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GIL07012     PDF Paper
The "I" in Independent Learning: The Rise of Self-Managing Learners

Gill Gurdish, The University of Western Australia, and Nurulhuda Halim, National University of Singapore

Fostering a culture of independent learning has become an educational buzzword, especially with changing paradigms of learning and the skills desired by the global knowledge economy. While many are eager to jump on the bandwagon of independent learning, there is insufficient consensus or defining parameters to illuminate what independent learning is, what the desired goals are and how it impacts stakeholders. With the independent learning rhetoric always in a state of flux, it is important to begin formulating what it means in theory and its place in the experiences of students and educators. This research thus examines the ongoing efforts to cultivate a culture of independent learning in a Singapore college. The research reviews how independent learning is carried out, its implications and difficulties from the perspectives of educators and students and its effectiveness in view of practical and policy demands/struggles. It is found that while everyone appreciates the importance of independent learning, it is practically, a challenging enterprise given the nature of students, curriculum demands and philosophies of educators.

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

GIL07013     PDF Paper
The Project Work enterprise in Singapore: Progression or regression?

Gill Gurdish, The University of Western Australia

In a bid to engage learners and offer them more meaningful learning experiences, many are adopting the authentic pedagogies philosophy, moving towards greater learner centredness and autonomy. Project Work (PW) is one curriculum move taken by the Singaporean education system in this direction. As a new initiative, it offers students more independent, uniquely crafted learning experiences; however these are not without problems. First, it is often questioned whether PW lives up to the ideals espoused on paper and is cognizant of the realities in practice. Furthermore, operating in a policy environment where change is a constant, there is a need to examine if it is indeed meaningful. Thus, while PW has been evolving and re-shaping over the last five years since its implementation, there has been considerable debate over whether these changes have signified progress that aim towards enhancing learning and outcomes or if it is in fact regressing. This paper thus examines where PW is headed through a policy and curriculum review and considers some of the evolutionary patterns evident and their implications for different stakeholders and aims to provide some policy considerations to make PW a policy initiative that is well attuned to the needs of an evolving world.

Keywords: New Pedagogies

GIL07075         ®     PDF Paper
High school teachers' discourse and pedagogical practices during cooperative learning

Robyn Gillies, The University of Queensland

This paper describes the types of discourse seven high school teachers used during cooperative leaning. One classroom lesson where students worked in cooperative groups was audiotaped and fully transcribed for each teacher and a vignette of one of the teachers and one of the group's in her room are also provided. The data from the audiotapes showed that the teachers used a range of mediated-learning behaviours that included challenging students' perspectives, asking cognitive and metacognitive questions, and scaffolding students' learning. The students, in turn, modelled many of the discourses they heard their teacher use in their interactions with each other. Follow-up interviews of teachers' perceptions of cooperative learning as a pedagogical practice revealed that they believed it was important to structure the groups (i.e., tasks, composition), teach the appropriate social skills, and present tasks that encouraged students to think critically and reflectively about their learning

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

GIL07080         ®     PDF Paper
The challenges of phenomenological research: Recovering the teacher-student relationship.

David Giles, AUT University

The teacher-student relationship has been a central concern to educators and the focus of much educational research. While theoretical understandings of the teacher-student relationship exist, phenomenological research on the 'lived experiences' of this relationship is not so abundant (Barnacle, 2001). This paper reports on the challenges of 'being-in' phenomenological research with a view to recovering the teacher-student relationship from the 'taken-for-granted' abyss.

Focusing on how student teachers and lecturers experience their classroom world, this teacher educator engaged in a hermeneutical process which might uncover the, previously obscured, phenomenon of relationship. Challenged to 'see' the expected and other habits of theorising, the phenomenological researcher searches for meanings within the lived experiences "in a process of insightful invention, discovery, or disclosure ... [an] act of 'seeing' meaning" (van Manen, 1990, p. 129).

The challenges of this research approach include the intensity of the lived experience of conducting the research itself, the meditative atunement of the researcher with the phenomenon, and the process of walking in a research process that is mindful of one's own historicity (Gadamer, 1975). This researcher considers the depth of deliberation within this particular research approach honours the centrality and humanity of the teacher-student relationship in education.

Keywords:Doctoral Education Research

GON07381         ®     PDF Paper
Teaching Postgraduate Distance Courses Using The Web: A Study On Conceptions And Approaches

Carlos Gonzalez, The University of Sydney

The study to be presented in the paper is aimed to explore how well theoretical frameworks developed to understand teaching in 'conventional' settings and on campus settings which make use of the web could be used in a novel context: postgraduate distance online courses. Conceptions and approaches to teaching online were researched from a phenomenographic perspective. Lecturers were interviewed from a Faculty of Health Sciences which is part of a research intensive Australian University. Kember and Kember and Kwan as well as Roberts frameworks guided the analysis. It was found that the first two ones worked well in this context. Relationships between conceptions and approaches found in previous research were confirmed in this context. The second framework proved being not robust enough. Conceptions of teaching using the web proposed by Roberts did not discriminate clearly the conceptions held by the lecturers interviewed. It implied the development of new ones emerging from this study but taking into account the ones developed by Roberts . Further research is proposed aimed to develop a model of conceptions and approaches to teaching online which enable us to understand this phenomenon in different contexts.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology, Learning and Teaching and Higher Education - Online teaching

GOO07562     PDF Paper
Teacher learning in professional communities: The case of technology-enriched pedagogy in secondary mathematics education

Merrilyn Goos and Anne Bennison, The University of Queensland

This paper draws on data from a study that is developing theoretical and practical models of innovation in integrating technologies such as computers, graphics calculators, and the internet into the teaching of secondary school mathematics. In the first phase of the study we are working with four teachers who are effective users of educational technologies to investigate how and under what conditions they learn to embed technology into their practice. From a sociocultural perspective, learning to teach is a form of enculturation into a professional community characterised by particular values, beliefs and practices. Community of practice models have proven fruitful for understanding how teachers' identities emerge and develop as participation in the practices of a community increases. This paper discusses key features of the communities of practice within which the participating secondary mathematics teachers work. We report on interviews with the teachers in which we asked them to identify people who have significantly influenced how they teach mathematics. A second round of interviews with people identified via this process investigated how they attempt to influence how mathematics is taught. The findings may contribute to a better understanding of ways in which professional communities may support or inhibit innovative practices.

Keywords: Mathematics

GOR07285         ®     PDF Paper
Data-driven guidelines for high quality teacher education

Jenny Gore, James Ladwig, Tom Griffiths and Wendy Amosa, The University of Newcastle

Key findings of the previous papers are examined in terms of implications for teacher education (preservice and inservice). Located in the context of the poor empirical base for teacher education and the contested normative terrain that characterises this field, eight major findings from the SIPA study are addressed with specific implications considered. For instance, demonstrating the relative lack of high quality pedagogy for indigenous students and those from low SES backgrounds highlights a need to ensure that teachers understand and know how to include more challenging and meaningful work for these students. In identifying the relative impact of significance, quality learning environment, and intellectual quality for different groups of students, new ways are identified to focus teachers' energies to support the high quality achievement of all students. By demonstrating the relationship between teaching quality and student achievement, teachers' needs in relation to pedagogy are highlighted.

Next we return to an adjudication of the normative debate based on the strong empirical data that underpins the findings, arguing that all three key positions in the debate (which emphasise content knowledge, teaching skill or social justice) are necessary components of high quality teacher education.

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

GOU07215     PDF Paper
Expanding repertoires for narrative engagement in science education

Noel Gough, La Trobe University

This paper uses literary critic Gerard Genette's framework for analysing narrative discourse to explore some of the conditions and circumstances that foster the production and reproduction of particular types of partiality and distortion in the narrative accounts of science typically found in science education curricula (e.g. textbooks and other 'documentary' media). Genette distinguishes three facets of narrative: (i) rhetorical moves that create a particular 'narrative statement', (ii) the events and situations that are being described, i.e., the larger 'story' that is being told, given that the same events can be told in different ways, and (iii) the 'act of narrating'. Critics of particular narrative statements in science education typically focus on qualities of a particular statement that may mislead students in understanding the larger 'story', but tend to overlook the significance of 'acts of narrating'. This paper argues that the particular types of partialities and distortions found in narrative statements in science education are at least partly a function of the limited repertoires of narrative production upon which science educators draw, and suggests some alternative narrative practices from which they might select the statements they make available to learners.

Keywords: Sciences

GOU07262         ®     PDF Paper
Addressing the science in schools crisis: Media images, scientific literacy and students' lives

Annette Gough, RMIT University

Although students entering their first secondary school science classes have little background knowledge in science, they are usually enthusiastic about the subject. After four years of secondary science education very few continue on to study senior level science subjects and most hate the subject. Despite their teachers' best efforts, what has happened to the students' engagement with science in the intervening four years? The need for a scientifically literate citizenry is great as society struggles to come to terms with a myriad of issues that are scientifically related. Yet surveys consistently tell us that students cannot see the relevance of school science to their lives. Various solutions have suggested more qualified science teachers and a national curriculum, but I believe a different approach is needed. This paper moves beyond investigating the problematic relationships between scientific knowledge, the learning of science, and pedagogy and approaches the crisis from the perspective of the students. It discusses students' disengagement with science in junior secondary school science classrooms through an analysis of students' attitudes to science and their identity construction in science classrooms compared with media images of science and scientists as an alternate inquiry path to address the crisis.

Keywords: Science and Environmental Education

GOU07263     PDF Paper
Towards more effective learning for sustainability: reconceptualising science education

Annette Gough, RMIT University

This paper discusses the history of the relationship between science education and environmental education in Australian and international contexts and argues that, given the on-going resistances to environmental education in schools, the static nature of science education practices, and declining student interest in studying traditional science subjects-it is time to reconsider the relationship. If we are to achieve sustainable development the goals of the Australian Government's National Action Plan for Education for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, then science education must have a role in encouraging ecological thinking. However, the science education that can be an appropriate partner for environmental education is not necessarily that currently practiced: a reconceptualised form is needed. From an historical perspective this paper suggests that it might be time to reconsider science education's function as a 'host' for environmental education and try to imagine a relationship that will be of mutual benefit: getting environmental education for sustainability as part of the mainstream education agenda and increasing students' engagement with their science education.

Keywords:Science And Environmental Education

GOU07499     PDF Paper
Textual politics and textual violence in environmental education research

Noel Gough, La Trobe University

This paper explores the textual politics of environmental education research via the 'geophilosophy' of Gilles Deleuze and F‚lix Guattari, with particular reference to its application by criminologist Mark Halsey. Halsey examines the process, impact, and ethics of naming nature, focussing on the categories and thresholds used over time to map and transform a particular area of forested terrain in eastern Victoria, and the socio-ecological costs arising from these thresholds and transformations and ensuing conflicts. Halsey provides a detailed micropolitical account of the modes of envisaging and enunciating a particular geopolitical space and the 'violence' that make them possible. He shows how this geopolitical terrain has been textually configured over time - by Indigenous knowledges and Eurocentric laws, management plans, mining leases, etc. - and how, why and for whom these configurations produce environmental damage. Halsey demonstrates that Deleuze and Guattari's geophilosophy provides a means for keeping pace with the mobility of environmental problems by considering nature and systems of environmental regulation as discursively produced and contested. I argue that this approach engages a new ethics for categorising and regulating nature, thus challenging environmental education researchers to reconsider what it is possible to say and do about environmental problems.

Keywords: New Pedagogies

GRA07144         ®     PDF Paper
From 'ECR' to 'strategic academic': Reconstructing personal narrative as institutional text

Lauri Grace, Deakin University

In response to a report that universities focused more on research performance than teaching performance, the Australian government in 2003 introduced a number of policy initiatives including the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund. To establish their eligibility to bid for allocations from this fund, many universities introduced teacher training programs as an integral part of their probation and promotion practices for new academic staff.

As an 'Early Career Researcher' I am currently participating in such a program, in which I must familiarise myself with institutional policies on governance, compliance, and strategic direction, and develop a career plan to position myself to achieve my personal career goals while advancing the organisational and strategic goals of my institution.

This paper uses an institutional ethnographic analysis of my experience to explicate the processes by which an Early Career Researcher actively participates in developing new ways of knowing that construct how I think, talk and write about myself, my goals and my professional work. I argue that developing the required career plan involves producing a text based account that renders selected parts of my work and professional identity visible in terms that are ultimately determined by government policy on higher education.

Keywords: Education Policy

GRE07138     PDF Paper
Most Excellent! Proving or improving 'best practice' in the professional learning and development of teacers?

Maggie Gregson, Trish Spedding and Lawrence Nixon, University of Sunderland

This paper compares models for the identification and dissemination of 'best practice' in the professional learning and development of teachers in England with those operating in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The research was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The methodology included a review of the literature, document analysis and interviews with policy makers and practitioners in each country. The research examined how each country went about identifying and disseminating 'best practice.'

The research brought to light the highly contextualised and complex nature of professional learning and development. It revealed tensions between top-down approaches to the identification and dissemination of 'best practice' with other approaches based upon trust and devolved decision making which enabled successful innovation to take place in a wide variety of contexts at the local level. The paper provides examples of how local approaches can be effectively scaled-up to support wider applications and further developments and improvements in teachers' professional learning.

The research points to the need for agreed pedagogical values in teachers' professional learning and the development of models of 'best practice' which encourage the enactment of such values.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning

GRE07204         ®     PDF Paper
Emotionality and Social Presence: Stories of learning online.

Mike Grenfell, Charles Darwin University

This paper employs storying and self-reports to examine the role of emotionality as it relates to social presence and learning online. It examines the links between social presence and the social support provided by family, friends and the wider community and the way these contribute to identity which is seen as always changing, always in process, multiple, and contradictory. Of particular interest is the importance of the bios in facilitating or impeding student learning, the fears and reservations students have about building relationships and working online, the ways in which family support can complicate and interfere with learning, the emotional labour required of the learner to maintain family and social relationships, the influence of social and academic capital, the effect of emotionality on work performance, and the role of the tutor in assisting students toward what Ting-Toomey (in Weber, 2005) has called 'mindful identity negotiation'.

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

GRE07447         ®     PDF Paper
Food gardens: Cultivating a pedagogy of place

Monica Green, Monash university

Place-based education provides a creative alternative to the nationalised school curriculum agenda particularly through food gardens and ecological restoration projects in schools. Many of these places are located in and around the immediate environment of a school ground and become educational portals through which children explore their world.

In this paper I will report on the literature reviewed for a study on how pedagogies of place are cultivated within garden experiences. There is little research about the use of school gardens as an educational tool and the pedagogies that support learning in this context. There are a number of themes that emerge from various bodies of literature that provide a conceptual framework for the study of school garden pedagogies. These themes include ecological literacy, nature as teacher and garden as place. It is useful to think about primary school gardens in the light of this literature because it helps frame a research question for a study into how pedagogies of place can be cultivated within food gardens.

This paper will be presented as part of Symposium 15, SOM07442 Space and place in education.

Keywords: New Pedagogies

GRI07282         ®     PDF Paper
Equity and pedagogy: Familiar patterns and QT based possibilities

Tom Griffiths, Wendy Amosa, James Ladwig and Jennifer Gore, The University of Newcastle

This paper reports on the distribution of pedagogy as received by student cohorts in the SIPA study, with a focus on two of the most persistent dimensions of educational disadvantage: socio-economic status (SES) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) status.

Drawing on data from classroom observations and the coding of tasks received by students, we analyse the distribution of pedagogy at the school and classroom levels. Our results show predictable, but mild, correlations between pedagogy, the percentage of ATSI students and the mean SES at the school level, the strength of these increasing at the classroom level. Further analysis finds a strong, positive correlation between prior achievement on standardised assessments and the quality of tasks received.

Our analysis demonstrates that the quality of pedagogy received, particularly when it comes to tasks and teachers' assessment practice, varies considerably in line with SES and the percentage of ATSI students at the classroom level. Drawing on interview data from teachers, we argue that these findings accord with general (though not universal) expectations about students' capacity to learn, and highlight the potential of the Quality Teaching framework to assist teachers in changing their practice as a strategy for changed expectations and improved outcomes.

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

GRO07490     PDF Paper
The nature of teacher learning: Talk about teaching among video study group members

Robin Groves, Curtin University of Technology, and John Wallace, The University of Toronto

This paper reports on a study of the nature of professional learning among a group of twenty experienced secondary school science teachers who participated in a video study group professional development project. The teachers met six times over fifteen months to critically examine video-case recordings of their own teaching, and to explore and share their understandings about accomplished teaching. The data include the classroom video cases, audio recordings of group meetings, audio and written records of individual's reflections about the process, and video and audio recordings of interviews with each participant. In our analysis we focus particularly on the nature of teachers' talk as they examine and critique videos of their own teaching and the teaching of their colleagues. We use this analysis to examine the nature of teachers' learning and the connection between learning and learning contexts. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the theoretical and practical implications for teacher professional development.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning

GRO07492     PDF Paper
High school students' views of learning and the school experience

Robin Groves, Curtin University of Technology, and Bridie Welsh, Penrhos College

Increasingly it is recognised that high school students' views about learning and school experiences are important considerations in education. Students' insights are important as a basis for their active and productive involvement.

This paper reports on the learning and school experiences of 14 Year 11 students at a high school in Perth, Western Australia. The students completed a survey to stimulate their thinking and to uncover emergent themes. They then took part in focus small group discussions, facilitated by an outside researcher, where they were given the opportunity to express their views, opinions and insights regarding their own learning and school experiences. The data from the surveys and interviews were analysed and significant themes emerged. The study reinforced the idea that students do hold well-articulated views about their own learning and school experience. When given the opportunity students expressed their insights and opinions clearly. The findings revealed several factors that students perceive influence their learning and school experiences, including meeting students needs, student voice, relationships, responsibility and control, and teacher qualities.

Keywords: Secondary Schooling

GUP07636     PDF Paper
Psychosocial Learning Environments Of Technology Rich Science Classrooms In India

Adit Gupta, Model Institute of Education and Research, and Rekha Koul, Curtin University of Technology

A major impact of technology today, in the field of education is that at all levels, classrooms are becoming technology-rich learning environments involving modern information and communication technologies which are also entering the Indian educational system in general and the schools in Jammu region (J&K State, India) in particular. This study, which is the first of its kind in India reports the use of the modified form of Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI) for assessing the students perceptions of their learning environments in a technology rich science classroom. Analysis of data of 705 students from 15 classes provides evidence for the reliability and validity of the questionnaire in Indian settings to be used at the secondary level. The same data is also used for studying gender differences and the associations between students' perceptions of their technology-supported learning environments and their attitude towards science, academic efficacy and academic achievement.

Keywords: Curriculum and Specific Curriculum Areas - Sciences and Technology Education, Information Communication Technology [ICT]

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HAC07051         ®     PDF Paper
Developing a Model for Teacher Formation in Religious Education

Chris Hackett, The University of Notre Dame Australia

A longitudinal study on the formation of recently assigned secondary Religious Education teachers was conducted in Catholic schools within Western Australia. The collected data provided evidence that recently assigned RE (RARE) teachers experienced deepening layers of personal and professional growth. They wanted to be not only competent classroom managers but they also aspired to be highly respected RE teachers. While experience and familiarity with a new curriculum was important, the positive social relationships that teachers developed with students and colleagues alike were invaluable to their personal and professional esteem. Addressing the needs of RARE teachers for ongoing personal and professional formation was vital if these teachers were going to implement the curriculum in effective and inspiring ways. Using mixed method analysis techniques, findings emerged which led to a model for the personal and professional formation of these teachers. The model considers the processes of change RARE teachers experienced as they implement the RE curriculum. The model draws upon the work of educational change researchers such as Fuller, Fullan, and Jacobs. The intent of this paper is show how research can shed light on proving that teachers' concerns are legitimate issues for curriculum change and that research-based modelling can assist teachers and decision-makers in making improvements.

Keywords Religious Ed.

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HAN07418         ®     PDF Paper
Proving, improving and (dis) approving internationalisation of Higher Education

Neera Handa, University of Western Sydney

Answers to Non English Speaking Background (NESB) international students' issues with the Higher Education curriculum in western universities are inadequate and the solutions to many of their problems are usually just improvisations rather than improvements. Studying and proving the academic adjustment issues of many NESB international students at my university and making efforts to improving their plight, I have reached a juncture of trepidation. In my research and in my work as a Learning Skills Advisor I have begun to realise that the situation especially related to post-graduate NESB international students' is beyond the "proving and improving" role of research and scholarship. In many cases internationalisation of Higher Education seems to be an eyewash to secure the economic interests of western universities and to uphold the superiority of western imperialism. An intercultural dimension to teaching and learning practices would be inept and superfluous if the curriculum designers do not reconsider the course, subject and assessment outcomes in relation to the prior language, knowledge and skills of those students whose very presence gives the international dimension to western universities. It seems that to bring true internationalisation involving all students requires a complete sea change to the very philosophy of the internationalisation of Higher education.

Keywords: Education Policy, Educational Philosophy And Learning And Teaching

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HAR07081         ®     PDF Paper
Improving Pre-Graduate Teachers' Professional Knowledge, Practice and Commitment: Evaluating a school - university collaboration.

Joanne Harris, Wendy Moran and Janette Long, Australian Catholic University and Sophie Ryan, Parramatta Catholic Education Office

The NSW Institute of Teachers' Professional Teaching Standards provide a clear framework for the accreditation of all graduating teachers. The challenge for teacher education institutions is to structure their programs such that pre-graduate teachers have every opportunity to meet these standards.

The teaching and Learning Consortium (TLC), an initiative developed in partnership between an Australian university and local school systems, places immersion in a whole-school context at the heart of the pre-graduate teachers' professional experience. This paper reports on student teachers' and school and university staff perceptions of the learning outcomes of the TLC. These are evaluated in terms of how the program has impacted on the pre-graduate teachers' professional growth within the constructs of Professional Knowledge, Practice and Commitment.

The evaluation employed a mixed-method approach comprising surveys of 125 teacher education students and 40 school personnel, plus focus groups of key stakeholders. The study found that the TLC produced enhanced learning outcomes in terms of the pre-graduate teachers' knowledge of children and how they learn, and in their capacity to create environments to promote this learning. These findings have important implications for the shaping of initial teacher education programs.

Keywords: Pre-service Teacher Education

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HAR07159     PDF Paper
An attitude problem or the problem with "attitude"? The impact of family beliefs on transition to higher education for young people from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Joanne Harris, Australian Catholic University

Despite two decades of Federal policy rhetoric and funding practice promoting equity in higher education, marked inequities persist. The causes of these inequities are multiple and complex, however family "attitudes" have often been blamed. This paper examines the problematic nature of the construct of "attitudes" in terms of the lack of definition of the term and in terms of the negative connotations associated with its use. It explores the impact of parental "attitudes" on young people's beliefs about the relevance and accessibility of university and asks whether it is possible to intervene in the construction of these beliefs. This exploration takes place within the context of a study of a school-university project - ACULink - which aims to improve rates of transition among young people from targeted schools in Sydney's outer west. The study employed in-depth interviews of nineteen school students and four university students. Data was analysed using Strauss and Corbin's (1990) three-stage approach to analysis. The central finding is that it appears to be possible to intervene in the construction of young people's beliefs and that participation in the ACULink program materially altered the young people's perceptions of university.

Keywords: Post-Compulsory Education

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HAR07162     PDF Paper
Teaching Economics and Environmentalism within a conservative curriculum.

Peter Harkness, Swinburne University

Over the years I have noticed my students seem to be becoming more conservative, politically. Even global warming and the impending environmental crisis bother few of them. They are inclined to regard our economic system and the status quo as entirely legitimate. That society could, or should be radically altered and improved has not occurred to most of them. If we don't teach our students to question society, and to see that it could be better, there is little hope that the next generation will endeavour to improve the world.

This paper analyses the (conservative) way Economics typically explains two major social problems: poverty, and environmental degradation.

Conservatives represent poverty and environmental degradation as unexpected aberrations in our otherwise benevolent capitalist economic system. Their solutions are usually minimalist and don't tamper with the system.

More radical teachers view environmental destruction and poverty as inevitable outcomes of capitalism. These are symptoms of a more fundamental problem: modern capitalism. This is what needs to be fixed.

This paper describes the essence of these two different perspectives. Furthermore, it summarises my experiences in teaching critical thinking about questions of poverty and environmental degradation within an Economics curriculum which emphasizes a more conservative approach.

