AARE Conference Paper Abstracts - 2004

ISSN 1324-9339

[Paper] indicates a hypertext link to the relevant paper. The symbol ® indicates that the full paper was refereed.

A

ABB04283   [Paper]
Subjects and objects in higher degrees: The view from within

Colleen Abbott, Education Consultant and James Brown, Melbourne Grammar School

This paper will give two voices from within a Masters thesis; the researcher, and "the researched". In this case, both speakers are participants within The Ithaka Project : the different purposes emerge from their different work settings. So what issues arise from this kind of participant-observer dichotomy? In what ways do the conversations which form the data for the thesis feed into the growth of the project? Does the consciousness of being " researched" affect the ways in which such discussion can be conducted?

ACH04769 [Paper]
Integrating agent-based models with quantitive and qualitative research methods

Edwin Achorn, Monash University

This paper will describe a mixed methodology that combines Agent-Based models of human behaviour with quantitative and qualitative Research methods. A decision matrix for selection of a research method for Education Studies will be presented.

The methodology of social and behavioural research has undergone dramatic changes over the last 50 years. For most of the 20th century, social and behavioural research has been dominated by quantitative methods which relied heavily on objective measures and numbers.

Researchers dissatisfied with this dominant methodology have developed qualitative research methods to study humans in a natural setting. Research studies using this method analyse words not numbers to give a complex, holistic picture based on the narrative information from the study. As a result of the discussions and controversies between the two camps a mixed methodology has evolved as a way of using the strengths of both approaches.

Agent-based modelling is a new way of doing science that has developed form the concepts and techniques of complexity theory. It involves the study of many actors and their interactions. The models start with simple rules of learning and assumptions but will display complex behaviours. This tool is compatible with quantitative and qualitative research methods.

AIN04151   [Paper]
Leadership for inclusion: Overcoming barriers to progress

Mel Ainscow, Manchester University and Stephen Ball, Ivy Bank Business and Enterprise College

The improvement of urban schools is one of the major challenges facing practitioners and policy-makers. Issues related to poverty create particular difficulties in this respect. In England, the emphasis on market-led improvement strategies has tended to add to these challenges, not least in encouraging the use of strategies for "Oraising standards" (as measured by aggregate test and examination results) that can result in the marginalisation or, indeed, exclusion of some groups of learners. However, there are schools that have succeeded in increasing and sustaining attainment levels over time, whilst at the same time developing positive strategies for responding to student diversity. This paper examines what has happened in one such school in order to learn more about factors that are associated with its success. In particular, the paper will examine in detail the leadership practices that have been used to move the school forward. In developing an account of these developments, use was made of the "Timeline of Change", a research technique that analyses how individuals within a school perceive their experience of a particular change over a period of time. Photographs were also used to promote discussion and reflection amongst leaders in the school.

AIN04760   [Paper]
What do we know about student motivation and engagement?

Mary Ainley, University of Melbourne

Most educators believe motivation is necessary for effective learning. Most know there are many sources of student motivation, and just about everyone wants students to be more motivated and engaged. One common perspective in research on student motivation is to identify student qualities that are conducive to engagement with learning. Investigations focus on what students bring to their learning by way of goals, values or purposes. Sometimes these variables are viewed as trait-like dispositions that apply across situations. Sometimes they are treated as variables that are context specific. A second general approach starts with the proposition that learning conditions are critical. Certain types of schooling experiences promote motivation and engagement. From this perspective what is needed is more careful attention to designing and implementing conditions that maximize the opportunity for lively, challenging learning experiences. However, at the same time there are features of classrooms, peer groups, the tasks, and teachers that are known to trigger negative moods and anxiety, or values incompatible with learning. The result is boredom, disengagement, disruptive tactics and dropping out.

In this presentation we will review the major findings on student motivation and engagement, highlighting the trends that are guiding contemporary research.

ALE04373   [Paper]
Some reflections on time as a phenomenon within school

Eva Alerby, Lule University of Technology, Sweden

'What time is it?', 'When are we going to have a break?' These questions are probably recognised by most people who are working in the school. The questions demonstrate clearly how time controls a large part of the everyday life of the school. Time is linked to one of the most basic questions of philosophy, and several philosophers in the course of history have discussed questions concerning time. The present paper tries to elucidate time as a phenomenon, and especially to focus on the school's relation to time. To provide a historical background, the paper begins with a short retrospective survey of what certain philosophers have thought and written on the subject of time. Does time exist in itself? Or does time exist only through people's experience of it ? We can pause to reflect on the thesis that time, considered from one perspective, exists through people's being-in-the-world and through their experience of the same. Within different organisations, for example the school, time must be regarded as being under strict chronological control. This time-control influences, of course, the experience of time within the school, and the subject experience of time can be called 'subjective time', or rather - lived time.

ALL04561   [Paper]
Making sense of difference? Teaching identities in postmodern contexts

Andrea Allard and Ninetta Santoro, Deakin University

How do teachers make sense of ethnic and classed differences? Frequently students from non- mainstream cultures and of lower socio-economic status are constructed in the literature and through practice as 'deficit' and consequently become marginalised. A range of short-term, 'quick fix' policy and curriculum approaches have aimed to address the 'problems' of those 'othered' from the mainstream due to their perceived difference. These have had little effect on improving educational results for students of specific ethnic and/or class backgrounds whose outcomes remain below the national average.

Postructural theories offer opportunities to think about how teachers are positioned within discourses of identity. Our research (and others') suggests the need for teachers to interrogate their assumptions about class and culture and how these are played out in their pedagogical relationships with students.

In this paper we report on a small research project that investigates the professional practices and personal beliefs of teachers. Empirical data from this study will build knowledge about how difference is constructed and diversity is 'taken up' by teachers as they engage with secondary students who have Language Backgrounds Other Than English and who are economically disadvantaged.

AMO04812   [Paper]
Examining non-dominant cultural perspectives in pedagogical practice

Wendy Amosa and James Ladwig, The University of Newcastle

While the Quality teaching framework and recent syllabus reform efforts in NSW assert the importance of valuing non-dominant cultural knowledges and values in pedagogical practice, there has been little empirical examination of the ways in which non-dominant cultural perspectives are integrated in students' learning experiences and the implications for such perspectives on students' learning outcomes. The SIPA research study draws on data from classroom observations and assessment tasks to address three questions in relation to these issues. First, in what ways are non-dominant cultural knowledges legitimised in students' classroom and assessment experiences? Second, what factors influence students' engagement with non-dominant cultural knowledge? Third, to what extent are students' learning outcomes affected by the inclusion of non-dominant cultural knowledge in pedagogy? Recent debates focused on questions such as these have been informed primarily by theoretical assumptions rather than empirical findings. By examining these theoretical assumptions in light of the NSW curriculum context, this paper will outline the framework through which the SIPA research study may inform current understandings of the practices and practicalities of pedagogies that value non-dominant cultural perspectives.

AND041062   [Paper]
A responsive evaluation into a small group approach to the supervision of BEd (Hons) students

Raelene Anderson, University of Wollongong

This paper discusses the findings of a project that developed as a result of an 'Open Forum on Supervision' at the University of Wollongong (September 2002), where the discussion centred on the need to explore different forms of doctoral supervision. An important element of research supervision however that appears to be significantly overlooked within the current research is the supervision of the research student at the undergraduate honours level. This highlights the need for appropriate measures to assist in developing alternatives to the traditional approach to supervision that focuses on ensuring the needs of novice undergraduate research students are met. With this in mind, this project set out to conduct a responsive evaluation into the efficacy of developing a small group approach to the supervision of undergraduate education honours students. Four academic staff and four honours students from the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong were involved in the inquiry with data collected throughout the use of semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and journal entries based on observations. Findings highlighted that these beginning research students were provided with an optimal supervisory experience underpinned by a balance of support, encouragement, autonomy, and flexibility.

AND04761   [Paper]
Adolescent engagement with problem solving tasks: The role of learning strategies and positive emotions

Michelle Andrews, University of Melbourne

In recent years there has been a marked increase in teaching materials that promote the development of self-motivated students. Research indicates that problem-based learning tasks enhance student interest, motivation and engagement. Relatively few studies have investigated the learning processes that occur as students engage with learning tasks. This paper examines student engagement with real-world problems. More than 150 Year 7-10 students from a Melbourne high school completed a problem solving task using an interactive computer program. The program recorded student interest, learning strategies, emotions and responses as they accessed a variety of resources. Both the problems and resources were designed to challenge students to use effective problem solving skills. The findings indicate that there are a number of distinct learning strategies and positive emotions associated with problem solving. Implications for creating learning environments that support the development of effective learners will be discussed.

ANG04520   [Paper]
The role of strategic research in producing knowledge to address issues and needs

Teresa Angelico, Catholic Education Commission of Victoria

This paper outlines strategic research initiatives undertaken by the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria's (CECV). The potential of research in highlighting areas of importance to CECV and in achieving broader policy outcomes is also considered.

The CECV is a policy making body responsible for 489 Catholic primary, secondary and special schools representing over 180,000 student enrolments in Victoria. A number of research projects have been undertaken in partnership with researchers to provide a knowledge base to form the basis of solutions to issues and needs.

Strategic research initiatives include: The Affordability of Catholic Schools by Students from Catholic Families (Centre for the Economics of Education and Training, Monash University - ACER); The Welfare Needs of Victorian Catholic Schools (Youth Research Centre, University of Melbourne); and The Contribution of Catholic Schools to the Community and the Economy (Centre for Strategic Economics Studies, Victoria University). These research studies provide evidence to support the CECV campaign to increase the level of funding provided by the Victorian State Government to Catholic schools.

ARC04763   [Paper]
Learning as a means to achieve social goals: A motivational analysis

Jennifer Archer, University of Newcastle

Seven high school mathematics teachers and seven high school English teachers participated in the study. Each was interviewed before and after observation of two lessons. The interviewer asked open-ended questions about students' motivation to learn. In the post-lesson interviews, teachers were asked to comment on what had happened during the lesson. Achievement goal theory was used to interpret the data. The study demonstrated the intensely social nature of classrooms. Insufficient attention has been paid by proponents of achievement goal theory to the way in which essentially social goals are achieved by engaging in academic work. Many students do the work set for them to obtain socially focused goals that have not been delineated by achievement goal theory (for example, 'I work because my friends are working', 'I work to please my teacher', 'I don't do my work because my friends aren't doing the work'). In addition, some students do not have a consciously adopted goal. They do their work because it is the behaviour expected of them. They have not made a decision to adopt one goal or another. An expanded achievement goal theory that incorporates additional socially-driven goals will provide greater understanding of students' motivation to learn.

