Inclusion, equity, diversity, and social justice in education in the twenty-first century
- Authors: Goriss-Hunter, Anitra , Burke, Jenene , Weuffen, Sara , Plunkett, Margaret , Emmett, Susan
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Inclusion, equity, diversity, and social justice in education: a critical exploration of the sustainable development goals Chapter 1 p. 1-10
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- Description: The chapter offers a road map that charts the key issues raised in this edited collection that contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) series. Throughout the book, questions are raised, tensions observed, and practices highlighted, often through passionate discussion, regarding the ways in which considerations of equity, inclusion, and social justice are configured, challenged, observed, or ignored in a range of educational settings. All chapters address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education which advocates for the provision of inclusive and equitable education and the promotion of lifelong learning for all. This chapter extends the focus of diversity, inclusion, and social justice to examine the inclusive approaches embedded in the production of the book. Rejecting potentially exclusionary publication processes, the editors mobilized inclusive approaches to selecting, reviewing, and editing chapters and the development of edited scholarship. Focusing on connections and capacity building, a diverse range of authors, reviewers, and editors worked together in a supportive, inclusive, and encouraging framework to produce an interwoven contemporary narrative about the state of diversity and inclusion in mainstream education settings.
Working towards a sustainable, responsive, inclusive, and diverse global education future
- Authors: Weuffen, Sara , Burke, Jenene , Goriss-Hunter, Anitra , Plunkett, Margaret , Emmett, Susan
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Inclusion, equity, diversity, and social justice in education: a critical exploration of the sustainable development goals Chapter 19 p. 277-286
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- Description: In this chapter, we synthesise the interwoven narrative presented in this edited collection that interrogates discourses and policies of inclusive education, foregrounds the lived realities of diverse cohorts, and offers new ways of thinking and acting through a process of capacity building. Through thematic analysis, we analyse emergent themes pertaining to diversity and inclusion to illuminate the divergence between rhetoric and practice where the provision of quality education is concerned. Ultimately, we question whether the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 of quality education for all is being actualised in the twenty-first century and offer provocations on the possibilities of actualising a sustainable, responsive, inclusive, and diverse education future globally.
'Broadening horizons' : raising youth aspirations through a Gippsland school/industry/university partnership
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Educational researchers and the regional university : agents of regional-global transformations 6 p. 93-114
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- Description: The International Labour Organization characterises being young in today's labour market as 'not easy'. In parts of Gippsland, a regional area of Victoria Australia, it is certainly not easy because youth unemployment reached 21.7% in 2016, the second highest in the state. Within this regional-global context, research into youth aspirations is often bounded by a deficit-focused framework with little emphasis on contextual positives. This chapter, however, reports on a 5-year project of an innovative regional school-industry partnership. 'Broadening Horizons' provides project-based workplace learning units where partners immerse students in 'realworld problems' such as road safety and public transport. The Gippsland regional office of the Department of Education sought a formal evaluation of the project from the local university, at the time Monash Gippsland, but in 2014, we became part of FederationUniversity Australia. This chapter outlines findings from a mixedmethodology evaluation of the project's pilot stage and points out a number of important factors. These include a broader understanding of youth career support, youth aspirations and education/industry partnerships in a regional context, and the importance of involving parents. One school, in particular, achieved very successful parental involvement, which had a major impact on the learning and engagement of the students involved.We conclude that projects like this help to illustrate the complexities associated with youth aspirations in a regional context and may help to challenge associated, unsubstantiated stereotypes. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019. All rights are reserved.
A chronological history of the school
- Authors: Reeves, Mark , Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 2 p. 7-25
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- Description: This chapter introduces the Alpine School and its original purpose and goals before leading into the story of the historical development of the current School for Student Leadership (SSL). It outlines the extensive political background behind the creation of this unique Victorian school and the search for an appropriate principal. The development of the school from a single campus to the current three campuses is detailed, with photos of each included to illustrate the diverse environmental contexts that are represented. Also presented is an outline of some of the major differences in the curriculum and overall experience that students receive through a term spent at the SSL, compared to that offered via traditional mainstream education. The different learning opportunities resulting from a program that focuses on providing a rite of passage for adolescents and includes experiential learning, reflection and a Community Learning Project are discussed, illustrating the contemporary approach used at the school to meet the cognitive, physical, social and emotional needs of the attending Year 9 students.