Keywords: Environmental Education, Economics

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HAR07252     PDF Paper
Developing Leadership Identities: Influences on Emirati Graduate Students' Leadership Perspectives

Barbara Harold, Zayed University

The College of Education at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates has recently introduced a graduate program for a Master of Educational Leadership. The first cohort has almost completed the program and a new cohort has begun their study. During the program, graduate students were asked to identify and reflect on their current leadership perspectives and philosophies in the framework of their culture and religion. Through the process of identity development (Holland et. al. 1998; Ashforth, 2001) they attempted to merge their personal beliefs, value systems and tacit knowledge with explicit international best practice leadership theories. This paper compares and contrasts data from the first and second cohort to analyze how participants' identities of self as leaders emerged, and to discuss the extent to which the process 'proves' theories of the development of professional identity and simultaneously 'improves' understanding of leadership and their own practice. Islamic perspectives, home and family, leadership models ( e.g. situational, participative), and the importance of role models proved to have been critical in the development of their identities as educational leaders.

Keywords: Educational Leadership

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HAR07476         ®     PDF Paper
Building critique into the curriculum in teacher education

Neil Harrison, Macquarie University

Many students who move directly into teacher education from school are looking for answers. At university, however, they soon find that the readings and work surrounding their studies leads them to despair. These are primary teachers in training who want their students to have fun while they learn, and so they struggle on at university until they get into schools to do their practicums, where they discover a very different picture to what they are told at university. Here, in schools there are answers and teachers are delivering them in terms of a methodology and discipline. In this context, it is easy for students to lose faith in the university's ability to prepare them to go out into the world as trained teachers. This paper examines ways in which curriculum units can position themselves in relation to pre-service teachers and the demands of the profession.

Keywords: Pre-service Teacher Education

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HAR07639     PDF Paper
Examining learner perceptions of the introduction of computer-assisted learning in mathematics at a peri-urban school in South Africa

Shaheed Hartley, Cape Peninsula University of Technology

This study responds to a national call to improve the outcomes in mathematics in the Grade 12 matriculation examination by reporting on the perceptions of learners on the introduction of computer-assisted learning in their mathematics classroom. Three Grade 12 mathematics classes in a peri-urban school in South Africa were visited over a period of four months to observe the inclusion of a computer centre as part of the teaching of mathematics. Learner perceptions were obtained from (1) individual and group interviews and (2) an actual and preferred version of a learning environment instrument called the Computer-Assisted Learning Environment Questionnaire (CALEQ), which was developed for the South African context. The learners' indicated that they considered application of computers as a positive step as it (1) increased their involvement in the mathematics classroom, (2) gave them more exercise in problem solving in mathematics, and (3) provided them the opportunity to assess their own learning. However, a strong recommendation from this response is for more computers to be made available that would allow students to work individually thereby being able to spend more time on the computer.

Keywords: Distributed Learning Environment and Multicultural Issues

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HAV07633     PDF Paper
Values education: A Christian world view statement

Peter Havel, Department of Education Western Australia

Values Education has taken a higher priority in Australia's educational agenda in recent years, perhaps because of the growing threat of terrorism and the perception of increased unsocial behaviour. The Commonwealth has identifying 9 values to underpin Australian civic life. The expectation is that these values will be taught in all Australian schools. This approach is in contrast to the State of Western Australia that negotiated a values consensus, rejecting a notion of values neutrality, and contributed to the development of the Values Charter, an important component of the WA Curriculum Framework.

Since the mid-90s there has been a growing emphasis on teaching civics and supporting the values that underpin the Australian democratic way of life. However, imposing values without enabling a student to assimilate them into their belief system will never lead to critical commitment/ affiliation. Those committed to various belief systems can accept the agreed minimum values, assimilating them into their existing belief system. This paper represents a work in progress and will present a Christian World View Statement constructed in way that enables teachers to "unpack" a world view, illustrating a way to think, and enabling students to critically examine some Christian World View belief statements.

Keywords: Curriculum and Specific Curriculum Areas - Religious Education

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HAW07354         ®     PDF Paper
Participatory action research, sacred existential epistemology, the eighth moment of qualitative research and beyond

Karen Hawkins, University of Southern Queensland

This paper will discuss how, in a doctoral study, a collaborative methodology was embraced that upheld respectful relationships and partnerships that generated co-construction of change in two preschool settings. The relatively new approach to action research, Participatory Action Research (Torres 2004, Fine et al., 2004, Kemmis and McTaggart, 2005), signifies an epistemology that believes knowledge is embedded in social relationships and most influential when produced collaboratively through action. This paper also explains how the Participatory Action Research group, who identified themselves as feminist poststructural researchers, moved towards a sacred existential epistemology that valued empowerment, morally involved observers, shared governance, love, care, community, solidarity and civic transformation (Christians, 1995; Denzin and Linclon, 2005). This epistemology is based on a philosophical anthropology that affirms all human beings, without exception, are worthy of dignity and sacred status (Christians, 1995). The paper concludes by setting the research firmly into what Denzin and Lincoln (2005) refer to as the move towards the eighth moment of qualitative research. This next moment, akin to the research outlined in this paper, is marked by researchers concerned with social justice, liberation methodology and moral purpose.

Keywords: Research Methods

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HEI07152         ®     PDF Paper
Enhancing the first year experience - longitudinal perspectives on a peer mentoring scheme

Ann Heirdsfield, Sue Walker and Kerryann Walsh, Queensland University of Technology

Transition literature suggests that the first six weeks in higher education are critical for student adjustment and subsequent success. Some research has indicated that social support networks and supportive interactions are major factors in student attrition. Peer mentoring programs provide an avenue for new students to be supported by more experienced mentor students and make social connections with other new students. This paper reports the development of a peer mentoring program aimed at supporting first year students in their transition into university life, and focusing on emotional and social support. In 2004, a small targeted group of first year students were invited to participate in an integrated and contextualised peer mentoring program. Mentors were selected from more senior (third and fourth year) students, trained in mentoring. Since then, the program has become self sustaining and cost-neutral, where all first year students in the course are invited to participate. Mentors continue to be selected from third and fourth year students; however, they now have the opportunity to have their contribution recognised as part of assessment within a core unit. Benefits for both mentors and mentees are discussed.

Keywords: Teacher Education - General

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HEI07174         ®     PDF Paper
The use of a new mathematics text book scheme - support or impediment

Ann Heirdsfield, Queensland University of Technology, Elizabeth Warren, Australian Catholic University and Shelley Dole, The University of Queensland

School mathematics textbooks are used in varying ways and to varying degrees by teachers and schools. The textbook materials of focus in this study were designed in accordance with current curriculum reform principles, advocating a student-centred approach that emphasises conceptual understanding and fostering of students' thinking and mathematical communication. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a new reform-based mathematics textbooks series on teachers' classroom practices. Observations were conducted in six elementary teachers' mathematics classrooms as they implemented the new textbook series. The observations were combined with interview data to explore the impact of the textbook upon teachers' classroom practice. Through combining interview data with classroom observations, this study provided a snapshot of various teachers' use of new curriculum materials. It was apparent from this study that the materials were used to varying degrees of effectiveness by individual teachers. Results suggested that when the textbook was regarded as a resource, quality pedagogy was enacted. Conversely, if teachers felt challenged by the new reforms evidenced in the textbook they tended to follow the textbook in a prescriptive manner, resulting in teacher-directed pedagogy.

Keywords: Curriculum and Specific Curriculum Areas - Mathematics

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HER07131         ®     PDF Paper
Authentic mobile learning in higher education

Anthony Herrington and Jan Herrington, University of Wollongong

The ready availability and uptake of devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants and mobile music players, have permeated the manner and means of human communication, socializing and entertainment on a large scale. In this paper, we present a description of the shift in philosophical and theoretical underpinnings, and the practical developments in education over the last two decades that demand marked changes in the kind of learning environments we need to design. We argue that these changes have created justifiable conditions for the pedagogical use of mobile technologies based on authentic learning. A review of research in the authentic use of mobile technologies in higher education will be presented and implications for future research will be drawn.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology [ICT]

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HER07650 - KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Proving or improving? Strengthening the link between educational research and practice

Jan Herrington, University of Wollongong

It has been argued that educational research is considered a 'poor cousin' to more traditional scientific fields in universities, and that research conducted in our field has a weak link to practice. Nowhere is this more relevant than in relation to educational technology research. In this presentation, I will argue that educational technology research has largely failed to change educational practice and outcomes because of the predominant aim of such research to prove rather than improve. Many researchers conduct studies that are designed to test the effectiveness of the delivery medium-to prove that one medium is better than another- rather than exploring ways to improve instructional approaches and tasks. An alternative approach is design-based research, a method requiring intensive and long-term collaboration among researchers and practitioners. A description of the characteristics of design-based research will be given, together with an argument for the more widespread adoption of this approach to enhance the quality and impact of research in education.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology [ICT], Learning and Teaching and Research Methods

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HIC07363         ®     PDF Paper
Contemporary physical education reform in China: Teachers talk

Christopher Hickey and Aijing Jin, Deakin University

Among the many changes occurring across Chinese society in the early phase of Y2K is the construction and implementation of a new physical education (PE) curriculum. Not unlike recent changes in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, this process has seen a heightening of the profile of health. Presented within a wider framework for making the school curriculum more relevant, PE is more closely aligned with China's emerging health concerns around young people. Foremost here are burgeoning social anxieties about decreased levels of physical activity, dietary practices, risk-taking tendencies, and a general decline of social cohesion/connection across the profile of contemporary youth. This paper reports on a study undertaken to explore the experiences of Chinese PE teachers as they engage with the new curriculum.

The data reveals a number of structural, personal and cultural factors that work against teachers taking up the opportunities presented in the new curriculum. Prominent here are; low professional status, an expanding generation gap, lack of training and the grip of deeply rooted cultural values. Juxtaposed against the like experiences of PE teachers in Australia and the UK the paper concludes with practical recommendations for nurturing curriculum change in China.

Keywords: Health And Physical Education

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HIC07365         ®     PDF Paper
Education or regulation: Managing behaviour change in the AFL

Christopher Hickey, Deakin University, and Peter Kelly, Monash University

Amid the increasing commodification of sports, the off-field practices of elite performers are the source of considerable public scrutiny. Barely a week goes by when we do not hear about elite male sports stars behaving badly. Of course, when elite sportsman behave badly they not only tarnish their own reputations, they bring disrepute to their club and sport. To this end, there is a growing industry awareness of the need to manage and develop professional sporting identities via a variety of education and training processes.

This paper reports on research undertaken into the professional development activities of AFL footballers, and how they are organised, supported and practiced. Drawing on extensive interview data, the research reveals a number of tensions and contradictions between the aspirations of different players, their coaches and mentors, and a range of competing industry practices and processes. In the paper we explore the possibilities for modifying behaviours and attitudes via risk management practices that centre on the provision of compulsory educational seminars and workshops. Drawing on Foucault's later work on the care of the Self we focus on the ways in which new expectations of a professional footballing identity are being constructed and managed.

Keywords: Vocational Education And Training

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HOL07621     PDF Paper
"I would have died if I had stayed"...Narrative identity as a way of understanding ontological mobility

Brenda Holt, University of Melbourne

This paper draws on a three-year study of young rural women from small towns in Victoria who have left home to attend a large city-based university. Emerging from the research are the "ontological narratives" (Somers, 1994) the women use to describe their mobility out of their small towns and into the city as inevitable. In all cases, the women in the study reach back in their past to describe themselves as one who was "always leaving." Since higher education assumes an ontology of mobility, understanding better how young people describe their own narratives of mobility offer insight to higher education policy makers concerned with issues of equity and access. Somers' work has much to offer educational research, particularly her insistence that narrative joined to identity provides an ontological dimension to studies of social agency. Somers theorises that at any given time, we narrate ourselves as identities (however multiple and changing) by locating ourselves in relation to available social, public and cultural narratives. A narrative identity approach assumes the constitutive effects of networks and relationships over time and space. Rather than theorise why the study's participants tell the narratives they do, I demonstrate how they put these narratives to work as they reshape and retell their narratives throughout their university years, particularly in relation to their rural mothers and other rural female peers who stayed at home. This paper will demonstrate how this theoretical approach offers a metaphorical prism to study the complexities of social agency and the importance of narrative identity to our mobility towards higher education and the opportunities it offers.

Keywords: Research Methods (narrative Identity, Higher Education Policy, Rural Women, Ontology)

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HOW07157     PDF Paper
Facilitating border crossings: A case study of pre-service primary teachers' learning about science and science teaching

Christine Howitt, Curtin University of Technology, and Grady.Venville, University of Western Australia

Using an interpretive case study methodology, and the theoretical concept of border crossings, this research describes the science learning journeys of four pre-service primary teachers over a semester science methods course. Based on critical incidents identified by the pre-service teachers during their weekly workshops, vignettes were co-constructed and co-interpreted to describe the nature of each journey, and the pre-service teachers' changing perspectives towards science and science teaching. Common themes across the four learning journeys are identified and described to illustrate the new perspectives these teachers developed along their journey: simplicity, inclusivity, open-endedness, importance of connections, 'disguising' science, and immersion into science. Various assertions are presented that assist teacher educators to construct and manage smooth border crossings for pre-service teachers from nonscience to science person, and from general teacher to science teacher.

Keywords: Pre-service Teacher Education

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HOW07187      ®    PDF Paper
Teacher Change: A preliminary exploration of teachers' risk-taking in the context of ICT integration

Sarah Howard, University of Sydney

This research is a preliminary exploration of teachers' risk-taking habits in educational change, within the context of learning to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into Australian and United States curriculum. The research defines "risk" as the potential for undesired results, specifically when individuals and groups engage in change. In educational change, such as using a new software package, teachers may be required to modify teaching practices. Some teachers may have concerns related to student learning, perceiving lower student achievement as a risk; others may have used the software in the past with positive results, therefore not perceiving a risk. The research theorizes differences in individual and school culture beliefs and values influence teachers' risk perception. This paper presents an initial application of Cultural Theory, classifying teachers' individual risk perceptions, in relation to school culture and ICT integration. Data is gathered through questionnaires and two case studies. Results will help clarify the how teachers perceive risk-taking and technology, helping schools to understand teachers' needs and barriers within ICT-related change.

Keywords: Educational Change and Innovation, Information Communication Technology [ICT], Teacher Education - General, Teacher Professional Learning, Sociocultural and Activity Theory and Post Graduate and Early Career Researcher

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HOW07434         ®     PDF Paper
Implementing a university paradigm for effective community engagement

Peter Howard, Ann Gervasoni and Jude Butcher, Australian Catholic University

Community engagement is emerging as a core function of Australian universities and their faculties. The collaboration and development of effective and sustainable partnerships can strengthen the role of the university within the community and influence those who formulate policy. This paper reports on the development and implementation of key principles and processes that are foundational to community engagement: relationship formation; sustainability; forming mutually beneficial goals; mentoring; social justice frameworks; communication; awareness-raising; identifying social injustice issues and inequalities that need to be investigated and addressed; and supportive university structures. These principles and processes are illuminated through two key community engagement projects involving the Faculty of Education. The first is the development of a teacher education program in Bachau, East Timor, and the second is a community based tertiary education program, Clemente-Catalyst, for the poor and marginalised within Australia's society. Through these programs, Australian Catholic University has evolved an understanding of the critical relevance of community engagement in making a difference in peoples' lives. Further, the programs have provided additional insights into the organisational structures required for effective community engagement. These include recognition of the time involved in forming, developing and maintaining relationships, and negotiating and implementing community engagement activities.

Keywords: Education Policy

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HUR07221         ®     PDF Paper
Improving Mathematical Learning Through Contextualisation

Chris Hurst, Curtin University

A significant issue for primary teachers is finding ways to encourage students to recognise mathematical ideas embedded in a broad range of contexts, and to connect and apply their mathematical knowledge to such contexts. Indeed, it has been noted that students frequently engage in a haphazard and random application of their mathematical knowledge outside the mathematics classroom. This paper is based on a qualitative multiple case study involving 8 Year Six and Seven students, as well as a general sample of 112 students from six classes. The study investigated the capacity of those students to recognise, apply, and question the use of mathematical ideas embedded in a range of contexts. It also considered the extent to which students' capacity to connect mathematical knowledge to other contexts could motivate them to learn mathematics. In particular it investigated the effect of the Mathematical Search strategy in achieving those ends. It found that students' thinking about mathematics and their attitudes towards it could be enhanced by targeting mathematical connections through the use of the Mathematical Search.

Keywords: Mathematics

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IMT07028    PDF Paper
Bottling the good stuff: stories of successful pre-schooling in a multi-racial regional town

Alia Imtoual, Flinders University and Barbara Kameniar, University of Melbourne

Making schooling work in a multi-racial regional context is often quite challenging. Riverside is a medium sized regional town with a racially and ethnically diverse population. Recently there have been reports of racial and ethnic tensions in the community. Many of these tensions have been played out by students, parents and community members in some of Riverside's nine individual schools. Stories about the relative success of each school in dealing with these tensions circulate in the Riverside community and beyond with one particular pre-school cited as especially successful. This pre-school has also been successful in incorporating members of different racial and ethnic groups and facilitating a high level of parental engagement in the pre-school community. While we engage with notions of success and failure we are interested in identifying those features / discourses / practices that distinguish this pre-school from other school sites in the town. The title of this paper is drawn from a comment made by a regional director of education who expressed a desire to better understand what made this pre-school function so successfully so that lessons learned from its practices could offer some insights into how other schools might manage the tensions that exist in the town.

This paper reports on early ethnographic work at the pre-school. It seeks to address the questions: What does successful pre-schooling in a multi-racial regional town look like? What stories of community building are told in and about the pre-school?

Keywords: Multicultural Education

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IZA07149     PDF Paper
Achieving Quality Reviews

John Izard, RMIT University

At the AARE conference in Adelaide in 2006 a paper exploring the peer review of papers for the annual AARE conferences from the perspective of the reviewer was presented. The paper described common elements over a period of more than a decade including problems of research design, failure to validate assessment strategies prior to their use in research, inappropriate measures of learning, claiming that learning has occurred in spite of the evidence collected, inadequate consideration of competing plausible explanations for treatment effects, inappropriate application of statistical significance, and failure to indicate the magnitude of effects. This paper takes a similar perspective in elaborating on assumptions made by journal editors about papers submitted for publication, papers accepted and rejected, advice given in justification of acceptance or rejection, and about quality control of the review process. The paper uses examples of interpretation of statistical significance, and the magnitude of effects to illustrate the issues. It questions whether current review procedures have adequate safeguards to avoid bias, and suggests improvements that may make such review procedures more transparent.

Keywords: Assessment And Measurement

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JAM07274         ®     PDF Paper
Measuring student use of ITC: A summary of findings of ICT use in Queensland Catholic schools

Romina Jamieson-Proctor and Glenn Finger, Griffith University

The measurement of student learning outcomes as a result of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the curriculum has become the focus of recent investigations with a view to improving teaching and learning. For example, a 2005 AARE Conference symposium provided insights into a range of current approaches for measuring ICT use in Australian schools (Fitzallen & Brown, 2006; Lloyd, 2006; Trinidad, Newhouse & Clarkson, 2006; Finger, Jamieson-Proctor, & Watson, 2006). These approaches stem from requirements for the measurement of student outcomes as a result of ICT integration, in line with recent priorities that emphasise outcomes (Andrich, 2002) and accountability (Gordon, 2002). However, researching and measuring the impact of ICT integration in schools has been found to be problematic (Cuttance, 2001). In Queensland, an instrument for measuring student use of ICT in the curriculum was developed, trialled and evaluated (Jamieson-Proctor, Watson, Finger, Grimbeek, & Burnett, 2007). This instrument has shown to be useful in measuring ICT use by students in Queensland State schools (Jamieson-Proctor & Finger, 2006; Jamieson-Proctor, Burnett, Finger & Watson, 2006). This paper summarises the findings from the administration of the instrument in 130 Catholic schools in Queensland.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology

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JAN07404         ®     PDF Paper
Spirituality in science education: Valuing connectedness

Jane Beverley, Melbourne College of Divinity

In the past, research in science education has focused on conceptual understanding, largely ignoring the engagements that facilitated the articulation of particular concepts. In this paper I critically reflect on learning in science education in order to uncover the pathways already travelled and raise awareness of future consequences of that action. This reflection occurs on several levels, the first revealing the obvious in the present that goes unnoticed by both staff and students because it its inevitable or taken for granted. The second, by delving deeper into present action the underlying assumptions on which it is based are exposed. The third, imagination is an important element to ensure that the past is not merely duplicated. The stance I take in this paper is that objectivity both inhibits the imagination and inadequately describes the way scientists work. 'Doing science' requires engagement, an encounter with that which is to be known. Paradoxical tensions in the teaching and learning space can encourage deeper learning through an environment of connectedness. Consistent with Palmer's (1990) notion of 'contemplation-in-action', I argue that spirituality, which fosters connectedness, is integral to the scientific enterprise, and a move towards a spiritual way of being can enhance science education.

Keywords: Spirituality

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JAN07414         ®     PDF Paper
Listening to the voices of grandparents: Furthering the debate on values education

Jane Beverley, Monash University

The political move to include values in the curriculum generated some opposition and led to a strong debate over 'what values' should be taught and the process of deciding 'whose values' would be chosen. In 2004 the then Minister for Education and Training, Lyn Kosky, mandated five values for all Victorian government schools: learning for all, pursuit of excellence, engagement and effort, respect for evidence, and openness of mind. From a socio-cultural perspective this list is inadequate because it focuses on the individual, neglecting that children are part of local and global communities. In this contested ground surrounding values in education the question is whose voices are being heard? A national survey of grandparents across Australia identified a set of values that they deemed necessary for a healthy and happy future. Their set is far more comprehensive than those made compulsory in Victorian schools. In this paper we offer a grandparents' perspective on the values they hold and naturally promote during the time they spend with their grandchildren. We used 'the open-ended interview' as a research tool to hear grandparents' voices about the values they foster with their grandchildren in the informal context of intergenerational activities.

Keywords: Sociocultural and Activity Theory

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JEF07045     PDF Paper
Teacher Training Revisited

Anne Jefferson, University of Ottawa

The failure to conceptualize teacher training beyond curriculum knowledge has limited the required preparation of individuals working in our school systems. One force that is guiding this occurrence is political and economic feasibility for the teacher training institutions. This paper offers insight into teacher training that needs to be occurring in the preparation of teachers. It uses the preparation practices of one Canadian institution to illustrate how what is needed is placed to a secondary and background position to a more political and economic agenda. It is hoped that this brief examination will contribute to the dialogue about future practices and research on teacher preparation.

Keywords: Teacher Education - General

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JEF07610     PDF Paper
The nature, extent and utilization of AARE Digital Archive of Education Research Conference Papers

Peter Jeffery, Australian Association for Research in Education

At the author's suggestion and with the support of the Association via an Annual General Meeting in 1988, AARE commenced building a collection of AARE members' education research conference papers in digital form and making it available on computer disks. This was probably the first digital archive of education research papers available in the world. The collection was predicated on the concept of an academic author's personal responsibility for the content of a paper and its format, language use, and data presentation. No editorial intervention would be made in the digital texts which were to be voluntarily deposited into the archive immediately after presentation at the Association's annual conference. The digital submissions, archiving and distribution would achieve the objective of circumventing the long publishing delays of journals and make current research rapidly available to the world as the collections would be made available as compilations of the submitted papers early in the year following each conference. Distribution of digital archive versions of conference papers would not prevent authors from publishing other forms of their work in traditional journals and book in future years as copyright is vested in the form of the words and remains with the authors in perpetuity. The collection comprises papers that have been fully peer refereed as well as other papers. The AARE digital archive of conference papers now contains over 5,500 full text papers which are accessed daily via the internet. This paper will analyse use of the research papers contained in the digital archive collections for several past years, 2006 papers, 2005 papers, Focus'05 papers and 2004 papers. The analyses will show that in 2006, papers added to the digital archive every year since 1989 are being used by people all over the world. Some further analyses will be made to investigate trends and themes in papers utilizations and how these data support the demonstration of research impact.

Keywords: Educational Change And Innovation

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JEF07611     PDF Paper
AARE's Conference full papers academic peer refereeing processes.

Peter Jeffery, Australian Association for Research in Education

In 1998 AARE introduced an optional full paper academic peer refereeing opportunity for members conference papers. The scheme has been operated since introduction by AARE Office except for the year 2000 [Sydney Conference]. In that time [eight years] approximately 2000 full text papers have been refereed by approximately 6000 peer referees. This paper will detail the procedures used for operating the scheme, including selection of referees, maintenance of confidentiality and the academic authority embodied in the scheme.

