A peaking and tailing approach to education and curriculum renewal for sustainable development

Contextual factors for sustainable development such as population growth, energy, and resource availability and consumption levels, food production yield, and growth in pollution, provide numerous complex and rapidly changing education and training requirements for a variety of professions including engineering. Furthermore, these requirements may not be clearly understood or expressed by designers, governments, professional bodies or the industry. Within this context, this paper focuses on one priority area for greening the economy through sustainable development—improving energy efficiency—and discusses the complexity of capacity building needs for professionals. The paper begins by acknowledging the historical evolution of sustainability considerations, and the complexity embedded in built environment solutions. The authors propose a dual-track approach to building capacity building, with a short-term focus on improvement (i.e., making peaking challenges a priority for postgraduate education), and a long-term focus on transformational innovation (i.e., making tailing challenges a priority for undergraduate education). A case study is provided, of Australian experiences over the last decade with regard to the topic area of energy efficiency. The authors conclude with reflections on implications for the approach.

The renormalization group: A perturbation method for the graduate curriculum

In this paper the renormalization group (RG) method of Chen, Goldenfeld, and Oono [Phys. Rev. Lett., 73 (1994), pp.1311-1315; Phys. Rev. E, 54 (1996), pp.376-394] is presented in a pedagogical way to increase its visibility in applied mathematics and to argue favorably for its incorporation into the corresponding graduate curriculum.The method is illustrated by some linear and nonlinear singular perturbation problems. Key word. © 2012 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Diversity or perversity?: Award-winning children's literature and the Australian curriculum

Two of the three cross-curriculum priorities for the national Australian Curriculum prescribed by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) are focussed on what might be called diversity education: “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culture”, and "Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia” (ACARA, “Cross”). One need not be versed in complex rhetorical theory to understand that, laudable and legitimate as such priorities are, their existence implies that mainstream education in Australia has been or is characterised by the marginalisation or erasure of Australia's history—the original Indigenous cultures are not only living and vibrant today, but also have tens of thousands of years’ “head start” on Australia’s settler cultures—and of its geography—Australia is, after all, located in some physical proximity to Asia. Some might even suggest that Australia is in Asia. These temporal and spatial “forgettings” constitute a kind of cultural perversity which the cross-curricular priorities both seek to address and serve to reinscribe. Even as ACARA requires Australian school students to engage with Aboriginal and Asian histories, cultures, societies, they imply that such histories, cultures, and societies are “diverse”, that they are not those of the students in Australian classrooms; producing them as objects of study rather than as lived experience. This should not necessarily be surprising. Michael W. Apple has provocatively argued that: “one of the perverse effects of a national curriculum actually will be to ‘legitimise inequality.’ It may in fact help create the illusion that whatever the massive differences in schools, they all have something in common” (18). In the Australian context, attempts to mitigate such perversity are articulated via the selection of literary texts. As educators move to resource ACARA’s cross-curricular priorities, ACARA notes that “Teachers and schools are best placed to make decisions about the selection of texts in their teaching and learning programs that address the content in the Australian Curriculum while also meeting the needs of the students in their classes” (ACARA, “Advice”). This assertion appears on a webpage called “Advice on selection of literary texts” which is notable first and foremost for its total lack of any literary texts being named, and its list of weblinks pointing to lists of texts compiled elsewhere, by other organisations, and in the main, compiled to serve agendas other than the Australian curriculum. One of the major resources referred to by ACARA for literary text selection is the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA). Of course, the CBCA’s annual book awards do not share ACARA’s educational priorities, but do have a history of being drawn upon by schools as a curriculum resource. In this paper, I consider the literary texts which have been prized by the CBCA in recent years attending to their engagements with Aboriginal cultures.

Taking travel journalism seriously : suggestions for scientific inquiry into a neglected genre

The practice of travel journalism is still largely neglected as a field of inquiry for communication and journalism scholars, despite the fact that news media are increasingly focussing on softer news. Lifestyle sections of newspapers, for example, have been growing in size over the past few decades, and given corresponding cutbacks in international news reporting, particularly travel journalism is now playing a growing role in the representation of ‘the Other’. While this need for research into the field has been identified before, very little actual investigation of travel journalism has been forthcoming. This paper reviews the current state of research by reviewing what studies have been conducted into the production, content and reception of travel journalism. It argues that while there does now exist a very small number of studies, these have often been conducted in isolation and with significant limitations, and much remains to be done to sufficiently explore this sub-field of journalism. By analysing what we do know about travel journalism, the paper suggests a number of possibilities in each area on how we can advance this knowledge. Above all, it contends that dated prejudices against the field have to be put to the side, and the practice of travel journalism needs to be taken seriously in order to do its growing importance justice.

