Equity and quality in the early years of schooling

For most of the latter part of the twentieth century, the issues of quality and equity have been part of the agenda of compulsory schooling in Australia. However it is only more recently that the two have been brought together, which has drawn attention to the quest to create high quality and high equity schooling. The outcomes of this union have been the focus of analyses undertaken using data from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which show that several features of Nordic secondary schools have produced high quality and high equity schooling. This article concentrates on the early years of school and considers the role of curriculum and syllabus documents in creating high quality and high equity in the early years, including the non-compulsory prior-to-school year. It draws on recent research in education generally to identify issues of significance that are instructive in the quest to produce high quality and high equity schooling in the early years. These issues include equity of access, syllabus design and curriculum, and transition to school; but before they are considered, I discuss the context of moves to create high quality and high equity schooling.

Patriarchal whiteness, self-determination and Indigenous women : the invisibilty of structural priviledge and the visability of oppression

Indigenous self-determination is the recognised right of all peoples to freely determine their political status, and pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Unfinished Constitutional Business? offers fresh insights into the ways communities can chart their own course and realise self-determination. Because the history of colonisation is emotionally charged, the issue has been clouded by a rhetoric that has sometimes obstructed analysis.

Moderating drinking by correspondence : an evaluation of a new method of intervention

Recognizing the need to offer alternative methods of brief interventions, this study developed correspondence treatments for low-dependent problem drinkers and evaluated their impact. One hundred and twenty-one problem drinkers were recruited by media advertisements and were randomly allocated to a full cognitive behavioural treatment programme (CBT) or to a minimal intervention condition (MI) that gave information regarding alcohol misuse and instructions to record drinking. As predicted, CBT was more effective than MI in reducing alcohol consumption over the 4-month controlled trial period. CBT produced a 50% fall in consumption, bringing the average intake of subjects within recommended maximum levels. Treatment gains at 6 months were well maintained to 12 months. High levels of consumer satisfaction, a high representation of women and a substantial participation from isolated rural areas attested to the feasibility of the correspondence programme as an alternative treatment. However, some drinking occasions still involved high intake for a significant subgroup of subjects, and this issue will be addressed in future programmes. The results supported the use of correspondence delivery as a means of promoting early engagement and equity of access between city and country areas.

“I want to see the Queen” : experiences of service use by ageing people with an intellectual disability

People with intellectual disability are a relatively new but growing minority group within Australia's ageing population. Disability policies point to the equal right of people with disabilities to a quality of life similar to that of other citizens. Disability services are increasingly required to provide individualised and responsive services, irrespective of age, for people with lifelong disabilities. The present study explored the everyday lives of older people with intellectual disability in Victoria and Queensland, examining their experiences of using disability services and the ways in which services responded to their ageing. The aim of the study was to inform practice and service development for older people with intellectual disability. The findings suggest that services facilitate important social relationships with other service users and staff. Most older people had a sense of belonging and led busy but directionless lives in two disconnected worlds. Their lives were subject to significant external present-focused control. Yet, despite this, neither services nor family members took responsibility for ensuring their sense of continuity or supporting the development of plans about their future. The experiences described suggest an urgent need for, but significant challenges in the implementation of, holistic indivdualised planning similar to the UK concept of person-centred planning.

Learning to be literate : issues of pedagogy for recently arrived refugee youth in Australia

This paper focuses on issues of access to productive literacy learning as part of socially just schooling for recently arrived refugee youth within Australia. It argues that a sole reliance on traditional ESL pedagogy is failing this vulnerable group of students, who differ significantly from past refugees who have settled in Australia. Many have been ‘placeless’ for some time, are likely to have received at best an interrupted education before arriving in Australia, and may have experienced signification trauma (Christie & Sidhu, 2006; Cottone, 2004; Miller, Mitchell, & Brown, 2005). Australian Government policy has resulted in spacialized settlement, leaving particular schools dealing with a large influx of refugee students who may be attending school for the first time (Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, 2004; Sidhu & Christie, 2002). While this has implications generally, it has particular consequences for secondary school students attempting to learn English literacy in short periods of time, without basic foundations in either English or print-based literacy in any first language (Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, 2006). Many of these students leave schools without the most basic early literacy practices, having endured several years of pedagogy pitched well beyond their needs. This paper suggests that schools must take up three key roles: to educate, to provide a site for the development of civic responsibility, and to act as a site for welfare with responsibility. As a system, our department needs to work out what can we do for 17-18 year olds that are coming into our school system in year 10 without more than 1-2 years of education. I don't think there is a policy about what to do. – (T2-ESL teacher)

Freedom of information implications of information sharing networks for critical infrastructure protection

