Search

Quality early care and education (ECE) presents an unparalleled opportunity to avert disadvantage and promote children's development. Mealtimes are essential daily routines, yet are often overlooked in research on ECE quality. This paper crystallises a composite case study of ECE mealtimes in highly disadvantaged communities by combining Departing Radically in Academic Writing (DRAW) methodology with parent surveys, scorings of educator‐child interactions (inCLASS), and field notes. Poverty is perpetuated in these centres: children do not have enough food, and educator‐dictated feeding practices restrict children's opportunities to exercise their agency and learn. Systemic policy action is needed to address poverty in ECE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the decision-making processes involved in giving physiotherapy students responsibility on clinical placement and the impact on their developing professional autonomy. The qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews, involved physiotherapy students and clinical educators (CEs) from two higher education institutions, one in Australia, and the other in the United Kingdom (UK). Findings led to the development of a heuristic framework of 'graduated supervision,' a process of progressively less direct observation and monitoring of students as clinical proficiency improved. By focusing on the measured exposure of students to increasing complexity and inverse levels of supervision, the framework captures tacit practices, and consistent, yet varied facilitation strategies adopted across specialties, and evident in clinical education settings in both countries. The framework formalizes, for the first time, assumptions and expectations previously unacknowledged. Factors identified as affecting students' progress toward autonomy include the student/CE relationship, the development of mutual trust through ongoing dialogue, and the importance of formal discussions at the commencement of a clinical placement to establish learning goals, preferred supervision styles and learner responsibilities. Insights have significance for the CE community, and students who at times have to second-guess what is required of them and how they might excel on clinical placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates associations between initial levels and change in the quality of the relationships youth with intellectual disabilities (ID) share with their parents and teachers, and changes in their levels of depression over time. A sample of 395 youth with mild (48.3%) and moderate (51.7%) ID, aged between 11 and 22 (M = 15.69), were recruited in Canada (n = 142) and Australia (n = 253). Youth completed self-report measures of relationship quality and depression twice over a one-year period. Initial levels of warmth (β = −.109) and conflict (β = −.302) predicted decreases in depression. Increases in warmth predicted decreases in depression (β = −.179), while increases in conflict predicted increases in depression (β =.268). Discrepancies between youth relationships with their parents and teachers predicted decreases in depression (βwarmth = −.732; βconflict = −.608). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. There are no guidelines to assist midwifery academics or students in determining the optimal time to return to their educational programs following pregnancy. Rather, students need to navigate balancing new motherhood with the pressures of returning to their clinical midwifery placement and completing their statutory requirements to meet the Australian Midwife Accreditation Standards before the end of their program. The aim of this study was to seek best practice information that provides guidance to academics supporting midwifery students returning to study after maternity leave. Methods. An analysis of contemporary Australian legislation, workforce guidelines, professional association statements, and university policies was undertaken to determine what guidance is available to assist midwifery academics in providing advice to midwifery students about the optimal time to return to their studies following birth. This document analysis was performed during 2021–2022 and followed Altheide and Schneider’s 12 step process divided into five stages to clarify best practice advice for midwifery academics to provide guidance to students returning to study after maternity leave. Results. Policy documents that refer to pregnancy confirm women have legal rights, and there is clear guidance on maternity leave; however, advice for midwifery students on the optimum time to return to study and clinical placements after birth is missing from the result of this document analysis search. Conclusion. Transition to motherhood during the postnatal period is an important time. Clear national guidelines are needed to provide support and recommendations regarding a safe and optimal time to return to study and placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, policy makers demand school leaders focus on raising student achievement levels when planning and implementing a school improvement (SI) plan. This paper explores the SI process for two Australian primary schools deemed to be underperforming and underwent a priority school support review (PSSR). In this study, 2 principals and members of their leadership team and 10 teachers across 2 schools were interviewed to explore how they experienced the PSSR process at different stages of the review process. Two assistant regional directors assigned to supporting the two schools during the PSSR process were also interviewed. The findings suggested that initially, school principals wondered how a PSSR would impact the morale of teaching staff already working hard to support student outcomes. However, as the schools progressed through the process, the principals' perspectives shifted to see the PSSR as a valuable process for building leadership and teacher capacity and improving student outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing awareness of how being in out-of-home care (OOHC) can adversely impact children's education. Accordingly, a number of programs have been developed that aim to address the educational needs of students in OOHC. This study aimed to explore educators' experiences and perceptions of an educational program for students in OOHC. The experiences of eight program educators who participated in semi-structured interviews were analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Results illustrate the need for educators to provide students with individualized support, promote supportive relationships and communicate with stakeholders. The need for supervision and debriefing between colleagues was highlighted. Educator wellbeing and professional development were found to be intertwined with educators' perceived capacity to support their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: This paper reports on the findings from 6 focus groups conducted with Australian medical students. The focus groups sought students' perspectives on how the influence of commercial interests on medical practice and education could be managed. Method: We conducted 6 focus groups with medical students in New South Wales, Australia. Participants were recruited via student‐run medical society and faculty e‐mail lists. Forty‐nine students from 6 medical schools in New South Wales participated. The research team reflected on the extent to which students uncritically appealed to science in the abstract as a management solution for conflicts of interest. Data analysis was largely inductive, looking for uses of scientific terminology, EBM, and appeals to “science” in the management of COI and applied theoretical analyses of scientism. Results: The students in our study suggested that science and evidence‐based medicine, rather than ethics or professionalism, were the best tools to deal with undue influence and bias. This paper uses philosophy of science literature to critically examine these scientistic appeals to science and EBM as a means of managing the influence of pharmaceutical reps and commercial interests. We argue that a scientistic style of reasoning is reinforced through medical curricula and