Education Commons^™

Robert George Cameron : The First Professor Of Education, At Uwa 1927-1954, Di Gardiner, Tom O’Donoghue

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There has been much debate about the status of Education as a field of study within universities. In many circumstances the evidence suggests that there was hostility towards the inclusion of Education within the university curriculum. The fact that ‘teacher training was never accepted at the Universities of Sydney or Melbourne in the same manner as the professional training courses such as Medicine, Law or Engineering’ (Bessant and Holbrook, 1995. p.266) was a legacy of the association of teaching with the public service and apprenticeship training.

Staking Out The Territory : The University Of Western Australia, The Diploma In Education And Teacher Training 1914-1956, Kaye Tully, Clive Whitehead

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Diploma in Education has been a licence to teach in Western Australia since 1929. As an award made outside the State's education system, the history of the decision-making behind its institution has been overlooked. This article surveys some of the more important decisions made by The University of Western Australia as it staked out its territory in teacher education and training in the first half of the 20th Century. It suggests that the main motivation for such involvement by the University was to protect the quality of its matriculants, many of whom came from independent schools.

Building 'Professionalism' And 'Character' In The Single Purpose Teachers College, 1900-1950., Malcolm Vick

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher training, in a variety of forms, is a well-established, integral component of mass schooling. Institutions specifically for that purpose were established in England by the first half of the nineteenth century. They made their first appearance in Australia in the form of Model or Normal schools in the 1850s and as purpose-specific teachers’ colleges from the 1880s. For the majority of new teachers in Australia, until at least the end of the nineteenth century, however, training consisted of a form of apprenticeship, either as monitors (around the mid century) or pupil-teachers.

Claremont Cameos, Bruce Haynes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Hunt, L. and Trotman, J. (2002) Claremont cameos : women teachers and the building of social capital in Australia. Churchlands, Edith Cowan University.

Sowing The Seeds Of A Pre-Service Model Of Teacher Education In The Early Twentieth Century., Lynne Trethewey, Kay Whitehead

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Our article seeks to describe, analyse and assess the contribution of Margaret Hodge and Harriet C. Newcomb to the training of kindergarten, primary and secondary school teachers in New South Wales at a time of wide-ranging educational reform. These two English teacher educators were recruited to Sydney in 1897 for the purpose of establishing a new training scheme equivalent to the teaching diploma courses offered at the University of Cambridge. In their subsequent work for the Training Board of the NSW Teachers’ Association, reconfiguring training programs for teachers in private schools, as lecturers and examiners in the history and theory …

Teacher Development Through Action Research : A Case Study In Focused Action Research., Gillian Perrett

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

'Focused action research' was employed in a teacher inservice program which sought to develop a fusion between trainer-centred input and teacher-centred action research. The areas of input to teachers were learning strategies, thinking skills, questioning skills and the teaching of study skills. During the four months of this action research project of the teacher educators, teachers experienced two cycles of action research, one investigating their students' learning strategies and the second implementing a plan to improve some aspect of their students' learning - such as summary writing, remedial reading, hotseating, introducing group work, vocabulary-learning techniques - and wrote reports on …

'Being A Teacher' : Developing Teacher Identity And Enhancing Practice Through Metacognitive And Reflective Learning Processes., Anne Graham, Renata Phelps

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The discourse of reflection is now firmly embedded in a range of teacher education programs in Australia and overseas. Reflective frameworks have been used by teacher educators to offset the perennial emphasis on technically prescriptive interpretations of ‘being a teacher’. Whilst these undoubtedly contribute to the personal ‘meaning making’ of neophyte teachers, particularly in relation to practical classroom experiences, there remains significant scope to integrate a more concerted reflective approach throughout other elements of the teacher education endeavour. When the language of reflection is applied only in a cursory or superficial way in the teacher education context the opportunity to …

Questions : Help Or Hindrance? Teachers' Use Of Questions With Indigenous Children With Conductive Hearing Loss., Ann Galloway

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The development of oral language skills is an important foundation for written literacy for all children. However, where children have conductive hearing loss and consequent language impairment, the development of good oral language skills, especially those that underlie written literacy, becomes even more important. This paper discusses the use of questions during literacy focus lessons by three teachers of Indigenous students, and the way in which their use of questions serves to support or inhibit children’s opportunities to participate in classroom interaction. The paper concludes with a brief consideration of the implications of the findings for teacher education.