ARN04242   [Paper]
Empathic Intelligence: The phenomenon of effective pedagogy

Roslyn Arnold, University of Tasmania

The phenomenon of learning defies easy explanation, but when people attune to each other something significant can happen in the space between them. 'Empathic Intelligence' attempts to articulate aspects of the intersubjective and intra-subjective phenomena of pedagogy. It articulates some aspects of the practice of educators committed to understanding the qualitative and sometimes ineffable aspects of their professional work. An empathically intelligent educator is able to create a dynamic between thinking and feeling, in a context which is perceived as caring. They demonstrate a number of qualities, attributes, predispositions and abilities, in particular those which are demonstrated through enthusiasm, capacity to engage others, expertise and empathy. At its best, empathically intelligent pedagogy can be transformative. It can mobilise tacit abilities, create affirming emotional templates for learning and support the development of higher-order cognitive abilities.

So how does all this happen? This paper will outline some of the theoretical antecedents and principles informing empathic intelligence, including recent brain-mind research. The nature of empathy, enthusiasm, expertise and capacity to engage, along with the function of intelligent caring and respect for individual dignity, will be elaborated.

ASK04370   [Paper]
Investigating the complex, dynamic and transactional nature of child-care students' and university access students' knowledge about learning

Helen Askell-Williams and Michael Lawson, Flinders University

In this paper we propose that a tension exists between theories that tend to ascribe a disposition, or type, to any individual (such as a "deep" learner, or "mastery" oriented student) and the variable influence of contexts upon students' mental models about learning. If learning really is acquired in situation and applied in context, then we would predict differences in the manifestations of students' knowledge according to changes in contexts.

We conducted focussed interviews with child-care students and university access students about their knowledge about learning. Employing NUD*IST software and common-theme matrices to interrogate participants' responses, our analysis suggests that students' knowledge about learning is extensive and dynamic across context and time, even within the same course of instruction. By the students' accounts, poles of contemporary theoretical dichotomies (such as surface-deep, or mastery-performance) seem to operate in transaction according to specific contextual imperatives.

We propose that dichotomous or stepwise hierarchical characterisations are liable to under-represent the complexity and multi-dimensional nature of students' mental models about learning. To address this issue, we introduce the technique of creating profiles of students' knowledge across multiple learning-related variables in order to provide more precise information that can inform the design of instructional interventions intended to enhance students' knowledge about learning.

ATH04437   [Paper]
Childrens' responses to interest items

James Athanasou, University of Technology, Sydney

The purpose of this report is to provide some data on the interest of school pupils. Year 3 and 4 pupils (N=149) responded to a 30 item general interest questionnaire based on the hexagonal interest and personality typology of Holland. Responses were analysed using a Rasch model of item responding based on partial credit scoring. item response analysis was used to locate the five questions that comprise each of the six scales. Scales and items conformed partly to the measurement model but all six scales were characterised by low separability (0 to 0.33). It was considered that children's interests did not conform to an adult typology but may be idiosyncratic and gender-based.

ATW04817    [Paper]  ®
Injustice and international academic activities

William Atweh, Queensland University of Technology

International contacts between educators from around the world continue to escalate with the increasing ease of travel and communication and the globalisation of educational concerns and issues. Social justice concerns about such contacts are important considerations to avoid exploitation and colonialisation of less affluent nations. This paper discusses the concept of "injustice" as developed by Young (1990) and concerns raised by academics in an international research project on unjust practices and outcomes of some international activities. Finally, by means of achieving this, it attempts to give voice to educators from less industrialised countries whose voices are not often heard in Australian conferences.

AUL04670   [Paper]  ®
A middle approach to literacy in a minority Indigenous Australian language context

Glenn Auld, University of Ballarat

Kunib-dji live in Maningrida, a remote community in the Northern Territory and speak Ndj-bbana as their preferred language of communication. Kunib-dji are one of many groups of Indigenous Australian languages who speak a minority language. Very little has been documented about the social practices of literacy with speakers of such languages, particularly with the texts that mediate these languages. Knowing about the beliefs and attitudes towards enacted by these speakers towards these texts is useful for understanding the process of learning of minority and majority languages. This paper presents a middle approach to literacy as distinct form top-down and bottom-up approaches, that has emerged from the minority Indigenous Australian language context in Maningrida. The proposed middle approach to literacy incorporates non-indigenous intervention in Indigenous social practices and technological transform of Indigenous texts. The methodological aspects of such intervention and transformation together with the implications of a middle approach to literacy are presented in this paper. Throughout the paper references are made to Kunib-dji children's access to digital Ndj-bbana texts and their engagement with these texts in a home environment.

B

BAR04474   [Paper]  ®
Evolvement of students' goals and academic self-concept: A multidimensional and hierarchical conceptualisation

Katrina Barker, Martin Dowson and Dennis McInerney, University of Western Sydney

The purpose of this study is to examine the potential multidimensional and hierarchical structure of student's motivational goals and academic self-concept (SC). Specifically, this paper tests the ability of first- and second-order measurement models comprising achievement motivation variables (mastery, performance & social goals) and academic self-concept variables (English and math self-concept) to fit data collected over two years from 1 515 Australian High School students. The study also tests whether the second-order model fits equally well across sex groups. Results of the first-order Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) demonstrate that the motivation items drawn from the General Achievement Goal Orientation Scale (GAGOS), and the self-concept items drawn from the Academic Self Description Questionnaire II (ASDQ II), appropriately measure their target constructs. The higher-order CFA results provided support for an hierarchical representation of goals and self-concept, with goodness-of-fit indices for Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2) ranging from .86 to .92. This model fitted the data equally well for males (with goodness-of-fit indices for T1 and T2 ranging from .83 to .92) and females (with goodness-of-fit indices for T1 and T2 ranging from .85 to .92). Thus, the study provides a measurement framework, which is largely sex-invariant, and within which the interaction of multiple achievement goal orientations and academic self-concept variables may be examined.

BAR04684   [Paper]   ®
The use of Positioning Theory in studying student participation in collaborative learning activities

Mary Barnes, University of Melbourne

A study of collaborative learning in senior mathematics classrooms used Positioning Theory as the principal analytical tool. Small groups of students were videotaped while working collaboratively on open-ended mathematical tasks. Analysis of the interactions among students during these discussions centred on identifying the different ways in which students were positioned at various times during each interaction, and a range of positions available to students during collaborative work was identified. A study of these positions helped in developing a better understanding of factors that may promote or inhibit effective collaboration at this level.

BAR04704   [Paper]   ®
An exploration of perspectives on sexuality education theory, policy and practice on the Gold Coast of Queensland

Elizabeth Barber, University of Queensland

This paper aims to explore contemporary theories of sexuality education, policies that guide the development and instruction of sexuality education and reviews of programs that are used Queensland. Historically, sexuality education in Queensland has often focused on the biology of growth and development and the morality of sexual relationships. For more than a decade, there has been significant criticism of this type of approach from Australian and international researchers. It is also acknowledged that sexual health is much more wide-ranging than sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy. It is necessary, then, to assess where sexuality education is currently positioned in relation to theory, policy and practice to ensure future research is relevant and accessible, thus effective at improving educational as well as public health outcomes. Recommendations are then given for continuing to examine the position of education research in this critical and at times criticised curriculum area.

BAS04433  [Paper]  ®
Towards a conceptual model for Online group work - Addressing graduate skills development in Online courses

Colin Baskin, James Cook University and Michelle Barker and Peter Woods, Griffith University

In moving towards what Lemke (1996) terms the 'interactive learning paradigm', higher education has adopted two key principles consistent with group learning technologies:

• Learning is always mediated by and occurs through language (Falk 1997; Gee 1997), and;
• Learning is distributed across a range of other people, sites, objects, technologies and time (Gee 1997).

A third and relatively recent principle to emerge on the higher education scene that seems to 'contradict' accepted views of group learning technologies is that:

• Many universities now choose to offer 'learning resources' online.

This paper examines whether Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are 'robust' enough to support, sustain and address industry, employer and government calls for greater attention to group skills development in university graduates. Data features an examination of respondent feedback (n=171) in an 'ICT-rich' group work setting, and the subsequent ratings of group skills development over a 13 week period. This discussion offers an account of learner outcomes by adopting Kirkpatrick's (1996) four levels of evaluation of learning as a classification scheme for determining learner satisfaction (Level One), the effectiveness of learning transfer (Level Two), its impact on practice (Level Three) and the appropriation of learning behaviours by participants (Level Four). The contrasting patterns of ICT use between female and male users in the data are discussed in relation to building social presence and producing social categories online. Differences reported here indicate that ICT group work is moving forward, but opportunities to challenge rather than reproduce existing learning relations and differences, remain largely unresolved.

BAS04434   [Paper]
Scoping social presence and social context: Cues to support knowledge construction in an ICT rich environment

Colin Baskin, James Cook University, Michelle Barker and Peter Woods, Griffith University

The purpose of this paper is to capture and bracket the learning experiences of 164 first year students as they make the transition from a conventional face-to-face setting to an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enhanced learning environment. Where this kind of learner transition was once considered novel and worthy of 'examination' in its own right, it is now a commonplace experience (albeit non-trivial) and has taken its place at the table of the change-management (and various other literatures). The aim of this paper is to refocus the 'New Learning Technologies' discussion on aspects of learning, in particular to critically examine social presence in the face-to-face and online learning environment and how this is linked to processes of knowledge construction. In this context, the 'Lonely Planet Guide' is identified for its high social presence attributes - its social context and origin; its mode of communication and how it stimulates knowledge construction through interactivity.

