Teacher ethics: the link between quality teaching and multi-ethnic and multiracial education

Many current economic and social challenges lead to waves of migrating people. The countries where migrants seek refuge can be ethnically homogeneous and monolingual such as Greece, or more frequently, ethnically diverse with local Indigenous populations which have been subjugated and marginalized, such as the US or Australia. In either context, a significant corollary of migration is the absorption of children into the local educational system. Migrant children, much like the local Indigenous marginalized children of the host countries, have language barriers and different customs from those of the host country. Cultural mismatches between the culture of the child and that of its teacher have been empirically shown to result in a range of negative outcomes for the child, including behavioural infractions, low academic outcomes and dropping out of school. This research illustrates findings from the second phase of an extended study. The study aim was to identify what constitutes culturally responsive pedagogy in Australia to support the needs of Indigenous Australian students. Indigenous Australian students, like their counterparts in New Zealand and North America, have the lowest academic attainment of any students in Australia. Through qualitative interviews with Indigenous parents, teachers and students, we identified a range of teacher behaviours deemed by Indigenous people to be indicators of teacher quality as indicated by culturally responsive pedagogy. From these we constructed a teacher survey which was piloted with two waves of practicing teachers. Latent Trait Analyses using the Rasch Model validated the survey and its underlying factors. Findings showed that teachers' ethic of care strongly predicted their pedagogical expertise. Implications of the research include redefining quality teaching as a pedagogy based on strong ethical standards driven by a vocational disposition which seek to benefit all students including those from ethnically diverse groups such as Indigenous students, refugees and recent migrants

Effective Behaviour Management Strategies for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students: A Literature Review

This paper reports findings from a systematic literature review conducted to identify effective behaviour management strategies which create a positive learning environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The search criteria employed resulted in 103 documents which were analysed in response to this focus. Results identified eight themes underpinning strategies for effective behaviour management. Despite the suggested actions, the review highlights that little empirical research has been conducted to validate effective classroom behaviour management strategies; strategies which may also be used to inform teacher education. Considering the high representation of Indigenous students in statistics related to behaviour infringements and other negative school outcomes, this review affirms the urgent need for research to investigate and establish empirically what constitutes effective behaviour management for Indigenous students

Effective Teaching Practices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students: A Review of the Literature

This paper presents a review of the literature pertaining to the teacher actions that influence Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander student learning outcomes. This review investigates two foci: the identification of teacher actions influencing learning outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students and the methodological approach to how the influence of teacher behaviours on student learning has been determined. The literature review identifies that published literature in the effective teaching area is predominantly in the ‘good ideas’ category; that is assertions are made by authors with no research-based evidence for supporting such claims, especially through quantitative research which seeks to test the influence of specific facets of quality teaching, especially those facets identified by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students as the qualities of effective teachers. Where there is evidence supporting best practices, the evidence is primarily qualitative in nature. The review affirms the need for empirical evidence to “tease out facets of quality teaching that are salient to Aboriginal students; elucidate their perspectives of teacher quality; and test the influence of specific facets of quality teaching on academic outcomes and the consequences of the findings for developing interventions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.” Craven, Bodkin-Andrews and Yeung\u27s (2007, p4

Risk modelling of fires and explosions in open-sided offshore platform modules

Incidents involving fires and explosions present a major hazard to the workforce on offshore oil and gas platforms. Following the Piper Alpha Disaster in 1988, platform operators for the UK sector are required to submit safety cases for approval by the Health and Safety Executive. A key requirement of these safety cases is that hazards associated with an accidental release of hydrocarbons have been demonstrated to be as low as reasonably practicable. This paper aims to describe a process for estimating the expected number of fatalities on offshore platforms with open-sided modules using a Monte Carlo simulation method implemented within the SAROS (Safety and Reliability of Offshore Structures) software. The process involves estimation of the frequency and magnitude of jet fires, pool fires and explosions. This is combined with the distribution of the workforce over the platform at the time of the incident to predict the risk of fatality