Keywords: Assessment And Measurement

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JEN07290         ®     PDF Paper
Developing the language awareness of second and foreign language teachers

Marie-Therese Jensen and Julie Harrington, Monash University

This paper reports on two different studies on the language awareness of experienced teachers. It raises issues of how knowledge of grammar, particularly at sentence level, can be developed and applied in the classroom. In the first study, teachers undertaking a postgraduate TESOL practicum generally showed a high level of competence in their use of English grammar but limited metalinguistic knowledge and ability to formulate grammar rules. This finding is in contrast to the teachers' expressed beliefs about the importance of this kind of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (Jensen 2007). In the second study, experienced teachers of languages other than English (LOTE), who already used their own well-developed knowledge of sentence-level grammar in their teaching, reported on their experience of and attitudes to the teaching of grammar (Harrington 2005). Together with the researcher, teachers then undertook a professional development activity which aimed not only to sharpen their own language awareness, but to develop strategies for focusing on grammar-'noticing' in an interactive way in secondary LOTE classrooms. In this paper, we argue that there is a need for second and foreign language teachers to develop language awareness and offer an example of how teacher educators might facilitate this.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning

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JOH07119         ®     PDF Paper
Understanding Teenager Technological Expertise in Out-of-School Settings

Nicola Johnson, University of Wollongong

Drawing on feminism and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice, this study explored the construction of technological expertise of eight teenagers (five boys and three girls) aged 13 - 17. The qualitative study specifically employed observations and interviews and focused on home computer use, which for many of the participants was their primary site of leisure. Each of the participants considered themselves to be a technological expert, and their peers and/or their family supported this premise.

This paper outlines findings that identify the participants' multiple (and contradictory) understandings of expertise and the ways they have attained expertise and perform as experts in out-of-school settings. Traditional views of expertise are contrasted with what the teenagers think about their development of expertise, predominantly using Bourdieu's framework for analysis. As almost all of the experts in this study gained their expertise through independent means, with minimal input from their schooling, discussion focuses on the trajectories to expertise inherent within these sites of informal learning, and what this might mean for pedagogy and formal learning.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology [ICT]

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JOH07201     PDF Paper
Documenting curriculum: some conventions of the genre

Val Johnson, University of Sydney

The delivery of curriculum is constrained by the many documents which set out the framework for teaching and learning. However, trying to use a fixed and linear medium to encompass the fluid and non-linear dynamic which is the education process, is fraught with pitfalls, especially when change is to be implemented. Choice of language and structure, the roles and status of the participants, and the domain in which the discourse takes place, all affect the meanings made. Conventional elements of the discourse which are normally utilised for ease of communication need to be revisited and reapplied in the new context, a process which can confuse the communication, rather than aiding it. This paper seeks to identify some of the conventional elements of the discourse of curriculum as it is manifested in the Curriculum Framework for Kindergarten to Year 12 Education in Western Australian Schools (CC1998) and subsidiary documents, with a view to clarifying some of the issues surrounding translation of the documents into practice

Keywords: Discourse Of Curriculum

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JON07616         ®     PDF Paper
'Inside-out': Rethinking the place of self-efficacy beliefs and reflective practice in teacher education

Marguerite Jones, University of New England

This study emerges in the light of heightened debate about what constitutes: best 'evidence-based teacher education' programs, and bench marked professional standards of teacher graduate attributes. What we think 'they need' and what the future demands, maybe quite different!

The impact of self-efficacy beliefs in pre-service teacher education is profound. Within teacher education, the beliefs students create, foster and hold true are foundational motivators determining depth of engagement and learning both intra-personally and professionally.

This paper reports on research commenced in April 2006. It explores the processes by which students developed, identified and reflected upon their self-efficacy beliefs. Quality Teaching was employed as an analytical framework and revealed a conceptual shallowness in the intellectual quality of students' reflective practice. An Inside-Out Model is proposed to facilitate a re-conceptualisation of the process of discernment and growth, generated by beliefs and reflective thinking.

Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, the study aimed to enrich the evidence-base of what constitutes the most potent and appropriate practices in teacher education programs, and the attributes of the most robust future graduate teachers.

Keywords: Teacher Education - General

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KAM07608         ®     PDF Paper
The changing leadership culture in Northern Territory Indigenous remote community schools: Implications for Indigenous female principals and school-community partnerships

Martha Kamara, Australian Catholic University

The leadership culture in Indigenous remote community schools is gradually changing as education executives in the Northern Territory in Australia are increasingly aware of the relevance of bridging the cultural-gap between Indigenous and contemporary leadership in the administration of these schools. Through professional development programs, Indigenous female school principals in the NT participate in leadership training programs to progress leadership capacity and foster effective school community partnerships. These programs generally emphasise the acquisition of conventional leadership constructs that are characteristic of systemic (Eurocentric) leadership frameworks on the assumption that they have the potential to bring about effective accomplishment of educational outcomes. Hence, Indigenous school principals are encouraged to integrate such frameworks that are culturally appropriate in their schools. Yet there is no agreed understanding among education executives, Indigenous school principals and community leaders about how such integration should occur; degree of integration in specific leadership tasks; or whether such integration could be aligned with school community partnerships. This paper will explore emerging questions on educational change and transformational leadership in Indigenous community schools; and drawing on Hofstede's analysis of cultural disparity, consider implication for Indigenous female principals and school community partnerships in the evolving leadership culture in Indigenous remote community schools.

Keywords: Educational Leadership

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KEA07057     PDF Paper
Professional Learning Communities

Jeanne Keay and Chris Lloyd, Roehampton University

This paper explores the role of self-regulating quality assurance in the development of Professional Learning Communities and the model of professionalism necessary to support its effective implementation. The research that informs the paper focused on the development, implementation and evaluation of quality standards for continuing professional development providers in the area of physical education and school sport. The standards were designed by the physical education community because of concerns about the quality of provision and of providers and are intended to be used as a developmental, awareness-raising tool. The research process has been informed by the recent work of Stephen Kemmis which emphasises that the aim of practitioners who engage with genuinely critical Action Research must be the transformation of practice.

The model of self-regulation emerging from this work and its impact on the professional community concerned has interesting implications for other groups of professionals and their learning. Using the results of the research the paper will explore:

• Models of quality assurance and their implications for models of professionalism
• The role of professional communities in developing, and implementing their own quality assurance procedures
• Developmental models of self regulation and their impact on professional communities and their learning

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning

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KEA07058     PDF Paper
A Distinct Form of Professionalism?

Jeanne Keay, Roehampton University

Induction into teaching has historically been problematic and in the last decade Government policy in England has attempted to address the issue through legislation. Teachers have been required to fulfil an induction period during which they are entitled to support, monitoring and assessment. However, while the provision of these statutory components is important, their provision does not necessarily guarantee continued professional development and indeed in some cases may actually preclude learning. This paper uses data from a longitudinal piece of research with new teachers in secondary schools to examine barriers to, and influences on, early professional learning. The paper addresses two themes, firstly the nature of professional development during induction, which appears to promote merely adequate performance, and secondly, the influence of small communities on professional learning, which can be both positive and negative. The discussion considers research with new teacher educators which revealed similar findings and asks whether teachers promote a distinct form of professionalism. Specifically, the paper examines the following issues:

• The influence of teachers' professional learning communities;
• The influence of prior professional knowledge in transferring to a different professional phase;
• The impact of phased use of formal and informal professional development activities during induction.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning

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KEN07648 - RADFORD LECTURE
Ghosts of school curricula: Past, present and future

Jane Kenway, Monash University

Ghosts haunt the school curriculum. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843; 2003) provides a starting point for thinking about such ghosts. In the Preface, he states that he has 'endeavored in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea'. I also seek to raise the 'ghost of an idea', in this lecture in order to consider the spectres of curriculum past, present and future that haunt contemporary schooling. Ghosts haunt the places they are excluded from and take the certainty ('humbug') out of curriculum certainties. How they might do this and with what consequences are the subjects I will discuss. In so doing I develop further a curriculum theory project I have been conducting over recent years which deploys Dickens' and also Jacques Derrida's methodology of 'hauntology'. I will also draw together many threads of the research I have conducted over my career - critical policy and curriculum analysis drawing on and developing socio-cultural theory in Education.

Keywords: Education Policy; Curriculum

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KER07373         ®     PDF Paper
Teachers in their place: Locating teacher identity

Lyn Kerkham, University of South Australia

To be in a place is not just to be situated somewhere, but to participate in a set of social relations and representations of place that profoundly influence who we see ourselves to be, and how we belong. In this paper I draw on interview data from my doctoral study "Teachers in their place: teachers at work in an environmental communications project" to consider the ways in which one early career teacher's history, biography and everyday life interact with teacher identity and professional practice. Using a combination of aspects of narrative and discourse analysis of her place stories produces an account not only of moments of simultaneously expressed multiple stances but an emergent understanding of place as a significant dimension of teacher identity.

I suggest that the complicated relations between identities, places and pedagogy make problematic the policy notion of the generic teacher who teaches anywhere, disconnected from the socio-spatial contexts in which he or she works, and argue, in terms of both teacher identity and pedagogical practice, that places matter.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning And Teacher Identity

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KIG07055         ®     PDF Paper
Literacy: From writing recount to writing in true narrative

Mutuota Kigotho, Yirara College

Experienced writers make a distinction between writing a recount and writing in true narrative (Riley and Reedy, 2000; Shrubshall, 1997; O'Brien, 1992; Krause, 1997). Based on research reported elsewhere (Kigotho, 2004, 2006), I have argued in the current paper that in teaching early literacy, teachers that focus on explicit instruction on true narrative have a more realistic chance of enhancing the development of student writing. The demand on students' cognitive ability is much less than in other forms of writing such as when they write in true narrative. While it has its own merits, the teaching of writing recount is much easier and more straight forward. This is recommended for weaker students of writing. Writing in true narrative requires that the writer is among other things expected to establish a conflict situation and show how this leads to the resolution of conflict. Events are presented in a manner that shows causality. Characters are usually well developed and contrasted.

This paper reports findings of writing research carried out among female students to whom English is a Second Language. The students are aged between fifteen and eighteen. The research was conducted from two rural schools in Central Kenya. The findings suggest that the teaching method of giving explicit instruction based on the writing of true narrative coupled with a significant amount of practice has the potential to produce texts that could independently be judged as good writing.

Keywords: Literacy and English, Secondary Schooling and English as a Second Language

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KIV07017         ®     PDF Paper
Effectiveness of the multi-campus college model in delivering improved secondary school pedagogy and students' learning outcomes: Lessons from New South Wales DET Schools.

Charles Kivunja, University of New England

Since their inception in New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education and Training (DET) secondary schools in 1998, multi-campus colleges have become a significant player in teaching and learning. They now provide education to 23,530 students in 10% of all secondary schools in NSW. Students' enrolments in the participating schools have improved remarkably, student engagement and governance has improved as have academic and non-academic outcomes. The public image of DET schools in the areas where these colleges are located has received a boost. Yet in spite of such success, the multi-campus college model remains surprisingly neglected in educational research and public debate.

Employing a multiple case study methodology, this paper draws on interviewees' narratives of their experiences in selected multi-campus colleges to unpack the opportunities that the multi-campus college model creates for effective pedagogical intervention, improved teaching and quality learning. With the aim of seeking to inform and to provoke research and debate on this topic, the paper concludes that the multi-campus college model has potential to be a much bigger contributor to quality teaching and active learning in secondary schools not only in NSW but also in other Australian states and overseas.

Keywords: Educational Change And Innovation

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KOS07569         ®     PDF Paper
The role of mindfulness in reducing stress for pre-service students.

Marion Kostanski, Victoria University

Research indicates that many people in the education and human service industries experience a high incidence of burnout and poor health. Much of this burnout and poor health is shown to be related to the stress of their work. Current practice suggests that intervention within the pre-service years may be a viable way of preventing such high levels of poor biopsychosocial health in the field. Specifically, mindfulness meditation has been proposed as a potential beneficial intervention for people who experience high levels of stress. The current study examined the psychosocial profile of a cohort of pre-service students, to determine if mindfulness was related to lower stress over time. Over a nine month period of study, levels of stress (fatigue and confusion) were found to increase. Interestingly, students with high levels of mindfulness reported significantly lower levels of depression, fatigue, confusion, and tension. Outcomes of the study support the proposal that introduction of a mindfulness programme into pre-service training programmes may be facilitate students in being better equipped to manage stress in their study, work and everyday lives.

Keywords: Curriculum and Specific Curriculum Areas - Sciences, Social and Emotional Education, Vocational Education and Training

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KRU07214     PDF Paper
Taking a standpoint: teacher agency and education for the least advantaged

Tony Kruger, Brenda Cherednichenko and Marcelle Cacciattolo, Victoria University

The education of low income families is the key question in a collaborative investigation being undertaken by Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services Inc. and a research team from the Victoria University School of Education. In its application of Connell's conception of a 'standpoint curriculum', the project's concern is that educational outcomes in Australia remain socially divided, despite nearly 40 years of policy formation and funding dedicated to the improvement of schooling. Whether expressed in the grand scope of the Disadvantaged Schools Program or in neo-liberal accountability driven school and teacher effectiveness prescriptions, little change has occurred in the access of the poorest in society to the rich rewards of education. Through an examination of descriptions of practice in schools serving low income families, the paper will indicate what taking a standpoint looks like. The paper will discuss the difficulty education practitioners face in taking the standpoint of the poorest in society as the basis for educational understanding, planning and action. It will also present the methodology of the project which commences with the application by teachers of Good Shepherd's 'Low Income Awareness Checklist'.

Keywords: School Renewal And Pedagogic Improvement

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KUR07498         ®     PDF Paper
Role of effective educational programs in students' beliefs about, understandings of, and intentions to act to reduce global warming

Premnadh Kurup, LaTrobe University

Global warming is accelerated by human activities like industrialization, deforestation, farming and increased energy consumption through transportation and use of air conditioners. There are several national and international reports emphasising the importance of education and community based actions to reduce the impacts of environmental problems. Citizens need to be scientifically literate about the greenhouse gases effect and global warming in order to participate in decision-making and to take appropriate actions in their own lives for a sustainable, green and clear environment. Collectively these decisions and actions have similar impact and significance as those taken by industry to reduce carbon emission by adapting clean and alternative sources of energy. A scientifically literate public would improve the quality of public decision-making and actions. Greater familiarity with the nature and findings of science will also help the individual to question pseudo-scientific information. The most important question, therefore, is what kind of education in science would help people make the social and personal judgments and actions regarding social and environmental issues. In this context, it is very important that students the future citizens should be scientifically literate and be committed to acting in ways that reduce greenhouse gas emissions thereby global warming.

Keywords: New Pedagogies

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LAD07283         ®     PDF Paper
Quality of pedagogy and student achievement: Multi-level replication of authentic pedagogy

James Ladwig, Jenny Gore, Wendy Amosa and Tom Griffiths, The University of Newcastle, and Max Smith, NSW Department of Education and Training

This paper presents SIPA's initial, cross-sectional, analysis of the relationship between pedagogy and student outcomes, when measured in terms of the Quality Teaching model and in-class student performance respectively. Following the school effects tradition, the analysis is based on multi-level modelling in which students' prior achievement, socio-economic status, gender, race and NESB status are taken as background variables.

Measures for pedagogy are based on classroom observations and task coding of the three dimensions of pedagogy defined in the Quality Teaching model, Intellectual Quality, Quality Learning Environment and Significance and the Authentic Pedagogy constructs on which the Quality Teaching model was based. The outcome variable in this modelling is Newmann and Associates' (1996) Authentic Achievement scale, applied to student work samples gathered from observed classes.

This is the first quantitative analysis of the efficacy of the Quality Teaching model for predicting student outcomes and has implications for the viability of the model and its predecessors. In essence this is a replication and expansion of the work reported by Newmann, Marks and Gamoran (1996), Newmann, Lopez & Bryk (1998) and Newmann, Bryk, & Nagaoka (2001). As such, it offers the first rigorous test of the cross-national transportability of Authentic Pedagogy.

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

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LAM07043         ®     PDF Paper
The Whole World Shook: Shifts In Ethnic, National And Heroic Identities In Children's Books About 9/11

Jo Lampert, Queensland University of Technology

Popular discourse tells us that on September 11, 2001 the world changed. This paper examines how cultural identities are constructed within fictional texts for young people written about September 11. Drawing on the theory of children's literature that includes both critical literary analysis and cultural studies, the paper locates three identity categories encoded in 9/11 books for children: ethnic identities, national identities, and heroic identities. It analyses twelve exemplar children's texts about 9/11, including equal numbers of picture books and young adult fiction. The 'story' of September 11 in these texts perform versions of cultural identities that are iterated and reiterated, drawing on old versions of identities as well as contributing to new ones. They represent an ever complex world, one with a strong desire to pronounce certainties in increasingly uncertain times. Being a very new corpus of texts about 9/11, these books provide instruction on the kinds of 'selves' privileged since 2001. The shifting identities which may be evident in texts that are being produced for children about 9/11 contribute to educating young readers about themselves, others and the world in which we now live.

Keywords: Sociocultural and Activity Theory

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LAU07011         ®     PDF Paper
Outcomes-Based Education in South Africa: Using an Instrument to Assess School-Level Environments during the Implementation

Rüdiger Laugksch, University of Cape Town, Jill Aldridge and Barry Fraser, Curtin University of Technology

In this study, we developed and validated a questionnaire to assess teachers' perceptions of their actual and preferred school-level environment. We then used this instrument to investigate whether teachers involved with outcomes-based education (OBE) perceive the school-level environment differently from those who are not. Analysis of data collected from 403 teachers provided evidence for the validity and reliability of the new school-level environment questionnaire. When MANOVA was used to examine whether teachers involved in OBE perceive their school-level environments differently from those who are not, statistically significant differences emerged for two of the seven school-level environment scales. The results provide policy-makers, principals and researchers with valuable information that potentially could help to guide the implementation of OBE.

Keywords: Comparative And International Education

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LAV07097         ®     PDF Paper
Service-Learning - preparing students for leadership

Shane Lavery, The University of Notre Dame Australia

This paper explores ways in which participating in a service-learning program can enhance student leadership in secondary students. The research is based on the perceptions of teachers who coordinate service-learning in ten Catholic secondary schools in Western Australia. The paper initially examines literature on student leadership, servant leadership and service-learning. The research methodology is then summarized, in particular, the rationale for using Catholic schools, an indication of the range of schools involved, and an outline of the questionnaire. Teacher perceptions are considered, initially in the contexts of the Structure of Service-Learning and Rationale for Service-Learning. This is followed by teacher perceptions on how service-learning develops student leadership, along with specific cases which illustrate this development. Finally, the paper looks at implications for improving student leadership in schools, especially given the fact that the Department of Education and Training in Western Australia has this year begun to introduce community service as part of the school curriculum.

Keywords: Other [Service-Learning/student Leadership]

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LEE07431         ®     PDF Paper
Specificity of Components of Self-Concept

Frances Lai-Mui Lee, Hong Kong Baptist University, and Alexander Yeung, University of Western Sydney

Researchers have suggested the separation of the competency and affect components of academic self-concept but have not investigated the domain specificity and their differential impacts on the development of self-esteem. A sample of 7th grade students in China (N = 580) responded to survey items examining their self-concepts of competency and affect in Chinese, maths and general schoolwork and their self-esteem. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the distinct components in each of the subject domains. Path models supported Marsh's (1986) internal/external frame of reference model such that the paths from Chinese and maths achievement scores to Chinese and maths competency and affect constructs were positive only for corresponding domains. The paths from Chinese and maths components to general school self-concept were component specific such that competency had positive impacts only on the competency component whereas affect had impacts only on the affect component. Finally, the impact of general school competency was more pronounced than that of affect on students' self-esteem. The results provided strong support for the distinctiveness of the competency and affect components of academic self-concept.

Keywords: Motivation and Self-Concept, Secondary Schooling

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LEI07022         ®     PDF Paper
Teachers' Views of Teacher-Student Relationships

Natalie Leitao and Russell Waugh, Edith Cowan University

This study investigated teacher-student relationships from the teachers' point of view at Perth metropolitan schools in Western Australia. The study identified three key social and emotional aspects that affect teacher-student relationships, namely, Connectedness, Availability and Communication Skills. Data were collected by questionnaire (N=133) with stem-items answered in three perspectives: (1) Idealistic: this is what I would like to happen; (2) Capability: this is what I am capable of; and (3) Actual: this is what actually happens, using four ordered response categories: not at all (score 1), some of the time (score 2), most of the time (score 3), and almost always (score 4). Data were analysed with a Rasch measurement model and a uni-dimensional, linear scale with 24 items, ordered from easy to hard, was created. The data were shown to be highly reliable, so that valid inferences could be made from the scale. The Person Separation Index (akin to a reliability index) was 0.93; there was good global teacher and item fit to the measurement model; there was good item fit; the targeting of the item difficulties against the teacher measures was good, and the response categories were answered consistently and logically. The difficulties of the items supported the conceptual structure of the variable.

Keywords: Assessment and Measurement

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LEI07023         ®     PDF Paper
Students' Views of Teacher-Student Relationships

Natalie Leitao and Russell Waugh, Edith Cowan University

This study investigated teacher-student relationships from the students' point of view at Perth metropolitan schools in Western Australia. The study identified three key social and emotional aspects that affect teacher-student relationships, namely, Connectedness, Availability and Communication Skills. Data were collected by questionnaire (N=134) with stem-items answered in two perspectives: (1) Actual: This is what does happen and (2) Idealistic: this is what I wish would happen, using four ordered response categories: not at all (score 1), some of the time (score 2), most of the time (score 3), and almost always (score 4). Data were analysed with a Rasch measurement model and a uni-dimensional, linear scale with 20 items (2 times 10 stem items), ordered from easy to hard, was created. The data were shown to be highly reliable, so that valid inferences could be made from the scale. The Person Separation Index (akin to a reliability index) was 0.90; there was good global student and item fit to the measurement model; there was good item fit; the targeting of the item difficulties against the student measures was good, and the response categories were answered consistently and logically. The difficulties of the items strongly supported the conceptualised structure of the variable.

Keywords: Assessment and Measurement

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LI07595         ®     PDF Paper
Common or distinct perspectives by parent and child about children's social skills at home?

Haibin Li, The University of Sydney, and Laurel Bornholt, Charles Darwin University

Social skills during childhood are important for later social adjustment, as well as academic performance and social-emotional development. Indicators of children's social skills generally include parental reports of children's social behaviour at home, and recent research also includes self-reports by the children. Yet it is unclear from the literature whether parental and child reports are common or distinct perspectives. This project with a group of Australian children was designed to identify the relationship between parent and child reports on children's social skills at home. Participants (N = 80) were 4 to 13 year old girls and boys, and their parents or primary care-givers. The selected location was a suburban area close to the Australian national average in socio-economic indicators. The Rowe Behaviour Rating Inventory was completed by the parents and adapted to children's self-report. Responses formed reliable indicators of unsociable-sociable, inattentive-attentive and restless-settled behaviour. Although, on average, parents and children consider that children behave well socially at home, responses were uncorrelated. This means that children and their parents have quite distinct perspectives on children's social behaviour at home, rather than shared common understanding of social behaviour. The findings provide useful evidence that contributes to theoretical knowledge on social skills assessments, with practical considerations for health and education programmes. Further research would be worthwhile to extend perspective-taking to others involved in the child's social development across several relevant social contexts.

Keywords: Motivation and Self-Concept, Primary Schooling, Assessment and Measurement

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LIL07199         ®     PDF Paper
Play and Learning at School: Focus on Indigenous Students in New South Wales, New Mexico and Norway

Ole Lillemyr, Frode Sobstad and Camilla Bang, Queen Maud's University College of Early Childhood Education, Kurt Marder, University of Western Sydney and Terry Flowerday, University of New Mexico

Theoretically and practically, children's development and sense of relatedness, is important for development of cultural identity. In particularly, this can be observed in socio-cultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978; 1986). This is also prominent in recent motivational theories (Deci & Ryan, 1991; Maehr & Midgley, 1996; Wentzel, 2005). Vygotsky's concept of "the zone of proximal development" and emphasis on socio-cultural experiences to development and learning are critical elements, and adults and peers play central roles to children's learning. However, the concept of play has often been lacking in this concern, even if research and practice indicate clearly the importance of play across cultures. We find the important aspects of play are vital elements of the socio-cultural perspective, and play needs to be integrated in the broad concept of school learning. Research indicates the play arena is one of the most influential ones for children's social learning (Lillemyr, 2007).

