Education Commons^™

Searching For Equity In Positivity: A Two-Year Case Study Of The Effectiveness Of The Implementation Of Positive Education In A West Australian Public Secondary School Following A Year 7 Cohort To Year 8, Veronica J. Sutton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research evaluated the effectiveness of explicitly teaching Positive Education to early adolescent learners transitioning into a metropolitan, secondary public school in Western Australia and to understand the source of their stress and where they felt supported. Based on teacher feedback, a model for embedding the development of social and emotional competencies (Equity in Positivity) in the Western Australian secondary metropolitan public-school context, in a sustainable and cost-effective way, was developed over a six year period and linked to the Australian Wellbeing Hub (2020).

The researcher adopted a mixed method, instrumental bounded case study methodology, longitudinally applied through the lens …

Transforming Transitions To School: Using Funds Of Knowledge And Identity, Lennie Barblett, Fiona Boylan, Amelia Ruscoe

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This resource describes a project where ten Western Australian Independent Schools embraced a way of viewing children and their family’s transition to school.

Participating teachers came together as a community of practice and engaged in different ways of thinking and investigating accepted practice.Transition practices were affirmed or challenged as teachers were mentored through design-based thinking. Transition ideas were explored focussing on children’s funds of knowledge and identity. This resource outlines why transitions are important, considers transitions through a funds of knowledge and identity lens, and describes each school’s journey as they re-imagined transitions in this project. Finally, the ideas and …

Perceptions And Experiences Of Belonging During The Transition From Primary To Secondary School, Lynette Longaretti

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A young person’s sense of belonging at school can affect their level of motivation, academic achievement and wellbeing. During the transition from primary to secondary school, one’s sense of belonging may be affected by the changes and challenges encountered.

This paper reports some of the findings from a larger qualitative longitudinal study that investigated the factors that contribute to educational resilience during the transition from primary to secondary school. Data gathered from interviews with sixteen Year 6 students from three Victorian primary schools over a period of eighteen months is presented and analysed.

A key theme identified from the larger …

Pre-Service Teachers: Knowledge, Attitudes And Their Perceived Skills In Addressing Student Bullying, Leanne Lester, Stacey Waters, Natasha Pearce, Barbara Spears, Sarah Falconer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Understanding pre-service teachers’ capacity to prevent and manage student bullying behaviours is critical for ensuring a smooth transition into early career teaching and the success of schools’ anti-bullying initiatives. This exploratory study investigated 234 pre-service teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, perception of skills, personal experience of bullying and current undergraduate learnings in relation to bullying behaviours in schools.

Most undergraduate pre-service teachers could identify bullying behaviours, however many reported they felt their undergraduate degree had not prepared them well enough to deal with bullying behaviours. As a consequence they felt they lacked the skills to prevent and respond effectively to incidents of …

Supporting Postgraduate Coursework Students Through Their Time Of Transition, Anne-Maree Hays, Sue Sharp

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Recent episodes of violence among Australian youth of African descent have been a concern for politicians, the police, policymakers and the African communities in the country. In Western Australia, the police and African communities have been searching for ways to reduce and prevent the recent spate of violence among Australian youth of African descent. This exploratory evaluative case study presents preliminary findings on the nature of violence committed by Australian youth of African descent and examines the impact of the ‘Stop the Violence Programme’, a pilot youth mentoring initiative for creating awareness among African youth in Western Australia about crime …

Primary Students’ Engagement With The Visual Arts And Their Transition Into Year 7, Zoe Wittber

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Visual Arts education is fundamental to an effective school curriculum for primary and secondary students. It provides students with opportunities for expression and personal growth, essential to a holistic education. Recently, in Perth, Western Australia (WA) several secondary Visual Arts educators expressed what they saw as a significant deficit in the outcomes of Making and Responding in Visual Arts, evidenced in their Year 7 students who had recently graduated from primary school. Consequently, this research investigated the extent of Year 7 students’ prior Visual Arts experiences upon entry into secondary school.

The research engaged a qualitative research approach to gather …

Metaphors As Two-Way Mirrors: Illuminating Pre-Service To In-Service Teacher Identity Development, John Buchanan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The transition from pre-service to in-service can be difficult for teachers. One means of looking into the minds and hearts of such teachers is to elicit the metaphors they adopt for themselves. Previous studies have indicated that during this transition much of the confidence, idealism and optimism of teacher metaphors is displaced by bleak and defeatist visions. These changes are usually explained by ‘praxis shock’ – a result of unrealistic prior views of teaching and equally unrealistic workloads and challenges. This research project asks if metaphors might reveal more about pre-service teachers’ views and vulnerabilities, and help avert or mitigate …

Rising To The Challenge: Exploring The Transition From Primary To Secondary Education In A Western Australian School, Elizabeth Joan Wenden

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The ‘Rising to the Challenge: Exploring the transition from Primary to Secondary education in a Western Australian School’ study explored the positive predictors of primary to secondary school transition of a cohort of Year 7 students (n=182) at a school in Western Australia. The transition from primary to secondary school is an important process in the lives of adolescents aged around 11-13 years old. It is a challenging and exciting time that coincides with social, emotional, physical and cognitive changes of the adolescent stage of development. Enabling a positive transition to secondary school can give adolescents the support they need …