Why Indigenous Issues Are An Essential Component Of Teacher Education Programs, Gary Partington

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The extensive failure of Indigenous students in school, particularly during adolescence, is a shameful characteristic of Australian education. Students who have most to gain from a successful school experience are the most likely to leave school with minimal skills and qualifications. The situation has shown little improvement over 30 years, as evidenced by the repetitious nature of articles in, for example, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. Government inquiries into Indigenous education, especially those addressing issues such as attendance (Bourke, Rigby & Burden, 2000), identity (Purdy, Tripcony, Boulton-Lewis, Fanshawe & Gunstone, 2000) and achievement (Department of Education, Training and Youth …

Two Book Reviews, Richard G. Berlach

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Crowley, S. (2003). Getting the Buggers to Behave (2nd ed.). NY: Continuum.

McLeod, J., & Reynolds, R. (2003). Planning for Learning. Tuggerah, Australia: Social Science Press.

School University Partnerships : What Do The Schools Want?, Laurie Brady

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The growing perception of a need for robust school university partnerships to improve the quality of teacher education, and to promote learning outcomes for school students, has been given further impetus by the Ramsey recommendations in Quality Matters (2000). This article briefly reviews the literature on both professional development schools, and recent school university partnership initiatives in Australia, and reports a survey of all state primary school principals in NSW, on their support for a broad range of school university partnership activities. The findings indicate strong and uniform support for the full range of activities including supervision and mentoring, collaborative …

The Literacy Lexicon, Susan Statkus

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Geoff Bull & Michele Anstey (eds) (2002). The Literacy Lexicon Second Edition, Prentice Hall.

Year 12 Students' Perceptions Of Deputy Principals' Effect On The Religious Culture In Catholic Secondary Schools, Robert Novacsek, John R. Godfrey

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Research on how Deputy Principals affect the religious culture of Secondary Catholic Schools is extremely limited. Deputy Principals may play a crucial role in shaping the culture of schools in many ways, religious and otherwise. This study examined Year 12 students perception of the effect Deputy Principals have on the religious culture in their schools. Year 12 students have an insight into the role of Deputy Principals as they have more extensive school experience than the other high school grades; the nature of their interaction with Deputy Principals is more varied; and as they approach the conclusion of their secondary …

Beginning Teachers As Teacher-Researchers, Jan Gray, Glenda Campbell-Evans

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There has been a growing recognition in the international education community over the last decade of the need to begin the development of teacher-researchers in preservice courses. This paper explores the perceptions of professional empowerment of beginning teachers and their development as active teacher-researchers, drawing on data from surveys conducted in Western Australia of the 1999 and 2000 preservice teacher cohort. Consistent with issues emerging from current literature, the survey data confirmed the over-riding survival mindset of beginning teachers. However, responses also provided evidence of a research mindset open to opportunities later in their teaching career and the professional confidence …

"I Only Wish I Had Known It Sooner." Education Students' Changing Conceptions Of Learning Strategies., Irene Styles, Susan Beltman, Alex Radloff

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

One of the cornerstones of student learning is the ability to use appropriate learning strategies. Awareness and orchestration of learning strategies are central to self-regulation of learning. Effective learners have a range of strategies and use them appropriately for different tasks. Effective learners are flexible and can adapt their strategy use to achieve their learning goals. If we expect prospective teachers to help their students become effective learners, they themselves need to be aware of and manage their own learning. But are our prospective teachers themselves effective learners in terms of strategy use? Using a qualitative approach, we examined the …

