Description:
Globally, injuries are the leading cause of death and represent the highest burden of ongoing disease amongst children 1–16 years of age. Increasingly, prevention programmes are recognising a growing need for intervention strategies that target children. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of the SeeMore Safety Programme, designed to teach children (4–6 years of age) how to make conscious decisions about their own capabilities related to safety and how to manage risk. This retrospective study examined de-identified pre- and post-programme data from a sample of 1027 4 to 6-year-old pre-school children over the four-year period who participated in the SeeMore Safety Programme. Results show a significant improvement in each of the post-test scores and when compared to the pre-test scores (p < 0.001). Children from rural areas, as well as those from areas of greater disadvantage, also showed significant improvement in their pre- and post-test scores (p < 0.001). Overall, the findings highlight that the SeeMore Safety Programme over the four-year period demonstrates an increase in the children’s capacity to recognise and identify danger and safety amongst all children, offering great promise for reducing the burden of injury on children, their families and society.
Description:
Globally, injuries are the leading cause of death and represent the highest burden of ongoing disease amongst children 1–16 years of age. Increasingly, prevention programmes are recognising a growing need for intervention strategies that target children. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of the SeeMore Safety Programme, designed to teach children (4–6 years of age) how to make conscious decisions about their own capabilities related to safety and how to manage risk. This retrospective study examined de-identified pre- and post-programme data from a sample of 1027 4 to 6-year-old pre-school children over the four-year period who participated in the SeeMore Safety Programme. Results show a significant improvement in each of the post-test scores and when compared to the pre-test scores (p < 0.001). Children from rural areas, as well as those from areas of greater disadvantage, also showed significant improvement in their pre- and post-test scores (p < 0.001). Overall, the findings highlight that the SeeMore Safety Programme over the four-year period demonstrates an increase in the children’s capacity to recognise and identify danger and safety amongst all children, offering great promise for reducing the burden of injury on children, their families and society.
Description:
This paper proposes some possibilities for thinking with a landscape as a pedagogical concept, inspired by posthuman theory. The idea of thinking with a landscape is enacted in the Australian Alps (AA), concentrating on the contentious environmental dilemma involving introduced horses and their management in this bio-geographical location. The topic of horses is of pedagogical relevance for place-responsive outdoor environmental educators as both a location-specific problem and an example of a troubling issue. The paper has two objectives for employing posthuman thinking. Firstly, it experiments with the alternative methodological possibilities that posthuman theory affords for outdoor environmental education, including new ways of conducting educational research. Secondly, it explores how thinking with a landscape as a pedagogical concept may help open ways of considering the dilemma that horses pose. The pedagogical concept is enacted through some empirical events which sketch human-horse encounters from the AA. These sketches depict some of the pedagogical conversations and discursive pathways that encounters can provoke. Such encounters and conversations are ways of constructing knowledge of the landscape, covering multiple species, perspectives and discursive opportunities. For these reasons, this paper may be of relevance for outdoor environmental educators, those interested in the AA or posthuman theorists. [Author abstract]
Description:
The objective of the research project is to contribute to the understanding of the auditing profession in Vietnam. In particular, it provides information on the challenges facing auditors in an emerging economy where economic transformation is in progress and where auditing, as a profession, is under development. Auditors operate in an environment of conflicting priorities where they must maintain independence and objectivity in discharging their responsibilities to stakeholders and society. In Vietnam, the audit profession only came into existence in 1986 when the country embarked on its new economic model. Whilst studies have been conducted on the status of current accounting practice in Vietnam, studies regarding the audit profession have been limited. In this research project an examination of the issues affecting audit quality in Vietnam are investigated and suggestions for changes to address the deficiencies are made. In particular, the project focuses on the relevance and appropriateness of the education of auditors. A national survey of accountants, auditors and accounting academics in Vietnam was undertaken. The survey results indicate that in Vietnam there are deficiencies in audit practices over and above those commonly observed in other countries. These deficiencies are the result of the unique history of Vietnam, the current stage of economic development and the education system for auditors. From an auditing perspective, the slow adaptation of the education system to the new economic environment is having negative effects on accounting graduates and their employment prospects. Although inadequate training was identified as the single most important factor affecting audit quality, the ineffective enforcement regime was also a contributing factor. This research project indicates that there is a need for an overhaul of the current education system in Vietnam and for universities to develop an accounting and auditing curriculum that meets the needs of employers while complying with government’s education objectives and international standards of auditing and accounting.
