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 - discourses and material practices that conveyed what these teachers held as 'truths' and in turn informed the 'knowledges' from which they operated,
4. the self/selves - subjectivities that the teachers projected.

Employing deconstructive tools from recent scholarship on CDA (T.Van Dijk, Fairclough, and Wodak) the analysis engages both a micro view (zooming in) and a macro view (zooming out). Whilst the former is fine grained and the latter is an attempt to take account of broader social and cultural influences, the researcher remains sceptical about the findings they offer. Is the analytical framework culturally sensitive? What could such an analysis miss?

CON04837 [Paper]   ®
Models of teaching and learning from Darwin to East Timor

Lorraine Connell, Charles Darwin University

I have commenced teaching the Creative Arts at the Catholic Teachers College, Baucau, in East Timor. The Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) course has been accredited by the Australian Catholic University and Dance and Drama is taught in semester 1 with Music being taught in Semester 2 of first year. There are currently fifty three students in the first year of the course. My teaching in Baucau is recognised as part of my lecturing load at Charles Darwin University where I am employed as a lecturer and coordinator. This unique arrangement allows me to come to Baucau for an intensive two weeks at the beginning of each semester, leave behind readings and assessment tasks to be completed and return for one week towards the end of the semester to revise and finalise assessment. My lecturing at CDU is planned around these times. It is a unique teaching and learning experience for my students and me.

As a lecturer I have attempted to teach in a variety of modes to assist students with their teaching and learning. Intensives, one day a week for six weeks and online work have all helped extend the teaching and learning process for students and the teacher.

Through this paper I intend to share these experiences and the opportunities for different models of teaching and learning.

COR04663   [Paper]
Building the framework for educational change through interdisciplinary design learning: Case studies from the Faculty of the Built Environment, University of NSW

Linda Corkery, Ann Quinlan, Jane Castle and Nancy Marshall, University of New South Wales

In meeting the expectations of communities, industry and national government, universities are not only required to demonstrate their capacity to produce and disseminate knowledge but also to facilitate the application of this knowledge for social benefit. The professional disciplines in the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of New South Wales, with their emphasis on practical knowledge and interdisciplinary modes of inquiry, are well placed to contribute to this prospect and demonstrate Ernest Boyer's model for the scholarships of integration and application.

This paper describes three innovative educational experiences undertaken in the Faculty. These projects focus on design learning and interactions with students from four disciplines: architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture and industrial design. They illustrate how productive social knowledge can be generated through collaborative interactions between the university, students in educational settings, government and its agencies, industry and community. In that process, new possibilities for teaching and learning have evolved, along with opportunities for raising awareness of social issues and instituting positive change.

In presenting these case studies, this paper seeks to demonstrate the synergistic potential between universities and communities to provide unique teaching and learning opportunities and innovative solutions to benefit community.

COR04940   [Paper]  ®
Changes to the Australian Public Service: Some deleterious effects upon political accountability and VET policy formation and implementation

Ian Cornford, University of Technology, Sydney

The introduction of contracts for senior managers in the Australian public service, in both state and federal spheres, in place of permanency has substantially changed the nature of the Westminster system of government in the direction of a politicised public service, as in the American system. Only recently through a series of political incidents has this politicisation of the Australian public service become more widely acknowledged and reported in the popular media. The fact that there is no longer a public service that offers independent and fearless advice to government ministers has already resulted in major problems in Vocational Education and Training (VET) policy formation and implementation in Australia. Drawing upon historical, political analysis and policy analysis approaches, this paper critically examines the changes to the Westminster system and the impact that these changes have had upon the development and management of VET policy in Australia. This paper briefly traces the changes to the Australian public service, driven by economic rationalism and centred upon politicisation and privatisation, that have had deleterious effects upon accountability and good governance, before considering the problems and issues in VET policy adversely affecting efforts to educate a more highly skilled and internationally competitive workforce.

COR04942   [Paper]  ®
Cognitive and metacognitive strategies as a basis for effective lifelong learning: How far have we progressed?

Ian Cornford, University of Technology, Sydney

Cognitive and metacognitive strategies appear truly generic skills through their ability to foster effective learning in an era where the two constants are continuing change and growth in bodies of knowledge. Yet the literature on lifelong learning has rarely acknowledged the importance of these skills as a vital foundation in a less than surface way, while policy at Australian federal government level seems generally to be rooted in superficial rhetoric. Interestingly, however, more serious attention has been given to effective learning strategies in earlier Vocational Education and Training (VET) documents, probably because VET attracts many less academically able students. After briefly outlining the importance of cognitive and metacognitive strategies as a basis for effective lifelong learning, this paper examines the changes that have occurred concerning adoption of cognitive and metacognitive skills as a basis for effective lifelong learning at school and post-compulsory education levels over approximately the last seven years. It is concluded that, while there is evidence of the effectiveness of the teaching of learning-to-learn approaches, policy makers in Australia appear to have little real understanding of the needs for effective policy and do not recognise curriculum and teaching revolutions that need to occur for the ideal of effective lifelong learning to be realised.

COX04545   [Paper]
A fair and equal education for all? Is egalitarianism alive, and well, in schools?

Peter Cox, La Trobe University

In this research project I examined whether differences in participation in grade 12 subjects, in choice of subject combinations, and in performance was affected by student gender and differences in socio-economic background. One of Australia's largest senior secondary (grades 11 and 12) schools was the setting for the study. At the grade 12 level students are able to select from a wide range of subjects. As a consequence of this, the proportions of male and female students in each subject are generally neither equal nor of matching ability profiles. To compare sub-groups more fairly and allow for variations in ability levels this study used a separate measure of students' academic ability. Findings from the first two stages of this project will be reported. The first stage involved a quantitative investigation of subject participation, subject combinations and performance over three years involving 2500 students, focusing particularly on the mathematics and science subjects. The second stage involved an anonymous survey, administered to approximately 800 grade 12 students in 2003, examining student beliefs and attitudes toward subjects, and their reasons for subject choicesThis presentation will highlight the major findings from the project focusing on the gender and socio-economic differences in subject access, subject performance and beliefs and attitudes toward subjects.

CRA04031   [Paper]  ®
'Right' versus 'wrong' and 'right' versus 'right': Understanding ethical dilemmas faced by educational leaders

Neil Cranston, Lisa Ehrich and Megan Kimber, Queensland University of Technology

In recent years the conduct of leaders, in an ethical sense, in many professions and types of organisations has captured public attention. In particular, educational leaders are often faced with ethical dilemmas in the daily course of their work as they are required to make complex decisions in the best interests of their students and their schools. This is understandable given the complex challenges and competing forces that beset leadership which is clearly a values-based activity (Walker & Shakotko, 1999). There is little doubt that, given the rapidly changing social, economic and political context in which schools now operate, the moral and ethical dimensions of leadership continue as important topics for exploration.

This paper reports the findings of recent research into the ethical dilemmas faced by a number of heads of non-government schools in Australia. These dilemmas centred broadly around making critical decisions, usually about staff and students, where a number of competing forces impacted on the decision itself, with the potential to lead to significant implications for individuals as well as for the school more generally. The paper uses a model developed by the authors, as an analytical framework to assist in better understanding the dynamics of the ethical dilemmas, and the forces at play as the school heads endeavoured to resolve the dilemmas. The model, when applied to the ethical dilemmas identified by the school leaders, provides a useful way for explicating the processes involved in identifying and resolving such dilemmas. The paper suggests that school leaders in all types of settings should be able to use the model as a reflective tool to understand more fully the forces impacting upon, and the dimensions characterising, the ethical decision-making process.

CRA04084   [Paper]
Teachers' talk: The perceptions of Queensland secondary teachers about adolescents with learning difficulties

Julie Crawford, James Cook University

This presentation examines the findings of a 2004 statewide secondary teacher survey of teachers' perceptions of adolescents with learning difficulties in their classroom and school. Students with learning difficulties were defined as " those who have short or long term difficulties in literacy, numeracy and learning how to learn [Education Queensland, 1996]. The on line survey of teachers employed in state, Catholic and independent schools also canvassed views on actual levels of support and school practices which were occurring for adolescents with leaning difficulties in Queensland secondary schools. The survey also included considerable demographic data which has allowed for teacher and sector profiles to be created. The results of the survey have been interpreted in two complementary ways. The qualitative data examined issues relating to school governance and its relationship with provisions made for students with learning difficulties. The quantitative data, based on Likert scale responses on attitudes towards students with learning difficulties, was subjected to analysis using the Rasch model for rating scale data [Andrich,1988; Bond and Fox, 2001]. The results reveal interesting interactions between teacher, system variables.

CRO04237   [Paper]  ®
Committed teachers, passionate teachers: The dimension of passion associated with teacher commitment and engagement

Leanne Crosswell and Bob Elliott, Queensland University of Technology

Teacher commitment has been identified as one of the most critical factors for the future success of education and schools (Huberman, 1993). Teacher commitment is closely connected to teachers' work performance and their ability to innovate and to integrate new ideas into their own practice, absenteeism, staff turnover, as well as having an important influence on students' achievement in, and attitudes toward school (Firestone, 1996; Graham, 1996; Louis, 1998; Nias, 1981; Tsui & Cheng, 1999). The traditional view of teacher commitment considers it to refer to external referents. However, there is a growing body of literature that draws a strong connection between teacher commitment and the very intimate element of passion for the work of teaching (Day, 2004; Elliott & Crosswell, 2001; Fried, 1995). This paper first discusses the traditional view of teacher commitment and then uses the findings from an Australian study to investigate the idea that an individuals' personal passion for teaching is central to their on-going commitment to, and engagement with the profession.

CRO04254   [Paper]
Second language teacher education: Sociocultural directions for the future

Russell Cross and Margaret Gearon, Monash University

This paper reviews the field of second language teacher education and identifies a need for future research to include a sociocultural perspective on issues affecting teacher preparation. Schulz (1999) laments that progress in the field of second language teacher education as a whole has been surprisingly small, adding it is still "long on rhetoric, opinions, and traditional dogma, and short on empirical research that attempts to verify those opinions or traditional practice"(pp.516-517). First providing a survey of the field with a particular emphasis on developments that have influenced second language teacher education in Australia, the paper then outlines the nature of a Vygotskian sociocultural framework for analysis. It concludes by describing one possibility of how such a framework might be applied to issues affecting second language teacher education.

CUM04508   [Paper]
Working doctoral students: Challenges and opportunities

Jim Cumming, Australian National University and Kevin Ryland, Deakin University

Doctoral education is traditionally conceptualised in policies and practices about young, full-time students with no work or related commitments. However, nowadays, doctoral candidates constitute a diverse population working in various institutional, community and industry sites. This paper will report on initial work conducted as part of an ARC Linkage Project in which three postgraduate student associations are involved as industry partners - viz. CAPA, ANU PARSA and DUSA. The main objective of the paper is to identify and explore some of the issues identified by two researchers who are working collaboratively in this project to investigate the contemporary experiences of full and part-time doctoral students.

CUN04435   [Paper]  ®
School-research partnerships: A model for health promotion intervention programs in school settings

Everarda Cunningham, Swinburne University of Technology

The intervention literature frequently suggests that effective research in health promotion programs is more likely to occur when researchers are cognizant of and responsive to the nature and needs of the host environment. This paper initially outlines the policies, responsibilities, needs and resources of the Victorian school system in the area of affective education. The Bright Ideas program (Brandon and Cunningham, 1999a, 1999b), a program that is embedded within the framework of rational emotive education and teaches optimistic thinking skills, was developed and implemented for students in 5th- and 6th- grade in Victorian primary schools in response to identified school needs. The expectation that school-based personnel take a more proactive role in the emotional education of all students, together with issues of cost effectiveness, resulted in a model in which classroom teachers and school psychologists jointly implemented the program. The findings from various studies that support the efficacy of the program and its method of implementation in increasing the coping resources of young people are then reported. Results support the feasibility of implementing school based low-cost programs that address the emotional health of young people when the program intervention goals are congruent with the goals of system.

CUN04724   [Paper]  ®
Engaging and empowering students with Learning Difficulties

Nola Firth and Everarda Cunningham, Swinburne University of Technology

Sense of personal control and connectedness have been cited as key components of effective coping by successful adults who have Learning Difficulties (LD). Despite this, students who have Learning Difficulties are known to be at risk of learned helplessness, passive learning style, low self-regulation, and social exclusion. This paper describes the development and implementation of a 12-hour professional development program to assist Middle Years teachers and schools to address these issues. The program is entitled Engaging and Empowering Students with Learning Difficulties. Unique features of the program are inclusion of views of adults and students who have learning difficulties as well as referral to research-based teaching strategies to develop the key resources of perceived control and sense of connection. While preliminary anecdotal feedback about the program from teachers and regional network personnel has been very positive, future longitudinal studies involving qualitative and quantitative methods are now required to determine the efficacy of the program in the longer term.

D

DAL041032   [Paper]
Positioning international students for success at university: Evaluation of a peer mentoring program

John Daley, University of Wollongong

This paper focuses on the evaluation of a Peer Mentoring Program conducted for international students at a regional university. The aim of this program is to assist overseas students' adjustment to life and study in their Australian university setting. This paper will describe the rationale and implementation of the program. Using an open inquiry approach to evaluation in the framework of action research, this paper will report on students' perspectives of and experiences in this program, as documented through interviews and participant observations. Collaborative processes undertaken for this inquiry included a web-based reflective journal. This journal provided a key venue for critical reflection upon data and frameworks for data analysis and interpretation, and sharing of these reflections with identified stakeholders as works-in-progress. Specifically, findings will detail students' views on what they found to be helpful from the mentoring program; the program's assistance with their spoken and written English as university students across different learning situations; what they most valued about the program; and recommendations for future directions.

DAR04636 [Paper]   ®
Linking Worlds: A study of educational leadership in remote Indigenous community school settings

Tony d'Arbon and Jack Frawley, Australian Catholic University, and Dot Morrison and Nick Richardson, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education

For many years there has been a call for research institutions to deliver on the key elements of what has recently been referred to as the Indigenous Research Reform Agenda. Underlying this call is the active participation of Aboriginal communities in the design, implementation, dissemination and evaluation of research. This requires specific action by research institutions to support the adoption of collaborative and participatory approaches. This paper outlines the ways in which the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE) and the Australian Catholic University (ACU) attempted to answer this call as they planned for an Australian Research Council Linkage Projects grant on educational leadership.

DAV04854   [Paper]
The relationship between teacher efficacy and higher order instructional emphasis

Brian Davies, NSW Department of Education and Training

This study investigated the relationship between teacher efficacy and the emphasis that teachers place on higher order thinking in their teaching programs in the subject areas of history and science in Year 7 to Year 10. To investigate that relationship the study researched the level of that emphasis, whether the emphasis changed through Year 7 to Year 10 and with the nature of the class, and, the extent that any variance in emphasis on higher order thinking was explained by teacher efficacy. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. In the first stage of the study a questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 35 NSW government high and central schools. The questionnaire included instructional emphasis scales constructed through reference to the literature on higher order thinking and to syllabus objectives and outcomes. Teacher efficacy was measured using the Gibson and Dembo Teacher Efficacy Scale. In the second stage of the study, interviews were conducted with teachers. A multiple linear regression analysis was undertaken of data from the questionnaires. Comments by subjects from the interviews were analysed to confirm and add meaning to the answers to the research questions. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between teacher efficacy and higher order instructional emphasis in history and science in Year 7 to Year 10.

DEN04844   [Paper]
Is it time for a new approach to the teaching of Business Studies in regional Australia?

Dell Dennis, University of Notre Dame

The Kimberley Region of Western Australia is one of the fastest growing non urban regions in Australia. Business is thriving and new start ups, especially in the small business and indigenous business sectors are evident. The University of Notre Dame - Australia, Broome Campus has provided courses in business studies at both Degree and VET level for some years, and although the take up rate fluctuates, the completion rates are low, in particular at Degree level. Even with allowance for normal drop out rate and making substantial adjustment to the Degree course outline in response to student feedback, completion rates have not increased. With these concerns to mind, this paper explores the idea that because the region has unique characteristics and variables, the traditional approach to teaching business studies may not best serve potential business studies enrolees needs. It also explores key factors which could be considered if a 'regional' approach to business studies is to be developed.

DES04342   [Paper]
Teaching for empathy, compassion, meaning and connectedness to create communities of greater social harmony and cohesion: Rediscovering the spiritual dimension in education

Marian de Souza, Australian Catholic University

The growing numbers of adolescents that appear to be suffering from some form of mental illness, most commonly depression, has been attested to by recent statistics (for instance, Mission Australia 2002 Youth Survey). Some of the responses to this situation have articulated the importance of responding to the physical, emotional, intellectual, social and cultural needs of young adolescents and to help them develop skills of resilience (START School Transition and Resilience Training, Department of Education and Training, Victoria 2003)

This paper will draw on existing literature to argue that spirituality is an innate element of being which therefore should have an essential role in the learning process. It will explore the relational nature of spirituality and discuss the implications such an understanding may have for the development of school environments and educational programs where teaching for resilience and connectedness; empathy, compassion and meaning may be promoted. This may lead to a more accessible and well-balanced learning process which may reduce chances of students becoming isolated and alienated and increase their chances of becoming productive and affirmed community members who will work towards greater social harmony and cohesion.

DEV04054   [Paper]
Getting it out there: Exploring creative ways to present research

Peter de Vries, University of Technology, Sydney

This paper examines how educational research can be presented in a creative way through alternative modes of representation such as the short story. The rationale behind such representation is that there are many stakeholders involved in education who do not normally engage with educational research due to the way it is written and presented (i.e., in academic journals), therefore alternative modes of presentation may encourage stakeholders to engage with research if it is presented in a more user-friendly way. This will be illustrated in the way research about male primary school teacher attrition was presented as a short story titled Leaving Teaching. The presentation will focus on the way two audiences, teachers and pre-service teachers, engaged with the text and reflected on the impact of male teacher attrition in schools today.

DEV04108   [Paper]  ®
Leaving Teaching

Peter de Vries, University of Technology, Sydney

The majority of this paper consists of a short story titled "Leaving Teaching". The story is a distillation of the experiences of three male primary school music teachers who left the profession, one of which was myself. In combining our experiences into the short story a rich, thick description has been created that explains what factors may impact on male teacher attrition, specifically in the primary school. The short story mode is one of the artistic modes of presenting educational research that emerged in the 1990s. It has the potential to allow audiences to view teaching in new ways, as well as engage audiences who might not normally read more traditional representations of educational research (i.e., articles in refereed academic journals).

DEW04472   [Paper]  ®
"...take your kids on the best journey ...": The development of a professional identity in a beginning teacher

Duncan Dewar, University of Ballarat

This project investigates questions arising from experiences identified by a beginning teacher as important for their teaching practice during the first six months of full time employment as a teacher in a Victorian state secondary school, and examines their views about those experiences. It is designed to present an insight into the decisions and dilemmas that might be faced by a beginning teacher making the transition from university student to professional teacher especially as the literature identifies the first year, and in particular the beginning months, of teaching as critical to the development of a professional identity as a teacher. This research adopts an interpretivist case study approach to explore views of one beginning secondary school teacher on a variety of experiences in her everyday world of teachers. Bounded by the environment of the school and the wider social context, the beginning teacher in this study identified various tensions and recounted how they made sense of them as they negotiated a professional identity and practice within and between systemic requirements and personal biography. The study found that, for this teacher, the interweaving of their personal story and their professional experience and understandings was central to their negotiating their situation as a beginning teacher. A substantial part of this negotiation was not just the newness of their situation; it was also having to deal with the tensions arising from the hidden curriculum and the hidden pedagogies of the school setting in which they found themselves.

DIX04259   [Paper]  ®
An evaluation of the Fiji Education Support Program (FESP)

Robert Dixon and Kathryn Dixon, Curtin University of Technology

The Fiji Education Support Program, (FESP) is an initiative of AusAid and is managed by ACIL. The program has been jointly implemented by the Department of Education and Training, Western Australia, (DETWA) and Curtin University of Technology (CUT). An initial group of nine senior executives, including the CEO from the Ministry of Education in Fiji, and representatives from Lautoka Teachers College, undertook a study tour of the Western Australian education system in semester one 2004. The aim of the program was for participants to develop an understanding of the Primary, Secondary and TAFE sector in Western Australia, to form partnerships, strengthen leadership and to build the capacity to reform policy and strategic direction for the improvement and delivery of education in Fiji. This study is an evaluation of the program, the perceptions of participants and the conclusions they reached for prioritising policy in their own country as a result of their experiences.

DOC04324   [Paper]   ®
'As I got to learn it got fun': Children's reflections on their first year at school

Bob Perry and Sue Dockett, University of Western Sydney

There has been a great deal of recent interest in children's voices in research about starting school. This paper describes one strategy used by the Starting School Research Project to engage children as research partners in discussions about starting school.

Children from three Kindergarten (first year of school) classes were asked to reflect on how they had changed over their first year of school by thinking about what they were like when they started school, and comparing that to what they were like at the end of the school year. They were encouraged to draw representations of themselves at each of these times and to add a brief comment. The data on which this paper is based consists of the reflective drawings and comments from 52 children. Analysis of these indicate that children have a clear view of themselves within the context of school and distinct notions of the ways in which they have changed. Much of their focus is directed towards dispositions-such as having friends and how they feel about school-and to their increasing school-based knowledge. Implications for practice are drawn from the children's perspectives of their first year at school.

DOE04570   [Paper]
Heteroglossia: A space for developing critical language awareness

Brenton Doecke, Alex Kostogriz, Jill Brown and Claire Charles, Monash University

This paper reports on research into the challenges of implementing a critical writing pedagogy within a teacher education program in Australia. Participants in this study are student teachers enrolled in a compulsory subject that requires them to develop a knowledge of the role of language and literacy across the secondary school curriculum and to show personal proficiency in literacy (according to government specifications of graduate outcomes for teacher education programs). To gain an understanding of how language has shaped their lives, students write a narrative about their early literacy experiences - a task which they find very challenging, especially in comparison with the formal writing of other university subjects. Rather than reminiscing about their childhood, they are encouraged to juxtapose voices from the past and present, and to combine a range of texts within their writing. They thereby create a heteroglossic text (Bahktin) that stretches their repertoires as language users and enables them to develop a socially critical awareness of language and literacy, including the literacy practices in which they engage as university students. The narratives raise questions about the extent to which tertiary students are able to formulate a critical language awareness that will subsequently inform their professional practice as secondary teachers.

DOE04598   [Paper]
Developing portfolio assessment in English and Mathematics: Contrasting perspectives on the implementation of professional teaching standards

Brenton Doecke, Alan Bishop, Barbara Clarke and Nike Prince, Monash University

Professional standards are typically the product of the deliberations of small groups of teachers who are recognised experts in their field (Petrosky, 'Insiders and Outsiders', English in Australia, July, 1998). This has been the procedure followed by the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers and the Australian Association for the Teaching of English in collaboration with the Australian Literacy Educators' Association in developing subject specific professional standards on behalf of members. However, as products of specific discursive communities, these standards remain open to critique. Are such standards inclusive or do they exclude significant numbers of teachers? Do they promote reflection and professional renewal? In significant respects, the validity of these standards still needs to be tested, especially with respect to the way teachers who were not involved in formulating the standards interpret and apply them to their own teaching. The paper draws on research over the past two years, when a number of Mathematics and English Literacy teachers showed how they interpreted and applied the standards by preparing portfolios. Those portfolios were then assessed by teachers who originally participated in formulating the professional standards. We report on the experiences of those teachers who prepared portfolios, as well as the viewpoints of those teachers who assessed them.

DOH04077   [Paper]  ®
Managing potentials: Cultural differencing in a site of global/local education

Catherine Doherty, Queensland University of Technology

Internationalised online education offers a valuable window for research into the cultural processes of globalisation. This paper reports preliminary findings of a doctoral project about cultural difference in an online MBA unit with an internationalised student group. The case study was conducted as a critical ethnography (Carspecken 1996) adapted to virtual settings (Hine 2000). The study was also informed by a critical realist frame (Bhaskar 2002) which recognises the ontological level of potentials that can shape events, in addition to the empirical (that which is observable) and the actual (that which occurred). Cultural difference has typically been associated with negative potentials in pedagogical settings, in particular, the risks/problems of exclusion, disadvantage, and cultural offence. In emerging discourses of internationalisation, however, cultural difference is often constructed as potentially beneficial, enriching the mutual exchange of new insights.

In this case study, the negative potential of intercultural offence and the positive potential of cultural difference as a vicarious asset for the curriculum were influential in shaping how the text/interaction were designed and conducted. This paper will report in summary a variety of ways in which processes of cultural differencing realised both negative and positive potentials in the case study unit.

DOW041019   [Paper]  ®
Is your training program adding value to your client's results? A case study approach

Hayden Downing and Patrick Griffin, University of Melbourne, and D Humunicki and Z Maric, CSM Knowledge

This paper addresses the issue of how to evaluate whether a training program adds value to an organisation's results. Structured analysis was used to combine Shuttlebeam's CIPP model of evaluation and Kirkpatrick's model of product evaluation. The CIPP model connects a) the context, b) inputs, c) processes, and d) products of a system while the Kirkpatrick model provides four levels of outputs from a training program: reactions, learning achieved, improved behaviour of the trainees, and the improved results achieved by the organisation concerned. Data flow techniques were used to create a logic model (context diagram) of the four components of the CIPP model. This model was 'exploded' to show the main processes of the training system. Physical models show the interfaces between processes and people. The use of the model was applied to a case study in which an RTO provided training to staff from a client organisation. Possible limitations and benefits were considered.

DOW04620   [Paper]  ®
Application of learner-centred principles to post-secondary education

Hayden Downing, University of Melbourne and J Tisdall, La Trobe University

This paper reflects upon the change of emphasis in education away from the need for students to demonstrate their recall of information set out in a syllabus, towards learner-centred education in which the students create their own knowledge.

Two case studies involving post-secondary (TAFE) students are presented, to illustrate three learner-centred psychological principles, namely construction of knowledge, thinking about thinking, and social influences on learning.

One case study showed how a computer program involving a graphical user interface enabled students to construct knowledge about binary numbers and Boolean logic by designing circuit diagrams.

The other case study involving a course in statistics, showed how students thought about their own thinking to overcome an emotional block to their progress. This case study also showed how students were able to work together in applying statistical principles to a survey of the bases upon which people selected clothes.

The change from teacher-centred to learner-centred education has altered the role of teachers from transmitting information, to providing students with suitable scaffolds which not only challenge the students but, at the same time, provide sufficient support to enable the students to succeed.

DOY04960   [Paper]
The heart of the matter

Ochre Doyle, University of Technology, Sydney

Ochre is a UTS postgraduate student in Masters of Indigenous Social Policy. Often working informally Ochre is committed to creating options in Indigenous community education. This presentation aims to inspire educators and researchers working in the field of Indigenous education to revisit aspects of our shared history and focus how we can work together to remove the external constraints that still bonsai the flourishing of Indigenous led research and education.

DWY04514   [Paper]
Computer based learning in a primary school: Early childhood vs. primary year levels

Joanne Dwyer, University of Technology, Sydney

With increasing expectations that all students and teachers are actively involved in computer based learning within a primary school, it is expected that appropriate environments are set up to support the varying needs and potential of the different groups within the school context. However, in case-studies of primary schools done as part of the e.ffects project, our research indicated that the environments being established within a school are often inequitable, favouring the later primary year levels over the early school years. This paper will present illustrative evidence from the case-studies and will discuss some observed differences in approaches between the early and later primary program in terms of early childhood philosophies which underpin the K-2 year levels.

DYE04765   [Paper]
Preparing students for a world which is global in its outlook and influences: The rhetoric, reality and response

Julie Dyer, Deakin University

The imperative for schools and teachers to understand a global perspective has been reiterated in Victoria recently with the release of the Victorian Curriculum Reform Consultation Paper (2004). According to this paper the purposes of schooling are to prepare students for a world which is global in outlook and influences. Global education has become a focus for teaching within SOSE in schools. According to Singh (1998) however, there still remains a lack of global perspective in formal and enacted curriculum processes.

Whilst the rhetoric of Global education has come to prominence in curriculum policy at State and local levels we need to query whether policies such as the Victorian CSF have a global education framework and how these policies are preparing students for a 'global' world. The translation of this rhetoric into classroom practice is problematic for three specific reasons as this paper explores.

First, the paper explores the contested constructions and politicisation of global education within Australia. Second, the paper investigates how global education is implemented in schools. Further, how we evaluate what it means to teach with a global focus and identify the attributes of a teacher of global education is examined. Third, the paper suggests ways in which global education frameworks can be translated into classroom practice.

DYS04390   [Paper]  ®
Time for 'transformism' in Australian teacher education: Evolution to a 'worldview'

Michael Dyson, Monash University

This paper presents an alternative way of perceiving both formal schooling and teacher education within Australia. It calls into question the current mismatch between the thinking and the practice of education and suggests a workable alternative based on the learner being the centre of education. The learner, through thinking, acting and increased consciousness learns how to make choices and learns how to become personally responsible for their own being and learning. As the result of an extensive study into teacher education and the implementation of an internship, a new model of teacher education is suggested. This model, known as the 'Transformism' model involves the evolution of student teachers from a 'me view' perception to a 'worldview' perception. This model is not about training people to be teachers but is about the education of teachers through the adoption of adult learning practices and the incorporation of choice theory. This paper proposes that within Australia there is a need for a new form of educational politics and practice. This would involve a super consciousness where people come together in community; share their beliefs and knowledge, their likes and dislikes, their differences and their similarities in openness and with hope for an improved and better world.

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EAR04330   [Paper]  ®
Linking leadership, school effectiveness and staff professional development: The case study of a school in Uganda

Jaya Earnest, Curtin University of Technology

To date, only a few studies of school improvement, school renewal, learning environment and action research have been undertaken in Uganda and none have been at the early childhood level. The present study evaluates one early childhood institution's attempt to improve the school effectiveness and classroom-learning environment that teachers create, through positive leadership and on-going professional development.z

This longitudinal study implemented over four years, involved the investigation of factors that influenced school effectiveness, teacher professional development and students' outcomes in an early childhood institution in Uganda, including the development of child-centred learning environments. The reported research is my personal reflective journey and experience when I was principal of the early childhood institution for four years. The study made use of action research methodology with a framework of school effectiveness and school improvement. Uganda's rapidly expanding education system and largely teacher-centred mode of delivery makes this study timely because the study provides potentially significant insights into how a school improvement program can provide a sustainable means of professional development.

EDW04168   [Paper]   ®
Teacher education and problem based learning: Exploring the issues and benefits

Susan Edwards and Marie Hammer, Monash University

Problem Based Learning has been used with increasing frequency in Higher Education settings since it was first conceived by Barrows and Tamblyn during the 1980's. Since this time PBL has been used in medical, engineering and education faculties to support pre-service students in the acquisition of skills and content relevant to their professions, This paper explores pre-service teachers' perceptions of a unit of study conducted using the PBL approach. The paper explores the frustrations they experienced in participating in the unit as well as noting the perceived benefits for the students. The paper indicates that the students' frustrations should be acknowledged and steps taken to alleviate these in order to support students working within a PBL scenario. Opportunity for further research in this area is also described.

EDW04583 [Paper]  ®
A nexus of relations of power in students as researchers approaches

Jan Edwards, University of South Australia

This paper draws on research from my PhD study that examined the subjectivities of poor and working class young women and girls and Australian government Mutual Obligations policies. Previous accounts of research approaches involving young people acting as researchers often fail to raise issues of power outside of relations within the research group itself. In the approach developed for my PhD study, young people as researchers were invited to examine a topic of social-political importance, therefore, power was central to the conceptualisation of my approach. In this paper, I adopt a Foucaultian notion of power and offer my conceptualisation as a 'nexus of relations of power in students as researchers approaches'. In so doing I describe and discuss the complex, intersections between these forms of power.

EVA04264   [Paper]
Risky doctorates?

Terry Evans, Deakin University

This paper arises from work being undertaken by the presenter with Erica McWilliam, Peter Taylor and Alan Lawson. It also draws on lengthy experience in the management of doctoral studies. The management of doctoral studies in Australian universities is increasingly becoming configured as the management and minimisation the risks of undesirable outcomes that may adversely affect the universities. This paper considers some implications of this trend in the context of the nature of riskiness in research and, therefore, research education, and also in terms of theories of risk and risk society.

EVA04911 [Paper]
Early PhD Australian PhD Theses

Terry Evans and Karen Tregenza, Deakin University

The first PhDs in Australia were awarded in the late 1940s and 1950s. This paper reports on some research conducted by the authors which involved reviewing early PhD theses from The University of Melbourne, University of Queensland and The University of Sydney. The paper discusses the topics and features of these early PhDs and considers these in terms of the evolution of PhDs in Australian universities. The presentation will include photographic images of a selection of early theses to illustrat their form, layout and substance.

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FAI04792   [Paper]
Supporting students as developing readers and writers

Gavin Fairbairn, Liverpool Hope University College

In this paper I want to talk about supporting students as developing academic authors. However, I shall begin by saying a little in a more general way, about support for students as individuals, arguing that however strange it sounds, it is best to offer such support in a group. Next I shall argue for my belief that developing as a writer inevitably involves developing better skills as a reader.

Though we might expect that once they leave school most students will be competent readers, in fact most of them still have a long way to go. For example, most can benefit from help in developing approaches to reading that allow them to make the best possible use of the reading they undertake; even more importantly, most can benefit, also, from learning to read their own work better.

Finally, and making use of everything I have already said, I will argue that shared 'live editing' of texts is the best way of helping anyone - both students and people like us, to develop their writing skills. I will explain why I believe this and briefly describe one way of going about it.

FAI04793   [Paper]
Developing academic storytelling

Gavin Fairbairn, Liverpool Hope University College

Many academics (in some disciplines at least it seems most) seem to take a pride in making their work difficult to the point at which it seems almost devoid of meaning, rather than on communicating their ideas. They write in dense, difficult to decipher prose, surrounding themselves with an aura of intellectual prowess and erudition, choosing their words carefully, using big ones where small ones would do, and difficult words where possible, rather than where necessary. As a result many journals are full to the brim of pseudo intellectual gibberish, and academics whose bread and butter depends upon publishing in such journals often end up embracing the myth that such writing is not only what is required, but also that it is actually worthwhile.

I shall argue that the time has come for those who believe that communication is what matters in academic writing, to speak out against self important and elitist style that is currently fashionable. In its place I shall argue that we should substitute a storytelling approach, illustrating what I mean by use of examples drawn from academic authors in a wide range of fields who manage to communicate easily and elegantly, whatever their topic.

FAN04091   [Paper]
Psychological contract and organizational fairness: Their impact on teachers attitudinal outcomes and teaching performances

Aidong Zhang and Yongqing Fang, Nanyang Technological University

Psychological contracts are playing an increasing role in the contemporary employment relationships and have become a much-researched topic in management literature. However, studies on psychological contract in school context are still rare. This project intended to address this deficiency.

First, it assessed the state of teachers' psychological contract, including their perceived school's obligations (explicit or implicit promises) and perceived school fulfillment of these promises. Then the extent of perceived psychological contract fulfillment (over-fulfillment or under-fulfillment) was evaluated. Next, the impact of these fulfillment discrepancies was probed. Two categories of consequence variables were examined, including attitudinal factors (e.g., organizational fairness, supervisor satisfaction, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment) and teaching performance.

One hundred and sixty-four teachers in primary and middle schools of Singapore responded to a questionnaire survey. The results showed that psychological contract fulfilment predicted organization fairness (b=.475, p<.001), which, in turn, predicted supervision satisfaction (b=.519, p<.001) and job satisfaction (b=.591, p<.001). In addition, organizational commitment was predicted by job satisfaction (b=.567, p<.001) and organizational fairness (b=.593, p<.001). Finally, teaching performance was predicted by organizational commitment (b=.417, p<.001).

The results suggested important directions for managerial efforts in meeting the challenges in improving teaching performance. Among the factors, proper handling of the psychological contract with teachers should take a high priority by school administration. In the case where a psychological contract cannot be fully fulfilled due to various internal and external constrains, much effort was needed in communicating with the teaching staff and seeking their understanding and support.

FAR04593 [Paper]
Place, space, and the problem of who knows what, in global knowledge economies

Leslie Farrell, Monash University

A curious feature of both public and academic debates around knowledge economies is how rarely education research is called on to help understand the production and diffusion of 'working knowledge'. As educational researchers, we, too, seem to struggle to get a grip on what is really meant by 'knowledge' when it is paired with 'global economy' or what contribution we might make to the debate. This paper draws on original case studies of knowledge production and diffusion in Australian workplaces integrated into global knowledge economies, and on case studies conducted in other disciplinary fields. It starts from the position that global knowledge production is like other social phenomena in that it is produced, moment by moment, in the micro-processes of people's everyday lives. It calls on Soja's work on place to begin develop a framework for understanding the ways that workers in local workplaces are embedded in a hierarchy of spatial scales from local to global, and Castells work on space to explore the way local workplaces are integrated into technologically mediated global workspaces. These frameworks raise possibilities for understanding what people do when they make and use knowledge at work, but they raise challenging methodological issues for researchers.

FAR04928   [Paper]
Working through ICTs in hybrid learning spaces

Lesley Farrell and Bernard Holkner, Monash University

This paper is concerned with the ways that learning and teaching are conceptualised in a local site of a global corporation. Our study focuses on 3 people who constitute a work group, one located in Melbourne and two located at the Sydney office. The group constructs its role as the mediation of highly technical knowledge across and between local and global networks of communication within and external to the organisation. PaceSetters is a global company concerned with the design, development and support of health technology products. It operates with a network of distribution and marketing facilities spanning all continents. In this work, we focus on the metaphors people use to construct themselves as learners, teachers and knowledge producers, individually and in intersecting communities of practice. We pay attention to specific problems in the integration of ICTs into these new learning spaces and to the ways in which conflicts are played out in new workplace learning contexts.

FER04656   [Paper]  ®
The design of an on-line classroom simulation to enhance the decision making skills of beginning teachers

Brian Ferry, University of Wollongong

This paper describes the design of a simulation in teacher education. The simulation allows the user to take on the role of the teacher of a simulated Kindergarten classroom (children whose ages range from 5 to 6 years). As the simulation runs, the user is required to make many decisions about structuring the lesson, classroom management, and responses to individual students. The user can monitor and track the progress of three targeted students throughout the course of the simulation. Embedded tools serve as a "decision assistant" and a "thinking space" are used at decisive points in order to plan and justify new decisions, and to reflect upon the consequences of previous decisions. Other supports include links to: textbooks; syllabus documents; in-service materials; sample artefacts collected from schools and classrooms; and other annotated on-line teaching resources. The initial prototype of the simulation will be presented at the conference.

FIE04560   [Paper]  ®
Productive Pedagogies and discipline: The challenge of aligning teaching and behaviour management

Barry Fields, University of Southern Queensland

Queensland has led the way in recent years in policy development and school reform. The Productive Pedagogies construct (Gore, Griffiths & Ladwig, 2001) has been particularly powerful and influential in defining what schools should be aiming to achieve in teaching and learning. Interestingly, the Productive Pedagogies has as much to say about behaviour management as to does about teaching. This paper explores (1) the direction given to teachers, through the Productive Pedagogies, about their role in the classroom and how they should approach the task of teaching and managing student behaviour and (2) the difficulties that many teachers are experiencing in aligning their approach to behaviour management with current views about teaching and learning. As the paradigm shift in teaching and learning gradually moves from instrumentalist to constructivist views on teaching, learning and behaviour and from teacher direction to student self-direction, traditional managerial views of behaviour management are at risk of being seen as out of step with the direction that schools are being encouraged to head in. Where this incompatibility exists students are sent mixed messages about the education process and the extent to which teachers really belief that the goals of self-direction of learning and self-regulation of behaviour are legitimate.

FIT041031   [Paper]
The ebb and flow of classroom literacy

Phil Fitzsimmons, University of Wollongong

This interactive session explores how teachers might bring together practices and contexts involved in literacy in coherent, effective and engaging classroom programs. This paper examines the importance of articulating underlying beliefs and values about literacy, how it is learned and how it might be best taught. The ebb and flow of classroom life is discussed in the context of classroom organization and instructional cycles that allow for focus on goals at hand while accommodating children's own experiences as key resources for classroom learning. Based on a Social Model of Reading and Writing (Harris, McKenzie, Fitzsimmons & Turbill, 2001, 2003), this presentation will discuss a range of actual classroom examples from middle and upper Primary years, to demonstrate and exemplify effective classroom practices. These practices will be further discussed and workshopped as classroom activities, along with guiding principles for teachers to explore in their own classrooms.

FIT04868   [Paper]  ®
Profiling teachers' integration of ICT into professional practice

Noeline Fitzallen, University of Tasmania

The increasing availability of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) presents teachers with exciting opportunities to transform pedagogical practices. The demand on teachers to integrate ICT into their teaching and learning programs is high and places additional pressures on teachers in an already challenging profession. First and foremost, teachers have to increase their own ICT skills and then have to change elements of their practice to utilise ICT with their students. This report describes a part of a study that focuses on the outcomes of ICT professional development completed by teaching staff at a suburban high school. The case of one particular teacher demonstrates that the acquisition of ICT skills does not necessarily translate to the adoption of transformative pedagogical practices, and may not influence teachers' attitudes and perceptions of student use of ICT. The study trialled a modified profiling instrument for providing information about professional practice and informing professional development needs. The profiling instrument played a significant role in providing an extensive picture of teaching practice by triangulating data collected from a teacher portfolio. The results suggest there is a need to explore other methods of measuring the integration of ICT. Implications of this study include suggestions for designing future professional development programs.

FLA04900   [Paper]
Developing Activity Theory for the learning of International students in Australia

Rick Flavell, Taylor's College

International students are an important and growing part of the Australian educational landscape both at secondary and tertiary level. These students engage in a variety of learning activities. This paper combines two studies of international students; one of post-graduate students writing an essay; the other of final year secondary students solving a mathematics problem. A version of Activity Theory is used to combine these micro level activities with the macro issues involved for international students studying in Australia, including assessment, institutional, cultural and social factors. Two aspects are highlighted. First, an iterative application of Engestrom's(1997) model of Activity Theory suggests that a minor modification of the theory may be constructive in educational contexts. Second, such an approach clarifies a number of systemic tensions arising from international students studying in Australia.

FOR041047   [Paper]  ®
Listening in the mathematics working relationship of two high-school students

Patricia Forster, Edith Cowan University

This paper presents an inquiry into listening by two senior (Year 11) high-school students, as they worked together, one-to-one. It is based on classroom observations and audio-recordings of the students' conversations over ten lessons. Listening is inferred for repeated patterns of interaction. Paired listening acts where the students evidenced shared understanding, or disagreed, or where one student sought to understand the other are described. Inquiry indicated the latter type of listening was prevalent. Learning outcomes associated with the different modes of listening and implications for teaching practice are identified.

FOR04246   [Paper]
The use of new technologies amongst minors at the Balearic Islands: Reflections and considerations

Ruben Comas Forgas, Universitat des Islas Baleares, Mallorca, Spain

This paper is based on a qualitative research study carried out by the Department of Education at Balearic Islands University during the year 2004. The paper focuses on the way minors of the Balearic Islands use new technologies (either static and mobile technologies): what they use internet for; where do they connect to the internet from; the use of mobile phone; the way they interact on cyberspace with other internet-surfers; dangers and risks perceived by them. The results presented will be the basis of a second phase of the research based on quantitative methods that is due to start by the end of 2004.

FOR04374   [Paper]
Peer bullying

Arne Forsman, Lules University of Technology

Conventions of Human Rights, School Law, Curriculums, Occupational Safety and Health Act provide students safe learning conditions in school. However, between 6 - 15 percent of students in the Swedish compulsory school are involved in peer bullying, as victims or perpetrators or both and severe shortcomings in methods to act against these disparities are exposed. Figures differ due to different definitions of bullying and investigation methods. Within this paper I will illuminate and discuss the schools' action plans against bullying. Municipalities', school districts' and local schools' action plans to prevent and take measures against peer bullying lack quality and are unsatisfactorily implemented in the schools' daily life. Deficiences in registration of cases of bullying and uncertainities about the concept are frequent. Insufficient knowledge in theories about the nature and underlying mechanisms of bullying are other explanations of schools' failure to handle peer violations professionally. Further accounts are lack of civil courage to interfere, victims' difficulties to make their voices heard and plead their causes. Increased media attention and anti-bullying organisations'work have created great awareness of bullying. Effects of stronger legislation, competence education for school leaders and staff, new, specific courses about bullying in teacher education are little evaluated.

FOR04866   [Paper]  ®
Teachers and computer use for secondary mathematics teaching: Encouraging and inhibiting factors

Helen Forgasz, Monash University

Included in contemporary mathematics curricula is the expectation that mathematics teachers will use technology - computers and calculators - in their classrooms. It is widely believed in educational circles and in society at large that students' learning will be enhanced by engaging with these technologies. For children to use computers for mathematics learning, their teachers must want and be enabled to do so. In this paper, the factors identified as encouraging or inhibiting computer use in secondary mathematics classrooms are reported. Data were gathered from a large sample of Victorian teachers, surveyed twice over a three-year period. The sets of encouraging and discouraging factors were similar - that is, the presence or absence of particular factors appears to make a difference. It was disturbing to note that the identified factors differed little from those reported over a decade ago. They were also consistent with those identified by teachers elsewhere in the world and across various discipline areas. The findings send strong messages to those empowered to make a difference. Whether overcoming the inhibitors will result in greater use of computers for mathematics learning and whether computer use will make a difference to students' learning are issues still requiring evidential support.

FOR04964   [Paper]
The NSW DET's Quality Teaching Framework and the realities of a special education classroom

Leanna Formosa and Rose Dixon, University of Wollongong

In May 2003, the NSW Department of Education and Training introduced the Quality Teaching Framework to NSW public schools for discussion and possible implementation. Principals and teachers were encouraged to use the framework for the twofold purpose of improving both teaching practice and student learning. While versions of the framework have been successfully used in USA and Australia, there is a paucity of research which reports on its merit, worth, or value for teachers of children with moderate intellectual disabilities. The aim of this study is to explore the degree of congruence and/or "fit" between the Quality Teaching Framework and the ebb and flow of the day to day realities which a teacher of a class of moderately intellectually disabled children has to deal with. The study was located within the naturalistic paradigm of inquiry, and employed a case-study methodology. Data was collected through qualitative methods including on-going, semi-structured interviews with the teacher, classroom observations recorded as field notes and document analysis. The study provides insights into the value (or otherwise) of the NSW DET's Quality Teaching Framework for teachers of the moderately intellectually disabled especially from the perspective of the classroom teacher dealing with the day to day realities of teaching these children.

FRE041066   [Paper]
Instructional visibility: Principals facilitating in an age of accountability

Beverley Freedman York University

Globally, education faces competing interests and competing agendas:standards-based education, teacher testing, high-stakes assessments, and increasing parental expectations as well as decentralization, distributed leadership, and the development of learning teams. These competing interests and agendas, in turn, lead to competing policies that set up tensions in which schools and school systems must operate. The resulting pressures on school-based administrators and staff are enormous and have led to the reframing of the role of principal. In Ontario Canada, the accountability agenda highlighted the principal's role of instructional facilitator assisting teachers to be more effective with their teaching/learning practice. This resulted in the creation of Ministry of Education training for principals in strategies that facilitate instructional leadership. The training was and is viewed as one way of ensuring the effective implementation of Ministry curriculum initiatives, focused on increasing student achievement in math and reading, in grades one through three. The paper will explore current tensions experienced by Ontario principals, research-informed aspects of instructional leadership that were grounded in the resource package, the collaborative process used in its development and roll-out, and resulting feedback. In addition, selected training materials from the package will be shared with participants in the session.

FUN04606   [Paper]  ®
Developing and sustaining education programs that matter for remote communities

Robert Funnell, Griffith University and Tracy Tully, Charleville State High School

Much has been made about the sustainability of youth and other educational policy beyond the initial period of government program funding. Problems of sustainability are most at issue in country towns and districts which are "rural and remote", or distant from coastal cities and regional towns. In this paper we argue that problems of keeping policy and programs alive should be seen in the conditions in which they have to be conceived and set in place. Included here are: the social conditions in which a policy and ways to implement it are accepted as a 'common wisdom'; and, the match or mismatch they have with the economic and social conditions across urban and rural locations. Brief case studies, based on demographic information about three rural towns, are then used to document difficulties for policy implementation that matters for people in a rural and remote community. Much of the analysis is based on Sher and Sher's (1994) reference to making policy "as if rural people and communities really mattered". This is revisited to examine the different relations between the three rural transition programs and the towns they serve.

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GAL041026   [Paper]
From Dr Seuss to Pokemon. A case study of three ten-year old boys' alternate literacy interests

Chloe Gallagher, University of Wollongong

Since the mid nineties escalating media attention has placed boys on centre stage for under achieving, focusing on their comparatively low results vis-a-vis girls. The New South Wales Department of Education and Training routinely reports statistics to support the perception that boys' are not achieving as well as they should. This problem is not unique to Australia. Most western democracies report similar concerns. While there is evidence of a gendered literacy gap, there seems to be a paucity of research pertaining to boys' interests and motivations. Especially with respect to the multiplicity of literacies. At a time when both boys and girls need to become highly, critically literate individuals it seems that their interest in effective use of traditional book-based literacy and media are declining. This paper explores the nature of boys' out-of-school literacy engagements and motivations. Ultimately, the study aims to analyse the degree of congruence between boys' out-of-school engagement(s) with alternate literacies, and the in school literacy curriculum they experience. Specifically, this paper explores the alternate literacy interests of three 10-year old boys. While small in scope, it provides insights, into these boys' literacy practices and interests, their families' contribution to these practices and the school literacy curriculum they experience.

GAL041082   [Paper]
A new story for quality teaching and teacher learning: Talking across conceptual and contextual boundaries

Elizabeth Murphy and Trevor Gale, Monash University

Quality teaching and teacher learning are centre stage on the current Australian schooling agenda. In the mix is a preoccupation with issues of professional standards and accountability, although there is some recognition of new times ushered in by rapidly changing economic, social and cultural conditions. Conversations in policy documents that champion these matters are informed by various discourses of human, social and cultural capital. However proposals to address these issues require that attention also be paid to the twin realities of power/knowledge positions and stances that enable practitioners to address future challenges. In short, border crossing approaches that link conceptual and contextual fields are required to assist learners to ask questions of themselves and others in order to build capacities to deal with new futures. Learners positioned in this way build capacities to shape new narratives that promote the development of new citizens and new social fields.

GAR04590   [Paper]  ®
Researching practice as a teacher educator

Dawn Garbett, Auckland College of Education

This is a paper of two halves. In it, I outline student teachers' responses to the introduction of a new collaborative assessment task intended to foster motivation and increase understanding in teaching and learning subject content knowledge in science. The rationale for implementing the new assessment strategy is considered. The research reported includes a pilot study carried out in 2003 and preliminary findings from a questionnaire to ascertain background information about students' subject confidence and competence in 2004.