We present and discuss the qualitative results from this study which was part of a larger study entitled "The Socio-cultural Perspective on Play and Learning, a Primary School Comparative study in Australia, USA and Norway". In this study we interviewed students and teachers to examine similarities and differences in cultural profiles among Indigenous students of Aboriginal Australian, Navajo Indian, and Norwegian S mi descent as opposed to students of Anglo Australian, Anglo Americans and Ethnic Norwegian background,Some of the findings considered differences in attitude to free and directed learning, and free and directed play. Do the various cultural groups have different attitudes towards school learning? To what extent is play important? We wondered to what extent students' endorsement of choice and sense of relatedness and cultural belonging are essential elements for their concept of learning. Furthermore would we find similar results as previous research with older students has indicated (McInerney, 2003)?

As well conservative interpretations are discussed according to relevant theories and research in relation to the relevance of children's relationship to parents and peers for social motivation and learning.

Keywords: Sociocultural And Activity Theory

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LLO07056     PDF Paper
Removing Barriers to Achievement: strategy for inclusion or exclusion?

Christine Lloyd, Roehampton University

This paper will argue the need to recognise that as long as policy is founded on the idea that inclusion into the mainstream of schooling, as it is currently conceived, and achievement measured against a set of norm related standards is the route to a good education, children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) will continue to be disadvantaged and to receive an inferior educational opportunity. Taking an analysis of recent and current UK policy for inclusion as its starting point the paper will argue that far from ensuring greater equitability for children with SEN it has done little to increase genuine educational access and may indeed be seen to have the potential to increase exclusionary practices.

Having presented this critique the paper will then look at the role of teachers, upon whom major responsibility is placed by these policies for developing genuinely inclusive practice in mainstream settings. The case will be made for a model of professional development which supports them to engage as critically reflective, practice based, researchers, able to recognise and combat exclusionary practices and to act as agents for change.

Keywords Inclusive and Special Education

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LOR07291     PDF Paper
Bringing Professional Experience to the Rural University Classroom: Authentic Learning and Engagement with Communities

Alison Lord and Laura McFarland, Charles Sturt University

The focus of this research is the development of a pilot project designed to enhance pre-service teachers' learning, practice, leadership skills and connections with families and community in a rural university. The project involves creating parent-child play sessions on the university campus in order to provide an authentic learning environment for students. Due to the rural location of the university, students are often required to travel to practicum placements. The intention of this project is to bring the professional experience to the students, who will be involved in planning the play session environment, making connections with families and children, and taking a leadership role in the running of the sessions. Students will be scaffolded in their learning by university staff to develop skills in interacting with parents. These are experiences they may not otherwise get in a traditional professional experience placement. The pilot phase of this project will be further developed to involve an aspect of parent education in positive behaviour management. Students will be able to develop their research and observation skills in preparation for this next phase. Data will be collected about student perceptions regarding this authentic professional experience compared to more traditional practicum placements.

Keywords: Pre-service Teacher Education

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LUZ07228     PDF Paper
Commercially viable, online and centred: Exploring discursive practices in the educational offerings of an evolving Australian Technology Network?

Ann Luzeckyj, University of South Australia

Funding changes within the last ten years have influenced the Australian higher education sector, encouraging universities to identify practices that will ensure their survival in an increasingly competitive environment. Universities with common histories and visions have strengthened and enhanced their positions within the sector by forming alliances such as the Australian Technology Network (ATN). The three discursive territories of "online learning", "student-centred learning" and the "commercial value of higher education" have also become progressively and significantly linked within this changing environment. This paper will explore how these three discursive territories have been mobilised and taken shape in relation to each other within ATN universities. It will specifically focus on the development of the ATN's e-Grad school, which provides online, fee paying post graduate programs. The paper will consider how the e-Grad school has developed from within a sector where university education and knowledge production have become situated within a market domain of commercialisation, where online learning has become a highly emphasised supplement and/or replacement for face-to-face methods of teaching and where student-centred learning has been reconstituted in such a way that the teacher- learner relation is becoming more ambiguous.

Keywords: Educational Change And Innovation

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MAC07041         ®     PDF Paper
Pedagogic Obsolescence: A curtain call for the school principalship

Neil MacNeill and Robert Cavanagh, Curtin University

This summary of a literature review represents the first stage of research on the topic of principals' pedagogic obsolescence, and it examines the dearth of material that is available on this important topic.

In the last 50 years the role of the school principal has changed from being mainly a teaching role to that of a full-time administrator in most large schools. This change in role has been influenced in British and Australian schools by an ideologically driven phenomenon that is now known as the intensification of work which resulted from the introduction of the ideology of New Public Management, which has changed the way that governments provide public services, and consequently the work expectations of principals changed at the same time. The principals' roles in this process become problematic when the principals do not have pedagogic credibility or the time to engage teachers in dialogue about teaching and learning. Fink and Resnick (2001, p. 599) posit that principals become removed from the instructional aspect of teaching when their knowledge and skills were outdated. Loder and Spillane (2005) referred to this growing dissonance between the principals' pedagogic and administrative leadership expectations as role discontinuity, which has been a neglected issue for those who study school leadership.

Keywords: Educational Leadership

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MAC07234         ®     PDF Paper
Improving interaction and participation: Leadership development in the collaborative classroom

Judith MacCallum, Murdoch University, and Veronica Morcom, Davallia Primary School

Collaborative classrooms are usually considered to be sites where children learn communication skills and develop personal responsibility, as well as academic learning. Framed within a sociocultural perspective, this research extends our understanding of how teachers can be strategic to improve student interaction and participation by teaching and promoting leadership skills within smaller social groups where leadership is not limited to academically and/or socially able students.

Leadership development is examined using data from two primary classrooms (year 4/5 and year 3). Data sources included parent surveys/interviews, student interviews/reflections, sociometry, teacher observations and transcripts of classroom and group interaction. Students in both classes were grouped into Tribes who chose a Leader and Vice Leader. New tribes were formed each term allowing a high proportion of the students the opportunity to choose to accept the role of Leader or Vice Leader over a school year.

Students developed their knowledge and understanding of leadership, including the characteristics of good leaders, and awareness of their own and others' leadership characteristics. Examples of 'leadership in action' in classroom interaction provided evidence that teacher and peer support increased student empathy, discouraged bullying and antisocial behaviours and transformed attitudes, leading to improved interaction and participation.

Keywords: Sociocultural and Activity Theory

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MAL07133         ®     PDF Paper
Measuring up for big school: A role for cognitive development

Claire Maley and Trevor Bond, James Cook University

For over 30 years, contention has surrounded the issue of preschool children's readiness for formal schooling. On one hand, the non-standardised skills-based checklists utilised by many preschool teachers to infer children's levels of readiness for year one seem ineffectual as the debate regarding children's school readiness persists. On the other, a Piagetian view regards the use of particular operatory structures indicative of the concrete operational stage of cognitive development are necessary for a child to achieve successful learning outcomes in the new formal education environment of primary school. This paper reports on the findings from an empirical research project in which forty-two preschool children were administered a Piagetian conservation of number task as outlined in the work of Piaget and Szeminska The child's conception of number (1941/1952) using the Genevan m‚thode clinique, and were simultaneously assessed by their teachers using the preschool's Key Indicators of Readiness for Year One (KIRYO) Checklist. In addition to the routine checklisting practice, participants then judged qualitatively on their preschool and early year one performance by their respective teachers. Rasch analysis of children's performances on each of the above-mentioned indicators using the Partial Credit Model indicated that success on the conservation task was more closely aligned with children's success in year one than was mastery of the KIRYO Checklist indicators. The implications for professional discussion and decision-making, as well as insights for teachers of early childhood sectors are canvassed.

Keywords: Assessment and Measurement

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MAN07374         ®     PDF Paper
Academic and social goals in adolescence: Developments and directions

Caroline Mansfield, Murdoch University

Over the past fifteen years there has been an increased research interest in motivation in learning contexts. Research in the field has been lead by those working with motivational goal theory, which emphasises the reasons students engage in achievement-related behaviour and takes into account both environmental and individual influences on student motivation. While much research has focused on academic goals (such as mastery, performance, avoidance), social goals (such as relationships, responsibility and status) have also been shown to influence students' motivation and engagement in learning contexts. Quantitative methods, such as surveys, have played a significant role in the development of this body of research, however more recently the use of qualitative methods is beginning to capture not only what goals students pursue but why such goals are important. This paper critically reviews the literature on academic and social goals in adolescence highlighting both major developments in the field and questions that remain unanswered. The paper concludes by proposing areas for future research and describing a study in progress which addresses some of these issues.

Keywords: Motivation and Self-Concept

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MAN07375         ®     PDF Paper
Responding to rewards and sanctions: the impact on students' sense of belonging and school affect.

Caroline Mansfield, Murdoch University

Systems of rewards and sanctions are widely used in school across the world to acknowledge students' academic achievement and learning behaviours as well as encourage compliance with school rules and expectations. Motivation researchers have documented the negative impact extrinsic control can have on students' learning, motivation and engagement and some have suggested that extrinsic controls may influence students' sense of belonging and school affect. Even so, how students may interpret and respond to extrinsic controls has received little research attention. This paper presents a qualitative study examining the impact of students' interpretations and responses to rewards and sanctions on sense of belonging and school affect. During a whole school year, six Year 7 students participated in nine semi-structured in-depth interviews about their motivation, including how they interpreted and responded to a school based system of rewards and sanctions. The findings highlight the importance of individual interpretations of experiences on sense of belonging and school affect, and illustrate the inter relationship between these variables. Implications for further research and classroom practice are addressed.

Keywords: Motivation And Self-Concept

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MAN07419         ®     PDF Paper
Auto-ethnography: A journey of self indulgence

Debra Manning, Monash University

My research project was to be dispassionate, purposeful and practical. Unexpectedly, as I grappled with incongruities between my expectations and the outcomes of the research, I became absorbed in an unfolding and powerful exploration of my personal impact on the project. Probing my underlying assumptions revealed hitherto hidden values and beliefs about my topic, the nature of research and my role as the researcher. The emerging insights created so compelling a narrative that my thesis was becoming more and more auto-biographical. I felt greatly affirmed by auto-ethnographic writings which reflect endeavours to explicitly link the researcher with their research and yet I felt uneasy with the degree of self-disclosure I encountered. I decided that auto-ethnography is a journey for the self-indulgent and that my own self interest was excessive and inappropriate. Resolutely I returned to writing up the research itself, however, I was unable to stem the flow of insights revealing the impact of my world view on every component of the research process. I am now convinced that time spent exploring our influence on our research is a form of 'self indulgence' that is essential to an open and ethical approach to research.

Keywords: Research Methods

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MAR07118         ®     PDF Paper
What about me? Children as co-researchers

Patricia Marr and Karen Malone, University of Wollongong

How adults socially construct children and their capabilities directly affects the way adults build relationships and share power and resources. If we view children as in need of adult 'protection' then consequently we take a dominant role in controlling and managing their world. If we view children as competent and active agents in their own right, then our focus would be on building bridges between our world and theirs. How we position children within research has changed almost concurrently with the development of these different constructs of childhood. In the seventies and eighties research was predominantly focused on children, in the late eighties and early nineties research was with children, and now we see a shift towards research by children. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate this paradigm shift by unpacking two child-centred research projects. We will illustrate how as adult researchers we have created research designs that support children to take up the role as authentic co-researchers. We will also share some of the key issues and limitations that have arisen from constructing a flexible and child-centred approach to research design in a university setting.

Keywords: Research Methods

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MAR07172         ®     PDF Paper
Home literacy practices of immigrant families and Cultural Discontinuity: Two case studies

Susan Markose, Macquarie University

Students of Arab and Chinese descent are often stereotyped in relation to their academic achievement, or lack thereof. Studies looking at the home literacy experiences of immigrant Arab and Chinese families are scarce. This paper investigates the literacy practices of two immigrant families, one each of Arab-Lebanese and Chinese descent. It is observed that conceptions of literacy are embedded in the socio-cultural contexts of the families. Consequences of a mismatch between home and school cultures and its relation to academic outcomes are examined.

Two mothers were interviewed on their beliefs and parenting practices in regard to literacy acquisition. While both mothers valued the acquisition of school literacies, for the Lebanese mother, the emphasis was placed on community literacies i.e. Arabic and Quaranic literacies. The socialisation practices of the Chinese family, engendered character traits of obedience, discipline, effort and persistence which were particularly adaptable to academic success at school. In contrast, the socialisation practices of the Lebanese family, characterised by non-hierarchical relationships and informality in inter-generational communication, clashed with the structured routines of mainstream classrooms and the formality of teacher-student discourse patterns.

The findings suggest a need to align home-school literacy practices and incorporate cross-cultural sensitivity in curriculum reform initiatives.

Keywords: Multicultural Education

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MAR07459     PDF Paper
Supporting and empowering pre-service teachers in their transition to independent teacher

Kay Margetts and Christine Ure, The University of Melbourne

The need to support the professional development of preservice teachers as they make the transition to independent teachers is a key issue in Australia and other countries. The ability to think systematically about their practice and learn from experience identifies teachers as being reflective practitioners, and is seen as a core element of being a teacher. Opportunites to engage in professional learning communities and reflect on school and classroom experiences with colleagues and more experienced teachers is critical in the professional growth and satisfaction of teachers. This paper briefly outlines the development and use of an innovative interactive electronic portfolio for supporting the professional roles and relationships amongst preservice teachers, teachers in schools, and universities during preservice practicum placements. The nature of preservice reflections and the feedback of experienced teachers is reported and aligned with the characteristics of beginning teachers outlined by the Victorian Institute of Teaching. Features of the practicum placement that support preservice teacher professional development are noted.

Keywords: Preservice Teacher Education

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MAT07094         ®     PDF Paper
A Model for School-Based Learning in Informal Settings

Donna Mathewson-Mitchell, Charles Sturt University

This paper proposes a model for learning in the art museum setting that has broader relevance to school-based learning in informal environments. Developed from a completed doctoral investigation, the model applies a socio-cognitive approach that recognizes the social basis of educational experiences and the cognitive demands of learning in informal settings. The model will be articulated and interpreted in relation to school-based curriculum and syllabus directives through its application to a secondary school-based art educational experience at the Bathurst Regional Art Gallery. Implications for the development of strategies that provide students with the skills, knowledge, capacities and distinctive sensibilities to negotiate alternative settings for learning in meaningful and developmentally appropriate ways will be outlined using the organising structure of the model.

Keywords: Learning And Teaching

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MAT07150     PDF Paper
Multiliteracies in Non-School Contexts: Museums as Cultural Texts

Donna Mathewson-Mitchell, Charles Sturt University

Museums are sites for learning that are commonly visited by schools. However the act of visiting museums is complexly situated in broader social and cultural relations. This paper argues that museum visiting as a cultural practice requires specific museum-based literacies that are rarely identified or explicitly taught by museums or schools. The lack of focus on literacy events and practices reinforces exclusionary perceptions that are supported by statistics that show museum visiting to be unequally participated in within the population. In examining the implications of context-based literacies for educational interactions that occur outside the school, this presentation explores degrees of congruence between schools, museums and academic disciplines, the impact of institutional meaning systems and systems of representation, differing degrees of cultural competence and the role of agency. Museums will be treated as cultural texts, with engagement conceived as involving the interpretation of texts that communicate through a variety of means, the construction of meaning and the written, verbal and experiential expression of that meaning. It is anticipated that addressing the social and cognitive demands of non-school contexts through a critical literacy will enable learning potentials to be realized and empowered cultural identities to be developed.

Keywords: Languages And New Literacies

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MCC07005         ®     PDF Paper
Becoming an insider: The impact of mentoring on the development of early career teachers

Ann McCormack, The University of Newcastle

The recent increase in interest in mentoring for early career teachers has been fuelled by the need to provide quality teaching and learning and address the current high attrition rates of teachers in their first years. This paper details a study which tracked 16 early career teachers through their first year of teaching. The teachers and their mentors were interviewed on three occasions in an attempt to provide a clear understanding of how these early career teachers achieve control over their professional growth and the role mentors played in this process. This paper makes use of qualitative data to discuss the nature of mentoring experiences, the skills required, the developing professional relationships and the concerns encountered. The results indicated the mentors in this study used primarily 'humanistic' and 'situated apprentice' (Wang & Odell, 2002) approaches to their mentoring with survival and adaptation to the school the focus. Little attention was given to challenging early career teachers' pedagogy or reflection on their teaching. The mentors cited a sense of renewal, increased self efficacy and improved leadership skills as positive personal outcomes from the experience. Suggestions will be made with the view to strengthening early career teacher support and retaining our future educators.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning, Teachers' Work

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MCC07181         ®     PDF Paper
Realising family potential through choice of schooling

Angela McCarthy, University of Notre Dame Australia

School choice is an issue that continues to stimulate energetic debate. Realising Family Potential Through Choice of Schooling is a theory that was developed to explain the process in which families engage to make educational choices. The grounded theory method was used to build the theory and showed that parents were challenged to make educational choices outside of the free government education system for a range of reasons. The grounded theory method provided the necessary rigour to develop a thoroughly robust and parsimonious theory that explains the process of educational choice. There were some surprises in the development of the final theory as it also involved the management of the choice and the dimensions of change.

Keywords: Education Policy

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MCD07106         ®     PDF Paper
The teacher's toolkit: Exploring teachers' perceptions of practice

Sharon McDonough, University of Ballarat

This paper emerges out of the interviews conducted with teachers as part of my PhD study. The paper draws on Van Manen & Li's (2002) notion of the pathic principle in teaching where "teachers know that the relational dimension of teaching is always in flux...always depending on the perceptiveness of the teacher for what is appropriate to say or do in any particular moment" (p. 218), considering this in relation to the recurring theme in the interviews of teachers drawing on what they call their 'toolkit' to address the needs of their classrooms. The language used by teachers to describe this skill centred on the notion of the toolkit or of having something up their sleeve, with interviewed teachers identifying this as a skill vital to their practice. Van Manen & Li(2002) argues that this form of knowledge receives little attention or recognition in educational research and it is interesting to see that teachers find it difficult to articulate their skills in this area, linking it to Polanyi's (1967) concept of tacit knowledge. This paper explores the suggestive possibilities of such tacit teacher knowledge in relation to their perceptions of their classroom practice.

Keywords: Teachers' Work, Doctoral Education Research, Post Graduate and Early Career Researcher

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MCG07336         ®     PDF Paper
Mentoring in Academic Settings: The Views of Mentees

Susan McGrath-Champ, Patty Kamvounias and Jeaney Yip, University of Sydney

Academic mentoring is a common practice used to provide guidance and support vital to career enhancement. While most mentoring programs attribute the success to the role of mentors and program developers, not many studies cite the role of mentees. This study explores the mentee's role in contributing towards successful mentoring relationships in a formal mentoring program. It specifically explains how these successful relationships incorporate the mentee's perspective, the actions each exhibits and what they have to offer to their mentors. This has implications towards the success of mentoring programs holistically, which are discussed in light of the larger realm of the University community.

Keywords: Academic Professional Development

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MCL07393         ®     PDF Paper
Peer-to-peer: An e-mentoring approach to facilitating reflection on professional experience for novice teachers

Catherine McLoughlin, Jo Brady and Rupert Russell, Australian Catholic University, and Mark Lee, Charles Sturt University

Professional development and reflective practice are essential outcomes of the pre-service teacher education curriculum, which the field practicum component is intended to address. However, the practicum experience can be particularly intimidating for students, as for the first time in their course, they are separated from their lecturers and classmates, and are expected to apply what they have learnt within a real school setting. To support students completing their practicum placements as part of a one-year Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education, the authors devised a peer-to-peer e-mentoring framework, facilitated by a Web 2.0-based technology model that is integrated with the university's learning management system. The framework allows for student interaction and structured dialogue that can enable professional conversations and encourage reflection on practice. In addition, it allows for the establishment of an effective peer support system offering mentoring capacities such as emotional support, feedback and encouragement that can help mitigate issues related to loneliness and isolation. Data collected in the form of blog entries and podcast recordings of critical incidents created by the students while on practicum, as well as post-practicum focus group discussions, attests strongly to the relevance and effectiveness of this approach to e-mentoring.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology and Pre-service Teacher Education

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MCM07087     PDF Paper
A Malleable Body - revelations from an Australian elite swimmer

Jenny McMahon, James Cook University

Australian Swimming functions on meritocratic principles as athletes are immersed in a culture that focuses on achievement. Meritocratic principles are accompanied by a technocentric ideology where swimmers' bodies are a commodity "viewed as an instrument and object for manipulation" (Broekhoff, 1972) in order to achieve success. This presentation focuses on the technocracy of the Australian Swimming culture. My experiences as an Australian Swimming representative reveal how my body was viewed as a malleable object that was trained and manipulated to a perceived ideal for the sake of performance. As a consequence, I began purging my body in an attempt to conform to an idealistic shape set by Australian Swimming team managers and coaches. This presentation will consist of two components - my personal experience and analysis of the story. The first component will be a story of my personal experience at the 1991 World Swimming Championships in Perth. The second component will be designated to the analysis.

Keywords: Health and Physical Education

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MIL07182     PDF Paper
'Remind me; what's the point of schooling?': Factoring back in the influence of changing economic, political and cultural contexts

Carmen Mills, The University of Southern Queensland and Trevor Gale, Monash University

Many current debates about schooling work to deflect our attention away from the influence of socio-economic contexts on student outcomes and do little more than 'blame the victims'. However, it can be argued that post-school prospects for students from low socio-economic backgrounds in western societies are worsening and social inequalities are growing at an alarming rate. We are experiencing a widening of the gap between rich and poor along with youth under-employment at the same time as manufacturing industries are moving offshore and industrial relations reforms are leading to an erosion of labour market securities. This paper locates one secondary school - situated in an economically depressed community within Australia characterised by high levels of unemployment, high welfare dependency, a significant Indigenous population and teacher transience - firmly within these broader issues of the changing economic, political and cultural context within which schooling now operates. Although the context is local, the problems encountered by students who are 'on the margins' of school success and of the socio-economic structure, are being experienced more broadly and have implications for thinking about social inequalities (re)produced in and through schooling.

Keywords: Education Policy, Secondary Schooling and Social justice

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MIL07399     PDF Paper
Productive Pedagogies: Working with disciplines and teacher and student voices

Martin Mills and Merrilyn Goos, The University of Queensland

This paper identifies the ways in which the Productive Pedagogies framework has been refined to explore issues of school reform in Queensland. It interrogates the individual items that constitute the Productive Pedagogies framework through discipline specific lenses. It also identifies the relationship between teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and their pedagogical approaches in the classroom. Through interviews teacher and student perspectives on quality pedagogies are integrated into this refinement of Productive Pedagogies. The resulting model, while retaining the four dimensions of Productive Pedagogies as critical for the promotion of socially just classroom practices and outcomes, acknowledges the contributions that teacher and student knowledges can make to understanding what counts as high quality pedagogy. We illustrate the model via observational and interview data collected from different disciplines in upper primary and lower secondary classrooms.

Keywords: New Pedagogies and School Renewal and Pedagogic Improvement

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MIL07410         ®     PDF Paper
Controlling or guiding students - what's the difference? A critique of approaches to classroom discipline

Zsuzsa Millei, Murdoch University

This paper fits into the small number of critiques of classroom discipline outside the field of educational psychology. This paper critiques classroom discipline approaches as discourse practices inscribed by shifting rationalities for governing individuals following Foucault's and Rose's ideas on contemporary government. This analytical context allows problematizing the taken-for-granted understandings about the 'unruly child' and his/her regulation. These can be re-thought as regimes of truth and practices produced for the government of children's conduct.

I group classroom discipline theories and practices into interventionist, interactive and non-interventionist approaches, and then argue that classroom discipline discourses constitute particular 'self-disciplined' subjects and that the notion of 'self-disciplined' shifts in different approaches. I align these shifts with changing rationalities for the government of individuals. I suggest that the release of regulation as it is assumed by interactive and non-interventionist theories do not liberate or empower students, but bring into play a 'deeper' self-regulation of individuals. I also argue that the conceptual foundation of these theories, such as 'collaboration' or 'community', has to be de- and re-constructed to reach the aims these approaches intend to promote.

Keywords: Educational Philosophy

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MOO07512         ®     PDF Paper
Tailoring delivery to preservice science teachers using the student voice to gauge conceptual framework.