Dimensions of social presence are defined and examined, and indices are assigned to both face-to-face as well as online learning episodes for purposes of comparison. Three dimensions of social presence-social context, communication, and interactivity-emerged as important elements in the processes of knowledge construction in both an ICT and face-to-face setting. Findings indicate an increase in the level of online interaction occurs with an improved level of social presence, a phenomenon most exhibited by female participants. While comparisons between face-to-face and ICT supported learning episodes can be used to inform all aspects of our teaching, the paper concludes that knowledge construction in an ICT setting can be enhanced by considering learner characteristics, by selecting the appropriate ICT-mediated communication medium, and by applying appropriate instructional elements to course design.

BAT04165   [Paper]
Developing capabilities and the management of trust: Where administration went wrong

Richard Bates, Deakin University

Sen and Nussbaum have suggested that one of the major sources of inequality lies in the unequal opportunity to develop certain fundamental capabilities. While restrictions in the development of such capabilities lie broadly across many social institutions, education has a fundamental role to play in their fostering. However, in many societies schools and teachers are regarded with increasing suspicion by governments leading to the imposition of elaborate systems of accountability over both what is to be taught, how it is to be taught and to whom. As O'Neill (2002) points out this new culture of accountability 'seeks ever more perfect administrative control of institutional and professional life' (p46). It seems unlikely that the capabilities sought by Sen and Nussbaum can be developed within the context of mistrust engendered by these new forms of accountability. This paper examines some of the contradictions between these new forms of accountability and the aspiration of schools and teachers to develop capabilities in their pupils.

BAY04170   [Paper]  ®
Family and community factors encouraging study resilience among Tasmanian Year 10 rural high school students: An exploration of social capital

Hazel Baynes, University of Tasmania

The research investigates family and community factors that encourage Tasmanian rural students to continue with education/training beyond the compulsory years of schooling. Rural post-compulsory education participation has attracted research interest for decades. The continuing under-representation of the rural population in higher education and the fact that the degree of rurality of a region still impacts on the post-compulsory educational aspirations of its residents, so on participation, remain as challenges. Previous research indicates the importance of family and community factors. The research reported here utilises the concept of social capital developed by Bourdieu (1986) and used in educational research by Coleman (1988). Using qualitative methods and a grounded theory approach, several indicators of the level of social capital held by rural students, their families and local communities are examined to determine their usefulness in understanding variations in the nature, amount and quality of encouragement to pursue educational aspirations these students receive. Preliminary findings suggest the students sampled formed into four natural categories based on whether or not they had a clear goal for their future/career, extent of their consultation with others about their career options/choice, extent of encouragement received from others and whether or not their post-Year 10 path had been a smooth one.

BEA04599   [Paper]  ®
Examining and developing emotional epistemologies: A foundational issue for leadership preparation programmes

Brenda Beatty, Monash University and Christine Brew, La Trobe University

School leadership preparation programs increasingly endorse the ideal of building authentic professional learning communities without adequately providing graduates with the emotional preparedness to create them. This research explores the utility of using an emotional epistemologies theoretical framework to address some of the most powerful and elusive complexities of leadership work. The experience of a deepened emotional epistemology has transformational implications for emotionally resilient and authentically relational school leadership (Beatty, 2002b). Beatty's (2002a) theoretical framework considers four stances: Emotional Silence, Emotional Absolutism, Emotional Relativism and Resilient Emotional Relativism. Aspiring and practising leaders engaged with the framework in the form of written responses, focus group discussions and illustrative role-play. Reported on are the participants' sense of the verisimilitude of the framework's ideas and the resonance for them of the illustrative data excerpts from Beatty's (2002a) study, as well as the expected impact of the entire experience upon their leadership practice. The framework holds utility for effectively entering what Boler (1999) calls a 'pedagogy of discomfort'. It provides a premise for breaking the emotional /silence/, challenging the normative 'feeling rules' of a dominant /emotional absolutism/ and entering an /emotionally relative/ stance in connection with professional peers.

BEC04310   [Paper]
Evaluation research in Health and Human Development

Lori Beckett, University of Technology, Sydney

This paper reports on the evaluation research for the pilot study, Health and Human Development: Better Outcomes for Boys. It aimed for a close-up look at teachers, boys and girls, and their work in the pilot study. Fieldwork included attending professional development workshops for participating teachers, and case-study research in six schools. This included informal talks with principals, review of school materials, classroom observations, and interviews with teachers, girls and boys. The twin foci 'trialling the revised study design and addressing boys' enrolments and subject choices' are on the cutting edge of debates about inclusive curriculum, gender equity and productive pedagogies. In reporting some of the findings, it is acknowledged that the evaluation research was only the beginning of on-going monitoring and evaluation of Health and Human Development.

BEL04053   [Paper]
Neuroscience: The public agenda and misconceptions in education

Mark Beltz, Monash University

The purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly we wish to examine the extent to which neuroscience as a discipline has become incorporated into the public agenda as a result of increased awareness regarding the care and education of newborns through to the age of about three. This research is relatively recent, and is contrasted with the prevailing wisdom of some fifteen years ago. We then wish to explore the links between education and neuroscience, pointing out where there are regions that are theoretically undernourished. Secondly, we wish to examine some of the neuroscience literature written for educators, illustrating that in many instances such accounts lack in substantive content, and that important neuroscientific concepts are misrepresented. The reasons for this are briefly explored. We also wish to give some consideration to what neuroscientific accounts written for educators should look like. These issues are prefaced as a work in progress to the much broader research aim of exploring notions of learning in educational contexts and in neural systems, ultimately with a view to establishing communication between these two paradigms.

BER04768   [Paper]
Outcomes-based education and the death of knowledge

Richard Berlach, University of Notre Dame Australia

In a far off time, in the confederacy of Oz, teaching and learning coexisted in an artistically symbiotic relationship. Then the experts came along. No, not experts in educational theory, but experts in the art of Isims - scientific rationalism, reductionism, Fordism, Taylorism, sophism, and above all, obscurantism. They took their Isims and applied them to the art of education, and lo and behold, outcomes-based education was born. The Isimistic parents cooed and gloated over their cleverly conceived offspring. In fact, the Isimites within one state of the confederacy hailed this birth as a watershed in education, a paradigm shift of monumental significance, and the dawning a brave new era. "Let us devise a Curriculum Framework" they shouted with glee. The teachers, however, hanged their heads in despondency, knowing that a dark beast of mammoth proportions and with great destructive powers had been created.

BER04978   [Paper]
Teachers' perceptions of their roles and their students' roles in the formative assessment process

Rita Berry, Hong Kong Institute of Education

It is widely accepted that assessment has a link with learning. One key factor in the link is formative assessment. Formative assessment is generally defined as taking place during a course with the express purpose of improving pupil learning. However, there is still considerable disagreement over the roles of teachers and pupils in this process (Torrance & Pryor 1998, p.8). It is therefore very important to understand how teachers perceive their roles and their pupils' roles in the formative assessment events. This paper will report on an investigation into teachers' perceptions of their roles and their pupils' roles in the formative assessment process. The investigation, which involved over 1000 teachers from 35 primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, invited teachers to show their views by completing a questionnaire. To supplement the data collected from the questionnaire survey, a sample number of teachers were interviewed. Discussion will be focused on a comparison of the findings with the current literature, leading to some implications for the roles of teachers and pupils in the formative assessment process.

BES04625   [Paper]  ®
Developing an instrument to assess the number sense of young children

Kim Beswick, Tracey Muir and Alistair McIntosh, University of Tasmania

This paper reports on an initial Australian trial of one module, relating to Counting, of an instrument developed in collaboration with a team at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The instrument consists of four modules assessing various aspects of number sense and applicable to children across grades one to three. The results of the trial revealed some interesting insights into the number sense of the children involved as well as raising a number of possibilities regarding the further enhancement and potential usefulness of the instrument. There appears to be merit in developing English versions applicable in the Australian context, of the remaining three modules.

BEV04269 [Paper]
Learning derived from 'knowledge makes the difference'

Sue Beveridge and Diane Wasson, NSW Department of Education and Training, Susan Groundwater-Smith, University of Sydney and Stephen Kemmis, Charles Sturt University

This paper presents the learning from the Priority Action Schools Program (PASP) as expressed through the meta-evaluation Knowledge Makes the Difference. The PASP, a $16 million program jointly supported by the NSW Department of Education and Training the the NSW Teachers' Federation was designed to provide intensive support to 74 primary, central and high schools with concentrations of students from low socio-economic backgrounds over the 2003 school year. All schools participating in the program face issues in relation to low student achievement, behaviour management and attendance as well as serving communities facing significant hardship. The key tenets of the program were founded upon principles of building individual and school capacity and evolving local and appropriate solutions that recognised specific contexts. The program was designed to enhance professional learning of both the individual teachers and the schools themselves by engagement in mentoring, reflection and professional dialogue that was documented through school learning portfolios. Support was offered through a designated PASP team, academic partnerships and critical friends. The most significant feature of the program was the insistence that it be a knowledge based program that would make learning explicit and develop learnings about what happens in classrooms and schools as well as what occurs in systems as complex and diverse as the NSW DET.

BHA04803   [Paper]
PBL Approach: A model for integrated curriculum

Madhumita Bhattacharya, Bill MacIntyre, Sue Ryan and Lindsay Brears, Massey University

This paper describes the process of developing a generic model for integration across the curriculum. Authors have introduced PBL approach in order to design the course work for the integrated curriculum in Science and Technology Education in the Teacher Education Program. In this research the authors have envisaged a conceptual framework for implementation of integrated curriculum. The PBL approach has been implemented in a teacher education course for both online and on-campus students. This is a work -in-progress, evaluation, implementation and follow-up study related the present model of curriculum integration will be presented at the conference.

BIC041025   [Paper]
The pedagogy of literacy: Providing pre-service and practising primary teachers with professional learning in the area of literacy

Michelle Bickley, Deakin University

Students literacy standards have over the last two decades been identified as an area of educational policy focus. For example, a focus on identifying individual students literacy needs and assisting teachers to effectively address these needs is evident in The Victorian Curriculum Standards Framework (CSF I and CSF II) and the current Victorian Curriculum Reform project. As a regional literacy consultant and a part-time tertiary educator  I am actively involved in supporting the teaching and learning of both pre-service and practising teachers in the area of literacy. This experience has given rise to a simple yet highly effective model of literacy pedagogy which is outlined in this paper.

