Preparing student nurses for healthcare reform
- Authors: Barnett, Tony , Sellick, Kenneth , Cross, Merylin , Walker, Lorraine , James, Ainsley , Henderson, Tamie
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Focus on Health Professional Education Vol. 14, no. 1 (2012), p. 23-24
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- Description: This research aimed to determine how clinical agencies and universities can best prepare student nurses to develop the capability to contribute to healthcare reform. A list of desirable reform capabilities (graduate attributes) was developed and validated. A case study approach was used and interviews conducted with personnel at six clinical agencies in Victoria and South Australia to assess the extent to which student nurses achieved or were likely to achieve these capabilities and to identify strategies that would assist their development. As a significant component of the healthcare workforce, nurses are positioned to play a critical role in healthcare reform. A major challenge facing the profession is how best to prepare nurses and equip them with the skills and attributes necessary to contribute to the reform agenda. Nine reform capabilities were identified. Some were more likely to be achieved than others during undergraduate preparation. Strategies were identified to assist the development of each capability though a number of challenges were also identified by participants. These related to: university–agency relationships, the clinical learning environment, student–graduate transition, curriculum and organisational culture. The research concluded that graduate nurses are unlikely to demonstrate all nine capabilities on initial entry into the workforce. If these are regarded as desirable attributes for beginning practitioners, universities and clinical agencies need to develop and implement more effective strategies to support their development during undergraduate preparation. [Author abstract]
Rattling the Cage : Moving beyond ethical standards to ethical praxis in self-study research
- Authors: Brandenburg, Robyn , Gervasoni, Ann
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Studying Teacher Education Vol. 8, no. 2 (2012), p. 183-191
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- Description: The ethical practice underpinning self-study research has been addressed extensively in the literature of self-study of teacher education practices. Less attention has been paid to how researchers deal with ethical tensions and dilemmas when they arise unexpectedly during self-study research. In this article, we examine how the extrapolation and examination of one critical incident in the process of conducting self-study research challenged our ethics as researchers and led us to new understanding and knowledge. Our focus is on the initial acknowledgment of what we considered to be an ethical dilemma as it had rattled our cage. We were uncomfortable, disturbed, and challenged. We analyzed the data using critical incident analysis and discussed the outcomes in relation to being ethically responsive as researchers. Our responsiveness has led us to ethical praxis, whereby we now routinely and intentionally incorporate ethical dilemma identification and data analysis into our research designs. This study also highlights that our responsibilities as researchers are both private and public. By distilling the essence of a single critical incident, we can contribute new knowledge to the conversation about ethical practice. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
Rips, currents and snags: investigating the delivery of educational goals for young Australians in the region of Gippsland, Victoria
- Authors: Lynch, Timothy
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian and International Journal of Rural Education Vol. 22, no. 3 (2012), p. 1-18
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- Description: Monash University (Gippsland campus) is situated in Churchill, Latrobe Valley, located in central Gippsland, eastern Victoria. A large percentage of the Gippsland region comprises of a socio-economically disadvantaged population (Figure 1). In Semester One, 2011 as part of the Bachelor of Primary Education course at Monash, it was decided that a pathway be created to achieve these national ideals and goals through the implementation of swimming and water safety education in Primary schools. Swimming and water safety education represents the specific curriculum to be implemented in rural schools, it is representative of any aspect of the curriculum to be delivered. This paper comprises a narrative memoir by the author of his involvement in the pathway and subsequently the paper sheds light on the barriers, benefits and strategies for implementing such policies in practice.
Student Voices in Transition: The experiences of pathways students
- Authors: Levy, Stuart , Earl, Catherine
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book
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- Description: Student voices in transition reports the voices of students who entered university through access pathways at Monash University in Australia and South Africa. It provides insight into why these students sought university qualifications, how they adjusted to university study, the challenges they faced and the rewards they experienced. It identifies the issues faced by commencing university students, particularly those who have past experiences of modest academic achievement, and what the transition to university actually involves, regardless of how it is reported by experts, lecturers or institutions."--Back cover.