A narrative account of the research journey
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 3 p. 27-42
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- Description: This narrative chapter unravels the story of the research journey undertaken over the last 16 years as part of a partnership between the Alpine School/School for Student Leadership and staff from Monash University’s Gippsland campus, which later became part of Federation University, Australia. It has been written in a narrative style to provide a conceptual context for discussing some of the major research insights from this partnership, including the significance of a ‘Landscape of Transformation’ as an overarching framework that has emerged from this longitudinal study. An outline of the research directions, and the associated teams who have been involved, is clarified. Also presented is a full listing of publications and reports associated with the research, with a focus on some of the key findings which are covered in more detail in later chapters.
Choice theory, relationships and community
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 4 p. 43-67
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- Description: The themes of ‘relationships’, and ‘community’, amongst others, have been constantly framed and reframed in the research conducted at the three campuses of the School for Student Leadership (SSL), and in the SSL China project, over the past 16 years. The student participants involved in the various research projects continue to highlight these themes and others, revealing that something unique happens at the SSL. This chapter on the student perspective discusses the themes of relationships and community, in the context of an Indigenous cohort of students who attended the Alpine School, which is what the SSL was originally known as. They were a unique cohort, who attended for a 6-week shortened program in 2006. Through focus group discussions at the end of their stay, these students provided through their narratives, key insights into what the experience meant to them. It appears that while the focus of the SSL experience is different, much of what is covered is transferable into mainstream schooling, which means that schools both nationally and internationally have much to learn from the practices of the SSL. This is further evident in the next chapter (Chap. 5), which is also on the student perspective, particularly examining leadership and student engagement in relation to the SSL experience.
Concluding summary
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 12 p. 203-205
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- Description: This final summary brings to a conclusion the narratives and the research associated with our description of the journey of development of this unique school.
Experimenting with place : The China project
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael , Holcombe, Wendy
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 11 p. 173-201
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- Description: This chapter presents an overview of a research project conducted to determine the impact of an immersion experience in China that was offered to students attending the Alpine campus of the SSL in 2014. The students participated via a state government initiative—the Victorian Young Leaders to China (VYLC) program, which aimed to aid intercultural awareness and understanding of secondary school students. Through pre- and post-surveys and focus group discussions with 43 students and 10 teachers, data was collected about the immersion experience and the impact it had on the participants. Both students and teachers reported on the value of the experience, particularly in terms of increasing intercultural awareness. However, as it was the first time that the China program was offered through the SSL, a number of issues and challenges were highlighted, which provided a sound context for associated changes to ensure that future experiences were as successful as possible. The program was also offered to groups of students attending the SSL during 2015 and 2016 due to the positive feedback from the initial pilot reported in this chapter.
Gifted students in rural and remote settings
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Exploring gifted education : Australian and New Zealand perspectives 13 p. 171-192
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The journey begins
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 1 p. 1-6
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- Description: This chapter introduces the reader to the journey underpinning the creation of the School for Student Leadership (SSL), which was known initially as the Alpine School. This unique educational establishment is unlike any other in Australia, or perhaps the world, and has offered a distinctive and highly valuable experience to more than 5000 Victorian secondary school students since its inception in 2000. Mark Reeves was appointed the inaugural principal of what was then known as the Alpine school, and remains principal of the three campuses that form the school today. The initial campus was established within the pristine environment of Dinner Plain in the high country of Victoria, Australia. It has since expanded into the Snowy River area in Marlo East Gippsland, and Glen Ormiston in West Victoria. What has added to the distinctiveness of the SSL is involvement in ongoing research in partnership with university educationalists/researchers, thereby ensuring its programs and operations are continually responsive to the findings and recommendations of that research. In this opening chapter, a brief background is provided, followed by an overview of the content of the book, to guide the reader in the research journey that has underpinned the development of this unique school.