Specifically, I will discuss three areas on which this literacy pedagogy rests - the development of consistent and informed beliefs and understandings about how primary students acquire literacy skills; developing strategies to support the processes of decoding and encoding meaning and an emphasis on teaching a range of literacies in a contextualised manner. Most importantly I will discuss how my dual roles of department consultant and tertiary educator have highlighted this literacy pedagogy as applicable and highly effective for teachers at a range of career stages. n conclusion I suggest the implications this has for the ways in which government agencies can continue to support the development and growth of both teachers and students literacy skills.

BIS041052 [Paper]  ®
Stories from within: Leadership, learning and lives in a high-poverty school

Pam Bishop, University of Tasmania

This paper draws on the experiences of a principal in a 'high-poverty' Tasmanian primary school. As an autoethnography, it relies on `lived experience' for much of the subsequent views and claims offered. However, the reflections also suggest that theory, research and practice provide a sturdy evidence base for informing leadership and learning in a high-poverty school setting. Relevant literature is canvassed together with a selection of insights into the workings of a high-poverty school to show both impressive and troubling 'performances' by key stakeholders.

Although, at its core, this account is an optimistic one, attention is directed to the substantial challenges associated with providing a first-class education to all of the students in the public education system. Depictions of events are provided which point to the additionally complex circumstances within which high-poverty schools exist. Some of these cameos underscore the extraordinary capacities and/or potential of teachers, parents and students. Others underline how the pernicious effects of poverty can rob individuals of a sense of agency. Still others show a level of ignorance and fear amongst a minority of educators which threatens to keep students from high-poverty circumstances 'in their place'.

Together, these portraits suggest that much within high-poverty schools deserves to be acclaimed. However, in what also appears, it is evident that some events are buttressed by defensive or exclusive standpoints on the part of adults, in particular. In what follows, the case is put for those within the Academy, Department of Education central offices, and the teaching profession to better support those connected with high-poverty schools-especially the students.

BLA04213   [Paper]
Selection and the production of normalised principal identities

Jill Blackmore and Karin Barty, Deakin University

Media reports and studies have drawn attention to various components of a principal's work - long hours, increased expectations of parents, the complexity of the job, pressure of increased accountability- that have made it unattractive for teachers who might otherwise be interested in educational leadership. Also influential in the decline in interest in school principalship, and barely reported, is the detrimental effect of the selection process on the numbers of teachers applying for principal positions. Research in South Australia and Victoria shows the extent to which merit selection processes have become formulaic and how some principal aspirants, unable or unwilling to fit into the models, fail to advance in systems that favour certain applicants. It is not only the prospect of 'sleepless nights, heart attacks, and sudden death accountabilities' that has reduced the numbers of people applying for top educational administration positions but frustration with a selection process that seems to have lost merit.

BLA04350   [Paper]  ®
The role of critical imagination in research with young people

Derek Bland, Queensland University of Technology

The postmodern world of difference and uncertainty invites people to dream and to "imagine the unimaginable" (O'Farrell, 1999, p. 15) to maximise choices and freedoms, particularly within the otherwise constraining systems of education. Various forms of imagination can be applied to ways of working with disadvantaged high school students as researchers, helping them to reconnect their lifeworlds with the education systems to which they are subject. The SARUA (Student Action Research for University Access) project is presented here as an example of such activity in which a disciplined and critical imagination can help to empower young people. The critical theory of Jurgens Habermas provides a framework for empowering research with young people, such as in the SARUA project, and it too can be strengthened through the "art of imagining" (Grundy, 1996) to increase its relevance to students living in postmodern times.

BLA04519   [Paper]  ®
Rethinking reflective journals in Teacher Education

Mindy Blaise, Shelley Dole, Gloria Latham, Karen Malone, Julie Faulkner, and Josephine Lang, RMIT University

Schooling in the 21st century must embrace the need for learners to be interdisciplinary, navigate change and diversity, to learn as they go, solve problems, collaborate and be flexible and creative. That is, the curriculum must reflect the notion of New Learning (ACDE, 2001). The renewed Bachelor of Education (BEd) program was designed to promote preservice teacher knowledge through provision of opportunities for critical self-reflection in terms of alignment of personal values and beliefs with the concept of New Learning. One of the innovations within the program includes the use of shared journal across courses within the program. This paper describes the design of the Bachelor of Education program within one university in Australia and how its philosophical underpinnings fit with the concept of New Learning, and how the reality of implementing and using shared journals within the program to promote preservice teacher critical reflection has challenged staff to rethink their own values and beliefs about their role in the development of a critically reflective practitioner.

BLA04540   [Paper]  ®
The heterosexual matrix exposed: Critically examining how gender influences research

Mindy Blaise, RMIT University

This paper examines how gender influenced data collection and analysis while carrying out a 6-month qualitative and feminist poststructuralist study of gender in an urban kindergarten classroom, located in the US. Through reflexivity, the author became conscious of the heterosexual matrix and how it influenced her research relationships while collecting data as a participant observer in an early childhood classroom. By critically re-examining her research practices, the author questions and problematizes the centrality of gender and how gender discourses regulate research relationships. The paper concludes by raising questions about the significance of the heterosexual matrix and the role of the researcher.

BLI04282   [Paper]
Action research and curriculum review: Sounds good, but does it work?

Alan Bliss and Mark Coleman, Melbourne Grammar School

Increasingly schools encourage the use of action research methods within the context of professional review programs. In what ways can the detailed exploration of pedagogy which is enabled by action research assist in the larger scale purpose of curriculum review? In what ways might departments work both as individuals and as teams? What kinds of issues - personal and professional, pedagogical and managerial, philosophical and practical - are raised through the process of lesson study? What kinds of outcomes might be expected?

BOE041018   [Paper]  ®
Entering Research: Collapsing the personal, teacher, researcher identity

Gisela Boetker, University of Melbourne

This paper is an exhibition. It is an exhibition of my visions of my research seen through poetry and writings. These visions are more a random collage than an ordered account, they are a confrontation of the three strands of my identity: personal, teacher and researcher. Some appear lucid and explicable while others are more ethereal, entangled. The broad theme that links these visions is my connection to education. This connection, as seen through the visions, can be at once, historical, hopeful or perplexed in nature.

I am currently enrolled in a research masters in education. My thesis will engage with the field of art education, with a specific emphasis on learning through the language of art. This article is autoethnographic in style. Autoethnography recognises "the researcher's own experience as a topic of investigation in its own right." (Ellis etal, p733) It is through the telling of my own researcher's story that I hope readers will, "feel the moral dilemmas, think with [my] story instead of about it, join actively in the decision points that define [the] autoethnographic project, and consider how their own lives can be made a story worth telling. (ibid p735). This article is an opportunity for me to chart these journeys of the 'mind's eye', it is a looking back.

BOT04815   [Paper]  ®
Opening the Doors to Greatness: Public conversations in middle years pedagogy

Kim Keamy and Christine Bottrell, La Trobe University

There exist different, and sometimes conflicting, understandings of what good teaching and learning may be. Just who this may be 'good' for is also contentious. Yet in this example of a funded education program there is an expectation that the different voices involved not only collaborate but, also work to bring about change. Our contribution as to how this reconciliation is to be achieved is to provide research and a workable framework in which systematic inquiry can interact with the lived experiences of the multiple publics in the Beechworth Cluster of Schools. Through programs such as Schools for Innovations and Excellence, the competing publics Fraser (2003) refers to are meant to make decisions reflecting 'good', but for too long these decisions have been informed by uncontested opinion and stereotypical misunderstandings that surround school communities.

This paper describes the collaborative methodology and mutual respect that underpin research undertaken into the middle years of school as part of the Schools for Innovations and Excellence initiative in the Beechworth Cluster of Schools in North East Victoria. The research records the voices that have informed and continue to contribute to the public good within the Cluster.

Specific insights into teaching and learning within the Cluster have been gained as a consequence of this research which has been positively embraced and regularly consulted for future decision-making. Innovations within the Beechworth Cluster recognise the uniqueness of particular settings within a context of collective action.

BOU04849   [Paper]  ®
Attrition, completion and completion times of PhD candidates

Sid Bourke, Allyson Holbrook, Terence Lovat and Peter Farley, University of Newcastle

Attrition rates and time to completion of PhD candidates has internationally become a concern of governments, universities and the candidates themselves. Suggestions that attrition is too high and, for those candidates who do complete, enrolment times are too long were investigated. Two separate datasets were used, one based initially on all 1195 PhD enrolments between 1988 and 1999 recorded at one Australian university, the other based on 601 candidates submitting PhD theses during 2001-2003 at six Australian universities. Two measures of enrolment time were used; total elapsed time from first enrolment, and candidacy time in equivalent full-time semesters. It was found that 51% of 698 candidates who had the opportunity to be enrolled for at least four years successfully completed a PhD and that, after six years, 70% had successfully completed. For the one university included in both datasets, average candidacy time increased from 7.4 semesters for the first dataset to 7.9 semesters for the second, with marked differences between Broad Fields of Study. The median elapsed time was 4.4 years. A range of candidate, candidature, discipline and institution variables in multiple regression analyses including the six universities explained 39% of variation in elapsed time and 22% in candidacy time.

BOW04052   [Paper]
Sound evidence for what works in vocational education and training: How we undertook a systematic review of research about skill development for mature age workers

Tom Karmel, Kaye Bowman and Sarah Hayman, National Centre for Vocational Education Research

During 2004 NCVER undertook for the first time a systematic review of research. This model of secondary research has been used in the health sciences for many years and more recently has been applied overseas to research in social sciences (including education). A systematic review identifies all available research and evaluates it systematically and transparently to establish the strength of evidence about a topical policy question. Judgments are made according to explicit research inclusion and quality criteria.

The question identified by policy makers for our review was "what evidence is there that skill development activities improve the attachment of mature age workers to the labour market?" This paper describes the process and outcomes of this first systematic review of educational research in Australia, and lessons learnt regarding the application of the systematic review model to other questions about vocational education and training policy.