Risk modelling of fires and explosions in open-sided offshore platform modules

Incidents involving fires and explosions present a major hazard to the workforce on offshore oil and gas platforms. Following the Piper Alpha Disaster in 1988, platform operators for the UK sector are required to submit safety cases for approval by the Health and Safety Executive. A key requirement of these safety cases is that hazards associated with an accidental release of hydrocarbons have been demonstrated to be as low as reasonably practicable. This paper aims to describe a process for estimating the expected number of fatalities on offshore platforms with open-sided modules using a Monte Carlo simulation method implemented within the safety and reliability of offshore structures (SAROS) software. The process involves estimation of the frequency and magnitude of jet fires, pool fires, and explosions. This is combined with the distribution of the workforce over the platform at the time of the incident to predict the risk of fatality

The role of social networks in students’ learning experiences

The aim of this research is to investigate the role of social networks in computer science education. The Internet shows great potential for enhancing collaboration between people and the role of social software has become increasingly relevant in recent years. This research focuses on analyzing the role that social networks play in students’ learning experiences. The construction of students’ social networks, the evolution of these networks, and their effects on the students’ learning experience in a university environment are examined

Rapid qualitative analysis in a mixed-methods evaluation of an infection prevention intervention in a UK hospital setting during the COVID-19 pandemic: A discussion of the CLEAN study methodology

The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent need for high-quality rapid research. One clinical challenge was how to minimise the risk of transmission in the hospital setting. The CLEAN study conducted a rapid evaluation of the potential utility of a spray-based disinfectant in a hospital setting. The study was undertaken between December 2020 and March 2021 and involved the implementation of the spray in 10 different clinical areas in one UK teaching hospital. A mixed-methods approach was adopted (including observations, surveys, and qualitative interviews) informed by the theories for understanding the implementation of new healthcare technologies. The evaluation found that while the spray had a number of perceived benefits when added to existing disinfection processes, other factors limited its potential utility. These findings informed a number of recommendations for future adoption within hospital settings. This paper describes and reflects on the rapid methodology that allowed us to undertake the study and deliver results in a short space of time. We experienced a number of pressures during set-up and fieldwork due to the challenging conditions caused by the pandemic, and the methodological approach had to evolve throughout the study because of the changing clinical context. The involvement of clinicians from the research setting as full members of the research team was key to the rapid delivery of the research. They provided an essential link to the implementation environment, and their experiential knowledge of the setting added an important perspective to the analysis. Balancing their involvement with their clinical roles was challenging, however, as was coordinating a large and diverse team of interviewers in such a short space of time. Overall, the study highlighted the value of rapid research to inform urgent healthcare decisions in a pandemic. Although our experience suggests that conducting such research requires some practical and methodological trade-offs, we found that there were also numerous benefits of using rapid methods and identified various opportunities to ensure their robustness

Chikungunya Virus and Central Nervous System Infections in Children, India

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus best known for causing fever, rash, arthralgia, and occasional neurologic disease. By using real-time reverse transcription–PCR, we detected CHIKV in plasma samples of 8 (14%) of 58 children with suspected central nervous system infection in Bellary, India. CHIKV was also detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of 3 children

Distance travelled : Outcomes and evidence in flexible learning options

Flexible learning options (FLOs) provide individualised learning pathways for disengaged young people with strong emphasis on inclusivity and wellbeing support. Amidst a rapid expansion of Australia’s flexible learning sector, service providers are under increasing pressure to substantiate participant outcomes. This paper stems from a national study of the value of FLOs to young people and the broader Australian community. The study enumerates the outcomes valued by flexible learning practitioners, as well as the various evidence forms they cite to substantiate participant outcomes. Framing success as ‘distance travelled’ (i.e. an individual’s progress relative to his or her own starting point), practitioners demonstrate critical awareness of the social and structural mechanisms by which young people are marginalised from mainstream schooling. Holistic assessment practices also reveal practitioners’ efforts to expand the terms of reference by which educational outcomes may be validated in alternative education settings