Education Commons^™

Review Recommends Tertiary Entrance Changes, Geoff Masters, Gabrielle Matters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

A review by Gabrielle Matters and Geoff Masters of senior assessment and tertiary selection processes in Queensland has recommended changes to meet future education needs.

Bullying In Australian Schools, Kylie Hillman

Kylie Hillman

Recent international surveys of students’ mathematics, science and reading achievement also reveal much about their engagement with schooling, their experience of bullying and their sense of safety at school, as Kylie Hillman explains.

Review Recommends Tertiary Entrance Changes, Geoff N. Masters, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

A review by Gabrielle Matters and Geoff Masters of senior assessment and tertiary selection processes in Queensland has recommended changes to meet future education needs.

School Improvement On Australia’S Horizon, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

While Australia has seen a steady decline in 15-year-olds’ reading literacy achievement over the past decade, Geoff Masters identifies promising signs at the primary level that this trend may soon be reversed.

Measuring Learning Growth In A World Of Universal Education, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

ACER is leading the development of new ‘learning metrics’ – tools for measuring learning growth – as Ross Turner explains.

Stretching To Reach High Standards, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

In order to raise achievement, teachers need to stretch their students with tasks that are neither too easy nor difficult, according to Geoff Masters.

Australian Students Prepare For Digital Future, Julian Fraillon

Julian Fraillon

The world’s first computer-based international study into computer and information literacy shows that Australian students are developing the skills necessary for successful participation in the digital world. Julian Fraillon reports.

Helping Kids With Disability, Katherine Dix

Dr Katherine Dix

The Development Of The Lunchtime Enjoyment Of Activity And Play Questionnaire, Brendon P. Hyndman, Amanda Telford, Shahid Ullah, Caroline Finch, Amanda Benson

Dr Brendon P Hyndman

BACKGROUND: Enjoyment of physical activity is as an important determinant of children’s participation in physical activity. Despite this, there is an absence of reliable measures for assessing children’s enjoyment of play activities during school lunchtime. The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the reliability of the Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) Questionnaire. METHODS: Questionnaire items were categorized employing a social-ecological framework including intrapersonal (20 items), interpersonal (2 items), and physical environment/policy (17 items) components to identify the broader influences on children’s enjoyment. An identical questionnaire was administered on 2 occasions, 10 days apart, to 176 …

Grey Literature In Australian Education, Gerry White

Dr Gerald K. White

Gerald White discusses the need to better organise the proliferation of non-commercially published reports and documents of particular importance in the area of public policy.

Critical And Inventive Thinking, Ray Philpot

Ray Philpot

Seminar and workshops on how to develop assessment instruments to measure critical and inventive thinking ability at Primary and Secondary school levels.

Aligning Practice And Philosophy: Opening Up Options For School Leaders, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

The educational use of digital technologies such as mobile devices, computers, and the Internet are progressively replacing pens, books, and the physical spaces known as libraries. Both online synchronous and asynchronous learning modes are emerging as part of the learning styles used with children physically attending schools. Consequently schools and school districts deploy various sorts of software applications to meet the range of teaching, learning, and management functions they perform. As leaders of schools, principals have heightened responsibilities concerning the philosophical directions of schools, as well as aligning the uses of technologies across all facets of their organizations. Set against …

Teds-M Plenary Panel At Icme-12, Ray Peck

Ray Peck

Focusing on mathematics learning at school level, mathematics teachers have the strongest influence on student learning because they are directly working with students. Teachers are regarded as key persons of educational change. For example, a meta-analysis on student learning (Hattie, 2003) found that teachers' impact on students' learning is high: Identified factors that contribute to major sources of variation in student performance include the students (50%) and teachers (30%) as the most important factors, whereas home, schools, principals, peer effects (altogether 20%) play a less important role.

Integrating Deaf And Hearing Children Into The Ugandan School Curriculum: The Role Of Sms Text Messaging, Sacha Develle

Dr Sacha DeVelle

No abstract provided.

Integrating Deaf And Unimpaired Children Into An African School Curriculum: The Role Of Sms, Sacha Develle

Dr Sacha DeVelle

No abstract provided.

Are National Exit Examinations Important For Educational Efficiency?, John H. Bishop

John H Bishop

“This paper analyses effects of national or provincial exit examinations on education quality. On theoretical grounds, the paper argues that such examinations should increase high school achievement, particularly in examination subjects, and that teachers and students and parents and school administrators should focus more on academic achievement when making school-quality decisions. On the negative side, exit examinations may lead to a tendency to concentrate on learning facts, rather than understanding contexts.”