Leah Moore, University of Canberra and Saamson Nashon, Univbersity of British Columbia

One of the greatest tensions in teacher education programs is that the expectations of the students and of the teacher educator are commonly different. One reason is that teacher educators may have difficulty in accessing a true picture of the skills and knowledge (conceptual framework) the students bring to the .classroom.

Preservice senior science teachers were asked to discuss what they needed to become effective science teachers. A thematic analysis of the responses identified eleven areas of concern including: refreshing and broadening science content knowledge; ensuring clarity of delivery; development of desirable personal attributes; learning techniques to motivate students; increased knowledge of appropriate teaching methods; enhanced knowledge of child development; acquiring skills in course planning and school logistics; learning how to manage the classroom; providing entertaining delivery; learning how to design experiments; and, linking the science with the real world.

This information was coupled with results from a "nature of science" questionnaire, content knowledge test, dispositional survey and concept mapping exercise to provide an overview of preservice science teacher attitudes and competencies. The derived information allowed teacher educators to tailor a cohort-appropriate preservice program. This "snapshot" cohort profile provides a foundation for planning, and a pre-program benchmark for subsequent evaluations.

Keywords: Sciences

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MOO07557         ®     PDF Paper
Adult Learning Styles of Modern Chinese Educational Leaders: Challenging the Stereotype

Leah Moore and Ting Wang, University of Canberra

A significant teaching challenge in China is dealing with misconceptions about the learning styles of Chinese students. We found that one of the principal reasons students enrol is to be exposed to non-Chinese ideas and concepts and to engage with alternative approaches to communication and adult learning. Students answered questions about their preferred learning styles, they self-assessed their Gardner' multiple intelligence profiles and identified whether they were more dominantly visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learners. Linking this information with in-class observations we found that more than 70% of the cohort had profiles that were similar to the patterns observed for Australian cohorts. However, while visual-auditory, mathematical and interpersonal intelligences were dominant as expected, many identified music or spatial intelligences in the second ranked position. When we look more closely at the cohort we find that these individuals are educational leaders who are already introducing innovation and consultative practice in their workplaces. They have come to the program for inspiration, ideas for implementation and a conceptual argument to support the choices they make. The combination of capacity to deal with issues presented in a direct manner, but also bring creativity to decision-making, as illustrated in the findings, is desirable in modern educational leaders.

Keywords: Educational Leadership

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MOR07547     PDF Paper
How rural education markets shape parental choice of schooling : an Australian case study

Rosemary Morgan and Jill Blackmore, Deakin University,

School choice and parental involvement policies have been a dominant feature of the past decades in Australia. But as with such travelling policies, there is little consideration about how they impact on the historical and cultural context, nor on the ways in which schooling and school systems and educational opportunities have been structured, A significant amount of international research, particularly in the UK, on school choice has been undertaken in large metropolitan cities. This study which draws on survey and interview data, investigates a regional rural education market. The study explores how historical legacies, economic factors, distance and school provision produce a particular set of practices around school choice. The study draws on the field of social geographies and policy sociology to inform an analysis of how families living in rural regions experiencing greater employment precarity perceive and act upon their options.

Keywords: Education Policy

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MOS07198         ®     PDF Paper
Students at Educational Risk: Dilemmas in policy and practice

Linda Mosen, Georgiana Molloy Anglican School, Lesley Vidovich and Anne Chapman, University of Western Australia

Internationally and in Australia, students 'at-risk' of underachieving or failing at school have become a focal point of education reform. Solutions for improving educational standards for students 'at-risk' have shifted from a focus on individual intervention-based programs to more systemic policies and strategies. The research reported in this paper explored the complexity of issues related to policy for students at educational risk in Western Australia. Specifically, it analysed the Education Department of Western Australia's policy Making the Difference: Students at Educational Risk, from its origins and intent through the production of the policy text to the subsequent practices in schools, focusing on the period of 1997 to 2002. This paper draws on the research findings to examine the competing discourses found within the policy; one that typified current global economic ideologies of decentralization accompanied by re-regulation, performativity and accountability; and a second that accented a new remodelled concept of social justice. Consideration is given to: the contradictions and tensions reflected within the policy process, surrounding issues of 'at-risk' between global ideologies and micro site practices associated with 'social justice' and 'economic rationalism'; the construction of 'quality' as 'accountability'; and issues pertaining to the compatibility of 'equity' and 'efficiency'. The paper concludes with recommendations for future directions of research into theory, policy and practice for students 'at-risk'.

Keywords: Education Policy

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MOY07560         ®     PDF Paper
Can video with professional conversations improve teacher education?

Kathryn Moyle, University of Canberra

Top of the Class, the recent House of Representatives Report of the Inquiry into Teacher Education has reinforced the importance of good practice and the value of the practical dimension of teaching as part of universities' higher education teacher education programs. At the same time, in Australia and in countries in which off-shore teacher education programs are conducted, there are three other concurrent concerns:

• the shortage of science, maths and literacy teachers and teacher educators;
• the integration of ICT into teaching and learning in schools and higher education; and
• the availability of schools and high quality teachers in which pre-service teachers can undertake their practicum.

Underpinning quality teacher education in any subject is the ability of the lecturers to develop in their students, knowledge and understandings of the relationships that exist between curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment and reporting. Demonstrating the links between these respective activities however, is a complex classroom task. Being able to see the links in practice helps to understand the inter-relationships between these concepts. This paper outlines how video case studies of exemplary teaching practice linked with professional conversations could be used to improve the quality of university teacher education.

Keywords: Education Policy, Learning and Teaching and Pre-service Teacher Education

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MUS07403         ®     PDF Paper
Students' perceptions of the characteristics of "good" and "bad" digital learning objects

Sandy Muspratt, Griffith University, and Peter Freebody, The University of Sydney

This presentation reports on one component of an on-going evaluation of an online curriculum program: The Learning Federation (TLF). TLF is charged with creating online curriculum content in priority curriculum areas and making them available to all education authorities in Australia and New Zealand . TLF's curriculum materials take the form of learning objects (LOs), which aim to capitalise on the potential of digital technologies to enhance learning, and which are potentially stand-alone interactive learning activities, integrating a variety of media (text, audio, animation, graphics). This presentation reports on an analysis of interviews with 200 students concerning their interactions with a total of 30 LOs. The themes identified in the students' talk were used to identify characteristics of "good" and "poor" LOs. The findings will be of value not only to developers of online content but also to teachers having to make decisions about using digital content in their classroom practice. It is a common assumption that young people will be engaged with any use of new technologies in classrooms. The results of this study contributes to a more complex understanding of students' engagement with LOs, as well as other ICT applications.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology

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NEI07173         ®     PDF Paper
Strategies to assist women become competent principal applicants

Helga Neidhart and Paul Carlin, Australian Catholic University

This paper reports a study about women in Victorian Catholic primary and secondary schools who expressed a interest in becoming a school principal. The research extends our earlier three-State leadership succession study (VSAT, 2003), which found that women were strongly under-represented among principal aspirants.

Data collection took the form of a lengthy questionnaire designed for deputy principals in Queensland (Cranston, 2004), was adapted slightly for use with a Catholic population. It sought information on the range of leadership experience across roles and schools, and the key factors that might influence the women's decision to apply. The questionnaire was followed by in-depth one-to-one interviews with a self-selected sample of senior leaders. The research explored their perceptions of principalship, including what they considered to be key readiness criteria, and invited them to nominate strategies, which might assist interested women become more competent and active applicants for principalship.

Keywords: Educational Leadership

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NEL07076     PDF Paper
The training needs of in-service as well as pre-service educators regarding the support of learners experiencing barriers to learning

Mirna Nel, North West University

Since the adoption of the Salamanca Statement in 1994 by 92 governments to make fundamental policy shifts towards inclusive education, the South African education system has gone through a process (and are still progressing) to change to a socio-ecological (inclusive) education system. In this system the intensity of the need of the child should be addressed and dealt with in any given context. This inclusive model has been legalized by the acceptance of White Paper 6 in 2001. Draft policies to put White Paper 6 into practice are being piloted currently. The focal point of White Paper 6 as well as the draft policies is based on the notion that all educators will have the knowledge and skills to identify and support learners experiencing barriers to learning in any given context.

This notion compels the higher education institutions to revisit their teacher training strategies with pre-service as well as in-service teachers. A pilot study with teachers from Secondary and Special Schools in one school district in the Gauteng province indicated that they have not been adequately trained in their pre-graduate training as well as in-service training and has a desperate need for knowledge and skills to be able to address their learners' specific needs.

This research study is addressing the following central questions:

• What are the training needs of in-service educators with regards to the support of learners experiencing barriers to learning?
• What aspects should be addressed in pre-service as well as in post-graduate training regarding the support of learners' experiencing barriers to learning?
• What skills and knowledge does policies expect from educators regarding the support of learners' experiencing barriers to learning?

Keywords: Teacher Education - General

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NEL07090     PDF Paper
A Story-based Language Enrichment Programme for Primary School ESL learners with inadequate English

Mirna Nel, North West University

The South African Schools Act allows parents to choose their children's Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT). Consequently, many parents choose English rather than a mother tongue as LOLT for their children, believing that it will guarantee success for their children in the world of school and work. The sad reality is that many English Second Language (ESL) learners with inadequate English proficiency experience barriers to learning, specifically relating to the curriculum. An urgent need for a language enrichment programme to augment these ESL learners' inadequate English proficiency was identified by a study conducted in 2003. A language enrichment programme suitable for the mainstream classroom was therefore compiled for Primary School ESL learners. The response from the educators was exceptionally positive. The results suggested that the story-based language enrichment programme can be implemented with success in the mainstream classroom to augment ESL learners' inadequate English proficiency, thereby facilitating effectiveness in education.

The paper will cover the following aspects:

• The profile of the ESL learner
• The merit of stories for ESL teaching
• Components of the Story-based Language Enrichment Programme
• Merits of the Story-based Language Enrichment Programme
• Limitations of the Story-based Language Enrichment Programme

Keywords: Inclusive and Special Education

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NG07432         ®     PDF Paper
A multi-sensory approach to enhancing writing in Chinese

Po Chu Ng, Hong Kong Baptist University, and Alexander Yeung, University of Western Sydney

A multi-sensory approach to instruction on writing is tested in three Chinese language classes (N = 100). The students were taught with the approach in the writing of Chinese essays in three distinct genres: descriptive, narrative, and expressive. Essays were assessed by three assessors: the writer himself or herself, a peer, and the teacher before and after the instruction. A 2 (time) x 3 (style) x 3 (assessor) repeated-measures analysis of variance found statistically significant main effects and also interaction effects. Overall, the approach improved students' writing over time in all three writing genres. However, the effect was found to be stronger for expressive and descriptive writings. The students did not feel the improvement in writing in the narrative genre as strongly as they did in the other genres. To improve students' writing in Chinese, the use of a multi-sensory approach may be helpful especially in the expressive and descriptive genres.

Keywords: New Pedagogies, Learning and Teaching

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NGO07629     PDF Paper
Identifying assessment practices using an analytical tool in selected South African disadvantaged schools

Mapula Ngoepe, University of South Africa, and David Treagust, Curtin University of Technology

Researchers of classroom practice have developed, and used various frameworks and classroom observation instruments to study teaching and learning. This paper identifies the assessment practices of teachers in selected secondary mathematics classrooms in South African disadvantaged schools. Valuable lessons for professional development could be learned from this research that can provoke debates and potential future studies in different contexts.

Keywords: Teacher Education - General

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NGU07223         ®     PDF Paper
First year Bachelor of Education students' mental models of themselves as learners

Trang Nguyen, Lyn Henderson and Colin Baskin, James Cook University

There is a great concern about the greatest number of withdrawals and failures occur among first year education students in universities worldwide. It is believed that students' knowledge and thinking skills may prevent them form completing their teacher education program. Mental models are seen as an important key to students' knowledge, critical thinking skills, and problem solving in learning environments. Accessing students' mental models will provide information about their conceptual scaffolds. By exploring students' mental models, lecturers may be able to identify students' difficulties and develop better instructional designs.

This paper presents findings from a research project that examined First year Bachelor of Education students' mental models while undertaking a pre-service teaching subject in Information and Communication Technologies and Education. The quantitative method study was used to capture the breadth, depth, and correlation factors from students' mental models. Results from exploratory factor analysis suggested that academic engagement, disengagement, collaboration, and learning strategies are factors related to students' mental models.

Keywords: Pre-service Teacher Education

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NIX07256     PDF Paper
Values for Evaluation

Lawrence Nixon, Maggie Gregson and Trish Spedding, University of Sunderland

This paper reports the findings of a systematic review, commissioned by the DfES, which sought to analyse what Further Education practitioners say about implementing national educational policy at the local level. This review raised important issues about practitioner autonomy, professional values and operative forms of quality assurance. Having recently been awarded Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training (CETT) status as part of a national DfES initiative, we were interested in exploring how the findings from the review and other associated research could be used to guide the implementation, quality assurance and the evaluation of the activities of the CETT.

It is argued that the model for implementing national policy at the local level devised in the light of this research carries real advantages. It opens up a space for the exercise of democratic and inclusive professional values, local autonomy the application of local knowledge, capable of improving pedagogical practice and hence more effective and efficient implementations of policy. Furthermore, this strategy is capable of generating more authentic forms of evidence to meet concerns of accountability and value for money.

Keywords: Education Policy

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NJI07514         ®     PDF Paper
University students' self-regulation of learning in an ICT-rich environment

Joseph Njiru and Russell Waugh, University of Western Australia

Using the analytic induction method from focus-group data, this study aimed at exploring university students' opinions, experiences, and perceptions of learning in an ICT-rich environment. The concepts raised by students were inductively raised to higher levels of abstractions. A person convenience sample of (N=18) students in a Western Australia University was used. It was found that students purposefully sought to self-regulate their learning - to a satisfying extent - in order to meet their needs for personal educational and career preparation. There were six psychological needs associated with self-regulated learning. Further, ten abstractions were extracted. The abstractions showed that students have different levels of self-regulated learning, from low, to medium, to high self-regulated learners. The study assists in achieving an understanding of how university students in Western Australia understand their self-regulation of learning, and how they utilize the ICT-resources to enhance their self-regulation process.

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

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NJI07515         ®     PDF Paper
Application of Rasch Measurement Model in measuring Self-regulated Learning in an ICT-rich Environment

Joseph Njeru and Russell Waugh, University of Western Australia

The Rasch measurement model was utilised in this study to create a linear scale of self-regulated learning in an ICT-rich environment. A person convenience sample of (N=409) university students in Western Australia was used. The stem-item sample was initially 41, answered in two perspectives (I aim for this and I actually do this), and reduced to 16 that fitted the measurement model to form a unidimensional scale. Items for motivation (extrinsic rewards, intrinsic rewards, and social rewards), academic goals (fear of performing poorly) (but not standards), self-learning beliefs (ability and interest), task management (strategies and time management) (but not cooperative learning), Volition (action control (but not environmental control), and self-evaluation (cognitive self-evaluation and metacognition) fitted the measurement model. The person separation index was 0.90. There was strong agreement amongst the students to the item difficulties along the scale. In the understanding that deleting non-fitting items may lead to domain deterioration, items that were considered conceptually valid, but did not fit the Rasch criteria were re-worded. The new items were merged with the items that fitted the Rasch model to form a new Self-regulated learning in an ICT-rich environment questionnaire and are proposed for future testing.

Keywords: Assessment and Measurement

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NOA07339         ®     PDF Paper
Methodological Processes for Investigating Melody in Sound

Betty Noad, University of New England

This paper draws from the theoretical modelling of sound as a social semiotic, by van Leeuwen (1999), and the growing discourse of multimodal semiotics, to examine the processes whereby speech, music and sound effects make meaning (semiosis) in film. Sound is increasingly significant for semiosis in contemporary digital multimodal texts presented on film, DVD and television. Multimodal literacy requires critical interpretations of textual meanings made in different communicative modes such as language, image and sound, particularly texts that persuade. While theoretical frameworks and metalanguages (grammars) are available for explicit teaching about the semiotic resources of language and image, there is a paucity of commensurate research which can support explicit teaching about the area of sound.

Methodologies for analysing the semiotic resources of sound are outlined in this paper. Using the soundtrack of The Queen filmtrailer, a conceptual and technical analysis of melody will be described and modelled in detail to critique how this methodology reveals semiotic processes, such as how melody realises the expression of emotions and feelings. Such analytic research methodologies have implications for developing frameworks and metalanguages for teaching about sound, and towards multimodal literacy.

Keywords: Literacy & English

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OBR07567         ®      PDF Paper
Burnout as an explanation for beginning teacher attrition.

Patrick O'Brien, Mary Keefe and Richard Goddard, University of Southern Queensland

The present study investigated the hypothesis that early career burnout is significantly and positively associated with serious turnover intention in teachers at the beginning of their careers. A sample of 96 teachers working in their second year as teachers in Australia was surveyed in 2006 and confidentially asked about their perceptions of their work and whether they had any serious intentions to leave their job and/or their profession. Respondents were also administered the Educators version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI: Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996). Significant associations between serious intentions to leave current teaching position and all three MBI subscales were found. These findings replicate the results of two other independent studies investigating turnover intention and the experience of burnout in beginning teachers working in Australian education systems. Together these studies provide strong support for the view that early career burnout is a realistic and straightforward explanation for high early career attrition rates that have been reported as problematic for the teaching profession in a number of countries including Australia.

Keywords: Educational Leadership, Teacher Professional Learning, Teachers' Work, Vocational Education and Training, Academic Professional Development, Post-Graduate Research and Supervision, and Other [Health and well being]

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OER07242         ®     PDF Paper
Piloting Online Learning in Engineering Education

Karin Oerlemans, Eric May and Bob Hurle, The University of Western Australia

This paper reports the findings of a pilot study introducing online learning in a school of engineering at a major Australian university. We are in the process of developing online courses, using blended learning. Blended learning denotes the blend of face-to-face with web-supported learning, and promises to offer globally disparate students educational access. In the pilot project we developed two online lectures and embedded these into the University's LMS, followed by a face-to-face workshop, covering a fundamental course concept. As part of the process we included a short assessment to allow students to check their understanding of the topic. A final test of their comprehension was included as part of the course exam.

The purpose of the study was both to help our undergraduate engineering students learn a fundamental engineering theory, and gain a greater understanding of how students learn in an online environment. We were interested to evaluate, on a small scale, the ways in which we are developing our course materials and be able to gauge firsthand the impact on students learning. Blended learning offers opportunities for deep and persistent learning when well designed and developed, but also raises some questions. These are further explored in the paper.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology [ICT]

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OMA07361     PDF Paper
'Primary teachers'practices in a demonstration school: The pedagogical uses of websites'

Lynn O'Mara and Christine Redman, University of Melbourne

In recent years, technology has cemented its place in society as an artefact of our social world and in education the pattern of Internet use has the potential to change the professional identity formation, individually and collectively, of teachers who use it.

Teachers are accountable to school councils, governments, colleagues, parents and the community at large for the students in their care and so researching how the Internet is used helps in understanding the individual rationales that underpin some of the day to day choices we as teachers make is important.

This study of the teachers' discursive practices carried out in an ICT demonstration school , seeks to understand their site practices in the context of their reality. Each of us has a pedagogical past or 'historical self' that acts as an agent on all we say and do in everyday life. The differences in how teachers interpret and utilize Internet websites may reflect to what degree this plays an 'active' role in determining a teacher's classroom practices.

Teachers might therefore use this study, in the future, as an analytical tool to rethink their personal educational journey in terms of a transformational model based on 'culture and agency'.

Keywords: Post-Graduate Research and Supervision.

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OTS07377         ®     PDF Paper
Effects of the British Colonial Policy on ethnic differences in academic performance in Fiji

Setsuo Otsuka, Charles Sturt University

At an upper level of education in Fiji, especially Forms 5, 6, and 7 of secondary school, Indo-Fijian students often perform better than their ethnic-Fijian counterparts. This pattern of ethnic difference in academic performance is a long-standing one, lasting over 70 years. The ethnic differences in educational attainment have been reinforced by the nearly one century of British Colonial Policy (1874-1970). The policy created intra-ethnic educational disparities based on rank between ethnic Fijian children with a Chiefly background, and those with a non-Chiefly background. Colonial rulers also created the rigid land-tenure system, which has greatly affected typical ethnic-Fijian attitudes towards formal education. Ethnic-Fijians who own their land tend to be more "relaxed" about their academic work than those who do not have sufficient natural resources for a living (e.g. the Lauans). The land-tenure system has also influenced ethnic disparities in educational achievement for ethnic- Fijians who own their land and the majority of Indo-Fijians who lack land ownership. The colonial legacies of protection for the ethnic Fijians, and in leasing land are very much alive today, and this continues to affect ethnic disparities in Fiji.

Keywords: Comparative and International Education

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OVE07151         ®     PDF Paper
What teaching does to teachers: The effects on teachers of the actions of the education system.

Jenny Overton, Macquarie University

This paper reports on findings from a PhD study entitled Teacher identity and power in contexts of educational change: A case study of teachers (2006). The focus of the paper relates to findings about what happens with, for and to teachers in contexts of change, with particular reference to the affects of the actions of the education system on teachers. The researcher interviewed eight teachers about issues related to how change affected them. A three tiered analysis process was utilised, employing a narrative, a grounded theory approach to arrive at three themes of change, power and identity, with their accompanying categories and sub-categories, and a discourse analytic approach using Gee's (1999) framework of 18 analytical questions. It utilised the notion of 'identity' as a tool for investigating teachers. The findings discussed here reveal the affects on teachers of the actions of the education system (in this case the Tasmanian state government education department). It highlights that teaching does something to teachers , and in this study, the actions of the education system and/or its agents, put the teachers at risk of eroding the sense of goodwill that has existed between teachers and the education system.

Keywords: Teachers' Work

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PAN07110         ®     PDF Paper
Shifting sands: Using SOLO to promote assessment for learning with secondary mathematics and science teachers

Debra Panizzon, Rosemary Callingham Terry Wright and John Pegg, University of New England

Assessment for learning places greater emphasis on assessment being linked intrinsically to the teaching and learning process. In this context summative and formative assessment become critical in providing feedback to teachers and students about what is understood and where learning and subsequently teaching should be directed to enhance student understanding. In NSW, this focus has required a major shift in teacher thinking and practice. A study using the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) model as a theoretical framework was developed to provide thirteen secondary mathematics and science teachers with a structure and language to reconsider their assessment and teaching practices for Years 7-10. This paper describes the mid-project findings after teacher involvement in a two-year professional development program. Science teachers recognised the usefulness of the SOLO model for planning a range of assessment tasks that explored students' scientific understandings and then implemented this knowledge to restructure their science programs. Alternatively, mathematics teachers applied the model to identify developmental pathways in mathematical conceptual understanding as a means of improving their teaching strategies in the classroom. These results demonstrated a major shift in teachers' views of assessment and their practices from initial interviews conducted at the outset of the study.

Keywords: SOLO model, formative assessment, secondary teacher practices, professional development

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PAN07136         ®     PDF Paper
Measuring scientific understanding: A pedagogical problem and its potential solution?

Debra Panizzon, University of New England and Trevor Bond, Hong Kong Institute of Education

The application of strong measurement principles to qualitative data regarding scientific understanding not only reveals important problems for teachers and curriculum design; it also highlights the basis of a pedagogical solution. Panizzon & Bond (2007) demonstrated that student's understandings of core science concepts diffusion and osmosis remained disappointedly similar across the high school - university transition, in spite of obvious differences in students, coursework and pedagogy. Moreover, Stanbridge's (2000) use of Rasch-scaled SOLO-based measures revealed that while radical constructivist teaching improved Year 9 students' understandings of particle theory, learners' levels of cognitive development placed a ceiling on student conceptual growth in chemistry. The mismatch between the demands of high school and university science curricula and the intellectual capacity of students to make personal meaning of scientific concepts creates a pedagogical impasse apparently not amenable to traditional science teaching or its social constructivist counterpart. Perhaps the solution is revealed in the research of Endler & Bond (2001; 2006) and Endler (2007), where measurably important gains over pre-intervention control profiles were demonstrated for high school students experiencing the Thinking Science program. The pedagogical implications of the synthesis of these findings for science teaching are canvassed.