BOY04081   [Paper]  ®
Putting rural into pre-service teacher education

Colin Boylan, Charles Sturt University

A number of recent Australian federal and state government reports, studies and reviews have addressed the issue of the preparation of teachers for rural appointments.

Collectively these inquiries have indicated that the preparation of teachers for rural school appointments requires specific attention being devoted to the exploration of a range of social, cultural, geographical, historical, political, and service access issues that define the difference in working and living in rural contexts compared to other locations.

The ARC Linkages Project, Rural Teacher Education Project (RTEP) (Green, et al, 2002), which is a collaborative project between Charles Sturt University, the University of New England and the New South Wales Department of Education and Training seeks to identify successful practices for building rural teacher and community capacity, and appropriately preparing and retaining teachers for rural schools within New South Wales.

As part of this ARC project, an examination of the current 'state of the art' in preparing pre-service teachers for a rural appointment was undertaken. A profile of the rural education focus contained within the respective primary and secondary pre-service teacher education courses for each Faculty of Education within New South Wales was developed through close examination of their public course documentation available in their respective university handbooks.

This presentation will explore the recommendations from the policy and research documents that informed this analysis for rural teacher education preparation, as well as reporting on the current state of rural pre-service preparation in New South Wales universities.

BRA04048   [Paper]  ®
Values-led principalship - myths and realities

Christopher Branson, St Francis College and Gayle Spry, Australian Catholic University

This paper draws on doctoral research that investigated the issue of values-led principalship. It reports upon a study conducted with principals of Catholic secondary schools in Brisbane. The paper focuses on the participating principals' perception of the values that underpin their educational leadership behaviour and asks how these values were formed. This research confirmed the claim in the literature that personal values are largely a subliminal component of the Self and addresses the issue of helping principals to gain self-knowledge of their personal values in preparation for values-led principalship. This study developed and tested a 'tool' for helping principals to comprehend the relationship between their educational leadership behaviours and their personal values. While principals in this study appreciated the opportunity to demystify their educational leadership behaviours, they were less interested in reviewing the appropriateness of their personal values. Moreover, for these principals, knowledge of their personal values and the relationship of these to their educational leadership behaviours did not lead to behavioural change.

BRE04326   [Paper]  ®
New forms of creative representation and exploration within doctoral research: Implications for students and supervisors

Laura Brearley, RMIT University

The problematisation of representation in research is central to an academic debate which has emerged from ethnographic and phenomenological perspectives, as well as from the field of educational research. Challenging the voice of the omniscient academic observer disturbs the very basis of epistemological and methodological assumptions about research. Creative forms of representation can transform the sensuous and the intellectual into one aesthetic continuum. This paper is about the creation of new forms of exploration and expression. Its purpose is to stimulate critical reflection and debate about alternative academic discourses. This research challenges the traditional paradigm of densely referenced text and the use of a passive, 'neutral' researcher's voice.

In this presentation, I will describe and theorise my doctoral research, in which I represented data through poetry, songs, mandalas and multi-media tracks in order to:

• Reflect the original richness and complexity of the data
• Invite new levels of engagement that are both cognitive and emotional, and
• Provide multiple prisms through which to explore experience.

The presentation and the paper will invite engagement at a range of levels. It will theorise representational issues in research and explore implications of epistemological exploration within a doctoral context.

BRE04706   [Paper]  ®
Measuring students' sense of connectedness with school

Christine Brew, La Trobe University, Brenda Beatty, Monash University and Anthony Watt, Victoria University

The current emphasis on performance outcomes in schools has threatened to eclipse the importance of social connectedness as an antecedent to student success. Presented is an instrument designed to measure student sense of connectedness with school based on relevant dimensions provided in the literature: student sense of belonging, engagement, expected learning, and trust. Drawing on data from over 3,000 US students from six high schools, exploratory factor analysis yielded six latent factors based on 31 of 46 original items: students' sense of belonging with peers; teacher support; fairness and safety; academic engagement; engagement in the broader community; and relatedness of self with school. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded acceptable preliminary fit measures. Preliminary path analyses suggest that students' sense of relatedness with school mediates their relative propensity toward academic engagement, with the other factors antecedent. Schools seeking to obtain reliable measures of students' sense of connectedness with school will find the instrument a valuable resource for prioritizing their efforts.

BRE04971   [Paper]  ®
Becoming a researcher: An arts-based aesthetic approach

Laura Brearley, RMIT University

The experience of post-graduate research involves engagement, struggle and growth. There are many roles that can be played within it, such as apprentice, fieldworker, pilgrim and pioneer. Different degrees of complexity, depth and autonomy are revealed in these roles.

The journey of post-graduate research is a quest to become. I t involves actions and places, helpers and hinderers. At times, there is uncertainty, danger and fear. There are things to embrace and to resist. There are many choices to be made.

Post-graduate research can be both a frightening and transformative experience. It brings with it the potential to paralyse and to liberate us. It can, at times, be so overwhelming, it renders us silent. Sometimes, it can help us find our deepest and most powerful voice.

These are some of the findings emerging from a current research project, which is exploring the personal and emotional experiences of becoming a researcher. We have been working on this project for about nine months now. As our project has evolved, we have also become interested in the ways in which our different perspectives and methodological approaches can be woven together to create a multi-layered perspective of the phenomenon we are researching.

When we conducted a focus group with the research participants, we presented our findings through these three different lenses. From the feedback from the participants, and from own experience as presenters, we realised we had created a multi-layered tapestry of perspectives which acknowledged multiple realities and which reflected and illuminated the rich texture of the original data.

In this paper, I will consciously use two different voices. One is the academic voice, underpinned by theoretical perspectives. I will also include an analysis of the data using an aesthetic approach. I invite you to be awake to what different responses may be stirred in you when you engage with the different voices. I'll begin with some conceptual exploration, move to the aesthetic analysis, and then conclude with a brief overview of the implications for research supervisors.

My hope is that there will be something interesting for you in the different voices. In that way, you can be welcomed into the community of practice that we have co-created as a group of three researchers, and which also includes the doctoral students who made this research possible.

BRO04090   [Paper]  ®
Engaging students in a variety of classroom talk formats that afford knowing and doing in school mathematics

Ray Brown and Elizabeth Hirst, Griffith University

Classroom talk is regarded as essential in engaging and developing student understandings in the domain of mathematics. The process of classroom talk, however, may occur in quite different ways. In this paper we analyse two forms of classroom talk - replacement and interweaving. These provide a heuristic for considering how teachers might develop a repertoire of practices that they may deploy to afford student learning. In an analysis of student talk in a Year 7 classroom we found that replacement and interweaving can facilitate learning. We conclude that teachers should use classroom talk formats reflectively and intentionally in their classrooms to afford students a range of opportunities to develop their mathematical thinking.

BRO041006   [Paper]  ®
Exploring the notion of 'pedagogical space' through students' writings about a classroom community of practice

Ray Brown, Griffith University

A classroom community of practice has been described in terms of the shared resources and practices used by its participants. One such resource is the organization of pedagogical spaces within the classroom. In an extensive study that employed detailed analyses of video/audio-taped participant interactions, teacher/student journal entries, student-seating patterns and questionnaires, a major interest was in finding student descriptions that assist educators to recognise spaces within the classroom community that facilitate learning. This paper explores written descriptions provided by self-described high and average-ability students as they participated in a primary mathematics classroom over one semester. Student descriptions are analysed in accordance with conditions identified as being conducive to establishing pedagogic spaces such as the nature of participants' interactions, discursive practices employed, the collective nature of learning, and teacher promoted practices. Implications are drawn regarding the efficacy of the notion of 'pedagogical space' for researching learning in the domain of mathematics.

BRO04491   [Paper]  ®
Seduction and betrayal revisited: Ethical dilemmas of insider research

Jill Brown, Monash University

Newkirk (1996) warns that the research practices which are part of a qualitative approach to research may result in data collection becoming "an act of seduction" ending in betrayal as participants are reconstructed in the final text to meet the agenda of the researcher. The potential for seduction and betrayal is increased when the researcher is an insider to the participant community. When the researcher is recognised as a member of the participant community there are advantages in terms of access to rich data. There are also ethical issues as participants share experiences and understandings in ways that would be denied to an outsider. When these friendly conversations are reconstructed and interpreted as research data, the "person becomes portrait" (Stronarch & MacLure 1997) in ways that may not sit well with their sense of self. This paper explores the ways in which these issues were resolved (and not resolved) in a study of English as a second language (ESL) teacher identity in which the researcher was positioned as a long-standing member of the ESL teacher community.

BRO04948   [Paper]  ®
Pre-service teachers' perceptions of the reconceptualized School Experience 1 in the Bachelor of Teaching Program

Natalie Brown and Anne-Marie Havlat Lancaster, University of Tasmania

This paper presents an evaluation of an innovation to the School Experience program introduced to the UTAS Bachelor of Teaching in 2002. School Experience 1 represents the first formal contact between pre-service teacher and school. It performs two important functions: to introduce pre-service teachers to the school setting and the work of practitioners and; to make early and explicit theory into practice connections. This innovation provided early, supported entry into schools and involved placing teams of pre-service teachers (Professional Learning Teams) into a small number of schools. Reduction in number of schools aimed to facilitate better communication between University staff and schools hence developing shared understandings and increasing the ability for University staff and colleague teachers to work with pre-service teachers on orientation to the profession and in making authentic theory-practice connections. Feedback was received through anonymous web-based surveys and analysed for themes grounded in the data. The concept of early entry for orientation was overwhelmingly supported by the pre-service teachers, however issues of program structure and supervision were raised as concerns. The majority of pre-service teachers responding to the survey believed links were made between the practicum and the Professional Studies and Curriculum strands of the degree.

BRO04970   [Paper]  ®
Slipping through the cracks and living to tell one tale

Barbara Brook, Victoria University

In Framer Framed, Trinh Minh-ha celebrates the way that as boundaries dissolve interesting things begin to 'slip through the cracks' (1992:248). The work I have been doing for some time with the idea of composite narratives tries to insert an edge of uncertainty into the places where boundaries meet and allow some of those interesting things to emerge. 'Interesting' in this context carries with it some of the ambivalences of the clichT: may you live in interesting times. Deliberately opening up a crack can lead to standing on the edge of a chasm.

