Risk, uncertainty and complexity in science education

Increasingly societies and their governments are facing important social issues that have science and technology as key features. A number of these socio-scientific issues have two features that distinguish them from the restricted contexts in which school science has traditionally been presented. Some of their science is uncertain and scientific knowledge is not the only knowledge involved. As a result, the concepts of uncertainty, risk and complexity become essential aspects of the science underlying these issues. In this chapter we discuss the nature and role of these concepts in the public understanding of science and consider their links with school science. We argue that these same concepts and their role in contemporary scientific knowledge need to be addressed in school science curricula. The new features for content, pedagogy and assessment of this urgent challenge for science educators are outlined. These will be essential if the goal of science education for citizenship is to be achieved with our students, who will increasingly be required to make personal and collective decisions on issues involving science and technology.

ePortfolios and eGovernment : from technology to the entrepreneurial self

We analyse the electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) in higher education policy and practice. While evangelical accounts of the ePortfolio celebrate its power as a new eLearning technology, we argue that it allows the mutually-reinforcing couple of neoliberalism and the enterprising self to function in ways in which individual difference can be presented, cultured and grown, all the time within a standardised framework which relentlessly polices the limits of the acceptable and unacceptable. We point to the ePortfolio as a practice of (self-) government, arguing that grander policy coalesces out of a halting, experimental set of technological instruments for thinking about how life should be lived.

Parrhesia and democracy : Truthtelling, WikiLeaks and the Arab Spring

Parrhesia — the practice of truth-telling — was adapted to various ancient legal, political, philosophical and religious contexts. In this essay we focus on parrhesia in politics and its relevance for democracy, concentrating on the account given by Michel Foucault. We suggest that Foucault’s approach to parrhesia and democracy is valuable because of its stress on the analysis of governmental rationalities and the ethical comportment of citizens, rather than on the normative dimensions of democracy, as is more usual (but more sterile) in political thought. We take two modern examples of truth-telling’s role in democracy – the recent WikiLeaks scandal and the political struggles in Tunisia and Egypt – as a way of assessing the value of Foucault’s distinctive approach and the relevance of parrhesia for democracy today.

The role of education and awareness in workplace alcohol and drug use in the Australian construction industry : proposed program of research and preliminary results

The main aim of this paper is to outline a proposed program of research which will attempt to quantify the extent of the problem of alcohol and other drugs in the Australian construction industry, and furthermore, develop an appropriate industry-wide policy and cultural change management program and implementation plan to address the problem. This paper will also present preliminary results from the study. The study will use qualitative and quantitative methods (in the form of interviews and surveys, respectively) to evaluate the extent of the problem of alcohol and other drug use in this industry, to ascertain the feasibility of an industry-wide policy and cultural change management program, and to develop an appropriate implementation plan. The study will be undertaken in several construction organisations, at selected sites in South Australia, Victoria and Northern Territory. It is anticipated that approximately 500 employees from the participating organisations across Australia will take part in the study. The World Health Organisation’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) will be used to measure the extent of alcohol use in the industry. Illicit drug use, ‘‘readiness to change’’, impediments to reducing impairment, feasibility of proposed interventions, and employee attitudes and knowledge regarding workplace AOD impairment, will also be measured through a combination of interviews and surveys. Among the preliminary findings, for 51% (n=127) of respondents, score on the AUDIT indicated alcohol use at hazardous levels. Of the respondents who were using alcohol at hazardous levels, 76% reported (n97) that they do not have a problem with drinking and 54% (n=68) reported that it would be easy to ‘‘cut down’’ or stop drinking. Nearly half (49%) of all respondents (n=122) had used marijuana/cannabis at some time prior to being surveyed. The use of other illicit substances was much less frequently reported. Preliminary interview findings indicated a lack of adequate employee knowledge regarding the physical effects of alcohol and other drugs in the workplace. As for conclusions, the proposed study will address a major gap in the literature with regard to the extent of the problem of alcohol and other drug use in the construction industry in Australia. The study will also develop and implement a national, evidence-based workplace policy, with the aim of mitigating the deleterious effects of alcohol and other drugs in this industry.

Extreme science and engineering : a higher education widening participation initiative at QUT

The QUT Extreme Science and Engineering program provides free hands-on workshops to schools, presented by scientists and engineers to students from prep to year 12 in their own classrooms. The workshops are tied to the school curriculum and give students access to professional quality instruments, helping to stimulate their interest in science and engineering, with the aim of generating a greater take up of STEM related subjects in the senior high school years. In addition to engaging students in activities, workshop presenters provide role models of both genders, helping to breakdown preconceived ideas of the type of person who becomes a scientist or engineer and demystifying the university experience. The Extreme Science and Engineering vans have been running for 10 years and as such demonstrate a sustainable and reproducible model for schools engagement. With funding provided through QUT’s Widening Participation Equity initiative (HEPPP funded) the vans which averaged 120 school visits each year has increased to 150+ visits in 2010. Additionally 100+ workshops (hands-on and career focused) have been presented to students from low socio-economic status schools, on the three QUT campuses in 2011. While this is designed as a long-term initiative the short term results have been very promising, with 3000 students attending the workshops in the first six months and teacher and students feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Drama and languages education : authentic assessment through process drama

In this chapter I explore the ways process drama can enrich and enliven the assessment regime of a middle school beginner language program. The chapter draws on five months’ language teaching which I did to collect data during my doctoral research. I taught a secondary co-educational class of 12-13 year olds (first year secondary school) for their German lessons while the teacher who had invited me in observed the lessons. Throughout the project there was an emphasis on student participation through questionnaire, discussion and interview...

