Education Commons^™

“What Pragmatism Can Offer Educational Reform Debates: Method, Means, And Motive”, Abe Feuerstein, Sue Ellen Henry

Sue Ellen Henry

This paper advocates for reframing educational reform through the philosophical lens of pragmatism. After reviewing the problems that arise from the three dominant paradigms of school change suggested by Hord's 1992 review of the literature, we propose seven criteria for pragmatic thinking that can be useful in crafting reform efforts. Following the application of these criteria to a short case study of a failed educational reform in an urban school, the paper concludes with discussion of the benefits of pragmatism as a philosophical foundation for educational reform.

Five More Ways Sports Coaches Model Good Instruction, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

An article in the May 2003 issue of The Teaching Professor that highlights six ways teachers can learn from coaches got us thinking. The two of us have now been teaching a combined 64 years in college, and we've spent half that time serving as coaches in soccer, swimming, basketball, and baseball on the youth and high school levels. From our experience we've identified five more ways coaches provide a model for good college instruction.

Longitudinal Surveys Of Australian Youth, Gary Marks, Sheldon Rothman

Dr Sheldon Rothman

This article provides an overview of the Longitudinal surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) project. It discusses the surveys, samples and data, the survey content, the uses of the data, and how to make use of the data.

Declining Inequality? The Changing Impact Of Socio-Economic Background And Ability On Education In Australia, Gary Marks, Julie Mcmillan

Julie McMillan

The paper addresses several debates surrounding the reproduction of socioeconomic inequality: (i) the persistent inequality thesis, which maintains that despite the increases in educational participation socio-economic inequalities in education have not declined; (ii) the related thesis of maximally maintained inequality, which proposes that socio-economic inequalities decline only when participation levels for the most privileged socio-economic group approach saturation levels; (iii) the meritocracy debate on the importance of ability vis-à-vis socio-economic background and changes in its influence over time; and (iv) the effect of policy changes on socio-economic inequalities in education. These issues are addressed using data from six Australian youth …

Five More Ways Sports Coaches Model Good Instruction, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Charlie Sweet

An article in the May 2003 issue of The Teaching Professor that highlights six ways teachers can learn from coaches got us thinking. The two of us have now been teaching a combined 64 years in college, and we've spent half that time serving as coaches in soccer, swimming, basketball, and baseball on the youth and high school levels. From our experience we've identified five more ways coaches provide a model for good college instruction.

The Changing Landscape: E-Learning In Schools, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

This paper explores key initiatives over the last decade which have contributed towards building the foundations of an e-learning environment. What is e-learning? What are the key characteristics of e-learning? What are the benefits, requirements and rewards are also discussed. Exemplary e-learning services, managed by education.au, built to meet some of the requirements of e-learning are described as well.

Probing Whole Number Dominance With Fractions, Max Stephens, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

Children's whole number schemes can interfere with their efforts to learn fractions. To what extent do these schemes persist for secondary school students? This paper reports on the development and piloting of an interview designed to identify and probe inappropriate whole number strategies for working with fractions among secondary students. The interview showed that these strategies are still prevalent among Year 8 students. Among others who use appropriate multiplicative strategies the interview showed that some of these are still not confident in challenging instances of inappropriate whole number thinking. [Author abstract]

Net Impact And Benefit-Cost Estimates Of The Workforce Development System In Washington State, Kevin Hollenbeck, Wei-Jang Huang

Kevin Hollenbeck

No abstract provided.

“State Standards In The Local Context: A Survey Of School Board Members And Superintendents”, Abe Feuerstein, Jonathan Dietrich

Abe Feuerstein

This study examines the perceptions of superintendents and school board members inPennsylvania with regard to state academic standards and standardized tests. From a universe of 501 Pennsylvania districts, we selected a sample of 51 districts (approximately 10%) at random. We sent surveys to superintendents, school board chairpersons, and three additional school board members from each district. Thirty-one of the 51 superintendents completed surveys for a 61% rate of return. For school board members, 76 of the 204 surveyed completed surveys for a 37% rate of return. Results of the survey show that although superintendents and school board members view standards …

Psychological Predictors Of The Propensity To Omit Short-Response Items On A High-Stakes Achievement Test, Gabrielle Matters, Paul Burnett

Dr Gabrielle Matters

This article presents the findings of a study of the psychological variables that discriminate between high and low omitters on a high-stakes achievement test using a shortresponse format. Data were obtained from a questionnaire administered to a random sample (N = 1,908) of students prior to sitting the 1997 Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test (N = 29,273). Fourteen psychological variables were measured including test anxiety (four subscales), emotional stability, achievement motivation, self-esteem, academic self-concept, self-estimate of ability, locus of control (three subscales), and approaches to learning (two subscales). The results were analyzed using descriptive discriminant analysis and suggested that the …