that students need to be made aware of the epistemological assumptions that underpin science, medicine, and EBM to address the ethical challenges associated with commercialised health care. Conclusion: More work is needed to structure medical curricula to reflect the complexities of practice and realities of science. However, curricula change alone will not sufficiently address issues associated with commercial interests in medicine. For real change to occur, there needs to be a broader social and professional debate about the ways in which medicine and industry interact, and structural changes that restrict or mitigate commercial influences in educational, research, and policy settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing bullying victimization of students with disability is a significant challenge for schools. While social support can protect against bullying victimization in the general population, its role in mediating the relationship between disability and bullying is under-researched. This paper examined covert bullying prevalence (encompassing relational, social and indirect aggression) and its relationship to social support (peer, family, and teacher) among a national sample of 4,753 Australian 8–14 year olds, 490 of whom self-identified as living with disability. Positive teacher and peer support predicted the reduced probability of bullying victimization among students overall, but low support levels among students with disability negated this effect. Interventions to address covert bullying of students with disability need to focus on whole-school approaches that reduce opportunities for victimization of students with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distribution of the Australian health workforce is uneven, with the majority of health professionals favouring metropolitan areas over rural and remote regions. Although nurses account for the largest proportion of the Australian rural and remote health workforce, difficulties with staff recruitment and retention can impact the health care outcomes of these vulnerable populations. Satellite university campuses that offer undergraduate nursing programs might therefore contribute to a more sustainable rural and remote nursing workforce. This narrative literature review aimed at investigating the barriers and enablers that affect students enrolled at satellite nursing campuses, education delivery methods and academic and non‐academic strategies employed to enhance the student learning experience. The literature was reviewed across 6 health and education databases. After screening, 12 articles met the inclusion criteria and were analysed, and the data were synthesised using a thematic approach. Three themes arose from the review: student characteristics and associated barriers and enablers to studying nursing at a satellite campus; teaching strategies and learning experiences; and academic and pastoral support. Students studying at satellite campuses were found to have different education experiences and faced challenges unique to their context; however, home support networks and small class sizes were seen as enabling factors. Education delivery methods and support strategies varied depending on remoteness and resources available. Consideration of the factors that affect satellite campus nursing students has the potential to increase student satisfaction and retention, which could result in a more sustainable rural and remote nursing workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a narrative approach in the form of a fictional dialogue between a physical education teacher educator (PETE) and an enquiring physical education teacher (EPET) in order to both contextualise the problem posed by Almond, that Teaching Games for Understanding-Game Sense (TGfU-GS) has been better accepted in academia than in the ‘natural setting’ of physical education (PE) teaching, and to intentionally provoke change about how TGfU-GS is positioned as a highly conceptualised ‘instructional model’ for games and sport teaching. Drawing on research by Green that PE teachers operate from ‘everyday philosophies’ and not necessarily from highly conceptualised curriculum or pedagogical models, this paper proceeds from the premise that competing descriptions of PE teaching found in the literature and its applications are problematic to the PE teacher because teachers do not necessarily see or want to see the same boundaries between pedagogical models as researchers do as theory generators. It is argued, that the tension suggested by Almond exists in part because of contextual and operational differences leading to each viewing the teaching of PE differently. The EPET is concerned about the praxis of teaching that is theoretically informed by pedagogical knowledge and made real through the experience of teaching; whereas, to the PETE, PE is viewed with a more nuanced interpretation of the complex, non-linear dynamics of the classroom, nature of learning and the need for theoretical informed practice. However, some similarities exist between the EPET and PETE which revolves around bringing order to the essentially unpredictable learning environment by adapting the environmental and task characteristics so that learning may occur. Consequently, we argue that the tension between the EPET and PETE is inevitable because each privilege certain ‘everyday philosophies’ about the design and enactment of PE teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At a time when the faith-based identity of schools is facing serious challenges, the researchers undertook a longitudinal study of the relevant opinions, beliefs and values of student-teachers at a Catholic university campus in Australia. The focus of the current paper is on the responses of first-year students to a survey regarding their choice of secondary school, the purposes of schooling and the characteristics of Catholic schools. Relevant context are addressed including global education trends, the values and characteristics of Catholic education and relevant aspects of Australian schooling and youth culture. Regardless of religious affiliation, self-reported religiosity or type of school attended, providing a ‘safe and caring school environment’ emerged as the most important purpose of schooling and as a key reason for choice of school, while faith-based purposes and reasons received particularly low ratings. ‘Caring community’ was regarded as by far the most important characteristic of the Catholic school, followed by engagement in social justice programmes. The findings are briefly compared with parallel findings for teachers in Queensland Catholic schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indigenous representation is essential to ensure the health workforce is culturally capable and safe for Indigenous patients. However, Indigenous Peoples remain underrepresented in tertiary education and the health workforce. Aim: This aim of this paper is to offer an unmediated, Aboriginal nurse's perspective, on the experience, barriers and challenges of undertaking a Bachelor of Nursing degree. Design: Referenced reflection. Results: Education providers must be culturally capable themselves before teaching Indigenous content and facilitating sensitive classroom discussions. Financial, social and educational support is crucial to equip Indigenous students for tertiary study. Conclusion: To retain Indigenous students and contribute to a culturally capable workforce, it is imperative to listen and respond to Indigenous Peoples voices to shape learning experiences and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I take a simple game-theoretic view of educational production within universities to frame a discussion of pedagogical power, effort, and influence in Australian higher education. After introducing the stylised game structure, I first compare the role of teachers in Australian universities to that of university teachers elsewhere in the world, in terms of Australian academics' power in pedagogical affairs relative to the power of the higher-education institutions within which they operate. I then review some existing empirical evidence using Australian data that sheds light on the role of