The second aspect of the paper highlights how self-study has been invaluable in reframing my own pedagogical beliefs and has been the impetus for introducing changes to the assessment strategy in this teacher education programme. Ultimately, self-study in teacher education practices seeks to improve the education that our graduates provide for the students in their classrooms. The tensions that the new strategy creates for the lecturing staff are discussed. In scaffolding the students to be more actively engaged in teaching and learning with their peers, the lecturers' role may need to be re-examined.

GEO041041   [Paper]  ®
Pre-service early childhood teachers' effectiveness in facilitating children's learning of concepts in multiple contexts: Self efficacy and teacher preparedness

Deborah Geoghegan and Noel Geoghegan, University of Southern Queensland

The Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) focuses on pedagogy that emphasizes children's ability to recognize concepts in multiple contexts. While pre-service teachers at USQ are assessed in many ways to determine their ability to create and facilitate high quality learning appropriate to syllabus requirements and children's needs, a detailed assessment of pre-service teacher's success in implementing learning experiences that facilitate children's capacity to recognize concepts in multiple contexts does not typically occur. There is very little research that addresses the extent to which pre-service teachers understand this pedagogical paradigm or implement it in a critical way. Without research-based evidence providers of pre-service teaching programs are unable to make strategic decisions in terms of course improvements, course content and structure of professional experience tasks. The research reported in this paper will provide information crucial to improving undergraduate early childhood pre-service teaching programs and graduate effectiveness. Pre-service teacher's feelings of preparedness, confidence to achieve teaching goals, related student motivation and the impact of self efficacy on praxis will be developed in this paper.

GIL04619   [Paper]
Up the country or down in the city? Working with curriculum and young people's imagined Australias

Judith Gill and Sue Howard, University of South Australia

Data drawn from our ongoing study of the ways in which upper primary school students think about Australia have provided a rich source of information about their current attitudes to themselves, to Australia and the wider world. While those who live outside the major cities avidly share in contemporary versions of the bush idyll familiar from early twentieth century literature and art, the young city dwellers, while also convinced of the positive features of their lives in this country, prefer to rationalise their privileged position against the 'others' who live in strife torn countries amid the constant danger of war and repression. Having established that the concept of Australia varies markedly between young people who live 'in the country' as opposed to the majority of urban dwellers, in this paper we propose that significant features of their schooling experience do little to counteract these divided views. Following Nussbaum (1996), Abovitz (2002), Feinberg (1996), the paper urges a reassessment of the need for a newstyle civics education and for a new pedagogy involving elements from history and social science in order to generate more appropriate recognition in young people of the place of Australia and Australians in the increasingly globalising world.

GOD04313   [Paper]
The use of linguistic space by boys and girls in secondary small group-discussions: Whose talk dominates?

Sally Godinho, The University of Melbourne

Research evidence indicates that in many instances girls are better equipped to meet the verbal reasoning requirements and general literacy demands of school curricula because their social lives revolve around verbal discussion and communication. By contrast, boys' socialization experiences are more likely to revolve around play. Thus boys are often less inclined to communicate and explore their feelings and ideas through talk, and appear less competent in verbal reasoning skills. This paper, which is a work in progress, discusses the preliminary findings of a research project funded by an Early Researcher Grant from the University of Melbourne to explore gender differences in the ways that boys and girls in a range of secondary classrooms engage in small-group discussions. The study builds on an earlier research project in primary schools that showed while boys dominated the talk, girls offered more reflective and considered responses to discussion questions. The research also revealed that specific strategies used by teachers to engage students in discussion influenced the boys' level of engagement. Video-clips from small-group discussions, teacher interviews and student interviews will be used to support the presentation of the study's emergent findings.

GOO04319   [Paper]
Teachers' use of technology in secondary school mathematics classrooms

Merrilyn Goos and Anne Bennison, The University of Queensland

For some time, education researchers and curriculum authorities have claimed that mathematics learning will be transformed by the availability of technological resources such as computers and graphics calculators. These tools can foster mathematical conjecturing, justification, and generalisation by enabling fast, accurate computation, collection and analysis of real world data, and exploration of multiple representations. As every Australian State and Territory has now developed secondary school mathematics syllabuses and assessment regimes that mandate the use of computers and/or graphics calculators, research is needed to examine the nature and extent of teachers' actual use of these technologies and identify factors that support or inhibit effective integration of technology into mathematics classroom practice. This paper reports on a state wide survey of Queensland secondary school mathematics teachers that formed part of a larger project investigating pedagogical practices and beliefs related to use of technology in mathematics education. We explore relationships between teachers' use of computers and graphics calculators and a range of factors that may influence uptake and implementation, including: school characteristics, teacher qualifications and experience, previous experience and confidence in using technology, beliefs about the role of technology in mathematics learning, access to hardware, software and teaching materials, and professional development opportunities.

GOR04696     [Paper]
The Brave and the Bold: researching the professional lives of early career teachers
Imagine if ... the impact of quality teaching on the socialisation of early career teachers

Cheryl Williams, Jennifer Gore and Sharon Cooper, The University of Newcastle

This paper discusses theoretical and empirical foundations for a focus on pedagogy during teacher induction. Our research project for exploring this possibility, with the working title of 'the impact of quality teaching on the socialisation of early career teachers' is outlined. This study follows a group of teachers who received strong grounding in 'productive pedagogy' during their teacher education program. During this first year of employment as teachers, NSW public schools have adopted a version of productive pedagogy, 'Quality teaching', as a long term strategic priority. Through observations and semi-structured interviews, the study will explore the potential impact of Quality teaching, as a framework both in teacher education and in schools, particularly during the process of induction to professional practice. Our research reveals that while there is a neglect of pedagogy during their induction period, a substantive understanding of quality teaching has assisted a small group of early career teachers to sustain what they have learnt about 'teaching better' as they begin their teaching practice in schools.

GOR04814   [Paper]
Professional learning, pedagogical improvement, and the circulation of power

Jennifer Gore and James Ladwig, The University of Newcastle and Bruce King, University of Wisconsin

In this paper we outline key theoretical concerns relating to the professional learning interests of the SIPA study. In particular, we draw on the release of the NSW model of pedagogy, Quality Teaching, as an opportunity to examine issues of power in professional learning and school reform agendas. In this context, we explore such issues as (1) the operation of the Quality Teaching framework as a regime of truth, (2) discourses surrounding schools' implementation of the Quality Teaching framework, and (3) the circulation of power as teachers engage with the Quality Teaching framework. Working hypotheses are posited and some preliminary data are analysed in relation to these questions.

We also consider implications of this specific case (Quality Teaching and SIPA) for teacher professional learning in general. In so doing, we offer some preliminary ideas on how commonly accepted principles of professional development both produce and constrain teacher learning and impact on the accomplishment of reform goals including, in this case, the substantial goals for pedagogical improvement that underpin the Quality Teaching framework.

GOU04389    [Paper]
Transnational curriculum inquiry: Building postcolonialist constituencies and solidarities

Noel Gough and Evelyn Johnson, Deakin University

This paper explores theoretical and practical possibilities for transnational curriculum inquiry, with particular reference to building international and intercultural solidarities in postcolonialist curriculum work predicated on shared responsibilities rather than shared identities. We argue that building such solidarities requires critical rearticulations of the languages in which curriculum work is performed and represented, so that curriculum studies within a global knowledge economy does not merely assimilate national (local) curriculum discourses and practices into an imperial (global) archive. We draw on the initial stages of our research on internationalisation, inclusivity and innovative knowledge work one aspect of which focuses on the possibilities of performing inclusive knowledge work in transnational virtual spaces. This research includes studies of the formation of new (and, we hope, more inclusive) transnational scholarly communities and constituencies, and of strategies to improve modes of intercultural communication that facilitate transnational knowledge work. Our discussion of these arguments and issues will be situated, in part, in the practicalities of establishing Transnational Curriculum Inquiry (TCI), an electronic open-access journal that is both a site for transnational scholarly conversations and a site for inquiry into the ways that electronic publishing procedures produce opportunities and/or constraints for inclusive knowledge work and postcolonialist curriculum inquiry.

GRA04338   [Paper]
Excavating processes of legitimised exclusion through a Foucaultian genealogy

Linda Graham, University of Wollongong

This paper will be focusing on the process by which Education Queensland determines the legitimate beneficiaries of 'special needs' funding, provision of resources and compassionate pedagogy through an explicit identification system or 'Ascertainment' process.

'Need' that does not meet the criteria for ascertainment, such as a learning disability or difficulty, is then 'appraised' for the less intensive, and less costly process of learning support. Interestingly, in neither process is there a mention of support for one particular, albeit large group of children identified by Education Queensland as 'behaviourally disordered'. Instead, the emphasis is on 'management' and support is reserved for the teacher or 'case manager'.

Through the retrieval and analysis of Education Queensland documents, procedures and policy this genealogical 'excavation' aims to elucidate the apparent differences of nuance in the perception and subsequent treatment of children who display certain characteristics. Those children described as "behaviourally disordered" through their discursive categorisation, by way of their possession of 'attentional problems', 'restlessness', or 'distractibility', represent the educational population that I contend is not benefiting from the tenets of 'inclusivity', that is, inclusivity as perceived by Education Queensland. In turn, this process functions as a 'discursive, dividing practice', which serves to legitimise the exclusion of these children from the opportunities that are ostensibly provided by inclusive education.

GRA04388   [Paper]  ®
The positioning of practitioners in Vocational Education and Training research

Lauri Grace, Deakin University

What is the status and role of research in VET reform? How are the views of practitioners positioned in VET research and reform? What access do VET practitioners have to research that empowers them to critique current policy and practice? This paper explores these questions drawing on literature and also on my experience as a VET practitioner and researcher. The national VET research strategy supports a substantial research effort to inform policy and practice. However, in a complex and unstable VET environment, funded research focuses on implementation, rather than critique, of current directions. I argue that the complexity of the VET system gives rise to new research problems, and that VET practitioners have knowledge and insight to offer in exploring these problems. But I question the extent to which current VET consultation and research processes incorporate the views of practitioners. I illustrate these issues by providing a brief overview of my PhD research project (a work in progress), which explores the proposition that the language form typically used in official national VET texts is representative of, and constructive in, unequal power relationships.

GRA04628   [Paper]
The male primary teacher: A threatened species?

Pat Grant, University of South Australia

Current concerns as expressed by politicians and the media about the lack of male teachers in primary schools today can be understood historically as a continuing concern of governments and the profession back to the time of colonial settlement in Australia. This paper is an historical investigation of how in one Australian state, South Australia, the primary teaching profession came to be dominated by females. This qualitative historical study is informed by Michel Foucault's genealogical work. Data includes official documents and oral histories about teacher recruitment and teacher education over the 168 years of education in South Australia. Analysis of the discourses and practices in these accounts will help to show how the subject (the primary teacher) has been shaped and produced as a result of particular historical practices.

GRE041038   [Paper]
Redefining the urban-rural divide

Mike Grenfell, Charles Darwin University

How do practising teachers and educators enrolled in a Master of Education program view the urban-rural divide in Australia and elsewhere? Using postings to a Discussion Board this paper looks at teacher's awareness of social justice and equity issues as they affect educational provision in the rustbelt areas of the cities and amongst communities in rural and remote areas of Australia. After situating themselves on the divide, participants then engage in memory work and relate two stories of city or country life which are subsequently deconstructed by other members of the group. The paper seeks to identify changes in beliefs and understandings during the period spent on-line; and how teachers and educators believe the issues identified can be addressed.

GRE04828   [Paper]  ®
Teacher Research: The benefits and the pitfalls

Robyn Gregson, University of Western Sydney

Teacher-research has been proposed as a productive method for teachers to gain professional development while exploring issues in their classroom. This example of teacher-research, using an action research framework, presents a self-reflective study of a teacher working with Year 8 science students to help them improve their ability to write about their understanding of science. While the students' writing was the primary focus of the study, as part of a doctoral thesis, what became apparent were the changes in role that the teacher had throughout the study. There were shifts from being a classroom teacher to a teacher-researcher and back again with ramifications for all participants as a result of these changes.

The findings from this study confirm that teacher-research is often messy with the outcomes of the research not always immediately obvious due the nature of the projects, and that the data and responses to them must be collected, collated and reviewed on top of the teacher's normal teaching duties. Overall the findings of this study demonstrate how complex and yet how powerful teacher-research is in the classroom and highlight the need for teachers to be aware of the potential that researching their own pedagogy has in influencing student learning and motivation, pedagogy and assessment practices.

GRO041042   [Paper]
Using activity theory in researching young children's use of calculators

Susie Groves and Joyce Dale, Deakin University

Constructivist and socio-cultural perspectives in mathematics education highlight the crucial role that activity plays in mathematical development and learning. Activity theory provides a socio-cultural lens to help analyse human behaviour, including that which occurs in classrooms. It provides a framework for co-ordinating constructivist and socio-cultural perspectives in mathematics learning. In this paper, we adopt Cole and Engeström's (1993) model of activity theory to examine the mediation offered by the calculator as a tool for creating and supporting learning processes of young children in the social environment of their classroom. By adopting this framework, data on young children's learning outcomes in number, when given free access to calculators, can be examined not only in terms of the mediating role of the calculator, but also within the broader context of the classroom community, the teachers' beliefs and intentions, and the classroom norms and the division of labour. Use of this model in a post hoc situation suggests that activity theory can play a significant role in the planning of future classroom research.

GRU04228   [Paper]
Autophenomenography? Alternative uses of autographically based research

Maree Gruppetta, University of Western Sydney

There has been an increase in autobiographical based research techniques recently, particularly those involving personal narratives. Autoethnography is usually the term of choice for studies connecting the personal to the cultural (Ellis & Bochner, 2000). However, other forms of autobiographical research are open to investigation. For instance, if one were to study a phenomenon rather than a 'cultural place' it would be autophenomenographical rather than autoethnographical. The use of the author as subject establishes researcher bias unequivocally. The author as first participant in a study becomes not only the key informant of their own experience but also extends empathy to the experiences of the other participants, increasing the in-depth nature of the study. This paper examines alternative uses of autobiographical study, passing beyond the basic necessity of establishing a researcher's bias.

GUL04449   [Paper]
Race against space: Educational policy change and race in the inner city

Kalervo Gulson, Macquarie University

In this paper I explore the intersection of space, place, race and educational policy change in cities. I propose a framework for a spatial approach to educational policy analysis that explicitly links space, policy and discourse. This framework is applied to a study of educational policy change in inner Sydney and London. Data was generated from interviews, relevant policy documents, photographs and field observations.

The Building the Future policy initiative in Sydney and the Excellence in Cities partnership program in London are seen as elements of transnational policy making that both address, and exacerbate, tensions between disadvantaged populations, and processes of urban renewal. As such, this paper emphasises the relationship between urban renewal and education in neo-liberal states, and reveals valuable insights into the role of place and race in schooling. Place, imbued with race and class discourses, is positioned as an enabling and disabling device in the construction of student aspiration and achievement in inner city schooling.

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HAC04774   [Paper]
The formation of inexperienced Religious Education teachers during a period of curriculum change

Chris Hackett, University of Notre Dame Australia

A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted in Catholic schools of Perth and its environs. From 1998 to 1999, newly appointed secondary Religious Education teachers were participants in the study. In the first interview they were asked to comment on their experiences of implementing a new draft RE program in Catholic schools in Western Australia. What emerged were insights into the nature and depth of formation these teachers experienced as they introduced the new Units of Work.

Teachers new to the teaching of Religious Education (RE) were surveyed and interviewed, and re-interviewed eighteen months later. The teachers were invited to relate their experiences and perceptions of implementing the curriculum materials, the advised teaching approaches and understandings of the theological and pedagogical principles underlying the new Units. In the second interview, teachers were invited to reflect upon their professional and personal growth.

Using qualitative analysis techniques such as NUD*IST, findings emerged about the importance of the teachers own personal, spiritual and faith formation during this period. Teachers felt passionate about why they were teaching RE and implemented the Units with enthusiasm. They were initially optimistic about the future of their RE teaching but were then confronted with challenges to their personal, spiritual and faith formation. Most teachers continued to look forward to teaching RE, while some were relieved when they had the opportunity to discontinue. These findings suggest that there is a need to consider how these teachers can be professionally and personally supported as they face the crisis of 'sustainability or exhaustion' in their RE teaching lives.

HAJ04140   [Paper]
Bringing teachers to centre stage: Relating to teachers' concerns of mathematics education in primary schools

Hajah Zaitun Haji Taha, Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Placing the focus upon teachers serves to highlight the current scene in the classroom and bring our teachers to the centre stage. Pupils learning outcomes, both cognitive and affective, are the yardsticks used to measure the effectiveness of the curriculum and the teachers teaching. Of the various outcome measures, the one that is of greatest interest is the result of the public examinations. The non-government schools in Brunei Darussalam often show better results in these examinations compared to the government schools and because of this, the teachers in non-government schools are often cited as "better teachers" compared to government schools by the Ministry of Education. This research investigated the concerns in mathematics education of teachers, from government and non - government schools. The areas investigated are factors affecting teachers' concerns of students' learning and achievement in mathematics; teachers' teaching skills; teachers' content knowledge; facilities and mathematics syllabus; demands of teaching and teachers' job satisfaction.

HAL04850   [Paper]
Authentic assessment and productive pedagogies in pre-service teacher education

Janice Hall, University of Western Sydney

The core business of teaching is pedagogy and yet learning without engagement is fruitless. If learning is to be relevant and therefore durable, then assessment must be real and authentic. Thus, grappling with the tensions between accountability, economic rationalism and authentic assessment in the University setting is challenging and ongoing.

The University of Western Sydney offers a one year Graduate Entry Bachelor of Teaching in both Primary and Secondary. Within these courses there is a core pedagogy subject within which there are two items of assessment: Peer Teaching and Portfolios. Both have been running for 5 years now with longitudinal and qualitative data to support the outcomes. Both are conducted in the context of the attributes of a desirable graduate for the profession of teaching.

This paper will therefore outline the processes used and the pedagogical implications for teaching and learning in pre-service teacher education. It will report on the outcomes of the research with specific reference to anecdotes, questionnaires, feedback sheets and journal data. Teacher narratives will also be documented as they describe 'authentic' and 'real' in their perceptions of the assessment.

HAN04102   [Paper]
Group work in schools: The role of self construal in motivational processes in friendship and acquaintance groups

JosT Hanham and John McCormick, University of New South Wales

Knowledge of the relationships between cognitive and motivational processes in school group learning contexts, is limited. This study tested a theoretical framework describing relationships argued to be salient to students' motivation to learn in friendship and acquaintance groups in secondary school settings. The sample consisted of 188 students from two independent schools in the Sydney Metropolitan area. Analysis was carried out using exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis to identify key predictors and moderation effects. Results suggested that self-efficacy for group work, self-interdependence and self-independence are important cognitive factors related to students' tendencies to cooperate with their classmates in both friendship and acquaintance groups. This research may provide researchers with a deeper understanding of cognitive factors that may influence student motivation in group learning environments in schools.

HAN04209   [Paper]
Power-sharing in science classrooms: Utilising CDA for research in science education

Mary Hanrahan, Queensland University of Technology

In this paper I begin by proposing a cross-disciplinary model for enhancing access to science literacy for a diverse range of students at the junior secondary school. My goal is to present a new discourse-oriented perspective on the problem of overwhelming alienation from science, which, as indicated in major national reports, still tends to persist at this level in spite of "science for all" policies in most countries. The model has resulted from research in 30 science classrooms, in the majority of which a diverse range of students were engaging with science and had positive attitudes towards their science class. I then illustrate the model, using critical discourse analysis (CDA) and excerpts from a science lesson for special needs Year 9 students in a low socioeconomic status area. Underpinned by sociolinguistic and sociological theories, CDA is a particularly useful tool for identifying subtle relational, representational, and identificational aspects of social practice - precisely those I am proposing as most significant for causing or preventing alienation for young science students.

HAR04257   [Paper]  ®
Teachers' new roles in school-based communities of practice

Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, University of Melbourne

School classrooms can be conceptualised as bounded communities of practice made up of teachers and students working together to learn and build knowledge. The widespread use of computers enables these communities to create knowledge, cross boundaries and build up intellectual capital. This paper, based on an in-depth qualitative study of thirty-two teachers in Victorian state schools, offers a model of four teachers' roles that reflects the current situation, and suggests ways in which these roles might develop to enhance knowledge building. It argues that safe, knowledgeable communities within boundaries, together with active boundary-crossing, can provide the conditions for knowledge building at classroom, school and system levels.

HAR04291   [Paper]
"Lifting the veil": Researching teachers' work in a Middle Eastern Sheikhocracy

Barbara Harold, Zayed University

Researchers who are familiar with educational research cultures in Australasian universities experience many 'taken for granted' commonalities in the research process. These may include common understandings about ethical practices and procedures, institutional practices, entry to the field, language use and methodology.

This paper discusses the experiences of a veteran researcher moving from such an established 'community of practice' to a region and environment with a different language, way of life and education system where the research culture was in an early stage of development. The researcher was involved in small-scale university projects, Ministry of Education contract research and the introduction of research methodology to school supervisors, and the expectation was for results that would assist reform in the public system. The research journey varied from smooth and calm to problematic, contested and negotiated. The familiar became strange and the researcher had to take a fresh look at her perspectives on issues relating to research ethics, language, culture, and methodology and, indeed, on research paradigms, leading ultimately to the discovery of a new community of practice. The research experiences are discussed and evaluated from a standpoint of current research paradigms and cross-cultural perspectives.

HAR04359   [Paper]  ®
Field/ing Learning

Ian Hardy, Charles Sturt University

This paper details how Pierre Bourdieu's notion of fields may be used to understand and explain specific manifestations of ongoing teacher learning. This is done by referring to the learning occurring during a specific cross-school ongoing teacher learning initiative in south-east Queensland. The paper argues that the interplay between specific fields is responsible for why particular types of learning occur at specific sites. Such learning is presented as the product of a complex interplay between and among ongoing teacher learning as policy, research and schooling. This paper draws upon a larger study into ongoing teacher learning. On the basis of empirical evidence presented, the paper concludes with a brief summary of the implications for ongoing teacher learning in the current era of considerable educational reform.

HAR04442 [Paper]  ®
Understanding what principals value about leadership, teaching and learning: A philosophical approach

Melinda Harris, Rob Cavanagh, Peter Reynolds and Geoffrey Giddings, Curtin University of Technology

Contemporary views of educational leadership are increasingly focussed on two aspects of the role of school principals - the affective qualities of school leaders and the attention given to pedagogy within the school. Moral and ethical values are seen as important considerations in the leadership role and in the training of school leaders. Understanding the nature of principal value systems including the processes by which particular values develop is an important area of leadership theorising and empirical research. One way forward in this field is to apply a philosophical approach in which value systems are considered as a manifestation of educational philosophy. With regard to leading pedagogy, effective leadership of teacher instruction and student learning is also contingent on the philosophical orientation of the principal. That is, the influence of the principal on the school's pedagogy is dependent on how strongly the principal values this dimension of the leadership role. The authors contend there is a need to investigate exercise of pedagogic leadership within schools from the perspective of philosophic inquiry - to ask questions about the ontology, epistemology and methodology applied by principals as leaders of teaching and learning in the school.

HAR04513   [Paper]
'It was great, just not what I had expected': Online learning projects in action

Susan Harriman, University of Technology, Sydney

This paper reports on a study of existing online learning projects implemented in four NSW schools. The purported benefits of online learning were explored through in-depth case studies of the selected projects, allowing the researcher to be part of the class for the duration of each project. A multi-method approach was taken to gain insights into the learning occurring from a variety of views, especially that of students. Results of the study are presented, providing a window onto the ebb and flow of learning events as each project unfolded and highlighting the learning achievements of students. The sometimes differing perspectives of students, teachers and project designers suggest implications for sustainable project development and implementation.

HAR04766   [Paper]
Key Learning Area (KLA) versus the single subject: How has the introduction of Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE) impacted on the work of History teachers in NSW?

Catherine Harris, Deakin University

The inclusion of history within the newly formed Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE) Key learning Area (KLA) in the early 1990s has had widespread implications fro the work of history teachers in New South Wales (NSW). This paper examines the way in which the re-organisation of subject matter knowledge at a macro level has impacted on the work of history teachers at a micro level.

Specifically, this paper addresses the ways in which the institutionalisation (or lack thereof) of the HSIE KLA has changed the ways in which history teachers plan for and enact syllabus change. The paper suggests that the HSIE KLA staff room structure (which forces certain patterns of interaction) is at odds with a continued reliance on single subject (rather than KLA) syllabuses and that this has hampered history teachers enactment of history syllabuses over the last decade. The ramifications of this for the teaching, learning and assessment of history in K-12 schools is subsequently examined.

HAR04829   [Paper]  ®
Do children's perceptions of themselves, their teachers, and school accord with teachers' ratings of their adjustment to school?

Linda Harrison, Charles Sturt University

This paper examines child and teacher reports of school adjustment. Of interest is the match, or mismatch, between children's perceptions of themselves and their feelings about school, and the classroom teachers' ratings of their school-related problem behaviours and competencies. The effects of child gender and age of starting school were also considered. Data included children's self-rated cognitive and physical abilities and acceptance by peers, school liking and avoidance and feelings about their teachers, and descriptions of what they liked about school. Teachers provided ratings of children's adjustment problems (acting out, shy/anxious, learning difficulties) and competencies (task orientation, frustration tolerance, confidence in class, peer social skills). Analyses showed little effect of age, but a significant effect of gender. Girls were more positive about school, and teachers rated boys as having more problems of adjustment. Comparative analyses of relations between child- and teacher-reported adjustment also showed gender differences. Boys who liked school and their teachers had better learning and social strengths, and fewer behaviour problems. Girls who said they enjoyed schoolwork activities had higher ratings on school competencies. Counter-intuitively, perceived social acceptance by peers and enjoyment of social play (for girls) were negatively correlated with teachers' ratings of school adjustment.

HAR041027   [Paper]
Voices in the book, meaning beyond the text: The importance of relationships among texts for understanding reading and related instruction

Pauline Harris and Barbra McKenzie, University of Wollongong

This paper explores ways in which children's picture books form networks of relationships and their implications for readers and classroom teachers. It does so within a conceptual framework that identifies a number of ways in which texts network with other texts. It uses this framework as a means for nurturing and documenting preservice teachers' understandings of how children's picture books work especially picture books that they deemed to be too difficult and confronting for children. This paper records the journey that our pre-service teachers undertook as they came to interact with these texts in a more meaningful way. We join them as they move from an initial resistance with children's picture books that push the boundaries of convention, to a position where they become advocates for using these texts in the classroom. Implications for how we understand reading are discussed, and applications to classroom practice are explored.

HAR041029   [Paper]
Children in search of their place and voice as literacy learners at school

Pauline Harris, University of Wollongong

How do children find their place as readers and writers in their classrooms? A place where they can give voice to their ideas and bring to the fore their resources that they continue to accumulate across their home, school and community settings? These questions form the focus of this paper, as it explores observational and interview data of children's literacy experiences and teachers' classroom practices in the early school years. This exploration is framed by a Social Model of Reading and Writing (Harris, McKenzie, Fitzsimmons & Turbill, 2001 & 2003) that takes stock of practices involved in literacy and the contexts in which literacy is used. Classroom examples are included to highlight key issues, exemplary practices, and further implications for classroom teachers in building on children's diverse experiences.

HAS04103   [Paper]
I just felt so guilty: The emotional dimension of supporting problematic preservice teachers

Wendy Hastings, Charles Sturt University

Research in the field of emotions is relation in teaching is quite new, but as yet there is still a silence in the literature in relation to the emotional dimension of teacher education and particularly with respect to the role of school (or centre)-based teacher educators. This paper reports the initial findings from a study conducted as part of a doctoral program. The focus of the study is the emotional dimension of the practicum for school-based teacher educators as they support preservice teacher colleagues. The qualitative study explores the emotional impact of problematic preservice teachers on the "wellbeing" of several co-operating teachers. The case study reveals the role played by 'emotional intelligence' in teachers' ability to cope with the stresses associated with such problematic situations. Further, the study investigates teachers' sense of 'agency' and the perceptions of support provided - or not provided - by schools or centre-based colleagues and the host university. The paper highlights issues currently under-represented in the literature, as well as posits possible strategies for supporting school-based colleagues, as they address the needs of problematic students, while undertaking a very valuable role in the education of preservice teachers.

HAT04399 [Paper]
Buddhism as a resource for reconciliation pedagogies

Robert Hattam, University of South Australia

In 'unsettling times', reconciliation processes have the potential to strengthen the fragile network of relationships that holds Australian society together. Reconciliation is understood here to be a psycho-social and pedagogical intervention that aims to heal the effects of traumatic events that produce guilt, anxiety, resentment and injustice that persist and distort individual and national well-being. Unfortunately, neither the pedagogical potential of reconciliation processes has yet to be adequately elaborated, nor have we really begun to draw on 'reconciliation' as a resource for developing pedagogical approaches. Such an examination needs to elucidate habits of mind that foster reconciliation, a vocabulary for reconciliation, an understanding of the dynamics of reconciling practices, and a map of the socio-cultural geography of reconciliation spaces. In this paper I will be proposing that Buddhism offers a range of conceptual resources and practices that might be useful in the development of reconciliation pedagogies. The paper will especially focus on socially-engaged Buddhism, understood as a new social movement evolving out of the translation of Buddhism into the 'West' under the conditions of globalisation.

HAW04481   [Paper]
Psychometric properties of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale for Australian adolescent girls: Clarification of multidimensionality and perfectionist typologies

Colleen Hawkins and Kenneth Sinclair, University of Sydney and Helen Watt, University of Michigan

The psychometric properties of the 'Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale' (Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990) are investigated, to determine its usefulness as a measurement of perfectionism with Australian secondary school girls, and to find empirical support for the existence of both healthy and unhealthy types of perfectionist students. Participants were 409 female mixed-ability students from Years 7, 8, 10 and 11 in two private secondary schools in Sydney, Australia. Factor analyses yielded four rather than the six factors theorized by Frost et al. Cluster analysis indicated a distinct typology of healthy perfectionists, unhealthy perfectionists and non-perfectionists. Healthy perfectionists were characterised by higher levels on Organisation, while unhealthy perfectionists scored higher on the Parental Expectations & Criticism and Concern over Mistakes & Doubts dimensions of perfectionism. Both types of perfectionists scored high on Personal Standards.

HAY04358   [Paper]
Using a game sense approach for improving fundamental motor skills

John Haynes, Brad Austin and Judy Miller, University of New England

Children in a rural city in northern NSW were measured for efficiency level in the performance of five fundamental motor skills. Children (average age: 11 years) were assessed using the NSW Get Skilled Get Active skill checklist (2000). Based on the recommendation that 240-600 minutes of instructional time is required to master one skill, (NSW Get Skilled Get Active 2000: 79) a 'needs based' selection process was instigated to take one skill and provide remedial intervention using a games sense approach. Soccer was the sport of choice of the students and therefore the kick was the priority skill for this group to improve. The pre-test scores revealed zero students at the mastery level for the kick and one student was at the near mastery level. The games sense approach was selected, to maintain high motivation and to test the efficacy of this approach. More specifically, the children were involved in two lessons of 45 minutes for six weeks (540 minutes), which focused on the skills associated with soccer. Post test results showed various improvements in the level of mastery performance of the kick. Implication of this research include the teaching strategies employed to increase fundamental motor skill proficiency.

HAY04510   [Paper]
Whole school change that spreads and lasts: A technology of resilience for schools working within adverse conditions

Debra Hayes, University of Technology, Sydney

This paper addresses an enduring issue in educational research and practice: How to achieve whole school change focussed on learning in communities experiencing high levels of social dislocation, educational disadvantage and student disengagement from learning. By focussing on these conditions, I am highlighting the particular challenges of stabilising and sustaining whole school change in these communities. I outline an approach to reform that is framed by an understanding of schools and how they operate from within. This approach differs from reform efforts generally that seek to replicate external successful reform efforts. Rather than grappling with the question of how to transplant or bring particular reforms to scale, the question I focus on is how to bring a focus on teaching and learning to scale within schools that share certain discourses of schooling - forms, practices and structures. These discourses constitute certain technologies - the means and possibilities for change. Significantly, technologies of change are constituted by schooling discourses; they are determined by the nature of schooling; and, they produce certain types of effects that we recognise as schools. I argue that by identifying, naming and describing schooling discourses it is possible to work within and against the technologies they produce to amplify, mediate, validate and subvert certain effects of schooling. This is illustrated through a description of a technology of resilience that is supporting some schools working within adverse conditions to prioritise learning and teaching as their central activity.

HAY04515   [Paper]
Forms of professional learning mediated by the integration of ICT

Debra Hayes, University of Technology, Sydney

The integration of ICT places pressure on teachers to develop and broaden their repertoire of pedagogical practice. We observed a number of different approaches to providing support to teachers for this purpose in the case study schools. This support ranged from a single 'expert' teacher who had accumulated all responsibility for teaching ICT skills to both students and colleagues, through to a committee composed of a cross section of school leaders and teachers, and supported by external consultants. The longitudinal nature of this study allowed us to trace the development of these forms of professional learning over an extended period of time, and to describe how they were influenced by other background issues, such as leadership; and contextual variations, such as changes in personnel. This paper describes how sustained professional learning opportunities, which develop teachers' ICT skills alongside their pedagogical understandings, may afford enhanced learning opportunities for students through ICT.

HEC04918   [Paper]
Running a project in Indigenous Education

Robyn Heckenberg La Trobe University

This paper discusses an innovative enterprise learning project with Indigenous children. The project, run through a NSW regional High School, addressed a series of complex issues ranging from attendance and retention; numeracy and literacy; and self-esteem and citizenship. There were some very positive outcomes. The project's success depended on local community support, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. The local council provided man power and mentors. Mentors also came from the Indigenous community and mainstream, prominent community organizations. Local business, the Department of Education, the Police Service and resident groups also became stakeholders. Research notions relating to underachievement being based on inheritance factors are critically examined, as well as the possible implications of this philosophy upon the attitudes of teachers. An evaluation of outcomes of the project will be given the greatest weight. Strategies for running a project with Indigenous participants were formulated and acted upon as they arose during the life-cycle of the project. The project was acknowledged to be culturally appropriate. The presentation of the research findings, within the definitions of Indigenous research, are based on the theories of Linda Tuhiwai Smith as well as the grounded theory procedures of Strauss and Corbin.

HEC04959   [Paper]
"I'm doing this for my grandmother Lovie"

Robyn Heckenberg, Monash University

This paper examines the variety of policies related to Aboriginal protection and inclusion/exclusion from education that have been used to control and mould Indigenous populations in Australia. Historically this has effected opportunities for Indigenous Australians. Has the mission school and the apprenticeship schemes of the first half of the twentieth century been replaced by other systems that still do not meet the social and educational needs of Indigenous Australians? The paper shall pose questions on the responsibilities of Indigenous teachers and researchers in all sectors of education to maintain an active role in positive change whilst outlining some of the challenges we face in mainstream education.

HEI04728   [Paper]  ®
Enhancing mental computation teaching and learning in year 3

Ann Heirdsfield, Queensland University of Technology

The purpose of the study was to develop and investigate the effectiveness of a short instructional program to enhance mental computation strategies (addition and subtraction) in two classes of Year 3 students (approximately 8 years of age). Outcomes of the project were aimed at benefiting both the teachers and the students. The short instructional program made use of two models (100 board and empty number line) to support students' development of mental strategies. Pre-instruction and post-instruction interviews were conducted to monitor students' progress.

HEL04093   [Paper]
Indigenous students' experiences of Vocational Education and Training in Schools programs: Insights for developing good practice

Sue Helme, University of Melbourne and Angela Hill, James Cook University

A comparatively large number of Indigenous students participate in Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) programs, yet relatively little is known of their experiences or the longer-term outcomes of their participation. This paper draws on data from two national studies: a survey of 20,000 young people and their experience of vocational learning, and a qualitative study of VETiS in 21 schools in diverse settings, which included interviews with 118 Indigenous VETiS students and 160 school staff and other stakeholders. It provides a rare insight into the way in which VETiS is experienced by Indigenous students, and of the role VETiS plays in addressing their educational needs and vocational aspirations. Students' views of VETiS, including their reasons for enrolling, what they valued about it, and their critique of VETiS subjects are summarised. While much of the interview data supports previous research on the need to support Indigenous students systematically in education settings, successful engagement in VETiS is demonstrated to require broader system and school support. The research provides valuable feedback for policy makers, VETiS coordinators, teachers and others concerned with developing good practice in VETiS and making VETiS more accessible to and supportive of Indigenous students.

HEM04322   [Paper]  ®
Factors related to academic publishing productivity

Brian Hemmings, Peter Rushbrook and Erica Smith, Charles Sturt University

This paper reports on factors that are related to academic publishing output. Academics from a large Australian regional university were surveyed and data from 143 staff members were used in bivariate and multivariate analyses. The results of these analyses showed that certain factors were significantly correlated with publishing output and that four factors, namely, confidence in writing refereed works, academic level, academic qualification, and external teaching load proportion, comprised the best set of predictors for such output. Moreover, this set of predictors collectively accounted for 28 per cent of the variance in the dependent measure. The implications of this study for current higher educational practice and future research are discussed.

HIC04158   [Paper]  ®
What is effective Physical Education teaching and can it be promoted with generalist trained elementary school teachers?

Clive Hickson and Graham Fishburne, University of Alberta, Canada

Classroom research has been able to determine effective teaching practices that result in positive learning outcomes (Borich, 1996). However, research has demonstrated that teachers in a physical education environment often regard their lessons to be successful when children are busy, happy, and good (Placek, 1983) and that student learning is of a low priority (Hickson & Fishburne, 2002). This research study was conducted to gain an understanding of how effective physical education teaching practices can be developed in elementary school teachers. Three volunteer elementary teachers participated in a teacher development program. The program was introduced as an intervention program utilizing a single-case, multiple baseline research design. Student behavioural data, pre- and post-intervention, in physical education classes were recorded and analyzed through duration recording methods. Attitudinal data were also collected through teacher and student interviews. Results indicated that the teacher development program changed teaching behaviours. After the introduction of the intervention program, student behavioural data indicated an increase student engagement rates and a decrease in those behaviours contributing to non-engaged time. Both teachers and students indicated that teaching had become more productive, that learning became of a greater importance, and that time for activity increased during lessons.

HIL04531   [Paper]
Using action learning as a methodology to research teachers' work and learning

Robyn Hill, Monash University

Teachers in the Training and Further Education sector have been subjected to the same raft of changes that have affected workers in all environments. Global, technological and socio-cultural changes have directly contributed to the casualisation and sessionalisation of staff employment, and this in turn has had a major impact on the ways in which staff are able to access and engage in learning in their workplaces. While researchers and policy makers have forecast multiple new roles that TAFE teachers should and might grow into, teachers themselves have struggled to locate their practice within these changing educational frameworks. Negotiating realistic learning spaces in times of organisational change is imperative if teachers are to successfully move into new paradigms of vocational teaching practice. In redefining of the way employees work, these changes have caused workers to become more individually competitive, requiring them to focus on developing their knowledge capacity in order to undertake flexible, portfolio based work. As a result teachers have lost many of the networks within which they traditionally worked, learned, and developed the norms and values that guided their practice as part of a professional group. This paper explores the use of Action Learning, and the way it acts as a sociocultural model of learning and development, and as a research methodology. While the traditions of Action Learning rest in the field of management and organisational development, it can be demonstrated that 'the public good' can be supported through the provision of 'learning spaces' that enable teachers to more proactively negotiate their learning and work in times of change.

HIL04993   [Paper]
Assessing assessment in teacher education coursework

Gaell Hildebrand, Monash University

In this paper I analyse the pedagogic spaces provided by three teacher education coursework subjects to demonstrate the assessment for learning paradigm in action for new teachers. I interrogate the assessment practices in terms of the quality of the tasks as exemplar models and their educative role - i.e. their consequential validity. The three subjects Assessing Learning, Communication Learning, and Assessment, and Professional Issue - enact a spectrum of practices including formative, criterion-referenced, portfolio, peer, and performance assessment along with aspects of problem-based learning. Each task has explicit criteria with associated scoring rubrics that attempt to transparently articulate the desired capabilities and competencies for new teachers. The data analysed includes subject documentation (e.g. guides, web-based resources, workshop activities) and written feedback from four cohorts, totally 660 students. Emergent strengths include: the value of the criteria in establishing challenging benchmarks; the agency the tasks possess as pedagogical tools that construct learning about assessment; and the constructive tactics used to minimise plagiarism opportunities. Concerns raised include: the complexities involved in creating authentic simulations; the ambiguities and tensions that emerge when being assessed whilst learning; and finding manageable spaces to reflect on the professional learning that such assessment experiences afford.

HO041067   [Paper]
Using "Focused Word Recognition Method" to teach a student with reading difficulties in Hong Kong

Fuk Chuen Ho, Hong Kong Institute of Education

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of "Focused Word Recognition Method" in teaching a student with reading difficulties in Hong Kong. "Focused Word Recognition Method" is considered as a structured and systematic instruction for word identification. The Chinese characters are grouped for instruction by making use of their phonological, orthographic or semantic features. The participant in this study was an 11-year-old student in the Intensive Remedial Teaching Programme in Primary Schools (IRTP). He had difficulties in reading and writing Chinese characters. The stimulus materials of this study were five lists of Chinese characters. Each list consisted of characters with similar orthographic features. This training programme lasted for four weeks. Comparison of the results of pre-tests and post-tests showed that the student made significant improvement in the performances of dictation, reading aloud and fill-in the blanks activities.

HOA04340   [Paper]  ®
Culturally sensitive Human Resource Development in the multicultural workplace: "Western" and "Confucian heritage" experiences

Lyn Hoare, University of Melbourne

This research investigated the extent to which experiential pedagogies are appropriate for use with multicultural groups by testing an assumption that a dissonance exists between the perception of methodological efficacy assumed by "Western" adult education methods, and the perceptions of learning program participants of "Asian"/Confucian background. Data relating to the research question was collected through a process of interpersonal interviews with adult educators working in Melbourne, Australia and from focus groups involving people of Confucian background who have participated in workplace based development. The responses of the two groups were compared and contrasted. The research found that significant difference of perception exists between the two groups. The research identifies opportunities to render training programs more culturally inclusive through adaptations to program structure, processes, attention to learning styles, the level of interpersonal interactivity and the training environment. The research proposes that we are often unaware that our accepted notions and most ethically based intentions are blinkered by our subconscious cultural socialisation. The implications of these findings are significant for those who have the responsibility to design, implement and coordinate workplace education and training. The research concludes with suggestions for changes in practice and recommendations for future research.

HOB04734   [Paper]
Keeping the conversation going: Using a web-environment to support teachers' action learning

Garry Hoban and Tony Herrington, University of Wollongong

Action learning involves a small group (6-8 people) who meet regularly to share reflections and discuss ideas that they try out in practice. Key to the process of action learning is the sharing of personally relevant issues or problems in relation to the action being attempted. In this 12-month study, a small group of secondary teachers from different subject areas met regularly to share teaching strategies to improve the quality of teaching for their year 7 students. In schools, however, it is difficult for teachers from different faculties to find time to share ideas on a regular basis.

In this study a web environment was designed to support the sharing of teaching strategies which also included a discussion space to provide feedback on the strategies attempted. The web environment not only became a growing repository of teaching strategies but also documented feedback and reflection. This presentation will discuss outcomes of the professional learning process and in particular describe the strengths and weaknesses of using the web-based environment to support action learning. Possibilities for additional technology to enhance professional learning will be discussed as well as ideas for broadening the project to a whole school basis.

HOC041059   [Paper]
A journey in engagement between University, community and environment - Iramoo Sustainable Living Precinct

Colin Hocking, Victoria University

For the past seven years, a sustainable living centre called Iramoo has been under development and consolidation at VU St Albans campus, on the Outer West of Melbourne. The goal of Iramoo is "Vibrant, Sustainable Diversity in the West". Iramoo has explored how University and community can come into partnership and engagement, via association with land and common purposes in seeking sustainable futures. Issues encountered include: What are the purposes of University facilities? How do Universities and communities view the common environment we share? What are the potentials and limitations of using environment, futures and celebration of culture and a sense of belonging to evoke engagement? What is involved in overcoming the divides between disciplines, sectors and management levels in universities in pursuit of community engagement? How this fits with several newly unfolding actions at VU will be examined. These include the VU Community Engagement Strategy, the newly formed Institute for Sustainable Living Precinct, which is intended to address issues of engagement with community and environment.

HOL04678    [Paper]
An investigation of inconsistencies in PhD examination decisions

Allyson Holbrook, Sid Bourke, Terry Lovat and Kerry Dally, University of Newcastle

The process of PhD examination in Australia across academic disciplines requires that the PhD thesis be assessed by two or three external examiners who make a recommendation on the thesis and write detailed supporting comments. The recommendation at one end of the spectrum is to pass the thesis outright, the other end is a terminating fail. However most examiner recommendations fall in the middle (71%) and range from inviting minor corrections through to requiring revision and resubmission. These recommendations are then usually adjudicated by a committee, which can in some cases differ substantially from one or more of the examiner recommendations. The disparities in adjudication prompt concerns about the visibility of the examination process. This paper draws on a sub-sample of reports on 400 candidates where such disparities between examiner recommendation and institution decision are evident and then explores the texts of the reports to attempt to identify what may have triggered the discrepancy. Situations where the examiners gave a lower recommendation than the committee were compared to those where the committee recommendation was lower than that of the examiners. From this analysis it could be determined that specific instructional emphases and qualities in the examiner comments appeared to influence the outcome.

HOL04863   [Paper]
Analysis of asynchronous online discussion using the SOLO taxonomy

Kathryn Holmes, University of Newcastle

The online learning environment provides the opportunity for remote groups of students to interact with instructors and each other. Most web based learning platforms facilitate asynchronous online discussions between participants. These discussion forums are designed to replicate the face to face tutorial setting and provide a medium for the expression and development of student ideas. In this paper, an online discussion between twenty-eight teachers retraining in the field of mathematics will be analysed using the SOLO taxonomy. The analysis will focus on the capacity of web based learning environments to foster deep learning through the careful design of discussion tasks.

HOL04922   [Paper]  ®
Examiner reflections on the Fine Art Higher Degree examination process

Allyson Holbrook, Kerry Dally, Anne Graham and Miranda Lawry, University of Newcastle

Because higher degrees in Fine Art are a relatively recent phenomenon, this field provides a rare opportunity to study research training and assessment objectives virtually from the outset. The findings reported in this paper draw on the interview phase (N =15) of a study that explores examination processes and assessment objectives in Fine Art in Australia. The findings reported in this paper explore examiner encounters with Fine Art RHD examination procedures and are divided into four themes loosely based on the interview questions relating to examination processes. The first section of this paper encompasses examiner responses to institutional guidelines, the second examiner selection, the third explores the roles examiners assume and the fourth, the nature and forms of engagement with other participants in the examination. These themes have been explored in recent studies into doctoral examination in traditional disciplines which have been conducted primarily in the United Kingdom. The examiners perceived that their role was an evolving one and that examiners need to demonstrate flexibility in order to cope with the variations in institutional requirements and to demonstrate empathy with candidates. They valued achieving understanding, whether that understanding be of the student's work or the processes necessary to reach a judgement about it.

HOO04125   [Paper]
Changing perceptions of knowledge: Evaluation of an innovative program for pre-service secondary teachers

Neil Hooley and Rod Moore, Victoria University of Technology

Pre-service programs for secondary teachers have traditionally involved method subjects, where participants are inducted into the curriculum practices of two disciplinary or subject areas. In 2003, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, enrolled a small group of fourteen pre-service teachers into an innovative Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education that directly challenged these program assumptions. Method subjects were collapsed into an integrated study of the theory, skills and practices of classroom work and connections were drawn between all enrolled subjects or knowledge. Another key feature of the program involved all pre-service teachers being placed at the one school for their partnership experience, including classroom teaching and a requirement to undertake an applied curriculum project negotiated as being important for the school. Mentor teachers from the school presented a series of evening tutorials on issues such as systemic requirements, curriculum innovation, school organization. This approach to Site-Based Teacher Education builds on a DEST-funded project conducted by Victoria University some years previously. The paper describes the evaluation of the program including suggested curriculum changes and the resources required. It also provides some advice for the establishment of similar site-based work that attempts to break the mould of traditional thinking on separated knowledge in teacher education.

HOW04184   [Paper]  ®
Transition from primary to secondary school: Possibilities and paradoxes

Sue Howard and Bruce Johnson, University of South Australia

This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative research project carried out in New South Wales. The research participants were 'resilient' final year primary school and first year high school students who, through semi-structured interviews, discussed either their expectations or experiences of transition from primary to secondary school. Some important findings regarding transition challenges are presented and the children's (and their parents') responses to these issues are discussed. The question is posed: how ethical and feasible is it to introduce major school reform in the early years of high school when the voices of those who stand to be most affected by it are strongly in favour of the status quo?

HUD04076   [Paper]  ®
From generic to specific mentoring: A five-factor model for developing primary teaching practices

Peter Hudson, Queensland University of Technology

Mentoring is an avenue for developing teaching practices, and preservice education appears to hold the key for changing practice towards inclusions of education reform. However, primary teachers are more likely not to be experts in all primary subject areas and this is the crux of the mentoring problem. Mentoring in primary schools is largely generic and so will require further initiatives from universities and school-based mentors to more effectively guide preservice primary teachers in specific subject areas. A previous study on specific mentoring (Hudson, Skamp, & Brooks, 2004) had identified a correlated five-factor model (i.e., personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modelling, and feedback). This paper presents these five factors as scaffolding for specific subject mentoring in primary teaching, namely: personal attributes that the mentor needs to exhibit for constructive dialogue; system requirements that focus on key curriculum directives; competent pedagogical knowledge for articulating effective practices; modelling effective teaching practices; and, feedback for the purposes of self-reflection in order to improve practices. Further research on specific mentoring may assist in developing professional practices, ultimately for the betterment of public education.

HUI04220 [Paper]
Attitudes towards research: The case of curriculum leaders in Hong Kong

Sammy King-fai Hui, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Exploring teachers' attitudes towards research is always interesting. With the Education and Manpower Bureau's policy of introducing the position of Primary School Master/Mistress (Curriculum Development) to local Hong Kong primary schools, to understand the beliefs these curriculum leaders hold onto research - as a means to help schools to reflect upon their strengths and to decide how best to bring about reform in curriculum becomes significant. A survey of 209 PSM(CD)s suggested although people in general favour research in their work, there still reservations. A five-factor model indicated that, on the one hand, the majority of the respondents perceived themselves having ability to do research, valued research for professional development and providing solutions to teaching and learning deficiencies, and found the action research course that they participated useful. On the other hand, they preferred courses focussed on improving their teaching competencies to an action research course. It was shown that while demonstrated research experience and qualification of higher degrees revealed no significant difference in research attitudes, these factors associated positively with their commitment to school, self-efficacy and an internal locus of control. The work contributes to the understanding of how PSM(CD)s feel towards supporting doing and facilitating research for curriculum development in schools.

