Search

Teacher librarians (TLs) play a central role in developing students' information literacy capabilities, which are vital for effective participation in formal education and active engagement in society. This research enhances insights into information literacy instruction in Australian secondary schools, by investigating the perceptions of practicing TLs regarding the information literacy needs of teachers and students. This article presents the groundwork for this investigation, employing a phenomenological approach and discussing findings from an initial survey. The study will inform TL education and improve current information literacy education practices, addressing the demand for nurturing 21st century skills embedded in the Australian Curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency remote delivery (ERD) employed by post-compulsory education providers during COVID-19 has left an enduring legacy. In particular, hyflex (simultaneous online and in-person delivery) teaching and learning (HTL) has the potential to offer a choice of mode and flexibility, and open new ways of thinking about adult student engagement. To explore whether existing ideas about student engagement are 'fit for purpose' for HTL, we conducted a mixed-methods study, using post-course online surveys (n = 110) and semi-structured interviews with students (n = 10) engaged in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in seven disciplinary areas in a large metropolitan university in Australia. Kahu and Nelson's student engagement framework, and the educational interface in particular, guided our analysis. Our findings illustrate the ways that hyflex accommodates unplanned crises and personal challenges to provide flexible and equitable access to learning, as well as fostering aspects of the educational interface: self-efficacy, emotions, wellbeing, and belonging. Tertiary and adult education providers should build on such experiential learnings gained since the pandemic by continuing to invest in resources to support hyflex teaching as an essential feature of students and staff being able to balance the competing demands of life and study/work, especially in the context of unplanned events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, notably ChatGPT, are increasingly recognised for their transformative potential in higher education. This study employs a detailed case study approach complemented by a survey, delving into ChatGPT's impact on pedagogical practices, student engagement, and academic performance. It involved 74 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in data analytics courses in Australia. The quantitative analysis highlights ChatGPT's role in providing personalised and on-demand support, which is highly valued among users for its flexibility and responsiveness, meeting a critical demand in educational settings. Notably, the study identifies a medium effect size ( η 2 = 0.173 ) in perceived benefits, indicating that ChatGPT accounts for approximately 17.3% of the variance in improved academic outcomes. However, challenges such as ChatGPT's limited understanding of complex queries and the lack of human interactions are primary concerns, with a medium effect size ( η 2 = 0.289 ) suggesting significant areas for improvement. Furthermore, statistical analyses reveal a clear relationship between the frequency of ChatGPT usage and the perception of its benefits, underscoring the transformative potential for users who have integrated it into their academic practices. Despite these challenges, the differential impact on users versus non-users highlights the potential for ChatGPT to foster more engaging and effective educational practices. The findings advocate for targeted strategies to epitomise ChatGPT's integration into educational settings, emphasising the need for ongoing research and the development of comprehensive guidelines to navigate its complexities and maximise its educational benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has demonstrated wellbeing benefits for positive education programmes (PEPs) facilitated by clinicians or experts or outside the school context. The current study explored the effects of a Year 10 PEP led by teachers trained in positive education and embedded within the Australian secondary school context. A mixed-methods design compared students receiving PEP (n = 119) with a wellbeing-as-usual comparison group (n = 34) matched on age and socioeconomic status. Depression, anxiety, autonomy, gratitude and mindfulness levels did not differ between groups. Levels of satisfaction with life and relatedness were significantly higher for the intervention than for the comparison students at the post-intervention time point. Qualitative analyses revealed that students valued having engaging and relatable teachers, brief interactive sessions and personally relevant applied content. School-based PEPs may therefore provide some limited ongoing support as students transition into their senior years of secondary school. Delivering positive education within the school context, however, raises challenges relating to levels of teacher training and availability. Capturing the student voice in the current study was valuable and indicated that both teacher and programme factors were central to student engagement in PEPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by the focus on standardised assessment and performance-driven accountability, a considerable body of literature has documented differences in students' academic achievement across school sectors, both internationally and in Australia. However, few studies have to date explored the potential mechanisms underlying such differences, particularly through the lens of school climate and student engagement. And despite extensive literature on school climate and student engagement, including their relationships with achievement, the differences in these patterns across school sectors remain under-studied. In this paper, we leverage nationally representative data from a large-scale longitudinal survey in Australia with linked administrative data on student achievement to reveal different patterns of school climate and student engagement across government, Catholic and independent sectors. Employing multivariable regression analyses, we identify unique school climate and student engagement facets that are associated with improved achievement in each of these sectors, offering important pointers for educational policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first-year student experience is attracting attention within Australian higher education, where heightened concerns exist in relation to the successful transition of students to university life. This