The Empty Centre : Power/Knowledge, Relationships And The Myth Of 'Student Centered Teaching' In Teacher Education., David R. Geelan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The notion of ‘student centred learning’ is a popular and influential one in education at all levels. Questions of exactly how this may be defined, and what it would look like in practice are, however, much more difficult to address. During second semester 1998, I was involved in teaching a Masters level unit on teacher action research to a group of middle school teachers. I placed a high value on the knowledge, values and experience of these students, and attempted to allow them considerable freedom to construct their own learning activities and assessment procedures. Some students accepted the offered challenges, …

A Pilot Study To Test The Effectiveness Of Education Queensland's 'Schooling 2001' Project From The Lote Teachers' Point Of View., Margaret Murphy, Cristina Poyatos-Matas.

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study described in this article, uncovered the realities and expectations of computer use by Languages Other Than English (LOTE) teachers in language classrooms in state high and primary schools in metropolitan Brisbane. The expectations of LOTE teachers concerning computer use by teachers are listed as part of the Education Queensland initiative called 'Schooling 2001', implemented in 1997. This bold, generously funded three year project had, as one of its major goals, the improvement of computer technology skills and professional development in the teaching workforce. It had, as part of its blueprint, the stipulation that all teachers across the state …

A Disjunction Between Personal, Professional And Societal Values In Pre-Service Teacher Education, Peter Reynolds

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Following the development of the Common and Agreed National Goals for Schooling (Australian Education Council, 1989) the Western Australian Curriculum Council was established and it has subsequently developed a Curriculum Framework for eight learning areas as well as for the values identified as implicit within those learning areas and within the governance of schools (Curriculum Council, 1998). These values have been called the shared core values of Australian society. Within the context of an analysis of these values, this paper presents the findings from a survey of the personal and the perceived societal values of Australia held by a sample …

Developing Classroom Discourse With Aboriginal Literacy Learners, Lee Simpson, Susan Clancy

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Literacy theorists Freire and Macedo (1987) linked literacy success with the ability to ‘read the world’ before being able to ‘read the word’. This ability is critical for young learners to navigate the transitional phase from their home culture into new education based settings. Such transitions are particularly difficult for young Aboriginal learners, who need to adjust to a range of different experiences, demands and expectations relating to their cultural, language and social skills. Research has clearly shown that Aboriginal learners are a group that generally, will not succeed in the area of literacy and who are at greatest risk …

Reaching The Digitally Disadvantaged. Australia's Educational Neglect Of Indigenous Learners In The Information Age., Max Lenoy

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In a country that boasts one of the highest computer and technological penetration rates in the world, Indigenous Australians still suffer significantly lower levels of access, participation, outcomes and educational success. With the growth of the Information age and the need for technological skills there is a concern that new technology will further increase the ongoing disadvantaged position of Indigenous learners in today’s educational environment. Are Indigenous learners destined to assume the same disadvantaged position in a new information society that they have been forced into in the past? Is information technology a solution to bridge this educational divide? This …

Attitudes Of Aboriginal Students To Schooling, John Godfrey, Gary Partington, Mort Harslett, Kaye Richer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper the attitudes of Aboriginal students to schooling are examined. Aboriginal children from upper primary and lower secondary years responded to a questionnaire related to various aspects of their schooling experience, their intentions about remaining at school and their future education. The questionnaire contained 73 items constructed primarily with a four-point Likert scale. An analysis indicated that the questionnaire was highly reliable as a whole and in its components. The paper reports that these Aboriginal students responded highly positively on a number of significant issues in regard to their attitudes to schooling. They generally had positive attitudes to …

Book Reviews, Lennie Barblett, Tony Fetherston

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Briggs, F. & McVeity, M. (2000) Teaching Young Children to Protect Themselves. Sydney:NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Robbins. B. (2000). Inclusive mathematics 5-11. London: Continuum.

"Watch This Spot And Whose In It" : Creating Space For Indigenous Educators?, Patricia M. Johnston

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Within Aotearoa/New Zealand, a bicultural relationship between Maori and Pakeha has produced a number of initiatives that are striving to be more inclusive of Maori needs, interests and language within the education system. The education system is attempting to ‘create space’ for Maori to be more proactively involved in decision-making forums with the integration of Maori knowledge and practices also occurring in areas like policy, research and teaching.

