Supporting postgraduate coursework students through their time of transition

Recent episodes of violence among Australian youth of African descent have been a concern for politicians, the police, policymakers and the African communities in the country. In Western Australia, the police and African communities have been searching for ways to reduce and prevent the recent spate of violence among Australian youth of African descent. This exploratory evaluative case study presents preliminary findings on the nature of violence committed by Australian youth of African descent and examines the impact of the ‘Stop the Violence Programme’, a pilot youth mentoring initiative for creating awareness among African youth in Western Australia about crime prevention. In Phase One of the programme, 18 young people were trained and resourced as local champions to mentor their peers on preventing antisocial behaviours. The study found three main forms of violence occurring among these youth: inter-African country violence, same-nationality ethnic conflicts and leave-my- territory fights. Post-training focus groups also revealed that many of the mentors have gained increased awareness of behaviours that constitute a crime in Australia. Initial findings suggest that prevention, rather than punishment, may prove a more successful approach to mitigating future violence, and that African youth can communicate positive conflict resolution to their communities

The Exclusive White World of Preservice Teachers’ Book Selection for the Classroom: Influences and Implications for Practice

This paper reports on a study of the children’s book preferences of 82 Preservice teachers (PSTs) at one Western Australian University. The study found PSTs preferred older books published during their own childhood or earlier. Further, representation of people of colour was limited to only 8 of 177 titles listed by PSTs. Key influences on their preferences were their personal favourite books and those used by mentor teachers during practicum experience. The outcomes of this study have implications for curriculum development and implementation of Initial Teacher Education courses, and in turn, for equitable outcomes of the future students of PSTs

Can Secondary Teaching Graduates Support Literacy in the Classroom? Evidence from Undergraduate Assignments

Education policy in Australia and comparable countries requires that all secondary content teachers actively teach the literacy of their learning area and support the literacy development of students in their classes. In this paper we present evidence on the capacity of graduating teachers to meet that obligation. We review assessment data from 393 Initial Teacher Education students who completed a core unit in secondary curriculum literacy prior to graduation. We report that while the majority met the unit requirements, approximately 30% graduated as teachers with marginal or inadequate capacity to teach the literacy of their subject or support student learning through literacy. Approximately 12% of the sampled cohort failed the unit on their first attempt; yet 76% of those who failed went on to graduate. We show that such performance is consistent across the secondary disciplines included in the survey. We pose the questions as to whether secondary teachers with a marginal command of literacy strategies and poor literacy knowledge can be expected to provide effective literacy support, and whether education policy goals and provision of training in this area are therefore realistic

Cohesion, coherence and connectedness: The 3C model for enabling-course design to support student transition to university

Recent Australian government policy has focused on attracting students from under-represented and diverse groups to tertiary education with university enabling courses one pathway for these students. The trend towards broader participation has altered traditional perceptions of a typical university student and raised delivery challenges. The ability to engage these students as learners and improve their academic outcomes and confidence towards successful course completion, is increasingly important to universities because of attrition costs to governments, students and higher education institutions, and is increasingly reflected in academic literature. While strategic student support options have been examined in detail, less focus has been applied to the enabling programs themselves; with little published about what actually happens at the course implementation level, to encourage conditions that support student progression. This paper reports on the re-development of an enabling course at an Australian university committed to breaking down barriers that restrict entry to education. Cohesion, coherence and connectedness emerged as central principles guiding leadership style, course design and development, staff-student communication and collaborative teaching and learning approaches. Student voices describe the lived experience of course development and delivery influenced by these principles. University retention and progression statistics and student unit teaching evaluation data were used to evaluate the impact on student satisfaction and transition. The outcome of the research highlights that building a collaborative course culture based on a 3C model of cohesion, coherence and connectedness when, used interdependently, improves students’ confidence, skills and knowledge to successfully transition to undergraduate tertiary study

Factors affecting the selection of novels for study in Western Australian secondary english classrooms: Understanding teacher choices

