Education Commons^™

Teachers As Embedded Practitioner-Researchers In Innovative Learning Environments, Joanne Blannin, Marian Mahat, Benjamin Cleveland, Julia E. Morris, Wesley Imms

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, University of Ljubljana. All rights reserved. The paper introduces and explores the Plans to Pedagogy research pro-gramme, a three-year project focused on teacher capacity-building within schools. Plans to Pedagogy engages practitioner-researchers in the development of their and their colleagues’ spatial learning skills as they move into and attempt to take advantage of innovative learning environments. The programme involves teachers from eight schools across Australia and New Zealand. Still in progress, each three-year project addresses the indi-vidual school’s needs, while being supported by a more extensive universi-ty-situated “umbrella” research programme. This paper presents emerging findings from Plans to Pedagogy …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Preparedness For Supporting Struggling Literacy Learners In Secondary English Classrooms, Margaret K. Merga, Sayidi Mat Roni, Shannon Mason

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The initial and ongoing professional education of teachers to prepare them to support students’ literacy development warrants research attention. The importance of meeting the needs of struggling literacy learners in secondary school does not diminish as students move through the years of schooling. This paper reports on data from the 2019 Supporting Struggling Secondary Literacy Learners mixed-methods project, which sought to explore the challenges of meeting the needs of struggling literacy learners in Australian secondary schooling, from the perspectives of teachers of mainstream English classrooms. …

“The Pay Is Not Worth It But It Is Excellent Pd”: Australian Teachers’ Perspectives On Doing Large-Scale Marking, Nathanael Reinertsen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Anecdotally, teachers take up opportunities to mark large-scale assessments because they are told by colleagues that it is 'good PD'. Assertions about the value of marking are passed along with little question. However, research into the benefits of participating as a marker in large-scale marking has not been conducted in the Australian context. This paper reports the results of an online survey of Australian teachers (N=43) about their participation in large-scale marking in order to examine whether the research that has been conducted internationally is likely to be generalisable to Australia. The responses to the survey are described and then …

Achieving Economic Sustainability For Niche Social Profession Courses In The Australian Higher Education Sector: Final Report, Trudi Cooper, Miriam Rose Brooker

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The purpose of this fellowship was to develop a nationwide collaborative strategy to improve the economic sustainability and geographic availability of niche social profession courses. The niche courses in social professions examined in this program meet specialist social needs in disability services, social gerontology, and youth work. Specialist courses in social professions have limited availability across the Australian university sector and availability has declined over the last decade. This is despite a continuing need for specialist graduates, as attested by the relevant professional bodies, and by policy implementation reviews in the areas where graduates from these courses might provide stronger …

Motivations Of Educators For Participating In An Authentic Astronomy Research Experience Professional Development Program, Luisa M. Rebull, T. Roberts, W. Laurence, Michael Fitzgerald, D. A. French, Varoujan Gorjian, G. K. Squires

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP) partners small groups of educators with a research astronomer for a year-long authentic research project. This program aligns well with the characteristics of high-quality professional development (PD) programs and has worked with a total of 103 educators since 2005. In this paper, surveys were explored that were obtained from 74 different educators, at up to four waypoints during the course of 13 months, incorporating data from the class of 2010 through the class of 2017. This paper investigates how participating teachers …

The Effect Of A Professional Development Model On Early Childhood Educators’ Direct Teaching Of Beginning Reading, Gemma E. Scarparolo, Lorraine S. Hammond

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Research over the last 15 years has reported that for professional development to be effective, in terms of changing teachers’ knowledge and/or instructional strategies, it needs to be conducted taking into consideration the following factors: teachers’ existing knowledge, experience and attitudes towards the professional development, school administrative factors, opportunities for classroom-based follow-up and gathering data concerning student achievement to measure the impact or effectiveness of the professional development. These factors were all carefully considered when creating, planning and implementing the professional development model for this study. The results indicate that an evidence-based professional development model which included a workshop, classroom …

Peer Group And Friend Influences On The Social Acceptability Of Adolescent Book Reading, Margaret K. Merga

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Increasing recreational reading is a priority in a climate of growing adolescent aliteracy. Raising the social appeal of books has been identified as one potential avenue for arresting this trend. An understanding of the current social acceptability of book reading amongst contemporary adolescents is important in informing an effective approach to raise the status of book reading, as is insight into how this status impacts upon attitudes toward, and engagement in, recreational book reading. Friend and peer group attitudes may impact upon the palatability of recreational book reading, and this impact may differ for gender. Findings from the 2012 West …

The Invisibility Of Covert Bullying Among Students: Challenges For School Intervention, Amy Barnes, Donna Cross, Leanne Lester, Lydia Hearn, Melanie Epstein, Helen Monks

Research outputs 2012

Covert bullying behaviours are at least as distressing for young people as overt forms of bullying, but often remain unnoticed or unacknowledged by adults. This invisibility is increased in schools by inattention to covert bullying in policy and practice, and limited staff understanding and skill to address covert behaviours. These factors can lead to a school culture that appears to tolerate and thus inadvertently encourages covert bullying. This study explores these dynamics in Australian primary and secondary schools, including the attitudes of over 400 staff towards covert bullying, their understanding of covert bullying behaviours, and their perceived capacity to address …

Primary Connections: Reforming Science Teaching In Australian Primary Schools, Mark Hackling, Shelley Peers, Vaughan Prain

Research outputs pre 2011

Concerns about the status and quality of science teaching in Australian primary schools led the Australian Academy of Science to develop Primary Connections over 2004-8 with funding from DEST and the support of states and territories. Primary Connections is a teacher professional learning program supported with curriculum resources that aims to enhance learning outcomes in science and the literacies of science by supporting both inservice and preservice primary teachers to teach science effectively. Primary Connections is a systematic, widespread and innovative reform that complements programs within states and territories. The program is based on an innovative teaching and learning approach …

A Report Of An Evaluation Of The Women In Leadership Program Edith Cowan University, Sandra Milligan, Lyn Genoni

Research outputs pre 2011

In the early 1950s Australia had only a handful of universities in Australia serving a student body of less than 50 000. Of every 100 who went to school fewer than five went on to university. Now Australia's 40 or more universities make up a mass system which takes in more than a fifth of the age group. There are more than half a million university students.

This remarkable growth has been accompanied by considerable turbulence within the universities. Along with massive expansion, universities have experienced staff shortages, criticisms of teaching quality and research priorities, demands for greater public accountability, …