By 'composite narrative' I refer to a process whereby a group linked by some common, if only temporary, identity or purpose share stories and analysis with each other and with one or more researchers. Ideally, in waves of movement, coming together, retreating for reflection, compiling and revising, a narrative builds which has some resonance for all the participants. This process has affiliations with memory work as pioneered by Frigga Haug(1987) and adapted by researchers like Bronwyn Davies (1997), some elements shared with action research, in its refusal of an ultimate endpoint or Truth and commitment to meaningful change, and a close affinity with some areas of narrative inquiry and writing connected with the work of Ricoeur (eg. Richardson, 2000). It occupies, therefore, a place within those strongly emergent trends in educational research, influenced by feminist methodology and its engagements with some aspects of poststructuralist analysis, which attempt to convey the complexity and nuances of educational experience.

While we recognise this as a growing force within some areas of educational research, the overwhelming majority of work on postgraduate supervision and postgraduate research student experience has been highly instrumental. Some notable exceptions in Australia are the work of Lee and Green (1995), Lee and Williams (1999), Bartlett and Mercer(2001), and articles such as Aspland's (1999) which use terms such as 'methodological pastiche' or bricolage to describe their use of what comes to hand rather than the application of a single preconceived template. These researchers share a commitment to the importance of feelings (including their own), of ambivalence, and, above all, of attending to the voices of their participants.

BRY04255   [Paper]  ®
'School' in Japanese children's lives depicted in manga

Mio Bryce, Macquarie University

Reflecting upon the increased borderlessness of today's society, which is ever expanding through information technologies and commercialisation, the positioning and role of the 'school' in children's lives has changed significantly. A knowledge explosion has occurred, generating innumerable, readily accessible sources of information, even for children. Morals, disciplines and religious values have become increasingly blurred. In such a situation, what do children seek, and find, in 'school'?

This paper discusses the positioning of the 'school' in Japanese children's lives as opposed to their family life, through the media of manga (Japanese cartoons, including animations). Manga, the combined art form of verbal and visual representation, is a powerful, flexible and fertile apparatus used to directly and freely respond to and/or annunciate social phenomena. 'School' has chosen as a popular and significant location of numerous manga, particularly since 1970, yet its commercial success has ironically paralleled the disappearance of children's free time and space, .... their childhood.

Acknowledging that Japan's situation is characterised by a unique locality such as its weak recognition of 'individuality', this analysis endeavours to provide some indication for the role and value of the 'school' in children's lives in the wider, post-modern society.

BUC04762   [Paper]
Affective engagement: A person-centred approach to understanding the structure of subjective learning experiences

Sarah Buckley, Galit Hasen and Mary Ainley, The University of Melbourne

Accounts of students' learning have increasingly emphasised the role of affective engagement in achievement settings. Although most studies have focused on negative emotional experiences such as anxiety, more recent studies have investigated the role of positive emotions. This study examines the structure of students' subjective learning experiences in relation to individual interest profiles. We measured two components of affect: activation as positive arousal that indicates engagement, and valence as an evaluative quality of the students' experience. Senior secondary students (females, N=162) completed measures of individual interests, curiosity and prior knowledge, read three social issues texts and then answered some questions relating to the texts. Each text was divided into three sections and at the end of each section students completed separate activation and valence measures. Three individual interest profiles were generated using cluster analysis, and dynamic patterns of activation were tracked for each group. Our findings using individual interest profiles illustrate the interactive engagement processes between students and specific tasks. Additionally, students reported a wide range of emotions, both positive and negative, indicating the broad and content-specific nature of students' emotional experiences while engaged in academic tasks.

BUL04563   [Paper]   ®
Outfielders: An unknown quantity in secondary school science

Jan Bulman and Allan Harrison, Central Queensland university

Three government reports have noted ongoing shortages of secondary teachers of science, particularly in rural and remote regions. The extent of these shortages is masked by the employment of teachers out-of-field. This study focuses on two beginning primary trained teachers making the transition to secondary science. Compounding the usual difficulties of beginning teachers, these teachers are teaching in multiple disciplines, beyond the level for which they were trained. Additionally the range of subjects and year levels they teach works against the development of pedagogical Content Knowledge in any particular area. A significant finding was that the very qualities of previous career experiences and personal attributes that led to the employment of these outfielders mitigates against their receiving the support they need. A hypothetical quantifying of the extent to whioch outfielders might be teaching in Australian schools has been made by applying United states statistics to the Queensland student population.

BUR04976   [Paper]  ®
Locating historical understandings of Japanese and Western resistance in education

Bruce Burnett, Queensland University of Technology

The aim of this paper is to question traditional neomarxist western understandings of student resistance within the context of postwar Japanese student resistance. The paper traces the lineage of several theoretical contributions that ultimately led to the now iconic positioning of resistance produced by the Birmingham School in the 1980s. The paper argues that the most influential understandings of western educational resistance during the 1970s and 1980s were premised on notions of an informal, disorganized and apolitical understanding of agency. By tracing the development of postwar Japanese educational resistance (1948 to 1975) this paper questions the ability of such western theories of resistance to embrace forms of collectivity inherent within the Japanese context. At the heart of the paper is therefore the central question of how applicable were historical sets of neomarxist understandings of resistance to cultural, theoretical and ideological forms of 'counter-hegemony' removed from Western settings.

BUT04823   [Paper]  ®
Giving due consideration to shame: The significance of emotion to adult educational experience

Steven Butcher, Swinburne University of Technology and Monash University

This paper speculates on the extent to which the emotional experience of shame is integral to adult educational experience. In considering whether shame may be significant in terms of both the decision to resume and continue study as an adult, it emphasizes the place of emotion within the formation of adult educational identities. In contemplating the role that shame may play in terms of both the resumption and continuation of study it links social experience to identity construction and discusses the place of human agency within this process. After Jenkins (1996), it understands identity to be the product of a simultaneous and ongoing synthesis of both internal and external definitions of self and in focusing on the extent to which shame may be integral to identity, argues that the attribution of shame is constitutive of this dialectic. The paper also attempts to show that theoretical perspectives on shame have the potential to provide significant insights into the ontology of adult education particularly given the limited emphasis on shame's contribution to educational experience within the literature.

C

CAL04901   [Paper]  ®
The Successful School: A genuine trend or statistical artifice?

Rosemary Callingham and Heather Mays, University of New England

Schools are increasingly being expected to make improvements based on data about students' learning outcomes. Such an expectation implies that principals, teachers and key personnel within systems can read and act upon the data available. There is evidence, however, that many people have poor understanding of statistical information, and that many factors inside and outside the school have an effect on students' outcomes. This study considers one primary school's data from statewide testing programs. Trends across time are considered as a basis for making judgments about the school's performance in improving students' learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

CAM04116   [Paper]
Towards a framework for exploring children's analytical thinking and creativity in technology

Coral Campbell and Alistair Webster, Deakin University and Beverley Jane, Monash University

Technology education provides children with opportunities to be creative as they engage in problem solving and make products that address human needs. When thinking creatively children generate new ideas through remote associations and brainstorming and this type of thinking is enhanced when attention is allowed to wander in a relaxed and uncompetitive environment. Research shows that the two mental states (generative and nongenerative/analytical) cannot exist simultaneously (Howard-Jones 2002). It follows that at some point in the technological process a child's generative mental state needs to give way to a nongenerative, analytical state so that the child can focus on analysing information. This paper outlines the design of a research project that aims to investigate the impact of analytical thinking on creativity in the context of technology education. Particular attention will be given to the role of the teacher in enhancing children's creativity when required and critical thinking when needed. One question to be addressed is what can teachers do during the teaching sessions to ensure that analytical thinking does not hinder creativity during the investigation and design phases?

CAN04980 [Paper]   ®
Discrepancies between the "ideal" and "passable" doctorate: Supervisor thinking on doctoral standards

Robert Cantwell and Jill Scevak, University of Newcastle

Dimicolo (2003) recently made note of two paradoxical findings in the literature on doctoral assessment: that there is little cross-institutional agreement as to what actually constitutes a doctorate, and very few submitted doctorates fail to achieve the award. We argue that a major explanation of the paradox may lie in the implicit understandings of supervisors. We begin with the conceptions of the doctorate and the doctoral process expressed by supervisors through interview. We then address the issue of defining "doctoral level" through the application of the SOLO Taxonomy (Biggs & Collis, 1982). Additionally, we draw on the work of Shaw (cited in Powell & McCaulay (2002) to flesh out within the SOLO framework attributes that discriminate doctoral from non-doctoral levels of outcome. Our analysis of the interview data indicated an implicit awareness on the part of supervisors, regardless of discipline, of the desired modality of thinking underlying doctoral research (which we define as a Formal-2 modality) and of the need for explicit coherence within the thesis (defined by us as a "relational" outcome within mode). We see our analysis as providing a useful insight into the development of an explicit understanding of what constitutes a "doctoral level" of outcome.

CAR04142   [Paper]  ®
Developing school leaders with the commitment and capacity to pursue the common good

Paul Carlin and Helga Neidhart, Australian Catholic University

In an era of relentless global change and threats of terrorism, communities are struggling with issues related to the public good such as democracy, human rights, equitable distribution of wealth and resources, and a sense of meaning and security. Many writers from various fields argue that education (and therefore schools) must be in the frontline of responding to these opportunities and challenges. As a consequence, more is being asked of schools by all the key stakeholders: governments, employers, universities, parents and communities. These demands are being made at a time when successive research reports are confirming that an increasing number of senior leaders in schools, especially women, are reconsidering their decisions on career progression. This paper reports on the implications of a major study undertaken in Catholic primary and secondary schools in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania (VSAT). It also outlines a Leadership Framework which has been developed to enable the development of leaders with the capacity and commitment to guide schools through these challenging times.

CAR04746   [Paper]  ®
Are the complexities of professional practice supported by university policy?

Lorelei Carpenter and Patricia Johnson, Griffith University

Many university degree programs require some form of professional accreditation through industry experience therefore it is desirable that the administration and delivery of these university programs reflect and support industry standards and needs. In practice, however, industry standards are frequently sacrificed in the current consumer-based university culture where the individual rights and needs of students are protected by university policies that take precedence over industry and professional requirements.