HUX04881   [Paper]
Teaching coping skills: Implications for practice

Linda Huxley, E Freeman and Erica Frydenberg, University of Melbourne

During the last decade there has been a call for schools to become more active in students' social and emotional education. Given that teachers are significant adults in young people's lives, teachers are often in the best position to deliver a coping skills program. This study considered the impact of implementing a coping program on both the teacher and students. Year 9 (N=29) students participated in The Best of Coping program. Both quantitative and qualitative data (including the teacher's reflective journal) are reported. Changes in coping behaviours for both teacher and students were noted. The study highlights the importance of the teachers' role in implementing social and emotional programs. Findings are discussed in terms of the relationship between the teacher and students. Ideas relating to the implementation of school-based coping skills programs are detailed.

HYD04476   [Paper]
Attending to the felt sense and giving way to conversation: Two characteristics that may lead to a conscious spirituality in children in Australian Catholic primary schools.

Brendan Hyde, Australian Catholic University

This paper describes and reports on some findings of a larger PhD research study into the characteristics of children's spirituality in Australian Catholic primary schools. It uses hermeneutic phenomenology, drawing particularly on van Manen's (1990) notion of lifeworld existentials in reflecting on conversation and observation of small groups of students from Year 3 and Year 5 in three Catholic primary schools, one from an inner city location, one from a suburban location, and one from a rural location. The four lifeworld existentials are lived time (temporality), lived space (spatiality), lived body (corporeality) and lived human relation (relationality). The findings presented here suggest that for the children involved in this study, aspects of their spirituality may be expressed through the characteristics described in this paper as attending to the felt sense and giving way to conversation. These have particular implications for education, and especially for religious education, in addressing the spiritual dimension of learning in the primary classroom context.

I

ING04396   [Paper]
The effects of structural and process features of professional development programs on teachers' knowledge, practice and efficacy

Lawrence Ingvarson, Australian Council for Educational Research

This paper reports on the findings of the evaluation studies described in the earlier papers. This study indicates that the most effective programs, in terms of reported impact, had profiles consistent with research on effective professional development. They were rated highly by teachers across all five opportunity to learn measures in the conceptual model. They provided opportunities for teachers to focus on what students were to learn and how to deal with the problems students may have in learning that subject matter. They focused on research-based knowledge about student learning of content. They included opportunities for teachers to examine student work collaboratively - and in relation to standards for what the students in question should know and be able to do. They led teachers to actively reflect on their practice and compare it with high standards for professional practice. They engaged them in identifying what they needed to learn, and in planning the learning experiences that would help them meet those needs. They provided time for teachers to test new teaching methods and to receive follow-up support and coaching in their classrooms as they faced problems of implementing changes. They included activities that led teachers to deprivatise their practice and gain feedback about their teaching from colleagues.

ING04675   [Paper]
The Future Teachers Project

Lawrence Ingvarson and Adrian Beavis, Australian Council for Educational Research, and Ruth Newton, Victorian Institute of Teaching

This paper reports on research conducted for the Victorian Institute of Teaching as part of its Future Teachers Project. One of the main purposes of the VIT Project is to develop new guidelines for the accreditation of teacher education courses; guidelines that would reflect the changing demands of schools and teachers' work. The brief for this research project involved designing an instrument for surveying the perceptions of stakeholders (beginning teachers and their employers) about the effectiveness of current teacher education models in Victoria. The survey was administered in March 2004 to all registered teachers in Victoria who were beginning their second year of teaching. A similar survey was developed and administered to all school principals about their perceptions of the preparedness of beginning teachers in 2003. The survey instrument was designed to enable relationships between structural and process features of teacher education programs and outcomes to be examined. This paper reports on the findings of the surveys and the changes that stakeholders believe should be made to teacher education programs to better prepare future teachers.

IZA04855   [Paper]
Implications for sound practice in assessment for learning

John Izard RMIT University and Peter Jeffery Professional Resources Services

To provide effective learning opportunities for all pupils we need assessment strategies that will be teacher-friendly and that encourage learning. Teacher-friendly assessment strategies are those that are helpful in identifying what has to be taught. Encouraging learning requires teaching strategies that use the assessment information to ensure students learn what they currently do not know. Izard (2004) has discussed teacher-friendly assessment strategies but warns that problems may arise in the choice of test items for tests for assessment for learning purposes. This paper considers theoretical and practical requirements for using assessment for teaching and learning, and reviews the use of a published test series to meet these requirements in a local primary school.

IZA04877   [Paper]
Gathering evidence for learning

John Izard, RMIT University

How do we decide whether students have learned? Learning involves changes in knowledge, skills and the sophistication of the strategies employed by the learners. How do we gather the relevant evidence of learning? To measure these changes we need at least two relevant measures, one prior to a particular stage of learning and a later assessment documenting a higher level of achievement. This paper looks at the requirements for using such assessment for teaching and learning and addresses threats to the validity of assessments to evaluate progress.

IZA04905   [Paper]
Impediments to sound use of formative assessment (and actions we should take to improve assessment for learning)

John Izard, RMIT University

This paper presents practical and technical requirements for using assessment for teaching and learning and discusses impediments to the sound use of formative assessment. These impediments relate to both assessment and teaching as well as educational management. Assessment and teaching impediments include the procedures used to develop valid assessments of progress, inappropriate scoring procedures and methods of interpreting the resulting data, and the procedures used to facilitate learning. The management impediments include the focus on normative assessment, and failure to provide assessment instruments sampling the range of student achievement, to communicate relevant useful information to teachers, to evaluate added value in appropriate ways, and to ignore generally the actions teachers need to take. The paper provides suggested action to improve assessment for learning.

IZA04951   [Paper]  ®
Automated educational/academic skills screening: Using technology to avoid or minimise effects of more formal assessment

John Izard and Elspeth McKay, RMIT University

The focus of this study is the provision of enhanced opportunities for returning to study or vocational training for adolescents and young adults (aged from about 15 to 25 years) after experiencing a mental health episode, and the monitoring of their educational progress during rehabilitation. Both the young people and their support workers need to establish current educational / academic performance in order to make sensible choices about future study or employment. But formal assessment techniques are associated with high levels of anxiety: it was vital to devise another way of collecting this information. This project provides an innovative use of information communications technology (ICT) services to assess the educational achievement level of this at-risk learner group. The paper reports on the design, development, implementation and evaluation of the pilot system for assessing young peoples' potential to participate in appropriate educational programmes.

J

JAN04113   [Paper]
Grandparents supporting children's thinking in technology

Beverley Jane and Jill Robbins, Monash University

Increasingly Australian grandparents are assuming an active and significant role in the lives of young children. Shared experiences and interactions are potentially mutually beneficial, enjoyable and educational in nature. In particular, through everyday, spontaneous cooperative activities, many grandparents are fulfilling an important function in supporting the technology thinking and learning of their grandchildren. This paper, informed by sociocultural theory reports on a pilot project that sought to foreground the important, robust and mutually enjoyable, cooperative learning and co-construction that is occurring through these informal interactions, and highlights the significance of these interactions in relation to children's emerging skills, dispositions and understandings in technology. In turn, implications of these factors for teachers working in technology education in early childhood and primary school classrooms

JEF04006   [Paper]
Research for knowledge or research for policy

Anne Jefferson, University of Ottawa

This paper reflects on the changing pressure on education research in terms of the "so what?" question. The so what question has always been of importance but the audience asking the question has shifted. This is evident, for example, in the funding made available to granting agencies in Canada and in the review of academic performance of professors. The grant securing prestige sought by universities and their administrators has placed different stressors on research within education. In many ways, a claim could be made that research for knowledge is and oftentimes has been replaced with research for policy. Now, research for policy is a plus given the practical field of education. However, this research is undertaken for financial gain and academic professorial life longevity. These two gains do not necessarily leave the field of education more enabled as a result of the research leading to the gains.

JOH04059 [Paper]
Quality teaching in Mathematics K - 6: Perspectives on classroom-based research and teacher professional learning in PSFP primary schools

Kerry Johnson and Gordon Cupitt, NSW Priority Schools Funding Program

This paper describes classroom-based research undertaken by consultants and teachers in primary schools on the NSW Priority Schools Funding Program (PSFP). The research involved developing and evaluating approaches to enhance effective implementation of the Working Mathematically strand in the Mathematics K - 6 syllabus (NSW DET 2003).

The paper revisits the Co-operative Problem Solving framework (Johnson 2002), which focused on providing students with modeled questions linked to the five Working Mathematically processes. Further, it explores connections between this model and the Quality Teaching in NSW Public Schools discussion paper (NSW DET 2003).

As a result of this work a number of key considerations for teacher professional learning in mathematics have emerged:

• building teacher confidence in and understanding about the nature of mathematical investigations
• identifying and describing "good" pedagogy to support student learning of mathematical processes
• the importance of reflective language in the teaching and learning of mathematics
• the role of the educational consultant in supporting teacher professional learning

The paper provides recommendations that will assist consultants and teachers to focus classroom practice on improved student learning in mathematics. It has particular significance for educators working to narrow the achievement gap for students in targeted equity groups.

JOH04182   [Paper]
Real Kids, Real Classrooms, Real Learning: An action research approach to enhancing engagement in learning for secondary school students from low SES school communities

Therese Weir, Mary-Lou O'Brien and Kerry Johnson, NSW Priority Schools Funding Program

This paper draws on current professional learning research in the Real Kids, Real Classrooms, Real Learning Project. The project promotes a whole school focus on student engagement within the framework of the Quality Teaching in NSW Public Schools initiative. It involves teachers and students in Priority Schools Funding Program (PSFP) secondary schools, regional, state consultancy teams, and parents and community members. These research partnerships are investigating ways that teachers can identify, describe, implement and evaluate school and classroom practices that enhance engagement and participation in schooling for students from low SES backgrounds.

In this paper we consider the implications in focusing teachers' attention on all aspects of student engagement, from collaborative planning of classroom activities to evaluating rich tasks through the collection of authentic assessment data. Here student engagement is not narrowly defined as on-task behaviour, but has a wider sense that students feel that school and education is "for them". The theoretical underpinnings of the research are that student engagement is a pivotal element in classroom pedagogies, both determining and illuminating the quality and effect of student learning outcomes. This paper will support educators to respond to the big ideas on engaging secondary school students from targeted equity groups.

JOH04392   [Paper]  ®
Technological disadvantage of the Digital Age

Nicola Johnson, Deakin University

Debates continue about the relative benefits, costs and risks of the diffusion of computer-based technologies throughout society and schooling. One area that has received considerable attention is gender equity. Early work on gender and computers focused on differences between male and female access and use (e.g. Martin & Murchie-Beyma, 1992; Sofia, 1993; Kirkman, 1993; Nelson and Cooper, 1997; Morritt, 1997), with concerns focused on the potential for girls to be disadvantaged. In some respects, it is arguable that problems of gender equity in schools with respect to computers have been overcome. For example, in a small study I conducted in two New Zealand senior primary schools in 2003, I found that both boys and girls were motivated to use computers and appeared to have equal opportunities to access computers in the classroom. The students in my study expressed a belief in the importance of using computers, and this belief can also be discerned from educational policy and media coverage.

In this paper I argue that, although gender by itself no longer appears to be a source of disadvantage in terms of access to and use of computers in schools, many questions about technology, schooling and power relations still remain unanswered. I present two alternative viewpoints on the new digital age. First, I explore Melanie Stewart Millar's (1998) analysis of digital discourse as one which reproduces the power of white, middle-class, educated, well-paid males, and excludes anything else it considers 'Other'. Second, I review arguments that the digital age has provided sites for the transcendence of traditional hierarchies and inequalities (e.g. Spender, 1995). I conclude that, despite the discrepancies between these two viewpoints, both concur that technological disadvantage will exacerbate any existing inequality that might result from intersections of identity categories, such as, gender, ethnicity, age, and socio-economic status.

JOH04585   [Paper]
Researching with children: Children's perceptions of their place(s) in primary schools

Kaye Johnson, Woodville Primary School

Research on and about children has a long history. More recently, however, those researching children's lives have questioned the positioning of children as incompetent participants and the consequent exclusion of children's perceptions. There is an increasing focus on conducting research with children. In this project, primary school aged children in years 4 and 5 were invited to record, visually, the places of their own everyday school experiences. They constructed a set of photographs using the school's digital cameras and created artworks of places within their school. Their spatial knowledge and understanding of their school was revealed through conversations where they commented on their photographs and artworks.

This project was based on a commitment to enable the research process to become transparent to the participants; to enable them to investigate issues they define as central to their lives at school; to facilitate their data collection; and to include them in the analysis of that data. It was research with children who eagerly volunteered to become investigators and recorders of their everyday experience and who relished the opportunity to contribute to current debates about the place of children in primary schools. This paper will share some of the children's insights into their place(s) in one Adelaide primary school, including toilets and other taboo areas; significant icons; and names for these places.

JOL04453   [Paper]
Arriving at interdisciplinarity

Lesley Jolly, Merrilyn Goos and Trisch Short, The University of Queensland and Angela Coco, Southern Cross University

There are many ways in which members of academic disciplines may work together from the occasional provision of particular expertise, to the pooling of intellectual resources that can produce a new kind of knowledge in the context of complex social problems and situations. The terms applied to such co-operative and collaborative work include cross-disciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, but it is rare to see a considered discussion of which one best applies to a given study. Some studies even invoke such terms without definition. In this paper we attempt to provide models of these varieties of interdisciplinarity and describe how in our projects they have produced different results for different audiences. In doing so we pay special attention to the ways in which research may be said to be in the interests of the public good.

JOL04455  [Paper]
Problematising risk, problematising practice

Lesley Jolly and Mohammad Gholam, The University of Queensland and Angela Coco, Southern Cross University

Students who are at risk or placed at risk due to poverty, race, ethnicity, language or other factors are rarely well served by their schools. It has been suggested that a first step towards correcting the problem would be to reframe the whole concept of 'risk' as generated by a significant mismatch between student circumstances and needs and the capacity or willingness of the school to accept and respond to them. The next step would be to build on student strengths rather than focussing on remediation and then to address the quality of the entirety of the school experience. This paper draws on an interdisciplinary case study of a primary school using a whole-of-school approach to significantly improve children's numeracy and literacy performance in benchmark tests. While many of this school's strategies indeed focussed on individual student characteristics, it also introduced disciplinary and other programs to improve the school culture. However, life circumstances outside school, at home or in the community, also contribute to student risk and we consider how realistic it is to expect schools to address that aspect of risk. An ecological approach to risk will require the involvement of schools, families, communities and a range of specialist knowledges.

JON04484   [Paper]  ®
Reading aloud, silent reading and "booktalk" in upper primary school classes: Teachers' reading programs, motivations and objectives

Tammy Jones and Robin Wills, University of Tasmania

This case study of four upper primary school teachers sought to discover their motivations and objectives for their decision to implement a combination of three literacy practices: reading aloud to students, providing dedicated silent reading time and engaging students in "booktalk".

Results indicated that the teachers' own love of reading, as well as their understanding that well-developed reading skills had an important influence on the future success of their students were recognised as salient motivating factors in each of the teachers' programs. Teachers also had a naive theoretical understanding of the attitude influence model that framed this study.

This study provides support for the implementation of reading programs in which these three practices are linked and it emphasises the power of teacher modelling as a vital component of pedagogical practice. The teachers' accounts provide access to their emotional commitment to their work, and their stories suggest that they implicitly understand the crucial importance of student motivation to any educational endeavour.

JON04499   [Paper]
Creativity, imagination and digital technology

Anthony Jones, The University of Melbourne

JSchool curricula and teachers have traditionally suggested that creativity is only possible in subjects such as art, music, drama and dance. However, the digital technology now available to schools can offer users opportunities to be creative in different ways and in other subject areas. Using ideas from recently published UK reports on creativity and creative thinking, grade 1 and 2 students in three classes used pencil and paper to draw houses and people, and then used a computer software package to draw other items. The software package allowed students to draw free-hand, to use built-in graphics features including colour for lines and fill, and to use text. No attempt was made to compare products from the two media forms for creativity. Children who displayed certain characteristics of creativity in their pencil and paper drawings were asked about both their pencil and computer drawings. The tentative results reinforce the belief that creativity is in the child rather than the medium, but that some children respond to a particular medium and demonstrate behaviours not seen in other contexts.

JOS04623   [Paper]  ®
Masakhane: Drumming up an effective music curriculum for pre-service teacher education

Dawn Joseph, Deakin University

The introduction of African indigenous music to a generalist primary teacher education course transcended both cultural differences and personal inadequacies of students. It provided a cohesive bond for promoting the learning of music that is aptly represented by the African concept of masakhane (building together). This research demonstrated the effectiveness of Africa music for promoting cross-cultural music education, thereby providing a worthy model for implementation in other teacher education programs. According to findings from a questionnaire survey and interviews, students reported they were able to more effectively engage with, know, create, perform, teach and experience music through African rather than just the Western music. This experience provided students with new musical knowledge, understandings and skills as well as giving them insights into another musical tradition and culture. Students also perceived Indigenous African music as a source of motivation, interest and enjoyment, thereby promoting their creativity and musical learning. As global citizens, we need to embrace diversity and change not only in our immediate teaching contexts but also in broader educational policy. This curriculum clearly enhanced the effectiveness of music within a teacher education course and by extension has the potential to contribute to a greater professional and public good in education.

K

KAC041065   [Paper]
Examining the impact of qualitative data analysis software upon the analysis process

Daniel Kaczynski, University of West Florida

The dramatic growth in the use of qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) in the qualitative methodological design process is stimulating changes in how researchers view analysis. Qualitative researchers are progressively expanding the adoption of QDAS, as a tool, in the interpretation and analysis stages. This growing application of QDAS has been cited as a major contribution to the rigor and credibility of qualitative research. But there has been little systematic discussion of the different QDAS functions relevant to educational research. Moreover, software use has also raised concerns that the tools increasingly drive methodological practices. Qualitative data collection, analysis, and reporting require consistent, diligent attention in order to ensure a rigorous study. Most qualitative researchers agree that a steadfast focus on a studies purpose and a consistent adherence to a prescribed conceptual framework are critical to a rigorous study. Fewer researchers agree, however, on the appropriate use of QDAS in this process. As each new generation of qualitative software increasingly alters research methods, there is a need for continuing education of researchers in this dynamic process, and continued critique of methodological innovations. How researchers respond to this challenge will significantly influence our conceptualisation of the future of qualitative research.

KAJ04082   [Paper]
Local-based curriculum development: A case study of Watsamankit Elementary School, Thailand

Boonreang Kajornsin, Pranee Potisook, Pikun Ekwarangkoon and Warunee Lapanachokdee, Kasetsart University

According to the National Education Act of 1999, schools have to develop their own curricula which are appropriated with their own community. The community members should participate in developing local curriculum as well as teaching learning process. At this transition period, the teachers and schools face a lot of problems. They don't know how to get start to develop their own curriculum with the participation of community members. Teacher lack of self confidence in student-centered teaching and authentic assessment.

Boonreang Kajornsin and others (Kajornsin et al., 2001; Kajornsin et al., 2002a; Kajornsin et al., 2002b) conduct a participatory action research about developing local-based curriculum at Watsamankit elementary school, Ratchaburi province, Thailand. The objectives of this research were: 1) To develop a local curriculum appropriate to the community and school contexts through collaboration with school and community members. 2) To implement local curriculum in school that would move from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning. The teachers would learn how to use an integrated learning approach, authentic assessment and rubric assessment. Community members would participate in developing local curriculum and the learning-teaching process. Students would have an experience on authentic learning and authentic assessment. 3) To follow up, evaluate, revise and implement the curriculum in a second semester.

The research results revealed that:

1. Watsamankit School developed a local-based curriculum, "A Systemic Approach to Integrated Agriculture".
2. Community members and local organizations became involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating curriculum. They were also involved in teaching and learning process.
3. The impact of implementing local curriculum revealed that students gained more knowledge about integrated agriculture. They developed more desirable behaviors, skills and attitudes.

Most students enjoyed the learning activities. School administrators, teachers and district supervisors thought that the local curriculum had positive impacts on the school, students, teachers and community. The schools and the communities had closer relationships. Students could apply their knowledge to help their parents' jobs. Their working habits were improved. Students had a closer relationship with their parents. Teachers gained more understanding about student-centered learning, integrated learning approach, authentic assessment and rubric assessment. Teachers had a closer relationship with their students. They had better relationships with parents and community members. Community members were willing and proud to participate in the teaching-learning process. They had a closer relationship with the school and teachers. They felt more academic value for their descendants.

KAM04695   [Paper]
The Disembodied Apprentice: Reflections on a doctoral exchange

Annelies Kamp, Deakin University

This presentation explores my experience as a full-time on-campus doctoral candidate involved in an international postgraduate exchange. My doctoral work, concerned with the use of networks as a policy mechanism to understand and manage risk for young people, is being completed within an ARC Linkage Project. As such, my doctoral journey is undertaken collaboratively with an industry partner and alongside a community of academics. This stands in contrast to the more common experience of the part-time off-campus Education doctoral candidate largely isolated from an academic community and interacting, to a greater or lesser extent, with only a principal and/or associate supervisor. Lave and Wenger's (1991) theory of legitimate peripheral participation explores the nature of situated learning, moving the focus from the observation and imitation that occurs between the master/apprenticeship to the learning that occurs within the community of which the master forms a part and in which learning occurs as access to practice. The idea of communities of practice is further developed by Wenger (1999) to include both questions of practice, including meaning, community, learning, boundaries and locality and questions of identity including identity in practice, participation, modes of belonging, identification and negotiability. My doctoral process as a disembodied experience of situated learning within a community of practice was highlighted by the opportunity to witness aspects of the academic apprenticeship of higher degree students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That comparative experience provides new understandings about the distinctive model of research training that constitutes my academic apprenticeship within Australian higher education.

KAR041081   [Paper]
Bourdieu's social theory and sustainability: What is 'environmental capital'?

Justin Karol and Trevor Gale, Monash University

Drawing on the social theory of Bourdieu, this paper introduces the concept of 'environmental capital', which is theorised as particular ways of understanding and relating with the world's environment, and with the potential to inform a habitus of sustainability. The extent to which such capital relates to and is convertible with other capitals is also theorised. In particular, it is argued that environmental capital is undervalued in the current schooling 'stakes' and that its revaluing requires pedagogical work on the habitus of teachers and, by extension, students, in order to transform their dispositions in more environmentally sustainable ways. The cultural field upon which this paper concentrates is the education of pre-service teachers, with the intent to influence their future pedagogic work by demonstrating the value of sustainable pedagogic actions. It is argued that educators and education practices need to be informed by a habitus of sustainability and, similarly, that if students are denied access to environmental capital from the very first years of schooling, the collective habitus required to create a sustainable world may never eventuate.

KEA04236   [Paper]  ®
"I don't understand this gibberish!": Charting, through teacher research, parallel teacher/student progress toward long-term learner success

Jan Claes, George P Vanier Junior High School and Stephen Keast, Monash University

One teacher's action research formed the basis of a two-year collaborative action research project for a group of teachers with common concerns. The initial teacher researcher mentored the new group of action researchers. She was surprised by the common critical incidents that generated identical ah-ha moments in the teachers, in spite of widely-varying personalities and classroom realities. Two frameworks were developed, one mapping the process of teacher change and the other the process of student change. What emerged was that the student change echoed the teacher change and that emerging enthusiasm in one was paralleled by emerging enthusiasm in the other. This paper then reports on the development of the parallel teacher/student change framework and the results of the first year of this project.

KEE04857   [Paper]  ®
Principal's stress: Tensions between the requirements of the disability discrimination legislation and the governance of inclusion in schools

Mary Keeffe, Queensland University of Technology

This paper examines qualitative perspectives that principals in schools have of the disability discrimination legislation. Perspectives from in-depth interviews with six school principals and two focus groups of twenty-eight principals describe attitudes toward the disability discrimination legislation, particularly as these attitudes relate to the governance of inclusion.

The study found that a reduced level of knowledge of the disability discrimination legislation and vague, ineffectual inclusive education policies contributed to leadership problems in the governance of inclusion. A combination of such factors increased stressful, reactive decision-making responses from principals particularly when complex school situations related to students with disabilities and challenging behaviours. The study proposed that collaborative decision-making to create shared understandings about disability issues was more effective in creating inclusive school cultures than the imposed requirements of the disability discrimination legislation.

KEL04458   [Paper]
Parents' views on kindergarten scheduling and educational provision in Tasmania

Margot Boardman, University of Tasmania, Michael Kelly, University of Tasmania

In Tasmania, as in other states of Australia, there has been a marked shift toward the provision of full-day kindergarten attendance for four and five year old children. A number of reasons have been highlighted to account for these changes although societal and familial changes are common. It is acknowledged that these changes have been made to cater for the changing needs of families as they attempt to juggle work commitments, childcare arrangements and a busier family life in general. However, in the literature parents are often not given a voice in regard to these issues. This paper reports on two sections of a study that aimed to determine parents' perceptions (n = 332) of full-day and half-day kindergarten attendance in Tasmanian government schools. More specifically, the paper examines parents' responses to differing scheduling options and possible improvements to the kindergarten program in general. Overall, parents expressed high levels of satisfaction with the government kindergarten system and the programs offered within it. In relation to the notion of scheduling kindergarten classes for half-days in term one and full-days in terms two and three, 54% of parents indicated that this was a good idea.

KER041061    [Paper]
Women primary principals in Independent schools: Creativity and inspiration

Noella Kershaw and Evelyn Johnson, Deakin University

The purpose of my research is to reinvigorate educational leadership through improved understandings of women primary principals in Independent schools, thereby rethinking the current directions. By 'reinvigorate' I mean investigate what serves as inspiration for current women primary leaders and explore how this might be better used to generate the kinds of educational change that lead to more dynamic primary school leadership. These 'improved understandings' are expected to suggest a reconceptualizing of primary school leadership by, what I coin 'response-ability'. By 'response-ability' I mean to expose untapped potentials in primary leadership performance so that the leader utilizes the full range of their knowledge, skills and values.

There are acknowledged gaps in the primary school Independent sector concerning women in leadership both theory and practice and in this instance the Victorian context. Considerable research surrounds educational leadership [Peter Hill (2003), Neil Cranston (2001), Frances Townsend (1999),Helen Telford.(1996) and Caldwell & Spinks (1992)]. In particular Jill Blackmore's, (1999) research analysed a number of projects focusing on women secondary principals. As a critique of leadership her research exposed the gendered influences reinforced through culture, values and language

However there has been limited research into women in primary leadership and the implications for the Independent sector. In summary this research aims to understand women in primary educational leadership and investigate the significance of their untapped knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. Furthermore to propose what may constitute 'Response-able' leadership that could serve to highlight ethical principles, authenticity and creativity.

KER04657   [Paper]  ®
From classroom reality to virtual classroom: The role of teacher-created scripts in the development of classroom simulation technology

Lisa Kervin and Brian Cambourne, University of Wollongong

This paper describes a specific kind of teacher narrative (the teacher created script) to support the design of a classroom simulation to be used in pre-service teacher education. We intend to share our experiences in exploring and developing the kind of narrative text which can be developed from a large reservoir of ethnographically generated data collected from the teachers and classrooms we have closely observed and documented over the last two decades. In particular, we explore the role which the se narratives play within the development of the kind of simulation we ultimately produced. Reflection has long been acknowledged as a useful process for teachers to engage with. Also, the notion of formalising such reflections through writing has been a cknowledged as a way to share, refine and articulate teaching practice. As stated by Barth (2001:66) "...with written words come the innermost secrets of schools". This prototype simulation allows the user to adopt the role of a Kindergarten teacher using a daily literacy teaching episode called "days of the week". The user is asked to make decisions about the organization and implementation of this recurring teaching episode. The range of options that occur in this episode stem from the teacher-created script we developed from our own research to shape this virtual classroom.

KID04997   [Paper]
Reducing maths-anxiety: The effectiveness of an online anxiety survey

Lisa Uusimaki and Gillian Kidman, Queensland University of Technology

Large numbers of primary preservice student teachers' experience maths-anxiety and negative beliefs when entering teacher education courses. This study investigated the reduction of maths-anxiety in sixteen self-identified maths-anxious preservice student teachers. These students were engaged in the development of their mathematical repertoires within the context of a supportive computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. The design of the Intervention Program used in the study was informed by a theoretical framework derived from the literature in the fields of learning environments, novel open-ended mathematical activities, computer supported collaborative learning, community of learners and negative beliefs about learning and teaching mathematics. A focus for this study will be findings from the online anxiety survey that allowed participants to self-monitor their feelings as they engaged with the various mathematical activities. The findings suggest that a significant decrease in participant maths-anxiety occurred as they became aware of their emotional state and feelings in relation to each mathematical activity.

KIG04231   [Paper]
The development of a literacy of pedagogy for preservice teacher education students

Julie Kiggins and Brian Cambourne, University of Wollongong

In this paper we will report and discuss our decision to develop a framework for preservice teachers that gave them a literacy for talking about and discussing teaching and classroom practice. The development of this framework was motivated by experiences coordinating the alternative teacher education program known as the Knowledge Building Community Program at the University of Wollongong over the last five years. A question we had to address in this program was: "How can we help preservice teachers, in their very first School Based Learning experience, understand and get control over such complex things as creating and maintaining classroom settings that support effective teaching and learning"? While there are proven frameworks based on the "Productive Pedagogy" model available for experienced teachers, our experience was that pre-service teacher education students lacked the background knowledge and experiences to use such models effectively, (at least until their final year of study). We therefore decided to develop and trial a framework based on a theory of behaviour settings pioneered by Roger Barker (1968, 1978). Barker's theory of behaviour settings proved to be sufficiently robust and enabled the major stakeholders i.e. preservice teachers, mentor teachers, and University facilitators to describe, discuss, and talk about classroom practice and experience without trivialising the complexity of the primary classroom.

KIG04789   [Paper]  ®
The teaching of narratives

Mutuota Kigotho, Macquarie University

This paper presents a case for the use of narrative as an instructional tool. Available literature on the narrative and reviewed within the last thirty years seems to suggest that narrative might be a significant tool of instruction. Given the variety of uses that researchers in narrative have explored so far, the paper suggests that the narrative has the potential to influence the school system and that the public might be better served by enhancing and encouraging students and teachers to continue the practice of using narrative in teaching and learning especially in the lower secondary school.

KIL04172   [Paper]  ®
Leadership for rural school community partnerships

Sue Kilpatrick and Susan Johns, University of Tasmania

This paper presents a model for examining effective leadership for rural school community partnerships, derived from Australian research supported by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. The research team investigated effective school community partnerships in five different Australian rural locations. Four government and one independent school featured in the study. Partnership effectiveness was confirmed by seeking advice from a range of experts including State, Commonwealth, independent school and Catholic education authorities, as well as rural education professionals. The particular focus of the study was on the community outcomes of such partnerships.

The model is consistent with, but further develops, earlier partnership models. It uses the leadership process, rather than the leader, as the unit of analysis. The model outlines a five-stage process of partnership development: trigger, initiation, development, maintenance and sustainability. While the stages of the process appear to be consistent across study sites, the way in which the model is implemented differs according to context, with factors such as the level of maturity of the school community partnership influencing the process. The flexibility of the model, in terms of better understanding the contextualised nature of educational leadership, suggests it has broader application beyond rural school community partnerships.

KIL04329   [Paper]  ®
Who are the children whose behaviour is of concern to schools?

Peter Kilpatrick, Department of Education, Tasmania

In 2002 and 2003 the Esk District in Tasmania undertook a project to examine the characteristics of students whose attitude to education or behaviour was deemed by their schools to be of serious concern. In 2002 data was collected from schools with students grouped into four categories, Aggressive Violent, Aggressive Contained, Disaffected and Not Understanding Consequences. As the project advanced the boundaries between these categories became blurred and it eventually appeared that there was a single group of students and how they acted depended on a number of factors including literacy levels and socio-economic factors. For 2003 schools were asked simply to provide 3 or 4 key words to describe the behaviours (The analysis of the 2003 data is incomplete at the time of writing this paper). This project uses data provided by the schools as well as systemic data on student attainment in literacy and numeracy, suspensions from school, attendance and socio-economic data pertaining to the schools to generate data on students who exhibit problematic behaviours. This data collection is now in the second year of collection and there are many differences between the two sets of data which will require further longitudinal study to clarify. This data is being used to give direction to the selection and funding of special projects within the district to address the needs of these students.

KLE04357   [Paper]  ®
Remaking the teacher and redesigning preservice teacher education in/for uncertain times

Mary Klein, James Cook University

Times are changing, but structurally and pedagogically teacher education looks very much as it did decades ago. While there has been some tinkering around the edges, some innovative use of ICTs and other technologies to enhance student learning, teacher education itself and policy documents such as Australia's Teachers: Australia's Future (Department of Education, Science and Training, DEST, 2003) endure as bastions of outmoded humanist assumptions about learners and learning-to-teach that, at the very moments they speak of transformation, in operation preclude significant change. New and uncertain times demand newly conceived teaching/learning interactional patterns in universities (and schools) that, in recognising their constitutive force, nurture not only the construction of intellectual knowledge but also innovative ways-of-being a lifelong learner (teacher) living with (in)difference, diversity and uncertainty.

KLE04897   [Paper]
Developing standards for leaders in Victorian Catholic Schools

Lawrence Ingvarson and Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Australian Council for Educational Research and Anne McDonald, Commission of Catholic Education

In 2003-4, the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria undertook a project to develop standards for school leadership. A specific aim of the project was to provide a "bridge" to leadership that would encourage teachers to undertake leadership tasks and to consider moving into formal positions of leadership. This paper reports on the experiences and challenges of developing standards that matched this purpose. It also reviews school leadership standards that have been developed in Australia and overseas over the past decade. A comparison is drawn between standards for teachers and standards for leaders in schools, making the point that, whereas teaching standards are specific to the profession of teaching, leadership extends across many areas and occupations. In accordance with contemporary understandings of distributed leadership, the CECV standards were designed as a generic articulation of what leaders know and do rather than descriptions of school principals' responsibilities. The standards were developed to provide a framework for the assessment of leadership performance and to suggest tasks that teachers may undertake to gain leadership experience. The paper discusses the major challenge of identifying these tasks and articulating them in standards for leaders, within the various areas of the daily work of schools.

KO04201   [Paper]
The interface between teacher act and the improvement of students' learning

Po Yuk Ko, Hong Kong Institute of Education

Drawing on the empirical data of the Learning Study projects conducted in primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong since 2000, this paper discusses the relationship between teacher act and the improvement of students' learning. This paper argues that students' perception of the object of learning depends on how they experience the pattern of variation created by the teacher during the teaching act. "What varies" and "what remains invariant" both matter. Thus teaching should be a conscious structuring act, where teachers actively construct the learning experiences for the students so that they can experience appropriate variations in the object of learning, in order to bring about the intended discernment and learning.

KOE04870   [Paper]  ®
The positioning of international education and international students: Multiple discourses and discursive practices

Norma Koehne, Monash University

International education can be positioned within a number of discourses. This paper will look at the way it is positioned within the discourse of power and knowledge within the western academy. In particular, it is interested in the ways international students are positioned within this discourse, and how it impacts on their construction of their storylines about self. Postmodern and poststructuralist ways of talking about discourse are used to uncover the complexity of international education, particularly Foucault's ideas about knowledge and power, the possibility of deconstructing taken-for-granted assumptions in discourses, and the multiplicity of ways subjects are positioned within discourse and in narratives about self. These open up spaces for different ways of thinking about international education.

KOM04157   [Paper]
Doing it in the courts: Opening research to public scrutiny

Linda Komesaroff, Deakin University

This paper analyses the positioning of researchers and their research by the courts in legal complaints brought against educational authorities. Over the past decade at least eleven formal complaints related to deaf children's access to native sign language in education have been lodged with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

This ongoing legal action has brought a pedagogical debate over educational policy into the courts. The most recent case to reach the Federal Court of Australia was taken by the families of two deaf children against a state educational authority, allegedly for failing to provide the children with an adequate education. The complainants called for teachers fluent in Auslan (Australian Sign Language) or interpreters to be employed alongside mainstream teachers.

As a researcher in this field, I have acted as an expert witness in eight of these cases, tendered my thesis as evidence, and been cross-examined in the Federal Court. Court transcripts from the two most recent cases provide the data for an analysis of the way in which legal counsel position researchers (as 'advocates', having vested interests, representing lobby groups) and interpret their research to support the legal arguments being made.

KOO04010   [Paper]
Conceptualising the research strategies: A personal configuration of positioning educational research

Marianne Sham, Hong Kong Institute of Education

The paper reflects on a research journey which comprises of thirteen papers presented in local and international conferences over the last five years. The researcher on the one hand moved along a self journey of studying a doctoral degree; while on the other hand, worked collaboratively with a group of teachers and principals to investigate curriculum issues and problems. Meaning-making and the ways of engaging research participants in the collaborative research journey were put in the forefront of the researcher's epistemological and ontological positioning, and methodological considerations during and beyond the research journey of doctoral studies. In this paper, the traditional relationships between the researcher and the research "subjects", between the research methods and the outcomes, between the research purposes and the research significance are thoroughly examined and contested in the light of ethics in education and research.

Very often, researchers are positioned to the crossroad of "publish or perish" as higher education institutions demand academics to present papers in conferences and journals for scholarly output. This paper presents a set of values which may help explain how efforts have been made to overcome the either-or debate between public goods and private interests. The paper concludes by adopting a personal configuration of positioning educational research in a disillusioned but interdependent world of change.

KOS04610   [Paper]
Rethinking the spatiality of literacy practices in multicultural conditions

Alexander Kostogriz, Monash University

The last two decades have witnessed a resurgence of interest in exploring the spatial contours of sociocultural life. The renewed interest in the category of space reflects, to some extent, an attempt to delineate a more multifaceted approach to the studies of sociocultural practices in conditions when the processes of globalization - transnational economic and cultural-semiotic flows - have challenged and changed the ways people use and perceive spaces and locations. While the "spatial turn" (Soja, 2000) in cultural studies has directed our attention to how spatial arrangements operate as a constitutive dimension of social activity, the implications of these studies for research in education and for pedagogical practices still remains largely underutilized. Even though spatial issues have been an important topic in empirical research into learning, space has been predominantly conceived of as a set of variables or as a static and neutral context in which pedagogical processes unfold. Moving beyond the limitations of the "space-as-container" ontology (Gotham, 2003), this paper offers a Bakhtinian dialogical perspective on the use if cultural-semiotic spaces, in particular with regard to the production of new transcultural meanings and hybrid literacy practices that are a result of interactions between differences. From this perspective, rather than being neutral and static, cultural-semiotic space is constructed in the constant process of change given the struggle between centrifugal and centripetal forces that operate on the level of spatial and textual politics; that is, between the processes of cultural and textual uniformization and local fragmentation. Given the dialogical nature of space and its relation to the cultural identities of migrant and minority students and their literacy practices, I argue for rethinking literacy education in multicultural classrooms. This task becomes more urgent in the current educational era of standards, accountability and classroom pedagogies; an era that is neither attuned to the particularities of students' intertextual practices, nor the emergent transcultural places in which they live.

KOU04335   [Paper]  ®
A study of students' perceptions of science classroom learning environment and teacher-student interaction in Jammu: A cultural perspective.

Rekha Koul and Darrell Fisher, Curtin University of Technology

This paper is a part of a larger study to investigate student-teacher interactions and science classroom learning environments in Jammu, India The present study reports on the research findings on associations between students cultural background and their perceptions of their teacher interaction and classroom learning environment, as measured by a standardised test. A sample of 1,021 students from 31 classes in seven co-educational private schools completed a survey including the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), What is Happening in This Class (WIHIC) and a question relating to the cultural background. Statistical analysis shows that the Kashmiri group of students perceived their classrooms and teacher interaction more positively than those from the other cultural groups identified in the study.

L

LAD04811   [Paper]
Modelling pedagogy in Australian school reform

James Ladwig, The University of Newcastle

In the past decade there have been several well publicised school reform initiatives in Australia designed to improve the quality of what happens in classroom, as a means of improving student learning outcomes. While there remains heated public debate about the implications of these initiatives, there is wide consensus about the importance of pedagogy and the need to focus on classroom practices as the core business of teachers. Central to these developments has been an attempt to develop models of pedagogy for both research and professional development purposes. This paper provides an empirical overview and assessment of the development of the Productive Pedagogy model used in Queensland and the NSW Quality Teaching model, a summary of their immediate origins. Included in this paper will be an analysis of the limitations of prior Australian research using these models and an outline of how the current research (SIPA) will address some of these limits.

LAI04196   [Paper]
Teachers' perceptions of teaching Sex Education in Hong Kong pre-schools: A pilot study

Yuk-ching, Eva Lai, Hong Kong Institute of Education

In Hong Kong, once a British colony, 'sex' has traditionally been viewed as taboo, and as such, seldom talked about or openly discussed in public. Schools have therefore not implemented sex education. Mass media further challenges the moral standards and values of teenagers by distributing sexual material which is distorted in nature. All these factors contribute to an increase in sexual promiscuity, sex related crime and incest, of which some victims are young children. Since the first few years of a person's life are the most important in the formation of their value and behaviours (Opper, 1996), the foundation of sex education should begin early.

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the Hong Kong teachers' perceptions of teaching sex education in pre-schools. One kindergarten and one childcare center were selected for this study. Two pre-school heads and six teachers were interviewed. The findings indicated that almost all of the teachers did not have confidence in teaching sex education in their pre-schools, because they had inadequate knowledge and skills. Interestingly, the findings also showed that some unmarried teachers felt embarrassed to implement sex education. Nevertheless, they were willing to take up the responsibilities of teaching sex education if they had sufficient training.

LAK04460   [Paper]
Significant influencers and early adolescents: A literature review

Stephen Lake and Christine Eastwood, Queensland University of Technology

While developing their identity, early adolescent boys wonder who they are and who they might become. They are building on the past and shaping their future. Friends and parents are usually with the boys, and other adults are potentially important influencers as the boys become young men. Parents who guide and direct, set limits and appropriately discipline their teenage children play a positive part in the development of their adolescents and it appears that parental support and monitoring is associated with higher identity achievement in adolescents. The influence of extended adult networks, particularly grandparents and teachers, is considered along with the influence of non-parental adults on 'at-risk' young people. Beyond peers and the immediate and extended family, adolescent young people indicate the importance of other adults, primarily for mentoring, guidance and support. Research in this field has only in the last decade begun to identify the possible effects of these supportive relationships on early adolescents' development.

LAM04049   [Paper]
Focus group interviews: Music teachers' perspectives on promoting creativity in young children

Wai Man Stella Lam, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

This paper will present the findings of a research project whose major objective was to investigate how teachers think and behave about using a new approach in music education centered on promoting creativity in young children.. Focus group interviews were conducted with 30 participants from 2 local kindergarten with nearly equal socio-economic status. These interviews were transcribed and video-recorded for later analysis. The interview questions covered five main topics on the theme "Early Childhood Teachers' Promoting of Creative Music Education for Young Children" and included: definition of musical creativity, observable characteristics of creative kindergarten teachers in music, types of teaching strategies/activities that stimulate musical learning, social interactions and problem solving and characteristics of musically creative kindergarten children.

Preliminary analysis of the findings revealed different views and perspectives concerning musical creativity. Observable characteristics of creative kindergarten teachers in music included flexibility, and willingness to try different methods to encourage enjoyment in children. A creative musical classroom should provide access to musical instruments, integrate music elements into the daily curriculum and provide free play experiences. Music teachers should apply teaching techniques that make use of demonstration and encourage problem-solving skills. Musically creative children express themselves readily are willing to take risks.

LAM04571   [Paper]
Learning and Affect in the Research Higher Degree

Rolene Lamm

The present study explores the student experience of learning within the doctoral process and its emotional concomitants. This work is informed by a multi disciplinary framework comprising educational, scientific, neurological, biological and psychological work which recognises the interdependence of mind and body, the interplay of emotions and consciousness and the close connection between affect and cognition .In general, higher degree research study was found to be significant, meaningful and transformative, with strong emotional overtones. Research students were found to experience a range of heightened emotions in relation to the research learning process as well as within the supervisory interaction. As students progress through the study, continually changing, yet extreme emotional states identified included enthusiasm, excitement, anxiety and depression. A number reported anxiety, trauma, self doubt, and academic insecurity regarding their sense of intellectual prowess. This paper discusses learning and affect in doctoral candidature and the supervisory implications.

LAM04575   [Paper]
Nurture or challenge in research higher degree supervision

Rolene Lamm

This paper discusses the findings of a multidisciplinary quantitative and qualitative investigation which explores features of the supervisory relationship which impact on doctoral students' learning, their personal and professional growth as well as on the efficient completion of their theses.

The fact that the strongest needs expressed by students in this study were for elements of facilitation and challenge suggests that students want a substantial amount from the interpersonal supervisory relationship. It emphasises the centrality of the personal interaction as part of the learning and growth process, creating an environment safe enough to allow for intellectual confrontation, rigour, challenge, and criticism as well as the possibility for dialectic and exploration. Additionally, within the supervisory interaction is the need for nurture to ensure adequate encouragement, motivation and personal support for research students to keep up the momentum towards constant progress.

The simultaneous supervisory provision of facilitation and challenge may impose a degree of supervisor role strain. Supervisory implications will be discussed.

LAM04859   [Paper]
Factors affecting student retention in Australia

Stephen Lamb, University of Melbourne and Chris Bain, Queensland Department of Education and the Arts

This paper examines the main drivers of current trends in retention rates across Australian States and Territories. Factors contributing to retention, identified in an extensive literature review and interviews with school and policy staff, were used to develop conceptual models of retention in Australia, the first based on state differences in retention and the second on individual decision-making. Data on apparent retention rates for 2002 and data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth were employed to model retention. The results suggest that a national strategy for increasing retention should aim at reducing differences between student groups and communities within States and Territories. In the long term, this will also reduce the gaps between the States and Territories. Modelling of factors affecting retention between student groups within States and Territories highlights the impact of successful learning on retention, including both the direct effects on individual plans and the indirect effects of peer impact and family aspirations. The focus in policies aimed at promoting higher levels of retention needs to be on creating the conditions for effective learning and personal growth that underpin quality retention is the strength of programs, depth of experiences and quality of learning provided in schools.

LAN04280   [Paper]
The Ithaka Project: Where are we travelling?

Julie Landvogt, University of Melbourne

What does curiosity mean in Year 2? How does critical thinking develop in Year 8, and is there overlap between what we mean by this in science and in history? What does "open mindedness" look like on Wednesday period 2?

These questions have guided the first phase of The Ithaka Project, a project supported at this stage largely by MLC and MGS within the context of professional learning programs. Using the ideas of Intellectual Character and thinking dispositions (Ritchhart, 2001) as a starting point, teachers have developed investigative projects to:

1. Explore the meaning of the proposed "thinking dispositions" in relation to daily practice and classroom culture
2. Develop a common language with which to reflect on teaching and learning
3. Review and refine curriculum in terms of big picture goals as well as the detail of unit structure, and the relationship between assessment, learning and curriculum statements
4. Link with professional recognition schemes and higher degrees

More than 40 teachers are involved, guided by a review panel representing schools and tertiary institutions. In addition to projects, there have been reading groups, theoretical discussions, a newsletter, and meetings throughout the year for the presentation and discussion of work in progress.

LAN04284   [Paper]
From the outside towards the inside: Partnerships and pitfalls

Julie Landvogt and Sally Godhino, University of Melbourne and Gaell Hildebrand, Monash University

As a conclusion to the symposium, this paper will draw together two strands of the findings of this project to date: The realities of practitioner research, and the ways it might be most effectively structured to be practical, rigorous and relevant to daily practice; Tentative findings about the thinking dispositions proposals, and questions with which to move forward.

LAS04710   [Paper]
Educating teachers in child protection: Lessons from research

Louise Laskey, Deakin University

This paper examines research about child protection preparation of teachers. Such research indicates that the nature of the training required to "do the public good" would differ markedly from that which is currently on offer in most teacher education courses. Whilst teachers have the potential to operate as frontline respondents in combating child abuse, the limitations of their training create a situation in which they are "worried, lacking in confidence and stressed about their ability to comply with mandatory reporting legislation" (Bluett, 2002). The consequences to the community are substantial: not only are there disincentives for teachers to participate in child protection roles and the increased likelihood of poor quality reporting, but children subjected to abuse may be unable to access protective services via the school system. The paper distills the findings of recent studies to identify design parameters for effective teacher preparation in child protection. The paper concludes that a program informed by research has the potential to produce enhanced outcomes for children, teachers and the broader community.

LAT04963   [Paper]  ®
The virtual classroom as a pedagogical space in preservice teacher education

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

In preservice teacher education programs, professional practice is typically an integral part, offering a partnership between schools and universities and a space for preservice teachers to experience and experiment with theory into practice. Professional practice sites are generally familiar environments to both direct post Year 12 and mature age preservice teachers. Yet sometimes, professional practice sites, as places where information and communication technologies have changed the way we think and learn, provide little stimulus for reflecting on teaching and learning for the 21st Century. The creation of a virtual classroom in a virtual school was conceived as a means to provide a space for preservice teachers to observe, question, and challenge established schooling practices. In this paper, the virtual classroom is described and analysed.

LAU04260   [Paper]
A tertiary curriculum for sustainability

Alexander Lautensach, University of Auckland

Current educational practice in the mainstream worldwide is not fulfilling its potentially pivotal role in counteracting the environmental crisis. Tertiary education has even been accused of contributing more to the problems than to their solutions. The shortfall is caused by the transmission of harmful or counterproductive values, beliefs and attitudes and by the failure to elicit more productive learning outcomes. In this paper I summarise pertinent findings of my recently completed doctoral thesis. The first part presents the case for educational reform by outlining the manifestations of educational shortfall at the tertiary level. In the second part I propose the main agenda and general aims of a comprehensive curriculum reform to address those problems. They include re-defining progress as achieving sustainability, replacing anthropocentric values with ecocentric values, remedying skill gaps, re-orienting education towards the future, eliminating parochialism from education systems and empowering the learner to take action.

LAW04351   [Paper]
Identifying quality in teacher-education students' mental models of self-regulation processes in learning

Michael Lawson and Helen Askell-Williams, Flinders University

Teacher education students' mental models of learning are of major functional importance. It is from these models that the students will generate many of the teaching plans and actions that will be used in lessons with their own students. Several streams of research have raised doubts about the degree of development of these models. At a general level, researchers have questioned whether the student-teachers' models were adequate to generate productive connections between their teaching actions and the learning processes of their students. In more specific analyses, the student teachers' vocabulary related to learning has been found to be relatively imprecise, suggesting the availability of limited analytic frameworks. Other research has reported wide variation in the quality of the student-teachers' explanations of how learning is supported through activities such as class discussions. In this study we investigate pre-service teachers' knowledge about processes of self-regulation in learning. This knowledge is of interest because it forms part of the central core of learners' and teachers' models of learning. We describe the models of self-regulation processes, present analyses of dimensions of quality of these models and report on the students' technical vocabulary about processes of self-regulation.

LE04720   [Paper]
Language from the street: An ethnographic study of street kids' English in Vietnam

Mark Le, La Trobe University

Interactionalist theory in Second Language Acquisition research emphasises the importance of environmental factors as being fundamental determiners in learner competence in L2 learning. A growing body of research enquiry into the role of interaction is yielding evidence that participation in interaction amongst learners holds a broader role in the learning process. How do environmental factors contribute to second language acquisition? Street kids' who vend postcards to tourists on the streets of Vietnam are involved in authentic communicative interaction on a day-to-day basis. This paper will investigate a group of children operating in a seemingly unstructured environment exhibiting signs of competent and active learning techniques from the so-called 'unskilled' and 'uneducated' children. In these findings I will attempt to demonstrate that these children not only have to negotiate the language meanings of words (semantics), structure (syntax), but of the language use itself, sociolinguistic competence such as how to address tourists, requesting information, complimenting and politeness, managing communication breakdown, negotiating prices, effective sales pitches to use, and to whom to pitch it to? How do they negotiate these cross-cultural discourse rules?