Digital Transmission : An Innovative Strategy To Improve Quality In Education., Vijaya Gururajan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In 2000 the Australian government, recognising the need for educational equality for Australian Indigenous people has commissioned a taskforce to identify various factors affecting Indigenous Education. One of the factors identified by the task force included the need for strategies to deliver quality education to various Indigenous communities. Research studies conducted on the delivery of education highlight the importance of the Internet for the flexible delivery of education. However, government reports indicate that Australian Indigenous communities have problems in utilising this technology for reasons such as access, infrastructure, training, etc. Therefore a new model based on the recently introduced digital …

Curriculum And Assessment : A Question Of Politics?, Christine R. Brew, Gilah C. Leder

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) has been subject to ongoing modifications since its full introduction in 1992. These changes were largely driven by vocal opponents of this educational reform. In this paper we give voice to teachers charged with implementing the curriculum and assessment directives of the VCE. Specifically, we draw on the experiences of close to 500 senior mathematics teachers – through interview and survey data - to consider the impact on them of the evolution of the VCE.

Critical Reflective Practice And Workplace Learning : Impediments And Possibilities In Teacher Education, Barry Down, Carol Hogan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Professional practica are an essential part of teacher education and other professional education programs, but university staff often express concern that prac. experiences are fundamentally conservative, emphasising preparation for the status quo rather than for what might be. In recent years other forms of workplace-based university learning have been devised, where staff have sought to build units of study around a core of reflective practice, action research and professional development. This paper describes one such initiative, a final semester internship for fourth year education students which enabled them to design and negotiate their own professional development plans in any one …

Transference And Psychological-Mindedness In Teachers, Erin Hanifin, Stephen Appel

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The article is an argument for the relevance for our understanding of the pedagogic relationship of Freud’s discovery of transference. Commonalities between teaching and psychoanalysis are reviewed prior to a discussion of how the concept of transference might be applied to teaching, particularly to improving the teacher’s ‘psychological-mindedness’. The article concludes by considering the moral/professional issue of teachers making use of the transference processes at work in their classrooms.

Book Reviews, Bruce Haynes, Dianne Chambers, Ken Spencer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Scott A. and Freeman-Moir J. (Eds), (2000). Tomorrow's Teachers : International and Critical Perspectives on Teacher Education, Christchurch, Canterbury University Press.

Peter Benton & Tim O’Brien (Eds.), (2000). Special Needs and the Beginning Teacher London: Continuum (ISBN 0 8264 4889 5)

Bailey,R. & Macfadyen,T. (Eds.) (2000) Teaching Physical Education 5-11. London: Continuum. (ISBN 0 8264 4842 9

Teacher Perceptions Of The Characteristics Of Effective Teachers Of Aboriginal Middle School Students, Mort Harslett, Bernard Harrison, John Godfrey, Gary Partington, Kaye Richer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports a component of research that involved interviewing teachers identified as effective with Aboriginal students in selected primary and secondary schools in urban and regional Western Australia. The research shows that characteristics of effective teachers include understanding Aboriginal culture, history, and students’ home backgrounds; an ability to develop good relationships with Aboriginal students and their families, a sense of humour, and preparedness to invest time to interact with Aboriginal students out of the classroom in order to strengthen relationships. The research also indicates that effective teachers understand that Aboriginal students are often more independent than others, do not …

Building The Veco Online Community : A Model For Encouraging Novices., Michelle Williams, Janine Bowes.

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Building online networks and designing network activity is becoming central to how educators and other education-based professionals work, train others and teach students. It is only since 1995 that Internet connectivity in Australia has provided the critical mass and momentum which alters how people work, who they work with and how they learn. Thus the business of helping professional networks develop and become part of the lives of their members is uncharted territory and an area for research and development for educators in all fields. This paper shares the story of the development of an Australian Network for Vocational Education …