Partnerships in teacher education - going beyond the rhetoric, with reference to the Norwegian context

Teacher education plays a central role in education and relates to various stakeholders of education. Currently, teacher education is not perceived as the sole responsibility of higher education institutions, and they are expected to work closely together with other partners. In this paper, the concept of ‘partnership’ is defined and mutual benefits and challenges in partnerships with disciplines and institutions beyond teacher education programs are briefly discussed. Issues related to partnerships with students are addressed, and the last part of the paper discusses the partnership between teacher education and the practice field with examples from Norway. Three models illustrating such partnerships are described. The central argument of the paper is that partnerships in teacher education need to go beyond rhetoric. (DIPF/Orig.)

Cultural and gender politics in Australian education, the rise of edu-capitalism and the 'fragile project' of critical educational research

This paper draws on research by Australians on Australian education to explore the tension between being critical and being marginalised. In it, I examine how research is positioned in the changing field of education in relation to government, society and the economy in the context of the rise of edu-capitalism globally. I then explore the policy shifts framing the cultural and gender politics of the research/policy problematic in Australia from the perspective of policy critique, policy service and policy advocacy. I consider how the global reconfiguring and reframing of higher education is impacting on the nature and institutional base of educational research, and it’s gendered implications. Finally, I argue that critical educational research is what makes educational research distinctive and also ‘makes a difference’ within a democratic society.

Equity and marketisation: emerging policies and practices in Australian education

The conjunction of equity and market logics in contemporary education has created new and different conditions of possibility for equity, both as conceived in policy discourses and as a related set of educational practices. In this editorial introduction, we examine how equity is being drawn into new policy assemblages and how, in the context of marketisation, equity is evolving and being enacted in new ways across education sectors. Different conceptions of equity are considered, including the increasingly influential human capital perspective promoted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). We argue that, separate from critiques of neoliberalism and its deleterious effects on equity in education, it is necessary to analyse carefully the increasing rationalisation of equity agendas in economic terms, the associated effects on education governance and policy-making, as well as on the work of educational institutions and educators. Providing an overview of the contributions to this Special Issue, we direct particular attention to the multiple, complex and often contradictory effects of the current education reform agenda in Australia, which has prioritised equity objectives and intensified performance measurement, comparison and accountability as means to drive educational improvement and reduce disadvantage.

Community music: making social, community and music connections in Australia

Choirs are an important part of the social and cultural tapestry of any community. Participating, learning music and performing are key factors to joining music organisations such as choirs. Singing in a choir as a music activity within communities is found to be participatory and voluntary, providing an opportunity for civil expression, identity and connectedness. The focus of this paper involves three choirs from my wider research project ‘Spirituality and Wellbeing: Music in the community’ that started in 2013, in Melbourne (Australia). In May 2014, I visited three choirs for a week in the city of Warnnambool, a regional district in Victoria (Australia). I draw on Yin’s (2003) categorisation of case study methodology that is explanatory, exploratory and descriptive. I draw on observation notes and focus group semi-structured interviews to analyse and code the data using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The findings include why people join choirs in regional towns, what they enjoyed that contributed to their wellbeing and why they want to sing about issues that make connections to social justice, the environment and the community. Though generalisations cannot be made to other towns or choirs, it is hoped that the findings may provide a vehicle for further dialogue where

"Music therapy helped me get back doing": perspectives of music therapy participants in mental health services

BACKGROUND: Mental health service development internationally is increasingly informed by the collaborative ethos of recovery. Service user evaluation of experiences within music therapy programs allows new phenomena about participation in services to be revealed that might otherwise remain unnoticed. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to demonstrate how asking service users about their experience of music therapy can generate useful information, and to reflect upon the feedback elicited from such processes in order to gain a deeper understanding of how music therapy is received among service users in mental health. METHODS: Six mental health service users described their experiences of music therapy in one or two individual interviews. Transcripts of interviews were analyzed using the procedures and techniques of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. RESULTS: Interviews with mental health service users provided rich, in-depth accounts reflecting the complex nature of music therapy participation. Super-ordinate themes refer to the context in which music therapy was offered, the rich sound world of music in music therapy, the humanity of music therapy, and the strengths enhancing opportunities experienced by service users. CONCLUSIONS: Participants indicated that they each experienced music therapy in unique ways. Opinions about the value of music therapy were revealed through an interview process in which the researcher holds an open attitude, welcoming all narrative contributions respectfully. These findings can remind practitioners of the importance of closely tuning into the perspectives and understandings of those who have valuable expertise to share about their experience of music therapy services in mental health.