LE04798   [Paper]
A contrastive study of on-line communicative functions between undergraduate and postgraduate students

Thao Le & Quynh Le University of Tasmania

This paper is based on a contrastive study conducted with on-campus and off-campus students in a university context with a focus on communicative functions. The main aim of the study was to examine the nature of undergraduate and postgraduate students' communication in teaching and learning in terms of three communicative functions: procedural, social, and cognitive. It attempted to identify the underlying reasons why students wanted to communicate with their lecturer via email communication. The data analysis of undergraduate students indicates the predominance of procedural functions in their communication and strongly reinforces the assumption that students were mainly concerned about academic procedure and conformity. This is against the view held by many academics in different levels of education that communication in teaching and learning should be fundamentally a meaning making process and teaching is to facilitate the minds of learners to make sense of knowledge. However, the communication of on-line postgraduate students shows a balance of three clusters of functions. This phenomenon can be explained in terms of curriculum control and interpersonal relationship in an academic discourse.

LE04799   [Paper]
Intercultural health metaphors

Quynh Le & Thao Le, University of Tasmania

Metaphors reveal a great deal about our perception, judgment and value. They could be considered as the significant scaffolding surrounding serious efforts at developing comprehensive descriptions, explanations and predictions of phenomena, events, and conceptualisation. Metaphors can generate insights about how things are perceived in reality. A metaphor indirectly or implicitly indicates our perception and attitudes, particularly in relation to the social values. If a hospital is perceived metaphorically as a home, this metaphor brings with its positive features held by the metaphor users such as warmth, care, security, kindness etc. On the contrary, if a hospital is perceived as a clinical factory, it reveals negative images and feelings such as cutting the flesh, indifferent, fear, cool blood etc. A study based on narrative research methodology of Vietnamese migrants' perception of health concepts in an intercultural discourse was conducted. It attempted to understand the cultural meaning that Vietnamese migrants used to interpret and value health concepts and issues in terms of their Vietnamese metaphors applied to the Australian context.

LEE04483   [Paper]
An analysis of students' writing at a university in Japan: How do native speakers write differently from international students?

Nagiko Lee, Ritsumeikan University and La Trobe University

Declining numbers of local students, together with a trend of globalization in tertiary education, has encouraged universities in Japan to accept a larger number of students from overseas. Universities are now facing a challenge of providing academic support to such international students. The present study has been conducted in such an academic climate. It has compared linguistic features found in opinion essays written by Japanese-as-a-second-language (JSL) students and native speaking students at a university in Japan. Data were collected from 58 JSL students and 36 Japanese students enrolled at the same year-level of the same university. They were asked to write a short essay in response to a prompt soliciting their opinions. The collected essays have been analysed to answer the question, "How do native speakers write differently from JSL students?" One of the differences has been found in the way they present thematic development by using such grammatical constructions as relative clauses and cleft sentences. Such constructions, serving as cohesive devices in discourse, have received little attention in JSL textbooks. Incorporating lessons on such cohesive features is suggested.

LEI04965 [Paper]   ®
Methodological insights from children's accounts of everyday practices in school

Ann Farrell, Susan Danby, Michele Leiminer and Kathy Powell, Queensland University of Technology

The sociology of childhood framework is generating new approaches to researching children as competent informants of their own everyday experience. Seeing children as competent research participants contrasts much educational research that sees children as developing and seeking to attain competence and provides valuable methodological insights of home and school. Participants were children aged 7-12 years enrolled in two Brisbane schools. This paper investigates children's own accounts of their everyday practices in two Brisbane schools. It provides accounts of how children, themselves, make sense of their everyday lives and how they feel about making decisions or having decisions made for them. The paper demonstrates that negotiating various forms of adult-determined regulation and control is an important and necessary part of children's everyday lives. So too, it shows that some forms of adult regulation are more acceptable to children than others and that finding social spaces outside adult regulation is an important part of their everyday lives.

LEM04966   [Paper]
Teaching, learning, reflection and metacognition in our classroom

Narelle Lemon, University of Melbourne

What do educators believe effective teaching and learning are? In such a complicated and intricate issue, many opinions can be given with varied definitions. You can often hear comments about teaching colleagues such as "he is such a great teacher, he gets along with the students so well, I think he prefers to hang out with the kids rather than teach". Then there are the comments about fellow teaching staff such as "the results she gets from the students is fantastic, she really engages them". Is an effective teacher someone who has a great rapport with the students, or someone who engages the students, or a combination of both? Or is it something else totally? In our role as teachers we learn, teach and use reflective and metacognitive processes. It is a relationship that could be described as complicated, where each element has an important role, yet they can affect each other in varying ways. A relationship where more than one element is present, yet if all are present there is an exceptional and ideal working relationship for the educator. As teachers, when guiding our students through these processes, we also learn from them, through our own reflection and metacognitive steps. The cycle intertwines with each other and is ongoing. This presentation looks at the relationship between teaching, learning, reflection and metacognition in the classroom.

LEU04733 [Paper]
Development of an objective humour appreciation assessment scale

Ben Leung, Monash University

A Sense of Humour (SOH) is considered a highly desirable human characteristic. It has attracted scholarly enquiry in many disciplines including communication, education, linguistics, literature, medicine, philosophy and psychology for centuries. Attempts have been made by researchers, although more in the field of psychology, to develop a reliable instrument to assess one's sense of humour. As a result, a number of Sense of Humour (SOH) psychometric measurement scales have emerged. On the other hand, these scales tend to measure more on people's attitudes towards humour and their perceptions of themselves through self reports. Reliable and rigorous as they may be, there arise questions of objectivity. It is under such circumstances that I embarked on a exploratory research study to develop an additional measurement scale that would objectively assess people's appreciation of three types of visual and written humour namely aggression, sex, and double meaning. In this paper presentation, I will give a brief review of current measures of Sense of Humour. Then, I will detail the process of developing the above objective measurement scale and report on the reliability and validity analyses of it. Finally, I will discuss some implications and applications of this measurement scale in the educational context.

LEU04744 [Paper]
Humour, personality and social adjustment: A preliminary report on a correlation study

Ben Leung, Monash University

This research is a correlation study in investigating the relations between humour appreciation, sense of humour, personality, and social adjustment of adults in Victoria, Australia. Although there is some literature related to sense of humour, personality, and social adjustment, empirical studies have been scant. Likewise, there has been no study studying Australian adults. It is under these circumstances that I have embarked on this research study to examine links between sense of humour and humour appreciation across age, sex, culture, personality traits, and social adjustment. In conducting this study, I had developed an objective humour appreciation scale that was used in conjunction with existing validated measures of sense of humour, personality traits, psychological well-being, and social adjustment. These measures formed the basis of a research survey. The survey was then pilot-tested and data were subsequently collected and analysed principally by analyses of variance, factor analysis and correlational techniques. In this paper presentation, I will give an overview of the background of the study. Then, I will discuss the preliminary results that are originated from the statistical analyses. Finally, I will highlight some implications of this study in the educational context.

LEV04355   [Paper]
Internationalisation in secondary schools: Sharing private stories

Annabelle Leve, Monash University

I initially began my research because I was angry about how I was treated as a teacher practitioner. I wanted to talk about issues and concerns that seemed to conflict with the agendas of other members of my school's community.

My research interest is the result of my work with international fee paying students in a public secondary college. The teachers' stories I heard, and those I had to tell, were spoken in private, or not at all. Racism, discrimination and parochialism sometimes underscored these tales but were hidden behind the public rhetoric of multiculturalism, cultural diversity, internationalisation and globalisation. Yet marketisation appeared the imperative, and this took precedence over the school's stated objectives of introducing diversity into the school community.

What are the stories being told in the staffrooms and around the photocopiers? How can we hear them in order to formalise their contribution to crucial and ongoing debates over this aspect of internationalisation in our schools?

LI04177 [Paper]
Expectations of curriculum leaders in primary schools: Issues and implications

Wai-shing Li, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Teachers play a key role in curriculum development and reform. One of the major targets of the present curriculum reform in Hong Kong schools is to strengthen and empower local primary school teachers to become change agents. To facilitate the local teachers to become curriculum change agents and action researchers, the Education and Manpower Bureau of Hong Kong has been recruiting experienced teachers for the position of Primary School Master/Mistress (Curriculum Development) (PSMCD) as curriculum leaders for initiating curriculum reforms and to develop local teachers to participate in action research in the local schools. To better equip the PSM(CD)s, a course specifically designed to train them was conducted. This is a study with 200 PSM(CD)s of their expectations and understanding of competence and knowledge needed to perform their duties of curriculum leadership. How much of their expectations have been met in their training? What problems have these curriculum leaders encountered? The results are enlightening for the course provider as well as teacher educators and school curriculum reformers. With a better understanding about the problems they encountered in schools, the education authorities concerned can then provide necessary and appropriate support for these curriculum leaders. Significant implications for school curriculum reforms are drawn.

LI04385   [Paper]
Evaluating the quality of learning: An experience from a language enrichment programme

Benjamin Li and Jennie Wong, Hong Kong Institute of Education

The switch of the teaching medium of junior secondary classes in Hong Kong from English (EMI) to Chinese (CMI) in 1998 has met strong opposition from parents for fear of possible decline in the learners' level of English proficiency due to reduction in exposure. To make up for this and to smoothen the transition from CMI to EMI in senior secondary level, a 3-year English Enrichment Programme (EEP) was piloted in selected schools starting 2001. An evaluation project assessing the effectiveness of the EEP was also launched in the same year. This paper reports the preliminary findings from the evaluation project on how well the students learnt in the EEP.

In the evaluation, emphasis has been given to analysing the extent to which three conditions necessary for optimal L2 learning were present in the students' learning process in the EEP. These conditions include comprehensible exposure and input, opportunities for L2 use with feedback, and motivation. The paper reports the process and findings of this evaluation. It was found that the three conditions did exist in the learning process, yet the quality of the provision of these conditions was doubtful. Recommendations will be offered on how the design and implementation of the EEP could be improved to ensure quality provision of the conditions so as to improve the effect of learning.

LIA04383   [Paper]
The World News Network: An invitation to participate

Ania Lian, University of Queensland

This paper begins with a brief introduction of the concept of the World News Network (WNN), an Internet-based information channel, created in order to engage academia and the world outside academia in a dialogue designed to challenge the parties involved in exploring the constructs in terms of which they act, and interpret actions. The extent to which this objective can be achieved depends on a number of factors. This paper discusses the structure of the WNN channels in relation to this objective. Following Luke (2004), the motivation behind the proposed structures is to create "some actual dissociation from one's available explanatory texts and discourses, a denaturalisation and discomfort, and making the familiar strange". The aim is to give rise to conditions which generate questioning of the concepts which, prior to the dialogue, seemed unambiguous and obvious. In order to create such a dialogic environment, it will be argued, its structures must be allowed to evolve together with the demands of the dialogic communication. This paper illustrates some ideas for such an organic platform which, unlike most educational systems, does not only seek to "manage communication", but is itself an object of this act management.

LIM04139   [Paper]
Computer assisted reading instruction of English as a Foreign Language

Kang-Mi Lim, University of Sydney

This study examined the impact of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on Korean TAFE college students in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading classroom in terms of their perceptions of learning effectiveness, interest, motivation and their performance. This study compared CALL and traditional reading classes over one semester by testing student's reading performance and attitudes. A group of 80 first year English majors students were divided evenly into 2 classes. Both groups were taught by the same teacher and covered the same topic in their weekly two-hour reading lesson. A reading comprehension and vocabulary test was given at the beginning and the end of the semester to measure the students' performance. A written survey was also administered at the end of the semester. Classroom observations and group interviews supplement the data obtained from the surveys. There were no differences in students' performance on measures of reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge administered at the beginning and end of the semester. However, most students in the CALL class showed positive responses. Participants perceived their learning environment offered ample opportunities for collaboration and mutual support, as well as for exposure to, and interaction with, a variety of interesting, enjoyable and useful materials and tasks. Learners showed persistence and positive attitudes as they took on autonomous roles in the learning process. Consequently their motivation, appeared to be sustained and enhanced.

LIM04218   [Paper]
Patterns of communication in science and mathematic lessons in primary schools

See Kin Hai and Lim Siew Bee, Universiti Brunei Darussalam

This study attempted to investigate the relative effectiveness of interaction analysis feedback on the verbal behaviour of teachers teaching mathematics and science in primary five classes of six randomly selected primary schools in Brunei-Muara District. It also attempted to investigate the effects of the feedback system on pupils' attitude towards mathematics and science and their academic achievement in mathematics and science.

The sample used for the study consisted of 12 primary school teachers teaching mathematics and science subjects. These twelve teachers were pre-selected and were divided into feedback (experimental) and non-feedback (control) groups. Six teachers from the three schools were selected as the experimental group and the other six teachers from the other three schools were picked as the control group. One hundred and fifty-two pupils of average ability from the six schools were involved.

To examine the extent to which the feedback analysis system was effective, a modified Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories System (FIACS) was used to record classroom communications and the results provided as the feedback to the experimental group. Results showed that the feedback groups accepted pupils' feelings more, praised pupils more, used student ideas and initiated more pupils talk in the classroom. Effects of the feedback were encouraging with higher academic achievement and more favourable attitudes after teachers were given feedback.

LIN04457   [Paper]  ®
Parental needs and expectations of school-home communication in a child's preparatory year of school

Karen Lindner, University of Melbourne

Parental involvement has been consistently recognised as an influential factor in a child's education. Communication between school and home has become an important component in facilitating positive relationships between schools and families. While there has been significant research on the expectations of parents in this area prior to and during school transition, there is a lack of research into parental expectations of communication following the commencement of school.

This study investigated the needs and expectations of parents of preparatory students, about school-home communication. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews and descriptive analyses were used to explore parental views about the type of information provided and the methods of communication. Results indicated that all parents considered information about their child's academic and personal/social development to be essential, and other information about the school was also considered important. The frequency of access to different methods of communication did not necessarily reflect parent perceptions of their usefulness. The study noted variations in responses between parents with different family circumstances.

The results demonstrate the diversity of parental needs and expectations of school-home communication: it is recommended that schools provide a wide variety of information to parents using a range of methods.

LIU04363   [Paper]
Project-based learning and students' motivation: The Singapore context

Woon Chia Liu, Shanti Divaharan, Jarina Peer, Choon Lang Quek, Michael Williams and Angela Wong, Nanyang Technological University

Project work (PW) initiative was introduced by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, to provide students with the opportunities to foster collaborative learning skills, to improve both oral and written communication, to practise creative and critical thinking skills, and to develop self-directed inquiry and life-long learning skills (Ministry of Education, 1999). Although PW has been introduced for a few years, not much research has been done in the Singapore context, especially in terms of its effect on students' motivation. To fill the empirical gap, this study will look at the extent in which PW promotes students' intrinsic motivation, as well as satisfies students' needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness. Specifically, data will be collected from about 200 Secondary 2 students with the use of a modified version of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI, McAuley, Duncan & Tammen, 1989) to assess students' interest/enjoyment, perceived competence, perceived choice and relatedness in the PW context and in their normal science lessons. Comparisons will then be made to establish whether there is any significant difference in terms of the students' experiences in the two different contexts.

LLO04021   [Paper]  ®
Looking for shadows: The cultural myths of the computer in the classroom

Margaret Lloyd, Queensland University of Technology

This paper will draw its findings from a recent study (Lloyd, 2003) which sought to identify the cultural myths of the computer in the classroom through a case study of computer education in Queensland state schools from 1983 to 1997. This was a period marked by its consecutive, discrete, high-profile and politically-motivated projects to put computers in classrooms. The emergent myths were categorised within their source metanarratives and were also positioned within a critical cultural framework. The term "computer education" is given to mean any curricular or classroom-based use of computers. This study addressed a hitherto neglected area of educational research by looking beyond the rhetoric and highlighting where policy decisions have been made on the basis of mythic assumptions.

The identification of the cultural myth(s) in this study was essentially a process of looking for shadows. Finding the twenty-seven pervasive myths which initiated and sustained the systemic policies, infrastructure programs and curricular decisions of the period under review involved rigorous processes of deconstruction, reconstruction, analysis and synthesis. The data sources were contemporary policy documents, Hansard entries, press releases and media statements, correspondence and interviews with stakeholders while the methodology employed was an adaptation of Descriptive Interpretational Analysis (Tesch, 1990).

LLO04263   [Paper]  ®
Unravelling an archive: Historicising 'doctorate'

Eluned Lloyd, Queensland University of Technology

Questions concerning the validity of the doctoral qualification in a post-modern millennium have propelled the concept 'doctorate' into the centre of hot debate and rigorous political and academic scrutiny. Unravelling the doctorate as it has been written in the past and bringing these stories into a present, offers the opportunity for re-thinking the concept doctorate and re-figuring process. This paper focuses on the creation of an education historiography that allows what has been known a 'history' or 'the past' into a 'spacious present' for re-examining what a doctorate may be.

LO04199 [Paper]
The development of Learning Study in Hong Kong as a powerful tool for teachers' professional learning and factors that lead to its success

Mun Ling Lo, Hong Kong Institute of Education

[ Note: You may experience an Adobe problem loading this paper. Click OK to the error messages.]

This paper describes the development of Learning Study in Hong Kong and analyses the factors that lead to the success and ready acceptance of Learning Study by the school community in Hong Kong. The paper first describes how Lesson Study, as described by Stigler and Hiebert, was brought into the Hong Kong context through a three year project in 2000. It was then further developed and renamed Learning Study to differentiate it from the Japanese Lesson Study. The potential of Learning Study as a powerful tool for teachers' professional development was quickly recognized. Two subsequent projects led to the adoption of Learning Study by over 100 primary and secondary schools in a matter of four years. The success of Learning Study in Hong Kong will be analysed under the following factors: methodology, partnership with higher education institutions, positioning, reform context and culture, and dissemination strategy. Its contributions to pre-service education, teachers' continuing development, research and development in education, and also to improving the status of the profession as a whole are also discussed.

LO04202   [Paper]
Teachers as learners: Learning within and across schools

Priscilla Lo, Hong Kong Institute of Education

This paper will use case studies to illustrate one of the key benefits of Learning Study; that the knowledge produced becomes public, first within the confines of the school in which the Learning Study is conducted, and then much more widely across schools as part of the dissemination process. Dissemination is a key part of the participating teachers' professional learning, as they reflect and prepare a presentation on the results of the study. Each teacher's personal professional development contributes to a collective knowledge base. One key feature of that knowledge base is how the action learning process contributed to an awareness on the part of the teachers of what is crucial in teaching the chosen topic - the critical features that have to be attended to in order to achieve the object of learning. A second feature of the knowledge base relates to the teachers' understanding of the pre-conceptions that students bring to the chosen topic and how these changed as a result of engaging in the study. More importantly, the paper will describe how the teachers interact with this knowledge base: learning from it, building on it, and contributing to it.

LOV041000   [Paper]  ®
Power discourse in PhD examination reports: A cross-disciplinary analysis

Melissa Monfries and Terence Lovat, University of Newcastle

The conceptual convergence of the Habermasian paradigm for "ways of knowing" and social cognitive approaches to power relations was used to analyse PhD examination reports. Previous analyses revealed that even when PhDs were given the highest evaluations, they were frequently accompanied by negative remarks. It is argued that examiners' epistemological beliefs obstruct the emancipation of knowledge and are representative of a conservative academic culture which protects its extant structures. Research in social psychology has demonstrated that people in positions of power are motivated to maintain their high power base. The combination of these philosophical and psychological tenets guided the analysis of the discourse used in examination reports of PhDs. The study examined 23 reports and showed that while there was evidence of the three hierarchies of power (examiner as expert, examiner as partner and examiner as learner/listener) in the discourse, it was dominated by negative comments and largely indicative of the examiner perceiving his role as that of expert. This was interpreted in light of the literature suggesting those in power are reluctant to relinquish their high power base.

LOW04847 [Paper]   ®
Pokemon Odyssey: The role of journey in new technology game playing

Tom Lowrie, Susan Clancy and Melanie Bowman, Charles Sturt University

New Technologies have provided us with the opportunity to consider the role of the journey in fantasy contexts in ways that go beyond traditional notions of passage and journey. This paper, which is part of a larger study, draws on sociological, mythological and fantasy literature about the role journey plays in real contexts and fantasy worlds in order to make sense of the idea of a journey in game-playing situations. This investigation examines how one enthusiastic young player of the technology-based Pokemon fantasy game relates to the journey process and in particular the manner in which maps as artefacts are used to successfully complete the journey.

LU04700   [Paper]
Editorial peer review in education: Mapping the field

Yanping Lu, The University of Newcastle

The quality of educational research is often a subject of contention; however, the methods for judging research quality have rarely been investigated systematically and thoroughly. Educational research is subject to a number of different quality control mechanisms, including peer review. This paper reports on one phase of a project that examines judgments about research quality and contribution in Education and the Natural Sciences. The first section of the paper is devoted to a review of the literature about the editorial peer review process in English language journals in Education and related fields for the period 1970-2004. The second section maps the editorial policies of over 600 education journals organized by three categories: journal type and orientation (e.g., field, readership), journal characteristics (e.g., the range of requirements) and journal ownership (e.g., association, commercial publishers). Many studies have shown the lack of visibility in the process of peer review and raised concerns about its legitimacy as a quality assurance instrument. Given the number and range of journals in Education, a mapping exercise is crucial to identify the predominant editorial practices in this field. This paper compares and evaluates policies prior to the next phase of the investigation which involves the analysis of referee text.

LYN04292   [Paper]  ®
Change happens: Acceptance of "impermanence" and "flow" in teachers' professional reflections on technology and change

Richard Johnson and Julianne Lynch, Deakin University

For several years the authors of this paper have monitored the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in primary and secondary schools. In this paper they report on their work in progress, focusing particularly on data collected via teacher interviews in 2003. It is a 'good news' story that celebrates a shift in the way school teachers approach ICT, and that shows that teachers are a lot more comfortable with ICT than the authors have previously observed. The authors argue that a significant transition has occurred in the hardware, software and 'warmware', the people and how they can work with the hardware and software as part of their pedagogy. Existing research tends to construct change as something that has to be planned, prepared for and managed (eg. Fullan, 1997), and as something that teachers often resist (eg. Cuban, 1993; Grunberg & Summers, 1992; Hodas, 1998). This paper is distinctive in drawing on Eastern approaches to understanding change. Through an examination of the concepts of "impermanence" and "flow," and how they apply to ICT, schools and teachers' work, we seek to demystify change: Change happens, has happened and will continue to happen. We conclude that teachers' increased familiarity with, and increasingly relaxed approach to, ICT has led to a shift in their attentions, such that they are less concerned with obtaining and mastering particular software and hardware, and more concerned with pedagogy and student learning.

LYN04923 [Paper]
What is the good of public schooling? 'Living the Values' at Southvale Primary School

Susan Barford and Andrew Kohne, Southvale Primary School and Julianne Lynch, Deakin University

Debates about the purpose of schooling date back to Ancient Greece and Plato's Republic, and can be tracked through to Dewey's Democracy and Education in the Twentieth Century, and to current debates in Australia about the goals of schooling, who decides, and who pays. The purpose of public education continues to be constructed, contested and reconstructed in policy, in the media, and through practices in school communities. Most commentators stress the importance of striking a balance between extrinsic and intrinsic values of schooling and between individual (private) and societal (public) gains. In Australia in 2004, one prominent area of debate has been the place of values education in our public schools. This paper tells the story of one school community's struggle to find its purpose and to implement school-wide changes in line with five values: Honesty, Caring, Respect, Self-responsibility and Tolerance. We describe how the values at Southvale Primary School were derived, how they now inform communication and relationships at the school, and how these values are beginning to inform pedagogy and curriculum. Our paper raises important questions about the purpose of schooling, the role of values education, and about who has a legitimate voice in these debates.

M

MA04318    [Paper]
How enriching is the English Enrichment Programme?

Anne Ma and Winnie Wong, Hong Kong Institute of Education

This paper reports the interim findings of a longitudinal study which aims at exploring the effectiveness of a 3-year English Enrichment Programme, on top of the regular English curriculum, in exposing secondary students to more subject-specific English while they learn their content subjects in the mother tongue. The study was carried out in response to the Hong Kong government's decision to firmly promote mother tongue teaching in her post-colonial era after 1997. To evaluate the effectiveness of this programme on students' learning of English, in-depth study with selected schools was done and different research tools including questionnaires, lesson observations, interviews and language proficiency tests were used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. It is found that the increased exposure to English may have had a positive effect upon students' perception of learning English, if not on actual performance. A closer look at the cases, however sheds light upon the intricate interplay between factors leading to the different degrees of perception about the effectiveness of the programme. These factors include: the willingness of the school to pool resources and efforts in making the most of the programme, the language competence of students, and the teaching focus and methods in class. Recommendations on the way forward will be discussed.

MAC04222    [Paper]
What counts as ICT Integration? A new theoretical framework for levels of technology integration

Ron MacDonald, University of South Australia

Successful integration of technology is a key goal of recent large investments in technology infrastructure in Western education systems. Conditions affecting successful integration in the classroom are in need of further elucidation. An extensive study was conceived to investigate modes of professional development, teachers? perceptions of formal and informal leaders, teacher attitudes regarding ICTs and the level of technology integration. A 152-item questionnaire was developed and used to gather data from a School District in Nova Scotia, Canada where 750 out of a potential 996 grade three to twelve teachers and administrators responded. Statistical analysis from this data was then used to guide the researcher to focus upon two Elementary, two Junior and two Senior high schools. At these six schools 71 teachers and administrators were interviewed and/or observed. The top ten technology integrators in the school district also participated in observations and interviews. The data show evidence of complex relationships between the components of professional development, leadership, teacher attitudes and the level of technology integration in the classroom. The data analysis required the development of a new theoretical framework for level of technology integration. This new framework includes levels of student-centredness, student-collaboration as well as levels of cognitive engagement.

MAC04641   [Paper]  ®
Socratic teaching, the law and professional identity

Rod Maclean, Deakin University

This paper uses criticial discourse analysis of interactions between law students and their lecturer to show how 'Socratic' teaching is used as a powerful technique to shape student identities. Data from a moot or simulated court in taxation law is analysed to show how students position themselves and are positioned as legal professionals. The paper argues that one student's poor performance in the moot can be interpreted as resistance to attempts to influence her to adopt an uncongenial speaking position. This example supports the view that the difficulty law students have in learning to 'think like a lawyer' results not from a failure of skill but from the problems they have in assuming the speaking position of a legal professional. It is suggested that educators should consider helping students come to terms with the fragmented and contradictory subject positions associated with professionalisation.

MAD041053    [Paper]
Barriers to study and their solutions

John Hall, Deakin University and Helen Madden-Hallett, Victoria University

This paper will discuss an autarchic learning system pertaining to higher education, particularly with application to business education. It is believed that one's teaching method is informed by one's theoretical principals of how learning occurs. The focus in this paper is on overcoming barriers to study by utilising methods that incidentally achieve self regulated and highly motivated learners. These methods are threefold, firstly; the clear use of nomenclature and its attendant conceptual understanding. The importance of this method is appreciated more fully when it is known that non-comprehension of a word or symbol is largely responsible for students leaving a course of study. Secondly, gradient learning which is similar to scaffolding and thirdly the provision of mass for the learner thereby providing balance between the doing of an action and significance of the idea behind that same action. The latter is akin to experiential learning. Of particular note are the physiological reactions in learners, which indicate precise comprehension difficulties and the methods of resolving each of these reactions which heretofore had not been recognized and therefore not resolved. The pedagogy used in a conventional university setting will be detailed and contrasted with this autarchic learning system. The mode of research is exploratory in nature and is presented as a case study. Findings strongly indicate students become far more able as learners when they have the knowledge of the types of learning barriers, they are coached to recognise the barrier when it occurs and apply the appropriate remedy as researched in this paper. These findings are of interest to educators, students, and industry as all sectors face significant social and financial losses because individuals are unable to duplicate instructions, maintain currency and plan tactically and strategically. This autarchic learning system provides the community and industry with a viable well educated population.

MAH04273    [Paper]  ®
Teaching, learning and assessment: The road to democracy

Lawry Mahon, Victoria University of Technology

Through this paper I will elaborate on and compare current teaching, learning and assessment philosophies and place them into one of three separate categories. The categories are:

• Behavioural approaches to learning
• Cognitive approaches to learning and
• Humanistic approaches to learning

I will offer ideas that have the opportunity to redirect much teaching practice towards an outcome for society that is different to current general practice. While much current practice sees daily and weekly planning as occupying much of its energy, and controlling disaffected children in classrooms that are becoming meaningless to them, I wish to demonstrate that there are alternatives that empower children to become good "decision makers", and that when the three overriding theories that have shaped education for the past hundred years are compared at the "practice" level, different practice becomes possible. I will demonstrate that much current teaching and learning adheres to conservative behavioural philosophies. I will also demonstrate that while behaviourism is still currently the strongest direction taken in Australian classrooms, society on the whole has demanded much more from its citizens than can ever be achieved by merely "response to stimuli" interactions amongst and between people.

MAH04721     [Paper]   ®
Strengthening the nexus between teaching and learning through increased attention to feedback to students: A research-led teaching approach

Mary Jane Mahony and A Poulos, University of Sydney

Feedback to students is a crucial aspect of the teaching-learning experience (Rowntree 1987; Ramsden1992). An on-going course evaluation program, the Student Course Evaluation Questionnaire (SCEQ) at the University of Sydney annually provides data on how students perceive their course experience. Reports from the SCEQ and other university quality assurance activities have prompted a Faculty-led action research approach to improvement of teaching-learning at the Faculty of Health Sciences. In this paper we report on the specific case of feedback to students and the Faculty's approach within this framework, including consideration of relevant literature, focus groups with students and a workshop with experienced university teachers in the Faculty. Dimensions of feedback are considered, including what students say about the feedback they receive, what staff say about the feedback they provide, and how the two are aligned. A specific strategy to achieve alignment, the use of grade descriptors, is discussed. The studies and practice here are positioned in the environment of the health professions' expectation of evidence-based practice and the University of Sydney's expectation of research-led teaching.

MAR04155     [Paper]   ®
Conceptual structures and Studies of Society and Environment: Shifting sands or is the beach bare?

Colin Marsh, Curtin University of Technology

Social Studies has been a contested area for over a century. Typically the focus has been on inter-disciplinary or multi-disciplinary approaches at the primary school level and separate subjects including history and the social sciences at secondary school level.

Social studies has had, and is having, an identity crisis (Ross, 2001). There is a need for a subject that addresses the real problems of the 21st Century society, and in particular a social justice perspective with opportunities for students to think and act responsibly. Yet, no clear consensus of how this might be achieved has emerged.

The initiative in Australia in the early 1990's to create a new school subject, "Studies of Society and Environment" (SOSE) was either commendable and worthwhile or shortsighted and pragmatically sterile, depending upon your point of view. What is needed is debate about the conceptual structure. Research studies are needed urgently to examine the impact upon schools, teachers and students. Does SOSE have an integrity of its own? Can it be justified as a worthy reconceptualisation of the field?

These questions and related issues are examined in this paper, in an attempt to discover where the "shifting sands" are heading and to see if there is anything "left on the beach" to develop and refine.

MAR04820 [Paper]   ®
The social and economic security of international students in Australia: A study of 200 student cases

Ana Deumert, Simon Marginson, Chris Nyland, Gaby Ramia and Erlenawati Sawir, Monash University

Polanyi (1944) noted that measures to improve social and economic security have a hostile but interdependent relationship with the market. These measures check the untrammeled forces of supply and demand, while also sustaining the social and economic reproduction of the market. A case in point is the global market in international education. The social and economic security of students is essential to the successful functioning of the market and relative security is instrumental in Australia's comparative advantage. Because international students have moved out of their nation of citizenship there is potential for slippage in rights and protections, and for variations in security between different student cases and locations. The paper reports on 200 semi-structured research interviews (2003-2004) with international students on-shore in Australia, at nine universities. The interviews cover financial problems, housing, health, language, work, academic problems, dealings with authorities, racism and discrimination, etc. These data enable us to describe and analyse the regime of international student security, in which the crucial roles are played by universities and informal networks; but university pastoral care has limits (especially when the problem originates within the university itself); and there are gaps in the overlap between government, university and informal networks.

MAR04956     [Paper]   ®
The preservation and maintenance of the knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local communities: The role of education

Zane Ma Rhea, Monash University

Research by Ma Rhea and Langton has found that education plays an important role in the preservation and maintenance of Indigenous peoples' and local communities' knowledge (Composite Report on Article 8j of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, UNEP (2003)). This paper raises issues surrounding the terms 'Indigenous' and 'local community'. It then analyses the evidence for the existence of Indigenous and traditional knowledge and the reliability of documentation of traditional knowledge in education curricula. Finally, the paper considers the role of adult and western-based education in the protection of Indigenous and traditional knowledge within the globalised market economy.

MAR04969     [Paper]   ®
Being research student - Becoming researcher

Elaine Martin, Victoria University

The good thing about an 'open door policy' is you never know who will wander in. The visit that introduces the issue addressed in this paper occurred shortly after I began my current job as Director of Graduate Research Studies. A woman in her mid thirties entered, unannounced, and declared she had just completed her Ph.D and needed to talk to somebody about it. At first, it seemed a success story. She had completed on time and was going overseas to work as a research assistant with a government agency. Five minutes in, however, I got what she was really saying. She was saying that what she felt most was a sense of loss, not a sense of growth or achievement and she needed to tell someone about this. She had gone into the Ph.D with a fascination for the topic area, a love of writing and a self-confidence to speak her mind. She had now emerged, three and a half years later, transformed. Her writing style she now described as terse and tedious; 'subject-verb-object-period sentences'. She had a strong understanding of the limitations of existing research and as a consequence a paranoia of doing anything but the safest work herself. Finally, she often found herself thinking 'so what' about the area she had once been so committed to.

This is a terrible story, at many levels, but the reason I raise it here is because it was the first time I realised how little we know and attend to the lived experience of our research students. When I talked to this student's former supervisor he was unaware of her trauma. For him she was a success, quick to learn and adapt, willing and obedient.

This pilot study is a small step towards understanding more about the lived experience of being a research student and becoming a researcher and towards helping me and other supervisors be more aware of this significant but uncharted territory. In the contemporary research-training environment there is a good deal of emphasis on completion rates (Holdaway, 1994); and a flurry of 'how to get through it efficiently' texts (see, for instance, Zuber-Skerrit, 1998). Genuine attempts to examine and articulate the complexity, subtlety and depth of this meaningful (meaning-full) learning experience are still rare, though there are some notable exceptions (see, for instance, Johnson et al., 2000).

MAR04975     [Paper]   ®
Accelerated Learning: Pedagogical issues in the design of the Yachad Accelerated Education and Work Readiness Project

Zane Ma Rhea, Monash University

This paper describes the pedagogical considerations underpinning a new education initiative in Australia, the Yachad Accelerated Education and Work Readiness project. This is a project in its pilot phase which seeks to improve the academic achievement levels of the lowest 25% of students in selected schools in Cape York, the East Kimberley and Shepparton. All of these schools face problems in achieving successful education outcomes for their students. This paper examines pedagogy in view of the context of teaching and learning in remote and rural schools in Australia, considers the lifeways of students in the selected schools, and discusses pedagogical considerations which arise when using accelerated learning principles in this environment.

MAS04631     [Paper]
Confronting the place of non-Indigenous educators in 'postcolonial' higher education: Which way for Indigenous educational practices and the public good?

John Maskell, Australian Catholic University

This paper examines the place of non-Indigenous educators working in Indigenous higher education environments. Based on a qualitative study using narrative inquiry as a method, the research seeks perspectives of knowing actions and meaning of the non-Indigenous educator. This research begins to trace the learning trajectory that occurs for non-Indigenous educators in cross-cultural settings.

The non-Indigenous educator is representative of the dominant culture in institutional and discipline-specific knowledge(s). However in community-based learning environments it is the Indigenous 'learners' that oft bring respected knowledge to the learning environment. How are non-Indigenous lecturers to engage pedagogically with the learners in the postcolonial environment? What relevance has this learning and teaching from life experience for the public good? What role can non-Indigenous educators provide to support Indigenous higher education? These recurring contestations of knowledge may situate non-Indigenous educators in particular ways within institutions.

From the above questions arise dilemmas and tensions that relate to the role of educators culturally 'outside' the Indigenous higher education environment. This paper will explore actions and meanings of the individual engaging 'community-based knowledges' such as occurs in Indigenous higher education institutions.

MAT04320     [Paper]
Class assessment: Can students be relied on?

Nuraihan Mat Daud and Nor Lide Abu Kassim, International Islamic University Malaysia

One of the educational objectives is to produce students who are critical of their own performance. This can be achieved if they are allowed a more active role in the evaluation process. This study examines the practicality of having students as one of the assessors. The study was conducted at the International Islamic University Malaysia. Marks given by three categories of assessors namely teacher, self and peer were compared to see whether there were any significant differences among them.

Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used in collecting data. All assessors used the same assessment profile. The quantitative data was analyzed using many-faceted Rasch measuremnt model. The study shows that there were significant differences in the rating given by the three assessors. Different level of severity/leniency was also observed when different tasks were analyzed. The findings also indicate that there were significant differences in the difficulty level of the criteria used.

The qualitative data revealed that students had reservation about having to assess themselves. However, the quantitative data shows that the rating given by them was quite consistent.

MAT04402 [Paper]
Did Buddha laugh? Zen, humour and pedagogy

Julie Matthews, The University of the Sunshine Coast and Robert Hattam, University of South Australia

In academic and popularist text, Western interest in Zen pivots around its 'new age' spiritual appeal. Captured in titles like 'Zen and the art of X' or 'the Zen of Y', these texts explore the self-realisation necessary to relieve individuals of their often worrisome and frequently unwholesome 'selves'. Research and discussion of humour in education has been mainly concerned with its ability promote learner attention, motivation, comprehension and retention, or to facilitate positive teaching and learning relationships and environments (Powell and Anderson , 1985). Zen is introduced in terms of a 'healing deconstruction' (Loy 1996) that is radically anti-essentialising, in ways that have yet to be properly accounted for by poststructuralism. As well, Zen focuses on existential concerns and is interested in embodiment as knowledge, as uses impermanence, suffering and death as resources for technologies of self. As a philosophical/psychological tradition, Zen offers a form of praxis for living a life in which humour is understood to be one of its significant resources. Humour provides a space for serious contemplation on issues that are often repressed or silenced. Taking the comedic dimensions of Zen teaching as a focal point, this paper explores humour as pedagogy. It highlights practices such as the strategic use of paradox, irony, incongruity, unconventionality and distancing; the dissolution of dualisms; and the deployment of radical scepticism in Zen teachings, to argue for a more encompassing consideration of the pedagogic dimensions of humour.

MAU04227     [Paper]   ®
Developing life and employability: Towards a theory of adult and community education

Jill Sanguinetti and David Maunders, Victoria University and Peter Waterhouse, Workplace Learning Initiatives

The research described in this report is an investigation into the role and significance of 'generic skills' development in the context of the pedagogies that are common in ACE practice and that foster and develop generic skills amongst ACE learners. The research employed participant action research through which 23 adult and community educators recorded and reflected on their professional practice over a period of twelve weeks. The data they submitted was categorised using grounded analysis and initial findings fed back to the participants. A framework of four dimensions of ACE pedagogy was constructed:

The teacher

The teaching

The plACE and,

The curriculum.

Approaches or practices were identified which we have arranged into five categories of pedagogical principles:

Focus on people and communities

Continuous learning for work and life

Building learning on and within real-life contexts

Sharing power - empowering people & communities

Many roads to learning

The outcomes of this research also suggest the need for a form of teacher training and professional development that attends to the personal, professional and pedagogical development of the teachers themselves. This action research project demonstrates how such professional development programs could be carried out.

MAW04115     [Paper]   ®
Factors affecting children's learning in technology

Brent Mawson, Auckland College of Education

This paper reports the findings of a three-year case study of children's learning in technology education. Twenty children were tracked through their first three years of primary school, with data collection from both the formal school technology units and a range of targeted tasks being used to identify the children's progression in technological literacy. The learning in technology at the end of the three years is detailed and the four key factors which had the greatest impact on the children's learning are identified and the significance of each is explored. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for primary technology educators.

MAX041043     [Paper]   ®
Valuing practice: The place of practical legal research in academic life

Kay Maxwell, University of Wollongong and Julie Pastellas, Queensland University of Technology

Practical legal training has traditionally been the poor relation of the legal education family. Along with the similarly placed clinical legal education, it is a latecomer to formal legal education and its academic value is regarded with some reservation by those involved in more mainstream areas of academia. These reservations are not entirely unfounded. While few could deny the value of practical legal training in terms of teaching and contribution to the legal community, it is in the contribution to research and scholarship that practical legal training may be seen to be less successful. Few academics who teach in practical legal training go on to conduct research into it, external funding opportunities in this area are quite limited and such research as is conducted is not perceived to have a high academic value.

This paper draws on a research project conducted by the writers to explore the climate influencing research in practical legal training and the standards by which its research successes are measured. The paper relies on interview data obtained from PLT academics to ascertain obstacles to research in PLT and to postulate how positive outcomes for valuing practical legal training research might be achieved.

MAY041063   [Paper]
Public and private research funding in the US: Implications for university-based researchers

Diane Mayer, University of California at Berkeley

This paper critically analyses the current US context in relation to the conference theme. US education research is supported from a range of public and private sources. The establishment of the federal Institute of Education Sciences has highlighted the inability of the education research community to provide large-scale rigorous studies from which generalizations can be made in order to support education policy decisions. This organization aims to support the identification and implementation of educational practices supported by rigorous evidence. "The Institute of Education Sciences reflects the intent of the President and Congress to advance the field of education research, making it more rigorous in support of evidence-based education." Amongst other things, large grants have been awarded to support the Education Resources Information Center and the What Works Clearinghouse in order to highlight effective and replicable approaches aimed at improving student outcomes aligned with the objectives of No Child Left Behind. A range of other funding opportunities for university-based researchers are also examined, including philanthropic support. In conclusion, the outlined features of the context for education research funding support in the US are analyzed and implications drawn for university-based and 'independent' research aimed at educating for the public good.

MCA04419 [Paper]
Impact of courses for university teachers

Jan McArthur and Shirley Earl, Napier University, Vivien Edwards, University of Edinburgh.

Research into the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at Napier University, Edinburgh has produced results that appear to challenge accepted thought on the impact of such courses on university teachers. A comparison of the teaching, learning and assessment strategies of academic staff who have successfully completed the PgCert and those who have not, suggests some differences in attitudes and strategies adopted, but not the very marked differences perhaps expected, or found by other researchers (eg. Gibbs and Coffey, 2004). Both groups espoused many aspects of accepted good practice such as student focus, use of a variety of teaching methods and provision of a variety of learning opportunities. Similarly attitudes to the purpose of assessment and the range of assessment techniques were also less contrasted than anticipated.

This session will explore the implications of the research for the continuing development of such postgraduate programmes and the implications of public policy initiatives such as moves to require registration/accreditation and/or training for all higher education teachers. The need to extend and debate our research in the current climate of policy change and external and internal questioning of academic skill will be considered.

MCC04134     [Paper]
Choice of schooling: A qualitative view

Angela McCarthy, University of Notre Dame Australia

The issue of choice of schooling in Australia has remained important since the arrival of the first European settlers in 1788. More recently the issue has been influenced by the increase in Federal funding in the private sector that has had the effect of extending the family's ability to makes choices about education. There have been a variety of community reactions to such choices and so quality research into this particular issue is of prime importance if balance is to be maintained in the debate. This paper presents the results of a qualitative research study where grounded theory was used to discover the meaning behind the choices that families make about education. Their underlying concern, the process of decision-making, and the overall focus of their actions are all theoretically presented. Grounded theory methodology provided a rigorous framework for the analysis of the data collected from families in both metropolitan and country areas and from government and non-government schools. The resultant theory will offer an interesting background to the public/private debate and to the relevant merits of each as education is increasingly perceived as a purchasable commodity.

MCC04270     [Paper]
Learning about professional learning: Case studies of schools at work in NSW

Norman McCulla and Josephine Gereige-Hinson, NSW Department of Education and Training

The extent of the human and financial resources that teachers have access to for their professional development, and the extent to which they have the capacity to determine when, how and with whom learning takes place, are key factors in determining the quality of professional learning that results.

The NSW Department of Education and Training is the largest employer of teachers in the Southern Hemisphere. In 2004 it introduced a four-year, $144 million program supporting teacher professional learning and a new policy framework for the area in response to needs teachers and research have identified.

This paper tells the stories of how 12 schools in a variety of locations throughout the state are going about interpreting the policy framework, the changes it is making to their practice, the implications the schools see for the immediate future of their professional learning programs, and the policy and research implications that arise.

MCC04697     [Paper]
Learning to teach: Narratives from early career teachers

Ann McCormack, Jennifer Gore and Kaye Thomas, University of Newcastle

The transition from preservice teacher education to practice in the workplace brings about a shift in role orientation and an epistemological move from knowing about teaching through formal study to knowing how to teach by confronting the daily challenges of the school and classroom (Feiman-Nemser, 2000). Becoming a teacher therefore requires not only the development of a professional identity but the construction of professional knowledge and practice. Studies examining the professional growth of beginning teachers during their initial teacher education course and the early days of teaching have recognised the uniqueness of each graduate, however, some common themes have emerged. This paper details a longitudinal study that tracked a sample group of 16 early career teachers through their first year of teaching. The teachers were encouraged to write about their experiences in journals and were interviewed along with a nominated mentor/support person in an attempt to provide a clearer understanding of how early career teachers achieve control of their own teaching and professional growth. This paper will make use of qualitative data to discuss their experiences and professional growth with the view to informing and strengthening teacher inservice support programs..

MCC04909     [Paper]
Exploring the culture of mentoring in one NSW primary school

Caron McCloughan, Brian Cambourne and Julie Kiggins, University of Wollongong

There is both anecdotal and statistical data, indicating that a significant number of beginning and experienced teachers in NSW are finding the complexities of teaching in today's primary classrooms more difficult. The NSW DET has acknowledged this and developed policies, which seek to incorporate mentoring as part of a major professional development strategy for on-going professional growth of teachers. While the concept of mentoring is not new, the range of interpretations of what it might 'mean' and 'look like' seems to be wide and varied. Given the interest in a system-wide introduction of mentoring, it was considered timely to explore the various interpretations and/or practices of mentoring within a NSW primary school. In this paper I will report the results of an observational case study that examined the range of perceptions and attitudes a group of classroom teachers from a Sydney primary school had about mentoring. The findings for this study not only have the potential to inform policies and practices of mentoring in other schools but they may also assist in addressing some of the major concerns classroom teachers have about mentoring in relation to the current state of their professional development needs.

MCD04888     [Paper]   ®
Supporting Indigenous students as "smart, not good" knowers and learners: The practices of two teachers

Helen McDonald, James Cook University

Issues of identity construction can be especially significant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents in Australian schools as they seek to find a place in a society in which they may not feel valued or represented. However, the concept of Indigenous identity is complex and contested as is the relationship between Indigenous identity and school success. This paper draws on qualitative research in a small urban secondary school. It details the practices of two remarkable teachers as they work to support the diverse identities of their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in ways which also allow the students to take on identities as knowers and learners in their classrooms. Their understanding of the students' identities involved them in seeing the students in multiple ways, constantly moving between the individual interests and needs of the student, their family connections and contemporary Indigenous life. Their practices in supporting Indigenous students as knowers and learners were based on recognising the complex interactions between race, history, school structures and peer relationships. Through their practices, they intentionally rejected the reproductive tendencies of schooling and created spaces where Indigenous youth could challenge "commonsense" about themselves.

MCG04352     [Paper]
What is research?

Margaret Lett, Health and Community Projects Consultant and Jacqueline McGilp, Education and Community Projects Consultant

Often what the community advertises as projects and program evaluations in tender documents are, in fact, research initiatives. However, does the academic call this research or, questionably, does such work count on the research quantum?

The Integrated Service Delivery Project (ISDP), which received both Australian and State Government (Vic) funding and support in 2003, is used to illustrate a project versus research debate. The contribution of projects to:

• Research design and application to other areas;
• Improvement of practice;
• Rural development; and
• Government policy debate and direction

is an acceptable and acknowledged means to "move forward" the research agenda and platform.

In this presentation attention is given to some of the methods our research team has used to address ISDP. Further foci include:

• consent;
• reliability and validity;
• data analysis; and
• cycles of advancement.

A question of importance is, "Can researchers contribute more to the wider community project initiatives?"

MCG04353     [Paper]
Community research?

Jacqueline McGilp, Education and Community Projects Consultant and Margaret Lett, Health and Community Projects Consultant

"Community Research" focuses on the need for research skills and a wide knowledge of research methodology, procedures and processes when working within the wider community. Topics to be covered in this presentation include:

• The amount of work available for independent practitioners and the benefit of independence when tendering (as opposed to a large university research structure and processes);
• The benefits of working as a small team in the community with attention to control over practice, accountability to the employer, instead of multiple masters, and the ability to engage with wide professional networks;
• The research team within a multi-disciplined, cohesive approach; and the ability to call upon, and knowledge of, the wide experiences of team members;
• Contributions of individual researchers with skills including technological, interpersonal and writing skills and voluntary community affiliation; and
• Examples of community research projects gaining recognition from government departments, local councils and community and service organizations.

MCG04974     [Paper]
Teachers' experiences of the HSC English syllabus in NSW

Kelli McGraw, University of Sydney

This presentation will explore the ways in which the stage 6 (years 11 and 12) English syllabus in NSW has been shaped by particular beliefs about literature teaching and learning, and how teachers in two Sydney high schools have experienced its implementation. A series of questions will be addressed, such as: What are some of the ways in which practitioners have thought, and are now thinking about the nature of the subject 'English' in the senior years? What impact do the theoretical assumptions behind this syllabus have on student learning? Can the aims of the new curriculum be realised within the utilitarian, competitive ethos of the senior years? The presenter will reflect on the research data collected from two Sydney high schools. Material from teacher interviews and classroom observations will be introduced as a way of exemplifying some of the practical challenges for teaching that have arisen since the implementation of the syllabus in 1999.

MCI04044     [Paper]
Schools reinventing themselves for young adolescents

Peter McInerney, Flinders University, and John Smyth, Texas State University.

There is alarming evidence that schooling is not working for many young adolescents-most notably those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Although many factors are invoked to explain the alienation and disengagement of young adolescents, research suggests that there is a mismatch between the organisation and curriculum of the middle years of schooling and the intellectual, social and emotional needs of young people (Smyth, Hattam et al, 2000). In particular there is a lack of understanding of adolescent identity and the issues that affect them as people. Drawing on a three year ARC Discovery project, this paper describes the ways in which a number of schools are engaging with and against policy discourse to reinvent themselves as more inclusive and learner-centred organisations that take seriously the issues and concerns of young people. Narratives portraits of teachers and school leadership personnel will shed light on the cultural and structural elements of school reform in the middle years.

