Student equity in higher education : what to do when the queue is not long or diverse enough

In this paper I outline three broad propositions about or challenges to access and participation in Australian higher education, resulting from the Australian Government’s 20/40 targets for the sector and their attendant requirements for universities, such as the performance indicators for teaching and learning. While some of my analysis could be seen as speculative, in the sense that it represents our best guesses about the future, in aking these arguments I draw on publically available statistics on Australian schooling, vocational education and training (VET) and the higher education sector, as well as on recent research on outreach programs by universities in schools.

Rethinking higher education : implications of the Australian Government’s expansion and equity agenda

In this paper I outline three broad challenges to higher education, implied in the Australian Government’s 20/40 targets and their attendant requirements for universities. In identifying these challenges I draw on publically available statistics on Australian schooling, vocational education and training (VET) and the higher education sector, as well as on recent research on outreach programs by universities in schools.

Strengthening work integrated learning (WIL) experiences for rural education students : exploring community based partnerships

This paper investigates three areas of priority for rural teacher education: work integrated learning (WIL); attraction and retention of teachers to rural areas; and the potential challenges and benefits of community based partnerships to address these areas of need. The data on which this paper is based focuses on a Victorian project around six case studies that explored the research and scholarship of teaching graduates to be work ready for the needs of rural and regional communities. The project also aimed to explore how preservice teacher education can develop and better support pre-service teachers (PSTs) through rural and regional community-based WIL experiences.
The project investigated what sort of support PSTs undertaking WIL experiences in rural and regional communities need in order to develop positive attitudes and understandings in relation to working in a rural/regional community. Consideration was also given to how support from the university, school,
supervising teacher and broader local community enhances or detracts from the PST’s experience of WIL in rural and regional areas. In order to explore these issues in this paper the authors will outline some recommendations with regards to ways in which teacher education programs may enhance the experiences of stakeholders involved in rural and regional WIL experiences, including PSTs, supervising teachers, university teacher educators and community members.
The project’s underlying conceptual framework of place, productivity and partnerships will be explained in terms of its overlapping dimensions of community, creativity and capital in order to reconceptualise preservice teacher education in local, rural and regional and global contexts as adaptive community-based work integrated learning within a knowledge economy.
The final discussion will make recommendations on how universities and other identified stakeholders can better facilitate WIL and enhance stakeholder engagement in rural and regional areas in order to equip PSTs
and classroom teachers to work creatively together in productive partnerships to meet the future demands of local rural and global contexts of change in a knowledge economy.

Glimpses of generative practice : constructing pre-service teachers' learning in partnership

In this paper, the authors describe a program to enhance pre-service teachers' mathematical and pedagogical knowledge through a partnership with middle years teachers and learners in a primary school. The authors wanted to investigate how pre-service teachers' experience of teaching mathematics could enhance both their knowledge of mathematics and the development of generative practices. The findings have inspired the development of similar partnerships with other primary schools.

Stereotypes and self-perceptions of physical education pre-service teachers

Stereotypes and self-perceptions are important in understanding how people develop their self-knowledge and social identity, become members of groups, and view groups and their members. While we have some understanding of the stereotypical view of the physical education teacher, we currently have little knowledge of how physical education pre-service teachers (students studying a physical education degree) are stereotyped, and also if there is any relationship between these stereotypes and how physical education pre-service teachers perceive themselves. The purpose of this study was to examine the stereotypes and self-perceptions of physical education pre-service teachers. The aims were to describe how physical education pre-service teachers stereotype and perceive themselves, examine if there are differences in the stereotypes and self-perceptions between males and females, and to explore if there were relationships between what the physical education pre-service teachers believed stereotyped them and how they perceived themselves. Participants were 250 students (n=120 males, n=130 female) studying a 4-year Bachelor of Education (Physical Education) degree at a university who completed a questionnaire which contained 10 items about how they viewed physical education pre-service teachers (stereotypes), and 26 items on how they viewed male physical education pre-service teachers and female pre-service teachers (stereotypes) and 26 items on how they view themselves (self-perceptions). Factor analysis revealed 2 stereotype factors, which were labelled as Sociable (e.g., socialise, partying, drinking, loud and outgoing) and Health and Lifestyle (e.g., fit, playing sport and not smoking). The stereotype of the male physical education pre-service teacher, comprised two factors: physical, assertive and aggressive behaviour (e.g., aggressive, dominant, self-confident, and competitive) and physical and self-presentation factors (muscular, athletic, physically fit, physically coordinated, and attractive). The stereotype of female physical education pre-service teachers comprised three factors: physical appearance and ability (e.g., physically fit, athletic, able-bodied, attractive, thin, and physically coordinated), aggressive and assertive behavioural style (e.g., intimidating, unapproachable, and aggressive), and masculine behavioural style (e.g., aggressive, masculine, feminine, muscular and dominant). The self-perception of male physical education pre-service teachers comprised three factors: perceived appearance and ability (e.g., athletic, physical fit, thin, attractive, muscular and pleased with their body), aggressive and confident behaviour (e.g., intimidating, dominant, show off and aggressive) and independence and intellect (e.g., independent, ambitious, self confident and intelligent). The self-perception of female physical education pre-service teachers comprised three factors: strong willed behaviour (e.g., ambitious, and dominant), presentation and appearance (e.g., pleased with their body, attractive, thin and self confident), and aggressive and dominant behaviour (e.g., aggressive, intimidating, masculine and show off). There were significant relationships between the male physical and self-presentation stereotype factor stereotype and perceived appearance and ability self-perception factor and between the male physical, assertive and aggressive behaviour stereotype factor and the male aggressive and confident behaviours self-perception factor. For females, the aggressive and dominant behaviour stereotype was related to both the aggressive and assertive behavioural style self-perception factor and the masculine behavioural style self-perception factor. It is suggested that future studies investigate the stereotypes and self-perceptions of students in schools during the recruitment phase of socialisation, and the possible influence of the physical education teacher education programme, faculty leaders, and significant others on the physical education pre-service teachers’ self-perceptions, stereotypes and socialisation into physical education.