The student perspective
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 5 p. 69-90
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- Description: As previously highlighted in Chap. 4, the themes of ‘relationships’, ‘community’, ‘student engagement’, ‘leadership’, and ‘communication’ continually emerge in the research that has been conducted with the School for Student Leadership (SSL). This chapter draws on the data gathered from participating students during 2006 from the Alpine campus and 2007 from both the Alpine and Snowy River campuses. Data consisted of responses to pre and post surveys and focus group discussions. Common themes emerged as the students told their stories about their time at the SSL. They highlighted the value of the opportunities provided for developing a better understanding of themselves as individuals, while also learning to value being part of a community. However, the focus of this chapter is on leadership and its concomitant impact on communication. The data revealed that students often arrived at the school with limited understandings of leadership, couched in traditional views of authoritarian styles which were accepted as being the only way to lead. The experiences at the school provided opportunities for students to obtain a broader understanding of what it means to be a leader, particularly from an adolescent perspective. The underpinning philosophy of the SSL, together with the match between theory and practice, encourages and guides students in understanding themselves and their value to the group, while also facilitating integrated and authentic leadership, which is distinguishable by positive social outcomes.
The teacher perspective
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 6 p. 91-105
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- Description: As indicated in other chapters of this book, the School for Student Leadership has a focus on relationships and development or growth in understanding of self and others. Not all teachers would choose to teach in this type of school, so this chapter on the teachers’ perspective highlights some of the hopes and aspirations of the teachers working in the SSL. A number of studies within the longitudinal project have included teachers, but the study discussed in this chapter involved a mixed methods study of the 33 teachers working across the 3 campuses of the school during 2010. They were surveyed and interviewed about their perceptions of being a teacher in the SSL. The findings illustrated a genuine commitment to the principles underpinning the core moral purpose of the school and the concomitant level of involvement required to teach in such an environment. While most reported that they did not see their role as ‘teacher’ in this environment to be substantively different from original perceptions they held of themselves as teachers, there was an acknowledgement of the different emphasis that was both possible and necessary within the distinctive context of the setting.
The parent perspective
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, Thriving and Reviving in Adolescence : Research and Narratives from the School for Student Leadership Chapter 7 p. 107-125
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- Description: This chapter discusses the parent perspective in terms of what parents of students attending the SSL think about their child's involvement. Over time, a number of projects have examined parent perceptions but the most recent one is discussed in this chapter. This particular project involved surveying and interviewing parents of students attending the three SSL campuses during Terms 3 and 4 of the 2012 school year. While the sample is not large, it certainly provides support to the large body of anecdotal evidence about the very high level of parent satisfaction with the SSL. The findings from the interviews conducted with 15 parents have already been published in a refereed conference paper, which is referred to later in this chapter. The findings from the pre- and post-surveys completed by 38 parents indicated that parents were aware of both the benefits and challenges faced by their children. Moreover, they had very high expectations in terms of the type of growth in understanding of self, others and the ecosystem in which they were living, as outcomes of the SSL experience. Post-survey results illustrated that these expectations were not only met but exceeded.
Developing sustainable education in regional Australia
- Authors: Gunstone, Andrew , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Developing sustainable education in regional Australia p. 1-7
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Educating for a sustainable future through the redevelopment of the online learning experience for off-campus students
- Authors: Howard, Renata , Tennant, Judith , Plunkett, Margaret , West, Andrew
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Developing Sustainable Education in Regional Australia Chapter 2 p. 8-24
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Enhancing interpersonal relationships in teacher education through the development and practice of reflective mentoring
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Interpersonal Relationships in Education: From theory to practice Chapter 4 p. 37-56
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- Description: This chapter presents research on a model of reflective mentoring developed and implemented as a way of enhancing interpersonal relationships between pre service and mentor teachers involved in a longitudinal school-based professional experience. The process of reflective mentoring (Dyson, 2002) was developed as an alternative to the more traditional forms of supervision, which tend to involve a power relationship in which the student teacher is monitored and assessed by an experienced teacher or a university lecturer.
Justice for gifted rural students
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Let the Tall Poppies Flourish p. 37-49
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Curricular responses to teaching gifted students in Australia
- Authors: Kronborg, Leonie , Kelly, Liz , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Curriculum Development and Teaching Strategies for Gifted Learners p. 317-327
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Providing an optimal school context for talent development : an extended curriculum program in practice
- Authors: Kronborg, Leonie , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Gifted and Talented Education p.
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