'Aussies' and 'wogs' and the `group in-between': year 10 students' constructions of cross-cultural friendships

This paper reports on an aspect of a small, empirical study that explored how cross-category friendships were constructed among an ethnically diverse cohort of Year 10 students in an Australian school. The students, who self-identified as having friendships across gender and ethnic boundaries, were interviewed in focus groups. Young men and young women, in speaking of their cross-cultural friendships, generally stressed commonalities among rather than differences between groups of friends. Nevertheless, students identified two predominant peer groups and used the terms 'aussie' and 'wog' to name them. Some of the male students appeared to be more keen than many of the females to mark themselves out as belonging to one or the other of these groups. This paper will discuss how these terms are utilised among these students to construct particular identities. On one level, this naming signified differences of choice, with reference to styles of music, clothing, jewellery, hair and entertainment. Is this an attempt to reclaim and rework previously racist descriptors into more egalitarian terms by young people? The meanings and sense that students make of such traditionally racist terms and how their use reflects and challenges wider cultural discourses of difference are discussed. How 'sameness' is constituted around shared experiences rather than common cultural backgrounds is also considered.

The Digital Divide: Differences in Computer Use between Home and School in Low Socio-economic Households

This article examines information and communication technologies(ICTs) practices in the home and school settings of four disadvantaged families. It reports the findings of a year-long study that investigated the nexus between computer-mediated literacy practices at home and at school and whether this inter-connectivity could make a difference in school success. The findings indicate that there was disjunction between home and school use. The ``digital divide'' exists for the families of this study, not in terms of access but in the gap between ICT practices at home and school. Schools in this study did not integrate ICT skills learned and demonstratedin the home environment into ICT practices at school. The study concludes that constructing pedagogical connections between home and school ICT practices may begin to bridge the ``digital divide''.

Researching a whole-year EE program: some methodological issues

A P-12 school in regional Victoria has an environmental theme throughout its Year Four program with classes located in a purpose- built Environmental Centre in a separate location within the school’s grounds. The authors report here on a one-year case study of the grade four thematic integrated curriculum at the school. They reflect on and describe some of the methodological issues that arose during the interviews, direct observations, photography and video-recording. Some of the practical considerations associated with case-study methodology are discussed. The paper concludes with a summary of emerging substantive issues and a prospective view to further research.

Perceptions of the first year experience at university

Until recently the issues of transition to university have been largely ignored in educational research. However, in recent years economic factors have meant that Governments require universities to be more publicly accountable and efficient than in the past. As a result, increased emphasis has been placed on the retention and transition of university students. Students new to tertiary study face a range of challenges in making the adjustment from school to university. They are expected to learn challenging material and to develop independent thought while adjusting to different teaching and expanded social environments (McInnis and James, with Mc Naught, 1995). In the context of first year accounting studies, the importance of the first year experience has been emphasised in the United States by the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) (1992). The AECC (1992, p.1) states that "the [first] course shapes [potential accounting majors'] perceptions of (1) the profession, (2) the aptitudes and skills needed for successful careers in accounting, and (3) the nature of career opportunities in accounting." Adams et al. (1994) and Cohen and Hanno (1993) provide empirical support for the importance of a positive experience in the first accounting course.

Developing formal mathematical assessment for 4-to-8-year-olds

The assessment of children in their years before school and their first years of school has been, traditionally, informal. Further, assessment of children's mathematical skills at this level has been infrequent compared to social, emotional and physical assessments. However, there are contexts where reliable, valid, standardised data from assessment in mathematics are required. This paper outlines the development of two assessment tools for mathematics that were originally developed for such contexts. Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses enabled the construction of assessment forms that address the range of abilities of 4- to 8-year-old children, and provided the scales used for constructing formative and summative reports of achievement. A description of the development of the assessment tools and the IRT analysis that provides the reporting formats are presented together with some research uses of the tools.

Year 12 students' mental models of the nature of light

This article reports on the third year of a three-year longitudinal investigation into six secondary students' understanding of optics at a secondary school level. In the third year of this investigation the students, who by now were in Year 12, underwent a teaching sequence that centred on the teaching and learning of physical optics and quantum ideas. The students' mental models of the nature of light were explored prior to, and following this teaching sequence. The researcher took on the dual roles of teacher and researcher. This paper will outline the findings of the third year of this study and the implications they have for the teaching and learning of optics at secondary school level.

