Standing brave in the face of rapid curriculum change : EAL/D teachers speak about critical literacy and its place in senior English teaching

Critical literacy (CL) has been the subject of much debate in the Australian public and education arenas since 2002. Recently, this debate has dissipated as literacy education agendas and attendant policies shift to embrace more hybrid models and approaches to the teaching of senior English. This paper/presentation reports on the views expressed by four teachers of senior English about critical literacy and it’s relevance to students who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are learning English while undertaking senior studies in high school. Teachers’ understandings of critical literacy are important, esp. given the emphasis on Critical and Creative Thinking and Literacy as two of the General Capabilities underpinning the Australian national curriculum. Using critical discourse analysis, data from four specialist ESL teachers in two different schools were analysed for the ways in which these teachers construct critical literacy. While all four teachers indicated significant commitment to critical literacy as an approach to English language teaching, the understandings they articulated varied from providing forms of access to powerful genres, to rationalist approaches to interrogating text, to a type of ‘critical-aesthetic’ analysis of text construction. Implications are also discussed.

Pre-service Physical Education teachers and concerns regarding their ability to successfully facilitate school-based physical activity promotion strategies

Regular physical activity (PA) in youth has numerous immediate and long-term health benefits. With several studies indicating low levels of youth PA globally, schools settings have become increasingly critical settings for youth health promotion strategies. The role of physical education (PE) teachers has long been considered central to the facilitation of such strategies. However, PE teachers have a selfreported lack of knowledge, skills, understanding, and competence to successfully implement these strategies. Tertiary education programs are fundamental to adequately preparing, and shaping the attitudes and philosophies of future PE teachers towards their involvement within these programs. The aim of this investigation was to explore the beliefs and perceptions of future secondary school PE teachers, regarding their potential roles in future school-based programs designed to promote student PA. Fifty-seven (21 males and 36 females) pre-service PE teachers completed a series of open-ended survey questions concerning their perceptions towards participating in school-based PA promotion programs both as preservice during practicum, and prospectively as practising teachers. Responses were analysed thematically. Participants responded both positively and enthusiastically to both questions. Concerns regarding time, and the intention or expectation to participate in such programs were also key themes for pre-service and practicing teacher participation respectively. Critically in this study, participants did not identify any limitations which may impact upon their ability to successfully promote youth PA in school settings. This may indicate that participants have misconceptions regarding their ability to fulfil this role, or conversely, the deficiency of current PE teachers regarding school-based PA promotion has been recognised by the tertiary institution, and addressed to adequately prepare its students. School-based PA promotion is an integral element of pre-service PE teacher education, and ongoing professional development of practicing PE teachers. This trend is expected to continue in the future, in order to address ongoing public health concerns.

Newstead House : the social history, culture and architecture of a bygone era

Historic house museums form a significant component of the built heritage and social history of a country. They vary from the elaborate mansions of the wealthy to modest dwellings of the working class. Regardless of the original owner's status in society these house museums are vital to an understanding of architecture, culture and society from a bygone era. The Newstead House, the oldest surviving residence, in Brisbane, is the first house to be designated a 'Historic House Museum' in Queensland. It is a representative example of a house that demonstrates the British colonial heritage of 19th century Australia. Originally a modest cottage, on 34 acres of land, the Newstead house was built by a Scottish migrant. The ownership of the house and land changed many times, during the period from 1847 to 1939. During this period a series of prominent residents of Brisbane either owned or rented this residence. They included, an officer of the Royal Navy, politicians, magistrates, merchant ship owners, and a Consul General of the United States of America. As a result, the house went through a series of renovations and extensions to accommodate the needs of its owners and their position in society. This paper aims to investigate the significance of historic museum houses in educating the community on aspects of social history, culture and architecture of 19th century Australia. It will focus on the heritage listed Newstead House as a case study to demonstrate the significance of the house as an artefact and an educational tool.

Feedback consistencies and inconsistencies : eight mentors’ observations on one preservice teacher’s lesson

Mentors play a key role in developing preservice teachers for their chosen careers and providing feedback appears as a significant relational interaction between the mentor and mentee that assists in guiding the mentee’s practices. Yet, what are mentors’ perspectives on providing feedback to their mentees? In this case study, eight mentors viewed a professional video recorded science lesson facilitated by a final-year preservice teacher during practicum for the purposes of providing oral feedback in a simulated mentor-mentee discussion. Findings showed that mentors’ feedback was variable in both their positive feedback and constructive criticisms and, in one case, the feedback was contrasting in nature. Implications are discussed, including preservice teachers receiving feedback from more than one mentor and universities researching the design of valid and reliable tools to guide mentors’ oral feedback.

