So much more than just the music : Australian pre-service music teacher education students’ attitudes to artists-in-schools

Contemporary Australia is a country of ongoing migration and increasing cultural diversity which is reflected in its arts practices. This article considers the views held by Australian pre-service music education student teachers and their tertiary music educators about their perceptions concerning artists-in-schools programs in school music. This discussion reports on data collected for a study undertaken in Melbourne, Victoria, Intercultural Understandings of Pre-Service Music Education Students (2005–2009). Fifty-three interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings provide insight into teachers’ recognition of the need for artists-in-schools programs. In particular the ways in which teachers can link theory to practice, fill in omissions in their own knowledge, skills and understandings, and heighten student understandings of multicultural musics. The promotion and provision of multicultural music education is essential at all levels of education. This can be achieved by the inclusion of diverse culture bearers, artists-in-schools, and community engagement to work with both teachers and their students.

Building capacity in sexuality education : The Northern Bay College experience : Report of the first phase of the sexuality education and community support (SECS) project

The Sexuality Education and Community Support (SECS) project aims to introduce a P-12 approach to sexuality education at Northern Bay P-12 College (NBC) through a collaborative partnership process between the schools within the College and local, regional, and state health and education agencies and has set out to change current sexual health education practice in the College and assist other schools in the region to do the same. The Project’s goal is a ‘sustainable, responsive, whole school, regionally consistent, best practice sexuality education’. During this first or establishment phase of the SECS project strategies have been implemented to begin the process of building capacity in sexuality education at NBC. These strategies are aimed at developing a sustainable approach during the next three and a half years.

Teaching or preaching — Max Charlesworth and religious education

In this essay I elaborate on the theoretical framework – that of Millian liberalism – that Max Charlesworth brought to many public issues, including that of the relation between education and religion. I will then apply this framework to a debate in which I have been recently involved myself: a debate around the provision of religious instruction in public schools. In the first section I expound Charlesworth’s rejection of secularism in education in a liberal pluralist state and his defence of faith-based schooling. In the second section I uncover the religious motivations behind the Victorian government’s 1950 amendments to the apparently secularist Victorian Education Act of 1872. In section three, I explore the notion of secularism more fully and suggest that the struggle between those who espouse religious instruction in state schools and those who oppose it while advocating a more general form of education about religion is a symptom of a deeper tension between liberalism and communitarianism within the culture of modernist, liberal states.

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.

Striving for educational equity and ‘world-class quality’ schools in Mauritius in global times

Concerns that the education system in Mauritius has not been adequately preparing students for work and life, and unsatisfactory academic achievement in schools, have fuelled the government’s drive to improve the quality of schools. These concerns exist within education structures that systematically segregate students into ‘star’ schools and less desirable schools that curtail the education experience of the majority of Mauritian children. Within this context, Mauritian education authorities have attempted various educational reforms aiming at ‘World Class Quality Education’ so as to contribute to an efficient and dynamic workforce and to meet the needs of an increasingly competitive, knowledge-based and globalised economy. Reflecting the Mauritian government’s ‘quality’ agenda and its focus on the work of school leaders, this article reports the findings of research exploring Mauritian principals’ views about the usefulness or otherwise of Total Quality Management (TQM) principles in raising educational standards. It focuses specifically on whether and how principals are addressing the mounting challenges brought about by globalisation. The findings indicate that, despite the government’s efforts at reforms, the education system detracts from ambitions to adequately prepare all Mauritian children for work and life in a globalised and networked world. The article argues that school leaders need to take proactive responsibility for ensuring that all Mauritian children have access to an education system that cultivates their participation as active citizens of the global community.

How parental and school responses to choice policies reconfigure a rural education market in Victoria, Australia

Market principles now dominate the education and social policies of many Anglophone countries, including Australia, but articulate differentially within specific contexts. Existing historical legacies, local economic and social conditions, and geographical settings interact with federal and state funding and transport policies to shape the nature of regional education markets and the choices families make in a rural school market in Australia. Through two school case studies, this article explores the effects of policy shifts on parental choice and student movement within a regional Victorian community. Informed by policy sociology, the article views the policy as a dynamic, often ad hoc process with contradictory effects. It indicates how an ensemble of federal and state funding and conveyancing policies enable some schools to develop marketing practices that reconstruct the local education market to their advantage through the introduction of transport and flexi-boarding policies. It demonstrates that education markets are not confined to urban settings and that while choice is not a new phenomenon in this rural area, federal and state funding and transport policies have reconfigured local markets and intensified the market work undertaken by schools and parents with, in this instance, unequal effects on the provision of schooling in a rural region.

