Education Commons^™

Online Learning Environments: What Early Childhood Teacher Education Students Say, Ann Heirdsfield, Julie Davis, Sandra Lennox, Sue Walker, Weihong Zhang

Sandra Lennox

As online environments gain an increasing presence in higher education for both on-campus students and distance learners, there is a need to examine how effective these environments are for student learning. Online environments require essentially different teaching and learning strategies from those used in the traditional face-to-face contexts (for on-campus students) or with print-based material (for distance learners). This article identifies early childhood teacher education students' perceptions of their learning experiences with the advent of an online learning environment. Perceptions of on-campus and distance learners are compared, and implications for teacher education staff interested in providing high quality learning environments …

Understanding First Year University Students: Personal Epistemology And Learning, Sue Walker, Joanne Brownlee, Sandra Lennox, Beryl Exley, Kerry Howells, Fiona Cocker

Sandra Lennox

Whilst participation in higher education has increased dramatically over the last two decades, many universities are only now beginning to pay more attention to the learning experiences of first year students. It is important for universities to understand how first year students conceive of learning and knowing in order to promote effective approaches to learning. Even though an extensive body of research demonstrates that beliefs about learning and knowing influence student approaches to learning and learning outcomes, there has been no Australian research that has investigated this critical learner characteristic across first year university students.

This paper reports on preliminary …

Philosophies And Pedagogies Of Mathematics, Boris Handal

Boris Handal

The paper discusses major philosophical stances on the nature of mathematics as held by foundationalists and quasi-empiricalism supporters. It is argued that the contrasting philosophical views between the two groups parallels in many respects the pedagogical debate between behaviourism and socio-constructivism. It is also argued that behaviourism has been influenced by foundationalist conceptions of mathematics while socio-constructivism has been influenced by quasi-empirical philosophies.

Academic Perceptions Amongst Educators Towards Elearning Tools In Dental Education, Boris Handal, Catherine Groenlund, Tania Gerzina

Boris Handal

This paper reports an explorative study about academic educators’ perceptions towards learning management systems (LMS) and eLearning tools as used in dental education. Fifty-five educators participated in an online survey which explored their views on eLearning tools within the context of their own professional training background and teaching needs. In general, educators felt that the eLearning LMS (also known as WebCT/Blackboard) was a tool that suited their teaching and learning needs in terms of flexibility, interactivity and accessibility despite a significant level of self-reported lack of competence in the technology. The paper describes current eLearning professional development initiatives in light …

Development Of The New Academic: The Case For Blended Delivery, Boris Handal, Elaine Huber

Boris Handal

This case study reports the design, implementation and evaluation of an academic induction program, delivered using a blend of in campus and online environments at Macquarie University.

“Just Challenge Those High-Ability Learners And They’Ll Be All Right!” The Impact Of Social Context And Challenging Instruction On The Affective Development Of High-Ability Students, Katrina Eddles-Hirsch, Wilma Vialle, Karen B. Rogers, John Mccormick

Katrina Eddles-Hirsch

This study provided a voice to gifted elementary children attending three very different schools that endeavoured to meet their atypical academic needs. While educators have theorised that special programs for gifted students benefit gifted children academically and contribute positively to their social and emotional development, there is limited research to support this belief. The phenomenological framework used in this study allowed 27 gifted elementary students to present their perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of extension class environments. The results demonstrate that while challenging instruction was clearly important for the emotional wellbeing of the advanced learners, it went hand in …

If Only They Would Listen: The Lifeworld Of Academically Advanced Elementary Students, Katrina Eddles-Hirsch

Katrina Eddles-Hirsch

This study explored the lifeworld of six academically advanced elementary students in a school environment suited to their atypical needs. A phenomenological theoretical framework was used to discover the experiences of one female and one male from each of the year 4, 5, and 6 extension classes. The voices of the children themselves and their perspective of the benefits and disadvantages of attending a specialised school were heard through the phenomenological approach in this study. Differences between the genders rather than levels of giftedness were found to be the salient characteristics affecting the results of this study. Themes that emerged …

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 …

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.

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; …

Using Wikis To Facilitate Communication For Rural, Remote, And At-Risk Practicum Students, Serena Davie, Richard G. Berlach

Serena Davie

The practicum experience is often highlighted as the core of any pre-service teacher education course. Unless effective communication mechanisms can be established to support students in off-campus locations, the practicum experience can be compromised if students feel isolated and abandoned when faced with difficulties. Such a scenario may be particularly relevant to students in remote placements or for those who have been identified as being at-risk. The main goal of this project was to determine whether a Wiki could be an effective tool for facilitating meaningful dialogue between the university, school-based personnel and students during the practicum. A Wiki was …

Exploring The Need For Improvement In A Student Leadership Program, Gregory Hine

Gregory S.C. Hine

Despite the importance of adolescent leadership development, little research has examined how to improve such programs within a school context. The intention of this article is to explore how one Catholic secondary school developed leadership potential in young adolescents, and how such efforts can be refned and improved in the future. The primary methods for collecting data included focus groups interviews, researcher field notes, and researcher reflective journaling. Based upon these data, the author conceptualised the strengths and shortcomings of the program of leadership being pursued consciously or implicitly by the school, by examining the perspectives held by those students …