MCK04884     [Paper]
Reflections on researching when you don1t own the question

Barbra McKenzie, University of Wollongong

Research students from various disciplines often become a part of an already established research study. Research question, methodology and data collection and analysis procedures have already been decided in order that the requirements of Grant Committees are met. How difficult is it then for the research student to assume ownership of the project? This was my experience as a PhD student working on a SPIRT or APA(I) grant. My struggles to make this research my own and some of the solutions that I found will be identified and discussed.

MCK04892     [Paper]   ®
Implementing professional development experiences into classroom practice: Teachers articulate their process

Barbra McKenzie, University of Wollongong

The importance of ongoing professional development opportunities for classroom teachers has been well documented (Ramsay, 2000; Vinson, 2001; Nelson, 2003). This study focussed upon how five teachers from a Catholic Diocese translated their literacy based professional development experiences into the reality of their individual classroom practice. In research supported by an APA(I) grant, teacher respondents articulated and discussed the logic structures that sustained this process. A range of data, including videotape, interviews, classroom artefacts and flowcharts were collected and analysed using a Grounded Theory methodology. Some of the results are presented and discussed in this paper.

MCK041030     [Paper]
Building on children's literacy resources in early grade classrooms

Barbra McKenzie, University of Wollongong

This practical and interactive session will demonstrate and discuss how early grade teachers may effectively build on the diverse resources that children bring to their classrooms. Opening the classroom door to home and community texts will be seen to be an important part of recognising and capitalising on children's expertise. Doing so will further be seen to provide critical stepping stones for learning about texts and literacy practices that are important to children's current and later school success. Framed by a Social Model of Reading and Writing (Harris, McKenzie, Fitzsimmons & Turbill, 2001 & 2003), an inclusive approach that accounts for literacy as multi-faceted practices will be explored and applied to early grade classrooms.

MCL041054     [Paper]   ®
Developing expertise and intrapersonal practitioner reflection in a web environment

Catherine McLoughlin, Carolyn Broadbent and Maureen Boyle, Australian Catholic Unviersity

Web-based learning has been extensively described and analysed to demonstrate its potential for supporting and enriching the learning experience. Online learning communities are emerging as sites for building and sustaining communities of practice and for fostering reflective conversation. An analytical framework incorporating several phases of knowledge building is applied to a corpus of online discussions to reveal the emergence of meta-reflection and professional identity among preservice teachers.

MCL04414     [Paper]
Taking issues of culture and diversity into account in the education of future physicians

Anna MacLeod, University of South Australia

It is well recognized that members of historically marginalized communities have received inadequate health care for a variety of reasons (Institute of Medicine, 2003). Despite an increased awareness of the issues facing members of these populations, health disparities persist (Health Canada, 2002).

Medical schools are in a position to contribute to the reduction of health disparities of historically marginalized populations through physician education. Government initiatives, such as "Social Accountability: A Vision for Canadian Medical Schools" (Health Canada, 2001), have called for medical education curricula to be developed which educate for physicians who are competent in offering culturally appropriate care.

To this end, certain educational initiatives and interventions have been developed within the institution of medicine (Wear, 2003). However, these responses have been, in many cases, piecemeal and incidental, often taking the form of "a half day workshop in sexuality" or "Gender Day", for example, rather than thoughtful and thorough inclusion in undergraduate medical school curricula (Taylor, 2003). This research, through a feminist-poststructuralist gaze, explores the current status of issues of culture and diversity in both formal and informal medical education curricula.

MCW04267     [Paper]   ®
On being accountable: Risk-consciousness and the doctoral supervisor

Erica McWilliam, Queensland University of Technology

This paper analyses the imperative to greater accountability for doctoral supervisors as the effect of a regime of truth (Foucault, 1980) that we call risk management. It draws on new sociological theorising of risk to argue that risk management works as a moral climate that offers academics new ways of being properly professional by being more risk-conscious. Risk-conscious academics are increasingly on guard against student failure, declining standards and waste of resources. Thus they come to regulate themselves and their students in ways that are closely aligned to the ethos of the post-millennial university as a risk-conscious organisation. The paper considers the implications of this greater accountability for doctoral supervisors.

MEA04979     [Paper]   ®
Conflating religious principles with emotional intelligence

Daphne Meadmore, Queensland University of Technology

From a discourse analysis of promotional materials that include prospectuses, advertisements and school publications, this paper considers the 'value-addedness' of emotional literacy that some schools in Australia purport to offer as they position themselves at the apex of the market of education. Attesting to the importance of obtaining positional advantage, ideas of building self-esteem as emotional intelligence are being conflated with religious principles to produce the 'whole' child with market edge. This paper draws on a recent research study of 'elite' Australian schools and traces discursive shifts that re-form and link formerly 'unpopular' ideas about religion with those of contemporary understandings of spirituality as emotional intelligence. Some schools go further to offer emotional literacy as part of their pedagogy. Questions are raised in the paper about issues of fabrication in performativity-inspired marketing materials that promise to build subjective identities with a spiritual dimension that translates into successful and prosperous schooling outcomes and life chances.

MEI04366     [Paper]
Managing longitudinal research: An account of six years of the Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study

Marian Meiers, Australian Council for Educational Research

The ACER Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study (LLANS) is a seven-year longitudinal study following the growth in literacy and numeracy of a single cohort of students across the years of primary school. A longitudinal design was chosen as the most appropriate means of identifying patterns of growth in student achievement. In cross-sectional studies different students are assessed at a particular point in schooling, and this data is sometimes used to infer developmental patterns. A longitudinal design makes it possible to investigate growth by following the same cohort of students across the years of schooling, in order to identify the development in what students know and can do.

Ten students were randomly selected from class lists provided at the beginning of the 1999 school year by 100 randomly selected schools, creating a total national sample of 1000 students. During the course of the study many students have transferred to other schools, and some are no longer participating in the study, for a variety of reasons. Over 200 schools are now involved, many with a single student who has transferred from another school. By the end of 2003, 720 students remained on the LLANS database. This paper will explore some of the issues in managing longitudinal research, and report on some key findings from the study.

MEL04087     [Paper]
Child Panic and the media: Representations of schools, teaching practice and child protection legislation in the Australian press

Lise Mellor and Judyth Sachs, The University of Sydney

This paper explores the manner in which the Australian press media has a role in shaping public consciousness regarding risk of harm to children. Our analysis of national press reportage during 2003 reveals two consistent narratives which, antagonistically intersect and perpetuate social anxiety around issues of child protection and teaching practice in schools.

MEN041078     [Paper]
Algebra is the consequence of precisely formulatable cognitive mechanisms

Brenda Menzel, Murrayville Community College

Deliberation about teaching algebra must include early algebraic thinking and the kinds of activity that might prepare young students to think and operate algebraically. The Victorian Board of Studies (BOS, Victoria) has emphasised that students' thinking needs to be the centre of mathematics instruction and that appropriate pedagogy and curriculum content needs to stress reasoning and strategies. This emphasis is evident from the CSF Strand "Reasoning and Strategies Levels 1-6" (BOS, 2002), and the "Annotated Work Samples" (BOS, 2001). I draw on examples of my students' thinking as they develop arithmetic and algebraic understanding as a natural extension of their analysis of their sensory-motor experiences. This paper interprets the work of Lakoff & Nunez (2000) in specifically pedagogical terms. Lakoff and Nunez purport that "Metaphors are an essential part of mathematical thought, not just auxiliary mechanisms used for visualization or ease of understanding" (Lakoff & Nunez, p.6). In this paper I suggest that students need to be encouraged to make connections between their everyday experiences and the abstract even if the links seem obscure.

MIL04122     [Paper]
Confronting the limits of success in education: The case for a Bourdieuian research methodology

Carmen Mills and Trevor Gale, Monash University

The injustices of 'allowing certain people to succeed, based not upon merit but upon the cultural experiences, the social ties and the economic resources they have access to, often remains unacknowledged in the broader society' (Wacquant, 1998, p. 216). Cognisant of this, we argue that education requires researchers' renewed examination and explanation of its involvement in the construction of social and economic differences. Specifically, we make the case for researchers to consider the theoretical work of Pierre Bourdieu, outlining what we understand by a Bourdieuian methodology, which is informed by socially critical and post-structural understandings of the world. From our perspective, such methodology attempts to dig beneath surface appearances, asking how social systems really work, and how ideology or history conceals the processes that oppress and control people, in order to reveal the nature of oppressive mechanisms (Harvey, 1990). By asking 'whose interests are being served and how' (Tripp, 1998, p. 37) in the social arrangements we find, Bourdieu can help us to 'work towards a more just social order' (Lenzo, 1995, p. 17) in which the subordinated may become 'empowered to take control of their lives and change the conditions which have caused their oppression' (Beder, 1991, p. 4).

MIL04400     [Paper]
Critical spirituality as a resource for fostering critical pedagogy

Ivana Milojevic, The University of Queensland

Our present historical moment is marked by, on one hand, rising scepticism, questioning and secularism (due to modern science and postmodern philosophy) and, on the other, rise in religious fervour, fanaticism and dogma (as a response to the previous and also threats from globalisation and multiculturalism). Critical spirituality is a concept that aims to transcend these two poles, by incorporating both the rational and empirical with the somatic, the meditative (Bussey, 2000) and the devotional. This concept acknowledges the reality that humans are spiritual beings but asserts that wider knowledge and understanding of various spiritual traditions and their contemporary developments are crucial in our times. Implications of this concept for critical pedagogy are numerous. As Parker Palmer (1998) argues the spiritual is always present in all (including public) education, whether it is acknowledged or not. Thus critical spirituality approaches crucially correspond with the main aims of critical pedagogy fostering of critical thinking skills, questioning of the hegemonic discourses, development of critical consciousness, transformation of society (and self), and so on. My presentation will focus on discussing critical spirituality as fostered by Neo-Humanism, Buddhism and within New Age movement(s) and the implications of these understandings on the current educational theory and praxis.

MIL04667     [Paper]   ®
RASCH application to an amalgamated striking instrument: Strike Two!

Judith Miller, University of New England

Fundamental motor skills research in Australia has been prevalent in the past decade. Primary school-aged children were assessed across a range of fundamental motor skills. A high failure rate was a consistent result. Most instruments employed were 'ceiling types' and therefore a high failure rate left little information about the majority of students. Therefore, an amalgamated process instrument for the strike was constructed to provide a broader spectrum of performance information. Because the instrument was elicited from a range of sources, the validity was questionable. RASCH analysis was used to test the degree to which the ten components of the 'amalgamated striking instrument' measured an underlying construct. Rasch analysis was applied to the performances of 6-7 year old children (n=17). Poor fit statistics resulted, however, when a larger group (n=161) of older students (6-9 years) were assessed, the fit statistics were acceptable. The components (items) of the strike were consistent, the performances (cases) were more divergent developmentally, specifically for the larger, older group. Specific detail of the changes in item and case reliability will be explored in view of the theoretical underpinnings of the instrument. It is suggested that this process can be applied to other fundamental motor skills.

MOC04272     [Paper]
Developing transformative teacher professionalism

Nicole Mockler, University of Sydney and Loreto Normanhurst

Drawing upon the work of a small cluster of knowledge building schools, this paper will focus upon 'New professional learning as a means of developing transformative teacher professionalism'. It will explore issues of teacher professional identity and the ways in which this is contributed to by teacher responsiveness to the changing and demanding educational environments in which they find themselves. The paper will make links to the expectations being generated by the newly established NSW Institute of Teachers and the congruence of these to the broader, international discourse on transformative teacher professionalism.

MOC04604     [Paper]
Architects, travel agents and bus drivers: Images of teacher professional identity

Nicole Mockler, University of Sydney

This paper will report on the initial phase of a study into the formation and development of teacher professional identity. The first part of the paper will offer an analysis of various representations of teachers within educational and broader social discourses, while the second part will present an analysis of preliminary data collected from secondary school teachers in relation to the construction of their own professional identities. The paper will conclude with some observations about the interplay of individual, school and societal factors in the development of teacher professional identity.

MOK04933 [Paper]
The development of measurement scales on self-learning of secondary students

Magdalena Mok, Yin Cheong Cheng, Phillip Moore and Kerry Kennedy, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

This report is concerned with the development of measurement scales for self-learning of secondary students. Self-learning refers to a process whereby the learner participates actively in the act of learning, including planning, goal setting, progress monitoring, selecting learning strategies and controlling the learning environment. The capacity for self-learning has been accorded high priority in recent years by major education systems, particularly those in the Asia Pacific region. This study is motivated by the lack of measurement tool available for the study of self-learning in countries where Chinese is the main medium of instruction, including China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The sample comprised 398 secondary students from Hong Kong secondary schools and a comparable sample of 200 secondary students from Macau. Questionnaires with Likert items were administered to the students during class-time. Scales included students' goal setting, academic motivation, self-efficacy, information processing strategies, monitoring and management of learning resources. Rasch modelling and confirmatory factor analysis were used to establish construct validity of these scales. Differences across males and females, grade levels, and regions were reported in the paper.

MOO04173     [Paper]   ®
Researching at a regional university: Doing the public good or institutional expectations?

Teresa Moore, Central Queensland University

Professional knowledge and personal philosophies intersect in the highly politicised context called the academic workplace. Circulating within this context are institutional discourses constructing the 'good academic' that correspond to certain institutional expectations and performances. The 'good academic' performs in a workplace environment that can be described as a greedy institution (Franzway, 2001) where the pressure to perform is shaped by such entities as the workplace culture, internal procedures and external policies. In this paper I explore what it means to do research in contemporary times in a specific regional academic site. I focus on two themes: firstly I look at the contextual nature of the changing academic workplace and secondly I highlight what is regarded as legitimate research in this workplace. I conclude by illustrating that only specific kinds of research are regarded as legitimate or 'good research' and that this is reinforcing stereotypical images around who is seen as the 'good academic'. Therefore I argue that the notion of doing the public good is shaped by local institutional expectations.

MOO04174     [Paper]   ®
Working scientifically: Positioning research into inquiry based practice for pre-service teachers

Teresa Moore, Central Queensland University

Dominant discourses promote the notion of lifelong learning that fits snugly into the creation of on-going professional development for beginning and experienced teachers. In this paper I present a case study highlighting the process of confidence building and critically reflect on whether this is enough for beginning teachers, opening the avenue for researching our own practices and establishing an on-going market for professional development. One of the aims of this research project was to establish a baseline for further research and professional development for beginning teachers, thus positioning the researcher in an on-going relationship with potential respondents.

Data presented focuses on the experiences of one cohort of pre-service primary teachers who elected to do an inquiry-based course to supplement their pedagogical knowledge for teaching science at the primary level. This cohort had limited knowledge of science concepts and processes but realised that they would be expected to teach science as a Key Learning Area in Queensland schools. During that time many students moved from being nervous to being motivated to teach science. Many of these pre-service teachers saw the teaching of science could be an inquiry-based process emphasising working scientifically, rather than regurgitating a standard body of facts or conclusions.

MOO04323     [Paper]   ®
Floating and sinking feelings in Middle School

Teresa Moore and Allan Harrison, Central Queensland University

Why do corks always float, lead sinkers sink but clothes pegs both float and sink? This inquiry unit explored these questions and is suitable for upper primary and lower secondary students. The unit comprised sequenced activities culminating in the students making and explaining a working Cartesian Diver. The learning aim was to develop a causal explanation for floating in which students understood floating in terms of balanced forces. The research aim was to document student understandings of balanced forces. Data came from classroom observations and a discourse analysis of the Cartesian Diver activity. The unit explored prior knowledge of floating and sinking, introduced new phenomena demonstrating balanced/unbalanced forces and emphasised 'working scientifically. The study found that a range of alternative conceptions survived alongside a set of scientifically acceptable explanations in different students. This indicates the presence of multiple subjectivities, deep-seated informal alternative discourses and some formal scientific discourses. Students can develop relational explanations for abstract phenomena but need time and guidance.

MOR04509     [Paper]   ®
"I know it's important but I'd rather teach something else!": An investigation into generalist teachers' perceptions of physical education in the primary school curriculum

Philip Morgan and Sid Bourke, University of Newcastle

The benefits of regular physical education (PE) for primary school children have been reinforced in the literature over a number of years. Unfortunately, many primary school teachers feel they lack the confidence, training and time to teach PE effectively and subsequently may avoid teaching PE altogether. A key aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between generalist teachers' curriculum preferences in the primary school and the relative value they place on PE compared to other key learning areas (KLAs) of the NSW primary curriculum. Data were collected from 485 pre-service (2nd, 3rd & 4th Year) and in-service generalist primary teachers. Results suggested that most cohorts considered PE to be a relatively valuable KLA but indicated they would prefer to teach other KLAs to PE. Insufficient time was the most commonly cited impediment to the delivery of PE programs. Significant relationships were established between some PE attitudinal variables for some cohorts and interesting findings emerged upon post hoc analysis of cohort differences, particularly regarding in-service teachers. These findings will be discussed with specific recommendations made for preservice education and ideas for the professional development of generalist primary teachers.

MOS04153     [Paper]   ®
"Noticing" and professional learning

Julianne Moss and Julie White, University of Melbourne

One of the most difficult issues faced in school university partnerships is the legitimacy of the collaborative relationship. Getting invited in as a university partner and staying on to support teacher knowledge is challenging. Through an account of a case study set in one large secondary school located in the Western Metropolitan region, we disentangle the importance of seldom considered barriers that impact on professional learning. Shaping our understanding through a theoretical model where the movement between identity, beliefs and decision and action is identified as 'noticing' (Mason 2002)we describe the potential of the model in developing a 'pedagogy of hope' (hooks 2003. Noticing, working at the elusive intersections of observation and construction, permits non-linear connections. A 'pedagogy of hope' works for a sustainable learning community for students, teachers and school leaders.

MOY04602     [Paper]
Just how far have we come? A retrospective on girls' education and an analysis of the present situation

Kathryn Moyle, Department of Education and Children's Services (SA) and Judith Gill, University of South Australia

Using data drawn from recollection and research into girls' schooling in the early 1980s this paper reprises the themes which guided action for gender equity in schooling. The focus is on girls' schools and the ways in which they sought to counter hegemonic male dominance in the relations of schooling. The paper presents a picture of teachers and students in girls' schools working across a range of fronts, united in a commitment to the furtherance of better outcomes for girls. Analysis of this work reveals different levels of success for girls and their teachers in terms of the realisation of girls' educational potentials. The argument put forward in the paper concerns the ways in which moves for greater equity in schooling outcomes for girls became vertaken through the 1990s by mainstream equity intiatives which themselves worked to disguise fundamental class differences in educational experience and achievement. Finally the paper offers an analysis of the ways in which the early debates around gender and education have been transformed by more recent developments in government policy and schooling practices such that their original liberatory intent has been marginalised and/or rendered powerless.

MUL04587     [Paper]   ®
Organising identities in post-compulsory education: A topological perspective

Dianne Mulcahy, University of Melbourne

The roles and expectations of managers in the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector are changing under dynamically complex conditions. The adoption of a more 'open' national training market as a government policy initiative has led to significant changes within VET providers and significant challenges for VET managers. Drawing on topological approaches to the study of organisational change, this paper explores modes of organising education in post-compulsory education. It promotes a theoretical and empirical imperative to look keenly to hybrid spaces to challenge established modes of coordinating and governing education organizations. Essentially interrogatory, these spaces open up the possibility of the negotiation of identity across differences of private and public education. Using case data from a national, empirical research project, the argument is made that VET organisations are located in a complicated nexus between public policy, corporate strategy, and educational practice. As the central node in this nexus, strategy offers ways of securing identities and spatialities that are specially valued in VET. More broadly, spaces exist that provide the terrain for elaborating new organizational identities. 'Co-operatives', networks and partnerships constitute some of these. Possibilities of change lie in the contradictions of identity and spatiality within established modes of coordinating post-compulsory education as well as in site-specific constructions of spatiality, identity and organization.

MUL04848     [Paper]   ®
A preliminary model of successful school leadership

Bill Mulford and Susan Johns, University of Tasmania

A preliminary model for examining successful school leadership, derived from the Tasmanian part of the International Successful School Leadership project, is presented. Success is defined by a combination of factors, including the reputation of the school within the Department of Education and with other school Principals, the reputation of the current Principal, and State and national recognition of success in terms of outcomes for students, including outcomes for students at risk.

The interactive and sequential model presented is set within a context that includes community and system understandings and requirements. It first focuses on the Principal's values which link to individual and school capacity and the development of a school vision. The context and principal's values represent the 'why' and the individual and school capacity and vision the 'how' of successful leadership. The model progresses to the 'what' or outcomes of successful leadership, which include teaching and learning, a range of student outcomes, and community social capital. These three foci are linked by evidenced-based monitoring and critical reflection, which could lead to change and/or transformation of the why, how and/or what. This model is consistent with, but develops with greater complexity, other recent overviews and models of successful educational leadership.

MUN04498     [Paper]
A sense of wonder: Student engagement in low SES school communities

Geoff Munns, University of Western Sydney

This paper reports on research into student engagement undertaken in the Fair Go Project. It discusses a theoretical and pedagogical framework developed in the project that directs teachers' attention to significant changes they can make within their classrooms in order to encourage both short and long term student engagement with education.

MUR04286     [Paper]   ®
Enhancing learners' generic skills through Problem-Based Learning

Rosalind Murray-Harvey, David Curtis, Phillip Slee and Georgina Cattley, Flinders University

Claims made for the value of PBL as an effective method for professional education programs draw on constructivist principles of teaching and learning to achieve essential content knowledge, higher order thinking skills and a team approach to problem-solving through the interdisciplinary, student-directed study of relevant professional problems.

These essential outcomes of PBL (knowledge, higher order thinking, problem solving, and effective team skills) are also regarded more generally across higher education as desirable qualities of graduates. The evidence that these qualities are in fact, fostered through PBL is growing but the broader implications (such as the wider impact or more far-reaching effects) of the PBL approach have yet to be examined.

This paper addresses the relationship between PBL and graduate qualities in two ways. First, it reports on a study of teacher education students' assessment of their learning through PBL over time, across four areas of skill development: knowledge building; group processes; problem solving; and, interpersonal effectiveness. Second, the paper examines these specific outcomes in terms of the more broadly defined qualities expected of Australian university graduates.

MUR04985     [Paper]   ®
Perspectives of "Big School": Kindergarten children's response to The Pictorial Measure of School Stress

Elizabeth Murray and Linda Harrison, Charles Sturt University

This paper describes the development, administration, and scoring of the Pictorial Measure of School Stress (PMSS). This instrument was designed to describe individual differences in kindergarten children's feelings about everyday school situations and their coping strategies for dealing with these. The PMSS uses a semi-structured interview to present specific school scenarios, including in-class routines such as talking in front of the class/doing schoolwork, out-of-class events such as lining up/going to the toilet alone/buying lunch at the canteen, and scenarios involving peers such as joining in with group play/being pushed by other children. Children are asked how they feel, why they feel that way, whether they would tell the teacher about their feelings, and what might happen next. Following initial analysis of children's positive and negative responses to these questions, interpretive methods were used to identify underlying themes. Positive responses to school were explained by children's enjoyment of learning, warm relationships with peers and the teacher, and understanding and meeting the expectations of school. Negative responses were associated with a dislike of school activities, peer rejection, separation anxiety, and conflicted relationships with the teacher.

MYL04577     [Paper]    
The journey to a criterion-referenced assessment university: Part I

Aliisa Mylonas, Halima Goss, and Karen Whelan, Queensland University of Technology

In September 2003, the University Academic Board of the Queensland University of Technology endorsed a new assessment policy. Most significantly, the policy stated that "the fundamental approach to assessment... will be criterion-referencing". These few words served as a catalyst to review and critique existing assessment practices across the university, while, at the same time, (re)consider current teaching and learning approaches. The year 2004 was deemed one of "consciousness-raising" with the implementation of criterion-referenced assessment expected in strategic first year units. To assist in this process, Teaching and Learning Support Services trialed a range of strategies in response to academics' requests for support. This paper highlights the shared journey to date, focusing on strategies implemented, lessons learned, major accomplishments and recommendations offered to support QUT's academics in the transition to a criterion-referenced university.

N

NAI04371     [Paper]
Teaching English as a foreign language in Chinese tertiary education: Which direction?

Guo Naizhao, Inversity of Tasmania

Recently the Chinese Ministry of Education urged innovative development of the tertiary teaching English as a foreign language in China.

The paper first confirms the achievements China has gained. Tertiary students' English proficiency has greatly been improved since it opened its door to the outside world and began its epoch-making economic reform in the 1980s. However, based on the data analysis conducted recently, the indication is that most tertiary students are weak in speaking and listening and their standards fall far short of meeting the needs generated from the country's rapid developments in the economy, science and technology, and from increasing contact with other countries. There are some factors that need to be taken into account, such as teaching goals, teaching mode, teaching methods etc. This paper presents a critical review of current literature on how to improve the tertiary teaching English as a foreign language in China and examines social and cultural factors which interfere with the implementation of innovative ideas in the current tertiary educational discourse.

NAI04930     [Paper]
Developing English learners' autonomy in teaching English as a foreign language in Chinese tertiary education: Why and how?

Guo Naizhao, University of Tasmania and Yanling Zhang, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics

With China's opening to the outside world, the demand for English has expanded dramatically. However, English teaching strategies in tertiary education cannot satisfactorily meet such a demand to improve students' English proficiency. This paper analyses the major hindering factors in developing such proficiency. It reviews theories surrounding learners' autonomy and considers the implications for use of the Chinese English Teaching Syllabus Standard in Tertiary Education in the Chinese tertiary context. The experimental study was mainly conducted for 2 years in Shanxi University of Finance and Economics. It focused on how to develop English learners' autonomy and initiative in order to make learners become more autonomous and more proficient in their English learning. Results show that students' interest in English learning was aroused and their autonomy was improved through the application of graded teaching, training students' learning skills, co-operative language learning and an assessment of portfolio to teaching English as a foreign language in Chinese tertiary education.

NAJ04448     [Paper]
The effect of academic strategy use on L2 learning: A classroom study

Robyn Najar, Flinders University

The purpose of this presentation is to highlight the importance of academic strategy use in the L2 classroom context. To appreciate the complexity of learning in second language classrooms an understanding of the interaction between language proficiency and academic strategy use needs to be considered. This is done by reporting the findings of a study on the use of academic strategies by L2 learners. To determine the relationship of cognitive academic learning strategy use in L2 proficiency and task performance, 205 freshman students at a Japanese university participated in the study. The relationship was explored in the following two questions. First, what is the effect of cognitive learning strategy use on task performance in the L2, and second, which of the learning strategies used lead to more successful task performance? By articulating the learning strategies used by successful L2 learners, we gain insight into the juxtaposition between what are language specific needs as opposed to cognitive learning issues. In this study significant relationships between cognitive learning strategy use and task performance have been observed. These relationships remind us that the L2 learning process is complex, and that a number of variables are involved, including but not limited to L2 proficiency.

NAS04480     [Paper]   ®
Developing maths-confidence in sixteen maths-anxious preservice student teachers

Lisa Uusimaki and Rod Nason, Queensland University of Technology

Large numbers of primary preservice student teachers' in Australia lack confidence in their own mathematical abilities and skills when entering teacher education courses. This study investigated the development of maths-confidence in sixteen self-identified maths-anxious preservice student teachers. These students were engaged in the development of their mathematical repertoires within the context of a supportive computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. The design of the Intervention Program used in the study was informed by a theoretical framework derived from the literature in the fields of learning environments, novel open-ended mathematical activities, computer supported collaborative learning, community of learners and negative beliefs about learning. The findings from this study indicate that the continuous support from their group members via the computer-mediated Knowledge Forum community, and the support they received from the researcher and facilitator within the non-intimidating workshop environments was crucial in the development of maths-confidence in these preservice student teachers.

NAS04549     [Paper]   ®
Growth of teacher knowledge: The promise of CSCL

Matt McDougall, Rod Nason and Campbell McRobbie Queensland University of Technology

To ensure that universities meet the needs of their learners more completely, teaching and learning strategies should be adopted to make educational provision more flexible. This study investigated how a lesson-planning task within the context of a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment facilitated the growth of teacher knowledge, specifically the subject-matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge about the teaching of ratios and fractions. This study used a CSCL environment called Knowledge Forum(r) with a cohort of preservice teachers collaborating in a lesson planning task. The social interaction within the computer-mediated community in this study contributed to the growth of teacher knowledge by providing a new social context for learning that prompted students to articulate their ideas and make ideas visible for peer inspection. Through peer-to-peer interactions like asking questions, requesting clarification, revising interpretations, or elaborating ideas, the students learnt both the limits and utility of different models to explain mathematical notions. These on-line social interactions supported knowledge integration by helping to broaden students' initial repertoire of instructional representations and mathematical constructs, demonstrating personal utility for particular ideas, and encouraging students to refine their understanding of mathematics.

NEM04361     [Paper]
The 'Hero's Journey': Personal resonance as response to narrative

Phil Fitzsimmons and Kori Nemme, University of Wollongong

This paper discuses an investigation into the claim made by Joseph Campbell (1949, 1988), that all narratives across all cultures and time have a similar underlying structure which he termed the 'Hero's Journey'. Recognised as a leading authority in the field of anthropology, Campbell asserts that this 'journey' represents the basic ideal of the human psyche and that there is a natural resonance with it.

Using one year six class and their teacher as a case study, this paper details the investigation into Campbell's claim and describes the relationship between using the 'Hero's Journey' (Campbell, 1988) as shared reading experience and personal resonance as response to narrative.

Using observation, collection of artistic and written response to the text and a series of informal and semi-structured interviews, the data gathered clearly indicated a high sense of personal and meaningful connections made by the students as well as a set of unexpected outcomes. While an understanding of the archetypal pattern of the 'Hero's Journey' arose, students reflected on questions of identity, recognized their personal narrative and also related these points to other relevant sources. This reflection motivated a cohesion of thoughts and emotions that also effected the learning environment and the nature of relationships and interactions among class members.

The findings of this project have implications for the implementation of the 'Hero's Journey' as a reader response tool for learning narrative on a meaningful and personal level, and the development of a personal development program incorporating the use of narrative.

NG04203     [Paper]
Learning Study: A case study of teaching "Expressive Drawing" in Visual Arts

Heung Sang Ng, Hong Kong Institute of Education

This paper presents a case study of how four teachers in one school adopted Learning Study in teaching Visual Arts in Hong Kong. The teachers found that the students at the primary level had difficulties expressing feelings through shapes. In 2003, they used the Learning Study approach to analyse teaching of this difficult topic. Each teacher taught the lesson and observed the lesson of the other three. A discussion, using student feedback, was held immediately after each lesson, aimed at improving the next one. A post-test was conducted to discover what students had learned. The result was good yet there were still many problems. In 2004, the same teachers taught the same topic with revision based on the outcomes of their previous lessons. There was more focus on using artists' artworks and students' expression of human figures. This paper will analyse materials and interviews from the Learning Studies to look at how to improve teachers' teaching of drawing. As drawing is central in children's art and the findings of this paper could be useful for other teachers in teaching visual arts.

NGU04600     [Paper]
Family and student influences on withdrawal from rural Vietnam

Cuc Nguyen and Patrick Griffin, The University of Melbourne

This paper sets out to investigate the extent to which gender, family's characteristics, attitudes, students' behaviour and achievement interacted with each other and influenced students' withdrawal in rural mountainous areas in Vietnam. Five hundred and fifty nine students and their parents responded to the questionnaires. Education officers and teachers and a small group of parents and students were involved in semi-structured interviews. A hypothetical model was developed to address the relationships between gender, family characteristics, attitudes, achievement and withdrawal. Some single variables involved in the model, such as family wealth, parents' and students' attitudes towards schooling were constructed using Item Response Theory. Structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the data collected through questionnaires to test the potential causal relationships between variables.

The fieldwork was conducted in two mountainous communes in Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province. Data obtained from questionnaires completed by students and their parents were used to identify potential causal relationships between factors in influencing withdrawal from lower secondary education.

It was found that parents' occupation educational status, parents' attitudes, family wealth, students' academic achievement, and gender were important factors associated with students' withdrawal in Thanh Hai and Quy Son. Except for students' academic achievement which has only direct effect on students' withdrawal, these factors influenced on students' withdrawal both directly and indirectly. The influence of parents' occupation educational status on students' withdrawal was mainly mediated via parents' attitudes and family wealth. The influence of family wealth on students' withdrawal was mediated through parents' attitudes and students' academic achievement. The influence of parents' attitudes on students' withdrawal was mediated through students' academic achievement. The influence of gender on students' withdrawal was mediated through parents' attitudes and students' behaviour.

NGU04603     [Paper]
Developing and validating primary school teacher standards in Vietnam

Patrick Griffin, Shelley Gillis and Cuc Nguyen, University of Melbourne

This paper reports on the findings of a World Bank funded study in which the University of Melbourne was commissioned to develop and validate a set of competency profiles and assessment strategies for primary school educators in Vietnam. Through extensive consultation, 14 draft competency profiles were developed within three broad strands: Personality and Ideology, Knowledge and Pedagogical Skills. Each competency profile comprised a set of performance criteria and indicators to judge the quality of performance of teachers. Standardised assessment procedures for gathering evidence of teacher performance were also developed, including portfolio methods, interview, observations and third party reports. The draft profiles and accompanying assessment procedures were then trialed with a sample of 2180 teachers from 10 provinces in Vietnam. Item Response Modelling was then used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the profiles as well as to identify developmental levels of competency for each of the 14 profiles. The data collected demonstrated the validity, accuracy and reliability of the measures. In the next stage of the project, the validated profiles and assessment rocedures will be used to assess a further 25,000 teachers. The outcomes of the study will have direct implications for identifying professional development needs, as well as formulating policies in teacher awards and promotion in Vietnam's primary educational system.

NIC04839     [Paper]
Busy doing nothing: Exploring the merits of inactivity within the context of an activity oriented challenge based wilderness therapy program

Val Nicholls, University of Woolongong

The terms Adventure and Wilderness therapy generally conjure up images of personal growth through challenge, adventure and skill acquisition. Acknowledged but less explored is the potential for personal growth and enhanced well-being from experiences of quietude and silence that nestle within the overall context of activity. Whether the bliss of a quiet sit on a mountain peak, the frozen 'stuckness' of indecision or the fallow silence preceding eruption, field experience indicates that moments of stillness often served as a potent repository for thoughts, feelings and emotions as well as a force for insight, understanding and personal growth. This paper reports on an ongoing doctoral research study exploring participants relationships with stillness within a challenge based wilderness therapy program. Details are presented about the research objectives, grounded theory methodology and the use of stimulated recall and photo-elicitation techniques. The paper discusses emerging themes and concludes with a number of questions salient to the practice and planning of therapeutic wilderness and adventure programs.

NOB04404 [Paper]   ®
Using critical reflection to prepare practitioners for pedagogical work with infants and toddlers

Karen Noble, Kym Macfarlane and Jenny Cartmel, Griffith University

This paper examines an early childhood care and education practitioner preparation program set in the School of Human Services at Griffith University in Queensland. Within this program traditional methods of teaching reflective practice have been employed in an effort to develop this skill in prospective graduates. The authors critique this process arguing that it limits the ability of practitioners to effectively engage in the reflective process as it tends to be based on isolated experiences that do not create space for a dialogic relationship. Moreover, it is argued that there is an urgency with respect to the development of critically reflective practitioners to work with young children particularly infants and toddlers in light of recent policy changes. Strategies are developed to move prospective practitioners from practice/ self-reflection to critical reflection and implications for practitioner educators are discussed.

NOR04915 [Paper]   ®
Using Lego to integrate mathematics and science in an outcomes based syllabus

Stephen Norton, Queensland University of Technology

Integrated learning has been put forward by curriculum documents as a means to add meaning and context to mathematics and science learning. However, few models of practice exist to guide teachers' in implementing this process. This paper examines an educational researcher's and a practicing teacher's challenge to use student construction of Lego artefacts as a tool for the learning of mathematics and science concepts through technology practice. It was found that the activities afforded opportunities for students to demonstrate numerous outcomes, that explicit scaffolding was needed by some students and that some students achieved at outcome levels beyond those expected of their Year. The findings have implications for the use of activity in the teaching of mathematics and science where syllabus documents demand specific outcomes.

NYL04045     [Paper]   ®
Three-year-olds and musical ability: Early impressions

Berenice Nyland and Jill Ferris, RMIT University, and Jan Deans, University of Melbourne

This paper examines children's musical experiences in a music session with a skilled musician. Ideas on the significance of content (Barrett, 1993) and context (Brice-Heath, 2003) are explored by describing the music sessions. A range of observational data is used to interpret the children's encounters with the musical material. The children's level of awareness and competence is explained by describing the material the children are interacting with, the skill level of the musician and the wholistic approach taken to the music sessions. The sessions are multi-sensory and there is an underlying philosophy that means the group times are used to explore complex ideas as well as encourage the development and practice of skills and examination of concepts. The children engage on both a practical level and an intuitive level. Four topics are discussed in the paper; one, teacher's expectations of young children's competence, two, implications for early childhood programs, three, the music session and four, the role of the skilled artist (musician) in the program. Discussion is premised on the concept of intent participation (Rogoff, 2003). The research focus is on the formal music group and further directions will examine how young children generalise music knowledge and experience across contexts.

O

OBR04743 [Paper]
Professional Learning and changing teacher attitudes: The role of technology-based approaches and resources

Jim O'Brien and Tony van der Kuyl, The University of Edinburgh

This paper will explore the development of a national website for the national educational priorities declared by Scotland's recently re-established Parliament. The national priorities and the new Framework for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) are an attempt to provide a coherent approach to educational development with appropriate professional assistance to teachers. While the website is used as a vehicle for the dissemination of school quantitative data on a national basis, a major focus of this work has been to attempt to influence teacher Professional Learning and Development in a range of domains especially through exemplification of best practice in teaching and learning. A range of resources (including international examples) involving multimedia have been developed or gathered together on the website many with associated professional learning activities. The website development builds on a successful series of technology-based professional learning CDRoms for Scottish teachers on professional areas such as "Dealing with Disruption" and literacy and numeracy. The presentation will be illustrated with examples of leading edge work from the website.

ODO04341     [Paper]
New paradigms and new opportunities: Post-structuralist research and Australian gender equity policy analysis

Denis O'Donovan, Curtin University of Technology

In this paper, I draw on the work of Jean-Francois Lyotard and Michel Foucault to examine strategies for feminist and pro-feminist scholars to impact on mainstream gender equity policy (GEP) for Australian schools. Research-based understandings of gender in schools have been on the defensive for a decade, as foci on "plain speaking" coalesce with popular and governmental attention on the educational problems of boys. However, researchers can reassert themselves in the policy field by "find[ing] ways to insert equity into new, popular priorities" (Marshall, 2000), for example, by exploring the potential to "sell" feminist and pro-feminist gender programs to schools in an environment of devolved decision-making. These opportunities can be accessed by feminist and pro-feminist interventionists viewing the policy field through a "politics of discourse," where power is transitory and connected to dominant currents of knowledge; and by mapping policy proposals on the Lyotardian notion of the "micronarrative," where localised, temporal understandings of gender take precedence over the generalized narratives pursued by mainstream GEP interventionists. I consider the positioning of research-based understandings of gender in both the 2003 report on the first stage of the Boys' Lighthouse Project, and the current national policy, arguing that feminist and pro-feminist readings of gender in Australian schools are "doing the public good" by acknowledging the complexity and uncertainty of gendered identity for school-age children in contemporary Australia.

OHA04931     [Paper]
Using the College: Building the capacity in post-graduate teacher education

Christine O'Hanlon, University of East Anglia

A focus on intellectual capacity building today has global resonance. There is an emphasis on building capacity through individual and institutional innovation. There is a global need for new kinds of educational professionals who study local situations with reference to global, national, trans-national and international trends with a view to producing and sustaining educators who can deal with the demands of the coming decades. Producing and sustaining researchers who can identify a set of issues which will lead to the development of new strategies and ideas in education is the present challenge for higher education. This can only be achieved through the widening of discourse in post-graduate degree courses from the traditional one-to-one supervisor role to one of collegial groups. There is a value in individual supervision, but on its' own it can only provide an impoverished intellectual environment. A much wider discourse involving like-minded students will enable the emergence of innovative and confident educators who can develop their ideas in programmes for change. The paper outlines strategies used by the author in higher education to produce more rounded and challenging graduates to cope with a changing world. The collegial aspect of their research is an imperative basis for their ability to deal with social and educational change as too is their understanding of the process of learning modelled in the groups. Building in the capacity for educational change is integral to the professional research process.

OLL04146     [Paper]
'I'm just a home economics teacher'. Does discipline background impact on teacher's ability to affirm and include gender and sexual diversity in secondary school health education programs?

Debbie Ollis, Latrobe University

Secondary school health and sexuality education teachers find it difficult to recognise and affirm sexual diversity. Overwhelmingly teachers of sexuality education in Australia are drawn from the physical education, home economics and science disciplines with a declining sprinkle of teacher with a gender equity background. They have little background and training in sexuality education, are concerned about attitudes and backlash and are often reluctant to teach the more sensitive issues, particularly issues around gender and homosexuality. Without formal or academic studies in sexuality education teachers' undergraduate discipline training is likely to have impacted on how they position issues of gender and sexuality in their programs.

This paper reports on qualitative data from research into changes in classroom practice for teachers of sexuality and health education. Its focus is the impact of professional development and the provision of a teaching and learning resource called Talking Sexual Health. This resource is designed to provide teachers with the necessary background, knowledge and skills thought to be effective in assisting them to include and affirm gender and sexual diversity as part of secondary school health education programs. I show that while discipline background is an important consideration in positioning some issues, particularly around gender and power, its impact has far less importance in positioning issues of sexual diversity.

ONS04161     [Paper]
Developing competency in metaphoric language processing

Andrys Onsman, Monash University

This paper presents a model of metaphoric language processing as a cognitive skill. Rather than assuming that interpreting figurative language, especially analogy used as a teaching tool, is a distinct and separate process to literal language interpretation, this paper argues that it is in fact the same process. Next, a number of potential breakdown points are identified, with their resultant responses. With specific reference to the SOLO taxonomy devised by Collis and Biggs, these responses are classified as Dismissive, Transgressive, Incomplete and Complete. Each classification is defined and exemplified. Some thoughts towards a theory of metaphoric language processing are presented, based to a large degree upon the notion that students tend to take the path of least resistance to sense-making. It is posited that, in general, rather than exhaust the process, students tend to settle for any interpretation that will allow the discourse to continue. A strategy for teaching metaphoric language processing is proposed and tested in a number of discreet situations. Finally some implications for teaching are discussed.

ONS04162     [Paper]
Management: The dark side of academic leadership

Andrys Onsman, Monash University

In general terms, a deal of uncertainty remains about what constitutes leadership in the academy. There are some generally agreed upon ideas. First, in the academy, leadership is generally seen as a higher-purpose activity than management. Second, academic leadership is usually seen in one of two ways: either as a trait or as behaviour. The first view results in the notion that leaders are born not made and that those people fortunate to have been born with the potential for leadership merely need some experience in the field to bring it out. The second view results in the notion that most people can be taught to be good leaders with the right amount of and kind of training. Third, in general terms the academy has, apparently, long operated on the belief that its staff will rise to an appropriate level of leadership as and when ability is matched by opportunity. However, recent case studies from the UK suggest that leadership's primary concern, change, may be less evident in the academy than management's primary concern, maintenance. This study looks at the leadership training programs in one of Australia's largest universities, particularly in relation to a re-examination of Jaques' Stratified Systems Theory.

OSB04573 [Paper]   ®
Work embedded professional development; Closing the generation gap

Monique Osborn, Monash University

Nurturing effective learning and teaching is evidently an ongoing concern for Australian primary, secondary and tertiary teachers and therefore a focus on pedagogical issues often underpins professional development. Ensuring that evolving learning and teaching practices are appropriately supported, teachers have become extremely critical of the professional development on offer. Consequently the primary and secondary sectors have experienced evolving generations of professional development models to meet teachers' individual needs. However the tertiary sector has not been as fortunate since Higher Education Units formed to support the pedagogical needs of academics have often created feelings of confusion and resentment amongst the participants. This paper questions the appropriateness of the outdated professional development approaches offered by Higher Education Units particularly for those academics with no formal teaching qualifications. It also questions the credibility of those implementing the workshops. A more effective approach, trialled during a longitudinal study (Osborn 2001) is introduced. This professional development model is work embedded and provides the academics with a much needed contextual and individualised approach.

OTS04633     [Paper]   ®
Cultural influences on academic performance: A case study in the Fiji Islands

Setsuo Otsuka, University of Sydney

There are cultural differences between achievement motivation among Indo-Fijians and ethnic Fijians in the Fiji context. Indo-Fijian culture highly respects and values education. They believe that education would change people for the better, and the only way for the successful person to civilise the people and establish good customs is through education. Thus, Indo-Fijian parents believe that helping children to do better at school is one of the most important tasks for them. On the contrary, ethnic Fijian culture encourages children to become good members of their community. For this purpose, one's total commitment to communal activities and requirements is of great importance. Ethnic Fijian parents spend much money on making contribution to ceremonies and church, somewhat at the expense of their children's education. It is, therefore, hypothesised that differences in cultural values and beliefs between these two groups are stronger predictors of differences in their academic performances than are their genetic influences.

OVE04726     [Paper]   ®
The meaningful lecture: Using memory-work to explore teacher education practices in physical education

Alan Ovens, Auckland College of Education

This paper uses memory-work to explore students' experiences of learning to teach physical education. Five students in their final year of a Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) course volunteered to be participants. Memory-work involves students writing stories based on memories triggered by themes under investigation. The stories are then shared in a group meeting where they are collectively analysed for common themes and meanings. The memory-stories and group discussions are then further analysed by the researcher. Emerging themes from the analysis demonstrates that students identify strongly with the teaching community and use this to judge the relevance of their campus-based lessons. Relevance was a strong theme is mediating students' attention during lessons and the prevalence of studentship and resistance behaviours. The paper concludes by highlighting the value stories have for understanding teacher education practices as well as drawing attention to concerning aspects of the pedagogy employed in teacher education contexts.

OWE04038     [Paper]   ®
Imagery and property noticing: Young students' perceptions of three-dimensional shapes

Kay Owens, Charles Sturt University

A study of how students attempt three-dimensional problems presented as diagrams illustrates the range of thinking used by middle primary school students. Items were presented to 265 students and six additional students were interviewed. The spatial ability of reseeing assists students to notice properties of shapes held in their imagery. This finding has implications for teaching.

OWE04331   [Paper]
Situativity theory and emerging trends in teacher professional development

Susanne Owen, University of South Australia

The current focus on teacher quality in Australian education has highlighted the importance of ongoing professional development (PD), with research (DETYA, 2001: Kenway et al, 1999) indicating the effectiveness of school-based PD and other longer term programs.

These examples of PD approaches link to Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), situativity theory and communities of practice research. In particular, Vygotsky's ZPD focuses on potential performance and uses social and environmental artefacts to deliberately accelerate learning and the internalization process beyond competence.

In applying ZPD to teacher learning, situativity theory rather than an individually- based cognitive learning approach is emphasised. Therefore, the most effective PD is situated in a particular school, team or community of shared understanding. It involves social interaction and includes learning from observing individuals, sharing ideas through oral and written language, and engaging in practical tasks such as analysing student work.

Situativity theory may be further expanded beyond situated authentic practice activities to encompass Communities of Practice, which emphasises an anthropological perspective. While Communities of Practice highlights learning within the social context, a significant focus is that the individual identity becomes intertwined and inseparable from the community. A key aspect is that reproduction of the community occurs through a process of legitimate peripheral participation of newcomers. This involves gradual negotiation of meanings, with the learner progressively moving towards a more central position in the community.

This paper examines the concepts of ZPD, situativity theory and communities of practice in relation to emerging trends in teacher PD. Coaching, mentoring, study groups and other PD examples will be discussed.

P

PAL04534     [Paper]
Approaches to the idea of the 'good teacher' in vocational education and training

Phoebe Palmieri, Monash University

Notions of the 'good teacher' are common in the field of education research but, by and large, they focus on teachers who work in school education. The idea of the 'good teacher' in vocational education and training is less evident - both in everyday popular experience and in research. Yet the notion of the 'good teacher' establishes a moral claim about the professional culture of the teacher and the occupational culture that they serve which apply within vocational education as much as in school education. The idea of the 'good teacher' is political because it provides a basis for asserting the characteristics valued in different domains of vocational education and for defending particular teaching and learning traditions that are occupationally based. It establishes an anchor point for vocational teachers who are living the rapid reconfiguration of vocational education within the globalised knowledge economy, subject to intense commercial imperatives and oriented towards learning modes that reposition the teacher and the roles they are expected to play in a self-service learning context. This paper discusses the challenges of developing an approach to defining a good teacher in VET. It canvasses alternative perspectives from which the vocational teacher can be viewed and explores connections between pedagogical and occupational identity through the interplay of texts, contexts and experience.

PAN04654     [Paper]   ®
Incorporating different assessment tasks to gauge student understandings of planetary processes

Debra Panizzon and John Pegg, University of New England, and Steve McGee, Wheeling Jesuit University

In this exploratory study the understandings demonstrated by primary students as a result of their involvement with the interactive CD package Astronomy Village: Investigating the Solar System were explored. Thirty-one students aged between 10 and 12 years, from two schools in rural New South Wales completed two tasks before and after the intervention. The first task was a 40-item multiple-choice test, traditionally used to evaluate students' understanding, and the second task was an open-response question. The results between pre and post-tests on the multiple-choice questions suggested students improved their content knowledge with a statistically significant difference recorded. The open-response question was analysed using the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) Model. Approximately one-third of the students demonstrated an improved level of understanding, after the two-week intervention period, however, the magnitude of this change was not statistically significant according to a Wilcoxon signed rank test. The utilisation of the SOLO Model provided a qualitative insight into the change of students' understandings that complemented the quantitative results obtained from the multiple-choice test. As a consequence of this study, similar tasks are being used in the United States to evaluate software packages.

PAR04497     [Paper]   ®
The zone of proximal development as a strategically mediated encounter with alterity: Implications for teachers and teacher educators

Robert Parkes, Charles Sturt University

This paper begins by examining the emergence of Vygotsky's notion of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) as a 'working hypothesis' that he used to deal with the problem of the relationship between instruction and development. The article then argues for the implicit connection of the ZPD with other Vygotskian notions such as 'internalisation' and 'semiotic mediation', and attempts to highlight the dialectical philosophy that underpins it. After surveying a range of interpretations of the ZPD that exist in the neo-Vygotskian literature, a way of thinking about the ZPD is presented that recasts it as a 'strategically mediated encounter with alterity' by teasing out a sociological reading of the zone. It is argued that thinking about the ZPD in this way allows us to speculate about possible outcomes of the encounter with alterity, and the important role of teachers and teacher educators in providing mediational tools to support a transformational, rather than transactional outcome from any encounter with difference.