Erasure, exclusion by inclusion, and the absence of intersectionality: introducing bisexuality in education

Even though many schools and educational systems, from elementary to tertiary, state that they endorse antihomophobic policies, pedagogies, and programs, there appears to be an absence of education about, and affirmation of, bisexuality, and minimal specific attention to bi-phobia in curriculum, policy, and student welfare. Bisexuality continues to fall into the gap between the binary of heterosexuality and homosexuality across all educational sectors. These absences and erasures leave bisexual students, family members, and educators feeling silenced and invisibilized within school communities. Indeed, these absences and erasures have been considered a major factor in bisexual young people, family members, and educators in school communities experiencing worse mental, emotional, sexual, and social health than their homosexual or heterosexual counterparts. Also of interest is the persistence of bisexual erasure in adult-developed resources and programs, even though there is increasing evidence of sexual identities and practices in youth subcultures that are adopting shifting discursive and societal constructs of sexuality, characterized by notions of fluidity, ambisexuality, and a reluctance to label their sexuality according to the heterosexual/homosexual binary. The articles in this issue profoundly engage with and problematize the three impediments to education systems when those systems engage with sexual diversity instead of sexual duality, namely, erasure, exclusion by inclusion into gay and lesbian categories, and the absence of intersectionality (wherein other facets of identity and experience that interweave with sexuality are not taken into account, such as class, gender, Indigeneity/Aboriginality, ethnicity, geographical location, and religion). 

Ausaid and capacity building: sustainability of an education aid project

This thesis is concerned with the effects and sustainability of internationally funded schools in Indonesia that have been established by the AusAID. By exploring and reviewing the constraints in maintaining the sustainability of aid projects, this research provides an actual description of an education-based aid project in Indonesia in the post-funding period.

Antisemitism and Jewish children and youth in Australia’s Capital Territory schools

Issues pertaining to religion and Australian schools have generated a significant amount of controversy and scholarly attention in recent years, and much of the attention in the religion and schools debate has focused on Muslim and non-religious children’s experiences (Erebus International, 2006; Halafoff, 2013). This article, by contrast, explores the manifestations of antisemitism as experienced by Jewish children and youth in Canberra schools. It considers the characteristics of antisemitism; when and why it occurs; its impact on the Jewish children and young people; and also the responses to it by them, the schools and the Jewish community. Based on focus groups with the Jewish students and their parents, the study reveals that antisemitism is common in Canberra schools, as almost all Jewish children and youth in this study have experienced it. The findings from this study suggest that there is a need for more anti-racism education. Specifically there is an urgent need for educational intervention about antisemitism, alongside education about religions and beliefs in general, to counter antisemitism more effectively and religious discrimination more broadly in Australian schools.

Convergence and divergence dynamics in British and French business schools: how will the pressure for accreditation influence these dynamics?

This paper focuses on convergence and divergence dynamics among leading British and French business schools and explores how the pressure for accreditation influences these dynamics. We illustrate that despite historical differences in approaches to management education in Britain and France, these approaches have converged partly based on the influence of the American model of management education but more recently through the pursuit of accreditation, in particular from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and the European Quality Improvement Standard. We explore these dynamics through the application of the resource-based view of the firm and institutional theory and suggest that, whilst achieving accreditation is a necessary precursor for international competition, it is no longer a form of competitive advantage. The pursuit of accreditation has fostered a form of competitive mimicry reducing national distinctiveness. The resource-based view of the firm suggests that the top schools need a more heterogeneous approach that is not easily replicable if they are to outperform the competitors. Consequently, the convergence of management education in Britain and France will become a new impetus for divergence. We assert that future growth and competitive advantage might be better achieved through the reassertion of national, regional and local cultural characteristics. © 2013 British Academy of Management.

Education about diverse religions and worldviews, social inclusion and countering extremism: lessons for the Australian curriculum

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, the so-called ‘religion in schools debate’ has generated a significant amount of controversy in Australia and arguably impeded progress in both research and education about diverse religions and non-religious worldviews (ERW). This article focuses on the recently released Review of the Australian Curriculum – Final Report and examines why there has been such strong resistance to learning from international best practices in implementing ERW programmes in Australia. It presents an analysis of the Review’s findings, in light of these advances, notably the recently released Signposts: Policy and Practice for Teaching about Religions and Non-religious Worldviews in Intercultural Education document published by the Council of Europe. Finally, this article argues that for the Australian Curriculum to be genuinely ‘world class’, and for it to promote an appreciation of religious diversity, it needs to include ERW as a separate subject or across the national Curriculum, drawing on Australian and international research and policies in this field to develop curricula and resources that are appropriate for the Australian context.