The study of novels is a core component of the Secondary English curriculum in Western Australia. Apart from the Year 11 and Year 12 Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) Literature courses of study, there are, however, no officially mandated reading lists in Western Australian Secondary English courses. English teachers are free to choose novels that they feel best suit the needs of students and the demands of the curriculum. Despite this freedom, there is concern that the range of novels selected for study is increasingly narrow. Anecdotal reports, informal surveys and media commentaries suggest that teachers frequently choose books with challenging themes, confronting levels of realism and bleak depictions of the future. This mixed methods research sought to examine the novel selections made by Secondary English teachers, and to understand the factors that influence their selections. The project employed survey methods, semi-structured interviews and an experimental component testing responsiveness to anonymised novel descriptors. Participants were 39 practising Secondary English teachers. The teachers were asked to identify novel selections and reflect upon possible influential factors in their novel selection decisions. The results indicate that teachers attempt to make considered decisions about novel selections, weighing text characteristics, curricular factors, contextual limitations, and practical matters, as well as student interests, but that it may be challenging to integrate these often-conflicting demands. The results suggest that despite the challenges, the novel remains an important text type in Secondary English in Western Australia and one which Secondary English teachers see as beneficial in contributing to the rhetorical, aesthetic, and ethical development of students

Nurse Managers’ perceptions of mentoring in the multigenerational workplace: a qualitative descriptive study

Objective: To examine how nurse managers in metropolitan healthcare organisations in Western Australia perceive intergenerational mentoring and its place in the contemporary workforce. Background: Mentoring in nursing has benefits for professional career success, new role transition and as a strategy to mitigate negative workplace influences. Study design and methods: A qualitative descriptive study with 20 nurse managers from public and private health services. Face to face semi-structured interviews were held at a neutral location. The interview schedule included 10 questions which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was applied to data to generate themes and present the results. Results: Four main themes were identified: conceptualising mentoring, adding value, influences and support mechanisms, and workforce investment. The nurse managers described the positive and negative aspects of their understanding of intergenerational mentoring practice in the contemporary clinical setting. Discussion: The nurse managers highlighted the importance of life experience in mentoring relationships and how mentoring was generationally bi-directional. As part of everyday nursing practice mentoring was evident despite clinical and organisational challenges. Clear benefits identified were the creation of a positive workforce, promotion of quality patient-centred care, and retention of staff. Mentoring has traditionally occurred face to face however, the recent coronavirus pandemic has provided a catalyst for increasing the use of online mentoring across all generations. Conclusion: The nurse managers were willing to be involved in intergenerational mentoring in either a mentor or mentee role or both. This view of practice occurred throughout the professional work life of nurses with benefits for all generations and the continuity of organisational values. Implications for practice: Mentoring is a practice necessary for promoting best practice in patient care and effective relationships in teams of staff. Consideration of accessibility through e-mentoring could increase involvement and take mentoring forward in the digital age

Bridging the online gap in enabling education: Counteracting the disconnect

The University Preparation Course (UniPrep) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Western Australia, provides one of Australia’s largest alternative-entry programs for future undergraduate students, who do not yet have the confidence or qualifications required for direct entry to university. This cohort is often new to university expectations, may have had past negative learning experiences, limited opportunity to engage meaningfully with post-secondary education or are returning to higher education after a significant time lapse. Some students opt to complete UniPrep to maximise their future study success and efficacy. Both on-campus and online flexible delivery modes are offered. Despite on-going success in the on-campus mode, attrition rates among online learners are significantly higher than on-campus rates. For this reason the online delivery mode became a focus for the UniPrep team..

Secondary Curriculum Literacy and Teacher Word-Knowledge: Further Findings from a Western Australian ITE Cohort Study

The Australian Government, in its Professional Standards for Teachers and Australian Curriculum framework, requires that all secondary teachers actively teach the specific literacy of their learning area. Yet achievement of that goal hinges on teachers having first acquired the pre-requisite literate competencies during their own schooling. There are reasons to doubt that this is the case for some graduate teachers, which means attempts to raise standards in schools are beset by a troubling circularity. Here we illustrate the problem with further findings from a Western Australian ITE Cohort Study (n=393), focussing this time on the word knowledge of secondary teaching graduates. Our analysis suggests that some secondary ITE students carry shortcomings from their own schooling that may hamper their ability to teach word knowledge or to self-correct. Current training and resources may thus have limited efficacy for some graduating teachers, placing limits on what can be achieved in schools. We consider the implications for literacy policies and for initial teacher education at secondary level