Taking responsibility for music education in the primary school: A case study
- Authors: De Vries, Peter , Albon, Nerissa
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Victorian Journal of Music Education Vol. 1, no. (2012), p. 3-11
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The challenges confronting clinicians in rural acute care settings: a participatory research project
- Authors: Paliadelis, Penny , Parmenter, Glenda , Parker, Vicki , Giles, Michelle , Higgins, Isabel
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and Remote Health Vol. 12 (online), no. (2012), p.
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- Description: In Australia, as in many other developed countries, the current healthcare environment is characterised by increasing differentiation and patient acuity, aging of patients and workforce, staff shortages and a varied professional skills mix, and this is particularly so in rural areas. Rural healthcare clinicians are confronted with a broad range of challenges in their daily practice. Within this context, the challenges faced by rural acute care clinicians were explored and innovative strategies suggested. This article reports the findings of a study that explored these challenges across disciplines in acute healthcare facilities in rural New South Wales (NSW), Australia. METHODS: A mixed method approach, involving a consultative, participatory 3 stage data collection process was employed to engage with a range of healthcare clinicians from rural acute care facilities in NSW. Participants were invited to complete a survey, followed by focus group discussions and finally facilitated workshops using nominal group technique. RESULTS: The survey findings identified the respondents' top ranked challenges. These were organised into four categories: (1) workforce issues; (2) access, equity and opportunity; (3) resources; and (4) contextual issues. Participants in the focus groups were provided with a summary of the survey findings to prompt discussion about the challenges identified and impact of these on their professional and personal lives. The results of the final workshop stage of the study used nominal group process to focus the discussion on identifying strategies to address identified challenges. CONCLUSIONS: This study builds on research conducted in a large metropolitan tertiary referral hospital. While it was found that rural clinicians share some of the challenges identified by their metropolitan counterparts, some identified challenges and solutions were unique to the rural context and require the innovative solutions suggested by the participants. This article provides insight into the working world of rural healthcare clinicians and offers practical solutions to some of the identified issues. The findings of this study may assist rurally based healthcare services to attract and retain clinical staff.
The role of community based playgroups in building relationships between pre-services teachers, families and communities
- Authors: McFarland-Piazza, Laura , Smith, Melissa , Downey, Belinda , Lord, Alison
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Journal of Early Childhood Vol. 37, no. 2 (2012), p. 34-41
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- Description: The purpose of this study was to explore how connections between families, communities and educators can be facilitated in teacher education courses through the use of playgroups. Barriers to building relationships, as well as the perceived benefits of these relationships to families and pre-service teachers, were also explored. Participants were involved in weekly university-based community playgroups. Focus group interviews were conducted and the constant comparative method was used to analyse interview transcripts. Themes of ‘Constraints’ and ‘Enablers’ emerged from pre-service teachers’ transcripts, indicating that they were initially uncomfortable with community and family involvement but eventually made connections as to why this was important. The theme of ‘positive relationship building’ emerged from parents’ transcripts, indicating that they saw building relationships with families and communities as an important role of early childhood educators. Implications for the importance of authentic learning situations for fostering these relationships in teacher education courses are discussed.
'No they're not digital natives and they're not addicted': an essay critiquing contestable labels
- Authors: Johnson, Nicola
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Fast capitalism Vol. 8, no. 2 (2011), p. 1-5
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- Description: Reducing complexity is often our focus when we explain new phenomena. However when we label things in simplistic ways, we may be in fact causing harm, in fact performing symbolic violence (Bourdieu 1998) by using and promoting essences of the phenomena in question. This essay gives examples of these simplistic, inappropriate categories that essentialize people into inflexible boxes, and argues that labeling is a simplistic practice, which gives us (mis)certainty. To me, there is a need for nuanced understandings of phenomena versus reductionist suppositions. We need insight rather than generalizations and essentializations. Many (mis)assumptions are based on a lack of evidence. This short essay argues against the constant complexity reduction apparent in popular (and to a certain extent academic) discourse. It highlights the ‘good’ of a society shaped by and shaping the Internet. It draws together the two labels of digital natives and Internet addiction to provide examples of how symbolic violence is being inflicted.