Keywords: Assessment and Measurement

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PAR07329         ®     PDF Paper
Defining performance expectations: a critical review of teaching standards and guidelines

Lee Partridge and Shelda Debowski

The escalating focus on teacher performance has increased the reliance on teaching standards, accreditation processes and other forms of teacher review. With the focus on building a stronger recognition of teacher excellence, the pressure to measure and acknowledge teaching quality has commensurately grown. But do we really measure what we should? And are our performance standards sufficiently explicit to assist in differentiating teacher achievements? This paper reports on a research project undertaken on behalf of Scotch College in which a teaching quality rubric was developed to assist teachers participating in a teaching enhancement programme. The study critiqued existing standards and set out to refine and improve on those which currently operate. The paper will examine the weaknesses and issues evident in existing teacher performance standards, describe the process which was followed in developing a more effective framework and explore some of the factors which other educators may wish to consider when evaluating or adapting existing systems for their use in their own educational communities.

This paper will be presented as part of Symposium 10, DEB07327 Promoting sustained systemic change in an educational community: The Scotch College experience

Keywords: School Renewal and Pedagogic Improvement

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PAR07415         ®     PDF Paper
What's in it for me? New perspectives on motivating students with AD/HD

Lee Partridge and Nigel Williams, The University of Western Australia

Despite vast volumes of research into the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) and its impact on students, problems in the classroom which have AD/HD connections continue to be reported. There appears to have been little positive impact on the ability to motivate and moderate the behaviour of students with AD/HD from the plethora of empirical findings and the subsequent increased understanding of the disorder.

This paper makes reference to two independently generated, yet complementary sociologically-based theories concerned with the experience of students with AD/HD and their carers respectively. One aspect of the findings of both studies was strikingly similar, that is that students with AD/HD have active agency in relation to their inattentive and hyperactive behaviours, which cause so many issues in the classroom. In essence, these students choose to act in a particular manner based on a number of conditions which were identified by both the students themselves and by their carers. How these theories might translate to improved classroom practices to benefit the educational and social outcomes of students with AD/HD is discussed.

Keywords: Motivation and Self-Concept

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PEE07208         ®     PDF Paper
Narrative histories: Journeys of discovery

Eleanor Peeler, University of Melbourne

A narrative history is a journey of discovery that keeps memories alive. Narratives of those who lived in and influenced a particular time reveal the social, political and educational landscape. Memories of those who contributed to education in Victoria in the past century are quickly fading and their part may be forgotten as the reality of their ageing looms. It is important therefore to document the contributions of those who shaped our education system and to record their stories.

Narrative histories of schooling in Victoria in the post war period trace extraordinary changes that took place in the educational scene. Interviews with various people and members of organisations illuminate the significance of their work and their legacies to education. Narratives shared by those who remember add voice to archival records that already lie dust-laden and almost forgotten. This paper addresses narrative journeys of discovery and explores how personal accounts, interviews and examination of relevant archival sources keep their histories alive. Memories of this immediate post generation of educators bring reality to their contributions and enhance our educational knowledge.

Keywords: Research Methods

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PEL07275         ®     PDF Paper
WebQuests: An online learning strategy to promote cooperative learning and higher-level thinking

Lina Pelliccione and Jim Craggs, Curtin University of Technology

With an ever-increasing number of information and communication technologies being integrated into the classroom environment, educators are continually being offered new learning and teaching strategies. One such strategy has been the WebQuest. This instructional tool was designed as a vehicle to help transport students through a problem-based, cooperative learning environment, whilst encouraging higher-level thinking and providing links to appropriate Internet resources. The aim of this research was to identify whether WebQuests actually promote cooperative learning and high-level thinking in a typical primary school context and if so, how is this achieved. A qualitative approach was implemented, which included ongoing content analyses and a case study, involving observing and interviewing a group of year seven students. The key findings from this study identified that the WebQuest framework has evolved into a structure that not only promotes cooperative learning and higher-level thinking, but demands it. The WebQuest promotes cooperative learning by allocating individual roles to students and requires them to share their different results within a small group context. The study also revealed that higher-level thinking is embedded within the WebQuest model through a number of structural mechanisms.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology

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PER07416         ®     PDF Paper
School composition and student outcomes: A review of emerging areas of research

Laura Perry, Murdoch University

Throughout the world, school choice is becoming increasingly prevalent. While most of the earlier works on school choice were polemical, empirical studies of the effects on student outcomes are becoming more common. The increase in school choice is also bringing renewed attention to school composition and segregation, and their effects on student outcomes. The effect of school composition on student outcomes has been recognized at least since the 1966 Coleman Report, which found that the social composition of schools had a larger effect on the educational achievement of disadvantaged African-American students than school resources. Policy attempts to manage school composition and minimize school segregation have largely been ineffective in many countries. A new line of research is examining the effects of school composition and school sector (non-government and government) on individual student outcomes, disaggregated by student socio-economic status. In particular, studies are examining whether the effects on student outcomes are the same for all students. A more nuanced view of the effects of school composition on student outcomes may help policy makers and analysts mediate the negative effects of school choice. The paper concludes with other potential lines of research on school composition and student outcomes.

Keywords: Education Policy

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PET07120         ®      PDF Paper
Mentoring as a support mechanism for teaching practice by teachers in Higher Education

Lesley Petersen, Eastern Institute of Technology

Mentoring has been identified as a mechanism for support teaching practice, in the compulsory school and higher education contexts (Elliot, 2000; Feiman-Nemser, 1996). Informal dialogue with institutions across New Zealand has identified variable systems for supporting the teaching practices of academic staff, with mentoring as one such mechanism; however with no formalised system in place. At one institute, for example, past mentoring processes have involved senior teaching staff volunteering their time and assistance to mentor less experienced staff, as required, with no procedural guidelines, no policy directing this activity and no collection of statistical data.

The paper poses questions about and outlines the current literature regarding the establishment and implementation of a mentoring programme for teaching staff in the higher education context, and proposes a model that aims to achieve equality of access to mentoring for all teachers. Key aspects of this discussion paper will focus on the purpose and benefits of mentoring, training for mentors and mentees, exploration of different mentoring models and the issue of access to mentoring as a support mechanism for all teachers in a higher education environment.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning

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PET07128         ®      PDF Paper
Project Leadership for Educational Redesign

Judy Peters and Rosie Le Cornu, University of South Australia

A great deal has been written about the role of school leaders in educational redesign. Terms such as 'transformational leadership' (Hallinger, 2003), 'invitational leadership' (Novak, 2005) and 'constructivist leadership' (Lambert, 2002) have been used to describe school leaders who see continual improvement as a key part of their leadership brief. Conversely, little has been written about the role of project leaders in educational redesign initiatives even though the impetus for redesign often comes from schools' participation in funded projects. One such project, Learning to Learn, has been funded in South Australia since 1999. It is an innovative South Australian project aimed at teacher learning and curriculum policy for the future around the central question of: 'What does it mean to educate for a future that matters?' To date over 160 schools have participated in three successive phases resulting in significant redesign outcomes at the school and system level. This paper draws on data collected through interview, written survey, document analysis and field notes to explore the contribution made by the project leader to the achievement of these outcomes. It explores the extent to which the characteristics of effective project leadership are similar to those identified for school based leaders of educational redesign.

Keywords: Educational Leadership

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PHI07594   ®     PDF Paper
Capturing the complex nature of learning to teach in the outdoors

Terri-Anne Philpott, Monash University, and Tonia Gray, University of Wollongong

This presentation introduces a research methodology designed to capture the complexities of learning to teach outdoor education. Theories from teacher education, outdoor recreation and experiential education fields guided the development of this Case Study design. The aim of the design was to capture the complex nature of teaching in the outdoors. If you wish to know how outdoor and experiential education research methods can influence the field of teacher education, you are welcome to join us.

Keywords: Pre-service Teacher Education

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PIE07549         ®     PDF Paper
The place of critical discourse analysis in changing ethnographic fieldwork relations

Dean Pierides, University of Melbourne

This paper provides a position for critical discourse analysis in changing ethnographic fieldwork relations. Emergent ways with which objects of study are defined necessitate marginal orientations towards research. Performing relations of times past often denies the complexity of lived experiences that are now developing in the context of mobility. Beginning with a critical perspective, this paper raises questions about the history of a postgraduate group working with critical discourse analysis. Bringing forth the ways in which the group initially demarcated what counts as the application and theory of discourse analysis allows questions about knowledge production to be raised. The latter part of the paper repositions towards a more generative approach. It suggests the notion of 'situated discourse' as a way of undermining the themes of an assumed world system that continue to be performed through the kinds of critical orientations that appear in the former part of the article and in critical discourse analysis. The extent to which these tools can be useful in defining objects of study through the changing relations between ethnographic subjects is brought into question. This article is a contribution towards the larger project of continuing to produce an imaginary for multisited ethnography.

Keywords: Research Methods

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PIM07613         ®      PDF Paper
Reference Groups and Choices of Vocational Education: Case of Thailand

Nattavud Pimpa, RMIT University

Low prestige attached to vocational education and its inherent inequities are somewhat a common phenomenon in Thailand. This study aims to identify factors influencing Thai students' choices of vocational education. The results confirm five key influencing factors: personal attitude, curriculum, potential employment, attractiveness of campus, and tuition fees. Furthermore, this study indicates that teachers from secondary school and parents can insert a strong influence on students' decision making to go to vocational institution. In summary, it is recommended that stakeholders in vocational education in Thailand should carry on promoting a good image of vocational education and its students to the society. Since vocational education has suffered from being perceived as a second class education and taught which militates against effective learning, marketing communication, in an effort to create an on-going understanding with students and community, is strongly recommended.

Keywords: Vocational Education and Training

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POL07189     PDF Paper
"Long in the game": Elite networks and the local-global nexus in consultative tertiary education policy making for a small state.

Mino Polelo, University of Melbourne

In both developing and developed countries, education policies are shaped by socio-political and economic contexts in which they are constructed, and global discourses on education. Policy making is also a negotiated process that is highly political and contested. In Botswana, policy making is assumed to be an orderly process that is consensually driven. It is never problematised to dissect its politics. This paper, therefore seeks to examine the consultative tertiary education policy making process in Botswana, with a view to determine if it represents the interests of the participants in the consultation process or those of the state and other powerful social forces. The paper explores processes of consultative tertiary policy making and the power dynamics associated with it. Rooted within critical theory tradition, it draws from narratives of interview data, arguing that through inclusiveness and participation consultation hegemonises and legitimates policy in the interests of the state and elite networks. Consultation is also motivated by the desire to diffuse and contain threats to the policy process. Furthermore, pressures of globalisation are central to policy making in a Third World state, albeit anchored to the local context, principally symbolised by the state interests and the relatively autonomous bureaucratic-academic network.

Keywords: Education Policy

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PRE07376         ®     PDF Paper
Constructive dialogue in ICT professional development for the transformation of teachers' pedagogical beliefs and practices

Sarah Prestridge, Griffith University

This paper explores the transformative capacity of engaging teachers in constructive dialogue within ICT professional development activity. The paper reports on one aspect of an Australian Research Council linkage project that is concerned with models of teacher Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) professional development that result in multiliterate teaching practices. The Industry partners for the project are the Suncoast Cyberschools, a coalition of schools for whom being a 'networked learning community' is fundamental to their purpose. The relationship between Multiliteracies and ICT provides a contentious context around which teachers had the opportunity to engage with through an asynchronised threaded discussion forum. Data reported in this paper are generated from the archived posts to the threaded discussion forum and are analysed qualitatively for evidence of community and quantitatively for different forums of feedback and levels of discussion . The findings suggest evidence of both collegial and critical discussion. Collegial discussion was found to be important in developing and maintaining community while critical discussion was vital for its role in transforming teacher's beliefs. The data also reveals a number of practical aspects of online environments that inhibit constructive discussion.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning

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PRO07634     PDF Paper
Weaving a whole cloth: Metaphor as a response to representational challenges in critical narrative research

Brenton Prosser, University of South Australia

Research with young people who 'do not fit the mould' requires innovative and unconventional methods. This paper reports on the development of such a method with students diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Prosser, 2006). In doing so, it offers one researcher's view of aspects of the 'borderland spaces and tensions' (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007) between critical theory and narrative inquiry. In particular, the paper details representational issues that emerge when combining narrative and critical approaches within a PhD dissertation. This paper's rendition of narrative methodology and explanation of the use of a tapestry metaphor to weave together the work will be supported by a conference presentation that powerfully demonstrates the use of poetry to unravel its discoveries. Together, this paper and the subsequent presentation demonstrate the potential of narrative for sociological, educational and socially just research with marginalised youth.

Keywords: Research Methods, Narrative and Arts Based Educational Research

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RAF07333         ®     PDF Paper
The continuing myth of educational reform

John Rafferty, Charles Sturt University

When schools and school systems adopt reform programs, the values and meanings inherent in those programs create and perpetuate powerful forms of discourse that characterize the projects themselves, evoke loyalty and commitment. This paper proposes that genuine school improvement requires one to step outside the circle of discourse engendered by reform programs that promote a 'single minded' discourse about themselves and what schools should do. When schools are expected to accept particular programs in their entirety, an 'officially' sanctioned way of thinking about school reform and teaching is created and perpetuated. Proponents of reform programs may argue that such sanctions are a necessary feature of whole school reform as they provide a focus for energy and activism, for winning people's support, and for conveying to parents and the wider school community a sense of purposeful action and rational planning. However, these dominant discourses seem to obscure other perspectives, disallowing critique and preventing reflective discourse and analysis. Indeed, this paper holds that genuine school reform requires schools to break out of the imprisonment of dominant discourses and remain open to critical reflection. This paper challenges popular conceptions that school reform programs inherently engender school improvement.

Keywords: Educational Change And Innovation

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RAJ07453         ®     PDF Paper
Role of School Leadership in Learning at Work and Professional Development in Three European Countries

Raimo Rajala, University of Lapland, Maria Flores, University of Minho, Aki Tornberg, Finnish Ministry of Education, and Ana Margarida Simao Veiga, University of Lisbon

In research into teacher training professional development and learning at work are used more or less interchangeably. It is sensible to distinguish, although the concepts are related to each other, teacher learning from a broader concept of professional development. This paper explores the relationships between learning at work and professional develop. The both concepts are examined from the perspective whether motivation for INSET, job content, school leadership and professional orientation have a bearing on learning at work and professional development. The paper presents results of questionnaire data (N=736) gathered from three countries: Finland, Serbia and Montenegro and Portugal. Professional development is better indicated by such demographic factors as gender, age and size of municipality than cross-country differences. The data was modelled by performing a LISREL analysis. A model, which stressed the importance of school leadership in professional development, had a good fit on data. School leadership influences through teachers' professional orientation learning at work

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning

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RED07364     PDF Paper
Towards a dialogical perspective on agency in student learning

Christine Redman, The University of Melbourne

It is clear that social sciences are increasingly focusing on lived experience (James, 1898, Dewey,1934, Dilthey, 1976, Bruner and Turner ,1986, Hicks, 1996, Hodges, 1998, Sullivan & McCarthy, 2004) and it is my contention that such a focus on lived experience in classroom research can enrich our understanding of agency in people's lives in schools. This seminar will utilise a framework that theorizes the perspective of feltness, responsibility and motivation allowing us to consider the learners experience and subsequent progress. Children develop skills and processes that form their identity enabling them to act purposively in unfamiliar situations. This session will analyse the discursive practices of two individual students. Hicks analysis of classroom learning draws attention to the importance of children's feelings, emotions and values, and Hodges' analysis of a personal experience as a trainee-teacher illustrates how one can comply with cultural practices while feeling uncomfortable about them. If we do not take account of the feltness, the danger is that our theoretical concepts will float several feet above their human ground (Geertz, 1986).

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

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REN07450         ®     PDF Paper
Reading and writing the landscape

Jennifer Rennie, Monash University

We just chop and leave a mark. We just chop it and look. If nothing we just leave the chop there so we see that's a mark, and if you go again and you see that log two weeks later you see the log it will be alright. There'll be something.

Arnie is one of the children who participated in a study which investigated the transition experiences of seven Indigenous children as they moved from their community primary school to their urban high school. In particular the study documented the literacy and numeracy practices of the community, community school and urban high school. In this vignette Arnie explains how to find mangrove worm, one of the local delicacies. The children in this study actively read and wrote the landscape. They read their environment, the water and their bodies and they represented this through story, art and dance. As they moved to urban high schools these different ways of reading and writing were not valued. The paper will share examples from the data where the children were reading and writing their special place. It will also suggest ways that we might broaden our understanding of literacy to incorporate different ways of reading and writing.

This paper will be presented as part of Symposium 15, SOM07442 Space and place in education.

Keywords: New Pedagogies

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REN07504     PDF Paper
The Impact of an Integrated Curriculum on Student Attitudes about Science and Learning of Electricity Concepts

Leonie Rennie and Rachel Sheffield, Curtin University of Technology, and Grady Venville, University of Western Australia

Integrated curricula have been promoted as being able to provide the three-way benefit of improving students' conceptual understanding of science, the application of science understanding to real-world contexts, and students' attitudes to science. However, little research has been conducted about the impact of an integrated curriculum on all three of these factors. The purpose of this research was to examine the implementation of an integrated project and evaluate student attitudes, conceptual understanding and application. The case study was conducted in a Year 8 academic extension class and students were required to research, plan, design and build a small-scale house with a working electrical lighting system. The project also included activities from all other subjects including mathematics, English and society and environment. Data collection included pre and post project interviews and student questionnaires about attitudes and conceptual understanding of electricity, classroom observation and teacher interviews. The results indicated that student learning about electricity was evident, that students were able to apply their knowledge to the house building and their attitudes to science were positive. The data also indicated a number of barriers that needed to be overcome in order for the project to be implemented.

Keywords: Sciences, Learning and Teaching and Secondary Schooling

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RIC07348     PDF Paper
"Trust me kids, I'm a teacher": Learning about teacher identity

Emma Richardson, Monash University

This study intensively follows a group of teachers through their first and into their second year of teaching in State Secondary Schools in the Australian state of Victoria (N=4 year 1, N=3 year 2). Despite similarities in school contexts, these teachers presented diverse stories: they dealt very differently with the challenges they faced in establishing their identities with students and in the wider school community. Teachers talked about seeking collaborative experiences and establishing support networks, where they pursued reassurance and encouragement. Clarity about who they were as a teacher developed over the time of the study, as did examples of professional growth and learning.

Issues of induction are examined, with reflections on the mandated Victorian Institute of Teaching program, teachers' experiences of formal and informal mentoring, challenges of assessment and reporting, classroom management and discipline, coping with workload, and future career aspirations. The author's own career journey has strongly influenced this study: through association with the Victorian Institute of Teaching she is involved in the development and facilitation of government policy around beginning teachers. The paper reaches conclusions and makes suggestions for induction and mentoring programs, policy, and teacher education, which have general application for the teaching profession in Australia.

Keywords: Teachers' Work

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ROS07089         ®     PDF Paper
The Experiences Of Non-Jewish Teachers In A Jewish School: Building relationship through research.

Karen Rosauer, Melbourne University and Julie White, La Trobe University

Starting with the suggestion that the whole research endeavour might usefully be seen as a context for relationship building, this paper explores the relationship between a Bachelor of Teaching student and her research supervisor and reports on the research project undertaken by that student. An ethnographic approach was used to explore the experiences of eleven non-Jewish teachers at a Progressive Jewish Day School in Melbourne, through the means of semi-structured interviews. While the overall experience of teachers was positive, with comradeship and learning about Jewish culture, seen as some of the most positive aspects, teachers also experienced things they found hard, and as outsiders to the Jewish culture, made interesting observations about the culture of the school. The author integrates conscious reflection on her own experiences and partialities as a Jew and Jewish Educator into the research process, and builds on this to develop suggestions for action.

Keywords: Teachers' Work; Post-graduate Research And Supervision

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ROW07086         ®     PDF Paper
What feedback do students want?

Anna Rowe and Leigh Wood, Macquarie University

Effective and high quality feedback has been identified as a key element of quality teaching, and such arguments are well supported by the findings of meta-analyses studies. Despite this, feedback has been largely neglected in research to date, particularly from the students' point of view. For example, the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) has only two questions which relate directly to feedback, and feedback continues to be a common source of student dissatisfaction. An increasing reliance on written correspondence, brought on by increasing student/staff ratios, and a growth in online/distance education, means that for many students, tutor comments on assignments and exams provide only source of feedback on their performance.

This paper uses a phenomenographic methodology to explore student perceptions of feedback. Undergraduate economic and finance students enrolled at Macquarie University were invited to attend focus groups. Seven focus groups were run; one from each year group, one each of male and female and one of local and international. A questionnaire was developed from themes identified in the focus groups and administered to a large group of undergraduate students. This paper reports on the focus groups and the themes that emerged from the data.

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

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RYA07033     PDF Paper
Using online discussions to develop reflective and critical literacy teachers

Josephine Ryan and Anne Scott, Australian Catholic University

This paper presents findings of research into the use of online discussions as a mode of learning for primary pre-service teachers. It examines the outcomes of teaching in an online environment with groups of approximately 200 students, over six years (2002-2007), in a compulsory literacy education unit. Online platforms DISCUS or WEBCT were used. Teaching pedagogy developed during this time sought to encourage students to be reflective and critical thinkers such as the literacy teaching profession requires. Analyses of students' contributions to the online discussions in the initial years revealed mixed success in terms of evidence of enhanced student knowledge and critical thinking. Moreover, pre-service teachers' evaluations of online discussions showed that despite the fact that they were of the 'chat room' generation they did not always warmly embrace online modes of learning. Both findings led researchers to a better understanding of the key features of effective online discussion environments. Critical factors identified include the nature of the assigned task, the time spent online, the role of the instructor and the feedback given. Involving students in case study discussion was most effective.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology [ICT]

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RYA07034     PDF Paper
At the chalk-face: linking theory and practice in a school-based teacher education initiative

Josephine Ryan, Australian Catholic University

This paper will report research on the experience of a pre-service teaching initiative which made the site of teacher education the school rather than the university. In 2006, and in revised form in 2007, small groups of prospective secondary teachers worked for two days per week at the year nine campus of a Melbourne boys' school. In addition, their lecturers in collaboration with the teachers conducted significant components of the students' course at the school, making reflective practice the focus of the program. Findings of the study showed that the initiative was effective in addressing a number of the significant challenges of teacher education. Pre-service teachers were introduced to the profession in a gradual and engaging way and lecturers were able to work with pre-service teachers at their point of need. The greatest challenge was involving teachers in the program. Their very demanding work made their involvement problematic. However, the study found that the program worked best when teachers were most involved. As well as discussing key issues the paper will discuss how this approach might be applied elsewhere.

Keywords: Pre-service Teacher Education

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RYA07467     PDF Paper
Eliciting personal constructs to distinguish prevailing discourses in police training

Cheryl Ryan, Deakin University

This paper describes the use of the repertory grid technique to elicit the police trainees' and trainers' personal constructs to distinguish prevailing discourses in police training. This research is in response to a literature review of the interaction of gender, "Othering", and discourses in police organisations. Anecdotal evidence and literature reveal that pedagogical training methods are predominantly used in police training environments. Australian and international studies of police management education show a 'resistant anti-intellectual subculture' and a set of unchallengeable assumptions regarding police work, conduct, and leadership which prevents honest critical thinking. An analysis of training is pertinent given the national agenda for policing to become a profession.

Keywords: Research Methods

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SCO07267         ®     PDF Paper
Investigating impacts of elearning projects: Do they improve collaborative teaching developments?

Karen Scott, Mary Jane Mahony and Mary Peat, University of Sydney

The widespread introduction of elearning strategies has forced universities to adopt new and more collaborative approaches to educational development. eLearning in particular requires specialist skills and is currently driving this trend. At a large Australian research-intensive university with the mission to institutionalise elearning, there has been major investment in the establishment of a novel central team model (Ellis et al. 2007). This paper reports a study of the experiences of academic staff from Sciences, Technology and Health who were involved with the central team in developing elearning projects. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants, followed by thematic analysis. Preliminary findings provide insight into the impact on individuals and organisational units. The findings in particular address collaborative teaching developments and participants' reflections on working as part of a team. Critical factors for the success of projects were identified, including vision and leadership, curriculum need, the functioning team and commitment. Issues identified include resourcing, infrastructure gaps, management patterns, and recognition and rewards. Finally, we report the resulting implications for improving the efficacy of elearning development teams.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology

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SID07623         ®     PDF Paper
Continuous Professional Development Of Medical Doctors In Pakistan: Practices, Motivation And Barriers

Zarrin Siddiqui, University of Western Australia

Introduction: Structured continuous professional development programs for the health professionals have been introduced worldwide and a need is recognized in Pakistan specially for the medical doctors. This study explored the current practices of medical doctors in Pakistan towards their professional development and to identify factors motivating and inhibiting their participation.