PAR04676     [Paper]   ®
Teacher professionalism: Pessimism and/or possibilities?

Graham Parr, Monash University

This paper inquires into some ways in which managerialist policy and discourses are progressively impoverishing the professionalism of teachers and teaching in Australia. I begin with a survey of recent literature (including Locke 2004, Goodson 2003, and Cochran Smith & Fries 2001) that reports on trends in professional learning policy and/or practices in schools and school systems across the western world. Some common critical frames that are identified through this review are then brought to bear on a reading of a literary short story. In this reading, I explore the potential of this text as a tentative metaphor for current professional learning environments in Australia. In particular, my reading considers the creative interplay (and tensions) between sophisticated, imaginative structures, the richness of human stories, and a prevailing sense of openness to possibilities, and I investigate the value of these elements as a focus for a critique of current managerialist policy and practices. I then connect this with Freire's conception of knowledge and learning as banking, and consider the impact of such a conception on current managerialist policy, especially with regard to individualistic conceptualisations of teacher knowledge and teacher identity. Finally, I return to my reading of the short story in order to tease out my own sense of the bleakness and/or possibilities with respect to the future of teachers' professionalism in Australia.

PAR04808     [Paper]   ®
Preparing for a Longitudinal Study: Conceptualising the nature of data to be gathered

Gary Partington, Edith Cowan University

The FTD program is designed by the Department of Education and Training to increase the opportunities for success of secondary Aboriginal students in Western Australian schools. Students are selected on their potential for success and provided support through mentoring, family support, extra-curricular programs and study assistance. Where possible, industry assistance is obtained to fund the additional resources needed for the program in the various schools where it is taking place.

The author is a member of a team of researchers conducting a longitudinal study of the program in a number of schools. The study, which is an ARC Linkage project with the Department of Education and Training in Western Australia, will examine the progress of the program and report to the Department of Education and Training and committees and coordinators on the efficacy of the program.

This paper attempts to build a framework within which the efforts and achievements of the students can be examined. Commencing with an analysis of the nature of the program and its processes that are designed to influence the students' progress through the high school, the paper explores the factors that may lead to competing motivations and values. Finally, a construction of the kinds of data that will be needed to explore the perceptions, experiences and outcomes of the students will be made.

The outcome of the paper is a model of the processes that impact on the students and the data that will provide the basis for sound analysis of the program as it affects the students.

PAY04225     [Paper]
The household as a site of environmental education: Parenting strategies and intergenerational environmental ethics

Phillip Payne, La Trobe University

The international discourse of environmental education is replete with criticisms of how school/curriculum based efforts have not lived up to the expectation of sustainability. Few studies have considered the constraining or enabling influences of the home, no matter how good the educational intervention might be.

For researchers to describe and explain how families function 'privately' in their own homes in relation to controversial issues such as the environment, health, politics, sex, drugs and so on is fraught with problems, least of all gaining ethical approval and/or the politics of conducting such research.

Ideally, family/household ethnographies should be used to gain rich data about parent-child actions, inactions, interactions and relations in addition to the subtleties of a family's norms, domestic milieu and resources, and socio-cultural background. Even self-reporting by parents and their children through diaries and journals of respective family members is problematic.

Within the acknowledged limitations of conventional in-depth interviews and questionnaires, this paper reports on how the researcher used a variety of data collection tools to generate 'family narratives' about household environmental behaviours and the development of intergenerational environmental ethics.

PEE04580     [Paper]
Professional identity and pedagogical space: Negotiating difference in teacher workplaces

Eleanor Peeler and Alex Kostogriz, Monash University

This paper explores 'dialogical struggle' in the formation of professional identities of overseas born teachers. The basis of this struggle arises from a limited number of subject positions available for them in pedagogical spaces of the Australian system of education. We argue that relations of power/professional knowledge in teacher workplaces as well as the binary strategy of 'us' and 'them' generate marginal locations for overseas born teachers within schools. This construction of marginality is informed not only by discourses of what counts as being a professional but also by the conception of workplace - spaces of the school, staffroom and classroom - as monocultural, pre-given and bounded entities (McGregor, 2003). By rethinking workplaces as relational, as spaces that are connected to other sociocultural places as well as spaces of semiotic flows, we can also rethink the professional becoming of overseas born teachers. This involves the dialogic understanding of their positionality, which can be conceptualised as a struggle for voice within "a cacophony of past and present voices, lived experiences and available practices" (Britzman, 1991, p. 8). It is because of this polyphony of voices and multiplicity of experiences that the process of professional identity formation for 'alien' teachers should be seen as becoming in continual negotiation of power/knowledge relations within workplaces. Recognising this dynamic is important for re-constructing our pedagogical spaces and, in turn, for a more equitable education.

PEL04252     [Paper]   ®
Constructing meaning for online learning: Messages from the field

Kathryn Dixon and Lina Pelliccione, Curtin University of Technology

Online learning has been a powerful by-product of the 'network age', yet current education practices are still grappling with the most effective way to tap into this valuable resource. This paper reports on a series of investigations which aimed to provide a greater understanding of online learning through the eyes of higher education students in two very distinct courses (undergraduate and postgraduate). The study involved two stages of investigation. Survey instruments were designed specifically for each stage. Stage one focused ultimately on the student's reactions to online delivery, their rates and depths of participation in this environment, and their levels of engagement in the learning process. The aim of stage two was to identify their prior experience and perceptions of online learning environments. The findings revealed that students are entering the University as technically competent and confident people who expect to utilise technology in their learning environment. Students in both groups indicated that the most important feature of the opportunity to work online was the flexibility this approach allowed in terms of being able to study in their own time and in other environments such as home. They also identified that this mode of delivery enabled them to enhance their learning.

PEN04386     [Paper]
Levels on the playing field: Ability and inclusion in level frameworks in Health and Physical Education

Dawn Penney, Edith Cowan University and John Evans, Loughborough University

This paper takes up the challenge posed by Evans (2004) for researchers in physical education to refocus their attention upon 'ability' and critically review both what and whose abilities are acknowledged, celebrated and advanced in and through the policies and practices of physical education. The paper uses comparative policy analysis in pursuing these issues in relation to the introduction of level frameworks for student attainment. In several countries level frameworks have now been established as the reference point for teacher judgments about learning in Health and Physical Education. Discussion in this paper addresses the interplay of cultural, political and historical issues in determining the particular abilities that are respectively privileged and marginalized in official policy texts, and the implications of the differences observed for which students health and physical education in schools will effectively connect with or in contrast, fail to recognize. The need for teachers and teacher educators to critically engage with level frameworks and associated assessment and reporting systems, is highlighted.

PER04344     [Paper]   ®
Rewriting History: A poetic approach to the moral transformation of school leadership practice

Les Pereira and Christa Pereira, Edith Cowan University and Peter Taylor, Curtin University of Technology

Galvanised by the triple crises of representation, legitimation and praxis, proponents of qualitative-interpretive research appear to be "searching for handholds" within a self-realised and elusive post structuralist environment. This paper identifies handholds inherent in the reactions of the first author, in his primary role as a school leader, as he attempts to resolve a moral issue involving a controversial teacher-student relationship. We illustrate the explorations of the first author-as- researcher into the interplay between theory, research and practice, whose nexus exists in the "space" of his lived experience. In a mindful analysis of his interactions with others (school colleagues, students, administrators, other writers), the researcher's rewriting of his own leadership history releases the transformational power of writing-for-inquiry. During this part-imaginary and reflexive process, the developing construct of phronesis is used as a referent for facilitating a major perspective-transformation in the researcher-as-school-leader. We conclude that critical and poetic forms of phronesis can offer a postmodern advancement to the concept of praxis in developing school-based moral leadership.

PET04551     [Paper]   ®
Managing the challenges and dilemmas of 'Constructivism in Practice'

Rosie Le Cornu and Judy Peters, University of South Australia

This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study investigating ways in which teachers who are committed to a constructivist philosophy construct teaching and learning. In it we draw on Windschitl's (2002) framework of conceptual, pedagogical, cultural and political dilemmas to explore the experiences of four primary teachers who were participants in the study. These teachers have been involved in a South Australian Education Department innovative curriculum redesign project entitled 'Learning to Learn'. Having illuminated the challenges and dilemmas associated with 'constructivism in practice', we argue that the teachers are able to manage these problematic aspects because they are themselves immersed in a learning culture. This learning culture promotes their professional identity and supports their professional learning.

PHI04946     [Paper]   ®
The impact of birth complications on parental decision-making: Could prenatal classes help?

Sarah Phillips and Gregory Tooley, Deakin University

This paper reviews current research regarding the impact of birth complications on parental decision-making, and the benefits of preparing couples for important treatment decisions before the birthing event. It discusses the importance of several variables, including communication difficulties and knowledge differences between parents and medical professionals, in determining the post-decision satisfaction of parents. It proposes that parents should have the option of attending a prenatal class that raises, in a calm and safe manner, the likelihood of birth complications and the commonly associated processes and events. This proposal is supported by a new theoretical model of decision-making, incorporating a component of affect, to aid parents through such decision preparation. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research to investigate the practicalities of implementing a prenatal intervention to better prepare parents to cope with the decision tasks required during birth complications.

PIE04462     [Paper]
Weak knees in education and mismatched crutches from other social sciences: Native methods and methodology for the native researcher in education

Dean Pierides, University of Melbourne

The education research community has long been supported by intellectual foundations from external disciplines. Education creates and researches itself. Despite this unique dynamic, native methods and methodologies have not been independently developed as a dominant force within education research. As the education research community positions and repositions itself an awareness of the power relationships and knowledge constructs within this self-perpetuating system is continually needed. This paper will argue for the need to have native methods and methodology for the native researcher in education with respect to the aforementioned power relationships and knowledge constructs.

POD04377     [Paper]
English in the 21st century: Strategies for successful intercultural communication

Anna Podorova, Monash University

Life in the contemporary world brings almost everyone into contact with people of other languages and other cultures. From my own experience as a language learner and teacher as well as a traveller I have found that there are many problems and misunderstandings, which arise when we attempt to communicate across cultures.

The paper explores the characteristics of cross-cultural communication in the 21 ^st century and strategies used by successful intercultural communicators, drawing on data from doctoral studies of a number of users of English as an international language (EIL).

The paper also discusses the present status of English as an international language and argues that it is time to consider the implications of this not only in terms of appropriate pedagogies and instructional materials used in English language teaching/learning, but also in regard to the notions of 'native speaker' and 'real situations'.

It is argued in this paper that studying English will help learners become successful bilingual and intercultural individuals able to function well in both local and international settings (Alptekin, 2002:63).

POR04634     [Paper]
Telling and sharing stories of teaching

Julie Porteus, University of Tasmania

Data collected as part of a PhD study trace the teaching and learning journey of a group of pre-service teachers as they move from campus to the classroom. The research takes the form of a narrative inquiry using reflective processes to articulate the experiences of teaching drama in early childhood and primary classrooms. Through a group interview process, participants were given a pedagogical framework that included personal philosophy, dilemma management, professional understanding and reflexive practice through which to view their colleagues' narratives of teaching. Mattingly (1991) explains that through stories of our experiences, 'we may even catch a level of meaning that we only partially grasped while living through something (p.235).

The results from this group interview process and the use of a pedagogical framework are described plus discussed in this paper. It will seek to explore the research process and to discover if sharing stories can be used to develop pre-service teachers' personal and professional knowledge while providing a deep learning experience for others who read their stories. It will consider whether these stories tell us about pre-service teachers' personal philosophy, their grasp of dilemma management and professional understanding. As well, it will canvas how important reflexive practices are for teachers in training.

POT04104     [Paper]
Frameworks for collaboration in early childhood education research

Gillian Potter, University of Southern Queensland

This paper will present frameworks, both theoretical and practical for collaborative research among university and field-based staff involved in early childhood education. It will identify the key tenets of successful collaborative research, explore the challenges of such collaborations and report on teachers' views about their involvement in collaborative research in Singapore and Australia. The presentation will also offer insight into the voiced research of the teachers: their understandings that developed within a community of learners about their work with children from socioculturally diverse contexts.

POW04281     [Paper]
Building team culture: Reflection in action

Vivienne Powell, Methodist Ladies College and Anne Szujda, Wesley College

How are discussions of learning to be effectively structured within the daily busy-ness of school life? How are individual interests to be supported, while at the same time developing a common language and culture of learning? What is the role of leaders within reflective groups?

Two schools, two kinds of teams, two kinds of reflective structures, and two sets of purposes. In what ways does the common framework assist in facilitating conversation across the programs, so that we can learn and move forward?

PRA04659 [Paper]
Developing an effective orientation and mentoring program for secondary teacher education students

Lyn Taylor, Wilf Savage and Vaughan Prain, La Trobe University and Lisa Hayman, Bendigo Senior Secondary College

There is growing recognition of the crucial importance of university/school partnerships that extend beyond traditional practicums in effective pre-service teacher education. This paper reports on an evaluation of the second year of an orientation/mentoring program for secondary teacher education students in the one-year course in the School of Education, La Trobe University, Bendigo. The students participated in a six week orientation program at the start of their studies. This program entailed a day a week in local secondary colleges, where students participated in various class and group activities, were individually mentored by a teacher, and were given an orientation program in effective uses of new technologies for learning. The paper reports on student and teacher initial perceptions of the program and subsequent evaluations.

PRE04071     [Paper]
Negotiating interest in learning: Classroom community, peer group and personal contexts

Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn, University of Technology, Sydney and Richard Walker, University of Sydney

When interest in learning is conceptualised from a sociocultural perspective, the focus shifts to dynamic processes of development. Particular emphasis is placed on the affordances and constraints co-created in the structuring of the social world and the actions and choices of individuals. This channeling, or canalising, process of interest development is reflective of the values of multiple communities in which individuals participate, as well as the meanings and shared purpose negotiated in specific learning contexts. This paper draws on a study that explored the social nature of the emergence, development and maintenance of interest amongst students and their teacher in a classroom learning community. Qualitative data were collected over time to investigate the ways in which teacher actions, collaborative student activities, and individual student actions interacted to create and canalise interest development. Analysis and interpretation of this data were designed to contribute to the re-conceptualisation of interest by considering and extending key notions of sociocultural theories. An important issue raised by Valsiner (1992) is that we can only recognise interest once it is externalised in particular contexts, which presents a problem in studying its emergence and development. This issue is revisited in this paper as a theoretical and methodological challenge.

PRE04381     [Paper]
'Choice' and national schools policy and funding

Barbara Preston

School 'choice' and the Australian government's schools funding models (SES and alternatives) will be considered in the context of government policy in late 2004. Included will be an analysis at the ABS collectors district level of type of secondary school attended (government, Catholic, other non government) by family income (low, medium and high - roughly equal thirds for all Australian secondary school students in 2001) for the Penrith SLA and other geographic areas. PBI (Prometheus Business Intelligence) software will be used for analysis and presentation.

Q, R

RAD04066     [Paper]   ®
Positioning the intellectual property issue at the centre of the education research private/public debate: A Marxian dialectical critique

Helen Raduntz, University of South Australia

Positioning intellectual property at the centre of the education and education research public/private debate is intended to highlight its importance as the means and outcome of the educative and research processes not only in the doing of public good but also for private profit maximisation in a shrinking, yet paradoxically, globalising capitalist market economy dependent on information and on a rapid technological innovation turnover. Employing a Marxian dialectical critique the paper seeks to show that, given capitalism's recurring crises, it is essential and extremely lucrative for capital not only to effect a takeover of the hitherto largely publicly funded education and research processes but also to appropriate the intellectual property outcomes. The paper argues that in terms of education, educational research and intellectual property the transfer from a public good to private property has implications involving not only the proletarianisation of educators/researchers but also the imposition of limitations on the free exchange of ideas and open access which intellectual property requires for the public good and, paradoxically, for the reproduction of capitalism itself. In the crucial debate on the positioning of educational research for the public good it is therefore vital also to factor in the intellectual property issue.

RAD04110     [Paper]   ®
Educators and education researchers negotiating a way through the public good/private gain divide: A Marxian dialectical critique

Helen Raduntz, University of South Australia

The paper argues that the tensions arising in education and education research between doing the public good and submitting to the demands of an increasingly market orientated education system, derive from the capitalist market economy's expansionary pressure as a means of resolving its endemic contradiction, namely, that its quest for private profit maximisation constantly undermines the public good on which that profit making depends. If this contention is accepted then educators/researchers are positioned at the juncture of a polar opposition between public good and private gain, a situation in flux which is filled with possibilities for and against the development of a socially responsive education provision. They are therefore well placed in practical terms to negotiate their way through the public/private divide. However, this is dependent on a critical research analysis that will enable them to make informed and practical judgements regarding their role in influencing educational change in a direction that will overcome the barrier that privatisation imposes on doing the public good in the sphere of education. It is the aim of this paper by means of a Marxian dialectical critique to make a contribution towards this project.

RAS04080     [Paper]
Social education and inclusion in primary classrooms

Annette Rasmussen, Aalborg University

In Denmark social education and inclusion is increasingly emphasized in the national curriculum of the primary school. The curriculum emphasizes that social education is developed through pedagogies, where the pupils are to be more active participants and take a greater responsibility for their own learning processes - where the classification of knowledge becomes weaker (cf. Bernstein 1996). But does the weaker classification of knowledge increase social education and inclusion in the school? On the basis of empirical research of pedagogic practice in the primary classroom (in Denmark), I am going to illustrate how progressive education conditioned by different social environments can be practiced in different ways and, on this background, discuss the above question. Thus, the main issue of this paper is to discuss the practice of the progressive pupil-centered methods and social education in relation to the social composition of the pupil group and social inclusion in the school.

RAS04431     [Paper]
Children cooperating in an ICT context

Annette Rasmussen and Birthe Lund, Aalborg University

Does the use of computers in the context of the Storyline method lead to more inclusive classrooms? So we asked in a research project following primary school children (in Denmark) in a learning environment based on the Storyline and an increased application of computer technology. Our paper will discuss the results of this project and is focusing on the children's interaction and how this is influenced by the computer. Thus we are trying to identify what factors seem to be the most important for the development of the pupil cooperation and cooperative skills. The ideas of the Storyline pedagogy are based on letting the pupils create and illustrate stories within a context that they have negotiated and agreed upon. This pedagogy presupposes that the pupils are able to cooperate and, at the same time, are learning to cooperate within the same process. Our research findings show, among other things, that the pupils develop different strategies of cooperation dependant on their social relationships and their positions in the class.

RED04632 [Paper]
Discursive positioning and effecting change in a community of practice

Christine Redman and Rod Fawns, The University of Melbourne

Understanding the discursive positioning underway in a community of practice helps us understand the place of the person and their relation to the practices. How does a teachers' agency function in determining their practices? In order to broaden our understanding of the socialepisodes we should study the person in the conversation (Davies and Harr, 1999, p 37). In conversation people constitute their practices, identities and story lines within the dominate discourse of the setting. The tacit social-cultural and historical influences become known. To influence change in practices we must first understand the place of the person. Agential positions effect uptake of the rights, duties and obligations. Understanding how people make determinate their position contributes to an understanding about a person's relation to perceived responsibilities. Understanding how people construct and reconstruct themselves in the conversation informs us of the factors contributing and influencing teacher practices.

This paper uses Positioning Theory (Davies and Harr, 1990) to code interactions and reveal changes and shifts in responsibility as they occur in the moment to moment dynamics of a conversation. It demonstrates a method for coding a conversation.

REI04240     [Paper]   ®
How Western Australian parents manage the home schooling of their children with disabilities

Lucy Reilly, The University of Western Australia

Few studies have examined home schooling in Australia and as this growing phenomenon is yet to receive the research it deserves, it is likely that families who home educate are not acquiring the assistance necessary for management to reach its full potential. This paper is one attempt to address the deficit which exists. It reports the findings of a study into how Western Australian parents manage the home schooling of their children with disabilities. A case study approach was adopted, utilising grounded theory methods of data analysis, to examine six home schooling families. Ten propositions emerged from the case studies, to provide an understanding of the parents' reasons for home schooling their children with disabilities, the strategies they use to educate from a home base and their concerns and needs regarding this educational alternative. While these propositions provide insight into how parents manage the process of educating their children from home, the findings also have implications for theory, practice and future research aimed at developing more specific theories for different groups of home schoolers.

REI04869     [Paper]   ®
Using research to inform holistic curriculum change: The case of statistics at tertiary level

Anna Reid and Peter Petocz, Macquarie University

Curriculum for tertiary-level statistics courses can be "narrow" or "broad". A narrow curriculum looks inward and focuses on the statistical techniques that will be used by students of statistics in specific situations. Many statistics courses rely on this type of curriculum, often resulting in disinterest or even trepidation. A broad curriculum looks outward and focuses on the use of statistics as an inclusive tool to investigate - and even change - the world. Fewer statistics courses are built on this approach, despite the benefits that it can bring in terms of enthusiasm and relevance. Research into students' conceptions of statistics and learning statistics, and their perceptions of their professional role defines exactly what they recognise as a broad statistics curriculum. Such research indicates that a broad curriculum can increase their effectiveness as future professionals, and can incorporate important aspects of professional formation such as creativity, awareness of issues of sustainability, and an ethical stance. Although the discussion focuses on statistics, parallel research results are available from other subject areas. Our key job as educators in the early 21st century is to "do the public good" by translating this body of research into broader and more holistic curricula for our students.

REY04285     [Paper]
Where is that place? Primary children's attitudes to and knowledge of the world

Ruth Reynolds, The University of Newcastle

How do children learn about the world? What impact do current issues have on their knowledge of the world? How do schools differ in knowledge of the world? How do gender and age affect knowledge of the world? What influences children's' attitudes to the world? This study of 545 primary school children in 13 different schools in New South Wales explores the children's knowledge of world geography and what influences this knowledge. It also investigates children's attitudes to places in the world and why they have these attitudes. Comparisons are made between this study and overseas studies. Discussion provides some insights into ways of improving our approaches to world understanding and tolerance of others.

REY04440     [Paper]   ®
Presuming concurrence: The ideas of responsibility and consensus in models of educational change

Peter Reynolds and Rob Cavanagh, Curtin University of Technology

The aim of this paper is to examine the idea of consensus as perceived through the lens of personal responsibility offered in the educational change paradigm called school renewal. In previous work by the authors (Reynolds, Cavanagh and Dellar, 2003) personal responsibility was identified as the central, ontological construct of this model of change, although reservations were expressed as to its efficacy for dealing with the tendency toward dichotomous thinking associated with educational change. The current paper underscores the necessity for conceiving responsibility in broader ways, focussing on the ways in which consensus can be expressed, recognised and attained. The situation described by Cuban (2003 and 2001) concerning teacher resistance to ICT integration in the classroom is examined so as to illustrate the manner in which ideas and concepts contained in this paper are interconnected.

REZ04427     [Paper]
Race, culture, equity and the Ontario curriculum: A critical investigation of the social sciences curriculum

Goli Rezai-Rashti, The University of Western Ontario

In the past two decades, critical curriculum theorists have done significant work in theorizing the political nature of curriculum and school knowledge (Apple, 1979, 1999; McCarthy, 1990, 1998; Pinar, 1993). These researchers analyzed the gap between school knowledge and knowledge of the world. More specifically, they raise the question of how school curriculum can open teachers and students to a careful consideration of social difference, critical knowledge and understanding how social change might be organized. This paper deals with the current changes in the province of Ontario curriculum, and focuses on the grade 12 social sciences (introduction to sociology, anthropology and psychology) textbook by investigating how the curriculum has taken up issues of race, culture and social difference. Using the discourses of multiculturalism and anti-racism in analyzing the text, it will be argued that the grade 12 introductory social sciences textbook relies predominantly on the discourse of multiculturalism which emphasizes racism in terms of individual behaviour and attitude but which does not engage students with a more complex understanding of race, racism and equity issues. In spite of the fact that the curriculum policy text (from the Ministry of Education in Ontario) included the works of Hall, Agbu, Dei, and others, the textbooks writers paid marginal attention to this complex theorization and focused on simplistic and taken-for-granted understanding of culture, race and equity in education.

RIC04003     [Paper]
Familiarity breeds respect: An examination of proximity of community, teacher status and teacher motivation

Suzanne Rice, University of Melbourne

Concern regarding teachers' poor perceptions of their status in society has received much attention in recent years. Numerous studies demonstrate that teachers believe their status to be low, and their work undervalued. Frequently, these perceptions are assumed to have a negative impact on teacher motivation, and presumably, on student performance. However, other research indicates that the impact of perceptions of status on motivation may vary: perceptions of poor status in an ill-defined broader community ("the public") may not affect motivation, while perceptions of poor status in a known local community may be detrimental. This small-scale qualitative study explored differences between teachers' perceptions of teacher status in the broader community beyond the school, and their perceptions of the standing of teachers in their local school community. Perceptions of status in the local community were consistently higher than in the broader community, with positive implications for teacher motivation.

ROB04192     [Paper]   ®
Teachers at the interface: A model of implementation

Ian Robertson, RMIT University

Using self-declared metaphors to examine the personal practical theories of four TAFE teachers, this paper applies Basil Bernstein's construct of recontextualisation to develop a model that describes how teacher's negotiate the integration of online technology into their classroom practice. It is argued that the model provides a means to operationalise the interaction of the Official Recontextualising Field (ORF) and the Pedagogic Recontextualising Field (PRF) in determining the way in which teaching is conducted in the context of the implementation of online technology into classroom practice.

ROB04725     [Paper]   ®
What makes a good Learning Object?

Margaret Robertson and Andrew Fluck, University of Tasmania

This paper reports findings from a pilot study aimed at investigating responses of Year 5 (N=96) and Year 9 (N=77) students in Tasmanian and Victorian classrooms simultaneously linked to online science learning 'objects' (bounded online teaching and learning experiences). Our partners in this project were the State Education Departments and the Catholic Education Systems of Tasmania and Victoria. Conducted over a six-week period in late 2003 most students had Internet access outside school hours and were encouraged to interact with the dedicated web site in their leisure time. Using the WebCT learning content management system we were able to monitor students' interactions, and log their online pathways. The messages from students and teachers involved were clear. There is need for fast and efficient infrastructure for access, and the content of learning objects needs to be fast moving, appear real, include colourful graphics, and use minimal amount of text.

ROB04729     [Paper]
The Impact of China's entry into the WTO on foreign language education in China

Yan Jun Wang, Heilongjiang Tourism Vocational College of Technology and the University of Tasmania and Margaret Robertson, University of Tasmania

More than two years have gone by since China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Since then many changes have taken place in all aspects of everyday life across the country. It is argued that China's entry into the WTO has brought with it challenges as well as opportunities, in many fields including education. Educators should adopt the concept of lifelong education and view education in global terms. In particular, English language teaching in China should consider the changing demands of society under WTO, such as: applying a variety of teaching methods and strengthening the training of foreign language teachers.

Cultural change is an inherently complex process. Since the impact is unavoidable, China needs to know, master and use the WTO rules and regulations. This paper reports on the social and economic changes in post-WTO China and the general impact of entry into the WTO on Chinese education, particularly focusing on its impact on foreign language education in China. This paper also considers how much progress has been made in improving the teaching of English as a foreign language in China and what challenges will need to be met in the future.

ROD041046     [Paper]
Our mandates make us do it! - Canadian teachers' unions working for the public good

Ann Rodrigue, Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario

Contrary to public opinion and many researchers on teacher unionism, (Haar1998; Lawton et al 1999; Lawton 2000; Lieberman 1994, 1997; Soucek & Pannu 1996) research on Canadian teacher unions indicates that teacher unions are concerned with defining and doing the "public good" in a variety of sites and ways. Using data from interviews and texts, I outline five specific domains in which Canadian teacher unions, alone or with partners, are "doing the public good". I examine how teacher unions have contributed to the public good by: accepting and operationalizing mandates that work in the interest of public education; developing the professional capacity of teachers; advancing issues of social justice and advocating the right of teachers to speak out on issues of public education; and producing research knowledge about teaching and learning.

ROS041009     [Paper]   ®
Classroom and intervention contexts: Constructing spaces to be a reader

Debbie Rossow, Griffith University

This paper examines the extent that the classroom and Reading Recovery contexts and associated teaching-learning activities formulated spaces that facilitated the recognition and enactment of one student's strategic reading abilities and the construction of his reader identity. The findings from a single-subject case study of Karl, a child who was receiving literacy support through Reading Recovery in conjunction with accessing the classroom literacy programme are examined. This single-subject case study was conducted as part of a larger study of Reading Recovery students' reading within both the classroom and Reading Recovery contexts. The original study arose in response to Reading Recovery and classroom teachers' expressed concerns that some children, who received additional literacy instruction in the one-to-one context of Reading Recovery, demonstrated disparate reading performance in the classroom compared with Reading Recovery. While these children appeared to be able to use reading strategies independently in the Reading Recovery context, they did not deploy them effectively within the classroom one. This study draws attention to the importance of analysis of social contexts, not just as a physical location but also as a space that constructs learning through interactions. This analysis of social spaces (classroom and Reading Recovery contexts) enables more comprehensive insights to be gained about the construction of reader identity and readers' strategic abilities.

ROW04316     [Paper]
Factors affecting attrition and retention of remote higher education students

Derek Rowlands and Margaret Robertson, University of Tasmania

In 1987 some staff at the University of Tasmania, reported on a project examining the reasons cited by students for their withdrawal from distance education courses. For four semesters, during the period 1983 to 1985, students who withdrew from distance education courses were sent a questionnaire designed to elicit from students reasons which they thought contributed to their withdrawal. A follow up study was begun in 2003 and will continue until the end of 2004 to see if developments in the intervening 18 years, such as the advent of online learning, has impacted significantly on the retention and attrition of remote students enrolled at the University of Tasmania or students studying in Tasmania and enrolled at interstate institutions. The study is also a test of a model developed after the 1987 study by one of the original researchers, David Kember. The research project is partly completed and so far the results show surprising similarities to those of the previous study. The research has also revealed some interesting developments such as changes in the motivation of students and changes in students perceptions of the efforts of the university in assisting retention.

ROW04716 [Paper]   ®
Innovation Chains: Possibilities and constraints for critical perspectives on computers, difference and educational innovation

Leonie Rowan and Chris Bigum, Deakin University

While declarations of 'innovativeness' are easily found in most educational contexts, it is significantly more difficult to locate detailed definitions of what educational innovation actually means. In this paper we are interested in identifying the extent to which mainstream takes on 'innovation' (as played out in contemporary technology and equity debates) reflect or respond to what we will define as the more innovative dimensions of innovation literature itself.

Our aim throughout this paper, then, is to begin the complex process of developing a means for distinguishing between projects that are 'badged' as innovative and projects that are more demonstrably (and sustainably) innovative. In this process we will distinguish between what Shiv Visvanathn describes as "innovation chains"-dynamic, rhizomatic, transformative responses to the contemporary world that lead to fundamentally new ways of conceptualising technology, culture and difference-and the constraints-or chains-provided by dominant understandings of innovation: chains which anchor us to existing, hegemonic and limiting understandings of student diversity and educational technology.

RUS04241     [Paper]   ®
Ageing well: Older adult computer learners

Helen Russell, University of Technology, Sydney

This paper is based on a qualitative study of older adult computer learners in Sydney, Australia, and their learning experiences. One of the research questions of this study relates to the perceived outcomes from this learning. Participants in the study identify anticipated and unanticipated outcomes, and early findings suggest mainly beneficial effects of learning. Learning to use computers for older adults may have quality of life benefits that contribute to a sense of well-being. This makes the learning activity very worthwhile for older adults. This paper introduces the concept of well-being in the context of ageing and uses this conceptual framework to analyse the findings from the research. Central to this is the notion of ageing as a process and not a condition. I argue that the older adults in this study position themselves favourably to achieve well-being outcomes and that they choose to actively participate in ways of benefit to themselves in their lifeworld.

RUS04727     [Paper]   ®
Challenges for primary music educators: Preservice teachers' perceptions of the challenges to teaching music in primary schools in five countries

Deirdre Russell-Bowie, University of Western Sydney

Music educators around the world have a mission to bring the world of sound into the classroom so every child has the opportunity to play music, to listen to music and to create their own music. Current preservice teacher education students are tomorrow's teachers. What they believe about the priority and problems of music education in elementary schools is important as it will impact on their attitudes and practice when they are teaching in schools. This study investigates the perceptions of almost a thousand students from Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Illinois (USA) and Ireland in relation to the priority and problems associated with teaching music in elementary schools. The results indicated that 78% of all the students felt that elementary schools should give a high priority to music education however only 43% of the sampled students felt that elementary schools actually gave a high priority to music education. Of the problems identified, the teachers' lack of musical experience (78%) and the lack of priority of music in schools (77%) were seen by the highest number of students as being significant problems to teaching music. Other problems which were seen to be significant were the lack of resources (66%), lack of time to teach music (63%), lack of knowledge (58%) and lack of adequate preparation time (49%). This study highlights the need for a higher priority for, and more experience in, music education in both teacher training institutions and in elementary schools.

RUS04924     [Paper]   ®
Arts education: Are the problems the same across five countries? Preservice teachers' perceptions of the problems to teaching arts education in primary schools in five countries

Deirdre Russell-Bowie, University of Western Sydney

Arts educators around the world know well the importance of a strong arts education in the lives of children. And this importance is often reflected in the arts policies of education departments, schools and universities. However the actual practice of arts education in primary schools falls far short of the policy. Problems identified as impacting on the teaching of music, dance, drama and visual arts include the teacher's lack of knowledge about the syllabus requirements, the teacher's lack of time to prepare effective arts lessons, the perceived lack of time in the teaching day, lack of priority for arts education, the teacher's lack of personal arts experiences and the lack of adequate arts resources within the schools. This study examines preservice teachers' perceptions of these problems to teaching arts education, across five countries. The results indicate that about two-thirds of the sampled students agreed or agreed strongly that these six problems impacted on arts teaching in primary schools. Responses were fairly similar across all five countries, except in relation to Visual Arts education, where students from Australia (NSW) did not indicate as strongly that these problems were important compared with those from Namibia, South Africa and Ireland. The paper concludes with recommendations to address these problems.

RYA04861     [Paper]
Forging diplomacy: The Carnegie Corporation and the art of Australia

Louise Ryan, University of New South Wales

This paper presents an historical research in progress investigating the impact of the Carnegie Corporation's philanthropic cultural and educational activities at home and abroad during the 1940s. Additionally, this research is an ongoing exploration into the formation of public values and perceptions and the use of cultural and aesthetic material with the specific purpose of transmitting American ideology and thereby influencing Australian cultural norms.

The main archival source of this study is the 1941 "Art of Australia" exhibition, whose pivotal role in promoting cultural propaganda for political/military purposes, is further examined through a definitional matrix based on the theories of Tony Bennett. The focus of this paper will shift from a general analysis of the theoretical framework to a closer investigation of one of the matrix's major propositional cells.

What will be illustrated is the concept that structure and order encourages and facilitates the process of self improvement in the regimes of the museum visitor by radically restructuring relationships of representation, exhibition, and exchange within the museum display zones to privilege perspectives of particular classes, races or genders above others.

Certain dimensions of cladistic analysis are investigated for their capacity to reveal hierarchical relationships pertaining to central aspects of historical research. The significance of the museum as an arena for establishing and maintaining social norms and practices is highlighted and extended using this historical case.

S

SAC04086 [Paper]
Watching yourself and others: Touch, personal space and risk in the classroom

Judyth Sachs The University of Sydney

This paper explores how teachers manage issues of risk of harm to children. It argues that under current regimes of accountability and surveillance teachers' have redefined how they enact a duty of care. The specific strategies that teachers employ in their classrooms and outside to ensure their own and their students' safety are presented and examined from a lens of the impact of these activities on teacher professionalism.

SAC04212     [Paper]
Which school? The secret business of principal supply

Judyth Sachs, University of Sydney and Karin Barty, Deakin University

Anecdotal evidence, surveys and studies in recent years have indicated a decline in interest in the position of school principal- primary, secondary, government and Catholic schools throughout much of the English (as first language) speaking world. Research currently being conducted in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales suggests that populist discussions of declining supply have been conducted using too large a data set. Our evidence suggests that it is only some schools that are experiencing a significant shortfall in applicants. We argue that it is more useful to examine which schools and which applicants are in short supply and why this is so. Further, our investigations also suggest that the process of application is conducted as secret business: there is significant trade in covert information about which districts and which line managers to avoid, which schools are in deep trouble, and which incumbents are reapplying for their positions.

SAC04343     [Paper]
Social perspective's of India's higher education system

Menraj Sachdev, Tim Allender and Phillip Jones, University of Sydney

The Indian higher education system was established to provide the most needy with support, access and tools to gain economic and social progress, according to policy reports by the government of India. Instead what has taken place is that the resources of the higher education system have primarily benefited the upper/middle classes and people who are of higher castes. While India's higher education system has been the backbone of the economic and social development of India for these groups, it has also established and upheld a gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots". In 1991, the Indian government began to open its economy to foreign investment as a reaction to the financial crisis of the 1970's and 80's. However, as India's higher education sector accepted the liberal economic transition, it defined its role narrowly by embracing mostly the IT sector. Rather than deliver benefits to all via "trickle down," this educational repositioning has led to a new form of intellectual elitism. This paper describes how the emphasis of the higher education system on IT, as a reaction to a broader focus on economic growth, has created a discrepancy between the educational aims originally established by the government of India, and who has benefited by the support, access and tools of its higher education system.

SAK04009     [Paper]
Effective teaching in inclusive classroom

Mohammad Sakarneh, University of New England

When we consider effective teaching, we mean the work of effective teachers. There are five key behaviours for effective teaching: lesson clarity, instructional variety, teacher task orientation, engagement in the learning process and student success rate, all of which are teachers' responsibility.

These responsibilities are evident in a regular classroom. However, in an inclusive classroom the situation is more critical because the term (inclusive) means integrating children of mixed abilities. In this situation the teachers must be especially skilled in organisation, management, appropriate teaching strategies, behaviour management among other things.

This paper reviews the literature on effective teaching in inclusive classrooms. It makes recommendations about the professional development needs of teachers who practice in mixed ability contexts.

SAM04198   [Paper]
SYMPOSIUM 9:  Learning Study and Teacher's Professional Learning in Hong Kong

Presenters:
Mun Ling Ho, Derek Sankey, Po Yuk Ko, Proscilla Lo and Heung Sang Ng, Hong Kong Institute of Education
Discussants:
John Elliott, University of East Anglia and Ference Marton, University of Gothenburg

Over the past two years, considerable evidence has been accumulating in Hong Kong that Learning Study, as a form of Lesson Study, is a powerful tool for both students and teachers in enhancing classroom learning, and thereby establishing the school as a learning community. Learning Study seems to represent a clear example of research that is doing the public good. It is a form of 'Collaborative Action-research (Inquiry)' that has demonstrated the potential to transcend a number of boundaries in the educational system, and creates a school-based Learning Community that includes, but is more extensive than, teachers. Academics from Teacher Education Institutes, students, and sometimes, principals and parents, are active contributors. The practice is growing across schools in Hong Kong, and its contribution to teacher professional development is now widely attested. It involves an active collaboration between Hong Kong schools and one teacher education institution working in close partnership on specifically designed Learning Study projects within schools. The presenters believe that this model of research-based teacher professional learning can be applied in other national and cultural contexts.

SAN04188     [Paper]   ®
The critical role of schools and teachers in developing a sexual health education curriculum for Muslim students

Fida Sanjakdar, University of Melbourne

Schools and teachers have a critical role in the curriculum decision-making and development process. However, the various stakeholders or interest groups seeking to influence the curriculum as well as the pervasiveness of commercially based curriculum materials produced as kits and packages, have pushed to the background the significant contribution to curriculum that can be offered by individual schools and teachers. The influence of a 'top down', policy environment on the school curriculum has also failed to successfully cater for the diversity of student populations in Australian schools; a case made clear with Muslim students and the health education curriculum. This paper will report on current research by the author which involves exploring ways to develop an appropriate sexual health education curriculum framework for Muslim students. A curriculum framework is proposed and serves as an approach for schools and teachers to develop a balanced and fair representation of cultural expression in the school curriculum. Underpinned by six principles, this curriculum framework is a move towards school based research, classroom curriculum design and community involvement; positioning educational research in schools and good for teachers, students and the wider community.

SAN04200     [Paper]
Teacher learning and the art of professional conversation

Derek Sankey, Hong Kong Institute of Education

Professional conversation is an art. It is different from everyday conversation in that it is situated in practice, in order to understand practice. It involves a high level of interpretation and reinterpretation, and therefore exhibits many hermeneutical characteristics. The purpose of this paper will be to outline and discuss some essential features of hermeneutics, drawing on the work of one of its most distinguished advocates, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and then to show how the model helps to illuminate the kinds of conversations about practice that teachers engage in when conducting Learning Studies. For example, a hermeneutic model is particularly applicable to the pre and post-lesson conferencing, as an example of professional conversation in which all participants are engaged in enhancing their own learning. One important argument of the paper will be that in conducting professional conversation and trying to understand each other's point of view, we need to go beyond empathy. Understanding, from a hermeneutic perspective, is always more than merely re-creating someone else's meaning. It is a more subtle art, which Gadamer refers to as the fusion of horizons.

SAN04652     [Paper]   ®
Exploring the career experiences of Indigenous teachers beyond policy and resource initiatives

Ninetta Santoro, Deakin University, Jo-Anne Reid, Charles Sturt University, Cathryn McConaghy, University of New England and Lee Simpson, University of Melbourne

In this paper we provide a contextualising account of a new four-year ARC study, Indigenous Teachers: Understanding their Professional Pathways and Career Experiences. The project has grown from our concerns about the low numbers of Indigenous teachers in schools and questions about why it is that of the few Indigenous teacher education students who graduate, many resign from teaching after short periods of time or never take up teaching positions at all.

We believe that the under representation of Indigenous teachers is due to what we are calling the 'impenetrability' of the dominant white culture of schooling, a racial imaginary that portrays the 'naturalness' of whiteness. Such an imaginary informs the everyday practices and relations of social power of Australian schooling from curriculum policy to the organisation of the school sports. Our research project is concerned with making visible the discourses of whiteness that shape the experiences and career pathways of Indigenous teachers. In this paper we draw on excerpts of data from a pilot interview with an indigenous teacher in order to begin to understand how discourses of whiteness have shaped her teaching and professional experiences.

SAN04994     [Paper]
The design, implementation, and evaluation of a school - based anger management program

Nicole Sanders, Brian Cambourne and Julie Kiggins, University of Wollongong

This study describes the development, implementation and impact of a program designed to deal with increasing incidences of anger related violence and bullying among its pupils. The program was based on research which indicated that a prime cause of repeated episodes of violence, bullying and anger in primary aged school children was "poor social skills" (Rosenberg,2002) which "play a significant role in the development and maintenance of many emotional and: behavioural disorders of childhood and adolescence." (Spence, 2003, p.84).

A program designed to reduce the incidence of unacceptable behaviour consistently displayed by a small but significant group of students was developed and implemented. At the core of the program were specific strategies to improve social skills, and anger management, through peer mediation, merit and praise for conscientious students and acknowledgement for effort. A rigorous responsive evaluation of the program, using the tools and methods of case study research was carried out.

The project provided important insights into the issues and concerns which the major stakeholders in the program perceived to be associated with the program. Ultimately the merit and worth (both positive and negative) of the program were identified. Recommendations which enabled the school to redesign certain sections/components in order to modify the program which best suited the demographic of the school community were made.

SCH04245     [Paper]
Seeing beyond violence

Barbara Schratz Hadwich, SOS Children's Villages, Innsbruck, Austria

If we want children to participate in society, we need adequate methodologies and tools which enable them not only to speak but to be heard and listened to. Digital Photography as a tool of ethnographic research opens a field for child participation in community development processes as well as scientific research. The methodology of Photo-Evaluation steps beyond realms language can touch. Involving children in research and self-evaluation processes adds richness to research and enables adults to understand and learn about adequate framework conditions for children together with them. Digital photography is easy to use for children as it shows relevant data quickly. Adult and expert language can not overrule and the images look beyond stereotyped phrasing. It is easy to publish for the children themselves and makes individual expertise visible to others.

SCH04739     [Paper]   ®
Making generative sense of collective learning: Teachers as e-designers of professional development in K-6 Science and Technology

Lachlan Forsyth and Lynette Schaverien, University of Technology, Sydney

Communities (including online communities) appear to provide powerful contexts for the professional development of teachers. Yet, despite the apparent educational potency of groups, professional development research has almost exclusively focused on describing and explaining the learning of individuals. In a world now overwhelmingly characterised by collectivity (not singularity), there are compelling reasons for adopting a collective perspective on learning, for exploring the usefulness of new learning technologies in making such a perspective possible and for examining the worth of such an account.

We take up the challenge of developing a preliminary position on group learning in this paper. We describe and analyse aspects of the learning of a group of teachers in the first phase of DESCANT - SciTech, a large ARC-funded e-learning research and development collaboration between the University of Technology, Sydney and the NSW Department of Education and Training (DET). In so doing, we address the strategic challenge of how to gather data and report stories of group (not just individual) learning, and the conceptual one of how to explain and understand the growth of this professional group. In conclusion, we speculate as to the importance of this first step in developing a contemporary approach to professional (self-) renewal.

SEA04954     [Paper]
Investing in intelligence: A philosophical and practical-critical inquiry into the character and form of a new educational paradigm: A PhD research report

Andrew Seaton, RMIT University

Two closely related problems - whether and how educators conceptualise a need for educational change, and the observed resistance of school cultures to change efforts - represent a most significant challenge for educators. Research reported in this presentation sought to develop a clear, coherent and viable theory of learning, agency and change, capable of reconciling dualities such as control and autonomy, and of explicitly informing policies, planning models, teacher learning and development, and new pedagogical practices. The study sought to synthesise and articulate a coherent conceptual framework, or new educational paradigm, to generate critical insights on curriculum reform and school renewal from the perspective of that paradigm, and to generate practical models, resources and texts consistent with it that would assist academics, policy makers and education practitioners in the design and interpretation of, and response to, educational change. Among the models developed within this research is the Key Abilities Model. This school organisation and curriculum delivery model emphasises and monitors the development of six Key Abilities (Understanding, Multiliteracies, Problem-Solving, Creativity, Self-Management and Community Participation) supported by provision of Four Curricular Forms and their associated pedagogies (Focused Learning, Transdisciplinary Investigations, Personal Learning Projects and Community Development activities).

SEL04253     [Paper]
A kickstart to life for indigenous youth

Juanita Sellwood and Maree DinanThompson, James Cook University

Considerable research has focused on the difficulties for indigenous youth in the Cape Communities. In a recent study the Queensland Government (2002) produced the Cape York Study which highlighted that indigenous youth are at risk. Substance abuse and domestic violence are seen as 'normalised' behaviours. Much too has been reported recently about the role of physical activity in the current society, largely for health benefits. Participation is physical activity and sport has been shown to improve health and well-being. The aim of the study is to investigate role of physical activity in developing lifeskills in a small indigenous community. The research will target explicitly the Australian Football League 'Kickstart' program as it is specific to remote Indigenous communities in the Cape, Gulf and Torres Strait districts. The AFL Kickstart aims to enhance the development of lifeskills for Indigenous Australian (11-16 year olds) through increased participation in sport through the AFL game. This research will examine the role that physical activity has played in the development of these lifeskills including regular attendance at school and no participation in domestic violence or substance abuse. These are particular guidelines the Kickstart program uses for selection into representative teams. Reciprocal partnerships with Education Queensland, Queensland Health and Queensland police have been established by Kickstart to enhance their program and to ensure collaboration and sustainability. This is of much interest in the research through the notion of 'community capacity building'. This paper will present an analysis of the kickstart program focusing specifically on its mission of advocating physical activity and lifeskills development for Indigenous youth.

SEL04469     [Paper]
Unpacking the SACSA Framework: Unsettled policy for unsettled times

Sam Sellar, University of South Australia

This paper tells the story of the political, economic and educational values and ideologies that shaped a particular instance of curriculum policy production - the South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework - and how the contradictory policy environment gave rise to a curriculum response with social justice potential. Policymaking can be likened to a 'game' that is complex, subject to social, political and discursive pressures which can marginalise, emphasise and/or refract the intentions and agendas of diverse and unequally empowered agents within the policy production process. Data from interviews with eight such agents will show how diverse forces impacted upon the context of the SACSA Framework's production. These included new management of the State's education department, which promoted, and was promoted by, new economic and managerialist rationales; socially just impulses inhering among individuals and groups within both the department and the university team contracted to write the Framework; and pressures for curriculum that could respond to social and educational needs endemic to our times. While economic and managerialist rationales prevailed in the timing and terrain of the Framework's policy 'game', there was significant space within it for debate about, and the inclusion of diverse and, indeed, contradictory social justice discourses.

SEL04518     [Paper]
For goodness sake! Postlogographically de-positioning education research

Warren Sellers, Deakin University

How are education researchers and their research now positioned? Where are education research and researchers now positioned in the public/private debate? What is the position of practitioner research in these circumstances? My paper introduces 'post logography' as a researching trope for perturbing structuralist analytic methods towards interpreting post structuralising complexities that challenge the 'positioning' of education/research/researchers.

I discuss interpreting researching with and in (with-in) educating as intertwining ways, for turning the analytical objectivity that 'positions' subjective 'facts' as essentialised 'goods', towards exploring generative states of 'goodness'.

Education and its research are typically cast as separate constructs (like teaching and outcomes) for defining the subjectification of educational objects as valuable 'goods' - especially those with private economic value.

I argue that researched educational 'goods' are mostly teaching and outcomes focussed, and mainly privately positioned, whereas researching with-in educating for 'goodness' concerns a public disposition of exploring-learning-generativity for social knowing-acting.

I am theorising that through postlogographically de-positioning the predominance of 'facts' as private 'goods', and thereby recognising interpretive states concerning and generating 'goodness', the reductive polarisation of education/research, public/private, theorist/practitioner turns towards understanding complex continua for exploring-learning-generativity, which introduce new horizons of significance for social knowing-acting.

SEN04197     [Paper]   ®
Cooking with caste: Cultural diversity in TAFE

Kim Senior, University of Melbourne

In democratic, plural societies teachers and educational institutions play a key role in the socialisation and development of the collective, cultural consciousness of students. If the goal of such development is a civil and democratic society, pedagogical practice has implications not only for student outcomes but also for the broader community. In the past, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) has been characterised as a provider of technical skills for vocational students by tradesmen. Historically homogeneous, TAFE institutions and teachers are expected to prepare students for, and teach in, an increasingly heterogenous environment. Drawing upon data and findings from a recent qualitative ethnographic case study, this paper explores the understanding and impact of cultural diversity through the voices of seventeen teachers from one Melbourne TAFE.

SEN04834     [Paper]
How do Digital Immigrant Teachers (DITs) learn ICT for the Information Age?

Natalie Senjov-Makohon, Victoria University

This study reports about teacher learning and in particular, teachers who have extensive teaching experience but limited ICT knowledge and skills. The Digital Immigrant Teachers (DITs) grew up before digital technologies; they are not frequently confident or comfortable with ICT. Like all immigrants, they have to learn new and creative ways to enhance their survival in the third millennium, where the acceleration of knowledge has allowed communication and application of information to be rapidly disseminated. In order to fully participate in the technologically rich society DITs must actively engage in the construction of authentic and purposeful learning. This research came about as a result of the digital immigrants' struggles to construct and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to teach in the Knowledge Economy and the Information Age. The experienced present day teachers, as digital immigrants are trying to teach digital natives (Prensky, 2001 & 2003). And in order to assist these teachers in their learning ICT struggle, it is imperative to understand the teacher learning process, and the learning style through which they acquire the knowledge and skills for this new milieu.