Education Network Australia - Discover, Communicate, Collaborate, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

This paper is about an innovative collaborative venture of the Australian Commonwealth and State/Territories Education Governments, initiated in the mid ‘90s. The initiative was a response to the emerging need of the education and training communities for a coordinated approach in optimising the potential of information and communications technology (ICT) in teaching and learning at all levels – early childhood, schools, adult and vocational education and training, and higher education. The project is managed by education.au limited, a national Australian ICT agency established by a ministerial council of all Australian Ministers of Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) for …

The Development Of Mathematical Strategies In The Early Years, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

Current research has shown that children develop a repertoire of mathematical strategies by progressing though five 'counting stages'. These are: perceptual - students are limited to counting those items they can perceive; figurative - students count from one when solving addition problems with screened collections; initial number sequence - students can now count on to solve addition and missing add-end problems with screened collections; implicitly nested number sequence - students are able to focus on the collection of unit items as one thing, as well as the abstract unit items; explicitly nested number sequence - students are simultaneously aware of …

Moody's Blues, Hal Charles

Charlie Sweet

No abstract provided.

Establishing An Evidence-Based Adult Education System, John Comings

John P. Comings

The purpose of the seminar is to help practitioners, program directors, state staff, and other policymakers read and discuss NCSALL's proposal for creating an evidence-based system for the field and then to understand and judge the relevance of such a system to their work in adult basic education.

“What Pragmatism Can Offer Educational Reform Debates: Method, Means, And Motive”, Abe Feuerstein, Sue Ellen Henry

Abe Feuerstein

This paper advocates for reframing educational reform through the philosophical lens of pragmatism. After reviewing the problems that arise from the three dominant paradigms of school change suggested by Hord's 1992 review of the literature, we propose seven criteria for pragmatic thinking that can be useful in crafting reform efforts. Following the application of these criteria to a short case study of a failed educational reform in an urban school, the paper concludes with discussion of the benefits of pragmatism as a philosophical foundation for educational reform.

Towards Knowledge Building : Reflecting On Teachers' Roles And Professional Learning In Communities Of Practice, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

This study was undertaken in conjunction with the Successful Integration of Learning Technologies (SILT) Project in Victorian state schools, and its purpose was to identify the forms of teachers' professional practice that enhance knowledge building, in order to inform teacher development policy and pre-service education. Knowledge building is based on a constructivist approach to learning and teaching, and this, in conjunction with the spread of learning technologies, is said to have greatly changed the role of the teacher in the classroom: from the expert dispensing knowledge to the facilitator of student learning. Using an ethnographic approach based particularly on observation …

The Relationships Between Metacomprehension Strategy Awareness, Student Reading Performance And Comprehension Strategy Instruction, Diane Kern

Diane Elliott Kern

This study examined relationships between comprehension strategy instruction, reading comprehension, and metacomprehension awareness. The study occurred in four phases. In Phase 1, third grade teachers participating in the Rhode Island Reading Excellence program (REA) administered pre- and posttests of the Metacomprehension Strategy Index (MSI) (Schmitt, 1990). Teacher groups were determined as “high gains” or “less gains” based on MSI results. In Phase 2, teachers were observed. In Phase 3, “high gains” teachers completed structured interviews. In Phase 4, third grade students (N = 414) completed pre- and post testing of the MSI. Findings suggest the MSI may help to identify …

Beyond The Middle: A Report About Literacy And Numeracy Development Of Target Group Students In The Middle Years Of Schooling, Allan Luke, John Elkins, Katie Weir, Ray Land, Victoria Carrington, Shelley Dole, Donna Pendergast, Cushla Kapitzke, Christa Van Kraayenoord, Karen Moni, Alistair Mcintosh, Diane Mayer, Mark Bahr, Lisa Hunter, Rod Chadbourne, Tom Bean, Donna Alverman, Lisa Stevens

Mark Bahr

The Report, Beyond the Middle: A Report about Literacy and Numeracy Development of a Target Group Students in the Middle Years of Schooling, provides a useful national coverage of approaches assisting the literacy and numeracy development of Australian students in Years 5 to 10.