In this paper we locate and examine the tensions that exist between the political agenda of the university and the development of professionalism of pre-service teachers and nurses. It questions how well university policies support and reflect the professional standards and requirements of both teaching and nursing in their teacher and nurse education programs. We use a case study of one university in Queensland and the way in which this institution negotiates the challenges and dilemmas that it faces in applying policy to the requirements of industry placement during pre-service programs of teachers and nurses. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate debate and raise awareness of the ever-increasing complexities of professional practice and the need to reflect this in academic policy.

CAS04215   [Paper]
Using an action research model to bring about school improvement through PE and school sport

Crichton Casbon and Lucy Walters, The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)

The paper describes an innovative curriculum development project in England that aims to improve the quality of PE and sport in schools and use them strategically to bring about whole school improvement. Outcomes include improvements in pupils' self-esteem, attitudes to learning, behaviour, attendance and achievements in PE and across the curriculum.

To achieve these outcomes, schools have followed an action research approach. This approach is different from that previously used by most schools in England. The paper will describe this action research process. This includes setting objectives, selecting appropriate strategies for improvement, identifying signs of success and selecting appropriate information collection strategies for monitoring progress and informing development.

The paper examines how the innovative use of this action research model has brought about significant improvements to aspects of schooling. The project has had an impact on the National Strategy for PE and Sport in England, influencing the continuing professional development programme, the monitoring and evaluation of PE and sport in schools and curriculum innovation. Therefore the paper will be of interest to those who wish to explore:

• the impact of curriculum development
• the contribution of action research to school improvement.

CAS04216   [Paper]
The English approach to collecting information on the quality of PE and school sport in English schools and its impact on young people and whole school improvement.

Crichton Casbon and Lucy Walters, The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) .

The paper describes the aims and strands of the national PE and sport strategy in England that began in April 2003. This innovative strategy is designed to improve the quality of pupils' outcomes in PE and sport, and the impact on pupils' achievements, attendance, behaviour, attitudes to learning, and healthy active lifestyles. It is delivered through a new and emerging infrastructure and creative approaches to implementing PE and sport curriculum.

The paper describes how monitoring and evaluation processes have been implemented and used to guide the development of the strategy in order to increase its impact on young people, schools and sports clubs. This will include a description of the annual collection of information and the coordination of the work of researchers. It describes how information from the monitoring and impact evaluation is used at local, regional and national levels to inform priorities for improvement and action.

The paper examines early results of monitoring and evaluation and how the information has been used to change policy and action. Therefore, the interest in the paper will be:

• an analysis of an important curriculum reform
• as a contribution to the evaluation of the impact of curriculum reform in this field

CAV04443   [Paper]  ®
Investigating principal leadership of pedagogic renewal using Rasch and LISREL analyses

Rob Cavanagh, Neil MacNeill, Steffan Silcox, Peter Reynolds, and Joseph Romanoski, Curtin University of Technology

School principal leadership of pedagogic renewal was conceptualised to include five behaviours: engaging teachers; expressing expectations of teacher instruction; sharing curriculum decision-making; developing a sense of common purpose; and effecting school renewal. Rating scale data on teacher observations of principal behaviours was analysed using Rasch and structural equation modeling techniques. Rasch analyses of data showed the items were eliciting data on a dominant trait. LISREL was applied to test the factorial structure of a five-element model and also the postulated relationships between variables within the model. The prevalence of pertinent leadership behaviours was revealed and the associations between these behaviours were examined. The empirical results of the investigation are discussed in terms of school leadership, pedagogical practise and school renewal.

CAV04445   [Paper]  ®
Information and communication technology learning in the classroom: The influence of students, the class-group, teachers and the home

Rob Cavanagh, Peter Reynolds and Joseph Romanoski, Curtin University of Technology

A model of classroom information and communication technology (ICT) classroom learning culture inclusive of the influence of the individual student, the class-group, the teacher and the home ICT environment was conceptualised. Data from a survey of 439 primary and secondary students were analysed using Rasch and structural equation modeling techniques. The Rasch analysis results showed students generally expressed confidence in their capacity to use ICT in their learning, but were less certain about the extent to which this learning was supported by teachers and parents. The structural equation modeling analysis showed that attributes of the individual student were more influential those of the class-group and of the teacher for effective ICT learning. The home ICT environment was shown to mediate the influence of individual student ICT learning behaviours on the development of positive attitudes towards the use of ICT at school. The empirical findings of the study are discussed with regard to the expectations of ICT learning as articulated in the local curriculum. This discussion draws attention to particular aspects of ICT learning and ICT curriculum implementation that could be viewed with concern in terms of the traditional roles of teachers and schools in enabling curriculum realisation.

CAV04446   [Paper]  ®
Development of a Rasch model scale to measure teacher observations of how principals lead the school pedagogy

Rob Cavanagh, Peter Reynolds, Neil MacNeill and Joseph Romanoski, Curtin University of Technology

Pedagogic leadership was defined as the leadership of teaching and learning that is exercised within a socio-political context. It was conceptualised to comprise five dimensions: developing a shared sense of educational purpose; improving teacher pedagogic practise; developing school culture; engaging staff; and committing to mission realisation. A Likert scale survey was administered to 208 teachers in 25 Western Australian schools to collect ordinal data on their observations of the principal's behaviours. Rasch model rating scale analysis was used to calibrate leadership behaviour (items) and individual teacher observations (persons) on the same interval-level scale. Examination of item 'difficulties' showed common and uncommon principal behaviours. The report explains the theoretical orientation of the study, describes how the data were analysed, and profiles the pedagogic leadership behaviours of principals as observed by teachers.

CHA04013   [Paper]
Goal orientations, study strategies and achievement of Hong Kong teacher education students

Kwok-wai Chan, Man-tak Leung and Po-yin Lai, Hong Kong Institute of Education

This study examined the interrelationship among achievement goals, study strategies and achievement of 473 students in a Hong Kong tertiary institution by means of questionnaire survey. Correlational analyses showed that performance goal was significantly and positively related to both surface and deep strategies while learning goal was significantly and positively related to deep strategy but negatively related to surface strategy. However there was no significant relation between achievement and goals or achievement and study strategies held by the sample. The results validated the applicability of an adapted instrument developed in western countries to measure achievement goal orientations in the Hong Kong context. It also gave support to the western findings that students who hold learning goals usually adopt a deep approach of study while students who are performance goal orientated tend to be shallow in study approach. Nevertheless, it was interesting to find that achievement was not significantly related to either the goals or study strategies held by students in the sample. The results were in contrast to the usual assumption that students who are performance goal oriented and adopt shallow approach in study would score low in academic achievement. Further investigation would be necessary to verify the effects of these variables on achievement of students.

CHA04056   [Paper]
Why test the Arts? The Western Australian experience

Sian Chapman, Department of Education and Training WA, and Julian Fraillon, Australian Council for Educational Research

Comprehensive system assessment of the arts has only occurred twice before in the world; once in Western Australia in 1996 and again the following year in the USA.

Now in 2003 / 2004 Monitoring Standards in Education (MSE) as part of the Department of Education and Training is again undertaking systemic assessment of the Arts. Considering the inherent difficulties in assessing a learning area that is primarily practical and performance based why do we persist?

Collecting information about the educational standards of students at Years 3, 7 and 10 sends a strong message to educators and the community about current performance and good practice in the Arts. Using a variety of innovative performance tasks MSE tests the art forms of dance, drama, media, music and visual arts. Using a Rasch measurement model to analyse the data, achievement scales are produced calibrating item/task difficulty with person ability. Mean student achievement is reported by year group. Sub-group achievement is reported according to gender, aboriginality and language background.

The benefits of this program are manyfold. School release materials allow schools to test their own cohorts and compare individual students to the state wide results. Teachers participating in the marking of the random sample gain invaluable professional development and the system is provided with valuable information to inform curriculum planning and standard setting.

CHA04669   [Paper]
Disrupting Heteronormativity: What about the girls?

Emma Charlton, The University of Queensland

Currently in Australia a number of trends are interrelating to create an important moment in which the disruption of heterosexism, homophobia and anti-lesbianism can take place in schools. Through a combination of the rise in profile of sexuality and same-sex-attracted communities, the greater interest in issues of sexuality and schooling, and the interest in boys' education, some spaces are being presented in schools to address and disrupt heterosexism and homophobia. However, with the displacement of girls from the educational agenda as a result of the 'What about the boys?' discourse, spaces seldom exist to challenge anti-lesbianism and misogynist cultures in schools in the same ways that they do in relation to homophobia and hegemonic masculinities. This lack of space for challenging anti-lesbianism in schools was evident at a conference held in June 2001 that sought to raise awareness around issues of sexuality, schooling and homophobia, heterosexism and anti-lesbianism in schools. Whilst, the conference was successful on a number of levels, the emancipatory potential of this conference was undermined by a series of historical practices that denied difference and presented obstacles to the disruption of heterosexism and anti-lesbianism.

CHA04818   [Paper]
'Girl Power': The schooling and popular culture nexus

Claire Charles Monash University

This study explores representations of sexualities, power and identity in school girls' lives. The research participants attend a prestigious independent girls' college in Melbourne, which aims to prepare its students for tertiary education and the professional workforce. This model of female 'power' requires a particular 'feminine' appearance, enforced through a school dress code, which extends to hair, face and accessories. The code differs significantly from some popular cultural representations of 'feminine' appearance. Popular music artists such as Madonna wear tight clothing, which accentuates body shape and reveals skin, excessive makeup, and tousled hair. Camera work frequently emphasises the eyes, lips and breasts. These images promote an active sexuality, a form of power that departs significantly from the model of female power promoted by the participants' school. Research participants will discuss and write about their experiences of negotiating these models of feminine power in their own lives. Previous explorations of normative heterosexuality note a common idea that women who appear sexually 'provocative' are down-playing any 'real' power they might have, such as intellectual ability, and rendering themselves vulnerable to male sexuality (Weedon, Fine, Albury). Theoretical strategies for the detection and destabilisation of normative heterosexuality (Foucault, Butler) will illuminate this exploration. It is expected that the study will provide a rich insight into the complex meaning of different models of 'feminine power' in a school characterised by aspirations towards 'mainstream cultural power' (Albury 2002).

