autonomy and how different levels of government achieve strategic alignment among policies in their efforts to lift performance. The paper will summarise findings reported in The Autonomy Premium published in 2016 by ACER Press, along with the findings of a national survey of principals in Australia. The major part of this presentation is devoted to comparing Australia on 15 benchmarks derived from international studies in …


Science Of Learning Network Of Schools: The Science Of Communities Of Practice, Andrew Jones, Frank Vetere Aug 2017

Science Of Learning Network Of Schools: The Science Of Communities Of Practice, Andrew Jones, Frank Vetere

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Frameworks referencing synthesised bodies of prominent research adorn education improvement policy like curiously named pieces of Ikea furniture—peculiar in their assemblage, ostensibly contemporary, and striking in their modular convenience. Amid this, most pundits still agree that we have an education advancement issue in this country. Despite significant increases in funding from successive federal and state governments, we simply haven’t been able to shift the needle. What we can ascertain is that compliance-based improvement approaches don’t work. They are unable to influence the cognitive maps, beliefs and understandings of the educator to the extent necessary to effectively improve outcomes for students …


Teacher Leader And Teacher Leadership: A Call For Conceptual Clarity, Susan Lovett Aug 2017

Teacher Leader And Teacher Leadership: A Call For Conceptual Clarity, Susan Lovett

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Education systems cannot afford to lose promising teachers who could be the school leaders of tomorrow. My work shows a need to promote leadership as learning for teachers and students rather than as management and administration, heavy workloads and disconnectedness from students and their learning. Conceptions of leadership that allow teachers to see professional learning as the reason for their work make a contribution to school leadership as a whole. Schools benefit from leaders at all levels no matter their distance to classrooms. School cultures can stimulate leadership practices when professional learning exchanges among teachers are reciprocated. Professional learning is …


Developing Evaluative Thinking And Evidence-Based Practice: A Synthetic Case Study, Tim Wyatt Aug 2017

Developing Evaluative Thinking And Evidence-Based Practice: A Synthetic Case Study, Tim Wyatt

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The NSW Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan, which operated from 2012 to 2016, provided $261 millon to improve literacy and numeracy learning in 448 the most disadvantaged and lowest performing schools across the three education sectors in NSW. A key objective of the Action Plan was to enhance teacher and school leader capacity, including the ability to apply evidence-based practices and evaluative thinking to planning and programming for teaching and learning at a classroom level, and to planning and decision-making at a whole-school level. The concept and terminology of ‘evidence-based practice’ is in common parlance in Australian schools; however, in …


Pre-Service And In-Service Teacher Education: A Leadership Model For Collaborative Learning, Jo-Anne Reid Aug 2017

Pre-Service And In-Service Teacher Education: A Leadership Model For Collaborative Learning, Jo-Anne Reid

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Innovative collaboration between schools and university can enhance teacher education. This model was developed as part of a partnership between a school principal leading a cluster of diverse primary schools, and a local university school of teacher education. The partnership established a memorandum of understanding to support targeted and standards-based professional learning for teachers and new leaders across the schools in the cluster. Novice pre-service teachers were also assigned to these schools for an extended weekly professional placement. This session outlines the model as it was designed: to respond to the strategic demands of particular school communities, as well as …


Principals As Literacy Leaders: A Strategy For Improving Reading Engagement And Achievement In Australian Schools, Tony Townsend Aug 2017

Principals As Literacy Leaders: A Strategy For Improving Reading Engagement And Achievement In Australian Schools, Tony Townsend

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

By the end of 2017, approximately 1500 school leaders from all states and territories in Australia will have undertaken the Principals as Literacy Leaders (PALL) program. This program was first funded in 2010 for 60 primary principals of disadvantaged schools by a Commonwealth Government grant under the Closing the Gap strategy. Since that time, additional cohorts of school leaders have been funded by state departments of education, professional associations and individual schools. Many of the programs were associated with research looking at various outcomes of the learning gained from the PALL program. To date, there have been six published studies, …


Courageous And Coherent Leadership Required For Excellent And Equitable Outcomes, Linda Bendikson Aug 2017

Courageous And Coherent Leadership Required For Excellent And Equitable Outcomes, Linda Bendikson

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The paper illustrates the complexity of leadership work, using data on the varying perspectives of middle and senior leaders about their own goals; the seriousness of the problems that they face in reaching those goals; and the perceived effectiveness of the senior leadership team. The findings from these studies indicate that the basic leadership skills of problem analysis, focused goalsetting and close monitoring of progress towards goals are lacking in many leadership teams in secondary schools. These findings highlight the importance of a team of middle and senior leaders being aligned in their goal pursuit, being active problem-solvers and being …


Nourishing Teachers’ Leadership For Learning: Insights From Practitioner Research, Simon Clarke Aug 2017

Nourishing Teachers’ Leadership For Learning: Insights From Practitioner Research, Simon Clarke