SET041034     [Paper]   ®
Dilemmas with dilemmas: Exploring the suitability of dilemma stories as a way of addressing ethical issues in science education

Elisabeth Settelmaier, Curtin University of Technology

Traditionally, many science educators have taught science without addressing ethical questions. This paper presents the results of an interpretive case study of the appropriateness of dilemma stories as a standard tool for initiating moral discourse in science classes. The analysis was shaped by a critical constructivist perspective, and incorporated the multiple perspectives of the students, teachers, and the researcher. The study was conducted in a public senior high school, with one biology teacher and one mathematics/physics teacher and their classes. The results indicate that a dilemma teaching approach can lead students to self-examination, critical assessment of their assumptions, and perspective transformation, all of which form part of transformative learning. This type of teaching challenges teachers to develop the skills of facilitation, moderation, and self-restraint in order not to impose their opinion on the students. The study identified six potentially problematic aspects of a dilemma teaching approach are not addressed by the existing literature: student engagement with the stories, the (in)authenticity of student portfolio-notes, teachers' good intention as potentially unethical imposition, the frequency of dilemma units, teacher skills, integration of ethics into existing learning areas, the effect of so-called problem students on the dilemma approach and vice versa, and time requirements.

SHA04002     [Paper]
Mental health assessments in paramedic practice: Case analysis of the constructs of knowledge and judgement

Ramon Shaban, Griffith University

The provision of appropriate mental health services for Australians is an urgent national health priority. The introduction of new mental health legislation in Queensland precipitated widespread industrial concern within the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) regarding the ability of paramedics to comply with explicit legislative requirements resulting from poor education and training in mental illness and assessment techniques. The related nursing and medical literature reports that recognition and assessment of mental illness is significantly problematic, citing poor knowledge and judgment constructs of mental illness and mental health assessments. Using multi-modal qualitative research methods the study will examine paramedic mental health assessment practices in order to gain insight into clinical knowledge and judgment constructs to investigate how judgments of mental health or illness are made or arrived at. A pilot study conducted suggests serious shortfalls in paramedic knowledge and judgment constructs of mental health assessment. In investigating the theory-practice and education practice gaps highlighted by new legislation and policy frameworks the study ultimately seeks to improve the preparedness and ability of paramedics to recognise and manage mental illness within the community and improve the quality of care provided to individuals suffering from a mental illness.

SHA04195     [Paper]   ®
The Overland Track: A narrative case study

Simon Shaw, University of Melbourme

As an outdoor educator, I am continually questioning whether the academic needs of my students are being fulfilled through field trips such as those offered to students enrolled in subjects that have rationales and pedagogies grounded in experiential education. Focused on university undergraduate students' experiences of a five-day bush walk on the Overland Track in Tasmania, Australia, this study examines the experiences of eight students on a field trip that forms a core learning experience in an outdoor and environmental studies subject. This paper, presented in the form of a narrative case study, examines the ability for students to achieve set learning objectives in an unfamiliar and often confronting learning environment. This study found that the learning experiences of the students is consistent with Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and that the academically framed learning objectives were not met until physiological, safety, belonging and esteem needs of the students were fulfilled.

SHA04558     [Paper]
What counts as knowledge in teaching and learning processes? The curriculum as stated and the curriculum as enacted

Susan Krieg and Sue Sharp, Edith Cowan University

The connections between what counts as knowledge (as defined in the documented curriculum), and teaching and learning processes enacted within pre-service teacher education programs are often difficult to find. This paper investigates connections between the curriculum (as stated) and the curriculum (as enacted) within a particular unit within the Kindergarten through Primary teacher education program offered at Edith Cowan University. The curriculum analysis presented in the paper makes explicit the role that the documented curriculum plays in institutional settings, in naming and organising the knowledge that is considered essential and valuable within particular contexts and explores the relationship between this and teaching and learning processes.

Maher and Tetrault (1999) describe a division between knowledge and pedagogy that exists in many higher education institutions. These researchers argue that this split is related to the epistemological position that sees knowledge as a disinterested search for universal truth, and that within this frame, knowledge is disconnected from the processes under which it is produced. This division denies any concept of knowledge as an evolving process, and in this denial, reduces the roles of teachers and students as active constructors of new knowledge. The paper describes pedagogy enacting a curriculum that connects epistemological positions with teaching and learning processes.

SHI04532     [Paper]
Corporate marketplaces: Teaching for the new work order

Jim Shields, Monash University

The focus for fast capitalism is speed. Rather than simply a place to buy and sell commodities, the marketplace has become an avenue to purchase goods and services that are still under development. The competitive edge is not simply about speed to market, but speed to market promise. Such speed means continually re-inventing new products and services that people have knowledge about, so that speed to market also means employees continually re-inventing their own know-how. As Gee et el argues these new 'kinds' of people are knowledge workers who must constantly re-invent themselves in order (a) to secure tenure, and (b) for the benefit of the corporation. But new 'kinds' of people bring with them new kinds of social interactions and hence new societal structures at work that contribute to new and continually changing workplace cultures. The dilemma for the new order is to deal with workplace culture that also draws forth social influences that are inertial, that dampen or brake rapid change. To overcome the effects of this threat of cultural inertia to the competitive edge, some corporations are moving to try to eliminate workplace cultural influences around what people do at work altogether (Gorz 1999). Fast capitalism works better when people work as constantly changing innovators or knowledge workers, doing so quite independently and regardless of social norms. This presentation documents these developments, the challenges of well-being in corporate workplace cultures and the struggle by stakeholders to try to maintain natural social networks.

SHO04416 [Paper]
Grammar is not a dirty word - Exploring grammatical prejudice in teaching and learning

Megan Short, University of Tasmania

The teaching of grammar in language and literacy education has been the site of considerable ideological debate in Australia. Part of the hesitation and uncertainty as to the role of grammar in education may be due to the existence of 'grammatical prejudice'. Grammatical prejudice, as in common with other forms of prejudice, could be viewed as a negative judgement or opinion formed without recourse to a thorough understanding of the complexity and diversity of grammar's role in language education.

Using a mixed methodological approach, the perceptions of pre-service and in-service teachers regarding grammar were explored. Of interest is whether negative or ambivalent attitudes regarding the role of grammar in language education held by teachers may affect the pedagogical approach employed and by extension, may shape students' attitudes towards grammar and language learning in general.

SHO04454     [Paper]
Conceptualising, conducting and disseminating research for the public good

Trisch Short, Mohammad Gholam and Merrilyn Goos, The University of Queensland and Alex Kostogriz, Monash University

Drawing upon one research project Home-School-Community Partnerships for Enhancing Children's Numeracy Development we examine, critically, some problems entailed in the processes of conceptualizing the subjects and objects of inquiry, conducting field work with subjects (as knowing agents) and interpreting and disseminating the knowledge gained. Addressing these issues, in practice, has entailed some necessary consideration of fundamental tensions centred around the professional power-knowledge of teachers and a dominant cultural discourse that situates numeracy learning in the school.

A theoretical model (based upon Engestr"m's Activity Theory) was used to specify and analyse various types of partnerships within a network of mutually interconnected activities to support children's learning (Bloome et al., 2000; Engestr"m, 1999). By decentering the school, within this model, we have been led to a closer analysis of the concept of 'partnership' and of the social construction of parental and community involvement in children's numeracy development. One of the most problematic aspects of partnerships evident in our research is the way in which the term 'numeracy' is understood by different stakeholders. Awareness of this has shaped the conduct and dissemination of our research and ultimately enabled us to identify critical issues for further inquiry.

SIL04136     [Paper]
Using test information to improve program delivery

Gina Silis, RMIT University

The paper will inform you of how a grade six teacher has utilised information obtained at the start of the school year, using a published test and Item Response Modelling procedures. The objective set of information provided by the test and analysis procedures supplements the subjective assessment procedures employed by the teachers. These two forms of assessment are then combined and used to develop a mathematics program that is tailored to the students learning requirements.

The whole school utilises these procedures for planning and moderation of the mathematics program. The catch cry is "Testing for Teaching".

SIL04441     [Paper]   ®
Conceptualising principal leadership of school renewal

Steffan Silcox, Rob Cavanagh and Neil MacNeill, Curtin University of Technology

This paper reports the findings of an investigation into school renewal and leadership that was conducted in 2003. School renewal is a type of whole-school change that engages and excites the school community to promote, accept and embed the change leading to improved student learning. The paper concentrates on the study of leadership of school renewal with specific reference to some of the key influences in implementing a renewal agenda in schools. It provides an invaluable and reflective insight into renewal and change processes in schools.

The findings from a mixed method study conducted in Western Australia, show the critical role the principal plays in bringing about school-renewal. The paper concludes by presenting a conceptual framework of principal leadership and school renewal for consideration. In so doing it both challenges and confirms literature and research in the area of leadership and school change. The research has important implications for all school communities.

SIM04217     [Paper]
Social studies and citizenship education: Exploring teachers' understanding and practice

Jasmine B-Y Sim, Murray Print and Llian Merritt, The University of Sydney

This paper draws upon on-going doctoral research that explores teacher understandings and practice of social studies and citizenship education. The research is located in Singapore secondary schools where social studies is taught as a compulsory and examinable subject since 2001, and in which citizenship is directly addressed. Specifically, the study explores how teachers mediate citizenship education into the social studies curriculum and give it purpose in the context of schools in a quasi-democracy.

Thornton (1989, 1991) characterized teachers as the curricular-instructional gatekeepers, as they are the primary determiners of what gets taught and how it is taught in the classrooms. A large part of how teachers tend the gates hinges on how they understand the subject matter. Teachers may conceptualise and characterize social studies and citizenship education from different frames of reference influenced by their backgrounds, beliefs, life experiences, subject specializations, professional landscape and apprenticeship in observations and so forth. Consequently, the enacted curriculum looks more varied than the official intended curriculum, even in a tightly controlled education system such as Singapore. This paper reports on the findings related to two social studies teachers, in quite different contexts, from the first phase of the study.

SIM04661     [Paper]   ®
From the interview room to the public arena - the effect of emotional response of researchers

Cheryl Sim, Griffith University

The focus of this paper evolved from a research study conducted by the author with mentors and student teachers during preservice practicum blocks. During that project the author employed a research assistant to accompany her during interviews and to transcribe the interviews. In this paper one context-specific case is used to examine the "responses" that she and her assistant presented following the interview. The paper examines extracts from one interview presenting an analysis of that extract in two parts. In the first, the 'factual' information that is possible to identify from the transcript is presented. In the second what is determined as the emotional response of the researchers to that extract is discussed. The author reflects on the role of the emotional response of researchers as they move from the closed space of the interview room to the larger public space of debate and discussion on issues, in this case, of the communities of practice into which preservice teachers are introduced.

SIN04409     [Paper]   ®
The inclusive mantra of educational reform. A critical analysis of Queensland State Education 2010

Parlo Singh and Sandra Taylor, Queensland University of Technology

The words "inclusive" and "at-risk" are now part of the new mantra of equity reform in Queensland State Education. In this paper, we focus on the ways in which these terms came to represent the "new deal" on educational equity in Queensland, and replaced terms such as social justice and target group equity. This "new deal" was orchestrated by senior policy actors in consultation with key stake holders. It was designed to steer the education department into the new millennium, and ensure that it was responsive to the push-pull forces of global informationalism. Our analyses draw on interview data collected from 14 key policy actors, as well as key "anti-policy" discourses, such as Queensland State Education 2010, Destination 2010, and the Framework for "Students at Educational-Risk". In order to do this analytic work, we develop a theoretical framework drawing on key concepts from theories of cultural globalization, namely: global culture - the new policy orthodoxy; global cultural flow - glocalization or indigenisation; and subjective experiences of cultural globalization - managing uncertainty, risk (individual and social - inequities and exclusions), anxiety, and information overload.

SIN04564     [Paper]
Risk management Vs risk retreat: A case study of child protection carriage

Parlo Singh, Queensland University of Technology

This paper reports on an ARC funded project dealing with issues of policy carriage in relation to child protection policies in the states of Queensland and New South Wales (McWilliam, Singh & Sachs,2002-2004). Child protection policies enshrine the rights of the child in state legislation. However, the carriage of these policies into schools may be leading some teachers to adopt a 'risk retreat' response, that is, avoidance of any form of child touch. This paper outlines an alternative pedagogic response for teachers by drawing on two sources: theories of risk society and interview data collected from key policy actors in child protection. It argues that 'risk management' pedagogies may position teachers to take a more democratic 'power negotiated' rather than authoritarian 'power-protected' role in relation to the carriage or enactment of child protection policies in schooling practice. Such pedagogies would evolve out of 'practice frameworks' collaboratively developed by networks of school learning communities.

SKA04226     [Paper]   ®
Quantitative literacy in a reform-based curriculum and implications for assessment

Jane Skalicky, University of Tasmania

This position paper considers the need for a new perspective on assessment in examining the place of quantitative literacy in a reform-based curriculum. Quantitative literacy, an ability to apply quantitative ideas in new or unfamiliar contexts, is essential for any individual who wishes to participate fully in democratic society. Alongside growing awareness of the importance of this quantitative reasoning capability is a curriculum reform movement that emphasises values-based, authentic experiences over discipline-based learning. In Tasmania, this curriculum reform is centred on five Essential Learnings: thinking, communicating, personal futures, world futures and social responsibility. The very nature of quantitative literacy necessitates its assessment in connection with its context, in this case, the key elements of the Essential Learnings. Examination of existing assessment practices points to the need for an assessment model that enables concurrent assessment of two major elements: the quantitative skills and concepts being applied and the contextual elements within which they are being applied. This is demonstrated with two examples of external assessment items and two examples of classroom-based units of work. This paper discusses the issues whose resolution will contribute to the development of a new model of assessment of quantitative literacy in the new reform-based environment.

SKI04708     [Paper]
PBL groups: What are they doing?

Vicki Skinner, Tracey Winning, Annette Braunack-Mayer, Gerry Mullins and Ray Peterson, The University of Adelaide

This paper will discuss preliminary findings from the first phase of a PhD research project on students' experiences of group work in PBL. The project is a multi-method qualitative investigation of group work in problem-based learning, using participant observation, questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews with students and PBL facilitators. The first phase is being undertaken in 2004 at the University of Adelaide Dental School. The paper will discuss findings from the participant observation.

SKI04916     [Paper]
The impact of "Mentoring" in the personal and professional development of Academic Staff in a Faculty of Education, NSW, Australia

Associate Professor Brian Cambourne, Dr Julie Kiggins and Julie Skinner

The current literature indicates that the practice of 'mentoring', both formally and informally, in commercial and institutionalised setting has resulted in benefits for both mentor and mentoree, towards career development, personal actualisation and business effectiveness. Educational institutions are currently adopting mentoring as a way of assisting both beginning teachers and tertiary educators in their new professions and with their on-going career development. The Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, NSW, prides itself on educating students and academic staff towards becoming highly competent educators. Recent public documents (Ramsey, 2000, Vinson, 2002) and the NSW Department of Education, have made references to the significance of 'mentoring' towards facilitating effective teachers. Given that tertiary educators provide the role modelling for classroom educators, it is imperative that the practice of mentoring is well developed at the Academic level as a first priority. The purpose of this research was to ascertain whether there is a culture of 'mentoring' currently in place in the Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong. The research was conducted under the naturalistic inquiry paradigm. The use of qualitative methods and case study methodology was used. The findings from this study may also be relevant for other tertiary institutions around the world.

SMI04033     [Paper]
The relationship between instructional differentiation, student diversity and academic-engagement

Susen Smith, Greg Robinson, Michael Arthur-Kelly and Philip Morgan, University of Newcastle

Instructional differentiation has gained prominence within primary classrooms in recent years and observation of classroom practice has evolved to investigate instruction in a variety of contexts. This exploratory study entailed observing and examining the classroom ecology, teachers' instruction/management and student behaviour and reports an investigation of differentiated instructional contexts of primary literacy blocks. Specifically, the pilot study examined relationships between classroom ecology, teacher instruction for students with low-, average- and high-reading ability and the students' academic-engagement. Some observed events included: organised activities, implementation process, physical arrangements, instructional groupings, teacher's instruction/management and student academic responding. A widely used observation tool was modified to include aspects of differentiated instruction and field-tested by observing 6 targeted students in each of three primary school classrooms in the one school. A summary of results for all students combined and students with low-, average- and high reading ability will be provided here. Some implications for the following phase of the study will also be presented. Other parts of the study included a survey questionnaire to investigate teachers' perceptions of instructional practice for student diversity and examination of student outcomes-based data.

SMI04034     [Paper]
Teachers' perceptions of instructional differentiation to cater for student diversity

Susen Smith, Greg Robinson, Michael Arthur-Kelly and Philip Morgan, University of Newcastle

Primary school classrooms today are exemplified by student diversity and instructional differentiation has evolved as one approach to address diversity. Instructional differentiation entails providing a variety of instructional approaches and resources based on the needs of the individual student within a variety of learning contexts. When academic-engagement occurs this suggests students are benefiting from the instructional approaches utilised. Academic-engagement involves students being fully immersed in the learning process by responding academically. This presentation reports an investigation into the relationship between instructional differentiation, academic-engagement and student diversity in the primary classroom. A questionnaire was developed to examine regular classroom teachers' perceptions of usage of instructional approaches in their literacy blocks for students with low-, average- and high-reading ability. Specifically, teachers' perceptions of instruction in preparation, grouping, catering for diversity, research-based literacy, motivational and engagement approaches, and catering for individual student needs were analysed. This pilot study was undertaken with the teaching staff in one NSW primary school. Some results of this exploratory study will be reported here and some implications for the next phase of the study will be provided. The survey questionnaire complemented a multiple-method PhD study which also involved observations of classroom practice, interviews and the examinations of students' reading outcomes.

SMI04051     [Paper]
Male primary teachers: Disadvantaged or advantaged?

Janet Smith, University of Canberra

Over the past decade, the lament that 'we need more male primary teachers' has flourished in media and populist discourse, within education systems and in government inquiries in both Australia and the rest of the Western world. In 2004 the Australian Federal Minister for Education proposed an amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act to provide scholarships for male primary teacher education students. Whilst this recent political debate and the preceding debates and discourses commonly assume that more male primary teachers will automatically benefit both boys in schools and society in general, many other important considerations are silenced and overlooked and attention is seldom paid to the experience of males who become primary school teachers.

This paper examines the experience of male primary school teachers and the prevailing societal discourses about them. These findings emanate from research that synthesises relevant literature, media discourse analysis, statistical analysis and life history interviews. This research has found that males who cross-over into women's work such as primary school teaching experience a complex combination of advantages and disadvantages as a result of their maleness. This study has identified eight categories of disadvantage and four categories of advantage that male primary teachers experience.

SMI04327 [Paper]
Export education in the primary sector: Responsiveness, partial privatisation, or increasing cultural diversity?

Richard Smith, Auckland University of Technology

Aotearoa/New Zealand, like a number of other Anglo-phone countries has experienced a significant increase in international student numbers in the past decade in both the compulsory and tertiary sectors. There has also been an expeditious growth in the number of international (foreign full fee paying) students undertaking study at New Zealand primary schools with student numbers rising from 208 in 1993 to 1,682 in 2001, an increase of 709 per cent (Ministry of Education, 2001). Auckland continues to be the main destination region for international students with 67 per cent students studying in this region (ibid.). This study (in-progress at the time of abstract submission) reports the findings small-scale collaborative research projected conducted with 10 primary and intermediate schools in the greater Auckland region about the impact of international students on the workload of teachers, educational leaders and administrators of schools. Findings revealed that leaders considered the compliance issues associated with international students were high, but the additional income generated by these students was useful, and that interactions between students of different cultures was, overall, positive. Responses from teachers surveyed were mixed as to the impact on workload of hosting international students. Implications for future research in this area are advanced.

SMI04328 [Paper]
A research endeavour: Fostering a collaborative research partnership with academic-practitioners

Richard Smith, Auckland University of Technology

This paper explores the methodological research issues associated with collaborative research between academics and academic-practitioners. At the time of submitting this abstract the study is in the preliminary stages, thereby at this stage it is an in-progress paper. It reveals some of the interesting tensions and jubilations of creating a genuinely collaborative research team working on a Ministry of Education contract on multiple research sites. The team was facilitated by a relatively novice university academic and a group of ten motivated, but highly over-worked academic-practitioners and school leaders who conducted the research within their own institutions. The overarching goal was to foster a genuinely collaborative research partnership with all involved. Themes explored in the research included how to enhance the use of technology to avoid too many face-to-face meetings; the pragmatics of trying to co-ordinate the research when the facilitator changed institutions; the ways developed to best support those conducting the research, and the strategies used to try to complete the project within the short timeframes allowed.

SOF04025     [Paper]
Thinking styles and decision making among educational leaders in China and Australia

Francesco Sofo and Ting Wang, University of Canberra

Chinese educational executives are at the forefront of cultural change brought on by reform and decentralisation in the new global economy which China has entered with alacrity! The paper analyses educational executives' self-reported perceptions of, and preferences for their own thinking styles as well as analyses their conceptions of thinking and their perceptions of their organisations' cultures. Chinese educational executives engaged in the Master of Ed Leadership program and Australian educational executives enrolled in the same program from Canberra were the subjects of the study. The paper tests the claim that Chinese executives have different thinking styles from Western (Australian) executives.

Apart from analyzing thinking styles the paper will report on the match between thinking style and executives' perceptions of their respective organisational cultures. The key questions addressed in the paper include: What are educational executives' preferred ways of thinking about everyday problems and issues in the workplace? What are their preferred ways of thinking and solving non-routine or extraordinary problems or volatile situations that may arise in the workplace? What ways of thinking do their organisations value and promote? What is the relationship between perceptions of organisational culture and preferred thinking style for decision-making and problem solving?

SOR04018     [Paper]   ®
Who's afraid of the fire alarm or going to preschool - A comparative study of early childhood fear and emotion education in Australia and Canada

Reesa Sorin, James Cook University

As an emotion, fear can have both positive and negative effects. It can alert people to potential danger and motivate them to choose a path of action or reaction. It can also bond people together in collaboratively seeking protection from the feared object. However, fear can also impede its victims' cognitive processes, behaviour and social interactions. Memory, problem-solving ability, perception and choices for action can be obstructed due to fear, and self-esteem, emotion regulation and sociability hindered by fear.

Fear and other emotions have both a biological and a cultural component. As many as ten emotions are considered to be innate; many sharing universal understanding and display rules. For example, happiness is displayed with a smile; surprise with eyes open and eyebrows raised. Other emotions tend to have culturally specific ways of understanding and display. Each culture passes these ways on to children from birth, through everyday interactions with the young child. Yet as they grow, some children are considered to be "emotionally literate" - to be aware of and understand emotions and emotion expression in themselves and in others - and other seem to lag behind, to have problems understanding and expressing their feelings and empathising with others' feelings. Emotional literacy, then, seems to be a learned skill and one that cannot be left to chance acquisition. Educators need to understand emotions and emotion displays and how best to guide children to becoming emotionally literate. In this multicultural world, multiplicity of emotion understanding and display needs to be considered not only to aid in this understanding but also to offer educators a variety of strategies to implement effective emotion education programs with their students.

The study described here focused on preschool children and the emotion of fear; kinds of fears, how children display these fears and how caregivers respond to fear. Utilising preschool venues in Australia and Canada, caregivers (adults working in early childhood settings) were asked what their preschool-aged children were afraid of, how they display their fear, and how, as caregivers, they responded to the fear. While many responses were similar in both countries in these areas, incidences of reporting varied widely in some fears, fear displays and responses to fear. For example, 55% of Canadian caregivers reported young children to have a fear of loud noises, whereas only 11% of Australian caregivers reported this fear. Fifty-nine percent of Australian caregivers reported that their students had a fear of preschool, while no Canadian caregiver specifically mentioned this fear. Twice as many Australian caregivers reported that fearful children withdraw and hide. In responding to fear, more Canadian caregivers said that they planned activities to address fears before they occurred. Caregivers' responses to fear have been compiled as a table to offer Early Childhood Educators a variety of ways to respond to fear and develop emotional literacy in their students.

SPI04030   [paper]
Modern apprenticeships in the retail sector:
Stresses, strains and support

Thomas Spielhofer and David Sims, National Foundation for Educational Research, United Kingdom

> Concerns have been expressed for many years about the UK workforce lacking relevant skills that businesses require to compete in global markets. Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) were introduced to strengthen the work-based learning route for young people and to make a contribution to addressing the UK's deficit in intermediate-level skills.

The findings reported in this paper are based on research that explored the views and experiences of key stakeholders, including employer-bodies, training providers, employers, and apprentices, of MAs in retail. The study identifies fundamental barriers to the successful implementation of MAs in this sector. These are related to the culture of the sector, including the mobility of young workers who frequently change jobs and the preoccupation with serving the customer which can restrict and fragment training and development opportunities. The stresses and strains of this working environment do not provide conditions that support the use of MAs.

The paper argues that supply-side initiatives alone will not change employers' attitudes towards training in general or, more specifically, government initiatives such as MAs. It concludes by exploring some of the steps that need to be taken in order to increase the demand for training and more generic skills among employers.

STA04616 [Paper]  ®
Representing the flow of R and D in a thesis: Diachronic structure and hyperlinking

Andrew Stapleton, Swinburne University of Technology and Peter Taylor, Curtin University of Technology

Many doctoral researchers are adopting interpretive epistemologies of inquiry in which research design is emergent and is shaped by the developing subjectivity of the researcher-as-learner. When interpretive researchers also adopt narrative modes of inquiry and literary genres for representing their unfolding relationships with the participants of their inquiry (including the reader of their thesis), then the question arises as to what might constitute an appropriate thesis structure. We believe that, in succumbing to the structural template of positivism, interpretive researchers are in danger of creating distorted portrayals of their inquiries as timeless, lacking in contingency and without an emergent nature. In this paper we argue for a diachronic structure that allows the narrative flow of the inquiry to be revealed. Drawing on a recently completed doctoral study, in which a multimedia educational program was designed and implemented by the first author, we illustrate how a screenplay metaphor combined with electronic hyperlinking provided a non-linear thesis structure that allows multiple reading pathways, exploration of rich documentation and viewing of successive multimedia prototype designs.

STO04290 [Paper]
Exploring teacher decision-making in the context of complex curriculum change

Newton Stoffels, University of Pretoria, South Africa

This paper explores the very pertinent question: How and why do teachers in the midst of complex curriculum change, make the strategic curricular decisions that shape their classroom practices? In 1998, the South African government launched its most ambitious project, moving from the content-heavy traditional curriculum, called NATED 550 to an outcomes-based Curriculum 2005 (C2005). While NATED 550 was very prescriptive, C2005 offered teachers much greater decision-making authority in terms of, for example, content selection. With this radical policy shift as backdrop, I undertook a year-long (2003) qualitative investigation into the decision-making of three Grade 9 Natural Science teachers at three high schools in Pretoria. Evidence was collected through classroom observations, intensive pre-lesson and post-lesson interviews, as well as stimulated recall sessions. The main finding was that the teachers followed the new 'outcomes-based' learning support material rather slavishly and mechanically, despite their own admissions that these texts were too superficial and straightforward for the learners. To explain their passivity-in-decision-making, I draw on and elaborate on the literature on the intensification thesis and defensive teaching to argue that a number of decision-making 'frame factors', some peculiar to developing countries, hamper teachers' ability and will to exercise their decision-making authority.

SUM04996     [Paper]
Optimising professionalism and quality in long day care: Early Childhood professionals' perceptions of the impact of the regulatory environment

Marian Dearn, Jennifer Sumsion and Joy Goodfellow, Macquarie University

Long day care centres in NSW operate under a myriad of regulatory requirements, most notably the NSW Department of Community Services' regulations and the National Childcare Accreditation Council's Quality Improvement and Accreditation System. This paper reports on the first phase of an Australian Research Council funded Linkage Project that is investigating long day care teachers'/directors' perceptions of

• the impact of the regulatory environment on the provision of quality care;
• how the regulatory environment affects early childhood professional practice; and
• whether an improved balance between early childhood professionals' accountability for quality care and their autonomy in professional decision-making is needed.

Preliminary results from a survey sent to all long day centres in NSW will be presented. The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils and the NSW Independent Education Union are the Industry Partners to the project.

SUR04790     [Paper]
Synthesising research for diverse purposes: Moving beyond "What Works?"

Harsh Suri, La Trobe University

The purpose of a research synthesis is to construct new knowledge by making explicit connections and relations between individual primary research reports that were not visible before. With the current thrust on evidence-based policy and practice, large scale funding has become available to some organisations which are primarily committed to support systematic reviews. Examples of such organisations include the "Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre)", "The Campbell Collaboration" and "What Works Clearinghouse?". These systematic reviews tend to be implicitly oriented along positivism and are geared at measuring the overall effectiveness of various educational decisions. In this paper, I assert that the variety and complexity evident in contemporary educational research must also be accommodated, encapsulated and celebrated at the level of synthesising educational research. I propose a Methodologically Inclusive Research Synthesis (MIRS) framework which is a coherent conceptualisation of research synthesis methods expressed through the identification of critical decisions and thorough discussion of varied options associated with each decision in the process of a rigorous research synthesis. I discuss a variety of considerations that can guide the process of identifying diverse, equally worthwhile, purposes for a research synthesis.

SVA04219     [Paper]
Encouraging reflection using a virtual learning environment

Torben Svane, Halmstad University, Sweden and Jo Smedley, Aston University, UK

The ability to manage new skill sets throughout life is pivotal but reflection on learning itself is novel to many students. The proposed paper presents efforts made to foster reflection concerning the "hows, whens, and whys" of personal learning. It describes how reflective diaries have been used in undergraduate university courses and points to lessons learned from this work. "Community" software is often developed for group-work but less for reflection. To overcome this shortcoming, a special website (the e-Temple) was developed. So far, approximately 300 UK and Swedish students have used it for reflective diaries. The website has proven valuable for research and informing teachers of student developments, as well as facilitating a reflective interface for students, when and where required. Compared with previously used software, student comments suggest that e-Temple use was supportive in a better understanding of reflection itself.

Lessons learned may also be relevant for online developments concerning Personal Development Planning, a UK Higher Education initiative which has to be available to all students by 2005/06. Facilitating a structured and supported process, the aim is to help individuals better reflect upon learning, performance and/or achievements and to assist in planning of future personal, educational and career development.

SWI041064     [Paper]
Research in Continuing Professional Development (the pupil's voice)

Helen Swift, University of Huddersfield

The paper is based on doctoral research undertaken at a university to measure the impact of a part-time masters programme on schools, teachers and pupils. The focus of this paper will be the measurement of the impact on the pupils in the classroom. This was the most challenging aspect of the research. There are so many variables impacting on pupils in the classroom it is difficult to extricate from them a masters programme undertaken by their teacher. It is notoriously difficult to research the effects of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), on the course participants engaged on a masters programme. The process of professional development is very complex and it is extremely challenging to accomplish an evaluation of the contribution made by specific training to an individual teacher in terms of better outcomes for their pupils. A large number of complex variables need to be disentangled. The problem of evaluation may be difficult; however some kind of resolution was essential because the funding mechanism in the UK for masters programmes has included measurement of the impact of the programme on institutions, teachers and pupils. This is related to the government's criteria that CPD should have as its main objective the improvement of pupils' performance through the improvement of teachers' professional knowledge, understanding and skills. Therefore, masters programmes are expected to make a contribution to the general raising of standards in schools. The impact of the political climate which has influenced the development of education through legislation is a significant area of debate. The research was based on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies employing multiple sources of data. Quantitative data collection was through a survey of all the course participants on the masters programme, which includes a range of professionals, including teachers. The qualitative evidence collection enabled a more in-depth study of the views of a sample of teachers and their line managers through individual semi-structured and focus group interviews.

The paper explores some of the difficulties of the enquiry. The quantitative evidence, for example, examined tests/examinations results gained by the teachers' pupils during the period of professional development. However, there are so many influences impacting on the results that it was difficult to say with any certainty that CPD was a major contributor to a rise in standards. The emergence of such issues as how the providers measure the impact and how schools evaluate this at institutional level, illustrates the inherent difficulties of the enquiry. In terms of qualitative evidence the views of teachers and their line managers in relation to their perception of the contribution of the masters programme to raising pupils' achievement was a key feature. However, the emphasis is on 'perceived' rather than 'statistical' evidence. The theme which emerged most strongly from the qualitative evidence was the benefit perceived by teachers of 'listening to the pupil's voice' through the research undertaken on the masters programme. The perceived benefits to the pupils included: increased self-esteem; growth in confidence and better relationships with teachers. The classroom-based research undertaken by teachers, with their pupils, to ascertain their views on the educational process is the focus of this paper.

T

TAI04679     [Paper]   ®
Professional learning communities: Connecting teachers' practices and student outcomes through the arts

Anja Tait and Ian Falk, Charles Darwin University

Music for Learning for Life is a pilot project that utilises performing arts processes and music skills development as a conduit for engagement and learning across the curriculum with urban upper primary students. A mix of quantitative and qualitative methods and data analyses are used, and findings presented against a four-stage model of change that articulates the nature of differential influences and resourcing required for this type of educational intervention. The research reported in this paper has dual aims. First, it investigates whether music skills development, embedded in daily learning across the curriculum, provides educational outcomes for Australian Indigenous learners with low English oracy, literacy and numeracy levels. Second, it aims to trial and evaluate a transdisciplinary model of professional learning communities, building on 'communities of practice' research.

The emerging outcomes of the research demonstrate the value of a participative, 'learning communities' approach to professional development. Participating teachers report that a practitioner partnership with the researcher-arts educator that includes joint planning, team-teaching and shared evaluation promotes reflection, improved specialist skills and knowledge, and an increased sense of efficacy. They describe increased confidence and competencies in arts pedagogy and a willingness to implement new policy initiatives that promote effective classroom practices.

TAI04889 [Paper]   ®
Disability and the ethical responsibilities of the teacher: Issues arising from the case of L v Minister for Education

Gordon Tait, Queensland University of Technology

The case of L v Minister for Education provides an excellent example of the complexity of the ethical decisions teachers are sometimes required to make. But how can we gauge the soundness of the teacher's choices? Using this legal case as its focus, the paper will first examine issues of meta-ethics, drawing some conclusions about the ontological and epistemological status of moral claims. The paper will then address issues of normative ethics, examining consequentialist, deontological and virtue ethics as models for teacher conduct. Finally, these models will be applied to the ethical problems raised in the case. The central intention of the paper is to raise some concerns over the decisions made in L v Minister for Education, primarily regarding issues of social justice.

TAL04130     [Paper]   ®
Developmental and transactional factors in ADHD in the early years

Ayshe Talay-Ongan, Macquarie University

Developmental constructs which underpin Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), mainly social cognition, attachment, parental interaction styles, and temperament, suggest a bi-directionality of influence in the behavior patterns often associated with the condition. That is to say, although behavious patterns that characterise ADHD are believed to be the result of biologically-determined mechanisms, environmental, interactional and relational variables may determine the extent of the adaptive outcomes they face. The findings are reported from a preliminary investigation of children aged 4, 6 and 8 years with ADHD, Hyperactive type. Four standardised measures were evaluated, two for the independent variables (i.e. temperament and parenting/teaching style measures), and two for the dependent variables (i.e., academic achievement and socioemotional development). The instruments used to collect the data were Temperamental Rating Scale (Thomas & Chess, 1977) and Parenting Style Rating Scale and Teaching Style Rating Scale adapted from Goldstein and Goldstein (1992). In the assessment of outcome variables, Test of Emotional Social Development (TOESD; Hresko & Brown, 1984), was scored independently by the parent (TOESD-P) and the teacher (TOESD-T) for each participant. Academic Performance Rating Scale (APRS; DuPaul, Rappaport & Periello, 1990) were only performed by the teachers. Results suggest that the 'goodness of fit' between child temperament and teaching/parenting styles is reflected in improved adaptive and academic outcomes in these children. Constraint associated with the investigation, as well as some teaching implications are discussed.

TAR04413     [Paper]   ®
'Bucking the Zeitgeist': Positioning doctoral research through creativity

Pina Tarricone, Edith Cowan University

Drawing from relevant theoretical discussions on creativity this paper promotes creativity as an essential foundation, instigator, and positioner of doctoral research. Acknowledging and focusing on the role that creativity plays in positioning doctoral research can aid in dispelling the pressure on doctoral research to 'fit into the norm' and encourage research which 'bucks the zeitgeist'. Issues are identified which inhibit creativity, and suggestions are made for supervisors, mentors, and doctoral researchers regarding how to support, promote and position innovative, creative doctoral research in education. Based upon these discussions this paper takes the position that doctoral research in education can provide benefits in not just traditionally accepted and supported ways of school or university research, but also in research that extends knowledge through the conceptual exploration of theoretical constructs. This researcher's own PhD research in progress is referred to as an example of how creative processes are permeated throughout the study and are taken seriously by both the researcher and supervisor.

TAY04274     [Paper]
A ten-year journey towards teacher collaboration and integrated curriculum: A story of leadership

Ann Farley and Peter Charles Taylor, Curtin University of Technology

Whilst much current research on Middle Schooling suggests that the most effective learning environment for young adolescents is created through a combination of teaching teams and integrated curriculum, many students continue to be educated in secondary schools organised in faculties dominated by subject discreet curricula. This paper presents insights from a case study of a group of secondary school teachers who, over a period of ten years, created integrated curricula and year-level teams within a school organisational structure characterised by a discreet subject environment. The group was led by a specialist teacher (the first author) who, in the role of teacher-researcher, investigated their profound journey of curriculum transformation. This doctoral thesis research adopts an historic structure and employs narrative inquiry to present the stories and voices of both the facilitator and teachers as they struggled to establish an innovative culture of integration and negotiation. We discuss a number of emergent issues and critical incidents that appeared instrumental in shaping the teachers' journey towards a shared understanding of what constitutes an effective learning environment. In order to facilitate the full realisation of this ideal, we propose a model of team leadership for expediting the school's continuing transformation towards a fully integrated curriculum.

TCH041021     [Paper]
Research in Aboriginal communities: Cultural sensitivity as a prerequisite

Elizabeth Tchacos and.Roger Vallance, University of Notre Dame

Most research in Aboriginal communities has been based on survey methods. This study, using a qualitative interview methodology, uses cultural sensitivity as its fundamental principal.

Cultural sensitivity has been maintained by employing a number of methods. Reference groups, active engagement with community leaders, training and employment of Aboriginal research assistants and keeping in contact with stakeholders are all used to build trust and conduct the research project from the perspective of respect for persons and culture. Respect is further demonstrated by the development of a partnership between the Community leaders and the Researcher; feedback via the research reference group who provide ecological validation of the developing research analysis

The research model is proposed as a model for further research in aboriginal communities. It is argued that respect for persons and cultures are critical elements built into the method. Respect is reflected in each of the steps undertaken to gather, and analyse the data, validate the findings and present research outcomes in ways which communities find comprehensible, accessible, and facilitative of for their growth and continued development.

TEN04490     [Paper]
Piloting a new online learning management system

Judith Tennant, Lesley Birch, Wendy Plones and Simon Lismann, Monash University

Monash University is in the process changing its web-based online learning management system across the University. As part of this process, a group of staff from the Faculty of Business and Economics has been running a pilot project. The pilot has involved four staff members: an academic, an administrative support person, a staff member responsible for providing technology based training across the faculty and a staff member whose role is to provide online education program support relating to the technology behind the online learning system. Prior training available to all these participants was limited.

This paper examines both opportunities arising from participation and problems encountered in piloting a new system. Opportunities include firstly, the chance to pedagogically redevelop and enhance existing web-based learning materials in a new environment. Secondly, the participants were able to gain a better appreciation of the training needs of future users. Thirdly, participation in the pilot enabled the identification of technological problems and possible solutions prior to the wider application of the new environment across the University. Problems include software incompatibilities, changes in program functionality compared with the existing software, and lack of detailed prior training in the use of the new system.

TER04505     [Paper]
Transition experiences of marginalised students: Biased or useful?

Kitty Te Riele, University of Technology Sydney

Unprecedented developments in the Australian labour market and youth policy since the 1970s have contributed to making completion of senior secondary education increasingly common, and expected in youth policy. In this changed context, issues to do with educational marginalisation and youth transition need to be re-conceptualised. This paper is based on research carried out at two Senior Colleges in the state of New South Wales in Australia, both aimed specifically at providing re-entry opportunities to complete senior secondary education. Findings are drawn from interviews with students and teachers, observations and documents. This study contributes to challenging conventional policy discourses in relation to the concept of youth transition by focusing on a non-typical cohort of young people. Most of the students had experienced difficulties in their schooling, and many had been absent from education for some months or years before enrolling in a Senior College. The research findings highlight the impact of societal change on marginalised young people in relation to non-linear pathways, choice biography, and the knowledge economy. The paper concludes by exploring the impact of the 'biased' sample of young people on the meaning of these findings.

THO04214     [Paper]
Beyond the singular principal

Pat Thomson, University of Nottingham

A growing body of international research suggests that teachers are deterred from applying for principal's positions because they see the job as too onerous, intrusive of family life and geared inappropriately to managerial, rather than educative tasks. In our study of declining principal supply in Australia, we have been exploring the normative construction of the principal position through policy, selection practices, and public representations of the job. We suggest that the principal position needs to be redesigned (and rearticulated) to attract not only more applicants but also allow a more culturally diverse group to both be and do the principalship. In this paper, I consider three instances in which the principalship has been explicitly redrawn: co-principalship, shared principalship, and a multi campus principalship. I examine the managerial systems that have been established in each case to allow a stronger focus on pedagogical leadership and tease out why some of the principals concerned describe their situation as 'the best job'.

THO04775     [Paper]   ®
Using free-form concept maps to distinguish among aviation groups of different experience levels

Lisa Thomas, H Peter Pfister and Peter Peterson, University of Newcastle

Aviation skill development has traditionally been measured using operationally-based criteria. Aviation knowledge is assessed in conjunction with licence tests. The organisation of a pilot's aviation knowledge, however, remains relatively untapped. From the viewpoint of the aviation industry, and in particular the flight instruction community, it would be useful to know if a pilot's conceptualisation of flight maneuvers alters with increased flying experience. Concept mapping, which is a methodology from educational psychology and which translates cognitive structures into conceptual representations, has the potential to provide an additional analytic tool to the aviation industry. There are practical advantages to free-form pencil-and-paper concept maps for aviation, making them potentially useful in a wide range of aviation environments. This paper describes two related studies on the topic of the Visual Landing Approach in which free-form concept mapping was able to distinguish among Australian General Aviation pilots in three different experience categories when experience was defined by flight hours. By using two quantitative methods that analysed both a concept map's structure and the interconnectedness of its word content, it was shown that pilots tend to have more sophisticated and stable conceptualisations of the Visual Landing Approach with increased flight experience.

THO04788 [Paper]   ®
A misrepresentation of practice for Art Education: The Draft NSW Teaching Standards and the virtuoso art teacher

Kerry Thomas, University of New South Wales,

This paper examines the issue of teacher quality in relation to the work of Ramsey and Quality Matters, the Teacher Education Review Taskforce and NSW Draft Professional Teaching Standards Framework. It identifies the underlying reasons asserted by the Taskforce in recommending that the NSW Government accept the policy direction to ensure teacher quality through a proposed standards framework and Institute of Teachers. It goes on to analyse how the hierarchical model misrepresents what we know of practice and explores the limitations of the structuralist approach of the framework informed by the theories of Bourdieu, Boyd and Brown. It draws on the findings of a longitudinal study in art education of creativity currently being undertaken by the author in an HSC art classroom involving an art teacher, art students and their artworks. The paper concludes that the standards are incapable of determining practice as proposed in the framework and the art teacher's virtuoso performances are irreducible to the draft competencies.

THO04853     [Paper]
From Woop Woop to the Cemetery. A Study of hypermedia storytelling

Peter Thomas, Victoria University

The use of hypermedia for creating fictional narratives in schools is still in its infancy. At one level we know hypermedia can engage students most resistant to traditional English teaching. At another level, however, there are limited guides to help students appraise and improve their work through this media. This paper describes the development of such a guide, aimed at helping students improve their hypermedia authoring.

The device developed as a result of a phenomenographic analysis of 12 hypermedia stories undertaken by rural junior secondary students (Marton and Booth 1982). Kress and Leeuwen's (1996) work on images and McCloud's (1994) ideas on cartooning helped inform the research.

The research has highlighted four distinct dimensions of the hypermedia story each divided into qualitatively different levels of sophistication, inspired by the SOLO taxonomy (Biggs and Collis 1982)

• Visual
• Language
• Interactivity
• Structural design

Working with this matrix resulting from the four dimensions and the seven levels, each hypermedia story is explored to see its strength within each of the dimensions and its overall impact.

Such a device provides insights for exploring what working with hypermedia involves and how and where students are achieving and can be assisted to improve.

THO04932     [Paper]
Cooperative learning in computer supported classes

Jean Thompson, University of Melbourne

Many studies have been reported on the benefits of group work to incorporate the use of Information Communication Technologies. Teachers too are said to perceive the benefits of group work at computers, which include peer support and the development of communication skills. However, if groups are to learn with support from their peers, they must perceive the importance of working together. Cooperative learning provides teachers with the structure to enable this to occur since, unlike traditional group work, it focuses on group functioning or interaction with careful preparation, planning and monitoring of how students work together. As a result cooperative learning emphasises learning as a group as opposed to learning in a group. This presentation describes a mixed-method approach using questionnaires, interviews and videotaped observations of teachers and students when engaged in cooperative group work using computers. Set within a theoretical framework that explores the voice of teachers and groups of students, rich descriptions of the use of computers and the implementation of cooperative learning are provided. Further, drawing on the significance of the role of e-talk to understand how children "think together", a taxonomy of students' skills and behaviours when engaged in cooperative computer learning is identified.

THO04961     [Paper]   ®
Integrating classroom and workplace learning for a knowledge-based society

Keith Thomas, La Trobe University

Jobs are changing and with them, the skills needed for the world. In preparing the student and worker respectively for the challenges associated with the skills requirement of a knowledge-based economy, it is clear that both schools and business organisations have important roles to play. Consequently, it makes sense for give some thought to an integrating framework for what is essentially a partnership in this emerging knowledge-based learning society. This paper outlines a strategy to integrate classroom and workplace learning based on a 'contextual pedagogical framework'. The framework, based on research in educational and management literature, emphasizes deep learning founded on a common set of learning and development strategies.

TOM04451     [Paper]
The overseas practicum experience and its impact on pre-service teachers professional and personal development

Amy Tome, Phil Fitzsimmons and Barbra McKenzie, The University of Wollongong

In many Australian universities, overseas practicums have long been offering pre-service teacher programs as an option apart from the domestic practicum in their courses. Yet, there is a paucity of information available that details exactly the impact of this experience on the pre-service teachers' personal and professional development. This presentation will focus on the results of a study being undertaken this year that aims to help fulfil this gap in the literature. The study will focus on the 2004 cohort of pre-service teachers who take part in a Fiji Practicum in June. A Naturalistic Approach will be employed and so qualitative data will be collected to preserve the uniqueness of each pre-service teacher's experience and its impact on them. These results will then be of interest to those involved in the co-ordination of such programs. It will perhaps support the notion that these programs are ideal in providing pre-service teachers with global and multicultural perspectives, essential when entering any classroom of today.

TRE04914 [Paper]
Underachievement: An investigation of a model for improving academic direction in schools

Deborah Trevallion, The University of Newcastle

Underachievement occurs when students are not working to their potential and who under perform in the classroom. It is a problem that can be compounded by inadequate identification procedures resulting in 'invisible underachievement'. (Chaffey 2003)

This paper will focus on a model designed to assist underachieving gifted students to improve their academic direction. The model focuses on the issues contributing to student underachievement as identified by Coyle (2000). These include building self esteem, improving self concept, increasing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, utilising strategies for improving organisation, study skills, time management and overcoming academic deficiencies. The strategy employed in the delivery of this model is an adaptation of the Renzuli Enrichment Triad.

The first section of the paper will present the literature on underachievement, an investigation of student needs, and the development of the model. The second section will report on the method used to carry out the research of 38 students in years 9 and 10 attending a NSW selective high school. The third section of the paper will report on findings related to the students' academic success and anecdotal evidence relating to unexpected social outcomes.

TRI04046     [Paper]   ®
Debating Anna: The textual politics of English Literature teaching in Thailand

Pornsawan Tripasai, Monash University

Before the era of the no-frontiers globalised world, Thailand was made known to the Western world by the story of Anna, a dutiful English teacher, and Mongkut, a Siamese king. In the story, Thailand is portrayed as an exotic country ruled by a despotic monarch and populated by barbaric people. Anna comes to this primitive land to teach English language to the royal family and to induct them into the sophisticated English culture.

This paper offers a textual analysis of Anna Leonowens' nineteenth-century narrative about Thailand using Said's concept of Orientalist discourse to explore the cultural politics of this text. The paper goes beyond the nineteenth-century context to examine the influence of English in the contemporary globalised world where Thailand, as a member of the global community, is subjected to the dominance of English language.

This paper will cast light on the teaching of English as a form of neo-colonialism. The representational strategies employed in the story of Anna situate the people of Thailand as the marginal Others. The story becomes an allegory that reveals the hegemonic control of English over Thai people. I shall also argue, however, the possibility of resisting its textual strategies and developing other ways of reading the text.

TRI04185     [Paper]
Non-compliance by school principals: The effects of experience, stakeholder characteristics and governance mechanisms on reasoned risk-taking in decision-making

Karen Trimmer, WA Department of Education and Training and Curtin University of Technology

Reasoned risk-taking has long been associated with governance mechanisms and in the context of this paper occurs when decisions are made that are not compliant with the regulatory framework. Such decisions involve risk as when negative outcomes arise from decision-making principals may be exposed to criticism for non-compliance with established policy. This paper proposes a study in this area and seeks to use agency and behavioural perspectives to explore whether reasoned risk-taking by school principals is a consequence of their perceptions of the governance mechanism of the regulatory framework, the experience of principals and the characteristics of key stakeholders within the school community. School principals' perceptions of the regulatory framework as a compliance mechanism as opposed to educative are posited to interact with experience to impact on likelihood of engagement in reasoned risk-taking. Experience of principals and degree of uniqueness of the local community are posited to increase the likelihood of risk-taking behaviour. This proposal forms part of intended doctoral research with Curtin University of Technology.

TUR04658     [Paper]   ®
The use of embedded tools and support materials within a classroom simulation to support quality teaching

Jan Turbill and Lisa Kervin, University of Wollongong

This paper focuses on the use of embedded tools and support materials within a web-based classroom simulation. The simulation allows the user to adopt the role of a Kindergarten teacher where they have to "teach" a typical literacy episode that we have called "days of the week". During this episode the he user is asked to make decisions about the organisation of the classroom, the teaching and learning experiences to be offered and classroom management issues.

