Living improvement : a case study of a secondary school in England

Schools in England are being urged to personalize the curriculum and make school experiences more responsive to all students. We report on an evaluation project which investigated innovation in teaching and learning in a successful secondary school in the north of England. Data were gathered from a sample of teaching staff, a questionnaire to all students, lesson and meeting observations, and meetings with the governing body and parents: the student-guided evaluation canvassed recent and planned changes to the structure and experience of teaching and learning. This article illuminates how one school is breaking the ‘traditional schooling rules’ that limit improvement and how in doing so it is developing new insights about the nature and process of improvement. We show how staff and students have been engaged in the change process, and focus in particular on analysing the interplay between improvement as a plan, a practice and a lived experience.

Opening up pathways : engagement in STEM across the primary-secondary school transition

A review of the literature concerning supports and barriers to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics engagement at Primary-Secondary transition. Commissioned by the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

Creating digital divas-scaffolding perception change through secondary school and university alliances

Over the last 20 years much has been done to encourage female students to choose computing courses and computing careers. Some instances of positive effects have been reported, yet the proportional disparity in gender in this discipline continues to grow. This paper reports on a program called 'Digital Divas'. Digital Divas aims to scaffold positive perceptions around computing in the early years of secondary school by involving female students in upbeat computing experiences over a semester. It introduces university undergraduates to the secondary classroom to provide informal role models and mentors, as well as interactions with young computing professionals. This classroom environment enables computer applications to be more strongly linked with future careers. The commitment to a semester length unit was influential in changing perceptions about girls and computing, and the program was supported by the wider school community. We posit that this type of curriculum intervention is needed and has the potential to build technical human capital in female students.

Leading professional learning in an Australian secondary school through school-university partnerships

As the limitations of one‐off and disconnected professional learning programs for teachers are recognised, there is widespread interest in building learning communities and professional learning teams within schools. When considering how to build local learning communities, school and university partnerships are seen as offering rich possibilities for transformative professional action. Set in the context of the international agenda of “Education For All” (UNESCO, 2005) a model of sustained on‐going professional learning, developed in one large secondary school in Australia, is analysed. The social practices that generate action and participation for partnership members are then scrutinised for the legitimacy of school‐university partnerships and the contribution to enhancing teacher learning.

Book review : Teaching secondary school mathematics : research and practice for the 21st century

Book review of Teaching Secondary School Mathematics : Research and Practice for the 21st Century by Merrilyn Goos, Gloria Stillman & Colleen Vale

Teaching secondary school mathematics : research and practice for the 21st century

For the last decade or so, educational policy makers and researchers in many countries have been calling for significant changes to the way mathematics is taught in secondary schools. Australian mathematics curriculum documents now promote learning goals that go beyond mastery of a pre-determined body of knowledge and procedures - the traditional emphasis on facts, skills, formulae - to include mathematical reasoning and problem solving, communication, and real world applications. There is also pressure to move away from over-reliance on teacher-centred practices such as exposition and individual seatwork, towards activities that promote learners' involvement in constructing, applying, and evaluating mathematical ideas. Further impetus for reform comes from research recommending that if learners are to develop mathematically powerful forms of thinking and habits of mind, then classrooms should immerse them in the authentic practices of the discipline by supporting a culture of collaboration and sense-making. Teaching Secondary School Mathematics - incorporates recent developments in research and practice and applications to teaching mathematics in Australian secondary schools. Covering such areas as curriculum, pedagogy and assessment; teaching mathematical content; equity and diversity in the classroom; and professional and community engagement, it is an invaluable resource for all practising and pre-service mathematics teachers.

Health-related quality of life is low in secondary school children in Fiji

The health and wellbeing of children in lower-income countries is the focus of much international effort, yet there has been very little direct measurement of this. Objective. The current objective was to study the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a general population of secondary school children in Fiji, a low middle-income country in the Pacific. Methods. Self-reported HRQoL was measured by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 in 8947 school children (aged 12–18 years) from 18 secondary schools on Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. HRQoL in Fiji was compared to that of school-aged children in 13 high- and upper middle-income countries. Results. The school children in Fiji had lower HRQoL than the children in the 13 comparison countries, with consistently lower physical, emotional, social, and school functioning and wellbeing. HRQoL was particularly low amongst girls and Indigenous Fijians. Conclusions. These findings raise concerns about the general functioning and wellbeing of school children in Fiji. The consistently low HRQoL across all core domains suggests pervasive underlying determinants. Investigation of the potential determinants in Fiji and validation of the current results in Fiji and other lower-income countries are important avenues for future research.