On the fast track speeding nurses into the future: a two year Bachelor of Nursing for graduates of other disciplines

It has been suggested in nursing literature that a bachelor's degree should be the pre-requisite to professional nursing education and registration. The perceived advantages of graduates entering the nursing profession led faculty in the School of Nursing La Trobe University to introduce in 1997 an innovative two-year Bachelor of Nursing (BN) program, believed to be the first in Australia, for graduates of other disciplines. A problem-based learning (PBL) approach was selected to facilitate the teaching learning process. Data to evaluate the progress of the accelerated students were collected by examining their previous degree background, conducting a focus group discussion mid year and comparing the students' academic results with those completing the traditional three-year course. Findings indicate that students in the accelerated course were highly motivated but experienced significant stress. In part the stress emanated from the need to identify their own learning needs. However, despite their concerns most accelerated students scored at least as well both clinically and academically as traditional students. Moreover, in six of the seven final year subjects each group studied the accelerated students performed better.

“Through a glass darkly” : a report on trends in school music education provision in Australia

This paper reports on research commissioned by the Music Council of Australia (MCA) on the provision of school music education in Australian states and territories. Using guidelines developed by the principal researcher, a team of state and territory investigators collected data on eleven research questions formulated by MCA’s Research Committee. The principal investigator compiled, analysed and interpreted the state data and synthesised the findings into an overview of
the current situation nationally. One of the major findings was the limited amount of uniform data available from education authorities; indeed, the inadequacy or non-availability of data from some states is a matter of serious concern in terms of public accountability for the school music provision. Nevertheless, the project provided an overview of the current state of school music education in all states and territories. In relation to three of the key indicators (numbers of specialist music teachers, numbers of students taught music, and numbers of students studying music at Year 12), the study revealed that the provision of music has not changed significantly over the past two decades—the situation has either remained static or has improved or declined slightly. The principal recommendation from the project is the need for a more comprehensive survey to be undertaken and a Deakin University team, in collaboration with the MCA as industry partner, will be applying for an ARC Linkage Grant which will investigate effective teaching of music in schools and the preparation of teachers for implementing music programs.

Review of first-year engineering and technology units based on student unit evaluations

There is recognition that the first-year of university study is a critical phase in the preparation, motivation and retention of science, mathematics,  engineering and technology (SMET) students. First-year provides the foundation/generic skills upon which students will base their undergraduate studies and professional practice; first-year is where many poorly prepared/at risk students will drop out and contribute to the poor student retention rate observed in the SMET disciplines; and first-year is when students may lose the motivation to pursue their chosen career direction if they find the studies at the commencement of their undergraduate program appear to bear no relationship to their intended career. In 2003, the Learning Resources Advisory Group of the Deakin University School of Engineering and Technology was requested to undertake a review of first-year units in the School’s programs. The information contained in anonymous unit evaluation questionnaires from the years 2000-2002 was used as the basis for analysing student perceptions of first-year units. In unit evaluations, students reported a wide range of issues that impacted negatively on their perception of the content and conduct of first-year units. It was noted that units service taught by other Schools form a significant element of the first-year of all of the Engineering and Technology undergraduate programs – typically 25 to 50 percent of the content. The significant influence of these units on the perceptions of the first-year of the School’s commencing students means that the School should exercise some control over the content and delivery of these units.

Responding to the learner diversity : an inquiry into the delivery of a second year marketing unit

This paper reports on the outcome of an inquiry into the learner diversity and the delivery of a second year marketing subject in an Australian university. Using Biggs’s revised SPQ2F instrument (Biggs, 2003), it analyses the learning approaches of students and the opportunities for developing teaching strategies for better learning outcomes. The results suggest that overall students seem to adopt deep learning than surface learning though they differ in terms of the learning contexts. Moreover, no significant differences among students in regard to the study approach domains except for minor variation related to specific items in the instrument.

Southern drift: the learning styles of first and third year students of the built environment

This paper focuses on learning processes across the design curriculum of Deakin University School of Architecture and Building (Australia) through the recognition of the four learning styles - 'accommodating', 'diverging', 'assimilating' and 'converging' - that are defined in the Experiential Learning theory of Kolb. The research has been conducted to evaluate the effects of
learning style preferences on the performance of built environment students from diverse backgrounds and cultures in projects across a range of learning situations. The results of the research are being used to inform andragogical refinements that will be tested in design studio and technology lecture units studied by students of Architecture and Construction Management. The paper will focus on the results of a cross-curriculum learning style survey. The sUivey was conducted as part of a Strategic
Teaching and Learning Grant funded project currently running at Deakin as a reflexive research program aimed at resolving the learning difficulties of students collaborating in multi~disciplinary and multi~cultural team assignments. By addressing the issues of multidisciplinarity, cultural inclusiveness and the internationalisation of higher education, the research program aims ultimately at the education of graduates who are able to bring leadership to multidisciplinary design collaborations co-operating across international boundaries towards a global sustainable future.

