Outcomes based education? Rethinking the provision of compulsory education in Western Australia

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

Grouping & regrouping using Mixintools: An exploratory study

On a regular basis, teachers find it necessary to place children into groups for instruction. Random assignment is typically the norm when group composition is immaterial to the task. When member-sensitive groups need to be created, teachers might associate specific assignment with colours, numbers or other coding systems. Mixintools offers the teacher a strategy for creating groups in an enjoyable, expedient and variable fashion. Or does it? The purpose of this research was to determine whether the resource had any value from the perspective of both the teacher and the student. Data were sourced from three primary schools and one university teacher education class regarding the usefulness of Mixintools. Results indicated a mixed response. Reasons for this are reported

Outcomes-Based Education and the Death of Knowledge

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

Supervising a Research Thesis: A Practical Guide

Introduction (Or… what have I gotten myself into?) Supervising a thesis student is not difficult. It can, however, be angst-inducing for inexperienced supervisors. I recall my own insecurity when asked to supervise my first thesis candidate – an Honours student for whom hindsight makes me feel sorry. I remember at the time seeking the advice of a more experienced colleague, bemoaning the fact that I was too inexperienced for the task. His response was simply “so what’s the best way to get experience?”. These words, although perceived as being dismissively callous at the time, have held me in good stead. ISBN: 978064654249

University corporatisation: The assault of rationalism on the academic spirit

The world-wide obsession with rationalistically-based decision-making processes has resulted in individuals and societies alike suffering at the hands of bureaucrats and their masters, federal and state politicians. Institutions, industries, and even governments are now being seen as organisations to be managed by cold reason with little or no account being taken of the human spirit or of the attitudes and values of individuals. It appears that human worth and dignity have been replaced by rationalistically-motivated expediency cloaked in jargon divined by corporate management. Sadly, this form of rationality has found its way into Australian universities and is detrimentally affecting the mission of, and academic culture within, these institutions of higher learning. Such reshaping has resulted in most publicly-funded universities now evolving as businesses rather than autonomous centres of learning, research and scholarship. The present work explores the antecedents of rationalism, challenges the value of this prevailing ideology, and presents an alternative paradigm for maintaining the mission and culture of the university

Managing major educational change: Is the Cyclical Integration Model the answer?

Where minds meet, there lies the change vector. I have for a long time been fascinated by the way in which change, and specifically educational change, is managed. More often than not it seems, minds fail to meet in a crucial change-space. They either unwittingly zip past each other, deliberately avoid one another, or worse still, collide with excruciating force. This paper examines the interrelated role of government, the public service and teachers in successfully transitioning major change. It is argued that unless these bodies operate in synchrony, change negotiation is likely to be hampered. To this end, a model of ‘cyclical integration’ is presented and supported by driving questions for each of the three agencies facilitating the change process. Although it is considered that these questions are sufficiently broad to encompass change management across any number of enterprises, what is being considered in this paper is the arena of education. Berlach, R. G. (2010). Managing major educational change: Is the Cyclical Integration Model the answer?\u27 in G. Tchibozo (ed.), Proceedings of the 2nd Paris International Conference on Education, Economy and Society, Vol. 1, Strasbourg (France), Analytrics. ISBN: 978295338426

Two Book Reviews

Crowley, S. (2003). Getting the Buggers to Behave (2nd ed.). NY: Continuum. McLeod, J., & Reynolds, R. (2003). Planning for Learning. Tuggerah, Australia: Social Science Press

‘Tribes TLC’: Teacher education students’ perceptions

Tribes TLC is a process rather than a programme per se that aims to facilitate interactive learning and assist in the engendering of a positive classroom climate. Devised in the USA and imported into a number of contexts internationally, uptake in Australia has been considerable. Thirty second and third year Bachelor of Education students undertook the training hosted by Cooloongalup Primary School prior to participating in a ten week practicum. Data pertaining to the Tribes TLC resource was collected prior to the training phase, post training, and at the conclusion of the practicum. This paper reports the perceptions of students regarding the nature of Tribes TLC as a resource, their participation in the training, and the value of Tribes training for practicum purposes. Further, insights gleaned regarding the transportability of the resource into other international Teacher Education contexts are discussed

The stroop test and its relationship to academic performance and general behaviour of young students

The test developed by Stroop some seventy years ago is used, among other purposes, as an indicator of attention disorder and general mood fluctuations. The present research attempted to determine whether a correlation existed between the Stroop Test, student ability as defined by a standardised IQ test, and general classroom behaviour. This study involved 87 year three students, across four schools in Perth, Western Australia. Independent variables included socio-economic level, gender, and school type (government or private). Results indicated a strong positive correlation of IQ and Stroop Test Ranking with Socio-economic status. No significant differences were found between IQ and Stroop by type of school, nor were any significant differences found with regard to gender. Results suggest that the Stroop Test may be a powerful predictive instrument with regard to students’ academic performance and general behaviour rankings