Description:
The objective of the research project is to contribute to the understanding of the auditing profession in Vietnam. In particular, it provides information on the challenges facing auditors in an emerging economy where economic transformation is in progress and where auditing, as a profession, is under development. Auditors operate in an environment of conflicting priorities where they must maintain independence and objectivity in discharging their responsibilities to stakeholders and society. In Vietnam, the audit profession only came into existence in 1986 when the country embarked on its new economic model. Whilst studies have been conducted on the status of current accounting practice in Vietnam, studies regarding the audit profession have been limited. In this research project an examination of the issues affecting audit quality in Vietnam are investigated and suggestions for changes to address the deficiencies are made. In particular, the project focuses on the relevance and appropriateness of the education of auditors. A national survey of accountants, auditors and accounting academics in Vietnam was undertaken. The survey results indicate that in Vietnam there are deficiencies in audit practices over and above those commonly observed in other countries. These deficiencies are the result of the unique history of Vietnam, the current stage of economic development and the education system for auditors. From an auditing perspective, the slow adaptation of the education system to the new economic environment is having negative effects on accounting graduates and their employment prospects. Although inadequate training was identified as the single most important factor affecting audit quality, the ineffective enforcement regime was also a contributing factor. This research project indicates that there is a need for an overhaul of the current education system in Vietnam and for universities to develop an accounting and auditing curriculum that meets the needs of employers while complying with government’s education objectives and international standards of auditing and accounting.
Description:
This thesis describes an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research project that investigated the changes to student social capital indicators resulting from an outdoor educational program, Future Maker, delivered to Victorian government school students. A systematic review of literature found minimal evidence of research relating to the change to social capital indicators as a result of programs that deliver outdoor education curriculum. The initial chapters of this thesis explore research on outdoor residential schools and the development of the Future Maker program as an alternative form of outdoor education curriculum design. Quantitative data were gathered from 287 students in the form of the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire (LEQ), over a 12-month period. Students completed the LEQ on three separate occasions: Day 1 of the program, Day 12 of the program, and 6 months after the program. Furthermore, qualitative data were gathered using a semistructured interview process. Twenty-eight students and seven teachers were randomly selected from participating schools to partake in the interviews. The final sections of the thesis present and discuss the findings from the quantitative and qualitative data that provided sufficient evidence that showed a significant increase in effect size for the social capital indicators of communication, relationships, group processing, networking and leadership. Furthermore, the research indicated that the domestic chores undertaken by students on an outdoor education program contributed to how social capital is learnt in an outdoor educational context. Moreover, the research positions outdoor education as a subject with content and pedagogy rather than a discipline and argues that outdoor education as a standalone subject has been sitting in plain sight. Finally, it concluded that a purpose-designed outdoor education program, which is built using a framework for curriculum development, can develop positive indicators for social capital.
Description:
This thesis describes an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research project that investigated the changes to student social capital indicators resulting from an outdoor educational program, Future Maker, delivered to Victorian government school students. A systematic review of literature found minimal evidence of research relating to the change to social capital indicators as a result of programs that deliver outdoor education curriculum. The initial chapters of this thesis explore research on outdoor residential schools and the development of the Future Maker program as an alternative form of outdoor education curriculum design. Quantitative data were gathered from 287 students in the form of the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire (LEQ), over a 12-month period. Students completed the LEQ on three separate occasions: Day 1 of the program, Day 12 of the program, and 6 months after the program. Furthermore, qualitative data were gathered using a semistructured interview process. Twenty-eight students and seven teachers were randomly selected from participating schools to partake in the interviews. The final sections of the thesis present and discuss the findings from the quantitative and qualitative data that provided sufficient evidence that showed a significant increase in effect size for the social capital indicators of communication, relationships, group processing, networking and leadership. Furthermore, the research indicated that the domestic chores undertaken by students on an outdoor education program contributed to how social capital is learnt in an outdoor educational context. Moreover, the research positions outdoor education as a subject with content and pedagogy rather than a discipline and argues that outdoor education as a standalone subject has been sitting in plain sight. Finally, it concluded that a purpose-designed outdoor education program, which is built using a framework for curriculum development, can develop positive indicators for social capital.