Protection of “critical infrastructure” has become a major issue for govern- ments worldwide. Yet in Australia, as in many other countries, including the United States, an estimated 90% of critical infrastructure is privately owned or operated commercially – in other words, critical infrastructure protection is not the exclusive domain of government. As a result, information sharing between government and the private sector has become a vitally important component of effective risk management. However, establishing effective arrangements of this kind between the public and private sector needs to take account of existing regimes of access and public disclosure which relate to government-held documents; in particular, that which is established by freedom of information (FOI) legislation. This article examines the extent to which the current Commonwealth FOI regime is likely to act as an impediment to the private sector operators of critical infrastructure participat- ing in government-operated information sharing arrangements. By examining developments in other jurisdictions, principally the United States, the article considers whether amendments to the current Australian FOI regime are necessary to ensure effective participation, consistent with the underlying object and purpose of FOI.

The Equality of Sub-Surface Minerals

Sub-surface minerals are in most cases considered to be the proprietary right of a country should those minerals be found within its borders. PRO169 (Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, International Labour Organization) has recorded instances where the private land of indigenous peoples has been pilfered by a government – often through the sale of a contract to a private company, and without the consent of the people living on that land. Other times, indigenous peoples, the government they find themselves living in, and the company that bought mining rights engage in consultation. But these practices are far from transparent, equitable, or fair as indigenous peoples are often unskilled in contractual law and do not have the same legal resources as the company or government does. This paper argues that the sub-surface minerals found within the territory of indigenous tribes should be legally allocated as theirs.

The application of the Park & Ride and TOD concepts to develop a new framework that can maximise public transport patronage

With growing concern over the use of the car in our urbanized society, there have emerged a number of lobby groups and professional bodies promoting a return to public transport, walking and cycling, with the urban village as the key driving land use, as a means of making our cities’ transportation systems more sustainable. This research has aimed at developing a framework applicable to the Australian setting that can facilitate increased passenger patronage of rail based urban transport systems from adjacent or associated land uses. The framework specifically tested the application of the Park & Ride and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) concepts and their applicability within the cultural, institutional, political and transit operational characteristics of Australian society. The researcher found that, although the application of the TOD concept had been limited to small pockets of town houses and mixed use developments around stations, the development industry and emerging groups within the community are posed to embrace the concept and bring with it increased rail patronage. The lack of a clear commitment to infrastructure and supporting land uses is a major barrier to the implementation of TODs. The research findings demonstrated significant scope for the size of a TOD to expand to a much greater radius of activity from the public transport interchange, than the commonly quoted 400 to 600 meters, thus incorporating many more residents and potential patrons. The provision of Park & Rides, and associated support facilities like Kiss & Rides, have followed worldwide trends of high patronage demands from the middle and outer car dependent suburbs of our cities. The data collection and analysis gathered by the researcher demonstrated that in many cases Park & Rides should form part of a TOD to ensure ease of access to rail stations by all modes and patron types. The question, however, remains how best to plan the incorporation of a Park & Ride within a TOD and still maintain those features that attract and promote TODs as a living entity.

Advance Directives and the Promotion of Autonomy: a Comparative Australian Statutory Analysis

Legislation regulating advance directives exists in six Australian jurisdictions. In all of these jurisdictions, legislation was enacted to enshrine the common law right of a competent adult to refuse treatment in advance, even if that treatment was required to sustain life. It was thought that enshrining the common law would also enshrine the principle of autonomy on which the common law was based. This article explores whether this is the case by examining the legislative restrictions that are imposed on a competent adult who wishes to complete an advance directive refusing treatment. The article reviews the legislation in all Australian jurisdictions and concludes that, while many of the legislative restrictions can be justified, many cannot as they effectively erode rather than promote the right of a competent adult to refuse treatment.

Advance Directives Refusing Treatment as an Expression of Autonomy: Do the Courts Practise What They Preach?

The principle of autonomy is at the heart of the right of a competent individual to make an advance directive that refuses life-sustaining medical treatment, and to have that directive complied with by medical professionals. That right is protected by both the common law and, to an extent, by legislation that has been enacted in the United Kingdom and many jurisdictions in Australia. The courts have a critical role in protecting that autonomy, both in those jurisdictions in which the common law continues to operate, and in those jurisdictions which are now governed by statute, and in which judicial determinations will need to be made about legislative provisions. The problem explored in this article is that while the judiciary espouses the importance of autonomy in its judgments, that rhetoric is frequently not reflected in the decisions that are reached. In the United Kingdom and Australia, there is a relatively small number of decisions that consider the validity and applicability of advance directives that refuse life-sustaining medical treatment. This article critically evaluates all of the publicly available decisions and concludes that there is cause for concern. In some cases, there has been an unprincipled evolution of common law principles, while in others there has been inappropriate adjudication through operational irregularities or failure to apply correct legal principles. Further, some decisions appear to be based on a strained interpretation of the facts of the case. The apparent reluctance of some members of the judiciary to give effect to advance directives that refuse treatment is also evidenced by the language used in the judgments. While the focus of this article is on common law decisions, reference will also be made to legislation and the extent to which it has addressed some of the problems identified in this article.

