A little learning is a dangerous thing: Factors influencing the increased identification of special educational needs from the perspective of education policymakers and school practitioners

This article considers the increased identification of special educational needs in Australia’s largest education system from the perspectives of senior public servants, regional directors, principals, school counsellors, classroom teachers, support class teachers, learning support teachers and teaching assistants (n = 30). While their perceptions of an increase generally align with the story told by official statistics, participants’ narratives reveal that school-based identification of special educational needs is neither art nor science. This research finds that rather than an objective indication of the number and nature of children with SEN, official statistics may be more appropriately viewed as a product of funding eligibility and the assumptions of the adults who teach, refer and assess children who experience difficulties in school and with learning.

Blended learning : meeting the needs of distance education students

This thesis involved research into the barriers and enablers that existed for a cohort of mature-aged education support students engaging with blended learning through distance education. The findings that emerged from this research indicated that a flexible model of blended learning is possible in this context. The findings shed light on the experiences of novice technology users' participation in blended learning. The study highlighted the significance of factors such as isolation, technology, communication, connectivity, prior learning, and the growth of self-efficacy that influenced learner engagement.

Changing legal education: rhetoric, realty, and prospects for the future

This article examines the extent to which Australian legal education has transcended the traditional model of legal education which dominated most law schools until the mid-1980s, and outlines a modest agenda which might guide further development in legal education in Australia. The article outlines challenges to the traditional model, changes in legal education following the 1987 Pearce Report, and identifies factors that impede lasting and profound change. It concludes by proposing a series of issues which might be addressed by law schools seeking to provide a learning environment in which students can actively engage in learning about law, in a framework that does not simply prepare students for private legal practice.

Leadership Enabling Effective Pedagogic Change in Higher Education

This chapter will consider pedagogic change in Higher Education from the perspective of an Assistant Dean (Teaching and Learning) and one member of their leadership team with particular focus on reflective writing in their courses. The discussion will focus on leadership for the development of teaching capability for reflective writing development and implications for quality assurance of teaching and learning across faculties of a leading comprehensive University. The authors will present and contrast the experiences and challenges of developing teaching approaches for reflective writing across the discipline of teacher education. The chapter will argue a position for the establishment of a framework of distributed leadership that supports effective pedagogical change management generally and with specific reference to reflective writing.

Optimising the education and care experiences of children with 'difficult' temperament

This thesis asked whether more temperamentally reactive or difficult children are more sensitive to Early Childhood and Care (ECEC) environments than less reactive children. The aim was to assess what forms of ECEC provision best support more reactive children. The study analysed data from the national Effective Early Educational Experiences (E4Kids). Children with reactive temperament had less behavioural difficulties in classrooms with higher quality instruction but more when instructional quality was low. The findings underscore the importance of higher quality ECEC environments for temperamentally vulnerable children and the possibility that temperamentally reactive children are "barometers" of ECEC quality more generally.

Disability Standards For Education 2005 (Cth): sword or shield for Australian students with disability?

This article explains the scope and effect of the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cth) (the ‘Standards’) and considers whether they operate as a legislative sword or shield in respect of the battle to protect the education rights of people with disabilities in Australia. Evidence suggests that the Standards would be a more effective weapon if there were greater understanding of how they oblige education providers to make reasonable adjustments to their policies and practices to support access for and participation by students with disabilities.

Review of the ACT Road Ready and Road Ready Plus Novice Driver Road Safety Education Course Material

This report documents research that was commissioned in order to review the materials used in the Road Ready program for relevancy and acceptability to the target audiences as part of the implementation of the ACT Road Safety Strategy Action Plan. Relevant literature on young driver crash risk and best practice principles in driver education was reviewed as a first step (Section 2). The evidence for effectiveness of driver education programs in Australia was summarised (Section 3) and a separate review of the use of incentives in relation to driver education was performed. The brief called for an expert review of the materials and delivery design for both the Road Ready and Road Ready Plus programs. This is reported in Section 5, along with the overall recommendations for program improvement. More specific comments on individual modules in the Road Ready program are listed at the end of Section 5. Lastly, feedback from stakeholders, specifically the facilitators and teachers of the programs, as well as former students who have completed the Road Ready program, was sought. Interviews and surveys were conducted with these groups. Summaries of the methods and findings are contained in Section 6.

Developing improved sexual health education strategies

This thesis examines knowledge levels and sources of information about sex and sexuality in young people in Australia today. This research established what information young people are receiving about sex and sexuality from their four main sources; schools, parents, media, and peers; and how they process that information and apply it to their own lives.