Group Formation Using Shortest Path Approach

Group work is becoming more important in education. Working in groups give students the ability to share ideas, to enhance problem solving skills and to improve communication skills. Thus, group formation becomes a crucial issue in order to increase group capability. However in UUM, several colleges are located remotely and majority of the students do not own personal transport. These create constraints for group meetings and it will effect the group performance. Therefore, this paper proposes method for identifying groups using shortest path approach and we hope this approach is useful for lecturers who have a large class. We also believe that the approach can be integrated with other existing methods in group formation

Introduction: The synergistic potential of the outreach work and activism of queer social movements and schools

This opening chapter introduces the educational outreach work done by queer social movements in schools. Queer social movements have been active in changing educational policies and legislation to prevent discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression as well as influencing schools through their general advocacy work, media campaigns, research projects, instructional material production, and cooperation with other nongovernmental organizations working with schools. The chapter underscores the hindrances, challenges, tensions, and contradictions implicit in connecting the outreach work of queer social movements with teaching, learning, and support in schools. It concludes by highlighting the need for schools and queer social movements to build alliances to address the gap in educational policies and addressing gender and sexuality diversity

Lesbian and gay teachers : negotiating subjectivities in Sydney schools

This chapter has illustrated that lesbian and gay teachers ‘work’ and are ‘working in’ the margins; as such, they negotiate their sexualities in relation to their teacher subjectivity. Their stories and experiences revealed some of the ways that they accommodated and resisted the persistent heteronormative and heterosexist nature of schools, creating spaces in which they could comfortably operate in their employment. Regulation of speech and the construction of particular gendered/sexual performances enabled them to actively forefront aspects of their subjectivities that aligned them with their professional duties and/or with acceptable and normalising heterosexual narratives. Knowledge of the potential for both institutional and interpersonal discrimination compelled them to consciously work the margins in which they were discursively located as a result of their sexual subjectivities – work not required of heterosexual colleagues. It is time that schools not only as educational institutions but, critically, as workplaces create equitable employment conditions by proactively addressing the ongoing discrimination and inequities that many lesbian and gay teachers encounter in their profession

University Enabling Programs While Still At School: Supporting the Transition of Low-Ses Students from High School to University

University participation rates are significantly lower in low socioeconomic status (SES) areas in Australia. Specifically, rates differ between-schools and within-schools, where inequalities in opportunities to access university pathway programs exist. The aim of this study was to test whether academic encouragement supported students’ school satisfaction and increased their desire for, expectation of and belief in the possibility of university study and whether differences were evident depending on pathway of study: the ATAR pathway versus a Year 12 access enabling pathway program called TLC110. A sample of 257 high school students (58% female) from 18 high schools, within a low-SES area of outer metropolitan Perth, Western Australia, were surveyed. Teacher encouragement was found to be positively associated with school satisfaction and, in turn, supported university desire, expectation and belief for ATAR students but not for TLC110 students. Qualitative data were collected (n = 9) to contextualise the inclusivity of TLC110 for high school students from low-SES backgrounds to support aspirations for university