Methods: A cross sectional random questionnaire survey with both quantitative and qualitative items was sent to 500 medical doctors across Pakistan. The response rate was 62%.

Results: Professional reading, peer discussion and attending workshops and conferences are the main activities undertaken by the respondents. Lack of time, organizational culture and finances emerge as the main barriers in attending CPD activities conversely, factors related to the educational activity, relevance, cost and incentives act as motivators for participation.

Discussion: To plan a targeted Continuous Professional Development program, policy makers and organizers need to take into account the motivators and barriers identified by the respondents in this study. Similarly there is a need for trained faculty for successful implementation, evaluation and research regarding professional development. This faculty may design effective educational activities based on a sound need analysis, using strategies that cater for to the variety of learning styles and needs of participants.

Keywords: Nurse & Medical, Motivation and Self-Concept, Teacher Professional Learning, Academic Professional Development

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SIM07568     PDF Paper
Student Attendance, Mobility, and Student Achievement: the power of implementing a unique student identifier

Roland Simons and Margo Bampton, Department of Education Training and the Arts

Student attendance and mobility are often used as proxy measures of student engagement potential in both academic and institutional reporting. It is fundamental a fundamental tenet in education that greater exposure to curriculum, and ultimately engagement, will result in greater performance on achievement tests, a key indicator of student learning. Others have argued that although engagement may be suggested by these measures it is not necessarily the case. What is the relationship between factors such as student attendance / mobility and student achievement? A further problem that has confounded large studies of an empirical nature has been the ability to track students who are highly mobile. These analyses take advantage of the unique student identifier (USI) developed and implemented by Education Queensland, government schooling in Queensland. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data for the period 2001 to 2007 are presented. Results for sub-groups of interest, such as Indigenous students and rurally located students, are also presented.

Keywords: Assessment And Measurement

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SLY07079         ®     PDF Paper
Teacher leadership in Anglican colleges: research in-progress.

Mark Sly, Coomera Anglican College and Gayle Spry, Australian Catholic University

This paper reports on a doctoral study into teacher leadership within Anglican colleges in south-east Queensland. The impetus for this study was a pragmatic concern for leadership within the Anglican school system. While teacher leadership was a 'hot topic' in Anglican education, there has been no formal policy on teacher leadership in Anglican schools and little was known about teacher leadership in action within this system of schools. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to develop a more informed and sophisticated understanding of teacher leadership in Anglican colleges with the intention of informing both policy and practice in this area. This study was situated within a theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism and assumed an epistemology of pragmatic constructivism. 15 teachers across three Anglican colleges participated in this study and multiple methods were used in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Whilst this study represents a work-in-progress, to date, the researcher has identified a number of key research findings in respect to the teacher's perspective on teacher leadership behaviour, motivations and feelings. These findings highlight the multi-dimensional nature of teacher leadership, and the ups and downs of this leadership activity as well as suggesting support for those who wish to engage teacher leadership into the future.

Keywords: Educational Leadership

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SNE07533         ®     PDF Paper
The cult of celebrity and medical misadventures: two case studies symptomatic of assessment as a social construction.

Kim Snepvangers, University of New South Wales

My research anticipates and challenges orthodox approaches to assessment and evaluation using case studies, and sets forth a number of accumulating exemplars symptomatic of assessment as adaptive and socially constructed. Using two case studies, borrowed from popular culture, the paper anticipates some of the dynamics and psychosocial dimensions of assessment practice. Both case studies, one focused on the cult of celebrity, the other on clinical indicators, provide an lucrative mechanism to explore assessment practice from the perspective of the teacher. Using a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis, the research applies aesthetic concepts such as authenticity and consumption revealed by the case studies, to assessment examples emergent from fieldwork data. Best practice examples abound in terms of structural models and approaches to assessment, however, this snapshot of my research examines assessment culture and practice. In other words, it is the social and motivational aspects of assessment which are of interest here. For example, the case studies and fieldwork examples, explore tensions surrounding the use of prior experience to predict assessment outcomes. The paper informs current policy debates on outcomes-based assessment, providing insights from research in art and design education.

Keywords: Arts, Assessment And Measurement

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SOM07443         ®     PDF Paper
Becoming frog

Margaret Somerville, Monash University

In Becoming-frog a university researcher and a school teacher/researcher will analyse the productions of primary school children who have participated in an integrated educational program involving a local wetlands. In one of these productions the children performed frogs to music made of frog calls in a prefect example of Deleuze and Guattari's 'becoming animal' (1987:274). In this paper we will explore the post-industrial origins of the wetlands, the structure of the integrated educational curricula associated with the wetlands, and the children's representations in response. These representations use digital technologies to link Morwell children with children in the US, using blogging and other web technologies. The paper will argue that the wetlands itself, the integrated program and the children's representations constitute a place pedagogy of the in-between and generate a concept of place as both natural and constructed, rural and urban, cyber and real, global and local. The most useful theoretical work that offers any explanatory power in relation to these findings comes from Deleuze's and Guattari's concepts of becoming animal, assemblages and practical geophilosophy.

This paper will be presented as part of Symposium 15, SOM07442 Space and place in education

Keywords: New Pedagogies

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SOM07563        ®     PDF Paper
Space and place in education

Margaret Somerville, Monash University

The question of climate change, drought and ecosocial sustainability have emerged recently as the big questions facing global populations today. These are issues of space and place. The response to these problems has largely been framed in terms of the techno-scientific solutions of modernity - moving water, building more dams, de-salination plants - combined with a neoliberal economic approach - water trading, carbon trading, economic sanctions. But what might be an adequate educational response? How might we educate a generation of children and adults who inhabit a global cyber world to be attached to their local places, to inhabit, and to know place differently?

This symposium will present current research and theorising around these issues of space and place in education in two sequential symposium panels. The first will present research arising from an ARC funded project 'Enabling place pedagogies in rural and urban Australia' focusing on issues of teacher education and how we learn about place and form community. The second will present research and theories about how children engage with place based pedagogies.

This paper will be presented as part of Symposium 15, SOM07442 Space and place in education

Keywords: New Pedagogies

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SOR07146     PDF Paper
Fundamentalist tendencies in ingenuous people's educational systems.

Jane Buus Soerensen, Ilinniarfissuaq

In Greenland a new school reform took place in 2003. In the new school reform and the work later on with the implementation of the reform the Ministry of Education has taken the stand that the school system should provide Greenlandic knowledge as a first priority. This priority has in the implementation been interpreted as being of more importance than the children's possibilities to acquire knowledge and skills to live in a modern world.

Keywords Education Policy

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STA07154     PDF Paper
Proving and Improving: Exploring the links between resilience, behaviour and academic outcomes.

Karen Stafford, Craig Moore, Keith Foggett, Elizabeth Kemp and Trevor Hazell, Hunter Institute of Mental Health

A growing body of international research explores the complex relationship between student wellbeing and academic achievement. An increasingly systematic focus on wellbeing is evident in educational policy, school programs, curriculum frameworks and professional standards. It is also reflected in several concepts within the research literature, such as Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and resilience.

Despite some research limitations, there is evidence to suggest that teachers can improve behaviour and learning through a focus on social and emotional development. Schools also have a duty of care to identify and assist students at risk of harm or disengagement. It is therefore important to build the capacity of school staff to promote wellbeing and to respond to the support needs of students.

Educational researchers and teacher educators can play an important role in strengthening this capacity within the profession, through developing responsive teacher preparation programs and further investigating the links between wellbeing, behaviour and academic achievement. Much of the available research has been conducted overseas, so there is an opportunity and indeed a need to undertake quality research in the Australian context. This paper will provide an overview of selected research and a discussion of some relevant Australian initiatives.

Keywords: Learning And Teaching

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STA07168         ®     PDF Paper
Pathway Planning: Examining The Process and Outcomes

Martin Stalker and Thao Le, University of Tasmania

The "Tasmania: A State of Learning" structures were borne from widespread discussion with the Tasmanian community between 2000 and 2003 to identify the optimum model for lifelong learning within the state. At High School level, with compelling research supporting the benefits of education and training beyond Grade 10, the major component of this initiative is legislation introduced in 2005. This legislation is a response to the communities overwhelming support now requires from exiting Grade 10 students to participate in training and learning. To support this initiative each school requires a Pathway Planning Officer who conducts a minimum of 3 interviews of 45 minute duration with each student through years 8, 9 and 10. Pathway Planning Officers within this process are expected to develop a relationship that will allow for each pupil to look at their strengths and attributes, to speak of their aspirations, interests, career path opportunities; all of which are supported within an integrated curriculum embracing a career/vocation focus. This paper critically examines the strengths and potential problems in implementing this educational initiative, specifically in the Tasmanian discourse and possible implications for other states.

Keywords Educational Change And Innovation

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STE07066     PDF Paper
Ecological Science Education

Robert Stevens, NSW Department of Education and Training

In recent years there has been controversy about the purposes of Science Education at schools, and whether it should be a preparation for careers of future scientists or whether it should be scientific literacy for all. A related debate has been about the role of philosophy or critical thinking in Science Education. In this paper I review two approaches to school science education, that I have called Traditional Science Education and Humanistic Science Education. I consider objections to both approaches and propose a new approach - Ecological Science Education - that places philosophical reflection on Science at the heart of Science Education.

Keywords Curriculum And Specific Curriculum Areas - Sciences

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STE07117         ®      PDF Paper
Augmenting the Clinical Apprenticeship Model

Carole Steketee and Adrian Bower, The University of Notre Dame Australia

The School of Medicine at The University of Notre Dame Australia has adopted a clinical apprenticeship model for the final two years of its MBBS course. In the context of real clinical settings, students observe experienced clinicians as they consult with real patients. Students are provided with opportunities to practice clinical skills under the watchful eye of these clinicians who provide constructive feedback and gradually relax their level of intervention as the students become more proficient. Data gathered from students and clinicians over the course of a year suggest that the clinical apprenticeship model has the potential to provide rich learning opportunities - providing it is implemented effectively. If implementation is left to chance then so are the learning opportunities. This paper describes the features of an implementation framework used to engage clinicians in the design and implementation of the clinical apprenticeship curriculum. It argues that this framework augments the clinical apprenticeship model in that it ensures its affordances are realised through the active participation of both the clinicians and the students. Students' and clinicians' perceptions of this augmented clinical apprenticeship model are also explored as they were asked to describe learning experiences that occurred before and after the implementation framework.

Keywords: Learning And Teaching

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STE07250     PDF Paper
The impact of action research in Middle Eastern education contexts

Lauren Stephenson and Barbara Harold, Zayed University

This paper discusses the impact of action research as a methodology and tool for teacher and leadership professional learning in a context of educational reform in the Middle East. The strengths and challenges of its use in the government sector, private sector and graduate educational contexts are described and analysed. The process of action research was complex and multilayered and included various aspects of change such as reflection, collaboration, adaptation, site based problem solving, communication, logistics and individual and collective learning.

The impact of action research clearly proves its value through the documentation of best practice and simultaneously it works to improve educational practices (Kember, 2002). It recognizes that action research is a powerful tool for addressing specific themes in practice, and attitudes and dispositions in the education profession.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Learning

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STE07309     PDF Paper
Designing skills for future business, improving training through collaboration

Lisa Stephens and Sue Blair, Box Hill Institute of TAFE

Bureaucratic structures are perceived as inappropriate in an era of flux and change, yet were important in providing security of authority relationships and clear task boundaries (Hirschhorn 1988, Krantz 1998). Effective boundary management is critical for people to be able to work together. In unpacking bureaucratic structures organisations need to find new forms of organising that provide stability, yet are responsive to change. Well-managed team-based structures can fill this breach. Working in teams required a whole new set of skills. As a team of teachers working at the Certificate V andV1 level we deliver a program that is a complete departure from our traditional methods of delivery. Using the framework (boundary) of Young Achievement Australia we created a practice firm which facilitates a much more holistic and individualised style of teaching enabling teachers to work with each student, meeting their specific learning needs whilst catering for differing levels of engagement and skill. In this environment students practice and develop critical soft skills. We have also imbedded a Diploma of Applied Design in industry into our courses to increase the capacity of our students to operate in dynamic business environments. This paper explores our experiences key learning's and future challenges through a systems psychodynamic perspective.

Keywords: Educational Change And Innovation

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SWA07178     PDF Paper
Are Mathematics Manipulatives being used in schools. If so how? If not why not?

Paul Swan, Linda Marshall, Terry de Jong, Paula Mildenhall and Geoff White, Edith Cowan University

As part of a survey of manipulatives use teacher were asked to justify why they use manipulative materials when teaching mathematics. A frequent response was that "students are engaged in hands on learning". The researchers felt this was a fairly weak justification - almost a glib remark. As part of a larger research project the researchers reviewed the literature on the use of mathematics manipulatives, interviewed teachers, visited classrooms, inspected storerooms and ran professional development sessions for teachers. As a result of these measures, rich data was collected providing a better understanding of how mathematics manipulatives are being used and why teachers decide to use them. Concrete examples will be presented to demonstrate some of the key factors influencing the use of manipulatives in mathematics lessons.

Keywords: Mathematics, Learning and Teaching, Teacher Education - General, Teacher Professional Learning, Pre-service Teacher Education, Early Childhood Education, Primary Schooling

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TAM07184     PDF Paper
Content vs process: Reflections on pre-service primary teachers' approach to integrated social education

Mallihai Tambyah, Queensland University of Technology

The essential knowledge base of teaching centres on subject content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and curricular knowledge. This paper investigates, from the perspective of teacher educators, what levels of subject content knowledge are needed by primary teachers in order to teach an integrated social education curriculum effectively At university, pre-service primary teachers need the opportunity to engage with curriculum, the theory and practice of social education and develop viable classroom units. Drawing on the reflective practitioner model of teaching, this paper examines the views of five teacher educators involved in the teaching of an undergraduate university subject in integrated social education (SOSE) curriculum. Data gathered from teacher educators' personal reflections and follow-up structured group discussion indicate that subject content knowledge, as revealed in SOSE units, was often superficial, while understanding of concepts and skills was also sometimes limited. However, understanding of the inquiry learning process, which is fundamental to social education, was much stronger. This preliminary study adds to an on-going debate on where the focus of pre-service teacher education should be regarding essential knowledge for teachers.

Keywords: Pre-service Teacher Education

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THO07137     PDF Paper
Professors professing: Does their research inform teaching?

Mary Thornton, University of Hertfordshire

Anecdotal information acquired through educational development work and cross-disciplinary trawls for examples of research and scholarship publications in learning and teaching, in preparation for a mock RAE early 2006, suggested a significant distinction between, and differential valuing of, staff who excel in 'research and scholarship' in their subject and staff who excel in teaching, and / or research and scholarship in 'teaching and learning' in some subject areas. Current funding arrangements for Higher Education have exasperated this split, yet universities were founded on the premise that eminent scholars and researchers, i.e. professors and lecturers, 'profess', that is, teach, and for students to benefit from their teaching. Whatever the basis of the split it is in no ones interest to perpetuate it. Star researchers who don't teach don't 'profess', and don't have any direct impact on students studying in their university. Star teachers who do 'profess' but who don't research or aren't scholarly short-change HE students who, by definition, should be exposed to the latest ideas and thinking.

This paper will provide valuable insights into current linkages and practice in Research Informed Teaching, insights that could usefully inform strategies to strengthen those links and enhance student learning.

Keywords: Academic Professional Development

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TOB07424         ®     PDF Paper
Mathematical backgrounds of preservice teachers in rural Australia: A regional comparative study

Stephen Tobias, James Cook University and Diane Itter, La Trobe University

In recent times there have been calls for a national approach to Teacher Education. The Australian Forum of Teacher Registration and Accreditation Authorities (AFTRAA) and Teaching Australia have with the support of the Australian Council of Deans of Education supported this initiative. However, concerns have been raised and reported widely about the standards and the professionalism of graduates (The Australian. 12/3/07, p.1). AFTRAA will apparently specify levels of numeracy needed for teacher registration. Many mathematics teacher educators agree that preservice teachers need to have an in-depth understanding of numeracy before graduating. However, they would also argue that competency has to be augmented with a means of addressing the phobias, low self-esteem and reduced attitudes to learning and teaching mathematics that many preservice teachers display.

This research study investigates the conceptual understandings, attitudes and beliefs of beginning preservice teachers from two rural Australian university campuses. In a recent SIMERR report it was noted that students from remote and rural parts of Australia were educationally disadvantaged in many ways. The study will also investigate the effectiveness of a developmental mathematics program designed to motivate preservice teachers to self-regulate and master the mathematics concepts that they will be required to teach.

Keywords: Mathematics, Motivation and Self-Concept, Pre-service Teacher Education, Assessment and Measurement, Rural and Remote Education

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TOS07411         ®     PDF Paper
Thought experimentation and modelling in the science classroom

Maurizio Toscano, The University of Melbourne

Employing the imagination to run experiments in our minds is as old as science. Yet, despite the ubiquity of thought experiments in science, their place in science education, particularly outside the context of tertiary education, is not very well understood. A clarification of both the nature and function of thought experiments is a critical first step towards their successful integration into the secondary science classroom. This paper begins that process by drawing strong links between thought experimentation and scientific modelling. This identification makes possible a new way of looking at students' and educators' understanding of the nature of scientific thinking. For the philosopher of science this paper strengthens the arguments in favour of a constructivist, non-apriorist and non-argument-based interpretation of thought experiments. For the educator it demonstrates the usefulness of introducing thought experiments into science lessons, not as specimens of esoteric scientific reasoning, but rather as exemplars of how scientists construct their theories.

Keywords: Sciences

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TRI07387         ®     PDF Paper
Science, ICT and mathematics as curriculum priorities in primary schools: What are the practices and needs of beginning teachers?

Sue Trinidad, Sandra Frid, Len Sparrow and David Treagust, Curtin University of Technology

This study was formulated within the context of an increasing recognition nationally of science, technology and mathematics education as curriculum priorities in primary schools. Recent graduates of a pre-service primary education program that had an emphasis on innovation and 'best practice' in science, ICT and mathematics education were surveyed to ascertain their teaching practices in science, ICT and mathematics, and their professional development needs within these three learning areas. Graduates within their first four years of teaching were asked to complete a written response, short answer questionnaire focused on: regularly used teaching practices, curriculum planning influences, professional development endeavours, formal or informal curriculum leadership roles or influences, and views of professional development needs. The responses (N=55) indicated: individual and class student learning needs and achievement levels, along with guiding curriculum documents were a major influence on curriculum planning and teaching practices; lack of appropriate resources impacted upon teaching particularly for ICT and science; science was receiving relatively little attention within overall school curricula and teachers had received little or no professional development in science; and resources and personalised professional development and support were seen as the greatest needs in efforts to enhance science, ICT and mathematics teaching.

Keywords: Teacher Education - General

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TRI07435         ®     PDF Paper
Issues in teaching and learning science, ICT, and mathematics in rural and regional Western Australia

Suzanne Trinidad, Sandra Frid, Len Sparrow and David Treagust, Curtin University of Technology,

Issues in Teaching and Learning Science, ICT, and Mathematics in Rural and Regional Australia: A National Survey (Lyons et. al, 2006) highlights data from 2940 teachers, and 928 parents and caregivers in rural and remote areas of Australia and provides the largest amount of quantitative and qualitative data ever collected on factors relating to teaching and learning mathematics, science and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in such schools. Data collected from focus groups of parents, students, and teachers in each of the states and territories enriched and expanded on this national data source. This paper presents the focus group data collected from Western Australia as part of The National Centre of Science, Information and Communication Technology and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR) project. Qualitative data were gathered from four case study schools (n= 23 teachers, 17 parents, and 20 students). A semi-structured interview protocol was used and the transcriptions were analysed and coded for recurring themes and emerging patterns. The four schools were selected to provide a range of sectors, types, and contexts to illustrate the diversity of schools within rural and remote classifications. The key issues and themes emerging covered a range of aspects concerning teaching in remote and regional Western Australia and indicated a number of direct and indirect influences for example, living environment, professional development and allocation of resources.

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

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UOS07210     PDF Paper
The cognition of pupils and the teacher on the use of learning strategies

Yuko Uosaki and Tadashi Asada, Waseda University

Developing pupils' use of learning strategies may depend on teacher's guidance in lessons, but it is difficult for the teacher to know more than 30 pupils in the class well. Knowing what kind of items he/she knows or don't know on the pupils is effective for the teacher to make their lessons better.

The purpose of this study was to know the differences in the cognition of pupils and the class teacher on the pupils' use of learning strategies. We investigated the cognition using a questionnaire on the use of learning strategies to 33 pupils in 6th year at a primary school. At the same time, we asked their class teacher about her cognition on each pupil's use of learning strategies. We asked them to answer with 'Yes', 'No' or 'I can't answer' on each question.

On the 51.8% of questions, pupils' answers and the teacher' s answers were same. The teacher said that it was difficult for her to answer about each pupil even though she recalled the pupils' usual days.

65.0% of the questionnaire which showed different answers between the teacher and pupils were the questions which pupils or the teacher answered ' I can't answer'.

Keywords: Learning and Teaching

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VAN07438     PDF Paper
When Old Is New: Exploring The Potential Of Using Indigenous Stories To Construct Learning In Early Childhood Settings

Christina Van Staden and Rashmi.Watson, The University of Notre Dame Australia

Incorporating traditional indigenous stories in the Early Childhood Curriculum carries a powerful message of cultural diversity and change - from the past denigration of Indigenous South-African and Aboriginal cultures to appreciation and reinstatement of such cultures today. Storytelling has the ability to create the right learning environment for early childhood students. In this paper a report is given of an exploratory study of the traditional South African and Aboriginal Dreamtime stories, which are seen as possible vehicles and innovations to educate students in Early Childhood in Australia and South Africa. These stories will also be used to find links with different Learning Areas in the Early Childhood Curriculum. Exemplars of such exercises are illustrated by means of the South-African, "Wolf who wants to fly" and Australian, "Banjora, Uwappa and the Mundurras," indigenous stories. The reason for working across two continents is that in South Africa, as well as Australia, indigenous stories were kept alive over generations by transmitting them orally. Some comparisons between these two

Keywords: Religious Education

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VIC07053         ®     PDF Paper
Community education for social change: The development of driver licensing educational strategies in North Queensland Indigenous communities

Malcolm Vick, James Cook University

There is a pressing need for education in remote Indigenous communities around road safety and driver licensing to address high levels of incarceration and road trauma resulting from unlicensed driving. This paper outlines a program to identify, educate, resource and support community members to be road safety and driver licence educators and coordinators, and to develop appropriate educational materials and strategies. The program is developed on a community-by community basis through negotiations between government agencies and self-selected communities. It aims to ensure that each community's program is fully embedded in community aspirations and programs, and is financially self-supporting. Self selection and negotiation are designed to ensure community ownership, and the linkages between the program and community economic needs and development potentials are crucial to ensuring sustainability of the program in each community. Community ownership is crucial to ensuring that the program is not dismissed as just another government imposed development. The program has potential to contribute to social change by enhancing community capacity, including increased capacity to take advantage of employment opportunities, and the reduction of disruptions to family and community life through incarceration and road trauma.

Keywords: Educational Change and Innovation, Road Safety Education, Distributed Learning Environment and Multicultural Issues, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education

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VIC07350         ®     PDF Paper
Road safety education in schools: A critical examination of recent initiatives

Malcolm Vick and Fiona Navin, James Cook University

This paper examines some recent road safety education [RSE] initiatives for senior high school students in Queensland. The first has been developed and trialled by Queensland Transport to promote safer driving by young drivers. Program outlines and a trial based on these program outlines are analysed. The second is under development by a regional Catholic Education office to assist Indigenous boarding students to obtain their learner licence as part of their senior schooling before returning to their home communities. Program documentation is analysed. The third was a one-off program implemented in a state high school in Townsville in 2003; it is analysed on the basis of observations of the program, student work and interviews conducted with students involved in the program. These initiatives are critically compared with current educational research on quality teaching. The analysis highlights differences, from a negatively focused information based approach, through a more practical-outcome focus, to an approach that engages students in investigation, significant 'real life' problem solving and advocacy. It argues that this continuum represents a shift from less to greater embodiment of quality teaching principles, and from less to greater likelihood of producing desired changes in behaviour.

