Education Commons^™

The Case For Urgency: Advocating For Indigenous Voice In Education, Kevin P. Gillan, Suzanne Mellor, Jacynta Krakouer

Suzanne Mellor

In 2004 the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) published an Australian Education Review (AER) on Indigenous Education: The Case for Change: A review of contemporary research on Indigenous education outcomes, AER 47 (Mellor & Corrigan, 2004). In the 13 years since its publication, the state of Indigenous education outcomes has remained substantially unaltered. All the social indicators demonstrate that Australia’s First Nations people continue to be the most socio-economically disadvantaged population cohort in Australian society. This is after decades of continued policy efforts by successive Commonwealth, state and territory governments to ameliorate Indigenous education disadvantage. We still struggle with …

Building Quality In Teaching And Teacher Education, Nan Bahr, Suzanne Mellor

Suzanne Mellor

AER 61 discusses the contemporary influences on initial teacher education, with particular attention to the notion of quality teaching, and the role of teacher education and teacher educators in the development of quality teachers. Section 1 introduces the key concept of ‘quality’ and explores the notion of quality in teaching. Section 2 reviews the context of education in Australia with discussion of the organisation and management of the educational systems, with particular attention to the different roles Federal and State/Territory governments play. Section 3 considers teaching as a profession by examining the nature of teachers’ work, working contexts and demands, …

Networking Young Citizens : Learning To Be Citizens In And With The Social Web, Suzanne Mellor, Terri Seddon

Suzanne Mellor

Many claims are made, both in the popular press and the professional education literature, about the significance of the social web in enabling civic participation. However empirical evidence supporting these claims is sparse and contested rather than strongly-indicative. The Monash University pilot research project, Networking Young Citizens, relates to the discussion about the ways in which the social web might support the civic participation, especially of young people, by examining the ways in which Web 2.0 was integrated into teaching and learning in the school, and any other processes of civic socialisation that were consciously adopted in three schools.

This …

Literacy And Numeracy Interventions In The Early Years Of Schooling : A Literature Review : Report To The Ministerial Advisory Group On Literacy And Numeracy, Marion Meiers, Kate Reid, Phillip Mckenzie, Suzanne Mellor

Suzanne Mellor

The NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC) commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in August 2012 to conduct a literature review of the evidence regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of the range of literacy and numeracy interventions in use in the early years of schooling (Years K–3). The review was commissioned on behalf of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Literacy and Numeracy (MAGLN).

A significant aspect of the MAGLN’s work involves the examination of evidence about literacy and numeracy teaching practices and interventions that are effective for children with varied learning needs.

The overarching purpose of the …

Second Languages And Australian Schooling, Suzanne Mellor

Suzanne Mellor

There are good reasons for all Australian children to study a second language from an early age according to the latest Australian Education Review.

New Effort Needed To Improve Indigenous Education, Suzanne Mellor, Matthew Corrigan

Suzanne Mellor

A recent ACER report - The Case for Change: A review of contemporary research on Indigenous educational outcomes calls for the establishment of a new national research agenda as a means to help improve educational outcomes for Indigenous students.