paper presents a critical reflection of the process involved in an action research project in a collaboration between academics and first-year students, coinciding with the students' arrival to the university. On a small satellite campus, nine academics and 10 first year students from nursing, paramedicine, and health sciences partnered to explore students' transition to university and to develop actions to support this process. Establishing partnerships with students, we elicited and listened to their stories, made sense of what we were learning together through dialogue and inquiry, participated in egalitarian decision-making regarding the direction of the project, and collaborated in meaningful action. The aim of this paper is to explore how the first-year student experience was impacted by engagement with the project and through the construct of co-operative inquiry, where all participants were co-researchers in iterative practices of action and reflection. Findings are captured in the 'last loop' of analysis, where learning and collaboration expanded within these cycles of action and reflection. 'Four ways of knowing': experiential; presentational; propositional and practical knowing are used as an analytical framework for conceptualising the findings. Of key interest is how this project became a vehicle for creating new understandings, shifting the nature of power relations among and between academics and students, resisting efficiency and outcome-oriented pressures of the university, and fostering a sense of inclusion for participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) disorders are a major public health problem in Australia, especially outside metropolitan areas. The issue is compounded by a shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs). CAMH receives minimal coverage in health professional training, training opportunities are scarce, and support for generalist health professionals, who treat most cases, is lacking. Novel approaches to early medical education and teaching are required to strengthen the available skilled workforce in rural and remote settings. Method: This qualitative study explored the factors influencing medical student engagement in a CAMH videoconferencing workshop as part of the Rural Clinical School of WA. Results: Our results confirm the priority of personal characteristics of medical educators, over clinical and subject matter expertise, on student learning. This research affirms that general practitioners are well-placed to facilitate recognition of learning experiences, especially given that students may not readily recognise exposure to CAMH cases. Conclusion: Our findings support the effectiveness, efficiencies, and benefits of utilising general medical educators in supporting child and adolescent psychiatry expertise in delivering subspecialty training within medical school curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the antecedents of student engagement in online learning and the consequent impact on higher education students' satisfaction with online learning. More specifically, a structural model was proposed to examine students' perceptions of adaptability, interactivity, computer/Internet self-efficacy and psychological safety as key factors impacting their engagement with online learning tools and satisfaction with the online learning experience. A self-administered online survey was conducted with 539 undergraduate students in China, Australia, and South Korea. Structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis were used to test the study's hypotheses. The findings indicated that the proposed four antecedents significantly impacted their engagement with online learning tools, influencing their overall satisfaction with the online learning experience. In addition, this study found significant differences between the relationships of the four antecedents of engagement with online learning tools among students in China, Australia, and South Korea, influencing their satisfaction with the online learning experience. The study concludes with theoretical and practical implications informing future institutional practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic forced universities worldwide to move their teaching online within an unprecedentedly short timeframe. Whilst the move online learning has increased the reach of tertiary educational delivery it has also raised significant issues of equity, accessibility and student engagement. This includes concerns around access to technology and reliable internet connectivity, academic and digital literacy, and other factors such as mental health and work-life balance. This paper examines two studies of student engagement with online learning during 2020 when then pandemic began. One study was conducted in South Africa the other in a small regional university in South-Eastern Australia. A mixed method approach was used in both studies and then student responses were analysed using the student engagement framework presented by Kahu and Nelson (2018). A key focus in this analysis is the critical importance the educational interface and shared mutually formative experience of learning between students and universities. Findings show that despite the two different contexts, student concerns around digital literacy and engagement in an online learning environment share many similarities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and young people with disability are a "vulnerable" population within a pandemic context as they face structural inequities and discrimination as a result of their impairments. In this paper, we report research that sought to examine the learning experiences of children and young people with disability during the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to understand how this group fared and whether different interventions impacted on these experiences. Data were collected from an online survey organized by Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) that garnered responses from more than 700 families. The study contributes empirical evidence to the growing literature about COVID-19-related impacts on learners already recognized as experiencing multiple disadvantages in schooling. We find some significant gaps in supports offered to students with disability and their families. Notwithstanding that some students did not receive any support from their schools, where supports were offered, social supports had the greatest positive impact on feelings of learner engagement. Our findings support key propositions in the social and emotional learning literature, namely that particular resourcing should be dedicated to social interaction and feelings of belonging as these are