All over, red rover? The neglect and potential of Australian adult education in the community
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 51, no. SPEC.ISS.1 (2011), p. 53-71
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- Description: Consistent with the 'looking back, moving forward' conference theme, in this paper we undertake a critical, research-based appraisal of the current, arguably neglected state of adult education in Australia in 2010, and proceed to paint a picture of how a different and potentially more positive future might be realised. Firstly, we emphasise situations (including states and territories) in Australia in which adult education is seen to be lacking or missing for particular groups of adults. Secondly we emphasise research evidence confirming the demonstrable value of learning for purposes other than those that are immediately vocational. We identify links between lifelong and life wide learning on one hand, and health and wellbeing on the other. Part of the paper involves international comparisons with other forms of adult learning that Australia might learn from, adapt or borrow. We make particular reference to research underpinning the recent Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning by NIACE in the United Kingdom. Our first main conclusion has to do with equity. Adult and community education (ACE) in Australia is currently seen to be least available or accessible to those Australians with the most limited and most negative experiences of school education, but the most need to learn in non-vocational domains. These groups include older Australians, some men and women, people not in paid work, and rural, isolated and Indigenous people. Our second main conclusion is that, to realise adult learning's future potential, we need changes to government policies, research and practice that acknowledge and actively support the broader nature and value of learning for life across all age groups. To paraphrase research from Belgium by Sfard (2008), based around Beck's (1986) exploration of reflexive modernity, the adult education function of ACE is in dire straits, unless education is seen as being much more valuable than the sum of individual vocational competencies, and particularly unless it is also recognised, valued and supported as one of many valuable outcomes of social, lifelong and lifewide learning throughout the community.
Being 'Dumped' from Facebook : Negotiating issues of boundaries and identity in an online social networking space
- Authors: Best, Gill , Hajzler, Darko , Pancini, Geri , Tout, Dan
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Peer Learning Vol. 4, no. (2011), p. 24-36
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- Description: While Facebook, the world’s most popular Social Networking Site (SNS), has been warmly welcomed by many commentators and practitioners within the educational community, its effects, impacts and implications arguably remain insufficiently understood. Through the provision of an anecdotal and experiential account of the authors’ attempt to introduce Facebook into an existing Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) student peer mentoring program at Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne, this paper aims to explore and thereby explicate some of the issues inevitably arising in relation to the adoption and utilisation of social networking technologies in educational settings. While the authors’ experiences of their own ‘Facebook experiment’ were somewhat ambiguous and ambivalent, this paper is intended to contribute to the ever-expanding body of literature concerned with the use of Facebook in education and to thereby assist in improving educators’ requisite understanding of both the potential positives and pitfalls involved. On the basis of the authors’ experience, it is suggested that careful consideration as well as explicit and iterative articulation and negotiation surrounding issues of staff and student expectations, boundaries and identity management in an online environment comprise the minimum requirements for the successful implementation of social networking into student peer mentoring programs.
Chinese teachers' views of teaching culturally related knowledge in school science
- Authors: Ma, Hongming
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: The Professional Knowledge Base of Science Teaching p. 153-171
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- Description: Cultural studies in science education have been gaining more attention in recent years. One much-debated theme in this area is teaching culturally related knowledge in modern school science. Within the context of science education, “culturally related knowledge” refers to the knowledge that can be treated as science, but has different cultural origins from that of Western Modern Science (WMS) or Euro-centric science (Aikenhead and Ogawa 2007). Different points of view about the nature of science and the relationship between science education and culture have a direct influence on people’s opinions of the content and pedagogy of science teaching in school. "From introduction"
Employers' management of part-time student labour
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Young people and work p. 204-221
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- Description: 2003009325
Gender, power and managerialism in universities
- Authors: White, Kate , Carvalho, Teresa , Riordan, Sarah
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management Vol. 33, no. 2 (2011), p. 179-188
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- Description: This article explores the role of senior managers in consolidating and interpreting new managerialism in higher education in Australia, South Africa and Portugal, and perceptions of potential effects on gender. The impact of managerialism on decision-making in Australia was increased centralisation with the Vice Chancellor operating as a Chief Executive Officer; in South Africa tension existed between collegial and managerial models evident in power struggles between Vice Chancellors and faculties, plus overt risk and strong political considerations; while in Portugal decision making remained collegial with Rectors seeing themselves as primus inter pares (first among equals). The major finding was that while women as senior managers had an increased capacity to impact on decision-making in managerial universities, mainly related to 'soft' management skills, these were not valued in a competitive management culture strongly focused on research output. Thus managerialism presents a great challenge for women in senior management in higher education.