Gifted young adolescents and email : developing a personal language of self

This paper reports on the use of email as a means to access the self-constructions of gifted young adolescents. Australian research shows that gifted young adolescents may feel more lonely and misunderstood than their same-age counterparts, yet they are seldom asked about their lives. Emerging use of online methods as a means of access to individual lives and perceptions has demonstrated the potential offered by the creation of digital texts as narrative data. Details are given of a qualitative study that engaged twelve children aged between 10 and 14 years, who were screened for giftedness, in a project involving the generation of emailed journal entries sent over a period of 6 months. With emphasis on participatory principles, individual young adolescents produced self-managed journal entries that were written and sent to the researcher from personal computers outside the school setting. Drawing from a theoretical understanding of self as constructed within dialogic relationships, the digital setting of email is proposed as a narrative space that fosters healthy self-disclosure. This paper outlines the benefits of using email as a means to explore emotions, promote reflective accounts of self and support the development of a personal language for self-expression. Individual excerpts will be presented to show that the harnessing of personal narratives within an email context has potential to yield valuable insights into the emotions, personal realities and experiences of gifted young adolescents. Findings will be presented to show that the co-construction of self-expressive and explanatory narratives supported by a facilitative adult listener promoted healthy self-awareness amongst participants. This paper contributes to appreciative conversations about using online methods as a flexible and practical avenue for conducting educational research. Furthermore, digital writing in email form will be presented as having distinct advantages over face-to-face methods when utilised with gifted young adolescents who may be unwilling to disclose information within school-based settings.

A life jacket with holes- : a case study of 'temporary engagement' : a strategy used by Education Queensland to employ beginning secondary teachers

This research investigated the impact of Education Queensland's employment policy and practices for beginning secondary teachers appointed on temporary engagement. The context was the public secondary school sector within the state of Queensland, Australia. The study was set within a context of the changing nature of work from full-time permanent employment towards casual, fixed-term contracts, temporary and part-time employment, a trend reflected in the employment patterns for teachers within Australia. Two broad categories of literature relating to the research problem of this thesis were reviewed, namely the beginning teacher and permanency or tenure. The focus in the research literature on beginning teachers was the professional experiences of teachers within the classroom and school. There was a paucity of research that considered the working and industrial conditions of temporary employment for beginning teachers or the personal and professional implications of this form of employment. The review of the context and literature was conceptualised as a Beginning Temporary Teacher Theoretical Framework which served to inform the study. Using a qualitative case study methodology, the research techniques employed for the thesis were semi-structured interview and document analysis. A simultaneously conducted research project in which the researcher participated entitled 'Winning the Lottery? Beginning Teachers on Temporary Engagement' foregrounded this thesis in terms of refining the research question, contributing to the literature and in the selection of the participants. For this case study the perspectives of four distinct yet inter-related categories of professionals were sought. These included four beginning secondary teachers, three school administrators, a Senior Personnel Officer with Education Queensland, and a representative from the Queensland Teachers' Union. The research findings indicated that none of the beginning teachers or other professionals viewed starting a career in teaching on temporary engagement as the ideal. The negative features identified were the differential treatment received and the high level of uncertainty associated with temporary employment. Differential treatment tended to indicate 'less' entitlements, in terms of access to induction and professional development, recreational and sick leave, acceptance by and expectations of other colleagues, and avenues of redress in grievance cases. Moreover, interviews indicated a high level of uncertainty in terms of starting within the teaching profession, commencing at a new school, and a regular income. In addition, frequent changes in schools and/or cohorts of students exacerbated levels of uncertainty. The beginning teachers reported significantly decreased motivation, self-esteem and sense of belonging, and increased stress levels. There was an even more marked negative impact on those beginning teachers who had experienced a higher number of temporary engagements and schools in their first year of teaching. Conversely, strong staff support and a reasonable length of time in the one school improved the quality of the beginning teachers' experiences. The overall impact of being on temporary engagement resulted in delayed permanent position appointments, decreased commitment to particular schools and to Education Queensland as the employing authority, and for two of the beginning teachers, it produced a desire to seek alternative employment. The implementation of Education Queensland's policies relating to working conditions and entitlements for these temporary beginning teachers at the school level was revealed to be less than satisfactory. There was a tendency towards 'just-in- time' management of the beginning teacher on temporary engagement. The beginning teachers received 'less-than-messages' about access to and use of departmental documentation, support through induction and professional development, and their transition from temporary to permanent employment. To ensure a more systematic, supportive and inclusive process for managing the temporary beginning teacher, a conceptual framework entitled 'Continuums of Tension' was developed. The four continuums included permanent employment - temporary employment; system perspective - individual perspective; teaching as a profession - teaching as a job; and the permanent beginning teacher - university graduate. The general principles of the human resource policies of Education Queensland were based on a commitment to permanent employment, a system's perspective, viewing teaching as a profession and a homogeneous group of permanent beginning teachers. Contrasting with this, the beginning teacher on temporary engagement tended to operate from the position of temporary employment and a perspective that was individually based. Their priorities therefore included the 'occupational' aspects of being a temporary teacher striving to become permanent. Thus there existed a tension or contradiction between the general principles of human resource policies within Education Queensland and the employment experiences of beginning teachers on temporary engagement. The study proposed three actions for resolution to address the aforementioned tensions. The actions included: (a) the effective provision and targeted communication of information; (b) support, induction and professional development; and (c) a coordinated approach between Education Queensland, Queensland Teachers' Union, the Universities and the beginning teacher. These actions are fm1her refined to include: (a) an induction kit to suppm1 the individual through the pre-employment to permanent employee phases, (b) an extrapolation of the roles and responsibilities of Education Queensland personnel charged with supporting the beginning temporary teacher, and (c) a series of recommendations to effect a coordinated approach amongst the key stakeholders. The theoretical and conceptual frameworks have provided a means of addressing the identified needs of the beginning teacher on temporary engagement. As such, this study has contributed to the research literature on teacher employment and professionalism and aims to provide a beginning temporary teacher with managed professional and occupational support.

