Education Commons^™

Home-School Partnership Within Mathematics Intervention, Marguerite Maher

Marguerite Maher

The Numeracy Project, as implemented in New Zealand, aims to enhance the numeracy achievement of all students and to foster parental involvement in their children's mathematics learning. This paper reports the findings of a study that took place at a high socioeconomic status primary school in New Zealand with teachers and parents of Years 1 and 2 students. Findings showed that teachers felt more confident in their ability to teach literacy than to teach numeracy. They also believed they were not fully meeting the needs of the lower achievers in mathematics. Partnership with parents in the teaching of reading was …

Teacher Education With Indigenous Ways Of Knowing, Being And Doing As A Key Pillar, Marguerite Maher

Marguerite Maher

This paper reports on a project known as the Growing Our Own Indigenous teacher education initiative. This project involves the provision of teacher education, in situ, to Indigenous assistant teachers in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Australia. First, factors leading to the development of the project are provided. Second, the theoretical and conceptual frameworks for the project are explained. Third, the collaborative self-study methodology for the study is justified. Fourth, perceived successes are described: these include community engagement, cultural responsiveness in the programme, improved attendance of children at school, and the value of collaboration for lecturers. Fifth, challenges …

Retention And Attrition Of Students In Higher Education: Challenges In Modern Times To What Works, Marguerite Maher, Helen Macallister

Marguerite Maher

Retention and attrition rates in higher education have long been a focus of research. This paper presents findingsof a single case study, undertaken in a School of Education, which identify important strategies that have led to attrition of five to eight per cent, compared with 18 per cent cross the education sector in Australia (Department of Education, Science and Training, 2004). Findings include: individual admissions interviews, funding of an Associate Dean Pastoral Care, course coordinators providing continuity of support, easy access for students to academic staff, well-supported, extended professional experience, senior staff lecturing undergraduates, congruence between co-curricular supports and the …

Out Of "Dark Backrooms And Sheds", Marguerite Maher M.Ed

Marguerite Maher

Commitment to a single, inclusive education system has been the aspiration of reform in education in a democratic South Africa as articulated in White Paper 6: Special needs education: Building an inclusive education and training system (Department of Education, 2001, referred to hereafter as White Paper 6). Within a ‘barriers to learning’ approach to inclusive education, progress is being made with improved facilities and the implementation of AIDS awareness programmes. Managing the transition towards an inclusive education system has proved challenging in some areas, however, and the specific provision in policy documents directed towards children with disabilities is behind schedule. …

The Class Size Paradox, Boris Handal, Marguerite Maher, Kevin Watson

Marguerite Maher

No abstract provided.

Information And Advocacy: Forgotten Components In The Strategies For Achieving Inclusive Education In South Africa?, Marguerite Maher

Marguerite Maher

Commitment to a single, inclusive education system has been the aspiration of reform in education in a democratic South Africa as articulated in White Paper 6: Special needs education: Building an inclusive education and training system (Department of Education 2001). This article reports findings from a qualitative study which took place in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), which ascertained participants’ evaluation of the extent to which the policy ideals of inclusive education, as articulated in White Paper 6 were being achieved. Findings revealed that there was evidence of inclusive education beginning to be implemented in KZN in that barriers to learning for many …

Collaborative Self-Study Supporting New Technology: The Mahara E-Portfolio Project, Philippa Gerbic, Marguerite Maher

Marguerite Maher

E-portfolios have long been used to support learning and development and to showcase achievement. This paper discusses a new and innovative use of e-portfolios which relates to the ways in which they can support collaborative research. The collaborative self-study which accompanied the implementation of an e-portfolio within a teacher education programme is described and then followed by discussion of three of its features. These were the value of the collaboration for supporting the deep understanding of a new technology, ethical issues for such a research study and the use of the e-portfolio environment as a data collection instrument.