The politics of public sector change: trends in health and education sector change in South Australia

BACKGROUND: As the changes underpinning the Coordinated Care Trials in South Australia have become more apparent, similarities have emerged between the rationalisation of public schooling in the mid 1980s and the transformation of public health in the 1990s.

OBJECTIVE: This article aims to discuss the evolution of health services in South Australia and help us answer the question of how best to manage our public and private health infrastructure in a changing economic and social context.

DISCUSSION: Both strategies in education and health share common elements of cost cutting, attempts at improving efficiencies, a flirting with the private sector and the attendant risk of reduced quality of services to the public. This situation in both sectors is indicative of a shift in public policy and a growth in the belief that private management of public sector infrastructure can help resolve the funding crises around our education and health systems.

Fostering cultural diversity in Australia: a case study of teaching, learning and assessing African musical arts

Australia is forged by ongoing migration welcoming a range of cultures, languages and ethnicities thus celebrating a diverse range of musical arts. In this multicultural society, music and dance may serve as a positive medium to transmit and promote social cohesion. I argue that the inclusion of innovative and immersive practice of African music in particular where authentic teaching and learning is facilitated may help foster understandings of culture in educational settings and the wider society. As a migrant forming part of the African Diaspora in Melbourne, I am strongly connected to my ancestral homeland (South Africa) when teaching African music to Australian tertiary students. Having gained ethical clearance to undertake the two research projects at Deakin University in Melbourne (Attitudes and perceptions of Arts Education Students: preparing culturally responsive teachers and Pre-service teacher attitudes and understandings of Music Education), I discuss tertiary students experience in relation to the teaching and learning of African music within higher education courses. Drawing on interview, questionnaire, observation notes, anecdotal feedback and narrative reflection, I employ Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyse and code the data into themes. By offering a discussion of assessment and evaluation, I explore and invite international dialogue in regards to how best we can prepare, assess and evaluate our students to improve the quality of musical arts education.

Education business leadership in Australia: interrogating imperatives, elements and implications

This paper interrogates the historical, political, economic and educational rationale behind the development and rapid expansion of Australia’sfirst postgraduate course in Education Business Leadership

Perceptions of Character Education in a Seventh-Day Adventist School

Character education has been viewed by many educators as having significant historical, academic, and social value. Many stakeholders in education argue for character development as a curricular experience. While understanding the degree to which character education is of worth to stakeholders of institutions is important, understanding students, teachers, and administrators perspectives from their lived experiences is likewise significant. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of character education within a Biblical framework environment by examining the lived experiences of students, administrators, and teachers of a Seventh-day Adventist School. Phenomenology describes individuals’ daily experiences of phenomena, the manner in which these experiences are structured, and focuses analysis on the perspectives of the persons having the experience (Moustakas, 1994). ). This inquiry was undertaken to answer the question: What are the perceptions of students, teachers, and an administrator toward character education in a Seventh-day Adventist school setting? Ten participants (seven students and three adults) formed the homogeneous purposive sample, and the major data collection tool was semi-structured interviews (Patton, 1990; Seidman, 2006). Three 90-minute open-ended interviews were conducted with each of the participants. Data analysis included a three-phase process of description, reduction and interpretation. The findings from this study revealed that participants perceived that their involvement in the school’s character education program decreased the tendency to violence, improved their conduct and ethical sensibility, enhanced their ability to engage in decision-making concerning social relationships and their impact on others, brought to their attention the emerging global awareness of moral deficiency, and fostered incremental progress from practice and recognition of vices to their acquisition of virtues. The findings, therefore, provide a model for teaching character education from a Seventh-day Adventist perspective. The model is also relevant for non-Seventh day Adventists who aspire to teach character education as a means to improving social and moral conditions in schools.