crucial to learners engaging in learning processes. There are clear implications of these findings in terms of what educational institutions might do to help engage students with disability in remote learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are promoted by the Australian government as pivotal for Australia's economic prosperity. Research on equity groups suggests that group membership is associated with several factors linked to 'leakage' from the STEM pipeline of school, university and transition to work. In this paper we draw on longitudinal Australian data to understand what factors influence the participation of equity group students in university STEM courses, and to explore how the STEM pathways of those groups differ from those of non-equity students. We identified several important factors which influence participation at two critical points of the STEM pipeline; transition from school into university, and transition from university into the STEM workforce. Our results indicated that higher levels of mathematics self-concept and instrumental valuing of mathematics in early adolescence predict continuation in the STEM pathway for all students and particularly those from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Videogames are complex, meaningful and multimodal texts. This study aims to explore how students could learn about narratives from, and be engaged by, playing a videogame and how a teacher adapted their pedagogy to incorporate the young adult videogame (YA game) What Remains of Edith Finch into an English Language Arts curriculum. Design/methodology/approach: This case study examined the experiences of a classroom teacher and students in a Year 10 English class in Australia. Thematic analysis included a wide range of data, including interviews, surveys, observations and artefacts. Findings: First, students demonstrated a strong understanding of the game as a narrative text, including essential components of narrative such as plot, characterisation, themes, settings and literary techniques. Second, students experienced a consistently high level of engagement and embodiment throughout the study as a consequence of the interactive, collaborative and multimodal nature of YA games. Third, the teacher discovered that he was able to achieve key curriculum outcomes with the videogame through re-imagining pedagogy. Originality/value: A playful approach allows teachers and students to be curious about the diverse narrative pathways possible within YA games and offers new opportunities to experience embodiment within and through digital texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have shown that international mobility programmes enhance students' intercultural maturity development, regardless of duration, few have attempted to ascertain whether this change is long lasting. This study tested students two years after their participation to see if their intercultural maturity levels continued to progress, plateaued, or regressed in the intervening period. 93% of the study cohort continued to progress in their level of intercultural maturity in at least one dimension, with none regressing, and only one plateauing. This suggests that the shifts in identity, values, and skills that the students develop are far-reaching and profound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to many other OECD countries, contemporary policy approaches to teacher professional learning in Australia are tied to the standardisation of the profession and characterised by compliance and performativity regimes of teacher participation in prescribed modes, types and quanta of professional learning. In this paper, we argue that such models fail to effectively support early career teachers' engagement and growth in professional learning and erode the possibility of positive professional learner identity development. Through the lens of identity construction and attribution theory, we report on the ways 16 beginning teachers positioned themselves as professional learners while working in diverse school contexts across one large Australian educational jurisdiction. Findings from the analysis of semi-structured interviews highlight how important balanced and measured attributions of causality are to professional learner identity development. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of widening participation initiatives internationally, including those in Australia, much has been written about equity policies in education. There is a growing body of research related to the outcomes of such policies and the experiences of non-traditional students, including those from low socio-economic status (LSES) backgrounds and students who are First Generation and/or First in Family, as well as other equity groups. This paper presents data related to a less researched effect of widening participation: the experiences of and impact on academic staff and those providing support services to students. We focus particularly on students from LSES backgrounds. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups with academic and student support staff in a large regional Australian university, with several themes emerging. In this paper, we investigate staff experiences related to diversity in student cohorts, drawing on Bourdieu's concept of capital. Results show that the academics are supportive of LSES students and sensitive to the range of student backgrounds in their courses, including differences in cultural capital and students experiencing extreme hardship, but the support provided is affected by staff gender. It is evident that staff endeavour pedagogically and pastorally to support students, often at personal cost. There are workload and welfare implications evident for staff, institutions and funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A persistent issue in Australia, and globally, is how to improve participation rates in higher education for students from regional and rural areas. In this paper, we tackle this challenge by exploring the idea of a Community Embedded University (CEU). We draw on empirical data from three participatory co-design workshops with university students (n = 15) and staff (n = 6), to provoke discussion on what a CEU model might look like, the activities it might engage in, and how it would collaborate with local communities to create stronger partnerships and support student engagement. Through our study, we identify key value propositions to a CEU, including fostering students' sense of belongingness and opportunities to engage in relationship-rich pedagogy through community-university collaborative teaching. However, we also identify several challenges to enacting a CEU, such as complexities relating to