The Hofstedian approach : suggestions for a conceptual development of comparative journalism studies

In recent years there has been a burgeoning amount of research comparing journalistic practices in a wide range of countries around the world. Much of this literature has tended to focus on identifying what the similarities and differences between these different journalistic cultures are. Most importantly, research has focused on answering the question of whether, particularly in the age of globalisation, ‘a journalistic culture’ may exist. While there has been some evidence that there may indeed be a convergence of journalistic cultures, studies have at the same time found that important differences still persist. However, most of the literature has so far still tended to concentrate purely on the differences and similarities, without examining in detail why these exist. In this context, the author argues that employing a cross-cultural approach rooted in anthropology can at least partially trace the development of particularly the differences by linking them to the wider concept of cultural differences between countries. Specifically the paper here evaluates the usefulness of applying the value systems appraoch, as designed by Dutch anthropologist Geert Hofstede, to journalism research. By examining some of the few studies that have employed Hofstede’s approach, the paper argues that value systems can provide a classification on a conceptual level for investigating how journalism is practiced around the world. In the light of complaints in the Asia-Pacific region that the imported Western models of journalism are not in line with cultural values, this approach can also provide some basis from which to develop future approaches to journalism education.

Tensions between policy and practice : reconciliation agendas in the Australian curriculum English

In various parts of the world, Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples are actively working towards Reconciliation. In Australia, the context in which we each undertake our work as educationalists and researchers, the Reconciliation agenda has been pushed into schools and English teachers have been called on to share responsibility for facilitating the move towards a new national order. The recently introduced Australian Curriculum mandates that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures be embedded with “a strong” but “varying presence” into each learning area (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2013). In this paper we consider the tensions between policy and practice, when discourses external to education are recontextualised into the discipline of English. We do so by applying an analytical framework based on Bernstein’s (1990, 1996,2000) sociological theories about the structure of instructional and regulative discourses. Our findings suggest that the space to exert Reconciliatory agendas in the Australian Curriculum English is ambiguous and thus holds the potential to not only marginalise Indigenous knowledges but also to create tensions between policy and practice for non-Indigenous teachers of English.

Standards that we can 'own' : Threshold Learning Outcomes for Journalism, Public Relations, and Media & Communication Studies

This paper outlines the progress by the JoMeC (Journalism, Media & Communication) Network in developing TLO (Threshold Learning Outcome) statements for Bachelor-level university programs in the disciplines of Journalism, Public Relations and Media & Communications Studies. The paper presents the finalised TLO statement for Journalism, and outlines moves to engage discipline-based groups to further develop preliminary TLOs for Public Relations and Media & Communication Studies. The JoMeC Network was formed in 2011, in response to requirements that from 2014 all degrees and qualifications at Australian universities would be able to demonstrate that they comply with the threshold learning standards set by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). The AQF’s threshold standards define the minimum types and levels of knowledge, skills and capabilities that a student must demonstrate in order to graduate. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) will use the AQF’s threshold standards as a key tool in recording and assessing the performance of higher educational institutions, and determining whether they should be registered as Australian Higher Education Providers under the Higher Education Standards Framework. The Office of Learning & Teaching (OLT) places the onus on discipline communities to collaborate in order to develop and ‘own’ the threshold learning standards that can be considered the minimum learning outcomes of university-level programs in that field. With the support of an OLT Grant, the JoMeC Network’s prime goal has been to develop three sets of discipline-specific TLOs – one each for the Journalism, Public Relations, and Media & Communications Studies disciplines. This paper describes the processes of research, consultation, drafting and ongoing revision of the TLO for Journalism. It outlines the processes that the JoMeC Network has taken in developing a preliminary TLO draft to initiate discussion of Public Relations and Media & Communication Studies. The JoMeC Network plans to hand management of further development of these TLOs to scholars within the discipline who will engage with academics and other stakeholders to develop statements that the respective disciplines can embrace and ‘own’.