Beginning Teacher Support In Australia: Towards An Online Community To Augment Current Support, Nick Kelly, Shirley Reushle, Sayan Chakrabarty, Anna Kinnane

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper describes opportunities to improve the current support provided to beginning teachers in Australia. It holds that there is a need for approaches that go beyond school-based induction and support. The paper presents data from a survey of beginning teachers in Queensland, with aims to determine current access to support and perceptions about gaps in support. It uses these findings alongside existing evidence to make arguments, that some beginning teachers are effectively unsupported and that universities have the potential to play a greater role in beginning teacher support. Further results are used to suggest guidelines for developing a national …

Pathways To Success: Evaluating The Use Of "Enabling Pedagogies" In A University Transition Course, Jeniffer M. Lane, Suzanne Sharp

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

All universities in the Western world strive to attract and retain students, particularly those students who would not normally engage in tertiary studies. One way to widen access to university courses is to provide an enabling or alternative entry pathway course. The research reported in this paper was undertaken at an Australian university that has a social equity agenda to support students from diverse backgrounds to successfully engage in tertiary study. An evaluation was conducted of a particular pathway course at this university, with a view to contributing to knowledge on teaching and learning strategies in enabling courses. The research …

Embedding Academic Socialisation Within A Language Support Program: An Australian Case Study, Shelley E. Beatty, Ashok Collins, Maureen A. Buckingham

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper describes discipline-specific transition support utilised to follow-up the Post-Entry Language Assessment (PELA) recently introduced at Edith Cowan University as one strategy to address declining rates of English language proficiency. Transition support was embedded within a first year core unit and emphasis was placed on assisting students to develop spoken and written communicative competencies by scaffolding assessment tasks and providing other academic supports that used contextualised examples. While general satisfaction with the academic support offered during the course was high, the program achieved limited success in encouraging at-risk students to seek support. Further investigation into methods of encouraging student …

Post-School Adult Life For Young People With Down Syndrome, Kitty Rose Foley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Down syndrome is a chromosomal birth disorder affecting one in 650 to 1000 live births in Western Australia. The life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increased dramatically over the past two generations leading to these young people having changing needs in terms of social, economic and personal life. Encompassed within this, is the successful transition from school to post-school, a time of upheaval, stress and important decisions for young people with intellectual disabilities. The International classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF) is a world renowned framework which provides a scientific basis and standardised language for describing and …

Transition Between Primary And Secondary School: Why It Is Important And How It Can Be Supported, Ria Hanewald Dr

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper identifies and critiques literature on the experience of transition between primary and secondary school; how and why it is seen as critical and in what ways it can be supported. The aim of this literature review is to remind readers of this important period on the lives of young people and the diverse range of issues which they face. There is general consensus in the literature that well-designed and implemented transition approaches can assist in the process of supporting students, their families and school staff. Teachers are crucial in supporting children and young people moving in, between and …

Resilience: The Role Of Optimism, Perceived Parental Autonomy Support And Perceived Social Support In First Year University Students, Michelle Dawson, Julie Ann Pooley

Research outputs 2013

Throughout our lifespan we face many challenges which are often referred to as transitions. The move to university is one such transition which may place individuals at risk of suffering ongoing significant life stress, anxiety and uncertainty. Optimism, promotion of independent functioning (PIF), promotion of volitional functioning (PVF) and perceived social support (PSS) appear to be beneficial in coping with university transition and positive adaptation to adversity as well as being associated both directly and indirectly with resilience. This study was conducted in two stages which examined the mechanisms of optimism, PIF, PVF and PSS and their predictive relationship with …

A Theoretically Grounded Exploration Of The Social And Emotional Outcomes Of Transition To Secondary School, Stacey Waters, Leanne Lester, Elizabeth Wenden, Donna Cross

Research outputs 2012

Adolescent development involves a complex interplay between genetics, biology, and social and emotional relationships within multiple contexts of home, school and the broader community. The transition from primary to secondary school, coupled with the onset of puberty, can therefore be a difficult period for young people to negotiate at a critical period of their developmental pathway. Using a social ecological perspective, this article examines the impact of the transition experience on adolescent social and emotional health, both immediately following transition to secondary school and at the end of the first year in this new school environment. This 1-year prospective study …

A Process For Transition To Sustainability: Implementation, Sandra Wooltorton, Marilyn Palmer, Fran Steele

Research outputs 2011

This paper reports the outcomes of the second action cycle of an ongoing project at Edith Cowan University (ECU) called "Transition to Sustainability: ECU South West" which is located in a small, single faculty regional university campus. The overall project has comprised three action research cycles, the first of which was the planning cycle which established the importance of building a community of practice with a learning stance for sustainability transition. It also highlighted the issue of a common definition of the term sustainability; of including cross-disciplinary perspectives; and of working with the local community. The second action cycle which …