A prospective study of the effect of education on non-compliant behaviour in contact lens wear

The contact lens practitioner and patient present a specific case for the study of non-compliance in areas such as hygiene, solution use, appointment attendance and wearing times. Education is one of the factors thought to influence compliance among patients in general health care situations and contact lens practitioners are encouraged to educate patients in the care and maintenance of contact lenses. A prospective, randomized, controlled and double masked study was performed to assess the effect of a‘compliance enhancement strategy’ on levels of compliance among contact lens wearers over twelve months. Eighty experienced contact lens patients were randomly allocated to two experimental groups. A standard level of contact lens instruction was applied to the first group and in addition the compliance enhancement strategy was applied to patients assigned to the second group. The strategy consisted of extra education for patients using a video, booklets, posters, a checklist and a health care contract. Patients were given free supplies of RelMu multipurpose solution and Medalist 38 soft contact lenses IBausch and Lomb, Rochester. New York). Compliance levels were assessed at a twelve month aftercare appointment by demonstration and questionnaire. The results indicate that the compliance enhancement strategy had little significant effect on the compliance levels of the patients to whom it was applied. The population of contact lens wearers were generally very compliant and the contact lenses and care regimen were clinically successful. The possibility that the assessment of non–compliance was not adequately sensitive to highlight small differences in non-compliant, behaviour is discussed. The standard level of eduction applied to this sample of contact lens patients was adequate to ensure generally high levels of compliance with the simple care and maintenance regimen recommended.

Activating teacher critical moments of learning through reflection

Mathematical modelling is one of the current focuses in the Singapore Mathematics Curriculum Framework. A multi-tiered teaching experiment using design research methodology was conducted to build teachers’ capacity in designing, facilitating, and evaluating learning during mathematical modelling tasks for Primary 5 students (aged 10-11). This paper illustrates the use of the retrospective analysis phase within design research cycles to activate a critical moment of teacher learning involving the interplay between questioning and listening during her first attempt at facilitating a mathematical modelling task. The teacher affirmed her deliberate focuses in the use of questions to (a) refine students’ models, (b) encourage articulation of student ideas in self-evaluation of the models, and (c) clarify and understand student reasoning. However, she also discovered the importance of interpretative listening in conjunction with questioning to promote more sophisticated mathematisation processes in model development. Implications from the use of the retrospective analysis phase on activating critical moments of learning during teacher education will be discussed.

Digital oral feedback written assignments as professional learning for teacher educators : a collaborative self-study.

Allan Luke (2008) uses a “pedagogical economy where literacy education is taken as a cultural gift”. This paper reports on the digital oral feedback provided to pre-service teachers in a literacy unit and explores the pedagogical gift this feedback is to the teacher educators marking this work. Rather than mark their written work as individual lecturers, we collaboratively read the assignment and recorded the sound file of the conversation around each assignment. We then participated in another conversation with a critical friend, which enabled us to explore the impact of this form of assessment on our professional identities as teacher educators. We found these conversations provided a rich context for our professional learning about ourselves as teacher educators, as well as specific content knowledge we both brought to the teaching of this unit. We found we were working as a team to provide more in-depth feedback of the assessment criteria for each assignment than we did with written feedback. Through this dialogical feedback we were able to construct the pre-service teachers' assignments as an important textual gift in our collaborative professional learning about assessment, and in exploring our beliefs and practices as teacher educators.

BHP Billiton science teacher awards

The prestigious BHP Billiton Science Teacher Awards are awarded annually to one teacher from each state of Australia. The awards recognise and value the time and effort that teachers give to the profession and to students conducting scientific research projects. This paper examines the Science Award scheme to identify the characteristics common to these innovative teachers in science. The data is drawn from interviews with seven award-winning teachers plus the judges of the scheme. The data indicated that quality teaching was evident in their practice - valuing students’ ownership of their work, doing authentic science investigations and showcasing their work.