both teacher inputs and student inputs in creating educational outcomes, and discuss some new evidence on students' perceptions of teacher influence. The paper concludes with some recommendations for changes to the current system designed to improve student outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Given the continued disparity between the health of Indigenous Australian people's health and that of the broader Australian population, cultural safety is mandated as a component of undergraduate education as a strategy to improve health care. Evidence suggests that academics are not confident to teach cultural safety to undergraduate nursing students. Objectives: To explore the efficacy of an Indigenous teaching method (Teaching in Circle) to create culturally safe classrooms and to build the capacity and confidence of teachers to teach about cultural safety. Design: An Indigenous pedagogy was adapted for use in tutorials by teachers, with mentorship provided by an Indigenous knowledge expert. Teaching in Circle (TiC) methodology was implemented by teachers in tutorials. Methods: All nurse academics teaching in the Bachelor of Nursing program at a small regional Australian university were eligible to participate. Information about the project was provided in team meetings, with invitations to participate. Teachers provided a written reflection on the method and participated in regular on-line mentored support meetings throughout the teaching session. Data were analysed, using a reflective, inductive systematic process. Results: Final themes were "Sticking with initial disconcertment and discomfort"; "A renewed enjoyment of teaching"; "Learning and adapting", "The influence of the method on safety" and "Shifts in classroom dynamics". Impact Statement: 'Teaching in Circle', underpinned by respectful practice, positively influences culturally safe teaching and learning environments. The method enhances academics' confidence to teach cultural safety to undergraduate nursing students and supports an understanding of the essential components of culturally safe health care. Conclusions: Evidence suggests the method built capacity to teach and foster experiential learning of safety, and thus what is required to create a culturally safe teaching and learning space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher performance assessments are positioned as a high stakes assessment that are aimed to ensure that preservice teachers are ready for professional practice in education contexts. The move to incorporate them in institutions has its origins in concerns that teacher education is a policy problem with varying standards of preparation across the sector. The article draws from research literature on the USA edTPA, which is used widely to benchmark graduate and undergraduate teaching capacity across the schooling and early childhood sectors, to consider how teacher performance assessments evoke a range of wicked problems for the early childhood sector in Australia. While they can be seen as a means for the teacher educator sector to regulate itself to ensure that "high quality" "profession ready" graduates are credentialed, there may be an attendant narrowing of pedagogy and emerging issues for a sector that is already undervalued, underfunded and fragmented. The authors highlight the importance for Australian preservice teachers to focus their efforts on pedagogical relations in early childhood education settings, gain proficiency in play-based learning, and participate in relationships that produce ongoing, socially and culturally contextualised assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of Early Childhood (EC) educators' wellbeing has been brought into sharp focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, as educators have navigated numerous additional stressors while providing education and care services for some children and ongoing support for many others learning at home. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on EC educators' wellbeing and educator-child relationships, as growing evidence shows the influence of these factors on children's developmental outcomes. In July 2020, members of a Research Network of EC Professionals—who previously identified educator wellbeing as a priority issue—were invited to participate in an online survey. The survey included two published, validated scales: the Early Childhood Professional Wellbeing scale (ECPW) and the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (modified). Survey items about educators' experiences during the pandemic were also included. Two hundred and thirty-two EC educators from across Australia completed the survey, mostly from Victoria where lockdowns were most severe. Linear regression analysis demonstrated stronger professional wellbeing was associated with less conflict in educator-child relationships and lower risk of staff turnover. This was more likely to be experienced by senior or more experienced staff. Although a negative impact of COVID-19 was reported, ECPW scores were relatively high, and organizational structures supporting professional wellbeing were most strongly associated with lower risk of turnover (r = 0.63, p < 0.001). Findings highlight that supporting EC educators' wellbeing is essential for workforce retention, and for promoting quality educator-child relationships which are central to young children's learning and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, people with intersex variations have been mainly studied via small-scale clinical research, with only a small amount of reflective commentary contributed by sociocultural scholars. This paper reports on findings from a 2015 online Australian survey of 272 people with intersex variations, which aimed to redress the gap in research on this groups’ experiences and perspectives concerning education. Participants ranged in age from 16 to 87 years, and represented all Australian states and territories. Most had experienced two medical treatment interventions related to their intersex variation: commonly reported interventions included hormonal treatment and genital surgery delivered to participants when they were aged under 18 years of age. Participants reported various physical and psychological impacts from these treatments. Well-being risks were high; most of the group had engaged in suicidal ideation, particularly when individuals first found out about their variation. This impacted on their schooling – almost one-fifth of survey respondents had received no high school certification due to their early dropout and the overwhelming majority did not attend schools with inclusive puberty/sex education provision or counselling. Most survey participants had not disclosed their intersex variation to staff, although more than half had done so to their classmates. Many had experienced bullying. Only one-quarter of participants rated their overall education experiences positively. Participants suggested improvements to schools’ information provision and support features. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since 2009, all Australian states require young people to be 'earning or learning' until age 17. Secondary schools and vocational colleges now accommodate students for whom the conventional academic pathways of the past were not designed. The paper reflects on a project designed to explore the moral orders in these institutional settings for managing such students in extended compulsory schooling. Originally designed as classroom ethnographies, the project involved observations over three to four weeks and interviews with teachers and students in five sites in towns experiencing high youth unemployment. The project aimed to support teachers to work productively in such classrooms with such students, under the assumption that teachers orchestrate classroom interactions. However, it became clear events in these classrooms were being shaped by relations and parties above and beyond the classroom, as much as by those present. Teachers and students were observed to both comply with, and push against, the layers of policy and institutional processes regulating their behaviours. This paper re-thinks the original project through the gaze and resources of institutional ethnography, to better account for the layers of accountabilities and documentation practices that impacted on both teacher and student behaviours. By tracing the extended webs of 'ruling relations', it shows both how teachers and students could make trouble for the institutional moral order, and then be held accountable for this trouble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The art of holding complexity is the ability to face conflict and other life challenges through collaboration, self-awareness and flexibility rather than through control and coercion. Holding complexity is a key theme identified in a research project exploring educator identity and development in practice in a system of alternative or ‘flexi schools’ in Queensland, Australia. Flexi schools support young people to create positive education pathways after experiences of failure and/or exclusion from conventional schooling. This paper explores the concept of holding complexity and how educators develop this capacity in their work. Design experiment methodology was used to explore how ways of working and professional learning in flexi schools influenced educator identity and development and how induction needs of new staff could be addressed. Educators enfranchising young people in flexi schools face challenges that require different ways of working that are young person-focused; that shift power dynamics and require adults to adopt a position of co-learner and facilitator. Holding complexity enables educators to support young people who face multiple issues that impinge on their ability to engage in conventional schooling. Induction and professional learning programs emphasising the art of holding complexity assist flexi school educators in their work with young people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The study investigated teachers' purposes and approaches to communication for connectivity and integration of learning, informed by two research questions which examined teachers' approaches to connecting with those responsible for students' learning and integration when they are in the workplace; and what outcomes teachers expected to achieve through such communication. An online survey was completed by 95 vocational education and training (VET) teachers from Queensland, Australia, and the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland. The findings show that teachers are well-connected and achieve multiple purposes when communicating with industry supervisors. Their main purposes of communication are to coordinate and cooperate to improve arrangements for students' learning, and to a lesser extent, to co-construct curricula. Communication to co-design learning activities and scenarios would further enhance the connectivity and integration. This research contributes to a gap in literature on teachers' purposes for communicating for connectivity and integration of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational research has long been the subject of lively and agitated debate, not least because of its diversity. Ranging in scope from academic development and broad-scale policy research through to student engagement and discipline-specific research, it includes methods of traditional academic inquiry and investigations and also less traditional modes of research. However, the topography of Australian educational research and the characteristics of the people who undertake this complex body of work are currently unclear. This paper explores some of the complexities of the Australian research community, drawing on the findings of a national online survey of academics who identified as researching in the field of education from within and outside education schools and faculties. The survey attracted 504 responses from 38 of Australia's 39 universities, and just over two-thirds of respondents were located in a school or faculty of education. We draw on the results to answer the questions of who is undertaking educational research and who how they might be supported. We utilise a conceptual model that 'segments' the educational research workforce represented by the survey respondents, and we conclude by indicating strategies that might be utilised to address research barriers indicated by educational researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study of Australian early childhood teachers' pedagogical practices with young children experiencing parental separation and divorce. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews and a focus group were conducted to explore the actions of teachers to support young children experiencing parental separation and divorce. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse data. Teachers reported actions that were focussed on constructing emotional, behavioural, and academic support for young children, as well as forming partnerships with parents, school personnel, and community members to assist. Results are discussed in terms of the implications for professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational underachievement is well documented for minority students living in Australia. Our work with Mãori and Pacific Island (MPI) students highlights several factors that impede their participation in education. Drawing on four case studies of MPI university students, we report on the educultural factors that functioned to constrain or positively impact their academic participation. Template analysis was used to analyse in-depth interviews with the students and highlighted some cultural and relational tensions as possible barriers to successful participation. However, a number of mitigating factors including student-teacher relationships, teacher characteristics and pedagogies supported their pursuit of, and engagement in higher education. The data suggests that MPI students benefit from strong relational connections with teachers throughout their educational experience. This conclusion has implications for an educultural pedagogy to be considered in teacher education courses and for in-service professional learning for teachers working across education sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on a homework program where an Australian University partnered with a school to support children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Undergraduate tutors, paired with a child each semester, provided weekly learning support. This exploratory study aimed to understand the experiences of the children participating in the program and any benefits received. Nineteen children participated in activity‐based focus groups, and seven undergraduate tutors participated in one‐on‐one interviews. Overarching themes identified were as follows: making homework club enjoyable, program outcomes, tutor–child relationship and transitioning to a new tutor. Although children were required to do homework they usually avoided, the task was made less onerous and even enjoyable because of the relationship the children had with their tutor, the support received and new skills learnt. The tutor–child relationship was deeply valued, with the tutor's role going beyond instructional support to also providing social and emotional support and a sense of belonging in line with Social Support Theory. Both the children and tutors expressed contrasting views about the experience of children transitioning to a new tutor each semester and this departs from the extant literature. The challenges related to the loss of connection, while positive aspects concerned the opportunity to make new friends and learn from different teaching styles. Given these contrasting findings, it is worth considering how the transition process can be managed and explained to children and increase the chances of positive adaptation. Despite the relatively short‐term nature of the tutor–child relationship, the children expressed clear academic, social and emotional benefits. The findings suggest that semester‐based university–school homework tutoring programs can be effective despite their short‐term nature, provided due consideration is given to the transition process. These findings address the paucity of research exploring short‐term programs