Description:
This paper will focus on children's views on their making and design capabilities. There is a paucity of research investigating learning in makerspaces particularly for younger children. Theoretical ideas based on constructionism (Papert), Vygotsky (socio-constructivism) and Dewey's pragmatic, inquiry based and reflective learning underpin this study. Fourteen group interviews were conducted with 34 young children (five to eight years old). Their responses were inductively and thematically analysed. Children provided rich insights into new pedagogical approaches, like makerspaces, and identified challenges with the use of the digital tools (3D App and 3D printers). Children enjoyed directing their own learning and viewed their experiences as creative. This research will advance knowledge on how makerspaces and design thinking skills can be integrated in early childhood and early primary education.
Description:
We argue in this paper that the experience of reading is an intricate and dynamic weaving of connections much like the tentative construction of a spider's web. We also use the metaphor of the web to examine a professional learning experience for Australian secondary school English teachers who over the course of a year, and by working in Communities of Practice, find and renew passion and purpose in their teaching of reading. The professional learning project, beginning in 2015, is conducted in Victorian schools under the auspices of the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English (VATE) and is funded for six years by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. In five years it has involved 36 schools. In this paper we focus on the experiences of teachers involved in the first three years of the project. The project begins by drawing attention, through an examination of literature, to disturbing levels of disengagement with reading at school and to a culture of pedagogy in English that has shifted over recent times toward transactional teaching and away from a focus on meaning-making. Drawing upon teacher interviews, the paper examines how teachers find passion and purpose in their teaching of reading through an initial focus on student experience revealed in drawings, which they find surprising and moving. In Communities of Practice and with the support of an external Critical Friend, the teachers explore a complex understanding of reading that has imaginative, dialogic, emotional, critical, metacognitive and embodied dimensions and design and trial reading activities with the aim of deepening students' reading experiences. Through a focus on what teachers say, the paper explores what is learned through this experience and examines some of the challenges associated with sustaining change in schools.
Description:
Over the years, a variety of frameworks, models and literacies have been developed to guide teacher educators in their efforts to build digital capabilities in their students, that will support them to use new and emerging technologies in their future classrooms. Generally, these focus on advancing students’ skills in using ‘educational’ applications and digitally-sourced information, or understanding effective blends of pedagogical, content and technological knowledge seen as supporting the integration of digital resources into teaching, to enhance subject learning outcomes. Within teacher education institutions courses developing these capabilities are commonly delivered as standalone entities, or there is an assumption that they will be generated by technology’s integration in other disciplines or through mandated assessment. However, significant research exists suggesting the current narrow focus on subject-related technical and information skills does not prepare students adequately with the breadth of knowledge and capabilities needed in today’s classrooms, and beyond. This article presents a conceptual framework introducing an expanded view of teacher digital competence (TDC). It moves beyond prevailing technical and literacies conceptualisations, arguing for more holistic and broader-based understandings that recognise the increasingly complex knowledge and skills young people need to function ethically, safely and productively in diverse, digitally-mediated environments. The implications of the framework are discussed, with specific reference to its interdisciplinary nature and the requirement of all faculty to engage purposefully and deliberately in delivering its objectives. Practical suggestions on how the framework might be used by faculty, are presented.