distributed power-sharing and decision-making, and how to situate learning experiences in place while maintaining flexible learning spaces. We propose that, while the idea of a CEU may remain an idealised model, our outlined principles to creating a CEU may be a useful framework for universities to reflect upon and consider how they engage with their local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive education in Australia has resulted in a concerted push for the differentiation of pedagogical teaching approaches by educators across Kindergarten to Year 12 (K-12) learning environments. Such approaches have been shown to meet a diverse range of learner needs found in today's classrooms. While progress is evident at the primary and secondary levels of education, implementing effective inclusive practices in higher education appears stagnant. Utilising the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in a fully online pre-service teacher training unit, multiple means of representation of the learning content and multiple means of engagement were explicitly incorporated into the online unit design. This approach aimed to proactively support the engagement of all students in an online teaching and learning environment. This study provides preliminary evidence that the application of UDL principles resulted in higher levels of student engagement and lower rates of student attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explored the multiple layers of social and intercultural adjustment challenges experienced by international female doctoral students in Australia. The paper investigates multiple dimensions of sociocultural differences between the students' native and host countries, including sociocultural context, community engagement, personal and social lives, and the intersection of more commonly researched sociocultural identities. This investigation is undertaken within the epistemological positioning of feminist standpoint theory and intersectionality. In addition, a narrative inquiry approach and a thematic analysis are used to understand the students' social lives and issues of adjustment to a new culture. Themes like intercultural understanding, social connectedness and adjustment issues are used to encapsulate the students' views about their social positionality and understanding of their lives during PhD in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embedded librarianship is largely unexplored in the Australian TAFE and dual TAFE/University sectors. This paper discusses an embedded library program piloted at Holmesglen Institute and the results of a 'learner survey' of learners within participating courses. It argues that an embedded library program presents an emerging opportunity within TAFE and dual sector libraries to introduce an additional learner support service to provide highly targeted information literacy skills building and research support. The pilot program was introduced within the Institute's fashion and hospitality higher education courses with the aim of breaking down barriers for learners accessing library support. It also aimed to increase the visibility of the library, its services, and resources. Results from the learner survey indicated the embedded program contributed to the cohorts' strong awareness of their liaison librarian, their expertise, and the support they could provide. Learners additionally noted they felt comfortable to approach their liaison librarian if they needed extra help and overall were happy with the support provided through the program. Lessons learnt including recommendations, challenges, considerations, and modifications are discussed to encourage other librarians to begin the embedded conversation within their institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the utility of Campbell's narrative construction of 'the hero's journey' as a conceptual apparatus to understand how international students from Confucian heritage cultures navigate their experiences in Western schooling systems like Australia. The hero's journey framework was used to investigate the commonalities and differences in international students' beliefs and behaviours, which led to the development of three different students 'hero' models: the self-determined hero, the hesitant hero, and the wounded hero. These models were used to represent the students' beliefs, behaviours and perceptions of support and to describe the experiences and motivations of students in different contexts during their secondary schooling in Australia. The hero's journey provides a potentially useful framework from which to engage schools, systems, and policymakers in productive dialogue regarding the support and engagement of international students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students from regional and remote areas remain significantly under-represented in higher education despite decades of equity policy designed to encourage participation. One explanation is that policy initiatives often overlook the realities in local rural contexts that can make higher education less desirable. Applying the theoretical lens of 'doxic' and 'habituated' aspirations, this paper analyzes interviews with 13 students, 10 parents/carers, and 4 teachers from one regional and one remote community in NSW, Australia. We document the emotional and material realities shaping young people's imagined futures in these communities, highlighting the commitment to a rural lifestyle in one, and the desire to escape the other community in decline. We argue that developing successful initiatives to address equitable participation in higher education requires a departure from hegemonic discourses of 'rurality' and greater recognition of and respect for the diverse needs and desires of regional and remote students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engaging students in the creation of learning resources is an effective way of developing a repository of revision items. However, a selection process is needed to separate high- from low-quality resources as some of the materials created by students can be ineffective, inappropriate or incorrect. In this study, we share our experiences and findings in incorporating three approaches for peer evaluation of student-generated content, using an educational technology called RiPPLE which supports learner sourcing of study materials. All approaches asked students to score peer-developed resources, rate their confidence in that judgment and to provide written feedback or justification of their evaluation to the resource's author. The first approach provided no guidance to scoring. The second supplied a simple instructor-developed rubric for scoring. The third utilised a simple data-informed