of this nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the effects of audit cultures on school education through a highly personal reading of the My School website, launched in Australia in 2010. It situates two personal narratives, from the points of view of student and teacher, alongside the other stories available about two of the secondary schools listed on the website. Although statistics such as those generated through the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy tests, school comparisons and post-school destinations present certain kinds of stories about these schools, I argue that these are reductionist and insufficient for understanding the complexities of pedagogical spaces and the teachers and learners within them. Whilst arguments for hard data to address educational inequity can be marshalled to support My School, I suggest that it also inadvertently disguises other elements of schooling and risks increasing inequity. Rather, the statistical stories might be recognised as partial and supplemented and disrupted by richer accounts, including narrative accounts, about schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Evaluation or assessment of competence is an important step to ensure the safety and efficacy of health professionals, including dietitians. Most competency-based assessment studies are focused on valid and reliable methods of assessment for the preparation of entry-level dietitians, few papers have explored student dietitians' perceptions of these evaluations. The present study aimed to explore the perceptions of recent graduates from accredited nutrition and dietetics training programs in Australia. It also aimed to establish the relevance of competency-based assessment to adequately prepare them for entry-level work roles. Methods A purposive sample of newly graduated dietitians with a range of assessment experiences and varied employment areas was recruited. A qualitative approach, using in-depth interviews with 13 graduates, was undertaken. Graduates were asked to reflect upon their competency-based assessment experiences as a student. Data were thematically analysed by multiple authors. Results Four themes emerged from the data analysis: (i) transparency and consistency are critical elements of work-based competency assessment; (ii) students are willing to take greater responsibility in the assessment process; (iii) work-based competency assessment prepares students for employment; and (iv) the relationship between students and their assessors impacts student experience and assessment performance. Conclusions Understanding this unique perspective of students can improve evaluation of future health professionals and assist in validating competency-based assessment approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a process for negotiating aspects of flexible learning through the consideration of flexibility from student, teacher and institutional perspectives. The process aimed to reconcile, in an Australian school of architecture, the competing demands of learner's increasing flexibility demands, teacher's attributes and pedagogical objectives and the structural limitations that militate against the delivery, resourcing and maintenance of flexibility. Results indicated that the only categories of flexibility (out of time, content, access/entry requirements, pedagogy and delivery) that were demanded by students were pedagogy (but only in the choice of working in groups) and delivery; whereas teachers were merely willing to offer flexibility in delivery. Thus, what students desired of teaching, and what teachers were able to provide, were multiple mediums of knowledge delivery that allowed students flexibility in when and where they could learn. These findings, it is suggested, have relevance for course redesign throughout the creative/visual arts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across Australia, recent policy initiatives have focused on student engagement in school and in learning. Although teachers play a significant role in the implementation of these policy reforms, little research has looked at student engagement from teachers' perspectives or sought to identify and understand the strategies teachers report using to promote engagement in their classrooms. The study reported in this paper utilised a phenomenographic approach to investigate teacher conceptions of how to facilitate student engagement. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data and a phenomenographic process of analysis was employed to identify qualitative differences between participant understandings. The data from this qualitative study indicated that teachers hold diverse understandings about how to facilitate student engagement; three categories described teachers' ways of engaging students. In the first category, teachers conceptualised delivering set activities and discipline to students to promote engagement. In the second category, teachers suggested that they must modify curriculum and class activities. In the third category, teachers proposed that genuine collaboration with students was necessary to truly engage them in learning; in this category, teachers reported the deepest levels of student engagement. Teacher self-reports of success when using a collaborative approach suggest that more research should be conducted using a range of approaches to investigate the fruitfulness of this strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There is increasing evidence that schools internationally are not meeting the needs of increasing numbers of young people, especially those at the secondary level, and whose backgrounds have placed them at disadvantage. The evidence is that significant numbers of young people are becoming disconnected from school. While the official term for this is 'disengagement', it seems that official educational policy responses to these tendencies, far from 'fixing' the problem, seem to be exacerbating it. Current policy preoccupations that emphasize accountability, greater parental choice of schools and a more prescriptive curriculum can present difficulties for young people, particularly those from challenging backgrounds. There may be a mismatch between formal educational policy, and the lived experiences at the level of the school and classroom for the most vulnerable young people. Purpose This paper reports on a single instance of a high school that embarked upon a process of reinventing itself in respect of the importance of relationships and 'relational power' for students over their learning. The paper examines what the teachers and students had to say about the efficacy of this school-based reform. Sample The case-study school was located in an area of extreme social disadvantage in which young people had diminished educational expectations. The research involved observations and interviews with a small sample of stakeholders and focus groups with students (13-16-year-olds). Design and method The study was an ethnographic case study of a single secondary school conducted over a five-week continuous period. It used 'embedded interviews' involving observation of in-class teaching prior to extensive 1-hour interviews with teachers and students' focus groups. All interviews were recorded. Detailed field notes were kept of classroom observations and other activities, including school assemblies, staff meetings and reflections on informal conversations held during teaching breaks in the staffroom. Results and conclusions Positive outcomes emerged from a context where fair boundaries were established and in which students could see school as a place where they could experience fun in their learning. The process was by no means complete, but the school felt that it had found a more efficacious way to move forward and the students made this clear in their statements about what the school was attempting to do with them. Key to these positive outcomes was a commitment to placing relationships between students, teachers and parents at the centre of everything the school did. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is consistently associated with poor school‐level outcomes. Although school engagement is recognized as a protective factor associated with increased academic achievement, school retention/completion, and student well‐being in the general population, little research has focused on school engagement in children with ADHD. Aims: To explore a model of the relationships between ADHD symptoms at age 7, student–teacher closeness and conflict at age 10, and emotional engagement with school at age 10 and 12. Sample: Participants were 498 grade one children (mean age = 7.3), recruited from 43 socio‐economically diverse government primary schools in Melbourne. Follow‐up occurred at 36 months (mean age = 10.5) and 54 months (mean age = 12.0). Methods: Data were drawn from a controlled community‐based longitudinal study examining the long‐term effects of ADHD on children's behaviour, learning, and day‐to‐day living. Data were collected via direct assessment and child, parent, and teacher surveys. Results: Path analysis revealed a significant, negative relationship between ADHD symptoms and emotional engagement with school, which was partially mediated by student–teacher conflict. This remained significant after controlling for differences in ADHD status (ADHD, high‐risk, or control group), ADHD medication use, and socio‐economic status. Conclusions: These findings highlight the negative impact of ADHD symptoms on children's emotional engagement with school. Given the role of student–teacher conflict in mediating this relationship, interventions aiming to reduce conflict in the student–teacher relationship may promote school engagement for students with ADHD, with potential to improve longer‐term outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitality is the feeling of being alive, vigorous, and energetic, and is an important indicator of overall motivation and wellbeing. Studio music instruction holds rich potential for creating feelings of vitality through close relationships, the potential for developing skills, and a shared endeavor of artistic expression. But they also have the potential to deplete vitality – through controlling teaching, a poor quality relationship, or harsh criticism from the teacher. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships among student and teacher behavior, rapport, and students' experiences of subjective vitality in the context of university-level applied performance lessons. Participants were six undergraduate instrumental music majors and their teachers located at universities in the United States and Australia, who were selected because they provided the highest (three participants) and lowest (three participants) scores on a measure of subjective vitality completed immediately following a studio music lesson. A lesson was recorded for each student-teacher participant pair, coded for the frequencies of 35 lesson behaviors, described with a qualitative contextual commentary, and rated for evidence of rapport and physical proximity. Clear differences emerged between the high and low vitality lessons with regard to questioning, feedback, modeling, student performance, and student talk. Teachers of high vitality students spent most or all of the lesson within close proximity to their student, and showed stronger rapport than teachers of low vitality students. The findings suggest that students' vitality may depend on important differences in styles of teacher-student engagement and the quality of student-teacher relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how early-career teachers working in high-poverty schools in Australia account for their decision-making during critical classroom incidents. Classroom management solutions are problematized by investigating how two teachers take up particular positions, make decisions, and enact what they believe to be 'quality teaching' in context. Through a combination of interviews and observations of teachers 'in situ', we examine what these teachers do, why they do it, what informs their decisions, and how they reflect on their actions. The complexity of teachers' work in schools located in high-poverty areas is highlighted. We argue that both early-career teachers prefer to position themselves within 'pastoral', in contrast to 'disciplinarian', discourses, as part of constituting the school as a site of possibility and teachers who advocate for youth growing up in poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the role of gender in teachers' perceived autonomy support (PAS), relatedness with students, workplace buoyancy, and organizational commitment. With 276 Australian secondary school teachers, structural equation modelling showed predominant similarities across gender in associations between PAS, relatedness, buoyancy, and commitment. For example, for both female and male teachers, PAS predicted greater relatedness with students and both factors were positively associated with organizational commitment. However, there were some noteworthy differences across teacher gender. For example, relatedness with students was positively associated with buoyancy for male teachers only. In addition, findings showed that male teachers reported higher levels of workplace buoyancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationships between Australian universities and their offshore partners as they deliver Australian academic programmes in the South‐East Asian region. Australian universities have signed over 1000 agreements with offshore universities, industry associations, and private providers, and it is estimated that around 36% of international students studying Australian programmes are doing so in countries other than their own. Following the relationship marketing literature, a study of the early interaction phase of the relationship life cycle is presented. Utilising convergent interviews and case studies, the paper identifies a number of factors in the early interaction phase critical to the prevention of relationship deterioration and termination. These include communication, trust, and a shared vision. In addition, several factors arising in the early interaction stage causing potential relationship deterioration or termination in the later stages of the relationship are identified. These include (1) low levels of internal commitment within the Australian university; (2) a failure to identify the key roles and responsibilities of the partner; (3) failure to establish win/win relationships; and (4) the departure of key personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preceptorship is a vital role in the development of both undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery students who require input and guidance from more experienced midwives. The preceptor acts as a professional role model to the student: teaching and supporting; providing a learning environment that enables confidence to develop through supervised safe practice; and assisting them to develop knowledge and skills, and adapt to new contexts and new roles within an ever-changing midwifery environment. Using reflection and critical analysis within clinical scenarios is a useful way to provide effective teaching and learning for students. This can also assist the preceptor to develop alternative teaching strategies and develop confidence to try new teaching approaches with students in future encounters. As the role of preceptor comes with great responsibility, the need for flexibility in teaching approaches, according to varied student learning styles, promotes new teaching approaches and confidence in the preceptor. This paper analyses a clinical teaching and learning scenario within a midwifery context and critiques the various teaching strategies utilised to recommend alternative approaches for the registered midwife preceptor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous nurses have the potential to improve access to health services for Indigenous people by ensuring that services are culturally safe and respectful of Indigenous peoples' needs. Therefore, developing a well-educated Indigenous nursing workforce is one way to improve the poor health outcomes of Indigenous Australians. A mixed methods study was undertaken to determine the current rates of enrollment, progression and completion of Indigenous nursing students in