A Teaching Team: More Than The Sum Of Its Parts, Lorraine Day, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

Team teaching is not a new idea with a history spanning more than 40 years. It is an enduring idea yet its practice would not be the norm in most Australian school settings and across most content areas. This paper discusses the experiences of two educators who were given the opportunity to team teach in the area of mathematics education at a tertiary institution. It explores some of the challenges and joys of working in an educational environment which celebrates discourse, questioning and risk taking while modelling a collaborative approach for students.
Keywords: team teaching, professional practice, pedagogy, tertiary teaching, …

Transitioning Year 7 Primary Students To Secondary Settings In Western Australian Catholic Schools: A Description Of The Process, Anne Coffey, Richard G. Berlach, Michael O'Neill

Anne Coffey

In 2009 the Catholic education system moved to a six plus six model, even though the public education system in Western Australia decided to remain with a seven year primary and five year secondary school structural arrangement. Prior to implementation, a great deal of planning was undertaken by the Catholic Education Office and individual schools to ensure the smooth transition of Year Seven students to a secondary school setting. This system-wide shift presented a one-time opportunity to investigate the planning arrangements of six Catholic secondary schools that agreed to participate in the study. This study reports the unique challenges experienced …

Service-Learning: A Valuable Component Of Pre-Service Teacher Education, Dianne J. Chambers, Shane D. Lavery

Dianne Chambers

Since the late 1990s service-learning programs as a teaching pedagogy have become increasingly popular in Australia within primary, secondary and tertiary education (Lavery & Hackett, 2008; Service-Learning Australia Inc., 2010). However, such programs require a commitment to providing resources, staffing, finance and time, which may lead some to wonder about the importance of these programs (Karayan & Gathercoal, 2005). There is also the danger that, as service programs become more commonplace, they may well fade into the educational routine or become “another educational fad and another failed social program” (Rue, 1996, p. 246). Service-learning programs at a tertiary level within …

A Multi-Perspective Collaborative On Teacher Learning For Teachers Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Elizabeth A. West, Phyllis Jones, Dianne Chambers, Teresa Whitehurst

Dianne J Chambers

The purpose of this multi-perspective collaborative research activity was to analyze moments of teacher learning as perceived by a group of teachers who educate students with the label of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The researchers in this project acknowledge the value of hearing teachers’ perspectives on what works for them in their professional learning. This perspective is generated from surveys distributed to inservice teachers at three Universities (two located within the USA and one situated in Australia) and one Residential School (UK). Five overarching themes emerged at the analysis stage and relate to: practical experience, pre-service training, in-service training, mentoring …

Transitioning Year 7 Primary Students To Secondary Settings In Western Australian Catholic Schools: A Description Of The Process, Anne Coffey, Richard G. Berlach, Michael O'Neill

Richard Berlach

In 2009 the Catholic education system moved to a six plus six model, even though the public education system in Western Australia decided to remain with a seven year primary and five year secondary school structural arrangement. Prior to implementation, a great deal of planning was undertaken by the Catholic Education Office and individual schools to ensure the smooth transition of Year Seven students to a secondary school setting. This system-wide shift presented a one-time opportunity to investigate the planning arrangements of six Catholic secondary schools that agreed to participate in the study. This study reports the unique challenges experienced …

Inclusivity Imperatives And The Australian National Curriculum, Richard G. Berlach, Dianne Chambers

Richard Berlach

With work currently being undertaken on formulating Australia's first national curriculum, now seems an opportune time to review the current state of play with regard to how well inclusivity is being represented in the developing documentation. An accurate understanding of “what is” is often the first step in preparing for “what may be” on a much broader scale. Accordingly, this essay addresses three matters, and does so by way of engaging in interpretive documentary analysis. First, the notion of inclusivity in education per se is introduced, and the concept itself defined. Second, an examination is undertaken of how the various …

The Cyclical Integration Model As A Way Of Managing Major Educational Change, Richard G. Berlach

Richard Berlach

Where minds meet, there lies the change vector. With regard to change management, however, minds regularly fail to meet in the crucial change space. They either unwittingly zip past each other, deliberately avoid one another, or worse still, collide with excruciating impact. This paper examines the interrelated role of government, the public service and professionals in successfully transitioning major change initiatives. It is argued that unless these agencies operate in synchrony, change negotiation is likely to be hampered. To this end, a model of “Cyclical Integration” is presented and supported by driving questions for each of the three agencies facilitating …

Outcomes Based Education? Rethinking The Provision Of Compulsory Education In Western Australia, Richard G. Berlach, Keith Mcnaught

Richard Berlach

Outcomes based education (OBE), which emphasises a radical reinterpretation of the enterprise of education, is a phenomenon enveloping the Australian compulsory education sector. This paper examines the theoretical tenets of OBE as articulated by its chief exponent, William Spady. It then explores the effects that OBE implementation is having on the Western Australian educational fraternity, touching upon current tensions and emerging consequences. Implementation exigencies in one area of the WA curriculum (Mathematics) are then considered; and finally, possible future ‘outcomes’ are suggested should the identified concerns fail to receive due attention.