Globalising The Class Size Debate: Myths And Realities, Kevin Watson, Boris Handal, Marguerite Maher, Erin Mcginty

Marguerite Maher

Public opinion reflects a ‘common sense’ view that smaller classes improve student academic performance. This review reveals that the ‘class size’ effect of increased academic performance, although significant for disadvantaged students and students in the very early years of schooling, does not necessarily transfer to other student groups. Moreover, the literature indicates there are other more cost-effective variables that enhance student learning outcomes such as those associated with teacher quality. Internationally, large-scale interventions concluded that systematic class size reductions were more resource intensive requiring more personnel, training and infrastructure. From the large quantitative studies of the 1980s to the more …

Culturally Appealing Mathematics Materials, Marguerite Maher

Marguerite Maher

No abstract available

Making Inclusive Education Happen: The Impact Of Initial Teacher Education In Remote Aboriginal Communities, Marguerite Maher

Marguerite Maher

This paper discusses the Growing Our Own initial teacher education (ITE) pilot programme which allowed Indigenous assistant teachers in their own communities to study to become a teacher with the support of a non-Indigenous teacher. There are five sections in this paper, including: (1) the underpinning theory and philosophy of one Australian university's Inclusive Education paper in their ITE course; (2) how these principles informed the Growing Our Own pilot which has made ITE accessible to Indigenous Australians in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Australia; (3) elements of the programme which have led to it becoming systemically sustainable; …

E-Portfolios As A Pedagogical Device In Primary Teacher Education: The Aut University Experience, Marguerite Maher, Philippa Gerbic

Marguerite Maher

Portfolios have a long tradition in teacher education and now these are available in electronic form. At the same time, there are increasing demands for primary teachers to be technologically capable and confident in classrooms. When teacher educators wish to respond through the introduction of new technologies such as e-portfolios, there are significant issues of professional learning. This paper discusses one response, a collaborative self-study, around the introduction of an e-portfolio as a pedagogical device. It highlights two key aspects of the study: first, it considers how collaborative self-study as a methodology proved crucial for sustaining lecturer motivation and commitment …

Early Childhood Project Analysed Within A Model Enhancing The Self-Efficacy Of Indigenous People, Marguerite Maher

Marguerite Maher

This paper presents a model which weaves together an adaptation of Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1989, 1993) and the tenets of human agency theory (Bandura, 2001; Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996; Bandura, Pastorelli, Barbaranelli, & Caprara, 1999; Carlson, 1997), which are central to decision-making, self-regulation and self-determination. This model provides a framework to explain how non-Indigenous lecturers were able to work in culturally appropriate ways with community members in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, Australia, on a project which focussed on improving the literacy and numeracy skills of four-year-old children. The aim of this initiative was …

Lighting Up Learning: Mathematics Becoming Less Of A 'Killer Subject' In Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Marguerite Maher

Marguerite Maher

This paper reports the findings of an evaluative study of an initiative, in its sixth year of implementation, enhancing the learning and teaching of mathematics in 20 disadvantaged secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, twenty years after democracy. Findings highlight the importance of initial and ongoing professional development for under-qualified teachers. Support and strategies that have enhanced the achievement in mathematics of learners in these still under-resourced schools, are described.

Numeracy Education Through Mobile Apps, Boris Handal, Iona Novak, Kevin Watson, Marguerite Maher, Jean Macnish, Katrina Eddles-Hirsch

Marguerite Maher

Numeracy achievement of Australian school children is a national priority according to the Australian Curriculum. There is increasingly compelling evidence that numeracy needs to be a focus in all curriculum areas, not solely in mathematics (Human Capital Working Group, 2008). At the same time, there is an ever-increasing scope for the use of mobile technologies to enhance learning and teaching. This article examines how numeracy and mobile learning work together as teachers in the Middle Years are mentored to use iPad applications (apps) effectively within their own curriculum area to enhance the learning of numeracy for children in their classes.

Self-Efficacy Enhanced In A Cross-Cultural Context, Marguerite Maher

Marguerite Maher