Keywords: Secondary Schooling and Road Safety

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VID07222         ®     PDF Paper
The 'Global Schoolhouse': A cautious confluence of privatisation and internationalisation policies in Singaporean education

Lesley Vidovich and Meen Sheng Yap, University of Western Australia

From independence in 1965, the Singaporean government invested heavily in education, and maintained tight centralized control to develop its human capital. However, the late 1980s witnessed limited first steps towards enhanced school autonomy and privatization, and then in the early 2000s a cautious confluence of accelerating privatisation and internationalization was embedded in a broader economic goal to turn Singapore into a 'Global Schoolhouse' which would offer quality education services to the world. International full-fee customers would be attracted to Singapore and concurrently the outflow of local students would be slowed because the government would allow them to choose to enrol in Singapore-based international schools for the first time. The policy shift, although restricted in scale, was symbolically significant. The government does not directly fund these new schools, but they must comply with key national education policies, reflecting both deregulatory and regulatory trends, simultaneously, with all of the inherent tensions. On the one hand the 'Global Schoolhouse' concept is consistent with an ideological shift recognized elsewhere, but on the other it represents a particular Singaporean variant of a 'global' trend. In this, the Singaporean Government is actively navigating both global and local education markets simultaneously, as this paper explores further.

Keywords: Education Policy

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VIN07516     PDF Paper
Reading Habits in School:- Do students read full bodies of text?

Monika Vinterek, Umeå University

This paper is about reading habits among pupils in the Swedish Nine-Year Compulsory School. Results from a study with focus on coherent reading of various sorts of classroom texts (textbooks, newspapers, texts downloaded from the Internet, etc) are presented. By "coherent" is meant full bodies of text. All schools in a one of Sweden's largest municipalities participated in a survey. 1526 pupils in grades five and eight answered a questionnaire. In the questionnaire, queries concerning the reading of fiction where kept separate from other types of reading material.

The results of this study indicate that pupils receive little training in the reading of coherent texts in school. The main result shows that more that about 20 % of the pupils in grade 5 and about 30 % in grade eight fail to read a single coherent page of non fiction text as part of their schoolwork during a normal school day and that more than 50 % of the pupils read less than two pages such text a day. Only a few pupils are reading a large amount of coherent text. The results are discussed in the light of the good but declining reading results among Swedish pupils in international comparison.

Keywords: Literacy and English

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VON07497         ®     PDF Paper
The knowledge-doing gap: A theoretical perspective on developing eco agency through education

Athena Vongalis-Macrow, La Trobe University

Education for Sustainable Development aims to develop better understandings of the issues associated with the interrelations between the environment, economics and social factors. An international study asking students from the Asia-Pacific region about their awareness and opinions of environmental issues and appropriate actions for sustainability revealed that students do have a profound awareness and sound understanding of environmental issues and the kinds of behaviours required for sustainability (Fien, J., Yencken, D. & Sykes, H. 2002). However, when asked about how they go about turning knowledge into actions, the results were less than encouraging. It appears that while students are aware of what they should be doing, they are reluctant to put it into practice. This raises an important issue about the knowledge-doing gap and the transformation of knowledge into doable actions. It suggests that no matter how powerful the ideas, translating those ideas into action that go beyond classroom and beyond curriculum strategies, remains elusive. For this reason, the deconstruction of the space between knowledge and doing is essential to reconsider. How this space is constituted is a multidimensional problem.

This paper will be presented as part of Symposium 19, ROB07495 Eco-Learning: Towards sustainable education futures.

Keywords: New Pedagogies

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WAL07383       ®      PDF Paper
'Unfixing knowledges': Queering the literacy curriculum

Christopher Walsh, Deakin University

In the literacy classroom, students have few opportunities to use their literacy practices to contest narratives of race, class, gender and sexuality. Instead, extensive time is spent completing literacy activities associated with what "good" readers and writers do. Students' literacy practices are often formulaic, repetitive, and serve classroom management strategies producing a mythic narrative of good literacy teaching. This paper introduces a queer literacy curriculum that poses pedagogy as a series of questions: What does being taught, what does knowledge do to students? How does knowledge become understood in the relationship between teacher/text and student? (Lusted, 1986) It emphasizes developing critical analyses of heterosexism, heteronormativity and normativity with the goal of helping students understand binary categories are not givens, rather social constructions we are often forced to perform (Butler, 1990) through available discourses. A queered literacy pedagogy hopes to help students understand they have choices and alternatives in how they learn to be boys/girls and how they express their gendered and sexual identities through taking up or rejecting competing discourses in their lives. The presentation will highlight particular pedagogical approaches where students investigated, analysed and contested the usually-not-noticed ways a small understanding of heterosexuality has come to structure human experience.

Keywords: Language and New Literacies, Gender and Sexualities

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WAN07268         ®     PDF Paper
Investigating Chinese educational leader's conceptual change: From directive to collaborative leadership?

Ting Wang, University of Canberra

This paper reports some findings of an interpretative study which investigates the impact of an Australian leadership development offshore course upon the conceptions held by the Chinese educational leaders. The findings reveal that most participants tended to develop more complex understandings of leadership throughout the course. The study identified a general shift from task/directive orientations to motivation/collaborative orientated leadership conceptions.

The findings relate to the five themes:

1. role of leader: operational implementer vs. visionary strategic planner;
2. leadership approach: directive vs. participative;
3. relationship between leaders and staff: command and obey vs. collaborate and participate;
4. creating goals: idiosyncratic wills vs. shared vision;
5. leading process: task oriented vs. motivation oriented. Before the course, most respondents seemed to value strong individual leadership and collaboration amongst teams of leaders.

After the course, their conceptions tended to move to more complex perspectives of visionary, consultative and distributed leadership. They seemed to have attached more importance to motivating and engaging staff to shared visions and organizational goals. The study suggests that humanistic and shared leadership should be further promoted in Chinese educational institutions given the changing and networked nature of the world, although this change is a long and incremental process.

Keywords: Educational Leadership

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WAT07122     PDF Paper
Experiencing school: Voices of Queensland secondary school students with learning difficulties, advocating parents and teachers

Julie Watson, James Cook University

This paper reports the findings of Phase Two of a 2005 Queensland study which examined the secondary school experiences of 6 students with learning difficulties, 6 advocating parents and 5 secondary teachers. Participants were from government and nongovernment schools in Far North Queensland and south east Queensland. Semi-structured interviews were held with each group. Three separate question schedules were developed from the concerns and silences identified in Phase One held in the previous year. Phase One used and online survey to examine the attitudes and understanding of secondary teachers towards students with learning difficulties. Interview data was analysed using NVivo and categorisation and was found to support the existing theory associated with students with special educational needs including those with learning difficulties. Participant concerns varied among groups. Although all groups agreed that teachers often failed to recognise mainstream students with learning difficulties, that students often experienced inappropriate pedagogy, assessment and curricula, parents additionally wanted collaborative school practice, the promotion of community and teachers to take individual responsibility for student outcomes. Students wanted to be treated with respect and as individuals.

Keywords: Inclusive and Special Education

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WEE07016     PDF Paper
Mathematical knowledge construction through the use of guided collaborative critique in a quasi-synchronous chat environment

Juan Dee Wee, Jurong Junior College

The study of the process of meaning making is central to Computer Support Collaborative Learning. Several collaborative maths problem solving sessions have been recently conducted using the Virtual Math Team Chat, a quasi-synchronous chat medium (Stahl, Shumar & Weimar, 2004) used to facilitate the process of mathematical knowledge construction. The maths problems were designed based on the Guided Collaborative Critique (GCC) framework (Wee, 2007).The GCC framework requires students to analyse maths problems with "solutions" that contained conceptual or oversight errors, critique these problems with mathematical arguments and amend the "solutions" collaboratively. Our past research focused on the analysis of face to face social interaction of groups working on maths problems using the GCC framework in traditional classrooms setting. In this study, the GCC framework was implemented in the VMT chat medium consisting of a shared whiteboard, chat message box and tools for students to construct mathematical representations. Analysis of these sessions were based on the Collaboration Interaction Model (CIM) (Wee & Looi, 2007), a model designed to study the knowledge construction process of complex chat transcripts. This paper will mainly discuss how participants mediate shared understanding of mathematical representations and form mathematical arguments to construct new knowledge in the chat medium, using the CIM as the key instrument of analysis.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology [ICT] and Mathematics

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WEL07108     PDF Paper
Wikis, blogs and podcasts - Web2 technologies in teacher education

Muriel Wells, Deakin University

This paper presents a reflection of the infusion of web2 technologies into a teacher education course. It explores issues surrounding the use of a range of web2 technologies including wikis, blogs and podcasts. Web2 technologies are currently being taken up at amazing speed. This paper draws on the experience of using these new technologies in two units of a pre-service education course. In the two units students explored how these technologies might be used in primary schools. As part of their assignment requirements pre-service education students were immersed in these new technologies as they grappled with issues to do with learning how to use these technologies as well as reflecting on how and why, or why not, they might they might use them in primary schools including the potential for democratic collaborative communities of learners. The opportunities the web2 technologies afford educators as well as the consequences of such educational use of social technologies will be considered.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology [ICT]

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WHI07644 - KEYNOTE ADDRESS     PDF Paper
Education research under New Labour - some lessons

Geoff Whitty, Institute of Education, University of London

In this paper I review the experience of the UK education research community during the ten years since New Labour came to power in 1997. On taking office then Prime Minister Tony Blair famously declared that his top three priorities would be 'education, education, education'. This was set in the context of New Labour's declared commitment to evidence-based policy and practice in education, in line with its 'Third Way' riposte to the conviction politics of the previous government. While this brought significantly increased resources for those engaged in education research, it also meant much greater pressure to conduct research that was directly relevant to policy. The mantra of 'what works' has also had consequences for the education workforce in encouraging government prescription - something which the more recent, and somewhat paradoxical, emphasis on responsiveness to user perspectives has not reduced. Trends such as these are by no means restricted to the UK, and throughout the paper I highlight parallels with developments elsewhere, the US and Australia being two notable examples. These pressures have been further complicated in the UK by its existing system for determining the distribution of research funding, which has encouraged a focus on meeting traditional social science criteria and the pursuit of 'blue skies' research. In such circumstances, I want to consider what might be the best response from the education research community and, within this, the role that research associations can serve. While research associations must tackle issues around the research-policy relationship at a national level, they should also recognise the increasingly international implications of national arrangements for the assessment and funding of research. This points to the need for research associations to work together to a much greater extent than before.

Keywords: Education Policy

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WIH07009         ®     PDF Paper
Internationalising the content in Higher Education

Monne.Wihlborg, Lund University and BTT Blekinge Institute of Technology, and Lennart Svensson, Lund University

Internationalisation of higher education is a current theme in research and politics of higher education. The theme in this paper is related to present developments and concerns of the growing border-crossing activities that take place between nations and their systems of Higher Education. Higher education is expected to be grounded in research, research to be an international activity, and the universities to have an international orientation also in their education of students. The dominant discourse on internationalisation of higher education in research and research based discussions have up till now mainly been from a political, an economic and an organisational perspective. There is also a tendency to place internationalisation within the frame of globalisation and the increasing trade in educational services worldwide. We do not dispute that this research is helpful to clarify some main political and economic conditions for and ways of organising higher education. However, the research does not give much basis for internationalising the teaching and learning and development of scholarship. There is an obvious risk of neglecting the meaning of the development of internationalisation in higher education when it comes to teaching and learning intercultural knowledge and competencies, and development of scholarship. There is a need of addressing questions about the internationalising of the content of education. Both at national and institutional levels, in many countries, internationalisation is stated to be an educational goal, sometimes discussed as a linear homogenization process, sometimes emphasizing a pluralistic process, multilingualism and multiculturalism. In some previous studies we have found that the substantiation? of internationalisation as an educational goal is very elusive. The concrete content considered to represent internationalisation seems to be rather haphazardly included in the teaching and learning. There is also a tendency to look at what is considered to be general knowledge and general human qualities as what represents internationalisation without considering cultural differences. In higher education there is no institutionalised educational and didactic thinking as a basis for developing internationalisation of the education. The concrete thinking is very much restricted to organisational and administrative aspects of the education. The thinking about educational content and learning outcomes is much idealised and not developed in terms of students' competencies and capabilities (attitudes and approaches). In this paper we present and discuss some conditions for an educational didactic framework and approach to internationalisation of higher education.

Keywords: New Pedagogies, Educational Change and Innovation, Comparative and International Education and Multicultural Education

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WIL07095         ®     PDF Paper
Beyond the benevolent university: authentic collaboration with communities for educational access and success. Case studies from 3 university-community partnerships in Melbourne, Texas and Caracas.

Jo Williams and Brenda Cherednichenko, Victoria University

The number of university outreach programs designed to respond to research into educational disadvantage is increasing internationally. This paper investigates 3 such university-community initiatives seeking to improve participation and outcomes in education.

A comparison of similar yet distinct examples of practice across three international contexts illustrates how such projects are influencing a diverse range of actors through collaborative educational research, and changing the capacity of communities to participate in the practical implementation of specific projects for educational improvement and social change in local contexts.

The paper informs Victoria University's Access and Success project, a new initiative aiming to improve the access and successful participation of young people in post-compulsory education and training through collaborative research and strategic action in partnership with schools in Melbourne's west.

Comparable projects at the University of Texas, El Paso in the US context, and the popular education initiatives of the Bolivarian University and Mission Sucr‚ in Venezuela, provide evidence of a shift from university benevolence to practical and collaborative university-community responses to unequal participation and outcomes in education. This research provides rich new knowledge about educational reforms and community building.

Keywords: Comparative and International Education

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WIL07231         ®     PDF Paper
Policy and leadership as practice: Senior women academics and the "risky business" of diversity policies in enterprise universities

Jane Wilkinson, Charles Sturt University

This paper explores the ways in which senior female academics' leadership practices are informed and negotiated in relation to a multiplicity of fields. While policy is one of those fields and has a hegemonic hold on representations of women's work, it is not the sole site in which many women leaders operate, nor the most important in guiding the practices they produce. Drawing upon case studies of senior academic woman leaders, the paper examines the strategic ways in which they draw upon a variety of logics of practices from fields such as academia, feminism and the 'private realm', amongst others. The case studies examine how the women's leadership practices contest the emergent logic of practice of neoliberal notions of management which underpin the academic field. Such contestation can be considered one of the 'subaltern' consequences of policy regimes and form an integral part of policy fields.

This paper will be presented as part of Symposium 4, RAW07229 'Getting our hands dirty in the kitchen of policy and leadership practices': An exploration of policy and leadership as practice

Keywords: Education Policy, Educational Leadership

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WRI07651 - President's Address
Hear Jan Wright
Reframing quality and impact: The place of theory in education research

Jan Wright, University of Wollongong

In March 2006, Stephen Ball and others presented a symposium at BERA on the necessity of theory in educational research. As an Associate Dean (Research) with responsibilities for supporting staff and student research, like Ball, I have observed that theory, not just social theory, is a difficult space and one that divides researchers (those comfortable with theory and those less so), within educational research. It is an aspect of educational research training that rarely receives the attention, which I would argue, is essential for 'quality' educational research. In the context of the Research Quality Framework, it seems worth reflecting on the relationship between research informed by social theory and expectations of quality and impact. In this presentation I revisit the argument made by Ball and others for the necessity of theory, and discuss its role in framing research questions, informing analysis, and promoting reflexivity on the significance and relevance of research. I illustrate this process by discussing the ways theory can assist in the generation of research agendas and questions. I conclude the paper with an example of how a team of educational researchers from Australia, UK and New Zealand have made use of social theory to inform an ARC funded project investigating the recontextualisation of health knowledge in schools.

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WYA07015         ®     PDF Paper
Standards, teacher judgement and moderation: Education Reform with a focus on Assessment

Claire Wyatt-Smith, Griffith University and Val Klenowski, Queensland University of Technology

This paper reports on a large-scale three-year research project funded by the Australian Research Council that is studying three-related areas: standards, teacher judgement and moderation, and reporting. How teacher-led quality assured assessment judgements can be used to generate assessment data for system-wide accountability and learning is explored. The paper will report on work-in-progress on developing moderation models that involve teachers in the use of standards to arrive at judgements of quality of student work. The models have the dual purposes of achieving consistency of teacher judgement as well as supporting professional development about the improvement of educational quality in classroom practice. To date there have been no required moderation processes in the primary and middle years of schooling in Queensland. As a consequence standards have tended to remain unstated and where available locally defined and implemented. At the heart of the project reported in the paper are teacher judgement and the influences on decision-making in moderation processes, including consitutent elements in judgement and the influence of compensatory factors.

Keywords: Assessment

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YEK07068         ®     PDF Paper
Using Balanced Scorecard (BSC) to Improve Quality and Performance of Vocational Education and Training (VET): A Case Study in Singapore

Tiew Ming Yek and Alice Seow, ITE College West and Dawn Penney, Edith Cowan University

As the first education institution to win the prestigious Singapore Quality Award in October 2005, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) in Singapore can be considered as a world-class Vocational Education and Training (VET) institution (ITE, 2006, p. 17). This paper presents a case study of ITE using Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a strategic management system to improve quality and performance of the VET that it provides to some 23,000 full-time pre-employment students. The case study utilises the personal knowledge of the first author as Principal of ITE College West which is one of three colleges within ITE, and documentary sources to explore: (i) the relevance of BSC for ITE as a VET institution from a macro-system perspective; (ii) key considerations in adopting and adapting BSC; (iii) the effectiveness of implementing BSC in the institution; (iv) the internal impact of BSC implementation; and (v) 'lessons learnt'. Prospective application of the BSC in other VET settings is discussed.

Keywords: Vocational Education and Training

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YEU07420         ®     PDF Paper
Generic Capabilities For Lifelong Education: Conceptualization And Construct Validity

Alexander Seeshing Yeung and Winnie Puiling Liu, University of Western Sydney, Christina Ng, Hong Kong Institute of Education

To facilitate lifelong learning, recent education reforms have emphasized the development of generic capabilities. However, despite various lists found in previous studies, generic skills and capabilities have neither been well defined nor statistically validated. The present study attempted to (a) conceptualize generic capabilities in terms of 3 dimensions--cognitive, academic, and self, and (b) test the construct validity of generic capabilities using confirmatory factor analysis. Students who attended a continuing education program that was designed to provide an alternative pathway for students who failed in the Hong Kong secondary school system to pursue continuing education (N=2,806) responded to 13 survey items about their generic capabilities before the program (Time 1) and 13 parallel items after it (Time 2). Results supported a multidimensional structure of generic capabilities with the three dimensions at each time point. The conceptualization of a multidimensional structure provides a useful framework for the study of generic capabilities. It also calls for attention to the importance of generic capabilities in curriculum design.

Keywords: Motivation and Self-Concept, Post-Compulsory Education, Assessment and Measurement and Research Methods

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YEU07421         ®     PDF Paper
Workload and Psychological Wellbeing of Hong Kong Teachers

Alexander Seeshing Yeung and Winnie Puiling Liu, University of Western Sydney

Teacher education programs have mainly focused on pedagogical issues and have often neglected the psychological wellbeing of preservice and serving teachers. The fast changes due to recent education reforms have heightened teachers' level of stress. Those teachers who cannot cope with the changes may suffer from psychological illnesses. Even though the government's intent for reform is legitimate, it is important to consider ways to save the ailing profession from the stress arising from the changes. If given financial support from the government, teacher education can help in the following ways: (1) conduct workshops for personal and interpersonal development, (2) focus on learning, not teaching, (3) reduce unnecessary activities, (4) increase the scope of support, (5) provide lifelong learning opportunities, (6) increase human resource potentials, and (7) cater for teachers' psychological wellbeing. Revenue spent on these measures is worthwhile because it can prevent wastage of human resources.

Keywords: Teacher Education - General, Teacher Professional Learning, Pre-service Teacher Education and Teachers' Work

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ZAN07609         ®     PDF Paper
Learning environments for environmental education

David Zandvliet, Simon Fraser University, Canada

This paper will report on our efforts to develop and validate a learning environment instrument for use in environmental and experiential education settings. Our research program investigates the role that a sense of community and belonging in students has on learning - specifically the impact of the teacher-student interactions created in experiential programmes. As an integral part of the study we explore teacher and student perceptions of learning environments through focus groups and interview strategies. The result has been the development of a new instrument through the adaptation of scales from several widely used instruments and supplementing these through the construction of new scales of particular interest to environmental educators. We are continuing this inquiry with our efforts to validate the Place Based and Constructivist Environment Survey (PLACES) for use in diverse educational settings.

Keywords: Curriculum and Specific Curriculum Areas - Environmental Education

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ZHA07635         ®     PDF Paper
Case studies on quality supervision of international research students at Australian universities

Dacheng Zhao, Michael Singh, University of Western Sydney and Jiheng Han, Charles Sturt University

In the context of contemporary globalisation, an increasing number of the international higher degree research (HDR) students have been enrolling in higher education institutions in English speaking countries. Many of these students are from Asia, and especially from China. In this paper we report case studies on the professional growth and intellectual development of two international HDR students from China who undertook research training in two Australian universities, and the supervision provided by their Australian supervisors. It investigated teaching/learning relationship between international HDR students and their Australian supervisors, the characteristics of quality supervision in HDR training for international students from China and identified key academic concerns that HDR graduates had while training as researchers, and explored what they and their supervisors see as appropriate supervision. It intended contributing to knowledge about quality supervision and providing research-based information for international HDR students and their supervisors about improving research training.

Keywords: Post-Graduate Research and Supervision

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ZIN07398     PDF Paper
Outdoor and environmental education, race and ethnicity

Robyn Zink, Monash University

A principle aim of the senior secondary Outdoor and Environmental Studies curriculum in Victorai is to examine human relationships and interactions with the environment. Students are required to consider how Australians have understood and interacted with the natural environment over time beginning with indigenous cultures. Key knowledge and skills of this part of the curriculum are framed through comparing indigenous and non-indigenous cultures. Bucknell & Mannion (2007) commented that this comparative work is boiled down to 'indigenous good, non-indigenous bad'. In this paper I explore some of the processes at work that produce such a simplistic categorisation. The aim of this paper is to highlight some of the productive tensions of environment, race and ethnicity as a strategy for richer and more complex debates around human interactions and relationships with the environment.

Keywords: Environmental Education

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ZIP07537     PDF Paper
Pursuing strong curricular connection to students' lives: Addressing conceptual and methodological challenges

Lew Zipin, Alan Reid and Sam Sellar, University of South Australia

The Redesigning Pedagogies in the North (RPiN) project assumes that cultural life in 'less advantaged' regions carries rich funds of knowledge - i.e. vital assets for building curricula that enables engaging, rigorous and successful learning. As such, RPiN stakes its pursuit of social-educational justice on designing curriculum units that tap strongly into such learning assets in students' lived milieus beyond school. However, in curriculum units that teachers and students have negotiated within the project, we find that the warrant to make strong connection to students' lives is often attenuated not only by institutional obstacles but by justifying rationales. We have indeed construed subtle tendencies among the university research team to place stronger life connection in a 'too hard basket'. In this paper we draw on our RPiN experience, and RPiN data, to puzzle how/why such weakening of intent toward stronger connectivity occurs. In reaffirming commitment to strong connectivity, we take it as a conceptual and methodological challenge. We discuss a 'connectivity matrix' we have developed for (a) articulating differences between 'stronger' and 'weaker' connectivity, and (b) pursuing pragmatically useful balances between 'weaker' and 'stronger' moves to connect students' local community lives to school curriculum.

Keywords: New Pedagogies

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ZIP07538     PDF Paper
Collaborative action research for social justice: Politics, challenges and possibilitie

Lew Zipin and Robert Hattam, University of South Australia

This paper analyses the politics, challenges and possibilities of an action research collaboration involving multiple partners in seeking socially just educational change in a high-poverty region. The research context is an Australian Research Council Linkage project, Redesigning Pedagogies in the North (RPiN). The collaborating partners are (1) a research team from the University of South Australia's Centre for Studies of Literacy, Policy and Learning Cultures; (2) the Northern Adelaide Secondary School Principals Network, comprising principals of all ten secondary schools in this region; and (3) the SA branch of the Australian Education Union. We begin by situating RPiN's methodological approach in current literatures and debates about action research partnerships. In this, we highlight how RPiN enlists the agency of teachers, students and university researchers in designing and implementing curriculum units that function as research, eliciting 'funds of knowledge' in students' lifeworlds beyond school that can contribute to more vitally 'relevant' school curriculum and pedagogy. We then evaluate each partner's historical and current investments in action research, as associated with commitments to social-educational justice. From this, we analyse tensions, challenges and emergent possibilities across the collaboration, drawing on RPiN project data and policy documents from the partnership organizations.

Keywords: New Pedagogies

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