rubric incorporating criteria derived from thematic analysis of students' comments provided in the first two conditions. The analysis of 8,213 evaluations of student-generated content from 813 students shows that the data-informed rubric produced more rigorous evaluations, higher agreement in scores but lower student confidence in the accuracy of their assessments. The analysis of comments shows that students went beyond the criteria supplied in the rubrics and applied their own understanding of resource quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progressive democratisation of Australian higher education has numerous causes including the increase in the number of universities and therefore university places across the later 20th and into the 21st century, as well as initiatives by governments of different ideological hues to increase the total percentage of the population with a university degree. This latter impulse, in particular, has increased significantly the number of students entering university via pathway programs, meaning programs which provide the opportunity to undertake study to inculcate university-standard skills and enable matriculation into university for people who are otherwise ineligible. The students in pathway programs are sometimes disengaged from learning, coming from so-called non-traditional pathways that may signify a disconnect between them and their institutions of learning. This practice report, therefore, examines efforts to address "connectedness" in pathway programs at a regional university in Australia. The pathway programs at UniSQ College are underpinned by an inclusive and holistic teaching philosophy that supports students' access to higher education. Through the lenses of social, emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and collaborative engagement, practitioners examined and reflected on ways in which this philosophy was embedded in the day-to-day work of UniSQ College through deliberate efforts to promote and maintain connectedness. By reflecting on and articulating these connections, we have provided a base for developing a future evaluative framework that will critically examine the extent to which our practices, through student engagement, foster connectedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compulsory distance education has always sought to be inclusive, providing educational opportunities for K-12 students unable to attend mainstream, face-to-face schools for medical, geographical, or personal reasons. However, how to effectively engage these diverse learners has remained a perpetual challenge, with a need for further investigation into the nature of student engagement with compulsory school distance contexts and how teachers can best support it. This qualitative study used focus groups (n = 2 groups, n = 16 participants) to examine teacher definitions and student engagement strategies within eKindy-12 distance education in Queensland, Australia. Categorical analysis was conducted using a priori codes for definitions, focusing on four previously established engagement types (i.e. behavioural, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement), and in vivo codes for strategies. Teacher definitions focused strongly on behavioural engagement, but most also contained elements of emotional and cognitive engagement; agentic engagement was only occasionally evidenced via practice descriptions. Teachers described engaging students by: building relationships, creating a safe classroom environment through differentiation, using inclusive technological tools to facilitate interaction and monitor progress, making learning fun and relevant, drawing on school-wide pedagogical frameworks and teaching strategies, and encourage self-regulation. Findings suggest distance education teachers face unique challenges around evidencing engagement and supporting student agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the motivation and engagement of adolescent non-Arab Muslim learners of Arabic (a-MLA) enrolled at Australian Islamic Schools (AIS). To this end, the 'L2 Motivational Self System' was used as a theoretical lens. This research gives 'voice' to learners and is dialogic, 'speaking with' rather than 'speaking for' learners in Islamic schools. It also responds to calls for the 'renewal' of Islamic Schools in the Western context, including in Australia, through a focus on Arabic learning. A basic interpretive qualitative approach was used, and data were collected from 40 participants using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were supplemented by classroom observations. In keeping with the emphasis placed on learners' voices, the data presented focus on the students' own words and perspectives. The findings suggest the presence of predominantly religious orientations to learning Arabic, but that a subset of other orientations also exists. The findings also indicate that several contextual factors can lead to disengagement and that the L2 Motivational Self System might not fully explain the situation of these learners. Nonetheless, these findings can inform the practice of teachers engaged with a-MLA and provide grounds for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With recent massification policies and reforms, Australia's widening participation agenda has been instrumental in increasing participation of marginalised students in higher education. This paper considers how a sense of belonging can be instilled in marginalised students, improving retention and success and ultimately widening participation in higher education. It is recognised that one of the most important contributors to student engagement is the educator. Unfortunately, in academia today, educators are increasingly time-poor for several reasons including the neo-liberal nature of higher education, the COVID-19 pandemic and an emergency move to remote teaching. This article applies Bandura's concept of self-efficacy to highlight how, when nurtured effectively, the student-educator relationship can contribute to improving students' self-efficacy and their sense of belonging. Self-efficacy has been shown to affect aspirations, behavioural choices, maintenance of effort and affective reactions (Bandura, 1997), all of which can contribute to, or inhibit, students' academic success. Self-efficacy can be increased via four sources: mastery experiences, verbal persuasion, vicarious experiences, and emotional and physiological states (Bandura, 1997). Central to this discussion is the value of vicarious experiences as a conduit between the educator and student in developing a student's self-efficacy. This article provides practical advice for educators so they may focus their efforts and build strong student relationships in the most effective manner. Practitioner Notes 1. Utilise storytelling in teaching by planning and being intentional about what personal experiences will assist students to make connections to content being taught and strengthen the student-educator relationship. 