CHE04032   [Paper]
Investigating problem solving with computer-supported collaborative learning

Wing Sum Cheung, Seng Tan, and David Hung, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

In this study, we investigated group problem solving behaviour of twelve graduate students using Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). The problems were ill-structured design problems about the critique on the design of multimedia educational software. The students were asked to participate in an asynchronous online discussion which involved the following tasks: identifying design problems, discussing the design problems, developing solutions, and discussing the suggested solutions. The software program Knowledge Community, a CSCL that allows scaffolded online discussions, was used. Results indicated that the graduate students participated significantly more in identifying design problems than in discussing the design problem; they also participated more in identifying solutions more than discussing the suggested solutions. Implications about scaffolding ill-structured design problems can be drawn from the results of this study.

CHI04732   [Paper]
The use of Bernstein's framework in mapping school culture and the resultant development of the curriculum

Robyn Chien and John Wallace, Curtin University of Technology

This paper uses Bernstein's pedagogic code as a starting point for a framework used to collect and analyse data about school culture and the impact that culture has on curriculum. Four main concepts from this framework are described including, "classification, framing, recognition rules and realisation rules". The overall "classification" of the case study school and the values of "framing" pertinent to the "instructional discourse" for the two units observed are transferred to the mapping tool developed for this study. Propositional statements about the culture of a school and the styles of teaching suitable within that culture are then suggested. It is felt that the use of parts of this framework in teacher education could help to assist in raising the awareness of teachers to the importance of the culture of the school they are in and the development of different styles of curricula. It is also felt that a heightened awareness of the school culture and teachers' "realisation rules" in the classroom would be of benefit when teachers are dealing with students from different backgrounds and may help to reduce the incidence of misinterpretations.

CHO04938   [Paper]  ®
The comparison of instructors' perceptions on higher technological and vocational education reform between University of Science and Technology and Institute of Technology in Central Taiwan, The Republic of China

Frances Feng-Mei Choi, Hung Kuang University

The Ministry of Education (MOE) of Taiwan indicated that higher technological and vocational education (HTVE) reforms have been actively implemented since 1996. The results of HTVE reforms were to promote former 70 Junior Colleges (JC) to 20 Universities of Science and Technology (UST), and 50 Institutes of Technology (IT) in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to analyze the difference in perceptions of HTVE reforms, between UST and IT instructors in central Taiwan. A questionnaire, which covers six demographic areas, was distributed to instructors at 9 campuses and achieved a 66.3% return rate. The demographics indicated that the faculty with doctoral degrees in USTs out number those at ITs' two to one. One third of the faculty in IT must perform some administrative work, while only one fifth of UST faculty must do so. Faculty both UST and IT felt unsure whether or not they were well prepared for technological changes in education that may occur during the next five years. Most IT faculty provided a positive response to the quality of students, as compared to that of UST faculty. The survey provided important information on the reforms' impact, and the related side effects of it.

CHU04864   [Paper]
The convergence and divergence effects of globalisation on Singapore education system

Catherine Chua, University of Queensland

As reported in The Straits Times, the Singapore's leading English newspaper, the study of literature is steadily losing popularity and fast becoming a dying subject in Singapore schools. My goal in this paper is to examine the effects of globalisation on the education system in Singapore. I draw on what I have called the concept of "elimination" process, which highlights that certain subjects in Singapore schools are receiving much recognition while other subjects are facing the possibility of being removed from the school curriculum. It is argued that this global economy enables the expansion of new entities largely due to a homogenisation effect specifically in the scientific arenas. Yet at the same time, it facilitates the elimination process especially for humanities subjects such as English literature. In this regard, the concept of globalisation epitomizes both divergence and convergence effects. The main theme discussed is the Singaporean government's responses to this global economy. I examine the government's initiatives and education policies that are implemented in response to this change, and explore how this shift in emphasis has affected the choice of subjects among students. It seeks to establish the relationship between globalisation process and the current changes that are undertaking the Singapore schools.

CLA04233   [Paper]
Using digital online content in authentic curriculum P-10 contexts: What do teachers have to say?

Olivia Clarke, The Le@rning Federation

Lack of easily accessible quality digital content has been identified as one reason for little sustained take-up of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools (MCEETYA, 2003). The Le@rning Federation (TLF), an initiative of the Australian Government, the Australian states and territories and New Zealand has been charged with filling this void. TLF online content in the form of multimedia interactive learning objects, purpose-built for curriculum priority areas for P-10 students, are currently being released in stages. Trials and implementation reviews exploring teachers' experiences using the materials in authentic classroom contexts are underway.

This paper presents early findings from a number of reviews undertaken across Australia and New Zealand in 2004 in which participating teachers explain how they integrate the new Science, Mathematics and Numeracy and Literacy resources into existing curricula and their views about the contribution of the materials to teaching and learning. Qualitative and quantitative responses collected online from teachers in several education jurisdiction reviews have provided opportunities for meta-analysis. To date, teachers indicate that the new materials are highly engaging for students and relevant to their curriculum frameworks. However, challenges relating to accessing the materials and professional learning needs of teachers are also apparent.

CLA04478   [Paper]  ®
The impact of preservice teachers on the mathematics achievement and attitudes of elementary students at a Colorado school

Julie Clark, Flinders University

A range of factors has impinged on the provision of teacher education programs in the US over the last decade. Largely emanating from governmental demands for increased accountability, they have included the setting of standards for student achievement, proof of program impact, and state and national testing. These legislative reforms and school district concerns initiated changes in field experience at a western USA university, which adhered to a professional development school philosophy. During the final student teaching experience, preservice teachers were asked to teach mathematics to a small group of students for a 3-month period. The preservice teachers took control of every aspect of the groups' mathematics instruction. Elementary student participants were selected on the basis of pre-tests given to the entire school population. The impact on elementary student achievement and attitudes, and preservice teacher development of pedagogical knowledge and understanding was investigated as part of this study. This paper focuses on the impact on elementary students. Data analysis revealed significant achievement gains for all of the elementary students, as well as positive changes in attitudes towards mathematics.

CLA04891   [Paper]
Researching the language for explanations in mathematics teaching and learning

Philip Clarkson, Australian Catholic University

The role of language is now taken as a crucial aspect in the learning of mathematics. Although some still believe that mathematics classrooms can be regarded as language free zones, this is not what the research tells us. The change is being acknowledged in curriculum documents to an increasing degree. However there are particular areas of language that are crucial for deep mathematical learning that are still under acknowledged in these documents, and in mathematics teaching. One such area of language is that needed for good mathematical explanations. One aspect of this area of learning is the set of logical connectives. Although some attention is given to these aspects of language in the English curriculum, this is not adequate for mathematics learning. Some vocabulary takes on different meanings in a mathematical context compared to when used in everyday language. This is also true for at least some logical connectives. As well it is clear that assuming that students can and will bridge across define subject areas is fraught with disappointments. This paper explores the predominance of this aspect of language in school mathematics explanations, and the need for purposeful teaching.

COL04154   [Paper]  ®
The mediation of teacher education

David Cole, University of Tasmania

The way in which teachers are educated is under pressure from a number of sources such as: governmental requirements for teachers in schools, the social perception of 'education workers for children', the competitive pitches of academics theorising about how teachers should learn their trade, and the economic needs of business development. This paper is the first part of a four stage process based at the University of Tasmania, which seeks to explore these forces, and to undertake research using a group of in-service BEd student teachers who have attended a summer school at the university and demonstrated learning through use of a University of Tasmania CD Rom. I shall use this preliminary paper and examination of argumentation to map the terrain that will be probed in the research and to provide a path to understanding as to how the mediation of teacher education is happening in contemporary Australian society.

COL04295   [Paper]
Teachers as policy producers in classrooms

Eloise Cole, Monash University

Every day, teachers read and interpret policy in the context of their own classrooms and schools. This paper takes the 'reading' and 'interpretation' one step further by considering the role of teachers as policy producers in the context of their practice. It begins by exploring how policy is defined and how it evolves through the text it represents. It then looks at how teachers participate in policy text production and their struggle for control over the representation and meaning of policy. In addressing these issues the paper draws on the engagement with policy by teachers at a suburban Melbourne school. It examines how these teachers have a different analysis of the same text and how this produces different teacher practice in the same school. The work of Bourdieu and Foucault are utilised in this analysis to explain these different engagements with the same policy text. In brief, the paper acknowledges that policy is concerned with power relations including the interactions among policy actors. It sets out to explore how key concepts of policy gain currency which can be traded and negotiated between policy actors for the benefit of some and not others.

COL04348   [Paper]
Science, literacy and the really important link for early learning

Marj Colvill, University of Tasmania

It is accepted practice in many parts of the Western World that when young children engage in early reading they are doing so using four resources or roles (Luke and Freebody (1990.) These four roles or resources are identified as code breaker, text participant, text user and text analyst.

When beginning readers first recognise and tackle text in any meaningful way they are, initially working in the code breaker role. They are trying to work out what it is that text, as it is presented, is saying or perhaps more accurately, what it is going to do. They are looking for familiar patterns of letters, words, clauses, sentences and text structures. They are observing the written, two dimensional text and from their observations, making an inference that particular sequences of letters, words or sentences will perform in a particular way. The ability to observe, infer and predict combine to enable the student to "risk take" in a new setting where familiarity is less obvious but where conventions are adhered to.

This research explores the link between basic science process skills and early literacy skills and looks to using experiences in science to enhance early literacy outcomes. It has significant implications for early childhood curriculum experiences.

CON04456   [Paper]  ®
Employing the processes of Critical Discourse Analysis inside narrative inquiry

Jennifer Connelly, Hong Institute of Education

This paper reports on research techniques adopted and adapted from Critical Discourse Analysis (henceforth CDA) inside a narrative inquiry that took as its significant cue - words, statements, inferences, innuendo and philosophical concepts from the retellings of a white woman teacher's life in an Indigenous context. Aspects examined in the narrative were as follows;

1. language that demonstrated the frames of reference out of which the teachers operated,
2. power and resistance - between teachers, students and community,
3. truth/knowledge - disco