Comparing exercise prescribed with exercise completed : effects of gender and mode of exercise

The purpose of this study was to compare the amount of exercise prescribed with the amount completed between two different modes of training intervention and between the sexes. Thirty-two men (mean age = 39.1 years, body mass index = 32.9 kg · m-2) and women (mean age = 39.6 years, body mass index = 32.1 kg · m-2) were prescribed traditional resistance training or light-resistance circuit training for 16 weeks. Lean mass and fat mass were determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at weeks 1 and 16. A completion index was calculated to provide a measure of the extent to which participants completed exercise training relative to the amount of exercise prescribed. The absolute amount of exercise completed by the circuit training group was significantly greater than the amount prescribed (P < 0.0001). The resistance training group consistently under-completed relative to the amount prescribed, but the difference was not significant. The completion index for the circuit training group (26 ± 21.7%) was significantly different from that of the resistance training group (-7.4 ± 3.0%). The completion index was not significantly different between men and women in either group. These data suggest that overweight and obese individuals participating in light-resistance circuit training complete more exercise than is prescribed. Men and women do not differ in the extent to which they over- or under-complete prescribed exercise.

Self-narratives of children : using digital journals

This paper takes the position that children are at risk of being marginalised when research methods are not tailored to their requirements. In particular, children who are negotiating early adolescence are presented as an ideal group for involvement with narrative research approaches that attempt to be flexible and creative. With the premise that the need to juggle multiple realities within complex societal structures is challenging and isolating for such children, narrative methods offer a promising mode of access to their individual realities. Children's own self-narratives in the form of email journal entries are proposed as research tools that can help to minimise issues arising from resistance to adults and problems of shared vocabulary that may occur using more traditional methods. Digital journaling, as a means of capturing self-narratives, can provide a convenient space for young people to generate and share their own personal accounts of their lives and their experiences that can also serve to inform others. Guidelines are offered for how to manage a journaling project that is not reliant on children's physical presence within school settings. Digital journals are thus described as multi-function mechanisms that can support personal growth as well as promote shared understandings and social fairness between adults and children.

Enhancing the use of Internet and Web services for quality learning : an action research

Internet and Web services have been used in both teaching and learning and are gaining popularity in today’s world. E-Learning is becoming popular and considered the latest advance in technology based learning. Despite the potential advantages for learning in a small country like Bhutan, there is lack of eServices at the Paro College of Education. This study investigated students’ attitudes towards online communities and frequency of access to the Internet, and how students locate and use different sources of information in their project tasks. Since improvement was at the heart of this research, an action research approach was used. Based on the idea of purposeful sampling, a semi-structured interview and observations were used as data collection instruments. 10 randomly selected students (5 girls and 5 boys) participated in this research as the controlled group. The study findings indicated that there is a lack of educational information technology services, such as e-learning at the college. Internet connection being very slow was the main barrier to learning using e-learning or accessing Internet resources. There is a strong relationship between the quality of written task and the source of the information, and between Web searching and learning. The source of information used in assignments and project work is limited to books in the library which are often outdated and of poor quality. Project tasks submitted by most of the students were of poor quality.