Interpersonal behaviour styles of primary education teachers during science lessons
- Authors: Fisher, Darrell , den Brok, Perry , Waldrip, Bruce , Dorman, Jeffrey
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Learning Environments Research Vol. 14, no. 3 (2011), p. 187-204
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- Description: This study reports the first development in Australia of primary science teacher typologies of teacher–student interpersonal behaviour, which was measured by students’ perceptions using the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI). Earlier work with the QTI in The Netherlands has revealed eight different interpersonal styles, which were later confirmed with an American sample of secondary-school teachers and which were similar to types found with Australian secondary-school science teachers. The present study investigated the extent to which typologies found in earlier studies also apply to primary teachers. A cluster analysis was used to determine Australian typologies and to compare these with earlier findings. Prior typologies could only be partially confirmed, and the found typology of six styles was able to explain variance in both student outcomes and perceptions of cultural elements of the learning environment.
Is the evolution of biochemistry texts decreasing fitness? A case study of pedagogical error in bioenergetics
- Authors: Larkins, Jo-Ann , Mosse, Jennifer , Chapman, Brian
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (ACSME): Teaching for diversity -Challenges and strategies p. 187-192
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- Description: The initial impetus for this research was the discovery by the authors of a variety of common and consistent errors and misconceptions in pedagogical literature on the topic of thermodynamics in Biochemistry. A systematic survey was undertaken of material on thermodynamics in Biochemistry textbooks commonly used in Australian Universities over the period from the 1920s up to 2010. Four common areas of error and misconception were identified, and a number of factors associated with the initiation and propagation of troublesome pedagogical material through successive editions of Biochemistry textbooks were recognised. These factors included the introduction of multiple authors and also often the departure of the original author of a particular textbook. The very nature of Biochemistry as a rapidly expanding discipline leads to the constant introduction of new material in textbooks and the contraction of older material such as thermodynamics. Material is also often fragmented into a number of smaller sections in modern textbooks. Moreover, less development is likely to be applied to this older material, with considerable reuse of material from previous editions. The lessons learned from charting these particular errors in thermodynamics in Biochemistry textbooks may provide insight into how troublesome pedagogical material evolves in other disciplines.
Marginal women, Marginal rights: Impediments to gender-based persecution claims by asylum-seeking women in Australia
- Authors: McPherson, Melinda , Horowitz, Leah , DiGiglio, Sarah , Greenacre, Lucy , Saalmann, Yuri , Lusher, Dean
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Refugee Studies Vol. 24, no. 2 (June 2011 2011), p. 323-347
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- Description: Women’s experiences of violence often remain invisible or discounted in asylum law and practice. Gender is absent as an overt ground for protection under the Refugee Convention and readings of the Convention have commonly excluded it. Although Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has acknowledged women’s special protection needs with instruments such as the Guidelines on Gender Issues for Decision Makers (DIAC 1996, 2010), the article investigates whether these are translating into practice. It examines ways in which women’s claims for asylum because of gender-based persecution (GBP) may be impeded in Australia. Drawing on feedback from major stakeholder groups, including asylum advocates, asylum seeking women, and DIAC, we suggest that at the time of our fieldwork (2005/2006) appropriate consideration of claims of GBP was generally still not evident within DIAC. We identify barriers to both the emergence and consideration of claims and suggest ways DIAC might improve gender sensitivity in the processing of asylum claims.
Opening up learning theory to social theory in research on sport and physical education through a focus on practice
- Authors: Light, Richard
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Vol. 16, no. 4 (2011), p. 369-382
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- Description: Background: Research on pedagogy in physical education and sport has increasingly been informed by contemporary learning theory with the socio-cultural perspective being prominent. Over a similar period research on the social dimensions of physical education and youth sport has drawn on a range of social theory yet there has been little systematic integration of them. Purpose: This article identifies the ways in which learning theory can be opened up to some social theory in research on learning and pedagogy in physical education and sport. It provides a specific example of how this can be achieved through integrating the conceptual tools of Bourdieu with those of Lave and Wenger for research on learning in physical education and youth sport. Findings: This article identifies a complementary relationship between the socio-cultural learning theory of Lave and Wenger and the social theory of Bourdieu. It suggests that integrating Bourdieu's work with that of Lave and Wenger provides for a stronger focus on the body and corporeal learning in and through sport and physical education. © 2011 Copyright Association for Physical Education.