Australia and to explore student and staff perceptions of barriers to completion and strategies for success. The results indicate that the national average completion rates are 36.3% for Indigenous nursing students and 64.6% for non-Indigenous nursing students - an average difference of 28.3%. Indigenous nursing students and academics identified barriers to completion, which were similar to those identified in previous research. Success strategies, however, revealed the importance of individual student characteristics; academics' knowledge, awareness, and understanding; relationships, connections, and partnerships; institutional structures, systems, and processes; and, family and community knowledge, awareness, and understanding. This paper offers an overview of the integration and interpretation process that makes up the final phase of a mixed methods study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiences of young people with disabilities of inclusive schooling are largely underresearched. This paper reports recent findings of a small-scale Australian qualitative study, in which secondary students with vision impairment spoke about their experiences of receiving paraprofessional support. Two overarching themes emerged from this study: ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ paraprofessional support. The results presented here demonstrate that participants described that support personnel upheld the strong arm of the special education tradition, which was manifestly detrimental to their inclusion. Raw data is presented to elucidate the emergent themes, and to explain the various pedagogical and general support roles of class and special educators in eliminating the need for direct paraprofessional presence in lessons. The light and heavy model of support is also examined in terms of how it fits into the complexity of the education discourse and the young people's own aspirations for full inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There are many reasons why children have difficulties with mathematics. Dyscalculia is one of them. Teachers need to know what dyscalculia is in order to effectively assist the child to overcome the challenges it presents. However, the literature on the remediation of dyscalculia is in its infancy. The potential for multidisciplinary research is great, but would require maths educators to become involved in this issue, where previously they have been silent. Successful teachers know their students and value knowledge that will help them to help their students. As well as knowing what dyscalculia is, teachers need to understand its causes and have effective strategies to deal with it. Teachers also need to know how dyscalculia affects a child's self-belief system in order to counter the potentially devastating effects of poor self-esteem. Reportedly, there is an incidence rate of 5% in Australian schools, yet there is a lack of recognition, identification and diagnosis of dyscalculia despite the fact that the behavioural characteristics of dyscalculia are well defined and generally agreed on. There are a number of reasons why the diagnosis of dyscalculia is masked. The existence of another (possibly previously diagnosed specific learning disability) is one of them; for example 50% of dyslexics have dyscalculia. This paper seeks to address the “who, what, how and why” of dyscalculia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The arguments to move to a more student-centred approach to learning are convincing (Pykett, 2009; Paludan, 2006). One concern raised about the implementation of personalised learning is that the relationships required to enhance learning are contrary to those in the traditional, teacher-centred curriculum. This paper proposes that relational agency within a personalised learning context enhances creativity, engagement, and effort in Visual Arts Studio classes. The findings in this case study, from a Junior Secondary College in central Victoria, Australia, clarify the nature of the relational agency in a Visual Arts Studio and lead to the claim that negotiated interactions between participants build each student's self-determination and confidence in their own abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies concepts Deleuze developed in his 'Postscript on the Societies of Control', especially those relating to modulatory power, dividuation and control, to aspects of Australian schooling to explore how this transition is manifesting itself. Two modulatory machines of assessment, NAPLAN and My Schools, are examined as a means to better understand how the disciplinary institution is changing as a result of modulation. This transition from discipline to modulation is visible in the declining importance of the disciplinary teacher-student relationship as a measure of the success of the educative process. The transition occurs through seduction because that which purports to measure classroom quality is in fact a serpent of modulation that produces simulacra of the disciplinary classroom. The effect is to sever what happens in the disciplinary space from its representations in a luminiferous ether that overlays the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the experiential accounts of 24 young people with physical disability or chronic illness as they make the transition to junior high school, with a particular focus on their social experiences with peers and friends. Children’s reports were examined in a reflexive, disability studies framework, in which commonalities and difference in experience were examined. These reports highlight a common experience of disability-related harassment and differential experiences of friendship, peer rejection and school culture. While children encounter and actively counter disablement in a variety of ways, it is clear that these children are also cognisant of the stigma, prejudices and disabling expectations that are at the core of these experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author reports on an analysis of an Australian university's assessment procedure. The procedure - a major governance document of the university - is deconstructed by way of a Foucauldian discourse analysis in order to consider how students and academics are governed. There were three major findings. The dominant discourse operating in relation to student assessment was that of administration; a finding consistent with previous work in this area and at other universities. The main subject position in this discourse of administration is one of silence for the academic and of a performer for the student, one who is rewarded with the award of a degree if the performance is satisfactory. The passion to learn and to teach is nowhere to be found in this administrative discourse, one not unique to the said university, indeed one that flourishes in Western universities today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, results are presented from a large-scale online survey about the motivations of career change students, and their beliefs about the attributes that they bring to the teaching profession. The findings revealed that career changers' motivations were largely intrinsic, although pragmatic decisions were also important, with perceived family-friendliness of a teaching career a common response. These findings generally support findings of previous research into motivations to teach, as found in the literature. The data examined in this paper also revealed that career change entrants believed that the most important attributes they bring to teaching are life experiences, generic workplace skills and experience, and personal qualities, rather than specific content knowledge. These findings provide support for the continued targeting of career change people into the profession, particularly in the current policy context in which some stakeholders express concerns about a perceived lack of quality of teaching in Australian schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early career academics in a higher education institution may come from varied backgrounds which are not necessarily teaching based. Universities employed such academics to undertake an array of tasks including teaching