2. Educators need to acknowledge that although self-sharing creates vulnerability, students will benefit through personally identifying with the educator, in-turn creating a sense of belonging. 3. Educators may not get to know all students due to limited time; however, students will feel that they personally know the educators just through the educator opening up and being real. 4. Educators should use multiple communication methods to reveal their personality to students, including all online resources, lectures, classes, emails and forums. 5. Developing a connection between student and educator assists with the students gaining a sense that they belong and are accepted into the field of university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated school connectedness, student engagement, academic grades, and student affect. Factor analyses of 331 adolescent students (Years 7, 9, and 11 in Australia), validated a four-factor model of school engagement. The factors revealed in the analyses were described as (1) future and task focus, (2) planning and motivation, (3) positive roles and models, and (4) positive social engagement. Cluster analyses revealed two typologies of students: a thriving group scoring significantly higher on all four factors than a striving group. There was a consistent number of students in each group across Years 7, 9 and 11. Compared to students in the striving group, on average, students in the thriving group scored significantly higher on grades (i.e., mathematics and English). Moreover, students in the thriving group were significantly higher on content and excited affects, and significantly less depressed and distressed compared to the students in the striving group. Limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation examined the role of teachers' instructional support (student reports of relevance, organization and clarity, feedback-feedforward) in predicting students' growth goal setting and, in turn, the roles of instructional support and growth goal setting in predicting students' academic engagement (perseverance, aspirations, school attendance, homework behavior). Also examined was the question of whether the relationship between students' background attributes and engagement is moderated by their growth goal setting (e.g., whether growth goal setting attenuates negative effects of low socioeconomic status). The sample comprised N = 61,879 students in grades 7–10 from schools across New South Wales, Australia. The results of structural equation modeling showed that perceived instructional relevance and feedback-feedforward from teachers positively predicted students' growth goal setting; that growth goal setting predicted gains in students' perseverance, aspirations, and homework behavior; and that growth goal setting significantly mediated the relationship between perceived instructional support and engagement. Additionally, growth goal setting appeared to significantly bolster some outcomes for low achieving students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. These findings add to the growing body of literature about the positive role of growth goal setting in students' outcomes and provide direction for educational practice. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: This study investigated growth goal setting among a large statewide sample of high school students. Growth goal setting refers to the pursuit of specific, challenging, and competitively self-referenced targets that match or exceed a previous best effort or performance. Findings demonstrated that perceived instructional support (student reports of teachers' feedback-feedforward and instructional relevance) was associated with students' growth goal setting and that students' growth goal setting was associated with significant gains in their academic engagement (perseverance, aspirations, and homework behavior). Importantly also, growth goal setting reduced the potential negative effects of low socioeconomic status and low prior achievement on some engagement outcomes. These findings provide important direction for enhancing students' growth goal setting and engagement. Accordingly, practical suggestions for enhancing instructional support and growth goal setting are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has proposed a conceptual framework indicating the mediating role of student engagement on the relationship between effective teaching practices and student academic outcomes. This study is the first internationally to empirically test this conceptual framework for the key aspects of teaching practice—effective learning time and expectations for success—using robust, linked longitudinal survey–administrative data from 6825 public school students in Australia. Drawing on a system of structural equations, we demonstrate that effective learning time has a direct effect on students' performance and an indirect effect via improved positive behavior, attendance and homework behavior. Expectations for success, in contrast, have a largely indirect effect, affecting students' academic performance through improved positive behavior, attendance and homework behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research within communities that have historically been failed by formalised schooling often describes teachers who have found it difficult to engage with the social and cultural differences of their students. In this article, I present the case of Richard, a teacher whose work entailed a particular set of demands generated by a complex range of intersecting factors – amount and nature of experience in teaching, and the context in which he worked, a school located within a remote Indigenous community in Australia. Richard's descriptions of his experiences reflect a range of conflicting deficit discourses directed variously at his students, their families and community, as well as the school, its teachers, and himself. In this article, I use Bourdieu to explore Richard's case, and suggest that the analysis of deficit discourses in teaching needs to move beyond their identification, and towards unravelling the complex structural and personal inter-relations at play. Understanding how and why such discourses can arise and persist in teaching may afford new directions for research and practice, enabling more productive support of teachers and their work with diverse groups of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]