Bisexuality in education: erasure, exclusion and the absence of intersectionality

Although many schools and educational systems, from elementary to tertiary level, state that they endorse anti-homophobic policies, pedagogies and programs, there appears to be an absence of education about, and affirmation of, bisexuality and minimal specific attention paid to bi-phobia. Bisexuality appears to be falling into the gap between the binary of heterosexuality and homosexuality that informs anti-homophobic policies, programs, and practices in schools initiatives such as health education, sexuality education, and student welfare. These erasures and exclusions leave bisexual students, family members and educators feeling silenced and invisibilized within school communities. Also absent is attention to intersectionality, or how indigeneity, gender, class, ethnicity, rurality and age interweave with bisexuality. Indeed, as much research has shown, erasure, exclusion, and the absence of intersectionality have been considered major factors in bisexual young people, family members and educators in school communities experiencing worse mental, emotional, sexual and social health than their homosexual or heterosexual counterparts.This book is the first of its kind, providing an international collection of empirical research, theory and critical analysis of existing educational resources relating to bisexuality in education. Each chapter addresses three significant issues in relation to bisexuality and schooling: erasure, exclusion, and the absence of intersectionality. From indigenous to rural schools, from tertiary campuses to elementary schools, from films to picture books as curriculum resources, from educational theory to the health and wellbeing of bisexual students, this book's contributors share their experiences, expertise and ongoing questions.

Managing student diversity in business education: Incorporating campus diversity into the curriculum to foster inclusion and academic success of international students

ABSTRACT
The past three decades have witnessed significant growth of culturally and linguistically diverse international students in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. International students now constitute an important component of the student body at many universities, especially in their business schools. The increased presence of international students has generated new demands and challenges for these business schools, and a number of issues related to international students have been identified in the literature. However, the increased presence of international students has not led universities and business schools to develop adequate responses to the issues and make subsequent changes in the curriculum. Diversity on campus continues to be managed in roughly the same way as in business organizations. Drawing on the notion that diversity should be defined and understood in terms of context, this conceptual paper redefines diversity on campus, identifies limitations of current diversity education in the higher education context, and develops a competency-oriented approach to improve inclusion and academic performance of international students.

Researching early career teachers and gender differences: ramifications for rural education

Recent research into the lives of early career teachers’ in Victoria and Queensland suggest that gender remains a significant factor in shaping the careers of those teaching in rural and regional schools. The cohort of nearly 5,000 teachers involved in the ARC-funded research project, ‘Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education’ (SETE) has a high proportion of females (78%). This composition is consistent with other large-scale datasets and across four rounds of SETE surveys between 2010-2014, and reflected in Case Studies of a selection of Victorian rural and regional schools. Continued perceptions of teaching as an ‘appropriate’ career for women remains - that is, it is reasonably well paid, with holidays and hours that allow a combination of responsibilities in work and family contexts (Acker, 1994). Yet, the analysis of SETE career progression data shows that employment and career chances of female and male graduate teachers diverge. Male graduates were more likely to be employed in full time positions and saw themselves in a leadership role in three years’ time, while female graduates were more likely to be employed in part-time positions and saw themselves teaching or in other education related occupations in the future. Interestingly, there was also significant difference in the perceptions of preparedness and effectiveness scores for males and females, with female teachers consistently reporting higher scores for both scales. In this paper, we examine the research data with regards to gender differences in rural and regional primary schools and ask the question: thirty years after the first Affirmative Action Plan for Women in the Victorian Teaching Service (1986), why do these gender differences in teaching careers still hold true—and does it matter in rural education?

Selecting, training and assessing new general practice community teachers in UK medical schools

Background: Standards for undergraduate medical education in the UK, published in Tomorrow’s Doctors, include the criterion ‘everyone involved in educating medical students will be appropriately selected, trained, supported and appraised’. Aims: To establish how new general practice (GP) community teachers of medical students are selected, initially trained and assessed by UK medical schools and establish the extent to which Tomorrow’s Doctors standards are being met. Method: A mixed-methods study with questionnaire data collected from 24 lead GPs at UK medical schools, 23 new GP teachers from two medical schools plus a semi-structured telephone interview with two GP leads. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively and qualitative data were analysed informed by framework analysis. Results: GP teachers’ selection is non-standardised. One hundred per cent of GP leads provide initial training courses for new GP teachers; 50% are mandatory. The content and length of courses varies. All GP leads use student feedback to assess teaching, but other required methods (peer review and patient feedback) are not universally used. Conclusions: To meet General Medical Council standards, medical schools need to include equality and diversity in initial training and use more than one method to assess new GP teachers. Wider debate about the selection, training and assessment of new GP teachers is needed to agree minimum standards.