Leadership narratives : women leaders in independent schools, Victoria 2004-2008

This thesis investigates the professional work narratives of twelve women Junior Heads and the influence of dominant leadership discourses on shaping leadership identities. Leadership narratives reveal how power and agency are negotiated through discourses of paradox, idealism and dissent. These discourses were used by the women as positioning strategies to discursively navigate ambiguity and contradiction arising from the micro-politics of power relationships and gendered discourses within their situated practice.

Other communities : Box mistletoe (Amyema miquelii) parasitism is not detrimental to the health of grey box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) trees at a regional scale

Mistletoes are hemiparasites that occur worldwide in many types of forest, woodland and shrubland ecosystems (Watson 2001). Some species are regarded as pests due to their detrimental effects on host species (Hawksworth 1983; Reid & Yan 2000). Heavy infestations can affect the growth, productivity and form of host trees, and may cause host death (Reid et al. 1994; Shaw et al.2004, 2008). In south-eastern Australia, mistletoes often are visibly obvious in trees along roadsides, in paddocks and on the margins of open forests; and concerns have been expressed about their potentially detrimental effects on host trees.Despite this, little quantitative information is available on the effects of mistletoes on tree health and mortality (Reid et al. 1994). Are detrimental effects widespread or localized? A first step is to assess whether trees parasitized by mistletoe are less healthy than those without such parasites. Here, we investigate the relationship between parasitism by Box Mistletoe (Amyema miquelii (Lehm. ex Miq.) Tiegh.), a common species in south-eastern Australia, and the health of trees of a widespread host species, Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa (Maiden) Maiden), across a large geographic region.

Changes in admissions work arising from the new social work degree in England

The business of admissions to higher education in England is a significant task for academic and support staff. This paper draws on the Evaluation of the New Social Work Degree Qualification in England (2004-2008) to describe the changes in admissions work for social work staff in higher education associated with the change from diploma to a degree level qualification for entry to the profession; to report how staff involved in admissions work are managing these changes; and to identify elements of admissions processes that are perceived to be fulfilling the new requirements of the degree and those which are identified as more problematic. The article draws on two telephone/email surveys of a national sample of social work programmes and on face-to-face in-depth interviews with a sample of teaching staff from nine social work programmes in six higher education institutions undertaken during 2005-2007. The work of admissions staff is rarely scrutinised in studies of higher education or specifically in social work programmes: this article discusses the spectrum of approaches. It recommends monitoring of the outcomes of practices in admissions work that are recasting Department of Health Requirements as the minimum.

Interrogating the ethics of literacy intervention in Indigenous schools

Recognising that literacy is fundamental to the educational success of Indigenous students, this essay reviews current literacy intervention programs from a social justice perspective. It reveals the tension between policies and initiatives that have addressed the two key rights of Indigenous people – the right to access mainstream knowledge and language through the provision of empowering education and the right to sustain their own languages and cultures through culturally responsive education. In particular, the essay focuses on the National Accelerated Literacy Program (NALP) – a large-scale initiative supported by the former Liberal and the current Labour government in 2004-2008. A spin-off from NALP has been the formation of the Accelerated Literacy Consultants’ Network that provides professional development sessions in Accelerated Literacy and literacy education more broadly to teachers from Aboriginal Independent Community Schools across Australia. The essay questions the view of justice in the NALP’s theoretical and pedagogical design and its effects on teaching and learning in Aboriginal schools. The paper, then, discusses the primacy of ethics in literacy education in order to make it more hospitable and responsive to cultural-linguistic differences.

Podcasting and pedagogy

This chapter explores the engagement of tertiary students in interviewing “green” experts. Using Engeström’s expansive activity model, the study finds that integrating podcasting into a course with strong links to other activities and resources helped students assimilate and develop the concepts of the course. The project promotes functionalist values of independent, experimental learning and deep engagement with learning material, it invokes authentic field experience, accommodates different learning styles and it provides considerable motivation.

The study suggests that mobile learning embodies the means to change relationships between learner and expert and that such connecting is a key attribute of contemporary subjective association and recontextualization. The chapter provides a brief review of the literature on podcasting in education, followed by the teaching and learning context and the application of Engeström’s “expansive activity model” (1994, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010). I describe the student group undertaking the exercises in a Level 5 Sociology course, and the project (which subsequently extended into a later course: “The Sustainable Business Environment”, because many of the podcast students had pre-enrolled in that course).

The paper discusses the methodological approach that was used, offering two strands of analysis: students’ use of the podcasts and how the latter were placed in their learning about sustainable development. The discussion section elaborates the model and offers suggestions for advancing the educational use of podcasts. Last, I offer some thoughts on how Engeström’s model might be extended in education to develop not just new objects, but also the new use of objects.

Interview with Ahmad Agus Setiawan

Ahmad Agus Setiawan is an Indonesian who studied at Curtin University in 2004-2008. After completing his Masters degree in Sweden, he was awarded an Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) to complete his PhD in Environmental Engineering in Australia. The interview was conducted in English on 26 May 2014 by Dr. Jemma Purdey of Deakin University. This set comprises: an interview recording, a timed summary, and a photograph.

Healthcare costs associated with language difficulties up to 9 years of age: Australian population-based study

PURPOSE: This study aimed to quantify the non-hospital healthcare costs associated with language difficulties within two nationally representative samples of children. METHOD: Data were from three biennial waves (2004-2008) of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (B cohort: 0-5 years; K cohort: 4-9 years). Language difficulties were defined as scores ≤ 1.25 SD below the mean on measures of parent-reported communication (0-3 years) and directly assessed vocabulary (4-9 years). Participant data were linked to administrative data on non-hospital healthcare attendances and prescription medications from the universal Australian Medicare subsidized healthcare scheme. RESULT: It was found that healthcare costs over each 2-year age band were higher for children with than without language difficulties at 0-1, 2-3, and 4-5 years, notably 36% higher (mean difference = $AU206, 95% CI = $90, $321) at 4-5 years (B cohort). The slightly higher 2-year healthcare costs for children with language difficulties at 6-7 and 8-9 years were not statistically different from those without language difficulties. Modelled to the corresponding Australian child population, 2-year government costs ranged from $AU1.2-$AU12.1 million (depending on age examined). Six-year healthcare costs increased with the persistence of language difficulties in the K cohort, with total Medicare costs increasing by $192 (95% CI = $74, $311; p = .002) for each additional wave of language difficulties. CONCLUSION: Language difficulties (whether transient or persistent) were associated with substantial excess population healthcare costs in childhood, which are in addition to the known broader costs incurred through the education system. It is unclear whether healthcare costs were specifically due to the assessment and/or treatment of language difficulties, as opposed to conditions that may be co-morbid with or may cause language difficulties.