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

This session contends that leadership and learning are mutually supporting and reinforcing. It is only recently that attempts have been made to describe in practice the complex connections existing between the two activities by drawing on empirical evidence. To this end, this session will depict ways in which leadership and learning are indispensable to each other in day-to-day teachers’ work, and the implications this symbiosis has for practice. Firstly, the session will consider the key foundations and principles of leadership for learning, especially as they relate to the Carpe Vitam international leadership for learning research project. Secondly, we will discuss …


Enhancing Instructional Leadership: Lessons From The Nsw Literacy And Numeracy Action Plan, Tim Wyatt Aug 2017

Enhancing Instructional Leadership: Lessons From The Nsw Literacy And Numeracy Action Plan, Tim Wyatt

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Over the past decade, schools, school systems and governments at all levels have invested heavily in enhancing the quality of school leadership. The Australian Government-funded National Partnerships (2012–2014) identified principal leadership as one of its explicit goals. More recently, the emphasis of leadership development has been on enhancing instructional leadership. This paper describes an approach to enhancing instructional leadership adopted as part of the NSW Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan (2012–2016), which was the particular approach of the NSW government school sector. The three school sectors in NSW each adopted different models for their implementation of the Action Plan relevant …


Capabilities Required For Leading Improvement: Challenges For Researchers And Developers, Viviane Robinson Aug 2017

Capabilities Required For Leading Improvement: Challenges For Researchers And Developers, Viviane Robinson

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The leadership of improvement is a challenging task, requiring capability in 1) using relevant knowledge to 2) solve complex educational problems, while 3) building relationships of trust with those involved. In this keynote address, Viviane describes what she has learned from her leadership research and development program about each of these three leadership capabilities. In addressing the first of these leadership capabilities, she describes key findings about how leaders’ relevant knowledge intersect with their ability to build trust and solve the problems that stand in the way of their improvement goals. Her discussion of the second capability draws on empirical …


Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2017), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer) Aug 2017

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2017), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Educational leaders play a crucial role in setting directions for improvement and innovation. Leaders – whether or not they are in formal leadership roles – create the tone of an institution, set priorities and directions for change, build coherence and shared commitment across the community and maintain a sharp focus on measurable improvements in student outcomes. Effective leaders take a deep interest in the quality of teaching and learning. They closely monitor indicators of student achievement and wellbeing and promote institution-wide conversations and professional learning focused on improving teaching and learning processes and student outcomes. They also form partnerships with …


Infographic: Out-Of-Field Teaching, Jo Earp Aug 2016

Infographic: Out-Of-Field Teaching, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

A new ACER report looks at the extent to which secondary school teachers in Australia are teaching subjects they haven't specialised in during their studies. It includes data on the proportion of Years 7-10 teachers teaching out-of-field in 20 subject areas.


A Principal’S Working Day, Danielle Meloney Jul 2014

A Principal’S Working Day, Danielle Meloney

Teacher infographics

What is the task that takes up the most time in a principal's working day? Find out in this Teacher infographic.


A Review Of Victoria’S Developmental Learning Framework For School Leaders, Lawrence Ingvarson Dec 2013

A Review Of Victoria’S Developmental Learning Framework For School Leaders, Lawrence Ingvarson

Professional learning for teachers and school leaders

The Department of Education and Training, Victoria launched the Developmental Learning Framework for School Leaders (DLF) in March 2007 as a central component of the 2003 Blueprint for Government Schools (DET, 2003). Six years later, a decision was made to review the DLF and seek advice on the extent to which it may need revision or redevelopment.In June 2013, the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to conduct an independent review of Framework for School Leaders (DLF). The brief was to conduct a critical assessment of the content, design, and usability of the …


Teaching And Learning School Improvement Framework, Geoff N. Masters Jan 2010

Teaching And Learning School Improvement Framework, Geoff N. Masters

Monitoring Learning

The Teaching and Learning School Improvement Framework brings together findings from research into the practices of highly effective school leaders. The focus of the Framework is not on everything that effective leaders do, but on those leadership practices that appear to be most directly related to school-wide improvements in teaching and learning. The Framework was developed initially in collaboration with the Queensland Department of Education and Training and was used as the basis for a teaching and learning ‘audit’ of every government school in that state during the 2010 school year. The Framework consists of eight interrelated ‘domains’. Each domain …


The Leadership Challenge : Improving Learning In Schools, Bill Mulford Apr 2008

The Leadership Challenge : Improving Learning In Schools, Bill Mulford

Australian Education Review

AER 53 elaborates on issues raised by the ACER Research Conference 2007: The Leadership Challenge - Improving learning in schools. This conference was significant in that it identified leadership as an area of interest to school leaders requiring explicit policy development at both a school and system level.This review aims to demonstrate that a great deal of a school's success depends on which areas of school life the educational leader chooses to spend time and attention. Section 1 describes the three interrelated, or nested, elements of leadership. Beginning from the outside and moving inward to the core these are: school …