Prevalence of genital human papillomavirus DNA in a sample of senior school-aged women in the Australian Capital Territory

Background: A strong association between persistent infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer is well established. Small numbers of international studies examining adolescent HPV infection and the risk factors associated are published, but there is currently no evidence on the prevalence and risk factors for HPV in an Australian, sexually active female adolescent population. Methods: To provide prevalence and risk factors for HPV in a female sexually active, senior high school population in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), a convenience sample of 161, 16–19-year-old females attending a senior high school was evaluated. The sample formed part of a larger sample recruited for a study of sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne viruses in senior high school students. A clinical record was used to collect information about sexual and other risk behaviours, while self-collected vaginal swabs were tested for HPV DNA detection and genotyping using polymerase chain reaction. Results: The prevalence of HPV DNA in this sample overall was 11.2%, with multiple genotypes in 38%. No statistically significant associations were found between HPV DNA and the number of male partners, age of coitarche, time since first sexually active, condom use, smoking or alcohol intake. Conclusions: This is the first Australian study that has examined the prevalence and risk factors for genital HPV in this demographic group. The prevalence of HPV infection is slightly lower than reported in similar age groups overseas and is lower than other Australian studies in older women and those attending sexual health centres. Of HPV-positive young women, high-risk genotypes were found in over half, with more than one-third of HPV existing as multiple genotypes. Large community-based prevalence studies are needed to guide the development of recommendations for the vaccination of young women against HPV and to support other health promotion initiatives.

Zero impact: are lawyers' values affected by law school?(Survey)

In 2001 approximately 700 Australian final-year undergraduate law students were surveyed as the first part of a three-year study of Australian lawyers' values. This study is being undertaken in an effort to understand what values are important in determining lawyers' attitudes to difficult behavioural choices confronting them in legal practice. It is hoped that knowledge of the actual values held by lawyers (in the context of critical professional choices) will enable better targeted values awareness education in both pre- and post-admission contexts.

The main quantitative survey employed a number of hypothetical scenarios. These were designed through the use of ethical dilemmas to examine issues of conflicting loyalties within a context of self-interest and lawyers' perceived obligations to the community, employers, family, friends and clients. (1)

Our approach in this paper is to set the scene by providing basic frequencies to responses in each scenario, followed by an analysis of themes elicited from respondents during the focus groups. Our immediate objective is to provide representative interviewee (that is, respondent) commentary designed to throw some light on the major choices of those respondents in the first year of the main quantitative survey. (2) Note that these focus groups were conducted some months after the quantitative analyses, and in particular after respondents had left law school. All respondents were, by that stage, working within a variety of legal workforce environments. In this analysis, it must be stressed, we have not attempted to match and compare individual respondents' comments with their earlier choices in the quantitative survey. That task awaits the longitudinal analysis now under way for the whole period of data collection during the three-year study.

Australian law students' perceptions of their values: interim results in the first year--2001--of a three--year empirical assessment

This study attempts to answer an essential social policy question: what values are characteristic of the mass of Australian lawyers' in their last year of law school and their early careers, and how do these values develop or degrade over time? This question is important because of the concern felt in the community as to the activities of lawyers. In recent years the Australian legal profession has sustained more scrutiny by governments, regulators and consumer movements than in any previous period of our history. The perception that practitioners' competencies and ethics are deficient and materially linked both to reduced standards of performance and to higher levels of public complaints, has received attention from academics, law societies, parliamentary committees and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Family risk factors for cannabis use: a population-based survey of Australian secondary school students

The objective of this study was to investigate relationships between adolescent cannabis use and indices of parent - child attachment, family functioning and parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency. A total of 2848 year 9 and 2363 year 11 students participated in the Victorian Adolescent Health and Well-Being Survey (1999). The study was a school-based random sample of 535 metropolitan and rural, government and non-government secondary schools throughout Victoria, Australia. Cannabis use was defined as 'any' and 'weekly' use in the last 30 days. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent associations between cannabis use and parent - child attachment, family functioning and parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency. Cannabis use in year 9 was associated with permissive parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency (any use: adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 8.1; weekly use: adjusted OR = 7.6), and was particularly sensitive to small changes in the quality of the parent - child relationship with risk increasing threefold for those describing their attachment as 'good' compared with 'very good' (any use: adjusted OR = 2.8, weekly use adjusted OR = 2.9). A similar, but more moderate pattern association was evident in year 11. After adjusting for other family and background factors, poor family functioning showed minimal association with level of cannabis use at both year levels. Results suggest that intervention efforts might sensibly target strengthening parent - children relationships and promoting less permissive parent attitudes to drug use.