Schools as cultural hubs : the untapped potential of cultural assets for enhancing school effectiveness

Twentieth century studies using deficit and difference approaches have dominated the analysis of schools within their cultural contexts. Their conclusions have influenced educational research and general political thinking concerning fragmentation, segregation and targeted school communities. However, such studies now raise questions concerning the extent of their usefulness in a globalised and emerging postsecularist world. In response, an assets-based approach to analysing cultural contexts is emerging. A cultural assets approach to educational analysis cuts through the idea of parallel segregated communities within liberal secular states. This article presents a multi-disciplinary approach to reconceptualise cultural assets as a broad based concept applicable to 21st century schooling. The position taken encourages the re-imagination of education, stakeholder contributions to learning that maintains cultural continuity, embraces cultural diversity and assists in social transformation. Therefore, schooling reflects a significant level of complementarity to the objectives of liberal secular states whilst striving to remain distinctive

From curriculum to pedagogy

One of the most exciting days of my life was receiving my degree and finally becoming a graduate. I had achieved the credential to say I am ready to be a professional in science. Then, beginning my postgraduate studies to teach, I realised that the end of one journey became the beginning of another. Going from student to teacher led me into a world where more than half of my work was with Pam. Meeting Pam was new and exciting. I found that communicating, presenting and connecting with students from all walks of life showed me the importance of Pam. Pam helped me to see the bigger picture; the significance of being a teacher and the importance of my role in the profession. Pam showed me the connections between what I had learnt in science and what needed to be taught in a classroom. Pam helped to create the networks to improve my knowledge, understanding and skills so that it made sense to me and to my students. As Pam nurtured my development I would realise that I was changing from a student of science to a teacher of science. I was moving to the other side of the bench. With growing confidence, I took my place as a professional educator carrying my toolkit of pedagogical practices. Therefore, Pam and I walk side by side on the life journey of a professional educator. You might ask: Who is Pam? Pam is my Planning, my administratrve tasks and my meetings. I work with Pam, not for Pam. Pam represents the science of teaching and 'I' represent the art of teaching. This metaphor shows the the relationship between Pam and me as pedagogy. One cannot exist without the other. The more they understand each other the better the relationship. This chapter embraces the journey of the developrng teacher to deepen their understanding of curriculum and pedagogy within science by turning thoughts and ideas into actions within the classroom

Literacy in the social sciences and humanities

Preparing students to be literate within the Social Sciences and Humanities depends heavily on the decisions and choices made by curriculum designers, and interpreted and implemented by teachers. The initial response by experienced teachers is that you have to „know it all‟. This same response is the fear of students who undertake study within the specialised subjects contained within the parameters of the field. In order to ease this tension, this chapter aims to provide one approach in dealing with the diversity of subjects that assists in targeting literacy strategies for both the specialised subjects and the field of Social sciences and humanities in general. The approach involves four key components that enable teachers and students to understand the depth and breadth of possible combinations of literacy strategies within the field. First, the approach identifies the breadth of the field of study of Social Sciences and Humanities as incorporating seventeen possible subject areas. Then by dividing the threshold concepts into field-based and subject-based, the approach allows a range of curriculum frameworks that teachers may to within teaching and learning. Next, consideration of seven literacy types found within the field adds to the diversity of choice made by teachers in constructing literacy strategies. Finally, the approach raises the significance of questioning in successfully designing, implementing and achieving learning outcomes

A cultural assets model for school effectiveness

This paper offers a cultural assets model for supporting school effectiveness that moves beyond the deficit and difference approaches of the twentieth century. The model incorporates the capacity to identify contemporary cultural assets, and support cultural continuity, cultural diversity and cultural resilience during change. Undertaking concept-centric analysis, the reconceptualised understanding of contemporary cultural assets informs the construction of schools as cultural hubs, and reveals seven benefits that enhance asset-based approaches to school effectiveness. The model incorporates multigenerational flows of influence, community cultural activities, a communication conduit, and glocalised interactions. An empirical analysis of evidence advances the model's sociocultural view of effective schools; provides opportunities to extend research beyond minority studies; and establishes the importance of cultural assets in secure base leadership for developing schools as dynamic organisations

Capturing and Assessing the Experience of Experiential Learning: Understanding Teaching and Learning in a Behaviourally Challenging Context