Preferences and intention of rural adolescents toward seeking help for mental health problems
- Authors: Boyd, Candice , Hayes, Louise , Nurse, Sarah , Aisbett, Damon , Francis, Kristy , Newnham, Krystal , Sewell, Jessica
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural and Remote Health Vol. 11, no. 1 (2011), p. 1-13
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- Description: Introduction: In Australia, rural adolescents still face barriers to obtaining professional psychological help due to poor availability and accessibility of services in rural areas when delay in seeking help for mental health problems can lead to poorer treatment outcomes. The aims of this study were to: investigate the preferences and intentions of rural Australian youth towards seeking help for mental health problems; determine predictors of help-seeking intention among rural adolescents; and verify results from previous qualitative research on the barriers to help-seeking in a rural context. Method: Participants were 201 adolescents recruited from 8 rural schools in the state of Victoria, Australia. Participants ranged in age from 11 to 18 years. Using the Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+), approximately 149 participants were classified as currently living in an inner regional area of Victoria, whereas 52 participants lived in an outer regional area. Participants completed an open-ended survey of help-seeking intention. Results: Overall, 55.7% of the sample indicated that they would seek help for a mental health problem. The majority of participants, regardless of subgroup, indicated that they would seek help for a mental health problem from a school counsellor as their first choice. Gender differences were observed such that males had a higher preference for seeking help from a psychologist than females. Furthermore, older adolescents were more likely to prefer seeking help from a GP than younger participants. A multivariate analysis of help-seeking intentions revealed that ARIA was the only predictor of help-seeking intention; however, when extreme scores of depression and anxiety were also taken into account, these also predicted help-seeking intention. A content analysis of the barriers to help-seeking nominated by participants revealed that perceived limited availability of professional services in towns, perceived social proximity and fear of rural gossip, and difficulties associated with travelling to obtain help were the most significant concerns for these youth. Conclusions: These findings verify previous research on help-seeking among rural youth and reinforce that these young people face additional barriers to help-seeking by virtue of living in a rural environment. The availability of services for rural youth needs to be improved, as do young people's knowledge of service availability and access (especially travel options). It must be taken into account that rural adolescents of different ages and sex may differ in their help-seeking preferences. Finally, mental health promotion work with rural youth should consider the influence of rural culture on help-seeking intentions.
Secondary teachers' use of new media in an age of accountability
- Authors: Johnson, Nicola , Bulfin, Scott
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Global Learn Asia Pacific: Global Conference on Learning and Technology 28 March 2011 to 1 April 2011 p. 1-5
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- Description: This pilot study comprises an initial exploration of secondary teachers’ use of ICTs within the current climate of testing and accountability. The project seeks to understand how teachers are coping with and negotiating the competing and complex demands of their work within these current policies. It explores how a small group of teachers’ professional practice has changed in the last few years as a result of externally imposed testing regimes and as a result of the nation-wide Digital Education Revolution. This paper will explain the rationale for this pilot project and highlight some initial findings resulting from policy analysis and preliminary investigation.
Senior women in higher education institutions : Perceived development needs and support
- Authors: Tessens, Lucienne , White, Kate , Web, Claire
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management Vol. 33, no. 6 (2011), p. 653-665
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- Description: This paper analyses a survey of leadership development needs and current challenges of senior women at two different Australian universities. It found that their leadership development needs were quite similar: over 80 per cent of respondents considered that a senior women's leadership programme would provide knowledge and skills for leadership in the current tough working environment. The preferred content included skills in people management, political awareness, operational issues and career development, and preferred format was mentoring, peer networks, coaching and 360 degree feedback, and shadowing and mentoring at another university. The qualitative responses indicated several strong themes: the impact of excessive workloads and high levels of administration on their effectiveness; the need for peer and supervisor support and networks, underpinned by effective organisational skills and administrative support; and the gendering of careers, especially academic careers, evident in male colleagues receiving more support, resources and recognition. © 2011 Copyright 2011 Association for Tertiary Education Management and the L H Martin Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Management.