Description:
Makerspaces have been heralded as an effective way to support the development of 21st Century and STEM capabilities, yet there is a paucity of systematic, multiple-case analysis to guide educator and researcher practice. This collective case study examined 24 primary school classroom contexts to understand what supports and constrains learning and teaching in technology-oriented makerspaces. Thematic analysis of 24 teacher in-situ reflective journals and focus group interviews of all teacher participants revealed 19 supports and 11 constraints, relating to pedagogy, task design, learner attributes, technological factors, the school environment, and teacher capabilities and beliefs. These were used to form an evidence-based framework for learning and teaching in makerspaces. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research which has tended to be anecdotal and based on single cases. Implications for future teaching, research and policy initiatives are also detailed.
Description:
This work was funded by the Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery (Australia and New Zealand) – 2019. The funding body had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, or in writing the manuscript.
Description:
This work was funded by the Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery (Australia and New Zealand) – 2019. The funding body had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, or in writing the manuscript.
Description:
With increasing levels of student mobility within Victorian schools, many educational settings experience frequent changes to their student population. These changes are often met with an ad hoc array of practices implemented by schools in an attempt to adequately manage them. This thesis addresses the impact of student mobility on an educational community and its stakeholders in Victoria, Australia. The research was undertaken in five Victorian government schools that encompassed diverse geographical locations and socio-economic profiles. Key stakeholders include: school principals, teachers and education support staff, mobile students, parents/carers of mobile students, non-mobile students and their families. Each group offered a unique perspective regarding student mobility and transition processes. Participants in this study were involved in interviews and focus groups, and completed a questionnaire. Socio-economic status was identified as a predominant factor in student mobility for both families and schools. This was evidenced by high levels of often unpredictable mobility in socio-economically disadvantaged and significantly disadvantaged participating schools. The participating non-disadvantaged school experienced mobility related specifically to perceived academic gain or parental promotion. Regardless of socio-economic status, each group was reliant on other stakeholders to be successful. No stakeholder groups stood alone as being able to successfully navigate the process of mobility and transition independently. This study, through the thematic analysis of the data collected, has uncovered many actionable and achievable recommendations for families, schools and the education system itself both within Victoria and nationwide. The participants in this research clearly indicated a need for a more strategic and planned approach to mobility. Educational communities must respond proactively in order to provide optimal academic, social and emotional outcomes for students in these circumstances.
Description:
With increasing levels of student mobility within Victorian schools, many educational settings experience frequent changes to their student population. These changes are often met with an ad hoc array of practices implemented by schools in an attempt to adequately manage them. This thesis addresses the impact of student mobility on an educational community and its stakeholders in Victoria, Australia. The research was undertaken in five Victorian government schools that encompassed diverse geographical locations and socio-economic profiles. Key stakeholders include: school principals, teachers and education support staff, mobile students, parents/carers of mobile students, non-mobile students and their families. Each group offered a unique perspective regarding student mobility and transition processes. Participants in this study were involved in interviews and focus groups, and completed a questionnaire. Socio-economic status was identified as a predominant factor in student mobility for both families and schools. This was evidenced by high levels of often unpredictable mobility in socio-economically disadvantaged and significantly disadvantaged participating schools. The participating non-disadvantaged school experienced mobility related specifically to perceived academic gain or parental promotion. Regardless of socio-economic status, each group was reliant on other stakeholders to be successful. No stakeholder groups stood alone as being able to successfully navigate the process of mobility and transition independently. This study, through the thematic analysis of the data collected, has uncovered many actionable and achievable recommendations for families, schools and the education system itself both within Victoria and nationwide. The participants in this research clearly indicated a need for a more strategic and planned approach to mobility. Educational communities must respond proactively in order to provide optimal academic, social and emotional outcomes for students in these circumstances.