The Stroop Test And Its Relationship To Academic Performance And General Behaviour Of Young Students, Anthony Imbrosciano, Richard G. Berlach

Richard Berlach

The test developed by Stroop some seventy years ago is used, among other purposes, as an indicator of attention disorder and general mood fluctuations. The present research attempted to determine whether a correlation existed between the Stroop Test, student ability as defined by a standardised IQ test, and general classroom behaviour. This study involved 87 year three students, across four schools in Perth, Western Australia.

Independent variables included socio-economic level, gender, and school type (government or private). Results indicated a strong positive correlation of IQ and Stroop Test Ranking with Socio-economic status. No significant differences were found between IQ and …

The Perceptions Of Recently Assigned Secondary Religious Education Teachers, Chris Hackett

Chris Hackett

This article focuses on survey responses from newly appointed secondary Religious Education teachers from the first phase of a longitudinal study. The study was conducted in Catholic schools in three dioceses of Western Australia over two school years, from 1998 to 1999. The study focused on the teachers’ perceptions of implementing the Perth Archdiocesan Religious Education Units of Work. The article outlines briefly the demographic and professional backgrounds of recently appointed RE (RARE) teachers. Next, it reports upon how these teachers perceived their use of the instructional resources and teaching approach in the RE Units. The article then describes what …

Upper Secondary School Religion And Life Course: Perceptions Of The Inaugural Cohort, Richard G. Berlach, Chris Hackett

Chris Hackett

In 2009, the course Religion and Life was made available to upper secondary students completing the Western Australian Certificate of Education. Across the State, nineteen Catholic schools offered the Stage Three version of this course, with the first cohort of students graduating in 2010. The purpose of this paper is to capture the perceptions of this inaugural cohort, both teachers and students, to determine whether the stated course outcomes had been achieved. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered for analysis. Findings indicated that even though the matter of resourcing requires further attention, overall, stakeholders were satisfied that the course …

The Role Of Experiential Content Knowledge In The Formation Of Beginning Re Teachers, Chris Hackett

Chris Hackett

This article discusses the role of experiential content knowledge as an essential component to the formation of beginning RE teachers. The article initially outlines the meaning and parameters of experiential content knowledge and its relationship to the teaching of Religious Education in Catholic schools. An exploration of how this experiential content knowledge may be recognised is described with reference to the perceptions of a purposive sample of beginning RE teachers in Catholic secondary schools in Western Australia. The article then discusses the links between experiential content knowledge and developing a sense of vocation towards teaching Religious Education.

Student Ministry: Youth ‘Step Up’ To Lead And Serve, Chris Hackett, Shane D. Lavery

Chris Hackett

This article is about student leadership and service in Catholic secondary schools. Initially the concept of leadership through service is explored with particular reference to the educational setting. The concept of “student ministry” is then considered in the light of this leadership and service. The article subsequently reports on an exploratory research study that focused on the experiences and reflections of principals and selected staff from three Catholic secondary schools involved in student ministry. Their experiences and reflections indicate that student ministry has the capacity to offer all students the chance to develop their leadership potential through acts of service, …

Formation Of Pre-Service Teachers For Religious Education Through Experiential Learning: The Retreat Leaders Training Program, Chris Hackett, Shane D. Lavery

Chris Hackett

This article reports on the formation of pre-service teachers for religious education through an experiential learning program called the Retreat Leaders Training Program (RLTP). First, the article examines the need for formation for pre-service RE teachers, especially as the formation relates to the development of three forms of teacher knowledge: content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and experiential content knowledge. Second, the article reviews the literature on the role of experiential learning in professional formation and the contribution live-in retreats may make in this formation. Third, the article presents the Retreat Leaders Training Program as an example of the formative influence …

Christian Service Learning In Catholic Schools, Shane D. Lavery, Chris Hackett

Chris Hackett

This article sets out a rationale for implementing Christian service-learning in Catholic schools. The article initially explores Jesus' Gospel call to serve. A brief summary of Catholic social doctrine is then presented and the concept of service-learning is discussed.

Four categories of community outreach by Catholic schools are outline, these being community service, Christian service, service-learning within a Christian context, and faith-focused Christian service-learning. Finally, various implications for promoting Christian service-learning in Catholic schools are considered in the light of the principles of charity and service as outlined in the encyclical letter Deus Caritas Est.

What Is The Best And Most Special About Teaching Religious Education?, Chris B. Hackett

Chris Hackett

If you have taught Religious Education in a Catholic secondary school, then you may have sat down at the end of the class or the school day and just wondered why you bothered. Before reading this article further, give yourself a few moments to reflect on this question:

“What for you is the best and most special about teaching Religious Education?”

How did you answer the question? Was your response negative or positive? Did you reach for the instant cynical remark, “When I finished teaching the class!” Or, did you imagine yourself taking great pride in accomplishing deeper understandings among …