Our project examines the application of an integrated curriculum through experiential learning in Lomandra School in NSW. A small and tight-knit special school1, Lomandra School caters to students from Stages 3 to 6 who experience emotional, social and behavioural difficulties (ESBD). Lomandra School has the highest enrolment rate among special schools in western and south-western Sydney. A team teaching approach applies to every class, each having up to ten students. All teaching teams, with a teacher and a School Learning Support Officer (SLSO), teach and facilitate learning across all curricular areas. Lomandra School has been implementing the Outside Classroom Program since 2007. The study found that this alternative approach to special education innovatively designs and implements an integrated curriculum through experiential learning. The Outside Classroom Program embodies the interaction of the three emphases in the School Plan, namely students, teaching and learning, and community. This study is a research partnership between the School of Education of Western Sydney University and Lomandra School. It is also a major initiative of Lomandra School’s response to the requirement of the NSW DEC for evidence-based teaching and learning. This study uses a multiple case design which encompasses interviews with teachers, focus groups with students and lesson observations. It aims to generate a theory that explains the design, implementation, challenges and impact of an integrated curriculum through experiential learning in the context of special schools2. Specifically, this project addresses the following research questions: 1) What challenges need to be addressed when designing and implementing this approach? How can they be addressed? 2) What attitudes, values, skills and knowledge are critical to the design and implementation of an integrated curriculum through experiential learning? 3) How do educators (both teachers and SLSOs) and students at Lomandra perceive the impact of this approach on students learning and behaviours? In response to these questions, this study will disseminate its findings by ways of scholarly publications (include this report), and an online case-based reasoning (CBR) library with a searchable engine. The CBR library uses a design that fosters causal reasoning and aims to help teachers and SLSOs from similar school settings to understand, design and implement the approach under investigation. Continuing efforts will be made to grow the CBR library for sustainability purposes

Fostering intentional learning with systems dynamic modeling

The intent of this paper is to suggest the dimensions of intentional learning and identify the key cognitive benefits of systems modeling with regard to intentional learning through a review of related studies. The authors propose that intentional learning occurs when learners realize the need for refining their conceptual understanding, relate learning to their everyday experiences, possibly through everyday problem solving, and activates or develops metacognitive processes in the course of learning. When engaged in intentional learning, learners’ epistemological beliefs are also challenged. The authors also discuss how systems modeling could potentially foster domain knowledge, systemic thinking, and conceptual change. The second section of this paper describes a technology-enhanced learning environment that fosters intentional learning

IB Programme: Theory of Knowledge (TOK): Exploring Learning Outcomes, Benefits, and Perceptions

This study examines one of the central elements of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course. Four case study schools in Sydney, Australia have collaborated with the research team in 2013 in order to share their perceptions, implementation strategies and evaluation of the TOK course. The case study schools have contextually varied situations, locations, histories and philosophies, which collectively provide information on how the TOK has been taken up, interpreted and adapted by particular school communities. All data arising from these case studies has been coded and thematically analysed by the research team. In addition to the case studies, the University of Western Sydney research team have prepared two online surveys, one for teachers and one for students of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP), which all Australian IB DP schools were invited to complete. Data from these surveys were analysed using bivariate and multivariate statistical analysis. In a further quantitative component of the study, the research team examined mixed cohorts of first year International Baccalaureate (IB) and non-IB university students from a number of Australian universities using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). Together these data sources provide an analysis of the current functioning of the TOK course in Australia and in relation to academic self-concept and critical thinking

Critical thinking skills in the International Baccalaureate’s “Theory of Knowledge” subject : findings from an Australian study

There is considerable debate both in Australia and internationally about the best way for schools to deliver the thinking skills required for university study and professional work life – skills that are often referred to by the term “critical thinking”. This article reviews the literature on the effective teaching of critical thinking and looks at one example of a secondary school subject aimed at developing critical thinking skills in its graduates, namely the Theory of Knowledge (ToK) subject in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (DP). ToK, a core element of the DP, has no set curriculum. Instead, ToK requires students to think deeply about knowledge problems and to formulate coherent views on the nature of knowledge. This article reports on an Australian study into the teaching and learning of ToK and presents associated outcomes in cohorts of both secondary and tertiary students