Description:
This paper examines the notion of clinical supervision and takes a close look at what it means from the perspective of both the supervisee and the supervisor, considering how it can be of benefit to the learner, the teacher and the patient. Clinical supervision has been shown to be vital for the development and consolidation of undergraduate and postgraduate education, while having a positive impact on patient outcomes and as such is a fundamental component in healthcare education. Central to supervision is achieving the best outcomes for the supervisee, and effective supervision ensures the development of confidence, professional identity, and the consolidation of therapeutic knowledge. Clinical supervision provides a platform for extending the supervisor-supervisee relationship beyond the student-teacher model to one of mutual personal development in contemporary knowledge and skills for clinical practice. Despite the perceived importance of clinical supervision for healthcare more broadly, there is evidence to suggest that few supervisors are adequately prepared with the theory and practice of clinical supervision to adequately fulfill the expectations that the role entails. It follows therefore, that in many cases, there is an expectation that the health professionals will supervise without adequate preparation. This paper, although not a panacea, may assist those who are supervising and who seek or require some guidance and support.
Description:
This paper examines the notion of clinical supervision and takes a close look at what it means from the perspective of both the supervisee and the supervisor, considering how it can be of benefit to the learner, the teacher and the patient. Clinical supervision has been shown to be vital for the development and consolidation of undergraduate and postgraduate education, while having a positive impact on patient outcomes and as such is a fundamental component in healthcare education. Central to supervision is achieving the best outcomes for the supervisee, and effective supervision ensures the development of confidence, professional identity, and the consolidation of therapeutic knowledge. Clinical supervision provides a platform for extending the supervisor-supervisee relationship beyond the student-teacher model to one of mutual personal development in contemporary knowledge and skills for clinical practice. Despite the perceived importance of clinical supervision for healthcare more broadly, there is evidence to suggest that few supervisors are adequately prepared with the theory and practice of clinical supervision to adequately fulfill the expectations that the role entails. It follows therefore, that in many cases, there is an expectation that the health professionals will supervise without adequate preparation. This paper, although not a panacea, may assist those who are supervising and who seek or require some guidance and support.
Description:
In recent years, arguments have signalled the value of STEM education for building discipline knowledge and an array of capabilities, skills and dispositions, aligned with the needs of young people functioning productively and ethically in dynamic, complex and challenging future work, social and political environments. This combination has been termed STEM literacy and positioned as a desired outcome from STEM education programs. However, knowledge is limited on ways this can be developed in K-12 schools. This article introduces a framework that conceptualises the integrated nature of the characteristics of STEM education. It identifies and maps key characteristics of STEM education, recognising different entry points, curriculum designs and pedagogical strategies for school programs. The framework provides practical guidance for planning and implementing STEM education in schools.
Description:
Margaret of Anjou's reference to herself as a 'silly woman' in Henry VI is a political ploy to draw attention to her gender, yet indicate her limitless power in the face of male dominance. This paper will map the trajectory of repertoire selection in my 18 years of working as a director and artistic director of actor training in the regional city of Ballarat. I have witnessed a profound shift in the demographic, political and financial realities that shape my practice. Intake numbers have doubled the age of candidates has dropped mental health problems for young actors have increased and budgets have plummeted. After the main struggle to maintain adequate studio time in order to create effective models of actor pedagogy, gender considerations follow. When choosing repertoire for training purposes, issues of equity and the cultural appropriateness of repertoire and teaching tools arise. Linda Walsh Jenkins and Susan Ogden -Malouf suggest 'a feminist critique of theatre shifts the gaze from product to process'. In Ballarat I have programmed female playwrights and directors, double-cast women and men, and staged obscure classical works. I will explore the queries to actor-training orthodoxy inherent in such choices and the challenges faced by actor-trainers working in a #MeToo environment.