A key component of this on-line simulation is the embedded tools and the support materials. These have been incorporated to encourage users to think more deeply about their role as a classroom teacher. Also we hope that the experience with the simulation will have a positive impact on related practicum experiences. As users makes decisions throughout the running time of the simulated classroom episode, they are supported with embedded thinking spaces and regular student updates organised according to the NSW pedagogy model (DET, 2003).

We report on the data that we have collected about use of the embedded tools and support materials by a cohort of pre-service teachers.

TUR04665     [Paper]
Psychological distress amongst school leaders

David Turner, Education Queensland and Jackie Holt, Ripplemakers Pty Ltd

Despite the plethora of research into the area of stress within teaching, the prevalence rates of psychological distress and physical ill health amongst teachers, especially school leaders continues to rise. A recent questionnaire distributed to principals, deputies, HODs and HOSEs in the Nambour Education District found considerable levels of psychological distress. An overall response rate of 83% was achieved: 35/36 principals (97%); 29/36 deputies (81%); 43/59 HODs (73%) and 11/12 HOSEs (92%). Preliminary results indicate that work was the most significant stressor in school leaders lives, with the major work stressors being workload and time pressures; role conflict between leadership and management, parents/community expectations; student behaviour and availability of resources. Of concern was the 30% of principals, 41% of deputies, 51% of HODs and 33% of HOSEs had a GHQ-12 score above the threshold indicating psychological distress. Over 80% of all groups reported 3 or more physical or behavioural stress symptoms. Inadequate treatment of psychological distress not only has implications for school leaders themselves, but also impinges on the wellbeing and performance of their staff. A comprehensive approach comprised of both individual centred and organisational strategies is recommended.

U, V

VAL04017     [Paper]
Rejecting old recipes: Improving the experiences of women in postgraduate research

Colleen Vale, Victoria University

In this paper a project that was conducted to improve the experiences of female research students in a multi-disciplinary faculty is described. During the project, data about women's experiences were gathered using a questionnaire, focus group interviews, written evaluation responses and from seminar presentations by women who had completed their research degree. The views expressed by the female research students in the faculty led to a different concept for a two-day event than that which was originally envisaged. The findings from the project show how the experiences of women undertaking research degrees may be enhanced in the context of new policy for research training in Australian universities.

VAL04019     [Paper]
Gendered motivation amongst high school students

Roger Vallance, University of Notre Dame Australia

A series of qualitative focus groups was conducted amongst high school students. The groups were conducted as single sex groups of friends to discus what motivates students in their school work. Students were selected from co-educational as well as single sex schools. Focus groups were audio taped and transcribed. This paper is based upon the discussion between students as they explore what motivates them in school and what it is about school subjects that allows them to better engage with the learning tasks they confront. Evidence from these focus groups drives the suggestion that 'academic motivation' is a qualitatively different experience for adolescent boys and girls in terms of content, tone and texture of the language they use to describe their own experiences of motivation in schools. Girls and boys have different understandings of the worth of schooling. The different genders also are motivated by different aspects of school education and, in essence, are motivated differently in terms of school learning. This paper will explore dimensions of the differences in motivation with respect to gender and discuss some potential further quantitative and qualitative measures to better understand adolescent academic motivation.

VAL04020     [Paper]
Formation in research ethics: Developing a teaching approach for the social sciences

Roger Vallance, University of Notre Dame Australia

An extensive literature research has been undertaken to survey the extent of formalised teaching of research ethics for higher degree research students. While seminars for medical and medico-technological students are well represented, there is limited evidence of formal research ethics formation in the social sciences and humanities areas.

This paper reports the development of a unit in research ethics. While recommended for all research students at the host university, the unit is optional. The unit is attracting a pleasing proportion of research students as well as students who major in philosophy and ethics.

The unit is run as an online seminar series using the courseware BlackBoard. The approach facilitates a general investigation of social sciences research ethics which over three assessment points funnels to the development of a research ethical commitment that is based on personal values as well as best practice within the individual's research domain. This paper will encourage participants to critique the approach of forming research ethics skills and values and welcome contributions that promote further developments.

VAN04999     [Paper]   ®
The persistence of privacy in teacher professional development online

Vickie Vance, Charles Sturt University

Two cycles of a professional development course were run for teachers in urban and regional areas of New South Wales, Australia. Delivery and communication tools were facilitated through the Internet. The use of collective learning and mutual problem solving was made transparent to participants prior to participation and was a keystone to the design of the professional development course. In an article by Little (1990) entitled Persistence of Privacy: Autonomy and Initiative in Teachers' Professional Relations, the author argues that common forms of 'collegiality' and hence common configurations of teacher-to-teacher discourse may do more to bolster isolation than diminish it. Using transcripts from semi-structured interviews and electronic communications, participants' experiences and actions are used to illuminate the issue of privacy in online teacher communication.

Some researchers argue that educational systems may engender teacher isolation, structurally discouraging teachers from exchanging knowledge and encouraging them to leave decisions affecting more than their specific classrooms to "management". Participating teachers appeared to perpetuate this notion in the online environment despite their lack of confinement by school or system management. The paper concludes with a discussion on the impact such a notion has on the curriculum, pedagogy and evaluation of teacher professional development in online environments.

VAR04107     [Paper]
The challenges and opportunities for Physical and Health Education in rural schools

Aniko Varpalotai, University of Western Ontario

Small, rural schools present special challenges for the physical and health education teacher. However, rural communities also have a long-established tradition of partnerships and sharing of resources which can augment the school program, particularly in subjects like physical and health education. Based on research conducted in rural communities in the province of Ontario, Canada, this presentation will provide an overview of the some of the issues facing rural schools in this subject area, as well as provide some recommendations and unique ideas based on the experiences of rural teachers. Among the issues to be examined are: the multi-grade/multi-age class, scarce and limited resources, community partnerships with health care practitioners and other local agencies, dealing with emerging social issues which challenge local beliefs and values (i.e., teen sexuality, sexual orientation, etc.), and the school as a multi-use community recreation facility. In the face of school closures, school board amalgamations(with urban boards), increased use of technology, and transportation issues, rural schools are uniquely placed to experiment with creative solutions and continue to provide their students and communities with quality programs.

VER04062     [Paper]   ®
Cat's Away--what to do when a supervisor leaves you

Tanya Vernon, Curtin University of Technology

This qualitative study focuses upon one aspect of the postgraduate research student-supervisory experience rarely covered in literature and surveys. By juxtaposing effects of supervisor absence on laboratory-based students with effects on a student in humanities, I seek to highlight effects of supervisor absence on full-time postgraduate students. To do so, I ask three queries. Firstly, to what degree are Australian postgraduate students affected by supervisor absence/departure? Secondly, what are the manifestations of the phenomena? And finally, what is the recognition level of the supervisor of the effect? In conclusion, I suggest some student-centred coping strategies for 'when a supervisor leaves you'.

VIA04495     [Paper]
Gender differences in the first year of a longitudinal study of adolescent emotional well-being and academic outcomes

Wilma Vialle, Patrick Heaven and Joseph Ciarrochi, University of Wollongong

This paper reports on data from the first year of a longitudinal study designed to determine the factors associated with adolescents' emotional well-being and academic outcomes. The study commenced in 2003 with over 600 Year 7 students drawn from five Catholic secondary schools in New South Wales. An additional 400 Year 7 students will be added in 2004 and the entire cohort will be tracked to the end of their Year 12 studies. The first year data comprise measures of students' personality factors (self-esteem, conscientiousness, tough-mindedness, attributional styles, and subjective well-being); their perceptions of their parents' parenting styles; their attitudes to school; and their affiliation with peer groups. Additionally, the students' ELLA and SNAP scores and school grades were collected to provide data on their academic achievements. The data reported in this paper were subjected to a one-way MANOVA with gender as the independent factor. Significant gender differences were noted in the students' levels of tough-mindedness, conscientiousness, trait hope, depression, joviality, attitudes to education and positive attributional style. These findings will be outlined in detail and discussed in relation to students' academic achievements. The implications of the findings will also be explored.

VID04459     [Paper]
Navigating global-local tensions in accountability/autonomy policies: Comparative case studies in 'Asian' universities

Lesley Vidovich, The University of Western Australia, Jan Currie, Murdoch University and Rui Yang, Monash University

The twin policy domains of accountability and autonomy have featured in recent education reforms in many countries, signalling new relationships between governments and educational institutions. Despite different national and localised contexts, a number of common 'global' trends have been identified. However, simultaneously context-specific differences are also evident. For us, the concept of 'globalisation', when it implies policy homogenisation, is too blunt an instrument to critically analyse these major reforms. We would argue that there are still too few studies on globalisation processes grounded in detailed examinations of particular historical times and geographical spaces. Our research is located within the tensions between global commonalities and localised differences.

This paper reports research on changing accountability and autonomy in higher education in three 'Asian' countries. Empirical data has been collected in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Singapore in an attempt to begin to redress a 'Western' hegemony in such research. Within each national context two different types of universities became case study sites for the analysis of both commonalities and differences in accountability and autonomy policies and practices. The current paper focuses in particular on the conceptual and methodological framings of the research and presents some preliminary findings.

VIE041004     [Paper]
Ideology and the discourses of research: The ethics of Ethics for cross-cultural research in Education

Rosemary Viete, Monash University

Australian universities require educational researchers, whether students or staff, to apply for approval of their research projects involving humans or animals. This approval is granted by universities' Ethics Committees. As a license to research, this gate-keeping procedure has the complicated task of protecting participants, researchers and institutions from potential 'harm'. For international students the ideologically situated discourses of Ethics requirements can impact on cross-cultural research practices in ways that affect the quality of their research, and sometimes prevent it, calling into question the notion of education as a public good: whose good is it and for which public?

In this paper I discuss the ways in which the discourses of one Ethics committee have affected the work of international students conducting educational research in their own countries. I look closely at how the language and procedures of the approval process position cross-cultural researchers and present Education research students' and supervisors' accounts of cross-cultural challenges that arise from the Ethics requirements, as well as the benefits they see. Drawing on suggestions from these participants and insights from activity theory, I propose practices that take account of the socio-cultural contexts of the research.

VON04187     [Paper]
Integrating ICT in pre-service teacher education - reframing teacher education

Athena Vongalis, Wan Ng, Pam Wright and Chris Brew, Latrobe University

A recent study by Taylor (2004) examined teachers' existing understanding of Information and Communications Technology and the way it changes as they learn to teach. Using this current study and others (Simpson, Payne, Munro, & Hughes, 1999; Vrasidas & McIsaac, 2001) the aim of this project is to conduct research into pre-service teacher education and the integration of ICT learning in education courses. The study aims to conduct initial research and trial of innovative teaching methodology as a basis for further study into how to better integrate ICT learning into curriculum method classes in pre-service education.

An identified aim of curriculum standard frameworks in Victoria is the integration of ICT learning across the curriculum. This study intends to examine how prospective secondary teachers in the key learning areas of SOSE, English, Science, Mathematics and Technology are using ICT in their methodology classes that prepare teachers for their specialized teaching. Preliminary discussion with method lectures has revealed an uneven use and knowledge of ICT across the key learning areas. This study intends to examine the reasons why this may be the case, raise issues about ICT in relation to key learning areas and propose recommendations to redesign initial teacher training.

VON04190     [Paper]
Re)Building Community by employing teachers' agency for social reconstruction

Athena Vongalis, Latrobe University

In this paper I intend to discuss the notion of teachers' agency as multifaceted actions that describe teachers' work within the classroom, school and community. The analysis of agency draws on the work of Archer (M. Archer, 1982; M. S. Archer, 1995) and realist social theory that explores the interactions between structure and agency and assesses the quality of this interaction that may lead to system change. Evidence gathered from teachers and their representatives from 29 countries shows that teachers' seek a broader education and social agency in order to address inequality, exclusion, privatization and commercialization of education and its consequential impact on the quality of education and schooling. In the paper, an overview of the key concerns of teachers, as they discuss how globalization and marketization of education has affected their communities and work, is outlined. At the conclusion of the paper, I raise the concern of whether this thinking has reached the used-by date. More detailed study of agency (M. S. Archer, 2002) and ways of understanding teachers and their work is undertaken. It is suggested that instead of governments deploying teachers to the marginal role of delivering education services, teachers should seek to develop their corporate agency (M. S. Archer, 2002) through engagement in capacity building and reconstruction of communities. Some examples of social and community reconstruction that is based on education and learning that place teachers in a central role for community rebuilding are examined.

W

WAL04164     [Paper]
Girl No. 20: What insight does the capability approach offer to education?

Melanie Walker, University of Sheffield

This paper argues that education is both a capability and a means to develop valued capabilities. Embedded in the capability approach is the core notion of human dignity and a life that is 'truly human'. Such a life is characterised by freedom, autonomy and an active agency exercised in co-operation and reciprocity with others, what Nussbaum calls 'human powers of practical reason and sociability', so important that they count as part of who we are, of our humanity, and they count universally. Notions of agency and freedom to choose are central to well being and a fully human life; equally one might argue that education is central to the fostering of agency and hence has special significance for the capabilities approach. Core to the concerns in this paper is the development of girls' agency and hence judgements about how well girls are doing educationally. At issue is that education provided in the institutional settings of schools and universities shapes lives and identities. The paper takes up these issues conceptually and empirically in relation to a set of life narrative interviews with forty 15 and 16 year old black and white South African girls in Cape Town schools. It further considers a list of capabilities which are properly educational.

WAL04232     [Paper]
Mentoring new principals: Good intentions, realistic expectations and outcomes

Frances Dowling, ACT Department of Education, Youth and Family Services and Jackie Walkington, University of Canberra

The concept of mentoring as a means of learning and growing in a new professional context has been extensively researched and implemented in the last decade. In the teaching profession most emphasis has been on the mentoring of pre-service and beginning teachers. In 2004, the ACT Department of Education, Youth and Family Services initiated a mentoring component into its induction program to assist school principals as they take up principalship for the first time or extend their leadership growth in a new context. This program acknowledges work being carried out in other places and builds upon the growing understanding in this area.

Participating principals provided feedback to evaluate the program to give insight into the degree of worthiness of the mentoring partnerships established. Special emphasis was sought about the mentoring plans they were encouraged to develop prior to commencing the mentoring relationship. The data discloses the partners' intentions for the mentoring relationship and compares these with the actual implementation. The research focuses on the viability of mentoring as a support strategy for new principals given workplace constraints such as time, location and competing commitments. The findings impart an understanding of the reality of mentoring for new principals and provides indicators as to how better professional support can be provided in future programs.

WAL04244     [Paper]
Chat room relationships

Rob Walker, University of East Anglia and Babis Bakopoulos, Athens, Greece

This paper will report a small number of detailed interviews with young people in Athens who use internet chat rooms as a means of meeting people. In the last few years there has been a growing concern about the dangers of socialising with strangers in chat rooms, but what do the users themselves think about the risks involved, and what strategies have they adopted to manage the risks? Some of the practices adopted by these young people are surprising and counter to the conventional advice given by official authorities.

WAN04028     [Paper]
Understanding conceptions of Chinese educational leaders

Ting Wang, University of Canberra

In the 20th century, leadership has become a topic for sustained formal analysis by scholars and researchers. This study was situated in the changing contexts of social, economical and cultural life in China. The paper explores the changes in conceptions of learning and leadership of Chinese educational leaders. The key focus is an investigation of a small, targeted sample of 43 educational leaders in Zhejiang Province, China. An examination was conducted of the cultural interactions which occurred in response to the partnership program conducted by the University of Canberra and Hangzhou University. The paper reports on the extent to which a Western leadership development course led Chinese educational leaders to change their conceptions about leadership and learning. A description is given of the impact of Chinese traditional culture on the prior conceptions of educational leadership and learning held by the participants. Then a comparison is made of the Chinese leaders' conceptions before and after the course indicating the extent of change after exposure to Western educational ideas and practices. Some case studies are also reported. The study, a first detailed analysis, is significant in that it has filled the void of in-depth research on the influence of Western ideas upon Chinese educators' conceptions of educational leadership and learning.

WAN04354     [Paper]
Views and attitudes of academic and administrative staff members towards the role of intercultural communication in tertiary education

Yan Jun Wang, Heilongjiang Tourism Vocational College of Technology and University of Tasmania and Thao Le, University of Tasmania

Internationalisation of education has become a significant development in Australian universities. With the increase of international students' participation on on-line, in-country and face-to-face teaching modes, universities have promoted intercultural communication competence among their academic and administrative staff members. What does intercultural communication mean to these staff? Is it a new paradigm or a window dressing exercise? What are some of the hurdles in the process and implementation of intercultural awareness? A case study was conducted to examine the significance of intercultural communication awareness in a tertiary education context. Participants from different academic and administrative functions in a university were invited to participate in informal interviews to present their views on intercultural communication and how it affects their interaction with international students. The paper will discuss the results of this study in terms of personal development, intercultural identity, and professional effectiveness.

WAN04360     [Paper]
A longitudinal study of students' academic self-concept and their perceptions of home environment and classroom climate

Chee Keng John Wang and Woon Chia Liu, Nanyang Technological University

The 3-year longitudinal study of a single cohort (N = 495, average age 13) in Singapore used cluster analytic approach to identify trajectories of students' academic self-concept and their perceptions of home environment and classroom climate. Four trajectories were identified. They were (1) steeply decreasing, (2) consistently low, (3) moderate and decreasing, and (4) consistently high. Students in the higher-ability stream were more likely to be in the steeply decreasing group while students with better Secondary 1 and 2 class positions were more likely to be in the consistently high group. The results suggest that there are unique groups of students in Singapore secondary schools. Some students may have difficulties in adjusting to changes in adolescence; others may have struggled to cope long before they reach adolescence. Some students may face minor 'hiccups' during adjustments while others may cope adequately on their own. As such, the notion of 'one program fits all' may no longer be relevant.

WAT04105     [Paper]   ®
Towards a greater understanding of multiliteracies: A multimodal methodology for capturing and analysing young people's out-of-school computer game playing

Glenice Watson and Greer Cavallaro Johnson, Griffith University

Today's young people experience a very different world from that in which current theories about learning and literacy were developed. Many school-aged young people spend considerable periods of their out-of-school time playing computer games and there are potentially positive learning and literacy experiences to be gained from their playing, regardless of the game genre. Such experiences generate, and require, new understandings about learning and literacy. This paper proposes a methodology for exploring questions about the kinds of multiliteracies that are exhibited by young people playing computer games in out-of-school settings. It describes a multimodal methodology for capturing and analysing the on-screen game-playing practices, and the players' accounts of their practices. Drawing on the prior work of Gee (2003) and Bangert-Drowns and Pyke (2001), an initial protocol for recognising multiliteracies in the game-playing data is presented. To provide further nuanced explanations of the players' understanding of their multiliterate experiences, a discourse analysis methodology is conceptualised that combines membership categorisation analysis and critical discourse analysis.

WAT04160     [Paper]
Envisaging classroom learning with the qualities of community learning: For the public good

Anne Power and Robert Waters, University of Western Sydney

This research explores the contrast of community learning experience with classroom learning and suggests what aspects of community learning can transform classroom practice. The paper reports on two case studies in an ongoing study that is involved with interviews of 100 participants in 20 community organisations. The case study participants discuss the quality of their learning, social experience, their experiences of schooling and what they missed there and the contribution of community learning in the lives of the participants.

In summary, this research acknowledges the importance of the nurture and support, the common values and common purpose that are to be found in community learning; and it provides confirmation of the key characteristics of community networks, identified by Moll (1992). The case study participants identify areas of concern in formal schooling, such as lack of options, connection and relevance. They identify what the participants sought in practical learning, passion and choice, including choice of the site of learning. Motivations for involvement such as satisfaction and responsibility are discussed as critical factors. The study raises questions for schools, Departments of Education and teacher education programs.

WAT04356     [Paper]   ®
Lifelong learning in Australia: A policy failure

Louise Watson, University of Canberra

Since OECD Education Ministers declared "Lifelong Learning for All" a policy priority in 1996, the concept has been embraced by many politicians and education stakeholders in Australia. Lifelong learning has been the focus of numerous Ministerial statements and government reports over the past eight years, but in practice, there has been minimal change to Australia's education and training system. This paper argues that the lifelong learning policy agenda threatens entrenched interests in Australian education and training that are an obstacle to structural reform. The author identifies three areas where lifelong learning is a challenge to governments: the dominance of the formal sectors; Commonwealth/State financial relations; and performance measurement. The paper concludes that in the absence of major structural change, lifelong learning is likely to remain in the "too hard" basket of national education policy and the needs of individual learners across their lifespan will not be addressed in Australia.

WAT04511     [Paper]   ®
Managing research tensions while exploring ICT teacher professional development to support multiliterate student outcomes

Sarah Prestridge, Glenice Watson and Neil Dempster, Griffith University

Doing educational research in contemporary times increasingly means operating with complex funding models. This paper explores the generation and management of tensions in a research project that was funded as an ARC Linkage (APAI only) grant where the industry partner was an informal group of schools. The context for the research was the development and implementation of teacher ICT professional development that achieve multiliterate student outcomes. The paper explores the tensions generated through three stages of the research characterised as conceptualization, building bridges, and pillars of strength. Data are drawn from the researcher's reflective journal as well as from communications with the industry partner participants. Findings suggest that the most effective way to manage tensions was through building mutually respectful relationships in face-to-face environments, and that the competing but complementary roles of the researcher as PhD student, professional developer, and project administrator strengthened these relationships.

WAT04867     [Paper]   ®
Student change in understanding of statistical variation after instruction and after two years: An application of Rasch analysis

Jane Watson and Ben Kelly, University of Tasmania and John Izard, RMIT University

Data collected from students involved in a project examining change in understanding of statistical variation in relation to the chance and data curriculum after instruction and after two years, are the basis for the analysis reported in this study. Comparisons are made, using partial credit Rasch analysis, between successive grades (3, 5, 7, and 9), within students after instruction, within students after two years, and between students in the four grades after two years depending on whether they were involved in the instructional intervention or not. Results show varying magnitudes of differences among grades, differing improvements after instruction, but little difference between Intervention and Non-Intervention groups after a two year period.

WAT04917     [Paper]   ®
Number sense and errors on mental computation tasks

Jane Watson and Michael Kelly, University of Tasmania and Rosemary Callingham, University of New England

The analysis of errors while completing mental computation tasks reported in this paper represents the first stage of analysis of 5535 test responses from students in Grades 3 to 10 over a period of three years to various subsets of 374 items. Following a previous analysis that suggested the items represented eight increasing levels of difficulty covering nine sub-domains of basic number skills, this report focuses on responses to items at Level 6. Of particular interest are the performances across the grades, the types of errors diagnosed, and the relationship of errors from different types of operations. In analysing errors a developmental approach is adopted, suggesting that more than the "right-wrong" nature of responses is involved. Some errors appear to demonstrate a "partial number sense" that could be used to help construct more complete understanding. Suggestions for future research and classroom practice are made.

WEB04423     [Paper]   ®
Doing the ultimate public good through teacher education.

Scott Webster, Monash University

It is argued here that the many public goods associated with education are derivatives of an ultimate good. This ultimate good is the overall purpose of life in general and is similar to a telos as understood in ancient Greek culture. This paper reviews the notions of 'good' and telos, and examines implications of Bauman's analysis of our present individualizing era, the role of personal meaning making and the nature of education. It is then argued that pre-service teachers can do the ultimate public good in a postmodern society, by articulating a developed personal, professional perspective that expresses a purpose (telos) of life.

This is not an idle esoteric project. Dewey (1958, p. 383) reported that "the greater part of life" will remain in darkness unless illuminated "by thoughtful inquiry". It is argued in this paper that such an illumination into the greater part of life can be made possible by the articulation of a telos. This perspective provides the basis for all other goods which teachers decide to do. This project accords well with a recent UNESCO report which calls for such a perspective, and its importance is clearly indicated in its claim that "It is no exaggeration on the Commission's part to say that the survival of humanity depends thereon" (Delors, 1998, p. 18).

WEB04528     [Paper]   ®
ICT and professional learning: Towards communities of practice

Ivan Webb, Margaret Robertson and Andrew Fluck, University of Tasmania

This paper reports on findings from action research pilot projects in four Tasmanian primary schools focussing on the provision of professional learning to support the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. The pilot projects used an approach developed from case studies in Years three and five in Tasmanian primary school classes (n=29) relating to an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant studying the impact of ICT on pedagogies in primary schools. In the course of the projects some participants developed and implemented solutions for a major problem of professional learning, namely, how to ensure the transfer of professional learning into inclass practices. The projects suggested that there are significant advantages (increased effectiveness and considerable cost savings) when professional learning is undertaken as a collaborative activity and when teaching colleagues focus on specific class practices. From the projects it has been possible to discern a possible 'pedagogy' for inschool professional learning. Finally, the projects highlight the value and importance of being informed of the hopes, interests and abilities of the participants and supporting their engagement as a community of practice.

WEI04067     [Paper]
Rethinking English pedagogy at Hope College in Taiwan

David Wei, Deakin University and Wenzao Ursuline College

For many years Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and an English-Only approach to English teaching have characterised pedagogy at Hope College in Taiwan.

These approaches have had a significant impact on the ways in which students understand their cultural identities and develop competency in both oral and written English. Sometimes, in the EFL context in Taiwan, an English-Only policy can impact on students' learning in two ways. Firstly, it may cause students to doubt the validity of their own culture in comparison to English speaking culture. Secondly it may lead to students' resisting English culture because of enhanced feelings of nationalism. Furthermore, sometimes, students may feel disturbed when learning English in an English-Only class because the lack of cognitive understanding usually makes them misunderstand the content expressed in the target language (English) and misuse the target language.

In this paper I consider the need to reintroduce elements of the Grammar-Translation method to an EFL context and suggest an integrative pedagogy in which native English-speaking teachers, applying English only in the classes, focus on teaching listening and speaking to directly foster students' English linguistic competence, while local English teachers, applying both English and Chinese in the classes, focus on teaching reading and writing to foster students' in-depth cognitive ability of English culture and suitable written expression. The purpose of such integrative pedagogy is to keep students' cultural identity as well as advance students' understanding and correct use in English.

WEL04022     [Paper]   ®
Personal pedagogies and online teaching

Muriel Wells, Deakin University

This paper will present the state of research that is investigating the context, use of and effects of, a new online environment on the personal and professional pedagogy of teachers in a faculty of education in a traditional university setting. The use of online communication software is not new to the university. There is a history of use of a different suite of online communication software, but a new set of 'tools' was imposed in a top down model. ssociated with this imposition was a requirement that all units in all courses make use of this software at least at a most basic level.

The introduction of this new suite of software to manage, support and promote the use of online technologies in the teaching and learning process afforded an opportunity to identify and analyse staff attitudes and values regarding their personal and professional pedagogy, their generalized experience of teaching, and the way the use of the new online communication technologies impacted on these attitudes, values and matched with or was in challenged their theories regarding effective teaching and learning.

Being an education faculty, the staff has a stake in, and well developed attitudes and values about effective teaching and learning. The focus of their work is 'education'. So the question is how to education faculty teaching staff incorporate the new technologies into their personal and professional pedagogy and how does the use of the new technologies impact on their personal and professional pedagogy? Does this systemically enforced change clash with academics' personal and professional pedagogies? Does it impact negatively or positively? If the affect is different for different members, why is this so? What aspects of the various actors, (teachers and technologies) lead to variation in response to change?

Globally, universities are increasingly promoting online teaching. This is justified in many ways including the flexibility it provides for students. Some may argue that the increase in online teaching and learning allows universities to successfully manage in a political environment that provides continuously reducing funding to universities while demand for student places is unprecedented. This is placed in a context of tension: tension in expectations of the role of the university to 'train' an upcoming workforce and a wider role of educating for 'life'. The concept of 'lifelong learning' that is commonly used further intensifies these tensions.

The research will look at the experience of these phenomena globally to place the research in the wider international context as well as a case study of this immediate academic community. This research will attempt to make visible the complex process of change and/or innovation as it takes place including the development and shaping of not simply artifacts but also of meanings, boundaries, processes, actors and practices.

WHI04111     [Paper]
Differentiation in outcomes focused physical education: Pedagogical rhetoric and reality

Peter Whipp, The University of Western Australia

Teachers to be effective need to respond to the learning needs of their students through mastering subject content, integrating skills, strategies and concepts, and implementing teaching pedagogy that are responsive to a diverse clientele. Three main approaches to differentiation are identified as differentiation by content, by process/support' and by product, these presented in response to student needs, readiness and interest. Such an approach demands that teachers do not reach for standardised, mass-produced instruction assumed to be a good fit for all students, rather, they are required to begin where students are at. This quantitative and qualitative research incorporated case studies in 2 schools (3 teachers; 4 intact classes), including teacher and student interviews, together with Teacher in Charge of Physical Education (PE) and teacher questionnaires in Government and Independent Western Australian secondary schools. The reality is described, confirming that the provision of enjoyable, life-skill PE activities is a challenge in itself, but to provide them in a manner, which matches the learning needs of each individual, appears to be in advance of the current reality.

WHI04680 [Paper]   ®
The Second Curriculum Opera: Arias, assessment and methodological traces

Julie White and Mary Dixon, University of Melbourne

Drawing on contemporary forms of qualitative research such as performance ethnography (McCall, 2000), autoethnography (Ellis & Bochner, 2000; Ellis & Flaherty, 1992) and using narrative and writing as forms of inquiry (Richardson, 1990; 1992; 1995a; 1995b; 1997; 1999; 2000), this research project constructs a 'learning through' (Gardner, 1983; 1993; 1995; 1999; 2003a; 2003b) approach to curriculum within pre-service teacher education. During 2002 we initiated the first curriculum opera (Dixon & White, 2003; Dixon, White, & Smerdon, 2003) in our Faculty of Education with thirty-seven students. In 2003 we developed this learning and teaching approach with twice as many students. We also reconsidered assessment of students involved in the opera for overall theoretical consistency. As students increasingly took control, they 'imagined curriculum' (Doll & Gough, 2002) and transformed their exploration of identity in the 'process of becoming' teachers (Britzman, 2003). In this paper, we outline the project and the learning involved. We also indicate future directions for learning and teaching in preservice teacher education as well as the potential uses and misuses of teacher assessment through portfolio.

WHI04702 [Paper]   ®
The Victorian Teacher Portfolio: Language of possibility or language of control?

Julie White and Trevor Hay, University of Melbourne

In order to contextualise discussion of the use of portfolios for beginning teachers, we begin this paper by revisiting some important notions derived from narrative enquiry and research about teacher career entry. We draw on the work of Michael Connelly and Jean Clandinin (1995; 1996; 1998; 2000; 1988; 1998; 1999) from the United States, who use tropes such as 'professional knowledge landscape' and 'storied lives'. We also refer to Les Tickle (1994; 1999; 2000) who has written extensively about induction of beginning teachers into the profession. Deborah Britzman (2003) contributes to our commentary on teacher identity and performance. Some current uses of the teacher portfolio are then discussed in relation to the regulation and assessment of entry to the profession in Victoria, Australia. In this context we characterise the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT, 2004a) portfolio for beginning teachers as an example of `performativity' (Lyotard, 1993, cited in Connor, 1997, p. 320) and, in our own terms, 'narrative-poor' enquiry which has appropriated the term `portfolio' to the purposes of regulatory authority. In conclusion we suggest that this form of portfolio is blocking the potential for transformation of beginning teacher identity, in which early career professionals explore links between contemporary qualitative research, 'writing' in Richardson's (2000) sense, and critical pedagogy.

WIH04004     [Paper]   ®
Internationalisation in the Swedish Nurse Education from the perspective of teachers involved: An interview study

Monne Wihlborg and Lennart Svensson, Lund University, Sweden

The background of this study is the increasing emphasis on internationalization in Swedish higher education and in nurse education as part of higher education. The aim of the study was to describe the character of internationalization as an aspect of Swedish nurse education based on the experiences and understandings of a group of teachers. The teachers were selected as the most knowledgeable of internationalization issues in a previous survey study among teachers especially involved in internationalization in nurse education. The teachers interpreted the intentions of internationalization as a matter of developing intercultural competence. They connected the intentions and goal of internationalization to other general and more established goals of the education in the context of the aim to educate towards a humanistic, democratic and holistic understanding of and approach to patients in nursing. The results shows, that teachers missed a discussion of what the intentions and goal of internationalization means and includes and also a plan for how internationalization is to be achieved in the education. When internationalization is focused on in teaching the content of internationalization in teaching is more based on the individual teachers interest and experiences than on a common curriculum.

WIJ04731     [Paper]   ®
Integrating theory and practice in Primary Science teacher education

Kalyani Wijayawardana and Madumita Bhattacharya, Massey University

Authors have realized through their years of teaching and research experience in teacher education, by working in different capacities in many institutions and by involving in developing various teacher education innovations and implementing both practical and theoretical components of the teacher education programmes that there exists a definite gap between theory and practice of teacher education. The proposed study intends to investigate ways to integrate theory and practice into Primary Science instructional programme in teacher education through environment related activities curriculum. In this paper authors have presented the conceptual framework of the proposed research. The research is mainly focused on identifying the gap between theory and practice in Primary Science Teacher Education in Sri Lanka and on implementing a professional development model that links theory and practice in this area of Primary Teacher Education. Therefore the researchers wish to develop a professional development model that consists of reflective groups to form a strong network of communities. This model has the potential to help teachers reflect critically on their practice and to construct new knowledge about content and pedagogy in Primary Science through Environment Related Activities Curriculum.

WIL04023     [Paper]   ®
Positioning the case to tell the story: Developing the narrative or presentational account

Gail Wilson, University of Western Sydney and Elizabeth Stacey, Deakin University

This paper is drawn from a doctoral study in its final stages of the use and adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by six academic staff, representing different disciplines and different campus locations, to enhance their face-to-face teaching in a large, regional university in Australia. A collective case study was adopted as the framework for the study, and field data comprised semi-structured interviews, curriculum guides, teaching and learning resources and results of a Teaching Practices Inventory completed by each of the cases.

Case study is a popular choice of qualitative researchers. There are numerous examples in the literature of case study as the vehicle for examining issues concerning teachers' use of new technologies in teaching and learning. This paper focuses on the practical, yet difficult problem faced by the researcher of ways of presenting the case, seeking a balance between the demands of prescribed, social scientific writing for an academic audience, and the need to create texts that are interesting, vital and that 'make a difference' (Richardson 1994). Drawing on examples from the research study, the paper examines approaches to constructing meaning from the field data to create the narrative or presentational account and, ultimately, the research text.

WON04120     [Paper]
Work collaboration in an on-line computer supported environment

Angela Wong, Shanti Divaharan, Woon Chia Liu, Jarina Peer and Choon Lang Quek, Nanyang Technological University

In Singapore schools, Project Work (PW) is implemented in grades 3 - 5,7 - 9 and 11. The purpose is to help students develop thinking skills, communication, collaborative learning, self-directed inquiry and life-long learning skills. When PW was first implemented, teachers were provided detailed guidelines and resource packages to help them get started. After that period, teachers were expected to design authentic project tasks independently. They would therefore have to schedule and hold numerous face-to-face discussions with their colleagues to discuss the requirement, scope and depth of each project task. This was still manageable if all of them are in the same school. However, with an increasing number of inter-school collaborations, such face-to-face meetings became more difficult to schedule. This is where technology could be deployed to help teachers hold such discussions more effectively. This paper reports how a group of high school teachers from different disciplines and schools used the Knowledge Community (KC)e-learning platform to collaboratively design project tasks for their students. The activities they engaged in and the feedback obtained from focused group discussions will be shared. Suggestions and the feasibility of adopting such an online learning approach for PW in schools will also be discussed.

WOO04039     [Paper]   ®
Australian students' attitudes to learning about Asia

Patrick Griffin, Kerry Woods and Mark Dulhunty, The University of Melbourne

This study aimed to measure Australian students' attitudes to learning about Asia, and to identify contextual factors related to development of positive attitudes. Participants were 3,359 Year 5 and 3,773 Year 8 students, and 107 Year 5 and 114 Year 8 teachers. Study area experts chose attitude statements for the research instrument to cover a range of expected attitudes (Bloom, 1964); students responded on dichotomous response scales. Item response modelling (Rasch, 1960) and the technology of test construction allowed common item anchoring (Wright & Stone, 1979) to map all items and students onto a single underpinning scale, and attitudes were described in profiles containing five levels. At the highest level, and for most students, there was keen interest in learning about Asia, but a minority of students expressed strongly negative attitudes. There were clear relationships between attitudes and student year and gender. Year 5 students were more positive than Year 8 students; girls were more positive than boys. Boys' attitudes were particularly sensitive to teachers' classroom practices and the variety of resources to which they were given access. Information provided by this study could thus prove of value to educators wishing to improve students', and especially boys', interest in learning.

WOR04302     [Paper]   ®
A teaching experiment to foster the conceptual understanding of multiplication based on children's literature to facilitate dialogic learning

Amanda Worlley and Romina Jamieson-Proctor, Griffith University

The importance of conceptual understanding as opposed to procedural knowledge in mathematics has been well documented (Hiebert; Carpenter, 1992). Development of conceptual understanding of multiplication is fostered when students recognise the equal group structure that is common in all multiplicative problems (Mulligan; Mitchelmore, 1996). This paper reports on the theoretical development of a transformative teaching experiment based on conjecture-driven research design (Confrey; Lachance, 1999) that aims to enhance Year 3 students' conceptual understanding of multiplication. The teaching experiment employs children's literature as a motivating catalyst for students to explore and engage in multiplication activities and dialogue. The SOLO taxonomy (Biggs; Collis, 1989) is used to both frame the novel teaching and learning activities, as well as assess the level of students' conceptual understanding of multiplication as displayed in the products derived from the experiment. Further, student's group interactions were analysed in order to investigate the social processes that may contribute positively to learning. An early pilot of this teaching experiment has indicated positive results and strong support for the approach.

WRI04466     [Paper]   ®
Disability discourses in classroom practice

Natasha Wright, Charles Sturt University

This paper reports on a PhD study which concerns the integration of children with autism into regular classrooms, investigating the experiences of the children, their parents and the professional development needs of their teachers. The focus here is exclusively on teachers' and parents' discourses surrounding autism and the resulting outcomes, dilemmas and challenges.

The research design sought perceptions of children's experiences from many sources involved in the process of integrating children like the focus child Zachary into mainstream school. The multi-perspective approach included children, and teenagers diagnosed with autism their teachers, aides, and parents. Phenomenological and poststructuralist paradigms supported the production of insight into the lived experiences of teachers and conceptualisations of being a child with autism. Essentially, the research endeavoured to determine how discourses constrain and excluded a child with autism integrated into the mainstream environment.

Autism is produced as difference and deficit in the classroom environment. Examining societal discourses allow us to ascertain how they act to either repress or liberate those they describe. The discourses used by Zachary's teachers, marked him as different and either acted to enhance or suppress his status within the schooling context. Integration policies may in fact be reinforcing gendered and deficit discursive norms among children, therefore individuals like Zachary, may remain categorised as abnormal and dis(en)abled unless teachers and society adopt and active role in naming the disability, adapting classroom learning practices and foregrounding social skill development among all children.

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YAN04597    [Paper]
Indigenisation, internationalisation and China's humanities and social sciences: An example of educational studies

Rui Yang, Monash University

Recent international studies have shown that the meaning of internationalisation, the means to implement it and the extent of internationalisation policies all depend on specific subject matter. Due to the varied ideologies, paradigms and discourses inherent in the humanities and social sciences and the high dependency on language to convey their meanings, "hard" sciences usually attain higher levels of internationalisation than the "soft". Development in the "hard" sciences tends to be much more emphasised, while the humanities and social sciences become under-represented in international programs. The international knowledge network divides nations into centre and periphery. Its function has been substantially strengthened by the exponential growth of the Internet, and by the fact that English has become a global language. The humanities and social sciences in China are confronted with an unprecedented global context, as China is going to continue be open to the world. One urgent task is to raise the level of internationalisation of its humanities and social sciences research, an indicator of China's intent to integrate with the international scholarly community. This paper looks at the tensions, dilemmas, costs and benefits in the process of internationalising China's humanities and social sciences, using educational research as an example.

YAN04771 [Paper]
Policy Analysis: On Chinese Higher Education Entry Policy

Cunzhen Yang and Trevor Gale, Monash University

With the arrival of the new century, the Chinese government decided to increase the university enrolment rate to 15% of the college age population by the year 2005 and the plan has been put into action since 1999. The plan is to take Chinese higher education from an "elite" to a "mass" stage (Trow, 1974) and it is also a response to the influence of globalization on Chinese higher education, which causes many university candidates to look for higher education opportunities abroad. The policy is likely to meet its goal well before time. However successful implementation does not necessarily bring satisfactory effects. The paper analyses the policy through historical comparison of the current and previous higher education entry policies and tries to identify the nature of the change. It also critically analyses the complexities in these policy settlements and reveals the advantaged and disadvantaged groups in the society under these policies. The paper argues that the current policy is greatly influenced by the neo-liberal economic settlement, globalization, and the demands of Chinese citizens. While the policy has provided more chances for students to go to university, at the same time, it has disadvantaged the students from poor family backgrounds, making it even harder for them to get access to higher education and limiting their social mobility. The paper also suggests that the policy may increase the gap between the rich and the poor if appropriate solutions are not found.

YAT04503     [Paper]
Pedagogically constructing the future worker: The usefulness of two classroom case-studies in studying identities and 'transition'

Lyn Yates, University of Technology Sydney

In an ARC-funded project, Yates, Solomon, Chappell and Tennant are studying pedagogical constructions of new vocational identity across two industry types (hospitality and information technology) and across different education settings: school, TAFE, private provider, work-based, university, community college. This paper is drawn from a case-study of one school, in which hospitality and IT are each offered as subjects which can be take for dual accreditation (towards a HSC/TER score; and as a Certificate 2 Training competency). The study used interviews with teachers and students, observations, and analysis of documentary materials to show that different worker identities are being emphasized in the two classes, and that these in turn draw on different experiences and identities of the teachers of the two subjects; conflicting epistemologies of the two assesssment regimes; and different student cohorts in the two subjects. The comparative site-based methodological approach taken in this project helps to explore the continued salience of two different types of theoretical takes on young people and 'transition': the Bourdieuean perspectives on schooling, cultural capital and 'reproduction'; and the attention paid by du Gay, Gee, Rose, Solomon and others to changing forms of identity work for vocational purposes in 'new times'. The paper argues that those who most easily meet the rhetoric of the 'new vocationalism' are the students least identified as vocationally oriented; and raises questions about the extent to which class and gender dispositions are presumed as well as reproduced in the new initiatives.

YAT04983     [Paper]   ®
The role of professional development in teacher renewal in mathematics

Shirley Yates, Flinders University

Professional development plays a significant role in teacher renewal in mathematics. In this study, 20 primary and 10 lower secondary teachers in 15 South Australian schools undertook a professional development program over five months, to foster the use of technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Significant positive changes were found in the teachers', attitudes and beliefs about the role and value of technology in mathematics, access and use of technology in mathematics, and confidence in using technology. This study contributes to knowledge of effective professional development strategies that foster teacher renewal in mathematics teaching and learning.

YOU04191     [Paper]
Building a profile of the young web-based learner

Kirsty Young, University of Technology, Sydney

The Web is a culturally valued cognitive tool with the potential to transform the learner in ways not yet recognised. Whilst the Web has proved to have significant impact on forms of communication and methods of distributing and accessing information, less is understood of how its unique characteristics may impact upon individuals in terms of their approach to learning and the skills and attributes required to successfully participate in a Web-based environment.

In order to gain such insight I am employing an integrated theoretical approach which relies on theories of Situated Cognition, Distributed Cognition and Activity Theory. This integrated approach facilitated the development of a research design which permitted analysis of the complex environment by examining multiple elements - society, tool, activity and individual - thus permitting an in-depth exploration of these phenomena.

During this study I have observed, listened to and spoken with young students, both during and after engagement in authentic activities on the Web. Initial analysis of these data has resulted in a tentative profile of the Web-based learner in terms of the 'roles' which they assume in this environment, coupled with learner characteristics which assist them in the environment. This paper will explore the research methods employed and the subsequent Web-based learner profile which has emerged.

YOU04294     [Paper]   ®
Growing into literacy: Emergent literacy understandings prior to school

Janelle Young, Australian Catholic University

Research has shown that young children begin to develop understandings about literacy in the prior-to-school period. Yet in Australia recognition of the possibilities for fostering early literacy within early childhood settings has been slow to gain approval. The study reported in this paper investigated young children's literacy understandings during preschool, two months before commencing school. One hundred and fourteen young children from three preschools in Brisbane, Australia participated in the study. Each child took part in a forty-five minute one-on-one interaction with an adult where a range of literacy-related tasks and assessment strategies were used. Young children's alphabetic knowledge, word recognition and concepts about print were measured. Results were analysed to determine how aspects of emergent literacy in preschool relate to one another and to children's age and gender. Results showed that patterns of development emerged and preschool children develop particular understandings about literacy in the prior-to-school period. Implications for home literacy practices and designing early literacy programs are drawn.

Z

ZAJ04756     [Paper]
Decentralisation, privatisation and the role of the State

Joseph Zajda, Australian Catholic University

This article critically examines the overall interplay between privatisation, decentralisation and the role of the State. It draws upon recent studies in the areas of decentralisation, privatisation and the role of the State in education in the global economy and culture. The article explores conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches applicable in the research of the State, privatisation, and decentralisation in education globally. It demonstrates the neo-liberal ideological imperatives of privatisation and decentralisation, and illustrates the way the relationship between the State and education policy affects current models and trends in privatisation and decentralisation of schooling. The article critiques the dominant discourses and debates pertaining to the newly constructed and re-invented Grand Narratives of privatization and decentralisation in education. The article shows the way they may well be operating as an educational model of a new global 'master narrative' playing a hegemonic role within the framework of economic, political and cultural hybrids of globalisation and localisation.

ZAJ04757     [Paper]
The social construction of citizenship: Civics and History school textbooks in Russia

Joseph Zajda, Australian Catholic University

The collapse of the USSR in December 1991 necessitated, among other things, the rewriting of school history textbooks, which, in the past, were dominated by Marxist-Leninist interpretations of historical events. This article analyses the new content of post-Soviet civics and history textbooks used in Russian upper secondary schools, which represent various transformations from communism to a western-style democracy and the resultant issues of a new national identity and citizenship during the present transitional period. The aim is to critically evaluate the new versions of Russia's post-Soviet civics and history taught in schools.

ZAJ04758     [Paper]
Minorities, indigenous groups and education: Global achievements in the Central Asia

Rea Zajda, Educational Practice and Theory and Joseph Zajda, Australian Catholic University

The paper examines the role of the State in identity politics in education in Central Asia. It focuses on the political, social and ethnic aspects of integration. It also considers gender inequality in access to education in the Cental Asian region. It evaluates the representation and treatment of minorities and indigenous groups in education in transitional economies of the Central Asian states.

ZHA04171     [Paper]
Interpersonal relationship between teachers and students: An intercultural study on Chinese and Australian universities

Suxian Zhan, Teachers College of Hebei University and University of Tasmania and Thao Le, University of Tasmania

Ongoing large-scale Chinese education reform earns educators' attention on interpersonal relationship between teachers and students. Similarly, recent Australian national education policy (statements) argues the importance of such a relationship. Long-established cultural discourses in China are deeply embedded in interpersonal relationship between teachers and students. It is strongly reflected in its educational discourse. This paper investigated the differences in interpersonal relationship between teachers and students at Chinese and Australian universities. Students and academic staff in Teachers College of Hebei University and University of Tasmania were invited to participate in this study. Narrative research was primarily used in this study. The results indicate that cultures, ideology and gender have a great influence on the perceptions of interpersonal relationship between teachers and students, particularly from the Chinese perspective; the significance of this relationship goes beyond the setting of current teaching and learning and strengthens further in a wider social context.

ZHA04289     [Paper]
An analysis of how and why teacher-training mode was changed: The implications

Suxian Zhan, University of Tasmania

Current nation-wide reform of Chinese compulsory education is challenging teachers' expertise and proficiency in English teaching in primary and secondary schools. A small empirical research project, 'a survey study of practising English teachers in primary and secondary schools and empirical research into pre-service teacher-training mode', was conducted in over 500 primary and secondary schools in Baoding, Hebei Province, China. This project, in two major stages, aimed to get substantial data from practising teachers for the improvement of the present pre-service teacher-training mode. The first stage identified strengths and weaknesses of the teaching-training mode, through a survey study and interviews conducted with English teachers from different school contexts by geography and system. Class observations were made and the overall analysis formed the basis of the second stage, aimed at improving the outdated teacher-training mode. From this, a new teacher-training mode is envisaged.

In this paper, the consultative processes of stage one is discussed and English teachers' proficiencies in teaching are critically examined. On the basis of these data, a reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of present pre-service teacher training mode is made. Implications are proposed.

ZHA04943     [Paper]
An action research project preparing teachers of English for ongoing English language teaching reform in Chinese tertiary education

Yanling Zhang, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics and Guo Naizhao, University of Tasmania

In 2004,180 universities in China are undergoing an experiment -.changing English teaching from prevailing teacher-centred classroom to learner-centred classroom. The chief aim of this change is to enhance students' English proficiencies. This paper reports the procedures of an action research project to give teachers strategies for exploring and reflecting on their own classroom practice. The process of self-reflection will contribute to professional development. Twenty in-service teachers of English from Shanxi University of Finance and Economics were involved in this action research project with five major steps.

Step 1: The 20 teachers meet to discuss the feasibility of implementing a learner-centred classroom, and possible outcomes of this reform for their classroom setting.

Step 2: Participants individually reflect on their own practices and classroom-monitoring strategies.

Step 3: The teachers meet again and share their views on the planned change to the learning-centred classroom.

Step 4: 20 teachers are divided into small groups to discuss a range of strategies and plan to implement the change.

Step 5: Each group share their teaching strategies with other small groups for the use in the classroom setting.

On implementation in the following semester, these teachers will meet again to continue reflecting, planning, monitoring and evaluating as they work towards achieving the initial objectives.

ZYN04008     [Paper]   ®
Engaging pedagogies and pedagogues - what does student engagement look like in action?

David Zyngier, Monash University

Student engagement has become the "flavour of the month" for educrats, the international educational academy, schools and even the public media. Engagement, especially in the so-called problematic middle years is now at the centre of mainstream education discussion and debate. Specific reference in Australia to student engagement as a prerequisite for productive learning can be located in the mid 1990's (Cumming, 1996), but Newmann (1981) in the USA was already considering the connection between student engagement and learning, particular for students recognized as at-risk. Contemporaneously, critical pedagogy was discussing resistance as the antithesis of engagement and accommodation as a self protective negative agency in response to unequal power relations (Shor, 1980). Report after report (both national and international) seem to verify the lack of engagement and connection that young people exhibit to both their schooling and their community. Each discourse produces its own distinct understanding of what really defines student engagement. This paper seeks to answer three linked questions; whose conception of engagement is most worthwhile; what actually are the purposes of engagement and who benefits (and gets excluded) from these purposes and finally how might we conceive of student engagement in order to achieve the twin goals of social justice and academic achievement? (Butler-Kisber & Portelli, 2003)

This is the end of the Abstracts.