What Counts as Quality in Education? Australian College of Educators (ACE) National Conference Proceedings (Adelaide, Australia, September 11-12, 2014)

The 2014 Australian College of Educators (ACE) National Conference was held September 11-12 in Adelaide, Australia, with the theme, "What counts as quality in education?" There has been concern with a general downward trend in Australia's performance on international measures of student achievement, but there is equal concern over the achievement gap and whether some of the current initiatives playing out in education, such as deregulation and privatisation, might impact upon achievement and that achievement gap. It appears that Australia is becoming a more unequal society, and inequality is ultimately bad for everyone. It is timely to consider the issue of quality from a variety of perspectives, including a fundamental reevaluation of the purposes and intended outcomes of schooling. Are current conceptions of teaching, learning, and schooling adequate for the 21st century? Speakers in this conference engaged with issues such as: the parental perspective of quality; what counts as quality in vocational education and training; the role that standards can play in the overall quality of education; what counts as quality in early childhood education and care programs; what counts as quality in primary education; and how the current education policy developments in Australia are influencing all of the aforementioned issues. Following a welcome address by ACE National President, Stephen Dinham, papers in these proceedings include the following: (1) "Quality" as an enrichment course in literature for high school students (Mark Collins); (2) Primary schooling in Australia: Pseudo-science plus extras times growing inequality equals decline (Stephen Dinham); (3) Effective implementation of pedagogical reform through quality teaching rounds (Jenny Gore); (4) What works for developing Asia-relevant capabilities in Australian schools? (Eeqbal Hassim); (5) Quality learning with technologies: Strategies for school leaders to address challenges and dilemmas (Kathryn Moyle); (6) Quality education and religion: Preparing us for the next world (John Quay); (7) Quality educational leadership recognised through Australian Principal Certification (Louisa Rennie); (8) What counts as quality in Vocational Education and Training? (Virginia Simmons); (9) Quality education: A matter of relevance (Greg Whitby); and (10) Understanding the quality debate in education (Joseph Zajda). Individual papers contain references. [The University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education was a conference partner for the 2014 ACE National Conference.]