Attitudes of future special education teachers toward gifted students and their education

Saudi Arabian education is undergoing substantial reform in the context of a nation transitioning from a resource-rich economy to a knowledge economy. Gifted students are important human resources for such developing countries. However, there are some concerns emanating from the international literature that gifted students have been neglected in many schools due to teachers’ attitudes toward them. The literature shows that future teachers also hold similar negative attitudes, especially those in Special Education courses who, as practicing teachers, are often responsible for supporting the gifted education process. The purpose of this study was to explore whether these attitudes are held by future special education teachers in Saudi Arabia, and how the standard gifted education course, delivered as part of their program, impacts on their attitudes toward gifted students. The study was strongly influenced by the Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen, 1980, 2012) and the Theory of Personal Knowledge (Polanyi, 1966), which both suggest that attitudes are related to people’s (i.e. teachers’) beliefs. A mixed methods design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from a cohort of students enrolled in a teacher education program at a Saudi Arabian university. The program was designed for students majoring in special education. The quantitative component of the study involved an investigation of a cohort of future special education teachers taking a semester-long course in gifted education. The data were primarily sourced from a standard questionnaire instrument modified in the Arabic language, and supplemented with questions that probed the future teachers’ attitudes toward gifted children. The participants, 90 special education future teachers, were enrolled in an introductory course about gifted education. The questionnaire contained 34 items from the "Opinions about the Gifted and Their Education" (Gagné, 1991) questionnaire, utilising a five-point Likert scale. The quantitative data were analysed through the use of descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation Coefficients, Paired Samples t-test, and Multiple Linear Regression. The qualitative component focussed on eight participants enrolled in the gifted education course. The primary source of the qualitative data was informed by individual semi-structured interviews with each of these participants. The findings, based on both the quantitative and qualitative data, indicated that the majority of future special education teachers held, overall, slightly positive attitudes toward gifted students and their education. However, the participants were resistant to offering special services for the gifted within the regular classroom, even when a comparison was made on equity grounds with disabled students. While the participants held ambivalent attitudes toward ability grouping, their attitudes were positive toward grade acceleration. Further, the majority agreed that gifted students are likely to be rejected by their teachers. Despite such judgments, they considered the gifted to be a valuable resource for Saudi society. Differences within the cohort were found when two variables emerged as potential predictors of attitude: age, experience, and participants’ hometown. The younger (under 25 years old) future special education teachers, with no internship or school practice experience, held more positive attitudes toward the gifted students, with respect to their general needs, than did the older participants with previous school experiences. Additionally, participants from a rural region were more resistant toward gifted education than future teachers from urban areas. The findings also indicated that the attitudes of most of the participants were significantly improved, as a result of the course, toward ability grouping such as special classes and schools, but remained highly concerned about differentiation within regular classrooms with either elitism or time pressure. From the findings, it can be confirmed that a lectured-based course can serve as a starting point from which to focus future teachers’ attention on the varied needs of the gifted, and as a conduit for learning about special services for the gifted. However, by itself, the course appears to have minimal influence on attitudes toward differentiation. As a consequence, there is merit in its redevelopment, and the incorporation of more practical opportunities for future teachers to experience the teaching of the gifted.

Review : "Networking : commercial television in Australia : a history" -- Nick Herd

Nick Herd begins his institutional history of Australian commercial television in the early 1890s, when an amateur inventor named Henry Sutton designed the ‘telephane’ with the intent of watching the Melbourne Cup in his home town of Ballarat. The ‘race that stops a nation’ was not broadcast live on television until 1960, but Sutton’s initiative indicates how closely sport and television were aligned in Australia even before the medium existed. The first licensed commercial stations to begin regular broadcasting went on air in Sydney and Melbourne shortly before the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, although Herd claims that this was ‘almost accidental’ rather than planned. (49) Only Melbourne viewers were able to see some events live, many via television sets in Ampol service stations following the company’s last minute sponsorship of coverage on Melbourne station GTV-9...

The NFSA's Atlab/Kodak Cinema Collection - Part 16 : Stir

Extended review and discussion of the Australian prison film Stir (Stephen Wallace, 1980). Includes principal cast list and credits, discussion of fictionalisation of the Bathurst prison riot of 1974 and the subsequent Royal Commission into New South Wales Prisons, details of financing, production, and distribution history.