Becoming a 'Bastion Against Tyranny' : Australian legal education and the government of the self

Research into legal education suggests that many students enter law school with ideals about using the law to achieve social change, but graduate with some cynicism regarding these ideals. It is often argued that law schools provide a negative, competitive, and conservative environment for students, pushing many away from social justice ideals towards more self-interested, vocational concerns. This article uses Michel Foucault’s work on the government of the self to suggest another way of understanding this process. It examines a range of prescriptive texts that provide students with advice about how to study law and ‘survive’ law school. In doing so, it posits that this apparent loss of social ideals does not necessarily always signify that the student has become politically conservative or has had a negative educational experience. While these legal personae may appear outwardly conservative, and indeed still reflect particular gendered or raced perspectives, by examining the messages that these texts offer students, this article suggests that an apparent loss of social ideals can be the result of a productive shaping of the self. The legal persona they fashion can incorporate social justice ideals and necessitate specific ways of acting on those ideals. This analysis adds to the growing body of research that uses Foucault’s work to rethink common narratives of power and the shaping of the self in legal education, and provides legal educators with new ways of reflecting on the effects of legal education.

Its place in property education : where does property law fit into property programs?

Property law is one of the key elements in any property-based degree program. In particular, an understanding of 'property law' is one of the required knowledge fields for inclusion in property programs accredited by professional institutes such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Appraisal Institute and the Australian Property Institute. Despite the importance of property law as a cornerstone element of all property programs this aspect of the program is often approached from a more generic legal perspective with teaching resources used and pedagogical approach more aligned to the study of law that property. The specificity of this type of program is rarely adequately acknowledged. The question arises as to what the study of 'property law' entails and what the composition of a 'property law' subject should be. Replicating the methodology used by Placid and Weeks (2009) in their examination of the current composition of real estate law courses in the United States, this paper examines the current composition and pedagogical approach adopted by Australian universities based on the study of three Queensland property programs. In particular the curriculum, teaching resources used, assessment and engagement strategies are considered with a view to making improvements to the way these property law courses can be more effectively tailored to property students. It is anticipated that the outcomes of this paper will be of interest to all academics who are responsible for developing and delivering property law subjects and those who manage property programs in Australia and internationally.

Legal education and the 'idealistic student': using Foucault to unpack the critical legal narrative

It appears that few of the students holding ‘socially idealistic’ goals upon entering law school actually maintain these upon graduation. The critical legal narrative, which explains and seeks to act upon this shift in the graduate’s ‘legal identity’, posits that these ideals are repressed through power relations that create passive receptacles into which professional ideologies can be deposited, in the interests of those advantaged by the social and legal status quo. Using the work of Michel Foucault, this paper unpacks the assumptions underpinning this narrative, particularly its arguments about ideology, power, and the subject. In doing so, it will argue this narrative provides an untenable basis for political action within legal education. By interrogating this narrative, this paper provides a new way of understanding the construction of the legal identity through legal education, and a new basis for political action within law school.

Power in legal education : a (new) critical and analytical approach

This article explores power within legal education scholarship. It suggests that power relations are not effectively reflected on within this scholarship, and it provokes legal educators to consider power more explicitly and effectively. It then outlines in-depth a conceptual and methodological approach based on Michel Foucault’s concept of ‘governmentality’ to assist in such an analysis. By detailing the conceptual moves required in order to research power in legal education more effectively, this article seeks to stimulate new reflection and thought about the practice and scholarship of legal education, and allow for political interventions to become more ethically sensitive and potentially more effective.

Implementing a systematic process for rapidly embedding sustainability within chemical engineering education: a case study of James Cook University, Australia

Sustainability has emerged as a primary context for engineering education in the 21st Century, particularly the sub-discipline of chemical engineering. However, there is confusion over how to go about integrating sustainability knowledge and skills systemically within bachelor degrees. This paper addresses this challenge, using a case study of an Australian chemical engineering degree to highlight important practical considerations for embedding sustainability at the core of the curriculum. The paper begins with context for considering a systematic process for rapid curriculum renewal. The authors then summarise a 2-year federally funded project, which comprised piloting a model for rapid curriculum renewal led by the chemical engineering staff. Model elements contributing to the renewal of this engineering degree and described in this paper include: industry outreach; staff professional development; attribute identification and alignment; program mapping; and curriculum and teaching resource development. Personal reflections on the progress and process of rapid curriculum renewal in sustainability by the authors and participating engineering staff will be presented as a means to discuss and identify methodological improvements, as well as highlight barriers to project implementation. It is hoped that this paper will provide an example of a formalised methodology on which program reform and curriculum renewal for sustainability can be built upon in other higher education institutions.

Building the profession together : towards holistic library and information science education

How can a holistic approach to library and information science education encompassing vocational and university sectors that meets the future information workforce requirements be achieved? This paper will outline a twelve month national project that considered this very question. Funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC).

Design and Ethics: Reflections on Practice

This book is an multi disciplinary approach to design thinking across the fields of Architecture, Communication Design, Fashion, Graphic Design, Urban Design and Philosophy.

Lost in translation : partnerships for authentic education in Papua New Guinea

Pacific Island countries are the recipients of considerable education reform projects, many of which are sponsored by various global donor agencies. These agencies have become partners as part of foreign aid for international development in the region. Research cautions that such projects may have detrimental influences as their designs and delivery ignore the economic, cultural and social contexts of recipient countries. This paper explores issues impacting on the capacity of educators to lead educational change in Papua New Guinea. While initiatives in capacity building are offered, contradictions within the reform processes identify serious questions of policy development, curriculum ownership and local capacity. These contradictions relate to the sustainability of such programs, collaboration and partnerships between the National Department of Education, universities, donor agencies and scholars who advocate for authentic education for Papua New Guinea.