administration and research. In current budgetary constraints an academic is normally required to undertake all 3 tasks. Teaching is a core activity of any university but there are enormous pressures for such academics to undertake research either through publication or undertaking research degrees and little attention is given to assisting with the philosophy and implementation of good teaching practices. This paper will examine a program at an Australian university with the use of mentoring from senior colleagues to assist not only in the teaching process but to also interweave this into research based publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current literature that investigates classroom talk, focuses on the importance of subject specific discourse and it's relationship to student thinking and learning. In visual arts education, however, there has been limited research conducted that specifically examines discourse related to aesthetics (Zander, 2003) even though curriculum document emphasise this as an area of education that needs to be fostered and developed within the classroom (Curriculum Council of Western Australia, 2005). This paper reports a study, which investigated the nature of students' discourse when they were responding to visual art. The study was conducted in a metropolitan primary school in Perth, with a class of 11 and 12 year old children who had little previous exposure to specialist art education. The conversation was video taped, transcribed and analysed in order to identify the discourse features specific to responding to the aesthetic component of visual art. Those aspects of discourse found to be poorly developed were subsequently taught as a part of the visual arts program. Following this period of teaching, the students were again videoed and the language they used was analysed to determine if what had been taught allowed them to express more complex responses to the art works they discussed. Findings indicate that where teachers identify aspects of discourse that students do not control and explicitly teach these in ways that are meaningful to the students, control is then developed. In turn, the students' aesthetic responses show greater complexity, which suggest a positive relationship between control of a specialist discourse and higher level of understandings of aesthetics in visual art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The higher education sector is increasingly reliant upon casual (‘sessional’) staff for teaching and marking purposes. While this practice has been little examined in the past, over the last few years increasing attention has been paid to the quality of marking, mainly because students and academic staff alike are becoming increasingly likely to question examples of poor practice. Hence, many universities in Australia are now attempting to introduce stricter procedures relating to marking. Despite current concerns, there is little published research on marking practices in Australian universities. This paper adds to the body of knowledge by reporting on two pieces of empirical research into the use of casual markers. A project at Charles Sturt University comprised focus groups of, respectively, students, lecturers and markers, and a survey of distance education students. Research at the University of South Australia focused on pedagogical issues relating to marking, comparing the approaches of permanent lecturing staff with those of sessional markers. The results of these projects provide a useful insight into areas of current concern to university staff and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a recent questionnaire completed by 377 Australian primary and secondary physical education (PE) teachers who had used the sport education curriculum model. As such, it constitutes one of the few large-scale accounts of teachers' perceptions of a curriculum model first proposed by Siedentop in the early 1980s. The purpose of the questionnaire was to discover how teachers imple-mented the model and to report whether they believed it produced better learning outcomes, was responsive to particular types of students and their needs and helped students accept responsibility for their own PE. The report provides support for the view that sport education can be an exemplary context for pursuing a broader range of learning outcomes than PE has traditionally sought and achieved, and that many teachers' disappointment with the nature and quality of interactions with students can. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explored how teacher–child relationships change over the early school years, in terms of closeness and conflict, whether these trajectories differ in type and frequency for children with typical development and children with speech and language concern (SLC), and whether the trajectories are associated with school outcomes at 12–13 years. Method: Participants were children, parents and teachers in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Parents identified 2890 children with typical communication and 1442 children with SLC. Teacher-rated teacher–child closeness and conflict were collected biennially over six years. Academic and social-emotional outcomes were reported by teachers and children. Growth mixture modelling was conducted to generate teacher–child relationship trajectories and Wald’s chi-square analyses were used to test the association between trajectories and school outcomes at 12–13 years, after controlling for a range of covariates including child’s sex, language background, Indigenous status, age and socio-economic position. Result: In both groups, the majority of children had teacher–child relationship trajectories with sustained high closeness and low conflict that predicted positive outcomes at age 12–13, but the SLC group was more at risk of less positive trajectories and poorer school outcomes. Conclusion: Close, less conflicted relationships with teachers may provide a supportive context for later language, literacy and social-emotional development. This study highlights the role of teachers in supporting children in their development of communication and academic skills that will optimise their capacity for freedom of opinions and expression, education and participation, as enshrined in Articles 19, 26 and 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Approximately 20% of adolescents develop depressive symptoms. Family, friends, and teachers are crucial sources of social support for adolescents, but it is unclear whether social support impacts adolescents directly (principle-effect model) or by moderating the effect of stress (stress-buffer model) and whether each source of social support remains meaningful when their influence is studied simultaneously. To help fill this gap, we followed 1452 Australian students (average age at enrollment = 13.1, SD = 0.5; range: 11–16 years; 51.9% female) for 5 years. Based on our findings, each source of support is negatively related to depressive symptoms one year later when studied independently but when combined, only family and teacher support predicted depressive symptoms. Family support in all grades and teacher support in grade 8 to 10 but not in grade 11 directly impacted adolescent depressive symptoms 1 year later. Family support in grades 8 and 11 also buffered against the negative impact of stress on depressive symptoms one year later. Based on the unexpected findings, the most important limitations seem to be that the used instruments do not allow for a separation of different groups of friends (e.g., classmates, same-gender peers, romantic partners), types of social support, and stress. In addition, the high, nonrandom attrition rate with adolescents reporting less social support, more stressful events, a higher frequency of depressive symptoms, and/or being of Torres Strait Islander or Aboriginal background limits the generalizability of our findings. Summarized, our findings demonstrate that adolescents facing stress might benefit more from family support compared to their peers without stressful life events and that friends may have a weaker presence in adolescent lives than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]