The work was undertaken by a research team headed by Professor Allan Luke and Professor John Elkins from the School of Education, University of Queensland and is a study of the efficacy of middle years programmes in all States and Territories for improving teaching and learning, and student outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

The project involved …

Pathways To Knowledge[Tm] And Inquiry Learning, By Marjorie L. Pappas And Ann E. Tepe. Englewood, Co: Libraries Unlimited, 2002. Isbn 1-56308-843-6., Elizabeth Parang

Elizabeth Parang

Estimating Policy And Program Effects With Observational Data: The "Differences-In-Differences" Estimator, Yi Shang, Jack Buckley

Yi Shang

The article presents a discussion on the difference-in-differences (DiD) estimator. Also, it briefly describes the DiD model and its underlying assumptions. The DiD estimator is a useful tool for applied quantitative education and public policy researchers confronted with observational data in which self-selection to treatment may be confounded with the outcome measure. The model is extremely flexible, and allows for the inclusion of additional covariates that are hypothesized to influence either the baseline change common to all units of observation or the amount of change predicted by the treatment. Moreover, the models are simple to estimate with off-the-shelf technology and …

Child's Play: Computer Games, Theories Of Play And Children's Development, I. Verenikina, P. Harris, P. Lysaght

I. Verenikina

The purpose of this project is to examine the ways in which classical and modern theories of play may be applied to an analysis of the developmental value of computer software in the early childhood years. Modern and classical theories of play have identified many ways in which play may advance the cognitive, social and emotional development of children. However, in the last two decades there has been concern that play is being replaced by other activities such as computer games, ranging from commercial arcade games to different kinds of educational software. Whilst there has been an ongoing debate about …

Fractions : Using The Measurement Model To Develop Understanding, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

Several researchers have noted how children's whole number schemes can interfere with their efforts to learn fractions. An Australian study found that children who were successful with the solution of the rational number tasks exhibited greater whole number knowledge and more flexible solution strategies. Behr and Post (1988) indicated that children needed to be competent in the four operations of whole numbers, along with an understanding of measurement, to enable them to understand rational numbers. The workshop session described in this paper was a 'hands-on' session that focused on the use of paper folding, fraction walls and number lines to …

Self-Identified Advocates Of Multicultural Education: An Examination Of Their Journey To Being & Their Way Of Doing, Theron Ford

Theron N Ford

No abstract provided.

Can Compassion Be Measured?, Margaret Forster, Prue Anderson

Prue Anderson

The Australian Council for Educational Research is working to develop and refine frameworks against which schools and school systems might monitor the social, emotional, moral and ethical development of their students.

Juvenile Delinquency And Reformatory Education In Chinese Society, Irving Epstein

Irving Epstein

No abstract provided.

The Timss 1999 Video Study And Its Relevance To Australian Mathematics Education Research, Innovation, Networking, And Opportunities., Hilary Hollingsworth

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

Results from the mathematics portion of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999 Video Study, comparing videotaped Year 8 mathematics lessons from seven countries, were released in March 2003. This paper presents selected findings from that study, with a focus on those results that might be of particular interest to Australian educators. In addition, the paper considers ways in which the results and products from this study can make a lasting contribution to the field of mathematics education. Three areas are described: the innovation associated with the study's 'video survey' research methodology; the networking possibilities for mathematics educators …

Assessing Rational Number Knowledge In The Middle Years Of Schooling, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

Success in Numeracy Education (SINE) is the major numeracy approach being implemented in Victorian Catholic schools. SINE is designed to assist teachers to identify the mathematical understanding of the students they teach and to develop activities to help all students to progress at their relative level of understanding. Two components of SINE have been piloted and implemented: SINE Prep to Year 4 and SINE Years 5 and 6. This paper focuses on work with fractions being undertaken as part of the pilot program for SINE Years 5-8. There has been considerable research into the difficulties experienced by students learning fractions …

Lessons Of Collaboration, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

Currently the international approach to online education is diverse, with each country doing its own thing. This paper is a proposition that we can achieve better online learning outcomes by working collaboratively than by working in isolation.

Imagistic Simulation In Scientific Model Construction, John Clement

John J. Clement

No abstract provided.

Negative Image? Developing The Visual In Tourism Research, William Feighery

William Feighery

Today, knowledge about the world is increasingly articulated visually and the ocularcentric nature of tourism is widely recognised by tourism 'professionals' and academics, as well as by tourists and 'locals'. This article examines the role of visual evidence in tourism research and takes as its starting point the convolution of 'looking', 'seeing' and 'knowing' in western culture. It then considers the 'status' of image-based research in the social sciences with particular reference to tourism studies. It is suggested that the recent interest in the so-called 'pictorial turn' heralds new opportunities for tourism researchers to embrace emerging visual methodologies and in …