Do Curriculum-Based External Exit Exam Systems Enhance Student Achievement?, John H. Bishop

John H Bishop

[Excerpt] It is claimed that 'curriculum-based external exit exam systems', CBEEES, based on world class content standards will improve teaching and learning of core subjects. What evidence is there for this claim? New York's Regents Exams are an example of such a system. Do New York students outperform students with similar socio-economic backgrounds from other states? Outside the United States such systems are the rule, not the exception. What impacts have such systems had on school policies, teaching and student learning?

The Effect Of Curriculum-Based Exit Exam Systems On Student Achievement, John H. Bishop

John H Bishop

[Excerpt] Two presidents, the National Governors Association and numerous blue ribbon panels have called for the development of state or national content standards for core subjects and examinations that assess the achievement of these standards. The Competitiveness Policy Council, for example, advocates that "external assessments be given to individual students at the secondary level and that the results should be a major but not exclusive factor qualifying for college and better jobs at better wages (1993, p. 30)." It is claimed that 'curriculum-based external exit exam systems', CBEEES, based on world class content standards will improve teaching and learning of …

Self-Management For High-Functioning Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Supporting children with autism spectrum disorders in the general education classroom presents a unique challenge to the teachers and schools that serve them. This article addresses the utility of self-management as a proactive strategy for increasing the task engagement and compliant behavior of high-functioning students with autism. The author discusses the rationale for self-management, outlines the steps for developing an intervention plan, and presents a case vignette to illustrate implementation of a self-management procedure.

Education Research With Electronic Focus Groups, Kathryn Moyle, R Fitzgerald

Professor Kathryn Moyle

An emerging trend in education research methods is to integrate digital technologies into the research process. Electronic focus groups represent one such innovation. Drawing on four examples of research and practice undertaken using a synchronous, digital system, this chapter reflects on how an innovative tool can assist in focus group research in the fields of school and higher education. The examples presented illustrate how some of the theoretical, practical and ethical problems that have arisen with traditional approaches to focus groups research can be overcome. It is anticipated that reflecting on such experiences and building upon the findings of these …

Digital Technology In- And Out-Of-School: A Comparative Study Of The Nature And Levels Of Student Use And Engagement, Anne-Marie Chase

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

Student Use Of Digital Technologies In And Out Of School, Anne-Marie Chase

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

Evaluation Of An Online Community: Australia's National Quality Schooling Framework, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, Keryn Mcguinness, Peter Cuttance

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

This chapter considers the development and implementation of Australia’s National Quality Schooling Framework (NQSF), created particularly for teachers and others involved in improving school education. This large-scale, highly structured, and outcome- focused community space, funded by the Australian government, was developed as a means of building and testing knowledge. Using Wenger’s infrastructure for communities of practice, the chapter evaluates the NQSF in light of its capacity for engagement, imagination, and alignment. Although these three are often intertwined, we conclude that firstly, users value the space for engagement and that this needs to be supported by a national telecommunications infrastructure. Secondly, …

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation: An Emerging And Effective Model For Developing Home-School Partnerships, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC) is discussed as an emerging and effective model of home-school collaboration and shared problem solving. A case study is presented to demonstrate how practitioners can use CBC to deliver high quality consultation and intervention services to students, teachers, and parents in a real world setting. An evidence-based intervention (EBI) was implemented in the context of CBC to enhance the on-task and compliant behavior of a student referred for consultation. Results indicated a significant increase in teacher ratings of behavioral control (on-task and compliant behavior) following consultation. Positive treatment effects were maintained at a 4-week follow-up. Norm …

Supporting The Inclusion Of A Student With Asperger Syndrome: A Case Study Using Conjoint Behavioural Consultation And Self-Management, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Conjoint behavioural consultation (CBC) is an indirect form of service delivery that combines the resources of home and school to meet the academic, social and behavioural needs of children. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of CBC as a service delivery model for supporting the inclusion of a student with Asperger syndrome in a mainstream setting. A case study methodology was employed to assess the effectiveness of an evidence-based intervention (self-management) delivered in the context of the CBC model. Results indicated a significant increase in teacher ratings of behavioural control (on-task and compliant behaviour) from baseline …