Changes in teachers’ behaviour in secondary science education : implementing a standards-referenced national curriculum

There is substantial attention worldwide to the quality of secondary school teaching in STEM in Education. This paper reports on the use of Outcome Mapping (OM) as an approach to guide and monitor change in teacher practice and a visual tool, shaped as a Star, to benchmark and monitor this behaviour. OM and the visual tool were employed to guide and document three secondary teachers’ behaviour as they planned, implemented and assessed a science unit in the new Australian standards-referenced curriculum. Five key outcome markers in the teachers’ behaviour were identified together with progress markers — cumulative qualitative indicators — leading to these outcomes. The use of a Star to benchmark and track teachers’ behaviours was particularly useful because it showed teacher behaviour on multiple dimensions simultaneously at various points in time. It also highlighted priorities in need of further attention and provided a pathway to achievement. Hence, OM and the Star representation provide both theoretical and pragmatic approaches to enhancing quality in STEM teaching.

Unpacking the Australian Curriculum HPE - proposition 5 : include a critical inquiry approach

Overview • AC HPE and critical thinking • Interrelated propositions: Examples • Inquiry approach and questions • Summary and our challenge

Curriculum, Syllabus Design and Equity : A Primer and Model

Curriculum scholars and teachers working for social justice and equity have been caught up in acrimonious and polarizing debates over content, ideology and disciplinary knowledge. At the forefront in cutting through these debates and addressing the practical questions involved, this book is distinctive in looking to the technical form of the curriculum rather than its content for solutions. The editors and contributors, all leading international scholars, advance a unified, principled approach to the design of syllabus documents that aims for high quality/high equity educational outcomes and enhances teacher professionalism.

Promoting law student well-being through the curriculum

The Australian tertiary sector is becoming increasingly concerned about the psychological well-being of its students.Empirical research in Australia indicates that more than one-third of law students suffer from psychological distress, and the competitive, isolated, adversarial learning environment at law school has been suggested as partly responsible (Brain and Mind Research Institute, 2009). This fellowship program has mobilised strategic change to improve the psychological health of law students. It has lead and stimulated advancement in the legal curriculum, its pedagogy, and assessment practice to better engage, motivate and support student learning of law, focussing on the potential of non-adversarial legal practice. A new conceptual framework for legal education has been developed, demonstrating the pursuit of excellence in the teaching of law, and raising the profile of learning and teaching in Australian law schools. In addition the fellowship has created a national community of practice around this issue through the Wellness Network for Law, and made significant contributions to research and scholarship in the field.

Powering a curriculum for all : a critical ethnographic study of inclusive education

This project makes a contribution to knowledge about the successful leadership practices that enhance education for young people with a disability in a Queensland Secondary School. The project used a critical ethnographic approach with a variety of data collection methods and analysis. For example, the use of work diaries, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observation. These leadership practices were found to be relevant to the development of inclusive schools for all learners.The most powerful leadership practices found were those used by the leader to challenge, interupt and replace exsisting discourse and processes that led to exclusion of students with a disability.

A different breed altogether? Distinctions between local and metropolitan journalism cultures

While a number of scholars have explored the special exigencies of local as opposed to metropolitan journalism, rarely have studies examined such differences in relation to journalism culture as constituted by journalists’ professional views. To address the gap in our knowledge, this study reports results from a representative survey of local and metropolitan newspaper journalists in Australia. Findings suggest that territorial context accounts for some significant differences in journalists’ demographics, as well as their role perceptions. In line with past research, local newspaper journalists exhibit much stronger support for the community forum and advocacy role. At the same time, and contrary to expectations, there is very little difference in their support of the watchdog role compared with metropolitan journalists. By combining questions about journalistic ideals and enactment in their work, and finding differences in the two, this study also has important implications for the methodological development of survey studies.

A contextual analysis of secondary home economic teachers' agency in a time of mandatory curriculum change

This qualitative research explored secondary Home Economics teachers' perceptions of their teacher agency to influence classroom, department and school level curriculum decision making. Teachers responded to curriculum change with proactive, reactive and/or passive agency. Findings indicated that teachers' perceptions of their classroom agency remained high. However, agency decreased at department and school levels. Recent changes in schools as a result of the Australian Curriculum; NAPLAN and Queensland Studies Authority have resulted in changes that have been detrimental to teacher agency. Agency was enacted differently depending on whether change was teacher initiated or mandated by authority.