Daring to Lead : Global perceptions of the IFHE Position Statement "Home Economics in the 21st Century"

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Home Economics in the 21st Century : A Cross Cultural Comparative Study

This article is reprinted with permission from the International Federation for Home Economics, August 2010Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Virtual schooling service: Productive pedagogies or pedagogical possibilities?

This article reports on an evaluation of a virtual schooling innovation in an Australian context. The Virtual Schooling Service Pilot uses online technologies to deliver senior school subjects in both synchronous and asynchronous modes of delivery. The purpose of the study was to analyze the organizational, pedagogical, and technological efficacy of the innovation for the purpose of exploring the feasibility of mainstreaming virtual delivery for secondary schooling. Although the Virtual Schooling Service was important in maintaining curricular provision, application of the Productive Pedagogies framework showed that the innovation held pedagogical potential that remained unrealized

Thinking differently about infants and toddlers: Exploring the reflections of future Australian early childhood teachers in Australia

In Australian early childhood teacher education programs, there appears to be a greater focus on the age group of kindergarten children compared to that of infants and toddlers (Garvis, Lemon, Pendergast and Yim, 2013). As a consequence, pre-service teachers may have little opportunity to interact and learn about this important age range. This paper reports on the incorporation of videos of young child and educator interaction into early childhood teacher education programs at one Australian university. The cohort of pre-service teachers (18) were asked to think in a structured way about the videos with the help of a reflective template, which challenged them to apply higher order thinking with regard to the scenarios presented. As a culminating point of the template, the pre-service teachers were asked to create a reflective practice question to improve their professional practice. In this study, the reflective questions were analysed using content and pronoun analysis. Findings suggest that the pre-service teachers were focused on the continuity of learning of young children, personal skill development and social emotional development. To a lesser degree reflections explored working with families. The pronoun of ‘we’ also appeared as the most likely response on personal reflective questions. This suggests the future teachers had already positioned themselves within the group of early childhood teachers, indicating a strongly developed professional identity

Fast-tracking middle schooling reform: A model for sustainability

To partiipate effectively in the post-industrial information societies and knowledge/service economies of the 21st century, individuals must be better-informed, have greater thinking and provlem-solving abilities, be self-motivate,; have a capacity for cooperative interaction,; possess varied and specialised skills, and be more resourceful and adaptable than ever before. Attempts to meet these demands are reflected in a plethora of reforms in schools and education systems around the world, including a focus, in Australlia, on middle schooling reform and the development of attributes of lifelong learnere. this paper reports on one outcome from a national project funded by the Ministerial Council on education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, which investigated what practices, processes, strategies and structures best promote lifelong learning and the development of lifelong learners in the middle years of schooling. the investigation linked lifelong learning with middle schooling because there were indications that middle schooling reform practices also lead to the development of lifelong learning attributes, which is regarded as a desirable outcome of schooling in Australia. While this larger project provides depth around these questions, this paper specifically reports on the development of a three-phase model that can guide the sequence in which schools undertaking middle schooling reform attend to particular core component changes, not on the connection between middle schooling and lifelong learning. The model is developed from the extensive analysis of 25 innovative schools around the nation, and provides a unique insight into the desirable sequences and time spent achieving reforms, along with typical pitfalls that lead to a regression in the reform process. It is on invaluable suide for shools and education systems on the reform path. Importantly, the model confirms that schooling reform takes much more time than planners typically expect or allocate, and there are predictable and identifiable inhibitors to achieving it

Pre-Service Student-Teacher Self-efficacy Beliefs: An Insight Into the Making of Teachers

Pre-service teacher education programs play an important role in the development of beginning teacher self-efficacy and identity. Research suggests that this development is influenced by the ‘apprenticeship of learning’. However, there remains limited research about the self-efficacy beliefs and identity construction of beginning pre-service teachers entering teacher training, and the impact of the education programs on the development of these attributes. This paper reports on the first phase of a longitudinal study that investigates beginning teacher pre-service teachers’ views of what it is to be a teacher. In 2010, the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) was administered twice (start and end of the year) to beginning pre-service teachers enrolled in three programs: the Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Education; Graduate Diploma of Education - Primary; and the Graduate Diploma of Education – Secondary. Identity data in the form of text and visual representations of the teachers was also collected. This paper focuses on the results from the self-efficacy scale, highlighting the similarities and more notable contrasts in individual perceived ratings of teacher self-efficacy. Implications for further research are shared

Teacher Perspectives on the use of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers as part of their Evaluation Process

Teacher effectiveness has a powerful impact on student performance and a teacher evaluation process that supports professional growth can be a key lever for improving teaching quality. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perspectives on the use of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, when used as part of their evaluation process, and, to determine what other factors may need to be considered in the design and implementation of such a process. A single case study of a school in Victoria, Australia was conducted, using a pre and post interview approach with six teachers. Responses were analysed using a thematic network methodology. Findings reveal that the inclusion of The Standards as part of any evaluation mechanism is secondary to a range of other factors, including the relationship the teacher has with their evaluator; the skills of the evaluator; and the addition of a developmental plan post evaluation

A systematic quantitative literature review of pre-service teachers’ sense of belonging during school-based experience

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Multiage Education: An Exploration of Advantages and Disadvantages through a Systematic Review of the Literature

This systematic quantitative literature review explores existent empirical studies with an interest in multiage education in small school settings, with a specific focus on curriculum and pedagogy. Database searches were methodically conducted across six data bases. The inclusion criteria specified the need for empirical research, and publication dates ranged from 1997 to 2017. The article begins by setting the scene for the systematic review, exploring historical and international practices related to multiage complexities and terminology. Curriculum and pedagogical practices are explored to identify key advantages and disadvantages associated with a multiage approach in small school contexts

Multiage education: an exploration of advantages and disadvantages through a systematic review of the literature

This systematic quantitative literature review explores existent empirical studies with an interest in multiage education in small school settings, with a specific focus on curriculum and pedagogy. Database searches were methodically conducted across six data bases. The inclusion criteria specified the need for empirical research, and publication dates ranged from 1997 to 2017. The article begins by setting the scene for the systematic review, exploring historical and international practices related to multiage complexities and terminology. Curriculum and pedagogical practices are explored to identify key advantages and disadvantages associated with a multiage approach in small school contexts