Search

The primary focus of this report is to examine the effect that immigrant status and home language background may have on the performance of Australian students who participated in the OECD/Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2000). Approximately 5,477 students from 231 schools across Australia participated in the study. In this report, two sets of analyses were conducted. The first set focuses on immigrant status of students and the second set of analyses provides data on those students who speak a language other than English at home compared to students from an English home language background. Immigrant status categories are defined as: Native students--those born in the country of assessment (in this case, Australia), with at least one of their parents born in that country; First-generation students--those born in the country of assessment but whose parents are foreign-born; and Non-native students--those foreign-born and whose parents are also foreign-born. The range of languages spoken at home were categorised into five main groups: English, European, Chinese, Other Asian and Middle Eastern. The analyses showed considerable consistency in the results for the two groups. It appears that students of immigrant status and/or who have a non-English home language background have such a positive, engaged approach to their learning that they are able to overcome some of the disadvantages that may be associated with settling in to a new country or not speaking English at home. (Contains 34 tables, 7 figures, and an appendix.)

In 2000, Australia took part in the inaugural OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Approximately 500 Australian Indigenous students were assessed in PISA, providing a representative sample of the 15-year-old Indigenous population. This report presents the analysis of the results for the Australian Indigenous students in comparison with other Australian students and in relation to other countries' students. It also examines some of the characteristics of the Indigenous students. It was found that Australia's Indigenous students performed at a lower level than the non-Indigenous students in all three areas of assessment--reading, mathematical and scientific literacy. It is important that teachers recognise different approaches preferred by students in classroom situations. In the strategies that they use for learning, Indigenous students reported a preference for a cooperative, less competitive approach than did their non-Indigenous counterparts. The detailed analysis of student performance and attitudes afforded by PISA, placed into the context of home background, should provide a guide for further development and improvement in the educational outcomes for Australia's Indigenous population. (Contains 28 tables and 21 figures.)

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. The overall aim of PISA is to measure how well 15-year-olds approaching the end of their compulsory schooling are prepared for meeting the challenges they will face in their lives beyond school. In 2003, Australian students participated in the second cycle of PISA, which emphasized mathematical literacy. This second national report describes the details of their participation and results in both the national and international context. In addition this report makes comparisons where possible between results obtained in PISA 2000 and PISA 2003. The first chapter focuses on the development of PISA, the nature of the assessment, the target population details and the implementation of the survey. The remaining chapters describe Australia's results in the international context; examine associations of those results with national characteristics such as Indigenous status, language background and geographic location; and explore the major factors associated with performance. Appended are: (1) PISA's procedures; (2) Sampling; (3) Statistical tables; and (4) Definition of variables. A list of acronyms and abbreviations and a glossary are also included. (Contains 62 tables and 95 figures.)

The majority of forest cover in the British Uplands had been lost by the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, because of felling followed by overgrazing by sheep and deer. The situation remained unchanged until a government policy of afforestation, mainly by exotic conifers, after the First World War up to the present day. This paper analyses the distribution of these predominantly coniferous plantations, and shows how they occupy specific parts of upland landscapes in different zones throughout Britain. Whilst some landscapes are dominated by these new forests, elsewhere the blocks of trees are more localised. Although these forests virtually eliminate native ground vegetation, except in rides and unplanted land, the major negative impacts are at the landscape level. For example, drainage systems are altered and ancient cultural landscape patterns are destroyed. These impacts are summarised and possible ways of amelioration are discussed. By contrast, in recent years, a series of projects have been set up to restore native forest cover, as opposed to the extensive plantations of exotic species. Accordingly, the paper then provides three examples of such initiatives designed to restore native forests to otherwise bare landscapes, as well as setting them into a policy context. Whilst such projects cover a limited proportion of the British Uplands they nevertheless restore forest to landscapes at a local level.

For some time in Australia, the Schools Council of the National Board of Employment, Education. and Training has been concerned with issues concerning the quality of teaching as evidenced through its reports on Teacher Quality: An Issues Paper (1989) and Australia's Teachers: An Agenda for the Next Decade (1990). These reports and others highlight the need for teachers to examine continually what they do in their classrooms. Most recently, teacher quality and the need for continued professional development of teachers has been the subject of a ministerial statement (Beazley, 1993). This report notes how the impact of, and responsibility for, effective implementation of change in curriculum and teaching practice falls mainly on teachers. This article assists teachers because it focuses on a technique which teachers can use for examining what is occurring in their own classrooms.