Multicultural arts education : attitudes and perceptions of Australian tertiary students

Through social interaction the Arts connects communities and brings people together where both contemporary and traditional arts can be preserved, protected and promoted. In multicultural Australia, the Arts provides a space in teaching and learning that enables students the opportunity to engage, create and imagine both individually and collectively. The ‘Arts’ in the wider community fosters empathy, acceptance and appreciation of difference where diversity is celebrated between people of different cultures, languages, religions, and ethnicities. Through a discussion of multiculturalism, teacher education and multicultural education, I argue that the Arts can be seen as an agent of social change, a powerful dais to alter perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. This paper situates itself in Melbourne (Australia) through the lens of celebrating our rich multicultural arts. Through questionnaire data collected in October 2010 from Arts Education final year students at Deakin University, I present a snapshot of their understandings of multiculturalism: what they value, believe and understand as agents of change in education. By experiencing multicultural arts, both new and different hybrid art forms can be explored in schools and the wider society. Through such connections, the Arts can foster a positive experience that promotes diversity and enhances intercultural and cross-cultural understanding in our multicultural Australian society.

The rural practicum : preparing a quality teacher workforce for rural and regional Australia

Communities play a critical role in supporting pre-service teachers during rural and regional professional experience. This support, coupled with access to teacher educators and university resources, appears to positively influence graduate attitudes toward taking up a rural appointment. These are among the key findings to emerge from open-ended responses within 263 surveys completed for the Rethinking Teacher Education for Rural and Regional Sustainability—Renewing Teacher Education for Rural and Regional Australia project (TERRAnova). The national surveys, collected annually from 2008-2010, monitored the impact of state-based financial incentives designed to promote rural and regional professional experience. Findings discussed in this article have implications for teacher educators and rural school leaders as they work in partnership with communities to support pre-service teachers on rural and regional practicum.

Building effective school-university partnerships for a quality teacher workforce : a Victorian led initiative

‘Building effective school-university partnerships for a quality teacher workforce: A Victorian led initiative’ project, (‘BESUP’), funded by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development from 2010 – 2011, was conducted by the research team from the School of Education, Deakin University in collaboration with key personnel in two ‘clusters’ of schools located in the Maroondah Education Coalition and in Keysborough/Noble Park.

The overall aim of this project was to examine a pilot model of effective school-university partnership that engages pre-service and in-service teachers and researchers in the co-production of professional knowledge and practice. The model of a university-school partnership that was investigated in the research project was developed as part of the Master of Teaching, a 16 credit pre-service postgraduate course in the School of Education that had the first intake of pre-service teachers in March, 2010. In the design and implementation of the Master of Teaching course, the School of Education set out to create a new relationship between key stakeholders in the preparation of the next generation of teachers. A commitment to doing the professional experience component differently was central to the conceptualization of the new course. To this end, three new professional experience curriculum units were designed with the placements ‘embedded’ into the units themselves.

The research questions that shaped the BESUP research project are:
• What are the design features of an effective school-university partnership model?
• What are the features of cross-generational (pre-service, in-service) models of quality supervision, mentoring and support in a school-university partnership model?
• What are the conditions for an effective professional development program for teachers and academic staff to support professional experience within school-university partnerships?

That the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development funded this research is evidence of the system’s awareness of and concern for investigating ways forward that will provide the next generation of teachers with strong links between the learning experiences undertaken in the university component of their pre-service teacher education and the professional experience component located in schools. The report suggests the significance of ongoing professional conversations and new ways of engaging in professional learning among all of the partners.

Sexuality education matters : preparing pre-service teachers to teach sexuality education

Given the challenges to successful teacher-led, whole-school sexuality education there is an overall awareness that teacher education is crucial to the success of any sexuality education program undertaken within the school context. There is evidence that such teacher education, when provided, can address two of the most commonly identified barriers to successful teacher-led implementation of these programs; familiarity with the subject and curriculum content and increased levels of personal comfort and confidence regarding the topic of students’ sexual health. Sexuality Education Matters is designed to support pre-service teacher education programs to prepare students to teach sexuality education in primary and secondary schools. It builds on the research and teaching experience of Debbie Ollis and Lyn Harrison at Deakin University. It assumes that sexuality education in Australian schools is part of a comprehensive health and physical education curriculum. Even so, many of the readings and teaching and learning experiences could be adapted or used in other contexts that focus on school-based sexuality education. Sexuality Education Matters aims to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to teach sexuality education. In light of the lack of resources for primary school based programs there is a deliberate focus on preparing both primary and secondary school pre-service teachers to teach sexuality education.
The resource is designed to:
– provide a theoretical understanding of the area
– explore the current debates
– increase knowledge
– give pre-service teachers access to a range of pedagogical approaches relevant to sexuality education
– increase students’ confidence and comfort level
– explore personal values, attitudes and ethical considerations.