Educational software in english to the awareness in a preschool education supervised context

Information and communication technologies play an increasingly important role in society, in the sense that all areas and professions make use of digital resources. The school can not be brushed off this reality, aim to create full subjects and integrated in society today. Educational software can be used very early in the education of children, but they must be carefully and monitoring. This article aims to present the results of the use of educational software in English to the awareness of context with children of pre-school education in kindergarten, nursery center Redemptorist Fathers - The smallest fox in White Castle, a 21 group children under 5 years. Early awareness of foreign language such as English can be started with digital multimedia capabilities and various software available on the market. However, the small study described the case reveals some resistance from parents and educators, in the preparation of these to choose and monitor the use of ICT by children, in addition to also highlight the self-interest of the children involved and their learning a few words in English language in different contexts of daily worked. The study opens perspectives on close monitoring needs of such uses and training of educators in the field of use of resources multilingual awareness in pre-school education.

The use of digital educational resources : the contribution of research in the supervised teaching practice in basic education

This article aims to reflect on the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the educational context, focusing on the potential contributions of the use of Digital Educational Resources (RED) in the process of teaching and learning. For this purpose, the results of the use of the RED will be presented:. Digital Classroom - The World's 1st Year Carochinha The study was accomplished in a class of the 1st grade of the 1st CEB, composed of 27 students, aged 6-7 years in Castelo Branco City Schools Group within the Supervised Teaching Practice. The results obtained after the analysis and processing of the data showed that when using this RED students show they have acquired the content covered by the fact that they enhanced levels of greater interest, commitment, motivation, commitment and initiative in the course of activities proposals. But, perhaps because they are students of 1st year of the 1st CEB, do not neglect the presence and monitoring of the teacher and the use of paper-based resources. This means that there should be a complementarity that reconciles the human factor (teacher), with the use of digital media resources and paper support resources (Manual).

"Going outside": discussing the connection between pedagogical practices with digital tools and outdoor learning in early childhood and primary education

Technology has an important role in children's lives and education. Based on several projects developed with ICT, both in Early Childhood Education (3-6 years old) and Primary Education (6-10 years old), since 1997, the authors argue that research and educational practices need to "go outside", addressing ways to connect technology with outdoor education. The experience with the projects and initiatives developed supported a conceptual framework, developed and discussed with several partners throughout the years and theoretically informed. Three main principles or axis have emerged: strengthening Children's Participation, promoting Critical Citizenship and establishing strong Connections to Pedagogy and Curriculum. In this paper, those axis will be presented and discussed in relation to the challenge posed by Outdoor Education to the way ICT in Early Childhood and Primary Education is understood, promoted and researched. The paper is exploratory, attempting to connect theoretical and conceptual contributions from Early Childhood Pedagogy with contributions from ICT in Education. The research-based knowledge available is still scarce, mostly based on studies developed with other purposes. The paper, therefore, focus the connections and interpellations between concepts established through the theoretical framework and draws on the almost 20 years of experience with large and small scale action-research projects of ICT in schools. The more recent one is already testing the conceptual framework by supporting children in non-formal contexts to explore vineyards and the cycle of wine production with several ICT tools. Approaching Outdoor Education as an arena where pedagogical and cultural dimensions influence decisions and practices, the paper tries to argue that the three axis are relevant in supporting a stronger connection between technology and the outdoor.

An exploration of students’ perceptions and attitudes towards creativity in engineering education

Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-09-29 17:45:16.051

The politics of disagreement in critical education policy studies: a response to Morsy, Gulson and Clarke

This paper engages with Morsy, Gulson and Clarke's response to the recent special issue of Discourse (Vol. 34, No. 2) that examined evolutions of markets and equity in education. We welcome Morsy, Gulson and Clarke's supplementation of the special issue with the genealogical analysis they provide of private school funding in Australia and the attention they draw to elisions of race, ethnicity, Indigeneity and whiteness in contemporary framings of equity in policy and research. We also clarify and expand on some of the aims and arguments that framed the special issue. However, we feel that any response adequate to the ‘event’ that Morsy, Gulson and Clarke hope to stage – that is, a ‘debate redux’ and politics of dissensus in education as an antidote to depoliticisation – must extend beyond the rehearsal of pre-existing positions; it cannot stop at endorsing or critiquing the points raised in their paper, or reiterating the rationales and arguments of the special issue. We therefore respond by gesturing towards possibilities for ‘disagreement’, in the sense that Jacques Ranciere gives this term, about the political vocation of critical policy sociologists, and the modes of doing and being that can be seen as ‘critical’ and ‘political’ in academic education research. We do not disagree with Morsy, Gulson and Clarke in the usual sense; for that reason, we engage seriously with their call for a politics of dissensus in education.