Description:
Margaret of Anjou's reference to herself as a 'silly woman' in Henry VI is a political ploy to draw attention to her gender, yet indicate her limitless power in the face of male dominance. This paper will map the trajectory of repertoire selection in my 18 years of working as a director and artistic director of actor training in the regional city of Ballarat. I have witnessed a profound shift in the demographic, political and financial realities that shape my practice. Intake numbers have doubled the age of candidates has dropped mental health problems for young actors have increased and budgets have plummeted. After the main struggle to maintain adequate studio time in order to create effective models of actor pedagogy, gender considerations follow. When choosing repertoire for training purposes, issues of equity and the cultural appropriateness of repertoire and teaching tools arise. Linda Walsh Jenkins and Susan Ogden -Malouf suggest 'a feminist critique of theatre shifts the gaze from product to process'. In Ballarat I have programmed female playwrights and directors, double-cast women and men, and staged obscure classical works. I will explore the queries to actor-training orthodoxy inherent in such choices and the challenges faced by actor-trainers working in a #MeToo environment.
Description:
Teaching Aboriginal content in social work education presents risks of retraumatisation for students. There are international calls for a trauma-informed teaching model that creates cultural safety in the classroom. This study aimed to develop a trauma-informed model for social work education by reviewing the literature on cultural safety for Aboriginal peoples. This model incorporates key aspects of ensuring Aboriginal cultural safety: de-colonise social work education collaborative partnerships build relationships critical reflection develop cultural courage and yarning and story-telling. It provides a valuable framework for creating a more equitable teaching and learning environment that also ensures the essential academic content is covered. IMPLICATIONS Trauma underlies the historical, contemporary and cultural narratives of Aboriginal peoples. Students engaging in Aboriginal content that is traumatic can mean connecting with trauma that has occurred in their own lives. Trauma-informed teaching and learning will ensure that educators create culturally safe spaces that enable students to engage well with content. The adoption of the framework proposed in this paper may lead to the creation of a culturally safe space for teaching and learning in social work education.
Efficacy of a compulsory homework programme for increasing physical activity and improving nutrition in children: A cluster randomised controlled trial
Description:
In Australia, when a person wants to work in the outdoor education or recreation field, they can follow a number of different pathways to gain the required knowledge, skills and experience. Typically, this involves the completion of a formal program with either a training organisation or a university, depending on the qualification sought. Programs delivered by training organisations typically use a national training package to define the specific competencies (knowledge and skills) and the curriculum and outcomes of these programs are clearly defined, and qualifications are usually transferable around the country. Outdoor education programs delivered by universities in Australia, however, have no such clarity. This paper describes a research study that used the Delphi research method to consult with academics working in university outdoor education programs across Australia. The research set out to establish a set of threshold concepts that articulate what a student who completes at least a major in outdoor education knows and is able to do. Over two rounds of consultation the six authors of this paper formed the Delphi facilitation team, which solicited input and feedback from an expert panel. Nineteen different university academics participated in the research and produced seven threshold concepts, which are shared in this paper to encourage discussion and invite feedback from a wider range of stakeholders. More research is required to ascertain the efficacy of these threshold concepts in describing what graduates of university outdoor education programs know and can do. [Author abstract]
Description:
Clinical simulation is an essential component of health professional education. Digital technologies can provide students with near-reality, interactive virtual simulation learning experiences on static and mobile appliances. Clarification is needed, however, regarding the various types of virtual simulation and the different program components. We drew on published literature to define virtual simulation modalities and to offer definitive terminology to clarify the nomenclature and composition of virtual simulation. Reporting should include description of ‘Fidelity’ ‘Immersion’ and ‘Patient’ to add clarity and utility to research in the field.
Description:
Assessment, teaching and learning are intertwined concepts and are at the heart of quality teaching (Absolum, Flockton, Hattie, Hipkins and Reid, 2009 Ministry of Education (MoE), 2011). With its shifts in assessment-related content, the revision of Te Whariki (MoE, 2017), provides timely opportunity to explore early childhood teachers' understandings and practices related to assessment (McLachlan, 2018).
Description:
Assessment, teaching and learning are intertwined concepts and are at the heart of quality teaching (Absolum, Flockton, Hattie, Hipkins and Reid, 2009 Ministry of Education (MoE), 2011). With its shifts in assessment-related content, the revision of Te Whariki (MoE, 2017), provides timely opportunity to explore early childhood teachers' understandings and practices related to assessment (McLachlan, 2018).