Life-history constraints in grassland plant species : a growth-defence trade-off is the norm

Plant growth can be limited by resource acquisition and defence against consumers, leading to contrasting trade-off possibilities. The competition-defence hypothesis posits a trade-off between competitive ability and defence against enemies (e.g. herbivores and pathogens). The growth-defence hypothesis suggests that strong competitors for nutrients are also defended against enemies, at a cost to growth rate. We tested these hypotheses using observations of 706 plant populations of over 500 species before and following identical fertilisation and fencing treatments at 39 grassland sites worldwide. Strong positive covariance in species responses to both treatments provided support for a growth-defence trade-off: populations that increased with the removal of nutrient limitation (poor competitors) also increased following removal of consumers. This result held globally across 4 years within plant life-history groups and within the majority of individual sites. Thus, a growth-defence trade-off appears to be the norm, and mechanisms maintaining grassland biodiversity may operate within this constraint.

E-learning 2.0 experiences within higher education : theorising students' and teachers' experiences in Web 2.0 learning

This study explores and evaluates students’ and teachers’ experiences when using a range of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education teaching and learning. It contributes to our understanding of how Web 2.0 learning communities are constructed, experienced and the nature of the participation therein. This research extends our knowledge and understanding of the Web 2.0 phenomena, and provides a framework that can assist with improving future Web 2.0 implementation.

Early childhood teachers' pedagogical practice : what they know, think and do with young children experiencing parental separation and divorce

This grounded theory study examined the practices of twenty-one Australian early childhood teachers who work with children experiencing parental separation and divorce. Findings showed that teachers constructed personalised support for these children. Teachers’ pedagogical decision-making processes had five phases: constructing their knowledge, applying their knowledge, applying decision-making schema, taking action, and monitoring action and evaluating. This study contributes new understandings about teachers’ work with young children experiencing parental separation and divorce, and extends existing theoretical frameworks related to the provision of support. It adds to scholarship by applying grounded theory methodology in a new context. Recommendations are made for school policies and procedures within and across schools and school systems.

Something’s coming, something good: Identifying TPACK competence in pre-service teachers’ analyses of learning objects

There is a song at the beginning of the musical, West Side Story, where the character Tony sings that “something’s coming, something good.” The song is an anthem of optimism, brimming with promise. This paper is about the long-held promise of information and communication technology (ICT) to transform teaching and learning, to modernise the learning environment of the classroom, and to create a new digital pedagogy. But much of our experience to date in the schooling sector tells more of resistance and reaction than revolution, of more of the same but with a computer in the corner and of ICT activities as unwelcome time-fillers/time-wasters. Recently, a group of pre-service teachers in a postgraduate primary education degree in an Australian university were introduced to learning objects in an ICT immersion program. Their analyses and related responses, as recorded in online journals, have here been interpreted in terms of TPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge). Against contemporary observation, these students generally displayed high levels of competence and highly positive dispositions of students to the integration of ICT in their future classrooms. In short, they displayed the same optimism and confidence as the fictional “Tony” in believing that something good was coming.

Rethinking the literacy capabilities of pre-service primary teachers in testing times

As a group of committed literacy teacher educators from five universities across three Australian states, the authors bring professional critique to the problematic issue of what counts in current and possible future measures of pre-service teachers’ literacy capacity. In times when normalising models of literacy assessment ignore innovative developments in technologies, we provide an example of what is happening at the ‘chalk-face’ of literacy teacher education. This paper describes a study that demonstrates how responsible alignment of teacher accreditation requirements with a scholarly impetus to incorporate digital literacies to prepare pre-service teachers will help address changing educational needs and practices (AITSL 2012; Gillen & Barton 2010; Hattie 2003; Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine & Haywood 2011; Klein 2006; Masny & Cole 2012; OECD 2011).

Late Quaternary vegetation history of North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, eastern Australia

Currently there is a paucity of records of late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental variability available from the subtropics of Australia. The three continuous palaeoecological records presented here, from North Stradbroke Island, subtropical Queensland, assist in bridging this large spatial gap in the current state of knowledge. The dominance of arboreal taxa in the pollen records throughout the past >40,000 years is in contrast with the majority of records from temperate Australia, and indicates a positive moisture balance for North Stradbroke Island. The charcoal records show considerable inter-site variability indicating the importance of local-scale events on individual records, and highlighting the caution that needs to be applied when interpreting a single site as a regional record. The variability in the burning regimes is interpreted as being influenced by both climatic and human factors. Despite this inter-site variability, broad environmental trends are identifiable, with changes in the three records comparable with the OZ-INTIMATE climate synthesis for the last 35,000 years.

Integrating early childhood teachers into long day care : building respectful relationships

Amongst the current reforms in early childhood in Australia is the requirement for four year university degree-qualified teachers to be employed to provide a kindergarten program for four-year-old children in the year prior to school entry. The possibility for long day care to provide a funded kindergarten program, with an early childhood teacher (ECT) presents a change for the field. With this change come challenges, though also opportunities to think in new and different ways about what long day care and working in long day care might look like.